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.

Review

This book is for you if you are into kinky fae stories with uber controling alpha of yet undetermined species and very strong willed yet sometimes foolish heroines.

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? Read it duh!

I already had the book on my Kindle bought for 0,99 USD and as I had loved the Fae Chronicles I dove right in!
I began last Sunday and… read both books in a row!

I had forgotten how addictive Amelia’s stories are!

Is it faultless or exceptional? No.

When Amelia writes:

” 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! “

She is spot on! Her books are love or hate, roll your eyes or enjoy the ride kind of books.

I thought it had too much sex scenes yet don’t worry the sex is not the main plot or I would have stopped. No with time I like my sex scenes more on the feelings side than sex crazed side. Here if you love steamy wild voyeur long sex scenes you will feel like a kid in a candy store!

Rape also happens in the book and uber dominating alpha will take you pun intended so if you don’t like this well pass your way.

But then you will say, why did I read both books in a row?

For the plot first as Amelia as the knack to unveil the beginning of a secret but without telling too much. Kind of like being sexy but staying classy and not whorish. So I was left in a perpetual state of curiosity and need to know:
– who was Katarina this time?
– what was Lucian?
– who was dark?
-was Joshua really dead like dead dead?
– why did Lucifer want Lena so much?
– why so many demons now?
– what did happen to Helen and Cassidy?
….
I could go on and on but the worse was WTH??? How will I WAIT for the next one? Talk about cliffy!!!

Now as much as I loved Ryder from the Fae Chronicles the jury is still out on Lucian. Time and the next book will tell but so far he is more a@holish than anything else.
Lenna was an interesting character. She was in all shades of grey and I oscillated between compassion, admiration and wanting to throttle her as her sex drive made her make bad choices several time.

Something I really liked was meeting former characters in this story!

Now praise for Amelia and her imagination to invent potions, curses, complicated stories about fractured souls and living vessels (not sure I grasped everything).

Will I read the next one? Of course duh! I have to know!

Have you read these books? Do you think you would be rather “eye roll” or “love”?

Thanks for reading!

Sophie