The Honor of Duty

De: A. R. Rend

Narrado por: Andrea Parsneau

Phillip had spent his life living by his mother’s code of honor. One she had instilled in not just him, but her household staff, her soldiers under her command as a general, and all his siblings.

One that called to the familial bonds and the importance of putting those above all else. Second only to the land and the crown.

If he was being honest with himself, Phillip valued that code of honor. It was something the Curis family was known for. An honorable military family led by a Duchess, Phillip’s grandmother.

That code, the honor of duty, is about to be tested in Phillip.

He and it will be put through the forge of conflict and forced to become either hardened, or terribly brittle.

On the day of his formal marriage agreement, Phillip’s family is called to war.

What would have been a celebration now turns to a swift goodbye as his family rolls into action. Sharpening swords, mending armor, and readying horses to fight for the queen.

Being sent off quickly as there was no time to waste.

Now Phillip will need to adapt to his new in-laws and family members, a mercantile family of great worth but no noble standing. Their marriage to him will rise them up to the lowest strata of the nobility, but still nobility.

At the same time, Phillip will have to navigate through the murky political waters of the new city he’ll now call home. As well as fight to carve out a role for himself that fits his desire.

All while hopefully growing to understand his wife - whom he had only just met. A young woman his own age named Alice.

Cunning and bright, she’s nearly ready to take over the family mercantile business as a whole.

Armed with his intelligence, his uncanny ability to read people, and his stubborn nature, Phillip has to become his own man, and define how his code will fit in his new life.

Regardless of what anyone else wants of him.

Warning and minor spoiler: This novel contains graphic violence, undefined relationships/harem, and unconventional opinions/beliefs.

©2020 A. R. Rend (P)2021 A. R. Rend

it's a setup

First of I'll say that the description is very misleading. This book flips the gender rules of medieval society and filed a guy whose basically the prettiest girl in the land. That being said the story itself is well written and I find no fault in it, this an honest star review.
My major issue is how the book was presented as a medieval harem based around a suave man from a warrior family. This was presented as something geared toward the male demographic, then have an entire story on emasculated men. I'll be returning this book and requesting the summary rewritten as this just isn't for me; but i wish the best for the writer and congratulate them on the book.

Female Romance for the Male Listener

Let's cut to the chase and state the blurb makes zero sense, however the general feel of this book is as if one of the Victorian romantic dramas written for female consumption was written with the woman replaced with a man in a woman's role.

All in all it is quite interesting. The thought of if men were the naturally shorter and weaker of the 2 genders and how that would look in that era is wonderfully depicted within. Now this is mostly a book dealing with the interpersonal relationships the MC has with the women around him, though it does present a wonderful economic backstory to that premise. This book is quite unlike the Author's other titles so if you aren't looking for a book with little to no action stay away from this one.

absolutely loved this

it's a wonderful genderbent political romance drama, obviously taking from previous writing experience, now with a new and interesting perspective from the author that their pseudonyms didn't explore before now.

Wow! Just wow!

I enjoyed this book so much I started telling everyone about it! Get it now!

Awesome

really loved the story and all the girls but i have to say that mim was my favorite and can't wait for the next one

Unusual and well done.

At first I wasn't sure about the premise of this story what with the gender role reversal apparent from the beginning however this was extremely well done and I enjoyed it very much. looking forward to book two.

Unexpected yet amazing ride.

I really love the book. I am a big fan of the Arrand books so came in expecting something similar and got something completely unexpected but something I loved. the reverse gender role also got me thinking quite deeply on a number of things as I often found myself imagining the main character as a woman to be brought back to the story realizing where my mind had gone. a great deal of thought was put into this and I really appreciated it.

interesting twist on gender roles

A great thought experiment, with lots of subtle ideas, but a start of a great series

Best performance of a book!

It was the best performance ever. The voices were vast and excellent. The story was good at the start but got a little annoying at the end.

Honestly, I'm surprised

TI;DR: I'd recommend it to anyone who reads his other works and isn't too insecure. Honestly (without sarcasm or and cruel intentions) if you feel any insecurity about your masculinity or gender roles and such, a lot of this book's gonna be like that bit of popcorn that gets in your teeth and drives you mad.

I read this because I'm familiar with the authors other pen names and was curious about the negative reviews.

In the end I actually enjoyed it. I'm glad I gave it a shot and muddled through the times I just wanted the main character to go all John of Arc on everyone and instead judged the book on what it is. A pervy Jane Austin novel where the women have dicks and the men give birth.

It's not a traditional male power fantasy. It can be annoying to read a man of such... low ambition when in this genre. Sometimes I felt like I didn't quite get what real world aspects of masculinity and femininity crossed over to this book and what didn't. For example I don't actually know what the standards of beauty are in this world other then women are still supposed to look somewhat be pretty and curvy even when they huge and muscular.

I'm actually a bit sadened to hear there won't be follow up books in this series and if anything that's the main reason I'd offer for why not to read it.

A few notes on the "problems" with the book:

To be frank, some of the people who hate this book are correct. Though I feel like this is closer to his usual books then many detractors would admit (impossibly appealing man wraps everyone around his fingers to achieve his goals) it's not the standard wish fulfilment usually written by this author.

The main character is weak and vulnerable almost all the time, entirely at the whims of others. He can be a touch flighty, especially at the start, and the whole concept of the "honour of duty" seems to be all that keeps him from legging it.

The matriarchy is also a tad weak. literally a gender flip, this book is basically just swapping the genitals around and using belt buckles as something pretty you by a lover rather the necklaces.

It can feel cringe inducing when the somewhat inconsistent gender roles have had him acting largely like a man only for him to suddenly act quite feminine: see any time tea is involved.

But I don't read these books for the in depth, over designed world building I'd read a Sanderson novel for. I read them because sometimes life's a drag and a bit of fun escapism can be just what I need. In that regard, I was honestly surprised how much I enjoyed this book.

The main character has more agency then some negative reviews claim. He identifies problems and addresses them. If anything his competence makes me wonder why he's not more proactive about working independent of women. In the end the main problem for most will be his goals: to be a good husband.

The romance is interesting and while I always find myself a touch stubborn when it comes to changing views on characters (I never did like the Dutchess in Fostering Foust no matter how much the author told us to) the relationships all felt like they developed well.

The main characters an interesting and mostly consisted character too and the setting could easily have made him more boring or annoying then he ended up being.