Showing posts with label Best of 2021. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Best of 2021. Show all posts

Review // Pure Destiny by Aja James

September 06, 2021

Pure Destiny by Aja James

He liked the sound of her voice, he realized.
Liked.
The warrior couldn’t recall the last time he felt preference for anything.
He wasn’t programmed to prefer.
To feel.

────── ♔ ──────


Pure Destiny by Aja James

Pure Destiny by Aja James


Pure/Dark Ones #16
Release - February 11, 2021
Genre - Paranormal Romance / second chance
Primarily Dual POV - 3rd person
Heat Level - 5 out of 5 / several scenes
Format/Source - ebook purchased from Amazon
Page Count - 380
Publisher - Indie

Destiny is cruel…

Since the moment they first met, in another life time, another world, Dalair and Sophia could not deny the longings of their heart, their souls, for each other.

But the stars aligned against them, capriciously pushing them together only to heartlessly tear them apart. She was never meant to be his, but he gave all of himself to protect her.

Fate can be rewritten…

Both reawakened to their long buried memories, they fight desperately against the prophesies that shackle them.
Sophia, the first-ever Pure Queen, the reigning queen, and the Destroyer of races, must find a way to save Dalair’s soul before it’s too late.

Dalair, trapped in a body that no longer obeys his will, controlled by thoughts that are not his own, fights to the death to reclaim his soul. And to reclaim, in the process, the only woman he’s ever loved.

But at what cost?

The Pure Ones might have triumphed over one adversary, but the more devious villain remains, continuing to spread chaos and mass destruction. Will Sophia and Dalair overcome the odds and carve a new, better future, or will they succumb to the Darkness? Including the enemy within— him.

Purchase Links

Amazon CA * Amazon US
(free to read with Kindle Unlimited)


My Two Cents

One of my favorite things about this series is that as much as I think I know... I quickly realize there is still so much I need to learn.

These stories about the Pure and Dark Ones have been some of the most brilliant, incredible, and emotional reads I have ever come across. And I'm a pitiful mess right now because as much as I've loved reading these books, I'm devastated that there is only one story left.

Dalair was a man of action.
He proved his loyalty with fists and feet, blood and sweat.
He defended, protected, fought, conquered.
And he loved.
Oh, how passionately he loved!

So much devastating events led to this moment... Dalair is a mind-controlled minion/general of Medusa and company's army. In Pure Requiem, after falling in love with Ere, and realizing that he was giving the good guys a chance to rescue Dalair (and so many other things), I knew that this book was going to be deep. I knew that I was going to watch Sophia struggle with controlling her Destroyer side, struggle with returning Dalair's soul back, and that everyone was going to struggle with Wan'er/Fox Spirit/Lilith. Can this person just die already? I also knew that this author was going to deliver because she has for Fifteen. Other. Books!!

The following are my thoughts, feelings, conclusions, and questions while reading Pure Destiny, so if you want to avoid spoilers — STOP HERE!

────── ♔ ──────


1. I know people are gonna wonder... 'Does Natalie like or love Sophia now?' Hmmm... not really. I don't hate her, so please don't misinterpret this. She can just be a little annoying. And with her inane and repetitive internal monologues/malaise, apocalyptic tantrus, and her tunnel vision, I wasn't sure if the love would come. I didn't think I could ever get over how many times she allowed herself to descend into darkness. She needed to get a grip. Poor Benji had the unfortunate role of trying to bring her back. Benji is meant for greater things! But then there was this...


“If it’s love your soul needs, I will give you all of my love. I have an infinite store, you see. The more I love you, the stronger it grows. It fills me with such desperate sadness and aching joy. If only you would love me back…”

She slowly worked her way into my heart. I loved how devoted she was to Dalair, how hard she was willing to fight for him, and how bright her light could be. So yeah, in the end, I did love her!


2. I thought for sure that Aja James was done turning me inside out, but when Sophia was having her flashbacks to one of her previous incarnations, one I didn't even think about... I was not prepared for this surprise. I was blown away!


... she does have the Gift. One day, I have no doubt that our daughter’s Gift will be more powerful than mine ever was. It is her namesake, after all.” Mama looked at Titi again, and this time, her gaze stayed and held. Dark and glittering. “Yes. Her name. Do you think she will live up to it?” Papa looked at Titi as well, his eyes warm and lit with joy. “She already embodies it, my love,” Papa said. “Ninti—Lady of Life and Light.”

So let me get this straight... Sophia's soul used to be the daughter of the Fox Spirit/Lilith/Wan'er, the daughter of the Pure One who Queen Ashlu made into her Blood Slave, the same Pure One that we know is the father of Ishtar. That means that Sophia is Ishtar's sister. OMG that's crazy! Will this come out or be covered in the next book, seeing as it's the last in the series?


3. Was anyone else strangely turned on when Robot Dalair woke up, like a man on a mission (which he unfortunately was) and effortlessly incapacitated Immortals and humans alike to get to Benji? Dude is so hot!


4. I also can't be the only one who got swept away when Sophia shared her memories of when she first met Dalair (when she was the princess Kira). I loved getting it all from her perspective and how finally... finally... Dalair could believe in her feelings for him.


That part of him had always believed that when she spoke the words “my prince,” she’d been speaking of someone else. But now that he felt what she’d felt, as if he lived the past with her, inside of her, he finally understood the truth. She’d always been speaking of him. No matter the pretense, no matter their circumstance, he had been her prince. He had simply and utterly been hers.

5. And while I have so many other thoughts and feelings about this story, the one that keeps repeating itself right now is this... is Benji the reincarnation of the Pure One that Queen Ashlu stole? With his little blips, like finding Wan'er familiar and sending thoughts to Sophia that ring true to her earliest remembered incarnation, does this mean that his soul was once her father? Meaning his soul is also the father to Ishtar's soul? And will this be revealed in the story to come?


Check out the previous books:








Quick Peek

Dalair unleashed was like…

Sophia’s mind stuttered, as it always did when trying to come up with the right descriptors for her enigmatic warrior. Other males were easy to categorize. Human languages had a broad enough vocabulary to encompass all varieties.

But never Dalair. Not for her.

The essence of him couldn’t be captured by any adjective, or even a thousand adjectives.

He was always more.

More compelling. More magnetic. More addictive. More breathtaking.

He made her feel so much more. He awakened and inspired every part of her.

The modern feminist in her, the Gen-Z self-oriented part of her, felt as if she should rebel against the irresistible draw of him. She should be independent and self-sufficient, shouldn’t she? Whole unto herself. She shouldn’t need anyone else like this. She shouldn’t want to be dominated and protected and taken care of like this.

She was a queen! She was the Destroyer (not that she was proud of it, but still). She was one of the most powerful beings in the universe.

Why should one male matter so much? That she would move heaven and earth to have him by her side?

And yet…

Sophia would never lie to herself. The truth was: she wasn’t fully alive without Dalair. Only with him did she breathe freely, deeply, as if up to this point, she’d been suffocating all along.

He was her air. Her water. He was everything.

Dalair unleashed was like…

A supernova.


About the Author

Aja James just completed the Pure/ Dark Ones paranormal-fantasy romance series in 2020. If you want your heart battered, bruised, shattered and skewered, then put back together in the most glorious ways, check out the series below. Every couple gets an HEA, but they fight like hell for it on the way.

Aja is now working on her new series, Dragon Tails, because dragons are her favorite shifters of all!

Visit https://aja-james.blog/ for more information!

Review // Pure Requiem by Aja James

September 02, 2021

Pure Requiem by Aja James

It’s time I take ownership of my space in the world.
I don’t expect it to be significant; I know I’m not anything special.
But I’m alive.
I exist.
I want to like the real me.
I want others to like me too.
I want my tiny allotment of real estate in the universe to matter.

────── ♔ ──────


Pure Requiem by Aja James

Pure Requiem by Aja James


Pure/Dark Ones #15
Release - November 5, 2020
Genre - Paranormal Romance
Dual POV - 1st person / Ere & Tal
Heat Level - 5 out of 5 / the scenes between Tal and Ishtar were scorchers!
Format/Source - ebook purchased from Amazon
Page Count - 240
Publisher - Indie

Who he was…

The Creature was not always an “it,” a monster and tool for Medusa’s use. Once upon a time, he was a boy, and then a man. He had a name—Erebu. Twice, he sacrificed himself for love. Twice he died and was revived by his Mistress. In the process, he lost his soul and buried the painful memories where no one could find them, least of all him.

Who he is…

Now one of Medusa’s most brilliant henchmen, captured by the Pure Ones yet treated like a friend rather than a foe, the Creature is reminded of the soul he lost, the memories he’d forgotten, and the dream he used to hope for. But first, he must confront the past.

Who he is meant to be…

The Creature realizes that he matters, he has will, even if he is not completely free; that without darkness there is no light, and that darkness can be beautiful too.

When his newfound friends—his family—are threatened, will the Creature find the strength to fight for love? Will he make the right choice and change the course of Destiny?

Purchase Links

Amazon CA * Amazon US
(free to read with Kindle Unlimited)


My Two Cents

If I haven't said it yet, I'll say it now... I love Erebu!

How is this possible?

How did the author make this person into a redeemable hero? Or would he be an anti-hero?

I don't know how it was done. And I don't even care. I LOVE HIM!!

And to top it all off, I got not only Ere... but Pure Requiem gave me more of my beloved Tal!

The following are my thoughts, feelings, and questions about this read. If you don't want to be spoiled, stop here!

1. The Creature, who will now be named Ere (because I refuse to ever call him 'it' again) was as sarcastic, adorable, vulnerable, and particularly loquacious as ever.


2. I found it entirely too sweet when Ere impersonated Inanna to spend time with Tal. How cute was it that Tal knew all along that it was him? And how nice was it that he was so honest with his father, even in disguise?

“There’s a certain symmetry as well as randomness in the lines. It’s actually quite…beautiful, despite the ugliness that created them. When I look at you, I see colors, and the world pales to gray. You’re a work of art, papa.”


and...

And then I saw it: a corner of his mouth slowly curved up in that gorgeous, heart-palpitating squirk. Holy gods, how I love this heroic male with all my twisted, black heart!


3. I love Ere's connection to Benji. I live for every moment of their time together, their banter, their love, and their light.

There he goes with his obsession with cuckoos again. I suppose I aided and abetted this unhealthy fixation with the grim fairytales I’ve been telling him. He’s determined to prove to me how cuckoos are actually beautiful and love-worthy, how the ugliest of them all is destined to mate with a magical golden phoenix of all things. One can never account for a boy’s wayward imagination.

Is Benji seeing the future? The phoenix... that would be The Eagle King right? Is he to be Ere's promise of happiness?


4. How sweet was it when Ere finally saw his true self for the first time?

Huh. I guess I’m genetically blessed with a big, fat ass. Despite the beef jerky imitation that describes the rest of me (except the obscenely plump meat hanging between my legs), my backside doesn’t appear to have gone on the same diet.


5. Why do I want Ere to write me some letters? I'm in love with his love for Dalair. I love how his letters were sweet, vulnerable and honest. I am begging for these two 'brothers' to reunite and find their love and friendship again.


6. How hot was that first scene between Tal and Ishtar? Initially he was tense and reluctant and still averse to her touch. Then he became dominant and exchanged the power with his mate. Is this what he needed to finally overcome the hurdle to their passion? Will they be okay now? And when the heck will he get back his sight???


7. Am I the only one who melted into a sticky puddle over Ere's love and admiration for his parents? I'm a gushy mess!

I stand in front of the bathroom mirror admiring the gorgeousness that sprouts from my scalp. I think it’s my best feature. After all, I got it from Ishtar Anshar, Heaven’s Brightest Star. I cock my head a little in consideration. On second thought, maybe I like my eyes best. Because they’re from Tal-Telal, the General of the Pure Ones. Everything else about my body is probably my own, so I don’t like that as much. But the features that are from…them I absolutely adore.


8. I'm still wondering about the futures of Rhys, Ana, and Adam Morgan. Will there be happy endings for them? I always thought Ana and Adam would hook up.


9. Will I ever get the back stories for Tristan and Ayelet? I want to know who they really are and how they ended up mated.


10. The reconciliation of Ere and Liv almost made me teary-eyed. I know this is fiction, but what are the chances that she was the same girl who gave him a broken heart. They were kids together. She knew him before he ever became The Creature. How cool is it... how far he's come to be able to forgive her?!


11. I would love for someone to tell me why Ishtar is still being referred to as a Dark One when we know that her true father was a Pure One. Doesn't that mean she is half and half? Doesn't that make Inanna and Ere 3/4 Pure and 1/4 Dark?


What I know is this... Ere is still a rascal, but he is definitely redeemed. He's becoming the hero he was always meant to be. After an epic battle scene, it seems he's ready to make a huge sacrifice for his family and friends. Now here I am, ready to start Pure Destiny, and all I can think of, besides my love for these characters, is 🎵 Ding Dong the Witch is Dead 🎵 One down... one to go!

Check out the previous books:







Quick Peek

“He is so beautiful, my love,” she whispers, the salt from her hot tears blending with the light sprinkle of water from the showerhead as it all trickles down my skin, leaving me raw.

“Benji described him accurately—eyes like yours, hair like mine, tall and much too thin. But you wouldn’t believe how his beauty eclipses the gods of old unless you beheld it for yourself.”

I clench my fist against the small of her back and hug her tighter.

I cannot see my son. I do not know if I ever shall. At least I have the memory of Inanna to sustain me. At least I had my daughter for two decades before we were separated. But I have never seen Erebu. My blind eyes throb with visceral pain at the loss.

“I will tell you all about it,” Ishtar adds softly, as if sensing my torment. “Our son truly cannot be described as anything but beautiful. He is all male, but there is a feline, delicate grace about him. I do not think it’s because of his thinness. It’s his inherent gentleness and playfulness. He might display his prickly, irreverent wit to the world, but he’s terribly sensitive inside. And gravely hurt.”

She sniffs, and I take a deep breath, both of us gathering ourselves out of sorrow, focusing on joy.

And hope. Always hope.

“Often, he makes scornful, self-deprecating comments,” she continues in that soothing, low voice, “partly to fend off harsher words from others that he seems to expect as his due, and partly because he truly believes them himself. He has so much light within him that it shines through whenever he looks upon Benji. Yet, so much darkness as well, focused inward. And because of this, not in spite of it, he is exquisitely, painfully beautiful. Endlessly fascinating, multi-faceted like the kaleidoscopic fragments of light filtered through the most perfect diamond.”


About the Author

Aja James just completed the Pure/ Dark Ones paranormal-fantasy romance series in 2020. If you want your heart battered, bruised, shattered and skewered, then put back together in the most glorious ways, check out the series below. Every couple gets an HEA, but they fight like hell for it on the way.

Aja is now working on her new series, Dragon Tails, because dragons are her favorite shifters of all!

Visit https://aja-james.blog/ for more information!

Review // Dark Possession by Aja James

August 30, 2021

Dark Possession by Aja James

Ever since he laid eyes on Eveline Marceau, Ramses wanted to possess her. Inside and out.
He wanted to own every fiber of her being.


────── ♔ ──────


Dark Possession by Aja James

Dark Possession by Aja James


Pure/Dark Ones #14
Release - August 1, 2020
Genre - Paranormal Romance
Primarily Dual POV - 3rd person
Heat Level - kinda slow burn - 4 out of 5 - several scenes
Format/Source - ebook borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Page Count - 266
Publisher - Indie

Alend Ramses is not who he seems…

The first-ever Dark King, the most powerful vampire ruler in the world, was once the lowest of the low. A slave who became a Consort who became a King…he’s lived long enough to learn from his mistakes and never repeat them.

Or has he?

Eveline Marceau knows a lot…

The Pure Ones’ Seer and Scribe is an intellectual female with hidden depths, which no male across time has come close to uncovering. She is certain that Ramses is no different; she knows what she wants, and he is exactly opposite.

But she doesn’t know everything.

Their paths cross unexpectedly…

Pulled into the Dark Ones’ dizzying world of intrigue, violence and mayhem, the meek little “librarian” shows her steely backbone and holds her own. By all appearances, she is one of the Dark King’s possessions, a symbol and portent for a potential future as tensions between the Dark Ones and their enemies run high.

Appearances can be deceiving.

Can Eveline work with Ramses to steer Destiny in the right direction, or will history once again repeat itself toward a bloody, oppressive end?

Purchase Links

Amazon CA * Amazon US
(free to read with Kindle Unlimited)


My Two Cents

Once again, Aja James gave me an honorable, broken hero to sink my teeth into. Had me feeling like fighting Eveline for the privilege!

Matter of fact, Eveline wasn't doing bad herself. I absolutely adored the way she transformed once she met Ramses. Dark Possession a.k.a. The Evolution of Eveline was a sensually frustrating masterpiece.

Honestly, I found so much to love about this book... like the way Eveline was mesmerized by Ramses and his #phallus elephantas.

She had the almost irresistible urge to rub her face in his inviting crotch.

Could crotches be inviting? Apparently, Ramses’ was.

Unconsciously, Eveline licked her dry lips at the sight.

She was so, so starved.

“Thirsty?” He asked solicitously in that sinful, dark chocolate voice.

She swallowed with an audible gulp.

His chest seemed to shake, and if Eveline was paying attention to anything above his waistline, she would have seen that it was shaking with barely suppressed amusement.

“Hungry?”

He was taunting her. Some self-preserving part of her brain just knew that he was.

Right on cue, his penis bobbed and pulsed again, squeezing out more clear fluid, the fat, juicy head with its winking slit looking directly at her. (If penises could look, that was).

As if to say, come take a good long suck. Eat my cream until you’re full to bursting. I’ll satisfy all of your most wanton and depraved appetites.


Can these two be more delicious together?!

I loved that although this book heavily featured Ramses and Eveline, there was still something about their story that fed into the subplot that has been building throughout this entire series. For example, I need more information about The Eagle King. I was hoping that he and Ramses would finally have the conversation that seemed to be so necessary, but no. I want them to confront Ramses' regret over their first encounter when he turned his back on his own kind. I wanted the Eagle to share their origins and their bond. I want all of these beings to finally unite so that Medusa and Wan'er don't stand a chance.

If I didn't already not care a dang lick about Queen Ashlu before, this book... getting Ramses story... seeing how she used, abused, and manipulated him... I definitely hate her now.

When he was smaller, she used to sift her fingers through his ebony curls while she hugged him to her bosom as a loving mother would. She doted on him and carved time out of every day to spend with him. Playing, dreaming, making him laugh, feeding him food and drink from her own hands.

Was it any wonder that he loved her unconditionally? His beautiful, magical Dark Queen.

He never suspected that it was all pretense.


Good thing she's dead.

I did think that it took far too long for Ramses to wise up to who Queen Ashlu truly was. At times, I thought it made him pathetic. But then I remembered she had him since he was a baby. So it wasn't beyond the realm of possibility that he would have a blindspot when it came to her. However, to die at the age of 11 as a Pure One because he gave himself to her when she didn't love him back (thanks Decline), to be reborn as a Dark One and rededicate himself to the same person who didn't love him... He took to long to walk away.

Although Ramses was disgusted and repulsed by having sex in order to expedite negotations between the houses, I'm so glad that Eveline quickly stepped up to sabotage his efforts. That entire scene where she cursed one of the vampire queens was hilarious. Like her, I didn't understand why he put himself through it all. He was a fearless leader. Feared and respected. It just wasn't necessary and it was gross and I'm just thrilled that I didn't have to go through seeing anything yucky.

After all these millennia, Eveline found him.

Though she, too, hadn’t been searching.

They’d found each other.

They’d come home.


I don't know what the mating of Eveline and Ramses means for the two houses. Will the Cove and the Shield finally operate as one unit? It would be smart, no? Will Ramses and The Eagle King have 'the talk'? Will The Eagle King feature in a big way in the story to come? And when the heck will Medusa and Wan'er finally die? They will die, right?!

I'm full of questions and curiosity and the only solution is to keep reading and falling in love with all of these characters, the author's writing, and the beautiful story that is too quickly coming to an end.

Oh, and what does this prophecy mean?

A queen becomes Queen

A slave becomes Mate

A King falls in flames

A winner loses in games

A queen gives way

A Mate displaced

A Champion reborn

A King transformed

A stone heart in fire

A soul dances higher

When True Love reveals

And old wounds heal.


Check out the previous books:







Quick Peek

“Which part of me do you want to possess the most?” he rasped into her ear, softly biting the tender lobe.

“Which part of me do you hunger for the most?”

Her busy little hands gave his buttocks a hard, thorough squeeze before curving around his hips to grasp his manhood through his trousers in one fist while the other took a firm hold of his balls.

He shuddered against her and ground into her grip, fucking her hand in short bursts until his pre-cum leaked profusely from the head, wetting her palm even through the confining fabric.

“This?”

He knew without a doubt that she craved his sex, but he still wanted to hear her say it.

“Yes,” she breathed, squeezing him tightly with both hands, making him see stars.

At the same time, he was afraid. Females the world over wanted him. It was the primal maleness of him, the elemental strength and power. Ashlu had wanted him for the same reason, and he’d used her sexual desire to bind her to him.

But with Eveline, he wanted her to want more from him. To want him the way he wanted her.

Loved her.

He bit back a helpless groan at the truth of it. He loved her completely. Utterly.

He loved the way she stood up to him, since the first moment they met. She always held her ground, not giving him an inch. He loved the way she focused on her work, how she truly enjoyed and was inspired by her role amongst the immortals.

He loved the way she became doggedly obsessed when she wanted something, how despite being an imminently logical, intellectual female, she also had a fiery, implacable temper, a possessive, jealous streak as wide as the Nile. He even loved the quirky nicknames she thought up to call him in retaliation for his calling her “little sprite.”

Most of all, he loved her passionate heart, her courage and loyalty, how she didn’t hesitate to go after him, and to try to help a complete stranger in the eagle king, even after he abducted her.

This depth of feeling obliterated everything he thought he knew. The closest he’d felt to this before was merely obsession.

This…

This was irrevocable, permanent possession. His body stilled against her, though tremors of a different kind racked him. Doubt. Vulnerability. Surrender.

And undiluted, all-consuming love.


About the Author

Aja James just completed the Pure/ Dark Ones paranormal-fantasy romance series in 2020. If you want your heart battered, bruised, shattered and skewered, then put back together in the most glorious ways, check out the series below. Every couple gets an HEA, but they fight like hell for it on the way.

Aja is now working on her new series, Dragon Tails, because dragons are her favorite shifters of all!

Visit https://aja-james.blog/ for more information!

Review // Pure Darkness by Aja James

August 29, 2021

Pure Darkness by Aja James

The thing about pain is that your body gets inured to it after a while.
Your mind becomes numb.
Same with shame.
But the soul… The soul absorbs it all.


────── ♔ ──────


Pure Darkness by Aja James

Pure Darkness by Aja James


Pure/Dark Ones #13
Release - May 1, 2020
Genre - Paranormal Romance
Single POV - hero? It's The Creature's voice
Heat Level - 4 out of 5 when it happened
Format/Source - ebook borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Page Count - 170
Publisher - Indie

We are who we are…

For as long as it can remember, it has been known as the Creature. Neither he nor she, neither Pure nor Dark…a beautiful abomination to all races and Kinds. A faithful henchman of the evil Medusa, it has perpetrated dark deeds beyond redemption, even if its own hands have never directly taken a life.

We are who we’re made…

Once upon a time, the Creature was conceived in love, a True Love that endured across millennia of trials and tribulations. Its parents have never given up hope that they would one day recover their lost son. And, too, the Creature was not always as it is now. But circumstances shriveled its heart and suffocated its soul, forging a being who cares about nothing and no one—

Until now.

**WARNING: EXPLICIT DARK CONTENT INCLUDED.**

This is not a romance. But it is a story about love.

Purchase Links

Amazon CA * Amazon US
(free to read with Kindle Unlimited)


My Two Cents

This book... if there was any doubt about the creative genius that is Aja James... this book is proof!

Who knew that The Creature, the one person who was like an evil puppeteer, manipulating events and causing death and mayhem to my peeps... Who knew that I would have such empathy for him?

I'm in love with how in love he is with his son.

Benjamin doesn’t let me get away with anything. It’s like he sees right through me. Or into me. Like he can see straight into my black, ugly, twisted soul.


OMG and his hero worship of Tal. My sweet, broken, beautiful Tal. With me knowing he's his father and him being totally ignorant... I think it made it all the sweeter!

I don’t know why I ever thought the male less than resplendently magnificent. Yes, he has more scars than skin. Yes, he’s blind and stripped of his Gift. But he’s the fucking Tal-Telal! Lack of empathy doesn’t mean I can’t admire. That’s what people do with legends. He practically oozes confidence, strength, leadership, determination, and pure sexual maleness out of every pore. If I were an unrelated female between the age of sixteen and six hundred, I’d do him. And I don’t even like sex!


Okay, maybe not the whole 'I'd do my father bit', but I'll give him the out because he doesn't know!

And then Tal's emotional response to the son he never knew he had, but loves so deeply anyway...

“Because you are mine to protect,” he says in that low, husky voice, his words sending me staggering, even though my physical self has not moved. “I was unable to do it in the past. I did not know about…you. I know now. I will protect you, Binu. I will always protect you.”


I love The Creature's sarcasm and wit. I love how broken he is and how it drove him to make certain decisions. I wish there was a way to brutally punish every person who ever treated this male unkindly. The horrors he suffered through, the betrayals, abuses, and pains... he deserves some form of vengeance... of justice. Poor thing!

Don't even get me started on how this male connected with Dalair. His feelings were felt. Strongly. At times I didn't know whether I was supposed to laugh or cry. My heart completely broke for him... again. This dude couldn't catch a dang break!

Over the years, Dalair and I grew unbearably close. Unbearably, because I didn’t know how I was ever to survive when this fantasy ended. When I lost my only friend and brother.


and...

Since I’d been reborn as the Mistress’s Creature, I’d never met another living being who impressed me more than Dalair.


and...

Please, almighty gods that be, don’t let anything happen to my heart and my light. I needed them in my life the way I needed air. It might have started in pretense, but the feelings I felt for Dalair and Kira were more real than anything else across the entirety of my existence. They made me feel alive. They gave my life meaning. I loved them, I loved them, I loved them!


I'm not saying I'm loving The Creature, but I'm definitely feeling him. I've always liked him and wanted to know more about him and now that I do... I can see myself falling for him. I'm a sucker for broken males and they don't come in more pieces than this one. I hope the Pure Ones can get through to him (if they finally reveal his truth) and that he switches sides. F-ck Medusa!

Check out the previous books:






About the Author

Aja James just completed the Pure/ Dark Ones paranormal-fantasy romance series in 2020. If you want your heart battered, bruised, shattered and skewered, then put back together in the most glorious ways, check out the series below. Every couple gets an HEA, but they fight like hell for it on the way.

Aja is now working on her new series, Dragon Tails, because dragons are her favorite shifters of all!

Visit https://aja-james.blog/ for more information!