Blaine's Beast by Joel Abernathy

Title: ⟫ Blaine’s Beast

Author: ⟫ Joel Abernathy

Rating: ⟫ 4/5

Blurb: ⟫ It's the coldest night of the year--the kind of cold that sinks its teeth into the bones of anyone unlucky enough to find themselves at nature's mercy. Frostbitten and exhausted after getting kicked out of his home when he came out to his parents, Blaine is about to become the forest's next victim.

But when the howling wolves surrounding him turn out to be a pack of cursed shifters who only want to help the trespasser on their territory, Blaine's bad luck takes a turn for the better. As Blaine begins to uncover the secrets of this strange place straight from a fairy tale, he discovers that its beastly master may be more than he appears...

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Blaine's Beast is a standalone MM Monster Romance retelling of Beauty and the Beast that was previously published under the author's pre-transition pen name as Blaine and the Beast. This story has been rewritten, but the foundations are the same.

Review: ⟫ This was lovely!! I could literally picture it all in my mind and I truly enjoyed it – think Beauty and the Beast but instead of being turned into household objects, the staff are werewolves!

The sex scenes were hot, but the part I liked the most was the growing relationship between the Beast and Blaine; their friendship and the trust that they built. The Beast was expecting Blaine to hate him and be terrified of him – instead he found someone who could look past the exterior to the man beneath. Not only that, he found someone who could love all sides of him which he had never expected.

If you know the Disney movie, you know most of how this story goes, and as such it was a really nice, relaxing read. There was minimal angst and as one of the first books of the new year, this was a good one.

Burning for You by Joel Abernathy

Title: ⟫ Burning for You

Author: ⟫ Joel Abernathy

Blurb: ⟫ Most fallen angels fell for Lucifer.

I fell to save the boy I was created to protect, trading my freedom—and my soul—for his life.

Sterling, the twisted and immortal alchemist who now owns me, is hell-bent on using me as the power source to resurrect his murdered lover. My blood provides enough energy to fuel his dark arts, but as the years wane, he turns to more intimate means that are entirely foreign to me—and his touch ignites a fire within me I wasn't created to discover.

Now that he's nearly bled me down to the last drop and still hasn't succeeded in his blasphemous mission, I should despise him more than ever. And I do. But even though I know it means nothing to a straight man who still yearns for his wife's embrace, the carnal bond our bodies have forged has drawn something far more unforgivable to the surface.

I'm beginning to fall for him.

Author's Note: This is a complete stand-alone MM Romance between a snarky fallen angel and a morally deficient sorcerer that features omega-verse dynamics (no mpreg), bi awakening, smoking hot demons, and extreme enemies-to-lovers dynamics. See author's website for content notes.

Review: ⟫ This felt very much like a story of two different halves. Initially, Sterling was using Cael for his angel-powers, draining him in order to create the necessary spell to get his wife out of Purgatory. It was torture for Cael – not only had he fallen for a human who ultimately proved to be unworthy, but his feeling for Sterling were complicated.

Over the passage of time, Cael’s feelings for Sterling changed, as did he. He was weakening – dying – and his usefulness to Sterling was coming to an end. This was where I felt the book took a turn into a completely different territory, territory I wasn’t expecting but am very much here for. I think if I had read the blurb more fully, I wouldn’t have been as surprised by the shift but I’m actually glad that I didn’t because it enlivened things just as I was beginning to wonder how there could be so much of the story left.

We met Angels, Nephilim, relatives of Sterling’s – and Cael had given in to many human temptations, even as his feelings and need for Sterling remained a constant source of shame, shackles more solid than any contract. There was a change in Cael that could not have been expected, and a shift into a supernatural aspect that I wasn’t expecting and that felt a little incongruous. But it was handled so masterfully, with exposition given skilfully without going overboard.

The storytelling was engrossing – enough depth to immerse without overpowering – and I was happily along for the ride. So much so that I didn’t sleep all night and felt the need to write my review while it was all fresh in my mind.

Out of the cast of characters, I think my favourite was Jay, although Cael came a close second. There was something so vulnerable, so honest about him that even when he was feeling ashamed of himself, he was still a fighter. And his actions in the second half of the book were brilliant – I actually wanted to applaud him!

The writing was crisp, energetic and so different from anything I’ve read of Joel Abernathy’s before but I really enjoyed it. I know it says that it’s a stand-alone, but I would absolutely love to know Jay’s backstory! Very happy to give this 4.5/5 and round it up – an engrossing, entertaining read!

I received an ARC from GRR.

Dark Cravings by Joel Abernathy (Hunters of the Church Book #1)

Title: ⟫ Dark Cravings (Hunters of the Church Book One) 

Author: ⟫ Joel Abernathy 

Rating: ⟫ 4.5/5 

Blurb: ⟫ The hunter will become the hunted… 

I’m a monster. I’ve done things that can’t be undone. Things that can never be forgiven. 

When I saw him, I thought he was an avenging angel who had come to punish my sins. Instead, he captured me and brought me into his world of saints and hunters. Righteous predators who prey on monsters like me, using the power of the cursed blood that runs through our veins. 

I’ll do whatever it takes to become one of them. 

I'll give him my blood, my body, and my soul. 

Whatever it takes to prove to Castor that I can be more than the bloodthirsty beasts he hunts, and stand at his side as his partner. Even if I want to be so much more than that. 

When my sire comes to collect what's his, everything I thought I knew about my monstrous nature is called into question. But it might just explain the dark cravings Castor's touch awakens within me. 

Author's Note: Dark Cravings is the first book in Hunters of the Church, a Dark MM Paranormal Romance series. Each book follows a different couple, but the series should be read in order. Please see the author's website for content notes. 

Review: ⟫ I knew next to nothing about this book when I received the ARC but it grabbed me from the very beginning. 

We meet Eddie, who has effectively been stranded in his werewolf form since he was bitten when he was camping with his family in the woods. He knows pretty much nothing about this new side to himself and has absolutely no control. 

Which is the predicament he finds himself in when he is stuck between two sets of hunters. Being captured in what is known as neutral territory and thrown into a cell, Eddie has zero idea as to how the rest of his life is going to pan out. Much of the story revolves around Eddie learning about his new nature and how to (potentially) control it, all whilst trying to handle his inexplicable attraction to his captor: the beautiful Castor. 

 Castor is determined to see Eddie as a monster/the enemy due to trauma in his past, but yet he finds himself falling under Eddie’s innocent spell, until Castor is helping Eddie through his first rut and things take a sharp turn. 

Eddie loves everything about Castor – to the extent that he will accept pain and humiliation from him because some attention is better than none. Castor is more complicated, and perhaps harder to like because of that. 

The sex between Castor and Eddie is hot, slightly kinky and extremely satisfying to read, and leads very nicely into plot points that pull the story along. 

The other main characters we get are Father Marius and Arrow. Not gonna lie, I am completely and utterly fascinated by Arrow, even whilst thinking he acted like a bit of a dick more than once! 

Book two involves him and I am psyched for it! 

This whole new world of vampires, hunters and werewolves (sorry, shifters) was fascinating and well-written, with new elements that intrigued me and a background that made it all the more interesting. As this is book one, I know it means we have more to look forward to which I am very much pleased about. 

Happily rounding up from a 4.5 to a 5, Joel Abernathy has started a fascinating new series! 

I received an ARC from GRR.