Derik was many things: a connoisseur of women, a highly-ranked thief, a specialist at stealing from mages, and a lover of a comfortable life. He also wasn’t the smartest man in the city and he made more than a few poor decisions along the way. The biggest was not repaying the local crime lord the money given for a botched job. Before he knew it, his comfortable life had been torn apart and he had brutal men breathing down his neck.
If Derik wanted to keep his balls and avoid becoming Rick’s slave, he had to take on the riskiest job he could find: to steal the magical sapphire known as the Eye of Hamel from the baron. It would be easy for a thief of his skill, just one night and he would be free forever. No one could say Derik was lucky either. Through a series of remarkable events, he ends up naked in the baron’s harem with his life in the hands—and between the thighs—of women more interested in treating him as a sex toy than an intruder.
Warnings: Rape/noncon, forced feminization, violence, misogyny
Category: F/M, M/F, F/F, M/M
Derik’s Luck is a forced feminization epic high fantasy fetish novel. Written by an author that I have thoroughly enjoyed reading in the past, I was very happy to delve once more into their unique blend of sadomasochism and fantastical scenery for a story that is filled with both hard and soft fetish content, as well as a sprawling fantasy plot, especially since “porn with plot” is easily my favourite thing to read. I was given a free copy for review purposes, and all opinions here are my own and completely impartial.
WRITING
This is every bit a fantasy epic in its story telling, and it nails that quality with abandon. While it is full of explicit content, it also is a tale of magic, thievery, political intrigue, war, and religious orders. It’s a dark fantasy in terms of structure; one of those stories where the lead character is subjected to a seemingly unending barrage of ill-fated, unfortunate events and has to figure out how to deal with them as they come at him. Derik is very much on a self actualization journey, and the events that conspire to push him down are both where the narrative derives it’s tension, but also where Derik derives his growth. That said, if you are easily exhausted with this kind of endless string of bad things happening to the lead, you may find it taxing. The story also has perhaps a larger cast than it needs to, and characters are introduced further on into the story than may be necessary for a long-term narrative- it could have easily ended around two thirds in instead of pushing into a new arc with new characters, but I did find the ending satisfying emotionally, and quite rewarding despite all of the hardships that Derik faces along the way. Just be warned that this is not exactly a “feel good” story.
EMOTIONAL ENGAGEMENT
Derik’s journey from absolute creep in the first chapter to being a lovable, adorable submissive that you want nothing but the best for, is wonderfully explored. I was really surprised how much I came to love Derik, and I believe that a large amount of that is due to just how much the narrative focuses on Derik discovering himself and learning how to accept himself for everything he is instead of repressing his innate desires. His forming of relationships was beautiful, and the narrative has just as many quiet moments of bonding and downtime as it does of action and plot driving, letting all of its characters breathe and shine in their own rights. From the harem girls he forms relationships with to the villains of the story who are so terrifying that they had me actively cringing in fear, I loved everyone that graced the pages of this book, especially considering that many stories can falter in giving their villains enough presence or personality to make them so truly frightening. Derik’s Luck delivers very well for interesting and emotionally compelling characters.
WORLDBUILDING
The world of Derik’s Luck is a classic high fantasy setting. It’s political landscape features different religious figures and organizations, wars, thieves associations, and races. There is magic, explored via religious devotees and battle mages, and of course various underground crime organizations. What is truly interesting about the setting however isn’t the window dressing, but the characters that flesh it out and what their explorations entail. Since this is after all a story about gender fuckery, a lot of what fleshes out the world as seen through Derik’s eyes is gender presentation, sexual dynamics, and domination politics. The structure of the harem is especially interesting, full of high protocol BDSM, which was a delight to read. There is also a lot of exploring not just the sexual side of Derik’s feminization but also the little emotional touches like his first time wearing high heels, and all of this contributes to a world where gender and sexuality feels naturally fluid. All of this on the backdrop of a classic high fantasy setting makes it feel very much like a kind of kinky DnD.
STEAMINESS
This is quite possibly t’Sade’s steamiest, sexiest work yet. It is so hot, so full of sensual experiences and focuses so much on Derik’s emotional journey towards self acceptance in the midst of his sexual encounters that I felt right there with Derik in his adventures. Derik is a very sensual character, and his feelings during these scenes are at the forefront, translating very well to the reader. While there is a strong visual component to the smut, there is also a very visceral experiential quality that was super sexy to read, especially as the content runs from soft, personally edifying encounters with caring D/s and bondage all the way to harder, more brutal get-your-blood-pumping degradation and noncon. I loved it all, even as I was at the edge of my seat and biting my lip in fear for Derik during his struggles. I will make note of course, that forced feminization as a fetish comes with baggage; there is a lot of misogynist language involved in treating “feminine” traits as inherently humiliating, and of course the conflating of genitals to gender may be distressing for many readers. If you are into forced feminization, you are likely familiar with the tropes of the genre, but if you are less familiar I would advise caution if these are sensitive subjects for you.
If you’re interested in an incredibly steamy story that has as much smut as it has action and character growth, this is a fantastic read. It will certainly be hard content for many people, but for those of us who crave that adrenaline rush of fear mixed into the erotic, its the kind of thing that will be a joy to engage with. Mind the content warnings as always of course, but this was a very fun, if at times very anxiety filled, read.
Have you read Derik’s Luck? Let me know what YOU thought by leaving me a comment!
Roses And Thorns 