Author: ⟫ Nicholas Bella
Blurb: ⟫ Officer, Brian Cordero, didn't expect his life to be flipped upside down the day Raphael Ledeo sped past his patrol car in an Aston Martin. It was supposed to be a routine patrol stop, but the moment their fingers touched, his fate was sealed. He'd been chosen as Raphael's mate unbeknownst to him.
Now human no longer after he and Raphael bond, Brian has to figure out how to navigate life as a powerful demon. And that's just the beginning of his troubles. He discovers that there are eight gates to hell, and one of them – the worst one – is open, and a secret demon-hunting organization needs his help to close it. If that wasn't enough on his plate, his attraction to Raphael grows more intense the longer he tries to deny it. Brian considers himself straight, after all, and Raphael has been the only man he's been with.
But can he deny his desires any longer or will he have to finally admit his feelings for Raphael?
Reader Advisory: This book is filled with sarcastic demons, devilish charm, enough steam to fog up all of the windows in your home or car. And a plot that will keep you engaged until you finish the last page. 18 and older. Content may be sensitive to some readers. Discretion is advised.
Review: ⟫ I went into this story vaguely aware that some people found there were problematic issues with the mating of the two MCs, and the warnings that content might be sensitive to readers. I wasn’t expecting the straight up rape up scene that I read. I must admit, that threw me quite a bit – I’ve read dub-con and non-con, but this was just – nope. I think that the warnings given need to be clearer as they are too euphemistic for what actually happened on page.
The main character, Brian, was horrible – as in, I couldn’t find a single redeeming quality about him. He blundered around, getting himself into all kinds of trouble with secret societies and demon royalty with the subtlety of a dumper truck. He whined, constantly. His attitude towards women was abhorrent, and I was barely 30% of the way through the story before I decided that I really couldn’t give two sh1ts what happened to him. He was a complete dumbass.
Raphael was one-dimensional at best, and you would think considering his age, he might have handled things better. He was barely on page (mainly because Brian was such a dumbass but I digress), but when he was there, it was all about how pretty he was whilst he acted like a complete AH.
I was actually intrigued by the idea of the gates of hell, working to close them as well as secret societies and all sorts of demons, but it just wasn’t there. It was all about how powerful Brian’s demon was (told, not shown), him eating souls and sex. That was it. I know it was episode one, but there was pretty much nothing here that made me want to go back for episode two. I have read other Nicholas Bella books and enjoyed them, so I was a little disappointed in this one. I didn’t even find the story that dark – perhaps all of that will come in further episodes when it gets more into the demon gates? Or maybe I’m just a bit too dark in myself!
2.5/5 from me.
