prince of faithRating: 4.75 stars
Buy Link:
Amazon | All Romance | Amazon UK
Length: Novel


After saving the general in a battle that nearly killed them all, Caius’ true identity was known to only Griffin and Carlotta. When Caius took a shot to the shoulder, it disrupted his holo-disguise, giving Griffin a glimpse into who Caius used to be. A man Caius has worked long and hard to forget. Caius refuses to reveal his secret, thus removing him as Helios’ guard, but he takes up a new task. The hunt for Markus Dayspring. A year later, after an exhausting search, Caius finds a very drugged, very angry Markus. A Markus that Caius never thought he’d see again.

When the stranger from the bedroom reveals his intentions to free him, Markus is still wary to trust him. Returning home to exact revenge on those who abandoned him has been all he’s thought about for two years. And then Caius drops the disguise and reveals his real self, a man Markus thought long dead. A man Markus has loved since before the war. But things have changed. Before they depart the gods forsaken ship, Markus has one stop to make and a debt to repay.

Surprise after surprise pummel Markus and Caius as they escape the clutches of the people who want Markus back. The discovery that Markus and Helios were more than simple whores—they were used as experiments—comes as a surprise. But when Caius’s reliance on his holo-disguise begins to affect his health and threaten the safety of everything Markus holds dear, Markus will rest at nothing to save him. But when that safety comes at a price, Markus isn’t sure he can pay it.

Prince of Faith is the third book in Belinda McBride’s An Uncommon Whore series and so far it’s my favorite. Don’t get me wrong, I loved Helios and Griffin’s story. Yes, I’m a sucker for broken, tortured, otherwise pained characters. And whereas the first two books presented wonderful characters with wonderfully broken pasts, McBride surprises me anew with Markus and Caius. The heartache and devastation of their pasts is killer and I loved their journey into forgiveness and love. It’s a fabulous story.

We briefly met Markus in the first book when Griffin and Helios left him to take Helios’s place as a slave. In fact, that’s the opening of this book, but to discover the atrocities done to him while he’s been in captivity, it’s amazing he turns out as well as he does at the end of this book. He is quite possibly the strongest of all characters in this series. McBride does a great job building and molding Markus into this vengeful, broken man, then turning him into a force to be reckoned with.

Then there’s Caius. What I love so much about Caius and his story is that while most of the focus is on Markus and getting him healed and home, Caius is battling his own issues. He’s sick, deathly ill, because of the holo-disguise that’s messing with his brain. His war with his past and the guilt and blame he’s placed on himself is never ending, especially once he finds Markus. And still throughout his plight, Caius’s focus is on Markus. Even to the point that he almost dies.

The story McBride crafted for Markus and Caius is engaging and wonderful. There are pieces that come together at the most unexpected time. I loved the inclusion of family and the way this author puts her own twist on the trust and love that comes with that family. The contention and jealousies placed on such a powerful family kind of tears Markus down after he’s been through so much. It makes him a better, stronger man in the end, but it’s heartbreaking in the moment. The battle of planets and species is not forgotten in this story. In fact, tension and strife cause a rift with Neo Domus and an ally in this story, which adds so well to the feel and ambiance of the other two stories.

Whereas I absolutely loved Markus and Caius, it was great to see Helios and Griffin again. Having proof of their solidified relationship is a beautiful addition to this series after all they’ve been through. To see them through Markus’s and Caius’s eyes is even better.

[spoiler]The inclusion of Faith is quite genius, the way this baby, young and innocent, brings a world of forgiveness in the shadow of how she was conceived. And then to pair her with not only Markus as her father, but Helios as well. It’s heart wrenching. And no, it’s not an incestuous story, no matter how it sounds. Keep in mind, this is a fantasy world with space-age technology. Helios and Markus never, ever sleep together. Their love is that of brothers.[/spoiler]

Just a quick note and then I’ll finish. There are painful scenes, not graphic, but painful nonetheless. Both Markus and Caius suffer horrendous pasts that include rape, and while the rape doesn’t happen on page, it is thought about and mentioned, even described in less graphic detail.

I loved this book so much. McBride took a character, previously thought to be a traitor, and made him into the hero of heroes, and while doing so brought him love, honor, and a family. She took another man who blamed himself for the fall of two kingdoms and the destruction of a planet and gave him forgiveness and reality in the midst of rebuilding a new family. Prince of Faith is a definite must read. And while you’re at it, pick up An Uncommon Whore and When I Fall. This book is definitely best when read in conjunction with the previous two.

Highly recommended.

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