Review, Excerpt, & #Giveaway: Golden Bond (Pleasure Palace #1) by Tavian Cross
- Merissa
- Jul 9
- 6 min read
Book Details:
Book Title: Golden Bond
Author, Publisher, Cover Artist: Tavian Cross
Release Date: July 9, 2025
Tense/POV: first person, past tense, alternating POV
Genres: MM Fantasy Romance
Tropes: Bonded lovers, strangers to lovers, forced proximity
Themes: fate, choice vs duty
Heat Rating: 5 flames
Length: 56 000 words/200 pages
It is the first in the series. The romance between MCs is complete here. It works as a standalone.
It does not end on a cliffhanger.
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@taviancrosswrites @gaybookpromotions
I came to the sacred island to pay my family's debt. I never expected to lose my heart.
My name is Callis, and I'm an offering.
Sent to Eletheria—the legendary pleasure palace where gods once walked among mortals—I have one purpose: submit to the bonding ritual, serve my time, and return home with my family's honor restored.
But the man who chooses me changes everything.
Auren is silver-haired, devastatingly beautiful, and dangerously powerful. As a Thorn of the sacred order, he needs to complete a successful bond to advance in rank. I should be just another transaction to him—a means to an end.
Instead, he awakens something in me I never knew existed.
Under his skilled touch, I discover pleasure that burns hotter than temple incense. The bond between us grows deeper than any ritual, more consuming than prayer itself. But Auren carries the scars of three failed bonds, and I have a ship waiting to take me home.
As our connection intensifies, I'm forced to choose: honor my duty and leave, or risk everything for a love that could either complete us both—or destroy us.
Some debts can only be paid with the heart.
Golden Bond is the first novel in Pleasure Palace series and includes forced proximity, strangers to lovers, low fantasy, and a guaranteed happy ending. This book is written for adults.
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Auren's eyes didn't leave mine. He took a step forward, then another, just enough to draw closer without closing the distance completely. His movements were measured and elegant. Confident without the need to prove it.
"I believe the state of my attire is acceptable, Callis," he said, voice low and smooth, a flicker of mischief curling at the corner of his mouth. His eyes gleamed—was it amusement, or something darker?
The lead priest stepped forward again, drawing our attention back to him with a subtle lift of his hand. The scent of resin filled the space as one priest lit the offering fire. Smoke curled upward, sweet and sharp, as the brazier took its breath.
When the priest then turned to me, "Come hither, and place your hand upon the staff."
I moved.
I didn't trust my legs, but they carried me. I stopped in front of Auren, lifted one hand, and set it lightly over his where he gripped the staff.
It was warm. His skin. The staff. The silver. Everything felt charged.
"Speak," the priest said, not unkindly.
I drew breath. "I accept," I said. My voice was quiet, but it didn't shake. "I accept this bond. I come in truth, though I do not know what waits. I offer what I am, and will not turn away."
The priests withdrew, leaving us alone.
Auren's hand found mine again, warm and firm.
We undressed each other slowly.
Not ceremonially, though it felt like a ritual. Not erotically, though there was no mistaking the heat under my skin.
It was like opening something fragile. Something wrapped for safekeeping.
The silks they dressed me in shimmered like flame. When they stepped back, they studied me in silence, then bowed lightly.
We stood bare, inches apart, the silk pooling at our feet. The altar waited behind him. I knew what it was meant for. But in this moment, there was no pressure.
Only him.
Only me.
And the space between us, narrowing, breath by breath.
Auren stepped toward me.
There was no hesitation in his stride. He closed the space between us in a quiet step, and suddenly I could feel the warmth of him, closer than anyone had ever stood, close enough that our bodies brushed, whispering against each other in the stillness.
He kissed me.
Not gently.
His mouth found mine like he'd done it a hundred times, firm and sure, his hands lifting with the same certainty to touch me. One framed the side of my jaw, his fingers a breath from trembling, the other settled low at my waist, grounding me, anchoring me to the moment.
Heat bloomed through my skin like lightning seeking purchase.
The kiss wasn't soft. It wasn't exploratory. It was fiercely possessive in a way that set fire to something deep inside me, something I hadn't even known was there. Auren kissed like someone who had no interest in surface things. He dove straight for the center.
And I—
I didn't know what to do with that.
My hands hovered, helpless for a moment, until instinct caught hold and I clutched at his sculpted arm. My fingers curled there, tense and searching, and my other hand rose to his shoulder as if I could brace myself against the storm building in my chest.
Auren pressed closer.
His lips parted slightly, just enough to pull me deeper, and my body responded before I could stop it—leaning in, opening, breath hitching in surprise at the feel of him.
It was like I had been asleep for nineteen years and someone had finally whispered my name.
When Auren finally drew back, he didn't go far.
He studied me: my face, my breath, the tremble I couldn't hide in my fingers.
"You're not what I expected," he said, his voice low and uneven at the edges.
5 out of 5 (exceptional)
GOLDEN BOND is the first book in the Pleasure Palace series, and it is a series I will be continuing as I loved this one!
Callis was summoned to Eletheria to pay his family's debt. Just by being there, his debt is paid. What he doesn't know is if he will be chosen for a bond. He is lost within the palace, not knowing what is going on or what to do. He is not used to being seen and doesn't know what to do with it. Auren has had three failed bonds before. He chooses Callis because he finds him intriguing, but what he gets is so much more.
This was a wonderful story that, no, isn't perfect. What story is? Did I want more world-building? Yes, I did. Do I want to know more about the bonds, what they mean, and how they help the outside world? Of course. And what about the supporting characters that seemed to disappear?
But what I got from this low-angst story was a connection between the two main characters that was everything I wanted and more. It was pure and innocent, while being deep and permanent. I loved how they were, both separate and together. I loved how they worked through the bond, figuring out what it meant, and what they meant to each other. I loved how I wasn't distracted by side stories that I didn't really need, so I could focus on theirs.
All in all, I was captivated by Callis and Auren and hope to return to the Pleasure Palace soon. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED by me.
** Same worded review will appear elsewhere. **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
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Print copies of Golden Bond upon release with special interior images,
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Tavian Cross is an emerging author of gay erotic fantasy romance.
Obsessive fan-fiction reader, BL manga collector, and erotic steam engineer, Tavian is setting out to create a world where love has no boundaries, lust serves a higher purpose, and beauty is divine.
Follow Tavian online for more heart-tugging content.
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