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Gabriel Hargrave

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The Lion and the Dahlia (Orchid and the Lion Book 2) Kindle Edition

by Gabriel Hargrave (Author), Lorraen Badillo (Editor) Format: Kindle Edition

4.9 14 ratings

Book 2 of 2: Orchid and the Lion

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It’s been months since Earth supported a pro-Purity coup on Baldwin, and Laith Ritter is settling into his new home on Europa Station. He’s a hit at work, he’s building a life with his boyfriend and Dom, Dorian Vidales, and he’s found a family, one that he would do anything for. He’s even caught the eye of his handsome coworker, Omar. On the surface, it would seem Laith’s star is on the rise and still climbing.

But in reality, he’s struggling. And so is Dorian. He’s desperately trying to find his boyfriend, Kenny, and figure out how to help his coworkers who got arrested the night of the raid. And unlike Laith, Dorian’s not as big a hit as he used to be, which is hurting his already fragile ego. With their relationship already shaky, the last thing they need is to get swept up in more chaos. But some always manages to find them...

When a client is found murdered, it’s up to Laith to figure out who really killed him and why. But the list of suspects is long—and some of them are people he cares about. As he and Omar work together to clear an innocent man’s name, Laith uncovers secrets that he’d rather not know, ones that throw what he believed about some of the most important people in his life into question. Can he find the murderer before it’s too late? And can Dorian and Laith’s rocky romance survive the chaos?

The Lion and the Dahlia continues the epic kinky queer sci-fi romance series that began with The Orchid and the Lion and sends Dorian and Laith hurtling towards a fierce battle to reclaim the home they lost.

CWs: This book is sexually explicit, and contains profanity, kinks, and fetishes that may not be everyone’s cup of tea. Some of these characters use drugs and/or alcohol, and several of them smoke. This book deals a lot with relationship issues and mental health struggles, and some of the characters are dealing with anxiety, depression, PTSD, alcoholism, drug addiction, and trauma. Due to the overarching fight against Purity Culture in the series, the characters also discuss and deal with transphobia, homophobia, whorephobia, etc., none of which are presented positively. The following content may also be upsetting to some readers, though some of these are more prevalent than others: death, mentions of suicide, mentions of unwanted groping, blood, dead body, murder, war, hospitalization, unsupportive families, therapy, dysphoria, coming out, police being douchebags, judging people because of their addictions, loss of partner, vomiting, guns, fascism, violence, and injury. I tried to approach each of these topics with respect and use them only as the story required them.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BXD4MV5R
Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 3, 2023
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 803 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 489 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #711,222 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #6,885 in Science Fiction Romance (Kindle Store)
- #8,050 in Science Fiction Romance (Books)
- #15,728 in Gay Romance

Customer Reviews:
4.9 14 ratings

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Gabriel Hargrave

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Gabriel Hargrave is a disaster queer who lives in Rochester, NY, with his cat, Regina Dentata. When he’s not writing about fellow disaster queers, he’s reading about them. He also enjoys playing D&D, listening to podcasts, and educating people about trans issues, sex, and kink. The Orchid and the Lion is his first novel.

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4.9 out of 5

14 global ratings

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John Steiner

Not Where I Thought it was Going, and Better for it.

Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2024

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Usually, a second installment struggles with character growth from the first novel, but not here. Just that not always is that growth positive. We see a character stripped so sharply from their comfort zone that they crash. It's frustrating to witness, and that's the testament for how well written their arc is.

More amazing is getting to see another character realize their real nature and it's a joy to see that awaken. The discovery of their pronouns will bring tears to your eyes, and their name rings perfect before you are told which one they settle on.

Intimate scenes are as well-choreographed as ever, one of which I was sure was a substitute for a climatic battle. The kicker is I couldn't be sure who won until the dialogue that followed. The winding 'Threads' of the main plot will have you guessing to the end you don't see coming! I wonder what brainstorming Gabe and his reading team went through, but the results are excellent.

Pay full price for this, because it's easily worth it. 5 for 5

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A.E. Bennett

You won't be able to put this one down!

Reviewed in the United States on May 17, 2023

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I've been waiting for the continuation of this epic queer scifi romance adventure and it does not disappoint! We are reoriented with main characters Laith and Dorian months after Baldwin station was attacked by the Purity movement. While the first book was told from Dorian's point of view, this story is narrated by Laith, who is finding his footing and a bit of fame as a performer and sex worker at the club Mixxx. Unfortunately, his love, partner, and Dom Dorian is struggling to adjust to life on Europa Station. While conflict grows between the two, a client is found murdered -- and it becomes a matter of life or death for Laith to figure out who did it. Part super-sexy, kinky erotica, part murder mystery, part heartfelt drama - this was a book I could not put down. Hargrave is a fantastic author and I cannot wait for the next installment!

One person found this helpful

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Angela F. Young

Excellent follow-up

Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2023

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This series continues to impress. It's difficult to conceive of a story that takes place in a semi-dystopian SciFi future with a cast of sex workers and a Trans mc could be both a thriller and a story of love and relationships. Definitely worth the read.

One person found this helpful

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Meli

A love letter to love yourself.

Reviewed in the United States on May 18, 2023

Most sequels are doomed to fall short when being compared to their predecessors. It is almost a given. Unless it is The Empire strikes back. But, with notable exceptions, when we think of sequels we don't really expect them to exceed what we felt the first time, we are just chasing that thrill, hoping we can extend it for as long as we can.

The Lion and the Dahlia absolutely shatters that expected premise. This book took everything that made me instantly fall in love with The Orchid and the Lion, and amped it up to a level that, honestly, is baffling and extremely hard to rationally comprehend when talking about a sophomore novel.

The book is told from Laith's POV, and we get to see a lot of things not with the rose colored glasses that Dorian showed us in the first book, and it is quite eye opening. After the events on Baldwin station that forced them to flee, leaving loved ones behind, leaving their home behind, they are both struggling. In all fairness, most of the people who have found a new home in Europa are. But having to deal with the trauma of everything that happened plus the relationship issues that they pretend to ignore, in the hopes to not lose each other because they have already lost so much, is slowly destroying both Laith and Dorian, and their relationship.

I am extremely impressed with Gabriel Hargrave's writing. It seamlessly flows. It has a palpable lusciousness for sex scenes that feels so intimate and beautiful, so free of judgment. It has a wittiness that is so refreshing, and an uncanny ability to blur the lines between joy and pain that speaks to you. That makes you love these people to pieces because it shows them as people, not characters, but flawed and wholly deserving of love people.

Well, for the most part. Yes, Victor Madsen can rot in hell.

The Lion and the Dahlia is a love letter. A love letter to sex work. A love letter to consensual kink exploration. A love letter to family, not the one that is related to you by blood, but the one who chose to become your family and chooses to do so, over and over again. A love letter to all those who struggle to find their place, not because they don't fit, but because society's narrow mindedness wants to make them believe they don't fit, they are weird and should not be celebrated, should not love themselves for who they are. A love letter to the utter transgressive act of seeing someone, and madly loving them for who they are, indistinctive of their gender or how they are presenting. A love letter to the disruptive and blasphemous act of loving someone so much to be able to see their flaws, their broken core, and understand that deep down we can not fix them, we can not save them, they have to choose to be helped, save themselves and love themselves as much as we love them, or even more, and that this will hurt but is the right thing to do. A love letter to love yourself.

I am absolutely in love with this series, beyond words, and honestly hope it keeps going for 20 more books.

[I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.]

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D.M. Winters

enjoyed it more than the first book

Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2023

Normally, I enjoy the first book in a series more than any other book following. This one of the few cases where that isn't true! I enjoyed this book even more than the first. The polyam dynamic is written in such a natural and realistic way. Characters have immaculate chemistry, and of course Hargrave is fantastic at writing hot and emotional sex scenes.

I find that I liked Laith's POV quite a bit. I think I connect to him the most, so this makes sense. I also enjoyed the continuing but also added plot of this book to be well done. It didn't take me as long to get drawn in as it did the previous book.

Granted, the difference is a marginal one in terms of my enjoyment.

In the previous book, paperback specifically, I had an issue with some of the formatting. It wasn't super nice to look at. This impacted my rating on it a bit.

I've seen the paperback of this book (that I've ordered) has much better formatting. Bold and enlarged chapter headings especially are absolutely fantastic.

I'm excited to read the next book in this series someday.

(I received an ARC and this is my honest opinion)

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Top reviews from other countries

kitokat_mh

Top notch writing

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 5, 2023

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Wow! This is a sequel that really delivers. It's a superbly-written follow-up to a fantastic first book in the series, throwing new conflict at our favourite characters and taking us to deeper depths of emotion, frustration and mystery. Hargrave has incredible skill in giving us close-up character-driven emotion, genuine external stakes that keep us gripped, AND extremely well-written erotica that adds even more depth to the story. The characters are so real it hurts - especially when they're doing things that frustrate us! - and the wider story of battling against the oppressive purity regime feels incredibly important, never falling too far into the background. I am addicted and can't wait for the next book!

Hannah Woodlock

Another work of art

Reviewed in Australia on July 16, 2023

Verified Purchase

I loved the first book, but this one was so much more. Omg Dorian 🫤 and as a Kenny stan, that ending hit a sweet note. But that other twist is….

Once again the social commentary hit close to home. Watching what is going on in parts of the world, you can definitely see the Purity Laws coming into existence, and it’s terrifying.

I can’t wait for the next book.

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The Lion and the Dahlia (Orchid and the Lion Book 2) Kindle Edition

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Gabriel Hargrave

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