The night Emery is taken she is reading emails in bed.Aerthe, another world, the world of the Swathe, the moving cities of the Mekkers.Blind on arrival and naked. No one touches her until the Mekkers decide humans aren’t people, and therefore can be bought and traded. The journey through the portal alters humans, shines them all pretty. Humans glimmer.Emery’s bright hair and nails will forever … hair and nails will forever mark her as alien. Her freedom is gone. Though her sight returns, she becomes a possession of House Oren.
But someone else wants to own her, the House Master, Mako, a man who uses whips and canes like most people use a knife – daily, with efficiency and casualness.
She vows to never give in.
Banned from marrying. Banned from playing too intimately with the house possessions, Mako holds himself back.
He mustn’t. Shouldn’t. His job is to punish, to control, to keep the House in order.
But when Emery runs and takes with her a most dangerous war machine, one not seen since the Last Days of the War… Mako is the man they turn to.
To chase her down. To bring her back, lamed, dead, or mostly alive.
Inspired by the Gor series by John Norman.
Warning: This is a dark romance. If you don’t understand where dark stories can go, this might not be for you.
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Book 1, The Machinery of Desire series. An amazing beginning of a new dark erotic steampunk series by Cari Silverwood!
Emery is lost, beyond terrified, and doesn’t understand a thing. One minute she’s with her friends on Earth preparing for a wedding. The next, she’s blind, naked, on a complete different world where she’s been force fed their language. It’s like she and her friends stepped through some magical door and ended up in the world’s most terrifying episode of the Twilight Zone. Only this is no dream. She’s now a slave with a sadistic overseer in charge. Humans are prized on Aerthe for one thing and one thing only. When her friend, Fern, makes a desperate bid to escape, Emery sees just how horrific her new life is. What can she do? There’s no way back to Earth! Separated from her friends, what chance does she have for escape? What are her chances of survival on an alien world where she knows no one and nothing? Mako’s the House Master in charge of the slaves for Basteer Oren, Emery’s owner. Mako’s cruel, sadistic, a former military man. He’s no problem using extreme pain, violence, and terror as weapons to control his master’s slaves. But Emery isn’t like the others. Humans are rare and prized. She’s no meek doormat. Rebellious? Defiant? Oh, yes! But Mako’s determined to force her submission. Only how? He’s never encountered anyone like her before, particularly in one very significant way. And Oren has placed limits on how far Mako can go with his sadism and cruelty. Yet despite Emery’s fear, contempt, and revulsion; despite Mako’s torture and cruelty; there’s something between the two. Hatred? Yes. Loathing? Definitely! Fear? For Emery, absolutely. On a world that’s beyond Emery’s comprehension. can she find a way out? How? Who’s going to help a slave that stands out from all others? And who will save her from Mako and herself? But things aren’t what they seem. Help can come from the most surprising avenues. The question? Is Emery willing to do whatever it might take to help herself? The risks are life-threatening. And Aerthe’s justice system is unforgiving, particularly towards slaves. Just how far is Emery willing to go? What will Mako do to ensure that she doesn’t succeed? His job and future are on the line, but Emery’s life hangs in the balance. Who will win? And, in the end, will it even matter to Emery?
Acquired Possession is the beginning of a new series (The Machinery of Desire) for Cari Silverwood. It’s a dark erotic steampunk story set in a completely different world, and I absolutely adored it. Cari Silverwood again shows her versatility and took me on a journey I never saw coming! Acquired Possession is a dark, erotic story, and I absolutely loved this book. Once I started reading, I was captivated. The character development is outstanding. Emory’s in the most untenable of situations. She’s terrified, and rightfully so. But she holds on to her humanity and hope. Mako? I hated him from the very beginning. That these two could find any kind of common ground when one is from Earth and the other has lived a life filled with anger, hatred, revenge, and cruelty is nearly incomprehensible. But Cari Silverwood not only makes this work. She excels at the seemingly impossible! The fear, desperation, frustration, utter desolation, small moments of joy and even delight from both Emery and Mako are captivating. This story had me on the edge of my seat from the first page. Predictable? Not in any way! The depths of despair, hopes, and uncertainty will keep you enthralled to the very end. I can’t give Acquired Possession anything less than five stars! Thank you, Cari Silverwood, for such an unexpectedly wonderful reading experience. You’re versatility and talent are beyond impressive, and your writing ability is exceptional!
One final note. Please be an informed reader and consumer! This is an ADULT book. It contains explicit language and some extremely dark, nonconsensual sexual scenes. If you don’t enjoy this genre, think hard before buying any book you know you won’t enjoy. There are book synopses and reviews available on Goodreads and all booksellers’ websites. USE THESE RESOURCES. DON’T LEAVE A NEGATIVE REVIEW WHEN YOU KNOW YOU WON’T ENJOY THE BOOK. IT’S NOT FAIR TO THE AUTHOR! She works extremely hard to provide a quality work product. If you know you’ll object to the book’s subject matter before you buy it, you’re doing yourself and the author an extreme disservice.
Thanks for reading my review and happy reading!
When I read a erotic sci-fy story I do want worldbuilding. There is a balance needed between the erotic story and the world it takes place in. You need a good foundation to your story and that is something Cari Silverwood really nailed with this story. There is a unique worldsetting and there are well written layered characters. Emery is strong and it isn’t easy for her to accept that she is a slave in this world and loved how she tried to find joy and peace for herself and other, but she never gives up hope. Mako is a antihero, but he isn’t free either. I loved the interaction between them and I was rooting for them. There are some dark elements in this book that I never read before. Cari Silverwood always surprises met with special intense dark scenes
Twisted kinky perfect read
The writing in this book is interestingly wonderful filled with three distinct races of people (four if you count the mechs), excellent characters and world building. This is not sexy, this is a twisted read where pain is linked to all things, structure, stability, punishment, safety, pleasure and love for Emery and Mako. I wanted to know more about everything and everyone, and look forward to hopefully discovering some of those answers in the next book. If no answers are ever given its still a twisted kinky perfect read.
Read as part of the complete Machinery Of Desire series set available from Amazon
Great science-fantasy. The world is intriguing and the characters are relatable. I want to read more, and I will be going straight on to the next book.
This fantasy is brutal in parts and could be triggering for some readers, others are in for a treat.
When it comes to dark romance, I’ve learned that I need just the right mix of brutal and sweet, dark and light to enjoy it. Acquired Possession happened to have just the right combination of both for me.
The author offers enough insight into both characters’ minds, which allowed me to love the hero and to understand the heroine.
He is a rough, brutal man with a job to do, who develops the feelings he should not have and doesn’t know what to do with them. I really liked his name, too. Mako.
She is an unwilling slave, searching for a way to regain her freedom in the world where a human woman could not exist on her own.
The author creates an intriguing world by providing details throughout the story without weighing it down with unnecessary descriptions or slowing the pace with info dumps. The world interests me enough to want to read more books in this series.
I stayed up until the early morning, reading, needing to know how it all ends. This fact alone means it’s a 5-star story in my books. 🙂
Just to warn you, the book is a dark romance, which is not for everyone. A couple of places I found too dark for myself, ending up skim-reading through those—I do not enjoy reading about gore and blood, the delicate flower that I am. 🙂 It did not stop me from enjoying the overall story, though.
Acquired Possession is the first book in this series, and it’s a sci-fi, techno-steampunk dark erotica story featuring Emery, a female who is taken from her world and placed into a “house” of otherworldly beings. Mako is the House Master who is tasked with guarding her, and he’s no pushover, but his feelings for her are so conflicted. I love a good dark, non-con/dub-con book with BDSM elements, and this one had them all. The sex scenes were twisted and hot, totally cringe-worthy, and yet I’m still fanning myself!
Nothing about this story is like anything I have ever read before. The way Ms. Sliverwood has blended sci-fi, steampunk, and dystopian worlds together added an interesting element to this dark tale. I am so impressed by her ability to create something so unlike anything else as a setting, and I loved it. Amazing world-building is something I look for as a reader and this one was spot on. It gave enough information to make it real without bogging the story down. It is this world-building that took the trope of slave girl/dangerous master to a whole new level for me. The complex characters didn’t hurt that either. Emery was believable from beginning to end. She was determined, didn’t fight the system too much, and used her brain. I loved how intelligent she was and all the ways she was able to hide what she was doing. When you pair her with Mako and his own brand of sneakiness you get a battle of wits that either could win. I also have to give a shout-out for the mechs, especially Mammoth. The way the different species interact with each other is interesting and I can’t wait to learn more about the others who call Aerthe their home.