The Red-Jeweled High Priestess of Hayll, Dorothea SaDiablo, rules the Hayllian Territory with an iron fist. No other Queen can compete against Dorothea as she brings fear to all. There is one Queen that Dorothea hates and is a very dangerous enemy known as the Gray Lady, a Gray-Jeweled Queen who rules the Territory called Dena Nehele. She has stopped all of Dorothea's attempts to bring the Realm of Terreille under her hand. She orders her Master of the Guard, Krelis, to eliminate the Gray Lady, and in order to accomplish this, he must venture into the slave auctions. The Gray Lady comes out of her lair twice a year for these slave auctions. Dorothea doesn't care how Krelis will kill the Gray Lady, only that he is successful.

Jared is a Red-Jeweled Warlord who is a pleasure slave bound by the Ring of Obedience. He killed the last Queen who owned him because of the sick games she played with him. He assumes he will not be bought, because he is considered dangerous. But Jared is in for a surprise when a Queen all dressed in gray decides to buy him. His Ring of Obedience is now replaced with the Invisible Ring that is ten times more powerful than his old one. With no other choice, he leaves with his new master along with other slaves the Gray Lady has brought.

As they go on their journey back to her home, Jared begins to feel protective of his Queen. But their travels have become very dangerous, and soon the Gray Lady is hurt. Jared is also shocked to see she that his Queen holds a very important secret that could harm herself and all that travel with her. Not only will Jared now be involved in something bigger that could change his role as a slave, but also freedom may be closer than he could ever imagine. But first they must reach the safety of the Dena Nehele Territory before Krelis finds them and brings the power of Dorothea upon their heads.

THE INVISIBLE RING is a prequel to Anne Bishop's much beloved Black Jewel Trilogy. This is a very, very dark tale of magic and sexual angst where men are treated as cattle and women have all the power. There are witches, queens and other magical types that enrich the plot. This is not the type of read you rush through, rather it is a book filled with complex characters and very imaginative world building that may have you scratching your head.

There are so many tortured characters within these pages, and the main one is Jared who suffers horribly. The things he has gone through even before the book begins will tug at your heart. But knowing he is in a good place because of the Gray Lady makes for a lovely romance between the two. And when you find out who and what the Gray Lady has planned, you will be on the edge of your seat hoping they make it to safety. Anne Bishop has written such a rich story filled with danger and uses sex as a weapon and as a tool to control. I was so in awe of Anne Bishop's storytelling with THE INVISIBLE RING, I will definitely be checking out the other books in her Black Jeweled trilogy and urge others to do the same.