Guest Review: It's in My Blood - Criminal Delights: Obsession by Sean Azinsalt

Death eventually comes for us all. But what if there’s a way for older people to regain their youth? To stay a step ahead of the grim reaper?

Turning 40 was the last straw for me. It’s practically 60 in gay years and I wasn’t ready for dentures yet, so I came to Youthology — a program that injects clients with blood transfusions from young, fit and healthy donors.

I chose Nick.

Handsome. Masculine. And more importantly, young.

I thought I hit the lottery, until my life started to change for the worst. Not even the top medical experts can explain what happened to me. From the moment Nick’s blood flooded into my veins, I stopped being me, and I became something new; something dangerous and deadly.

I became my donor.

His obsessions are mine now. His darkest desires, his dreams, his needs, and nightmares are all a part of me, and I don’t want to let them go.

I embrace them and the beautiful boy who haunts both of our dreams.

My blood pact was sealed the moment I entered Youthology.

I never thought I’d become a killer.

This book is part of CRIMINAL DELIGHTS. Each novel can be read as a standalone and contains a dark M/M romance.

Warning: These books are for adult readers who enjoy stories where lines between right and wrong get blurry. High heat, twisted and tantalizing, these are not for the fainthearted.

Reviewer: Annery

Sean Azinsalt, is a ‘new to me’ author, who also writes as Shane Morton, and this is Bk.11 in the CRIMINAL DELIGHTS series. I don’t think (I hope) the reading order matters. I haven’t read the others, but I think it’s more of a thematic link, rather than continuing or interconnected stories. The theme being love or rather lust in the dark alleys of the soul. I liked this one.

Mark Edwards is a stereotypical, but no less authentic, NYC gay man. He works as the lifestyle and fashion editor for an online magazine, and though fit and good looking, he’s on the verge of a nervous breakdown because he’s turning 40, which is like 60 in gay years. He’s not wrong, and he’s also endearingly self aware. You can’t hate him. To portray him otherwise, particularly in his line of work, would be false. Rescue, destiny, or a curse, depending on how you look at it, comes via a work assignment. Mark is the research guinea pig for a series of articles, he himself will write, about a company called Youthology which promises to reverse the effects of aging by the transfusion of blood from a young, vital, and healthy person directly into the veins of their clients. As you can imagine things take an unexpected turn.

I liked the author’s grasp on the geography and culture of the city, while also not getting super specific. I liked the interactions between Mark, his friends, and his work colleagues. It helped ground a story that, for some reason, had me both in mind of a vampiric folk tale, cannibalism, and ”Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”.

Even though he has some doubt as to the science of the treatment, Mark proceeds, and at first things are even better than he would’ve hoped for. His energy and vitality are skyrocketing, he’s become a gym rat with the body to prove it, and even his sexual proclivities have changed. Bottom to top. However there are additional, unexpected, and unwelcome changes too. It would seem that Mark is taking on, not only the physical attributes of his ‘donor’, Nick, but also his dark dreams and desires. Nick is not a nice guy. Will Mark remain a nice guy? Define nice. We all do what we deem is right or necessary. Are Mark’s decisions prompted by the alien DNA living in his bloodstream, or where these latent qualities given a nudge by Nick’s blood. Given that Mark was given a choice of picking his ‘donor’, after reading bios and seeing pictures, was his choice of Nick a reasoned one or the call of something deeper? The author doesn’t answer, or even directly ask many this questions, but reading this did prompt them in me along with a light meditation on free will, narcissism, and the different shades of right and wrong. Not a bad way to spend a few hours.

If you came for the smex, it’s here! Brutal, raw, and most of it skirting the edge of bad/wrong, but who am I to say, when it’s what the participants want? There isn’t much romance, this series isn’t about that, though you could argue that the dark roads Mark takes are prompted by love or obsession. To each their own.

***This could use a once over by an editor to fix weird switches in tense and assorted distractions.***

Release Blitz + Giveaway: It's In My Blood (Criminal Delights: Obsession) by Sean Azinsalt

It's In My Blood (Criminal Delights: Obsession) is out! Author Sean Azinsalt and Signal Boost Promotions promote today's release blitz! Learn more about the dark tale and enter in the It's In My Blood ebook giveaway!



Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Universal Link - Exclusive to Amazon and Available to Borrow with Kindle Unlimited

Length: 62,000 words approx.

Cover Design: Natasha Snow

Blurb

Death eventually comes for us all. But what if there’s a way for older people to regain their youth? To stay a step ahead of the grim reaper?


Turning 40 was the last straw for me. It’s practically 60 in gay years and I wasn’t ready for dentures yet, so I came to Youthology — a program that injects clients with blood transfusions from young, fit and healthy donors.


I chose Nick.


Handsome. Masculine. And more importantly, young.


I thought I hit the lottery, until my life started to change for the worst. Not even the top medical experts can explain what happened to me. From the moment Nick’s blood flooded into my veins, I stopped being me, and I became something new; something dangerous and deadly.


I became my donor.


His obsessions are mine now. His darkest desires, his dreams, his needs, and nightmares are all a part of me, and I don’t want to let them go.


I embrace them and the beautiful boy who haunts both of our dreams.


My blood pact was sealed the moment I entered Youthology.


I never thought I’d become a killer.


This book is part of CRIMINAL DELIGHTS. Each novel can be read as a standalone and contains a dark M/M romance.


Warning: These books are for adult readers who enjoy stories where lines between right and wrong get blurry. High heat, twisted and tantalizing, these are not for the fainthearted.

Author Bio


Sean Azinsalt is the pen name for Shane K Morton.


Shane lives in Studio City, CA with his husband Jody and their fur baby Slayer. His first novel, The Trouble With Off-Campus Housing was published in 2016. When not writing, Shane can be found at a film festival or performing cabaret somewhere in a dark dive bar in LA.


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Review: How to Love a Monster by Lyssa Dering

Dying at the hands of government goons was always going to happen. Waking up in a dark and twisted afterlife? Not the plan.

Seraphim has the superhuman ability to control his own brain. Or at least, he used to, before his government-mandated brain surgery. The surgery killed him, but life isn’t over yet. He’s just woken up, shivering and alone, in the rain-soaked alleyway of a city he doesn't recognize.

Fiend is a childhood monster. Dreamed up by Seraphim's friend Wish, he was imprisoned in Wish's subconscious until the birth of Wish City, a place for people with superhuman abilities to take refuge after death. Now Fiend is free—and in charge—and he's on the hunt for anyone with abilities once they cross over.

Eager to play with his new toy, Fiend quickly makes contact with Seraphim. Lost and injured, Seraphim lets Fiend slither into his heart. But under the aching pleasure the two find with each other is a hunger that can't be denied, and lurking in the shadows of the neon city are truths neither man nor monster is ready to face.

How to Love a Monster is a gay erotic horror romance featuring twisted and kinky M/M sex, a diabolical love interest, and an HEA ending.

If you enjoy twisty erotic horror then this is definitely a winner. I absolutely loved how this story started.

It was weird, it had a really cool conceptual world, and the characters fit into this story well.

Seraphim wakes in an alley after an operation he had on his brain to remove his power for controlling his brain (I assume this means his nervous system as he tries to warm himself up immediately upon waking and ends up with a nosebleed). He is a “special”, a person who has paranormal powers, and he has been hunted by the government for as long as he can remember. Now he is in an unknown place and he knows no one. He finds himself in a brothel, taking a drug called Love and a hunger to be filled (with cock).

Fiend is the master of Wish City, and he has his sights set on its newest arrival. More specifically, Sera’s beautiful brain. He is the monster under Wish’s bed, and he eats brains. We don’t really know why at first, but it is an accepted part of him from the start.

I loved how weird this story was. How do you think something like this will end? Will Fiend really eat Sera’s brain or will he somehow overcome his physical hunger for this man he wants to keep? It’s pretty touch and go and fun to imagine either outcome. Their encounters are pretty twisted, and beware rape fantasy, or enjoy, if that’s something you’re into.

Wish City is a pretty cool concept. A being so powerful that he can create an entire dimension with his mind, and bring anyone he wants when they die. Impressive. Too bad the first thing Wish created with his mind is a brain eating monster. But Fiend cannot help how he was made, and he just wants to be a part of something. That’s why he’s keeping Wish sedated and controls the entire city.

For a monster, Fiend is both sweet and disturbing. I’d say he is the perfect monster for a romance.

This ticked all my boxes for erotic horror, except the ending. I was expecting something a little bolder, but I can’t say I was totally disappointed. It had the creepy atmosphere, the misunderstood monster, and the surprisingly kinky captive.

If you’re interested in dipping your toes into this genre, I would definitely recommend this for a first taste, or something fun for those of us who dabble in this genre frequently.

A review copy was provided for an honest opinion.

Tag Team Review: Max by Bey Deckard

Novella (49,000 words)
Genre(s): transgressive, psychopath, dark erotica, QUILTBAG

Fresh out of school, Dr. Crane takes on a new patient who both intrigues and unnerves him. Charming, manipulative, and amoral, Max has exactly the sort of mind Crane finds himself drawn to with fictional characters.

As Max weaves himself into Crane's life, Crane realizes that while fiction might be safe, Max certainly is not.

When the professional line between them thins, who gets to define where one man ends and the other begins?

Sara - 4.5 Hearts

I’ve said it more than once, I’ll read anything as long as it’s written well even if it’s dark, depraved and full of the folks being debased and this book, it’s written brilliantly.

You liked it. I swear. I didn’t push you into anything. You wanted it.

This book is loaded with psycho sexuality, with moral ambiguity, with pure WTAF-ness and I couldn’t get enough. We begin the story with fresh faced and new to the practice, Dr. Dennis Crane with one Max. Crane wants to be the type of professional to be – professional – and yet when Max flirts with the chance to get an upfront and personal look into the workings of his mind, it’s an offer Crane can’t refuse.

I love that Dr. Crane has doubts but he also has the kind of curiosity that could very well kill the cat. That we know what movie and what character gave him the push to be a shrink of the minds and get inside people’s heads. When Max starts to twist things, to make Max want things he’s never wanted before, even I started to wonder…

… the mysteries of the human mind are both multitudinous and rather fascinating,n’est-ce pas, mon cher?

Max is the type of character that always intrigues me. It’s a sick curiosity of the mentally twisted, the master manipulators and how they do it. I mean, to a point a good number of sexual predators and serial killers and a charming skill that lures their victims in and makes them vulnerable. Here, we have Max who uses his own knowledge of psychology, though a bit depraved and turns the tables on the Doc so much that you wonder who really is analyzing whom?

Though certain lines reminded me of movies and/or songs, the lyrics added to the unease of the unknown. At one point, I started to wonder if I was actually enjoying the story or if this was my reader’s version of dub-con. My own hearts filthy lesson at wanting to take a trip to the dark side. The twists in the story are amazing. Just when I thought I knew what was up, I would turn the page. Just when I thought I had a handle on what was the true reality, Crane would snap out of that one into another or he would get a text from someone I should not have forgotten about because, fuck! OMG!

It was madness, but it was a beautiful fucking madness indeed.

There is a soundtrack to go along with the story that, as a professed music nerd, makes it even better. I mean, anyone who can make a playlist with Marc Almond singing about making scenes, being a team and making headlines sound like a dream, is a-fucking-okay in my book but music and books have always been the heart of my life so I love the soundtrack. Listening to it gave the story a cinematic quality reminiscent of some deep and disturbing films that I happen to find, interesting. I have to add a few lines from a song that wasn’t on it though because for me it was on repeat when I would think of how lost or maybe just how found Crane was becoming all because of Max. It’s a bit less, transcending than that on the soundtrack but, for me it’s that deep part of Crane that can’t figure out which side of the looking glass he is on.

Heaven help me for the way I am
Save me from these evil deeds before I get them done
I know tomorrow brings the consequence at hand
But I keep living this day like the next will never come

-“Criminal” by Fiona Apple

Max is a twisted mind fuck of story that will have you guessing and more than likely getting it wrong each and every time. Toward the end I was lost and confused and really stuck with needing to know the truth just like David Mills needed to know what was in that box delivered to the middle of the desert. I needed to know and what I got… man, that end. I almost wish it went darker… yeah, I just said that but at least there is some sort of breathing room now that it’s over and maybe I can leave the dark side and go home too. No? Kay? I have friends on this side anyway and they have snacks.

SheReadsALot - 4.5 Hearts

There was no climbing back out of the rabbit hole; he was fucked and fucked good, but at least the company was interesting.

Down the rabbit hole indeed...

What a twisted, psychological thrilling roller coaster of a ride Max turned out to be.

I'd rather warn potential readers there are triggers in here: rape, dubious consent, unethical practices, cheating, some violence. (A checklist of sorts that guaranteed me reading) And I don't consider this a trigger by any means, but there are readers who don't like vaginas in their fiction *gasp*...whelp, there are few in here (put to good use might I add. I mean it is a Bey Deckard title *grin*) Is Max dark? I don't think so. On a scale from 1-5, maybe 1 or 1.5? It's more a head game...a devious fucking head game.

Lying.

There's oodles and oodles of lies. And I've read this 1.5 times, and I'm trying to figure out where all the truths were.

Set in Montréal, Dr. Dennis Crane is a newly minted psychologist, married and seems to have a normal life. Enter his patient, young Max, who he can tell has a madness in his eyes, that Max is hiding something. But Dr. Crane is drawn to the younger man. Maybe he can diagnose him, fix Max. He doesn't even realize he's been ensnared in the spider's web and Max is running the show.

"Are you afraid of me, Dennis? You shouldn't be. I'm trying my very best to make you understand that I like you. And I'm offering you the very thing you desire the most: me. You know I'm a fine specimen of amorality. I'm giving you the opportunity to look behind the curtain. No holding back."

I believe I've made it known I enjoy reading the cray crays, especially when they're well written. Psychopaths, sociopaths, amoral puppet masters that treat others they encounter as their toys...I enjoy reading them.

This is Max.

He's a level 7 on my scale, 100%.  And I was plugged in for his show. Really enjoyed that twisted fucker.

Reading Dr. Crane lose more of himself to the miasma of the depravity that reeks from Max, and you read it as Crane knows and still can't help himself. *claps hands wildly* That was everything. The story is told in a journal style, from Dr. Crane's POV. Max and Dr. Crane's interactions starts with sessions, and steadily moves from the doctor's practice, taking over Crane's life. A mild mannered man who develops kinks he didn't even know existed. The sex was scorching hot, while the lines between doctor and patient blurred, melded and made new definitions.

"I've opened you up to a whole new range of experiences. Once you get acclimatized, you'll see it the way I do."

I had minor quibbles.  I wanted to know more. What exactly happened during the missing days? There are hints, subtle hints dotted in between the lies. It's a little frustrating not knowing. Maybe there'll be a B-side to Max? Maybe not. Who knows if the world's ready to know what's going on inside that "lizard brain" of Max's. *wink*

The ending is...I'm still a little wide eyed after that ending. I don't know what else to define it other than a little sad, yet fitting.

Recommended for readers who like amoral liars, characters who don't care to define their sexuality and twisted psychological erotica.

Watch your step.

That rabbit hole, man...it's a helluva ride.


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Review: Wes' Denial (Tease and Denial #2) by Joseph Lance Tonlet

Novel: 103,000+ words / 301 pages
Genre(s): Gay, Erotica, BDSM

Please see the complete list of tags below.

Wes has spent his life looking for that one special guy who will understand and love him—all of him. From his tender vanilla side, to his darker debauched side.

Throughout high school, his successful career in the Marines, and as a BDSM Dom, he’s remained confident his partner is out there waiting to be found.

However, several events shake his normally unflappable self–assurance.

And, even after he finds Grif, will his past catch up with him and possibly drive his soul mate away?

Tags: GAY, EROTICA, BDSM, D/s, DEGRADATION, SPH, BITTERSWEET

Holy mother of god! I need a moment to compose myself after that ending!! Phew, what a ride.

So this story is a continuation of Grif’s Toy, but is from Wes’ POV. Sweet, sexy, dominating sadistic Wes….

Much like Grif’s Toy, we visit different points in Wes’ life in a random order. I was happy to see most of the book was set within the time period of Grif and Wes being together. The story starts right where we left off at the end of Grif’s Toy, and follows them over their next two years together. We also get to see Wes when he’s seventeen and first getting an idea of his dominating side, when he’s in his early twenties at boot camp and coming across his more sadistic side, and then when he’s thirty-ish and seeking guidance from a well known Dom, Thomas.

Wes has experienced some pretty terrifying moments in his life and has buried his guilt and shame so deep down that no one, not even Grif is aware of it. I was on the edge of my seat throughout the whole book waiting for the moment he told Grif. That last 15% was super full-on.

The depth of emotions experienced and displayed in this book were just wonderful. I absolutely adore Wes and Grif. The love and connection between these two is so palpable, and it turns what could be an overwhelmingly sadistic love story into a very sweet and romantic one.

They are just as mind-blowingly sexy together as they were in the first book. God Wes is one twisted mother-fucker and I absolutely adore him for it!!

“Your orgasms will always have to be fucking earned. Every. Single. One. Long gone are the days where you were able to take them for granted. Today will be no different. I’m gonna beat you, I’m going to make you scream, and I’m gonna fuck you like I own you— because I do. After all that, I’ll uncage you and start again….”

Oh yes, you read right, there is now a cock cage! And Wes is proud as punch ;-).


There were a few moments that felt a bit rushed. I didn’t really feel any connection between Wes and Thomas, especially not enough to elicit the response Wes had to that particular situation (sorry no spoilers :-P ). It was one of Wes’ more guilt ridden memories and I can see why, as it was fairly terrible and seemed so at odds with who Wes is as a person. I guess I could understand that reaction more if it was someone who he felt as much about as he did Grif, but I just didn’t see that with Thomas.

This can’t be read as a standalone, so if you haven’t read Grif’s Toy definitely read that first. This series won’t be for everyone, it's got far too much sadism/humiliation for people who want a fluffy love story and far too much fluff for people who want a sadistic story, but I absolutely loved the balance. That epilogue though, phew... prepare the tissues! I haven't been able to think of much else in days.

Highly recommended of course.

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Review: (Watch Me) Break You (Run This Town, #1) by Avril Ashton

They’re in a war for control of the streets, but love will be the ultimate prize.

Here comes trouble…

Men. Women. Drugs. Dima Zhirkov’s favorite things. Add in the element of danger and he should be right as rain. But not today. It’s not working, hasn’t for a long time. He’s grasping at the flimsiest of straws to prove he’s indeed strong enough to run his streets. Until he sets eyes on him. In the midst of a room full of strangers, Dima is drawn to a man as cold and dangerous as he’s beautiful. Captivated, Dima embarks on a ruthless campaign to get his new toy into bed.

Here comes the danger…

Xavier “X” Storm is content to pull the strings while someone else handles the day to day dealings of his gang, The Rude Boys. He’s after what Dima holds closest—the Coney Island streets. He contracts out the job of killing the Russian, except Dima isn’t that easy to kill. When he suddenly shows up in X’s path, tempting him to indulge in the dirtiest play, he finds Dima isn’t all that easy to shake, either. His cocky attitude and rough submission tempts X to go where he’d vowed to never return, and they plunge head first into an affair fueled by possessive obsession.

Run for cover

Sex and pain Dima can handle, and X delivers the most depraved kind. Their connection is explosive, their games addictive, but Dima can end it whenever he wishes. He doesn’t see that X is breaking him down, giving Dima everything he wants and even more than he ever thought to need. By the time he realizes who X is and what he wants, Dima is raw and bullet-riddled. It’s run or fight. And Dima doesn’t back down. Neither does X.

Warning: Includes strong BDSM elements, and reference to rape and sexual abuse.

What I'd really like to do is yell at you. Yell at you about this book and why it is deliciously filthy and does not care what you think about it. But I can't do that.

How can you not sing this song with the title and setting? Impossible!

This book hits a LOT of my FUCK YES buttons: kinky, interracial romance, crime, blood, cumeating, raunchiness, Russians, Jamaicans, crazy, possessive main characters that will do anything to get their man back, NYC (that's right - there's more to NYC than Manhattan), rimming, tons of stuff!

Give me a criminal any day in my romance! Glorious. It was smutty and fantab. If I had to describe this book take Avril's Brooklyn Sinners series and Mine by Mary Calmes, let them mate and turn up the intensity, so much that you might need to buy ice for your pants. That's "(Watch Me) Break You"in a nutshell.

Dima is the Russian head of a gang he didn't want but has to run in Brooklyn. He has people trying to kill him from different factions, a rival gang trying to take over his turf and he can't be with the one he wants because he left him. All the alcohol, drugs and orgies can't help fill the emptiness inside him. Until he sets his eye on Xavier/ X whipping another submissive in mid scene at BDSM club. Dima gets what he wants, any means necessary. And this starts the twisty, roller coaster ride of stalk, pain, wild sex, possessiveness and violence.

What a ride!

Is it for everyone? NO! Read the blurb, heed the warning. There are non-con moments. Let me add one more too, if you're a BDSM stickler, this might not be one for you. There is BDSM practiced but it's not textbook or filled with contracts/ negotiations. Kinky? Oh yes, this was. What to expect? Well someone loves the pain - whips, belts, breath play, gun play, dildos and butt plug to name a few. The gangsters are street, not the smooth nice guys. You're getting a loose trigger with Dima and X.

X hides who he is from Dima, the lies and the violence keeps piling up. And the boys get pretty cray-cray over one another. The crazy things we do out of love, huh?

Sometimes it read more like a drama or a script instead of real life characters. The main characters did repeat their sentiments a lot for emphasis but I got the point the first time. And even I questioned one SM scene between X and Dima, you shouldn't practice while in anger. But those two are so damn twisted, I won't harp on it. This author can rock a sex scene, there's no denying that. I still have wafts of steam rising from my body. There is some action, more criminal activity and sometimes the reality suspension button had to be pushed.

Is it dark? I've read some pretty sick and dark things, so my scale might be warped compared to yours. On a scale for 1-5, 1 being the lowest and 5 is the things that will leave your soul scarred, this book is a 3. It's more stalking/crazed/sadistic than dark to me. There are guessable plot twists but you know what, the book is serious hot. If you don't look to deeply and let the flames embrace you from the hotness that is X and Dima, you have one entertaining read.

The story ends with a HEA, where at one point I seriously did not see happening. But it is Avril Ashton, she likes making her boys work from their happy ending. (BK Sinners fans we get a little visit from a Sinners couple!)

CAN'T WAIT FOR THE NEXT BOOK, THE BLURB AT THE END HAS ONLY WHET MY APPETITE FOR MORE!!!!! I will probably need to read it in a freezer with the fire this author's writing can produce. 

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