Temptation lurks around every corner in worlds sometimes dark, sometimes lurid. Giving in is both dangerous and satisfying, though never in the ways one expects. While these enticements offer a vast range of benefits and boons, the cost is a soul and the devil expects his due. Sometimes suave and charming or calculating and cruel, these devils have schemes and desires of their own. They can be creatures to run away from… or toward.
Join the most unique and celebrated authors of LGBT urban fantasy and paranormal fiction for a fast-paced and unpredictable ride, from a city on the other side of reality, to a world suspended in dusk, to a twisted version of the 1960s and 70s.
Meet devils in top hats and waistcoats, a defrocked motorcycle-riding priest, and a genderfluid antihero—among many more. Full of humor, romance, horror, action, intrigue, and magic, these stories have one common element….
They’re one hell of a good time.
Infernal Affairs by Jordan L. Hawk
Optimist ♰King's Wench♰ - 4 Hearts
Cheeky Fun!
My first experience with this author and I snortled my way through it, but before I knew it I had invested in Ralgath and Chess, too. The author's voice shined through especially with Fluffpaw. Fluffpaw
kinda stole the show for me. Cute widdle pooch.
The suspense element held my interest and kept me rooting for them to find a loophole so they could be together. There was quite a bit of action but the overall theme was lighthearted and fun or maybe tongue in cheek is a better descriptor. There were genuine feelings that were developed between these characters along with mounting chemistry as the story evolved. The ending was super sweet and I *may* have even aww'd aloud.
Peachy - 4 Hearts
This one was a pretty fun read and the “lightest” of the collection. The author knows how to make characters come to life by showing them rather than just describing them and that was pretty important for this story. Ralgath and Chess are very unique and their distinctive voices made their banter fun to read. Ralgath’s demotion to “customer service” and his descriptions of his underworld workplace, as comparable to top side, were pretty amusing. Chess is a treat, they are badass and sentimental at the same time.
I really wanted these two to end up together and find a loophole somehow to make it be a thing. It’s a pretty romantic story actually. The two MC’s are obviously in love and even though they haven’t completely figured it out, it’s obvious to the reader. Fluffpaw is truly the standout here though, I have to say, that hellhound was the absolute best and I was just as invested in her as I was Chess and Ralgath.
Collared by T.A. Moore
Peachy - 5 Hearts
Collared is fascinatingly dark and and takes the reader on one hell of a ride. It’s the kind of story where you know there isn’t going to be any kind of traditional HEA, happiness is relative here, so the scale of satisfaction for the MC’s is completely skewed.
The backstory of Jack, the ex-priest, and Math, his personal demon is doled out in small bits throughout the story, so if you pick this one up and put it down more than a couple of times you’re going to get lost. It’s definitely one to read in one sitting so that you can follow and appreciate the flow of the story and the language.
The world building is top notch and is reminiscent of Derry, Maine where everyone’s favorite clown resides. Everything about the town is just “off” and while an outsider might see the obvious strangeness, the evil itself is able to mask it to the residents, so no one questions why the neighbors have disappeared or why entire blocks of businesses are now shuttered. They just are and people go on with their lives. Questioning things takes its toll, mostly on law enforcement and that’s where Jack comes in. He helps with the cases that don’t have logical answers and takes the burden off those who still have souls.
I was totally sucked into this story and I love when an author can make me care about a character who is completely flawed or born from evil. This is a true halloween story that will make you uncomfortably committed to its outcome.
Counterfeit Viscount by Ginn Hale
Peachy - 4.5 Hearts
I would categorize Counterfeit Viscount as a character driven romance above the plot based action/adventure that took center stage in the first two stories of the anthology. Nimble and Archie are so well crafted and even though the story is told through Archie’s POV, I felt like I knew Nimble just as well as I read him through Archie’s eyes. I was enamored of Nimble as much as Archie was. And even though I didn’t have Nimble’s POV I could see his affections for Archie clear as day (even if Archie couldn’t).
The world building is great and this could be an amazing series if the author ever decided to go that direction. There’s so much to work with as the Prodigal devils venture away from Hell’s Below and begin to live alongside the natural borns. It was a pretty fascinating setup and I would love to read more about it all.
The ending was perfect and gave me some much needed traditional romance after reading Collared, so the balance was perfect.
11:59 by C.S. Poe
Optimist ♰King's Wench♰ - 4 Hearts
The start of this story drew me in immediately what with Asuka falling to his death at 11:59. Asuka is an enforcer in this dystopia (possibly post-apocalyptic?) world that's plagued by nightmares. I don't really understand how this came about but the more the story evolved the less I cared. It's about the journey and the destination rather than the genesis.
The world building was top-notch and I believe heavily influenced by Dante's Inferno, though I've never read it so I couldn't say with certainty. What I liked about it, besides the sumptuous visuals, was that even though Asuka has to go it alone Merrick, through his dedicated bookishness, lent his knowledge to Asuka which played a pivotal role in his successfully navigating the underworld.
The romance between them could've been stronger but it had a lot of ingredients that I liked: age and size difference, ginger protag who is
very persistent, a grump and opposites attract. Side note: I loved that Merrick, though totally impractical, totes around a stack of books. So cute.
Peachy - 4 Hearts
I feel like I keep saying this, and I’m not even sorry a little, but this is another story where the world building is aces. All of these authors are so strong in that regards and it makes for some great atmosphere when the devil is the theme you’re working with.
11:59 brings in some Greek mythology alongside the devil and also makes the city a character in its own right. Dreams can be deadly here as a nightmare can follow its dreamer to the conscious world and turn into a monster of apocalyptic proportions. Asuka sold his soul years ago to save his life so that he could continue to help others. Selling his soul had more consequences than he realized though, he literally couldn’t dream but he also couldn’t dream conceptually and I loved how the author worked that into the story and his character.
Asuka became a shell of a hero, going through the motions of slaughtering monsters but with zero hopes for the future. Until he meets Merrick. Merrick was a delightful bit of sunshine in all the doom and gloom. Asuka didn’t have to have a soul to recognize that and for the first time in a long time, he wants to dream again.
The resolution is very Greco in it’s stylings and I had flashbacks to Clash of the Titans with Asuka as Perseus battling demons to save his world from Hades. The twist is that by slaying the demon Asuka not only saves the mortal world, he saves the underworld as well and restores balance to both. I would have loved more between Asuka and Merrick, but what I did get actually balanced well with the story overall so I have enough to know they are together and in my head got their HEA.
Wonderland City by Rhys Ford
Optimist ♰King's Wench♰ - 5 Hearts
A feast for the imagination!
If you thought Tim Burton's telling of the classic
Alice in Wonderland was freaky, try this on for size. It's really just set in Wonderland rather than a retelling. Ford took liberties to create this lush and vivid landscape to make it uniquely hers. And wonderful. I cannot overstate how incredible the world building is; everything from the pawns uniforms to the usage of magic by the Red Queen was vibrant and folded seamlessly into the narrative rather than being info-dumpy.
Another girl (Naomi) has made her way into Wonderland City accidentally and the devil strikes a bargain with Xander: find her and he'll return his soul. I loved how this world was woven together to include the devil and the soul selling aspect that pervades this anthology as well as his limitations within this Wonderland City. However, retrieving Naomi proves to be a tall order that requires the aid of Xander's trusty pooch, Blue, as well as his ex, Jean Michel.
It's focused primarily on the adventure but the romance snuck up on me and punched me right in the feels. I'm a sucker for second chances and it seems Jean Michel has been biding his time waiting for a chance at not only reconciliation but redemption. Nonetheless, the action sequence at the end was a battle royale! Literally. Somewhat gruesome but so worth it. Every time I turned the page something more awesome was happening!
There wasn't anything I didn't like about this story other than when it ended. If there were to be a continuation, I would be over the moon about that.
Dark Favors by Jordan Castillo Price
Optimist ♰King's Wench♰ - 4.5 Stars
One of my mom's favorite movies is
The Big Chill. If you've never seen it, it's worth a watch if for no other reason than to get some insight into the 60s, 70s and 80s as college friends reunite for a friend's funeral via suicide. Had my mom not
made me watch this repeatedly introduced me to this film I probably would never have known what a quaalude was. But she did so when this story started off in 1961 then jumped to 1979 and JCP threw in a quaalude reference I was feeling smug. Thanks mom! The usage of flashbacks to 1961 did their job in developing Johnny and fleshing him out.
I loved this story not just because of the quaaludes and associated smugness, but because it really built something between Adam and Johnny. I could wax on and on about them but the bottom line is I liked all the intricacies of these two characters and how their differences draw them together and forge a bond against all odds. This was also the sexiest of the stories I read; their chemistry was off the charts!
The concept of the favors and how those affect the Chosen I found very interesting especially when it cropped up at the end, an end which I found not just heartwarming but honest. Were there to be a follow up I would be all over it.
ARCs were provided by the publisher in exchange for honest reviews.
