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The Price of Surrender: Daranii Justice, Book 1 Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

C.J. Dragon (Author, Publisher), John Solo (Narrator)
4.0 out of 5 stars 97 ratings

The war with the Daranii, instigated by Earth, was short and brutal.

Outgunned by superior weapons, the obliteration of the military outpost on Jupiter’s moon, Io, ended with Earth’s unconditional surrender.

Captain Jonathan Thomsin of the warship Excalibur was the only Captain of Earth’s combined forces to successfully destroy Daranii ships, not by confronting them, but with guerilla warfare. Outraged by Thomsin’s dishonorable tactics, the Daranii demand the captain as part of Earth’s reparations to Daran.

Captain Thomsin was given to Daran to protect Earth from Daranii vengeance.

A Sacrifice.

He expected to be tormented by loss and grief.

He expected to be tortured and die on Daran.

He never expected to fall in love.

PLEASE NOTE: This is a slow burn, male/male romance with torture scenes, health issues, and adult sexual situations.

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  1. Listening Length
    5 hours and 46 minutes
  2. Author
    C.J. Dragon
  3. Narrator
    John Solo
  4. Audible release date
    March 3, 2023
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    C.J. Dragon
  7. ASIN
    B0BX7J158F
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
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Product details

Listening Length 5 hours and 46 minutes
Author C.J. Dragon
Narrator John Solo
Whispersync for Voice Ready
Audible.com Release Date March 03, 2023
Publisher C.J. Dragon
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B0BX7J158F
Best Sellers Rank #491,494 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#2,738 in Science Fiction Romance (Audible Books & Originals)
#9,490 in LGBTQ+ Romance (Audible Books & Originals)
#12,345 in LGBTQ+ Romance (Books)

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4 out of 5 stars
97 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • uneeklyme
    5.0 out of 5 stars I'd give it another star if I could.
    Reviewed in the United States on June 7, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    Definitely a 5 star in spite of the stilted language used to underscore the alien-ness of the alien-human interactions. It reads well and I like the characters.
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  • JTorleif
    4.0 out of 5 stars I thought this would be darker, but I loved where it went instead
    Reviewed in the United States on July 15, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    This book ended up be surprisingly sweeter than what I was expecting. Talin had more reason than anyone else on Daran to hate Jon, and yet, he grew to respect Jon’s honor and courage. If Talin could do so, why would the members do the Council not heed his words? And honestly, have the Daranii never lost a single conflict before? The punishment certainly didn’t fit the crime.

    I liked that Jon held to his own sense of honor throughout, without trying to excuse the actions that ended up with him being the Sacrifice of Daran. And in doing so, he showed respect for Daranii culture and law as he became subject to them.

    I will certainly be buying any further books in this series.
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  • MisMissyC
    3.0 out of 5 stars Alien Romance
    Reviewed in the United States on April 10, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    Earth started a war with an alien race, and quickly out, maneuvered and lost the war.Jon is a military officer, highly decorated and respected.
    The terms of surrender require that John be given as a sacrifice to the alien world,Daran.
    Talin is the alien Daranii adjunct who is put in charge of Jon.
    Talin harbors great hatred for Jon and all humans.
    Initially, Jon endures a lot of torture and difficulty, some at the hands of Talin, but slowly circumstances improve, and he and talin actually Get to know each other become friends, and then more.
    As they fall in love and become life mates, the situation is still difficult, because many on the planet still hate John and think of him as The sacrifice.
    John and Talon have to fight the government for their relationship, but they have a growing circle of support That helps them.
    This was an interesting, alien story. There were a lot of strange syntax and bowing and posturing that felt very stilted. But the romance had some very endearing moments. I think I liked it.
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  • linda
    5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful
    Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2022
    Reviewed by Linda Tonis
    Member of the Paranormal Romance Guild Review Team
    Earth instigated a war with Daran, a war they soon discovered they couldn’t win. Earth surrendered but Daran wanted reparations in the form of Captain Jonathan Thomsin whose warship was responsible for the only victory Earth achieved. Jonathan was to be taken prisoner by Daran and he had no doubt that his death wouldn’t come until he suffered extreme torture. To save Earth Jonathan readily agreed and he was not wrong about the treatment he would receive.

    Unfortunately, the convoy that Jonathan destroyed was filled with life mates and children and not easily forgiven. His first day of torture was unbearable but a member of the Order of Artisans, Dulan was assigned to assist him to ensure that Jonathan would not die too soon. Dulan helps him clean up and gives him water and comes to feel a friendship towards the prisoner who shows nothing but dignity and kindness.

    Then Jonathan faces the most excruciating torture imaginable, the “pain-giver” tied to a metal table with a band around his neck and something put into his mouth. He is unable to scream, and this instrument brought death to any subjected to it. The law states that if Jonathan survives for three days of this torture, he would not be subject to any more pain and would live out his life on Daran. After three days and near-death Jonathan has won against the torture and with the help of Dulan and Doctor Calal he is finally free from any more torture.

    Talin from the Order of Warriors wanted to see Jonathan die since his parents were on the ship Jonathan destroyed. Now that Jonathan has survived Talin is now responsible for him, and he is not a happy camper. Jonathan is given a house guarded all the time unable to go out but the one saving grace is Dulan and Calal who look after him and have grown to respect and love Jonathan. In Daran, Jonathan is known as “The Sacrifice” a prisoner but free from torture.

    It doesn’t take long before Talin realizes he was wrong about Jonathan a man who sacrificed himself to save his planet, a man who saved a Daranii child risking his own life and a man who underwent unimaginable torture with dignity giving his torturer respect. Talin apologizes to Jonathan and Jonathan readily accepts it and welcomes Talin as a friend. The friendship leads to much more, but Jonathan is still hated by many Daranii and especially the Council. Despite the promise of no more torture the Council orders Jonathan to return to the “pain-giver” and promise that more torture will be coming.

    Talin, Dulan and Calal are ready to fight the Council because any more torture and Jonathan would not survive, his heart cannot take much more. Jonathan was ready to die but his feelings for Talin grew into love, a love he did not want to lose.

    Enemies become friends and lovers and fight to be able to have a life together but is it possible because torture and death are Jonathan’s future. Extreme torture, sex, romance and wonderful characters made this book wonderful although Sci-Fi is my least favorite genre.
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  • DLB2572
    4.0 out of 5 stars Good Story
    Reviewed in the United States on September 13, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    I wasn't sure I was going to like this one at first but I'm glad I pushed through that initial reaction. I'm actually eager for more from this series and can't wait to get to book 2.

    I received an ARC and this is my unbiased opinion
    One person found this helpful
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  • K. Benjamin
    5.0 out of 5 stars Surprising
    Reviewed in the United States on March 31, 2023
    Audiobook review:
    This was surprising in the best ways. I wasn't sure how I would feel about Johnathan being a sacrifice for Earth. It didn't seem fair at all but he honorably took his fate facing forward knowing he would die. In a surprise twist, Johnathan survives his punishments and is granted life, although still very much a prisoner, on Daran. He makes the best of his new life by making a few friends and even gets to teach English to some willing Daranii. But most surprising is that his most adamant torturer Talin becomes his friend. Talin starts to understand that Johnathan is a remarkable human and starts to form feelings for him. Ahh love is in the air. The plot really takes off after this but no spoilers from me. This is my first CJ Dragon book and definitely won't be my last. I enjoyed the world building and the creativity behind the alien species. John Solo is amazing as always. I really liked how he voiced the aliens. It made it feel more believable that most of the characters aren't human.
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Top reviews from other countries

  • WK
    1.0 out of 5 stars Anyone but Talin
    Reviewed in Australia on November 27, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    If you want to find their love story believable, much less enjoyable, I would recommend skipping the first 20% of the book. I promise you won’t miss much except for learning to hate and despise Talin and if you’ve read the blurb I think you should know enough about what happens to understand the setting of the story. If only the love interest had been anyone but him 😔
    Talin’s about-face regarding Johnathan just doesn’t make any sense and there is no reason given for it. He despises him and takes such pleasure in his torture, is extraordinarily disappointed when Jon survives. We, along with Johnathan, don’t see him for six months and suddenly wants to be his friend and is feeling affectionate towards Jon when he’s in the man’s presence. There is something about Jon saving a kid but it’s all off screen and is mentioned more in passing. It doesn’t seem to be the main reason Talin has changed his tune, for some reason his opinion towards Jon has simply softened while he was offscreen. If only it had been anyone but Talin I might have loved the story. I just can’t see him with Jon when he found such pure joy in his torment.
    There’s also no build up of the relationship, no dating or courtship period. He finally sees Jon as a person and as soon as feelings are brought up they are married.
    As for Johnathan I can only see him as having a bad case of Stockholm and I hate so much that he apologises to Talin for being physically damaged when Talin is the one whose hand willingly and joyfully (for the largest part) inflicted that damage upon him. And thanks to this damage Johnathan can’t even fully participate in their newfound intimacy which sucks even if I didn’t want to see it happen between them.
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