King of Pain by Donna S. Frelick
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Trevyn Dar is from a planet called Thrane, he is one of the ruling class of the Thrane and is the son of one of the many Ruling Houses, the House of Dar, however, he isn’t anything like his father, known as the Butcher of the Four Systems, or brother and cannot understand their bloodlust or violent way of life, so he makes the decision to escape from that legendary heritage and strike out on his own and is now a member of the Interstellar Council of Abolition and Rescue. Lael Saphora is a woman also from the planet Thrane, however, she is from the other race who live on the planet, she is a Hinarr, a snow cat shifter who shares a mind and body with her Companion and who from a young age has experienced prejudice, violence and hatred from the ruling class who think because they don’t have telepathic abilities, that they are a lesser species and that they are only useful as something to hunt.

One day, Lael is bringing home a shipment of goods which her people are in need of, but on the way, she is arrested and detained by Rescue and her goods seized, however, when she sees that the person who has boarded her ship is a Thrane, she is even more angry. Meanwhile, Trevyn is trying to figure out why Lael has been arrested and when it is shown that she is a slaver, he knows that this is not possible because of her being a Hinarr and realises that she is a victim of an injustice in her own right, especially when he is told to deliver her to the Thrane Inquisitors for questioning. Trevyn knows that if she is sent back to Thrane that she faces torture and a slow and painful death at their hands, so even though he isn’t welcome on his home planet, he decides to escort her and delay her mistreatment as long as he can while he investigates the treasons for her arrest.

As Trevyn investigates and calls in some favours, he uncovers a deeper plot which encompasses more than just Thrane and has much farther reaching consequences than originally thought, but can a Thrane and a Hinarr overcome the barriers between them and a tragic past event to lead the Uprising, or will the conspirators win out in the end? This is a fast paced race to free the wrongly imprisoned before time runs out while love is trying to win over hate and prejudice in this story which will hook you in and take you on a whirlwind ride through rugged terrain and the peaks and troughs of an emotional rollercoaster all at the same time.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

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