For months now I entered what my friend Joe@Storey of Stories imagined as brand new meme called “First Impression”.

It’s a meme where you talk about a book that you JUST STARTED! Maybe you’re only two sentences in the book, a chapter or two , maybe a little farther.  The goal is to  give a few impressions and predict what you’ll think by the end.  It will be fun to go back to this post once you’ll have finished the book! Did you think you’d love it and ended up hating it? Or did you think you’d hate it and wound up loving it? Or were you right all along?

This week I have finished the book I will talk about now AND its sequel!

Sorry friends but I could not pause reading this unfinished series! Yet I religiously noted my first impression to share with you today before reviewing tomorrow.

Playing with Monsters by Amelia Hutchins had been recommended by Samantha Thacker on our Facebook Group. When I asked for their “First Impression or First Lines Friday” last week Samantha posted *take the kids away from the screen as it will be hot and dirty 😉  *

“My face ached, and I fumbled on the ground where I’d fallen in the collision. My hands lifted to feel whatever had smashed my face, and touched something thick and soft. I felt it and pushed my hand around it. My sight finally came back as the stars dimmed; I looked at what my hand was holding, and swallowed a gasp that was stuck in my throat.
“That’s mine,” a deep growl resonated, along with a familiar voice.
My eyes darted to the penis in question, which was making its presence known through his slacks, and it was favoring the right. It hadn’t felt like a d!ck; it felt more like a freaking snake! A giant one. I blushed as I backed up, still on the ground, aware that he was watching my clumsy effort to gain some semblance of dignity back.”

So what do you think I did?

Well as I had read the Fae Chronicles by Amelia Hutchins years ago and loved it *Ryyyyyyyyder!!!!* I ordered the first book.

First impression: I find Amelia’s signature back. Intriguing plot, speak of darkness and resisting. You don’t know who has the nightmares, if they are happening to Lena or someone else. When Lena goes back to the coven after having left years ago she meets with a “sex on legs-panty dropping-drool worthy* Uber Alpha male. Bam! Insta lust. One look and she is literally panting after the hottie and letting him kiss her. He all but growls. See now you have this picture of some primal male well that’s Lucian for you.

Lena is really unable to resist him.

Some readers will roll their eyes and stop reading.

Others like me will read further because there is a mystery and some clues smartly distilled here and there. Just to keep us reading!

Synopsis

My coven has remained hidden in the shadows for centuries.
We’ve avoided the ‘real world’ altogether; hiding from monsters and other creatures we share this planet with. We found protection in the Colville National Forest, nestled in a town protected by magical barriers.
Our powers are locked by an ancient curse, one meant to protect us from being found.
Until now.
The past has a way of repeating itself. A new game is beginning. No one is safe.
He’s coming for me.
He’s hunting.
The monster we’ve run from for centuries has found us.
How far will this deadly game go?
How far will I be able to take it, or will he destroy me and everything I care about?
Will the one thing I can’t live without, be the key to destroying and undoing the past?
Or will the past destroy me before I can save the people I love from what I’ve done.

Warning:

About the hero: chances are you may not fall instantly in love with him, that’s because I don’t write men you instantly love; you grow to love them. I don’t believe in instant-love. I write flawed, raw, caveman-like assholes that eventually let you see their redeeming qualities. They are aggressive, assholes, one step above a caveman when we meet them. You may not even like him by the time you finish this book, but I promise you will love him by the end of this series.

About the heroine: There is a chance, that you might think she’s a bit naïve, or weak, but then again who starts out as a badass? Badasses are a product of growth and I am going to put her through hell, and you get to watch her come up swinging every time I knock her on her ass. That’s just how I do things. How she reacts to the set of circumstances she is put through, may not be how you as the reader, or I as the author would react to that same situation. Everyone reacts differently to circumstances and how Magdalena responds to her challenges, is how I see her as a character and as a person.

I don’t write love stories: I write fast paced, knock you on your ass, make you sit on the edge of your seat wondering what happens next books. If you’re looking for cookie cutter romance, this isn’t for you. If you can’t handle the ride, un-buckle your seatbelt and get out of the roller-coaster car now. If not, you’ve been warned. If nothing outlined above bothers you, carry on and enjoy the ride!

Aaand I finished this one and read the second one: Sleeping with Monsters.

Amelia Hutchins is so right with her warning! Now I am VERY FRUSTRATED as there is no release date for the third book!!!!

My prediction was 4 stars.

Last week I talked about A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer. I predicted 4 to 5 stars and …I was right!

The review won’t be posted before January per request of the publishing house but ….JUST READ IT!!!

Now do tell me what your first impression is today?

Thanks for reading!

Sophie