The Concubine King by Emily Oracle

The political intrigue of Captive Prince meets the aching passion of The Song of Achilles in this adult fantasy that explores the shackles of obligation, the anguish of solitude, and what happens when we betray the ones we love most.

For centuries, the gods have chosen a king from the order of priests who dedicate their lives to serving them. So when the gods choose Ethyr to be king, a peasant farmer from the farthest edge of the kingdom, it upends his life without warning and thrusts him into a world that is the opposite of everything he’s ever known: spoiled with luxury and riches beyond his wildest imaginings, but trapped in a gilded cage of obligation. As Ethyr does his best to please the gods and understand the society he’s been forced into, he begins to realize there is more to the gods’ choice than hedonistic preference. Now he must navigate the treachery and deception of slippery palace politics, all while trying to unravel the enigmatic motives of the gods who made him king.