Tag Archives: self published

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Book Review: The Hunted Mate, by Darcy Dahlia

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Here we are in 2024, and my first read was Darcy Dahlia‘s The Hunted Mate. I picked it up as an Amazon freebie back in September 2023. I think there was some sort of horror stuff-your-kindle sort of event.
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The only thing I want is revenge. I just never counted on the monster that wants me.

The ocean’s seemingly endless depths call to me, tempt me not to surface. I want to obey, to push myself until it’s too late to turn back. For years, I’ve fought the call. But when an accident claims my mentor’s life my resolve weakens. Only my anger keeps my feet on firm ground.

The only thing stronger than my grief is my hatred for the man that so casually takes her place.

Jack Hunter.

He erases her memory and no dares to stop him.

I will.

The only thing that can stop my quest for revenge is the monster. When I’m trapped on the beach alone with it I have to admit it’s real. A thing that isn’t just shadows. It’s something that is real, and hungry for me.

Now I’m a woman hunted by something I don’t understand and as much as I want to get away from Jack, I’m drawn to him. Hungry for him.

It’s no longer a matter of revenge, but survival of both my body and heart.

my review

This was a fine—if rambly—read. Often, when I give such vague praise, it’s because I didn’t like the book but can’t explain why. That’s not the case here. I generally liked the book. But I also quibble with both the description (which is accurate but also gives all the wrong impressions) and its categorization of gothic romance. Personally, I would call this light horror. Just because two individuals have sex and eventually become mates does not necessarily make it a romance. I, for example, would not call the ending a happy one. And that is a must for a romance novel.

This paragraph is a spoiler: While on paper, the female character is happy to be mated to Jack at the end, she had been magically coerced and biologically adapted to be so. It is very clear throughout the story that this was not something she knew would happen or wanted. In fact, she was horrified and tries to escape. The fact that she failed and, thus, the transformation was successful was not a good thing for her autonomy. Let’s compare it to brainwashing. If she had been forcefully brainwashed into accepting something that she fundamentally did not want, would we call that a happy ending? I consider free will essential to happiness, so I would not. Thus, this cannot be called a romance, in my opinion (not even dark romance). Others may disagree. But that is where I am.

Further, the fact that she (as a whole person) was handed over to a man as a reward makes me angry. This is such an old trope—going all the way back to the texts of the ‘religions of the book.’ I hate it more than I can speak because it literally treats women as objects to be exchanged and owned. Have we not progressed past this? Dahlia really leans into it in this book, especially in the sex scene, which is, at best, dub-con. I would call it violent non-con myself. I disliked it. I honestly think the book would have been significantly better without the ‘you’ve been given to me’ element. The plot could have the hunted mate photoremained largely unchanged without it, a sure sign it wasn’t really needed.

In the end, I quibble with the categorization. But as light horror, it’s pretty good. (If I read more horror, I could probably say which horror subgenre to put it in—probably gothic—but I don’t read much horror. So, I’m going to stick with light horror as a hand-wavey descriptor.) I’d read more of Dahlia’s writing.

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Book Review: The Prince of Crows, by Vil N. Vile

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I picked up a freebie copy of Vil N. Vile‘s The Prince of Crows on Amazon.

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When Emra Lunaras is chosen for the Harvest, she goes without a fight. Her life in Ronan isn’t anything exceptional. The chance to cross the Veil and explore the Fae world, though most likely a death sentence, is better than staying put. What she finds there is nothing she could have ever imagined, though. Four Fae, appearing in various monstrous forms, keep her guarded in the Prince of Crow’s magical Manor. Expecting them to tire of her and eventually eat her heart, she is on constant alert. But it becomes clear pretty quickly that not everything is as it seems, and she might be their only chance at survival. And their salvation.

my review

Meh, this started out well enough with a bit of worldbuilding and character introduction. Then it all kind of fell apart or rather fell to the wayside. None of the little bit of worldbuilding turned out to be relevant, and the characters introduced were quickly dropped, never to be seen again. Once Emra crosses the veil, the book basically starts anew with different characters.

Still, I thought this second take might turn out to be a fun read. It, too, started out well. But unfortunately, that did not last long. Now, I expected the book to be smutty. But the smut started abruptly and wasn’t at all stitched into the plot, and it was overly mechanical. Thus, it was not particularly engaging. Plus, the whole thing was just kind of predictable and bland.

All in all, I’ll pass on more of the series.

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Book Review: In Her Thrall, by Chloe Parker

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I picked up a copy of Chloe Parker‘s In her Thrall as an Amazon freebie, over the summer.
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Rumor has it there’s a beautiful beast stalking the English countryside.

For hundreds of years, the Van Helsing family has searched for the creature Dracula, a demon of the night that stalks the shadows for hapless prey. Freshly returned from service in the Great War, Van Helsing heir Jonathan Edgewood finds himself in the English countryside on a hunch that the creature has taken a new form: the Lady of Harker Heights, Bianca Ivyshade.

Each year on All Hollow’s Eve, Bianca hosts an extravagant ball, and Jonathan has landed an invitation. He brings with him two other vampire hunters and his Great War compatriots: shy scientist Marcus Ryder and charming occultist Edward Shelley.

When a storm confines the guests to the manor for the night, Jonathan, Marcus, and Edward find themselves irresistibly drawn to the beautiful Bianca. And they soon learn that there are secrets hidden at Harker Heights—and perhaps even a greater evil than the vampiress herself.

Will the men escape with their lives? Or will they fall under the vampire’s thrall?

my review

To begin with, the blurb is a little inaccurate about the setup of the plot of the book. While not devastatingly important, it is annoying. So, I figured I’d mention it.

More importantly, this is mostly smut, with just enough plot to string it all together in some sort of context. That’s not a criticism; just making sure we’re on the same page about what sort of book this is. It’s pretty good for what it is, too. The villain (and thus the challenge that gave the book what little plot it has) is pretty cliched; nothing new, original, or interesting there. The same could be said for Bianca. She challenges none of the norms for female characters of her ilk. But I liked her well enough.

I found Jon, Marcus, and Edward interesting. Perhaps not particularly well-developed since the book isn’t deep enough to allow for it. But I enjoyed them all the same. There is sword-crossing and a genuine pre-existing relationship between two of the men, and I liked that. However, by the end of the book, the relationship configuration felt like two couples who overlap rather than one polycule, which is perhaps a little disappointing. But, again, enjoyable enough.

I have book two of this series, which I intend to read. And honestly, the fact that I’m willing to continue the series says more about the book than any of the above.

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