So it was quite fortuitous that I picked up this short story/novella on Halloween, because if you'd told me it included aliens and tentacles and all sorts of sordid, creepy stuff before I'd started, I would have put it in the horror basket. In my brain, tentacles and creatures that have them looked a little something like this:



I've never in all my born days looked into the anime tentacle sub-culture, but I imagine that this book would fit within its realm quite well.

The premise of the book was interesting and quite different to anything else I've read before. The idea of a human being on an alien planet and being incarcerated and then indentured to the tribute program working for Rehz Akran piqued my interest. Especially when the alien planet's humanoid inhabitants didn't recognise that Earth existed.

Rehz was an interesting character, he did the most deplorable things to our protagonist, Anna Lee (whose names are used interchangeably throughout the story - which irritated me to no end), and while Anna doesn't know why, the reader is lead to believe that there's a higher purpose for all this 'training'.

While I'm on the topic of training... I need to say, this book is not about training. It's about taking a sex slave and abusing her (and other trainers did the same to men as well). And not just a little abuse, no, this is full on non-con. It is hour upon hour of being filled... not just with male body parts, but also various fake versions too. It's about physical and mental torture at its most cruel. Anna is made to submit to Rehz, to hand over her extremely strong will, along with her body and do these things because Rehz says so... without knowing why.

Now, this probably sounds like I have an issue with the non-con... in fact, I don't, but I do have a problem with the book, just not with this part.

The part that I thought let down the rest of the book was the time period of the 'tribute'... once I'd come to terms with what the tribute scheme actually was and why they were training these 'tributes' the way they were... well... I was intrigued. How was this going to play out? Was I going to have my first tentacle sex scene reading experience? I had no idea.

And I still don't!

This is my problem with it. The seeming climax (pun totally intended) was brushed over so quickly, with so few details that it was an epic let down.

If you trawl for dub/non-con and other dark kink readers, you had best deliver. Don't dangle this thing in front of your readers and then skim over it so lightly that it was almost as if that event didn't even exist... get down and dirty. Step so far over that line that there's no uncertainty about how far you're willing to go.



Ultimately, I bought into the somewhat shallow story line and wanted to know what happened in that scene that was skimmed over. I, as a a reader of LGBTQ romance and erotica, found the varied sexual partners and combinations of partners quite refreshing. But, some of the sex scenes were rather dull and seemed repetitive.

I did like the ending, despite it's someone vanilla tinge compared to the rest of the book. I am intrigued to know what happens next. I will be trying out book 2.

Oh, and if you've read all the way through this and you're still not aware that this book is not for children or people who have weak dispositions, then here's the trigger warning... just in case you missed all that above!!

**Note: I was provided an electronic copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

If you like paranormal reading, anything in the realm of paranormal, then this book is for you. Paloma and Willow are shadow warriors (which is basically a very hard to kill human-esque type of character that protects humans and kills paranormal beings who intend to cause humans harm). Paloma and Willow are smoulderingly hot women. Paloma and Willow are confident and tough-as-nails when it comes to breaking the baddy's ass across their knees. 

That is where my positive description for Paloma and Willow ends.

Paloma and Willow are also pretty rough around the edges, they rarely brush their hair, openly talk about sex and other personal matters in public, they also happen to have pretty foul mouths... and that isn't just limited to their language either. One of the sisters belches like Barney our of The Simpsons and each time this was mentioned (and it was frequently mentioned) I kept visualising this:



I understood that these characters were meant to buck the fantasy/paranormal 'female protagonists are perfect princess's' trend, but really?! Did we need to go this far? Paloma and Willow read like they belonged in a white shift on some redneck yokel's property with a baby on the hip, fifteen others running rampant and another in the oven. Something like this:



My distaste for the almost comical regression of Paloma and Willow's manners and basic human courtesies aside, I actually quite liked the story. I thought the concept and ideas that were explored were refreshing, and despite the somewhat annoying insta-love, I felt that the different levels of romance and heartache that both girls experienced was unique.

The writing was a bit rough in places, while nothing was explicitly wrong, there were times that things could have been written in a much more concise and clearer manner. It was fairly minor things, like use of adverbs and some of the other word choices.

I really liked how much the two girls cherished their family and the relationship dynamics of a large brood of siblings. I was slightly miffed by the way the girls called their dad 'daddy' but I know that happens in real life. Note: I'm pretty sure I picked up the same thing in Angela's other book I read: The Bite. I'm starting to see a theme here Angela and I'm not liking it!

I think I'll give Angela one more chance to wow me with her books. If that doesn't happen, I think that'll be it for me and reading Angela Horn's work.

An alright book if you can look past the rough-as-guts female protagonists, their potty mouths and the glaring insta-love and see the unique ideas and concepts behind them.

A few things I noticed:

One point before, and at 58% - Capitalized author/beta notes are in the text: 'is a foreshadowing alert really necessary here?'

92% - Even feeling like crap, Paloma keep (delete keep, insert kept)...

I never thought I'd say that a fantasy/erotic read would have too much sex, but this one does.

The sex scenes were all quite similar and really just ended up making me feel like putting the book down. I almost, almost started to skim the sex scenes.

Indigo Black (yeah I also wasn't a fan of his name) is a broken and angry man. Shackled by the church, he writhes about in the human realm and pretty much pisses everyone around him off. Happily, he's not the stock standard 25yrs old. He's in his 40s, which was a pleasant change for most fantasy reads.

The Nephilim that is alluded to in the synopsis was an interesting character. I enjoyed reading about the preparation that the Demonic took part in to ensure a successful possession. That aspect of the demonic story was quite interesting and different.

The Palet felt a bit like a club, rather than an official organization that is meant to protect humankind.



I did enjoy Adrienne's descriptions of the Angelic, they were quite beautiful, in a too beautiful for reality sort of way.

Overall, and Adrienne does acknowledge this in his profile on Goodreads, the book was dark. A little too dark, and all doom and gloom for me to enjoy.



The book needs another serious edit. There were just too many issues for me to capture as I was reading, but the ones I did notice are below:

7% - ...and seeing at (delete at) it never got easier.
8% - Humand (Humans) saw what they...
19% - ...they were a leaf (in) the wind,
20-58% some incorrect/weird punctuation. Spaces where they shouldn't be. A couple of missing or additional words.
64% - ...and taken (him) into your fold.
67% - ...was to(o) firm in his beliefs.
- But (it) was still suicide...
- ...it was (as) if the entire world...
68% - ...and a battled (delete d) between...
72% - ...Ariel would simple (delete e, add y) cease to...
72%-100% - More of the same. I didn't have my phone with me to capture the ones I saw.

**Note: I was provided an electronic copy of this book in return for an honest review.**

When some people on Goodreads say a book is dark and chilling, graphic or offensive, I usually take that warning with a pinch of salt.

This is one of those books that all readers should heed that warning.

This book contains graphic scenes of an adult nature. It contains rape, abuse and all sorts of sexual content.

But... it also looks at a real issue in our society. What happens when you get put through one of the most horrific ordeals a person can be put through? What happens when your body heals, but your mind does not?

This gripping introduction to a five part series (of which I've purchased already!) will grab you by the throat and, if you can swallow the gut-wrenching story, you'll be hooked.

I want to know what happens between Link and Rocky, how they work together (or won't), if either will heal? Or if they'll spiral out of control together.

Their reactions felt very realistic to me. I can imagine the anger, the pain, the torment. How certain people would cope with it, how others wouldn't. It drew me in, in just 59 pages, and has enticed me to read the rest before I continue with any other reading.

This is what a book should do. Blindside you into finishing the tale, before all else!

Why not 5 stars then?

It came down to me wanting more from this, it piqued my interest (obviously), but it felt a little like it was trying too hard. Trying too hard to be different, unique and out there.

The writing was great, short, sharp and engaging.

The first novella is free on Amazon. Try it today!

Fevers is an in-your-face story about a gadfly of a journalist and his adventures into the Amazon. It's primal and the pages are smeared with blood. It drags the reader, perhaps a little unwillingly, into the jungle too and forces them to watch the events as they unfold.

Certainly not a tale for children, nor those with weak stomachs, Fevers will possibly even make the harder readers wince or retch.

The gore and thrills aside, the story actually started off a little slowly. I get the need to set the scene, but I felt waiting about 50% of the book to get William into the jungle seemed a little excessive. I also felt that once there, some of the scenes that were most important were rushed over to get to the 'juicier' scenes. This annoyed me more than anything, it left me feeling a little cheated and harried to get through the story.

I'm not really sure what the cover has to do with the book, I think something more suitable would draw in more readers. I'd recommend this for readers of gore and thriller detective type books, those who enjoy reading about out there cultures and beliefs or readers of gritty in-your-face adult fiction.

There's a little work that could be done on the writing, some of it reads a little weirdly and there's plenty in there that can be cut. Happily, though, I only found one instance of a typo:

85% - bum, should be burn.