The man he'd been before—the young soldier Luke Buckley,
who'd already been all alone in the world—was gone.
He was only Seraph now.
The monster the military had made him.

Seraph by Lily Mayne

Previous books in the series: Soul Eater * Edin * The Rycke * Gloam * Moth

I’ve already mentally prepared myself to kill the screaming, murderous monster in the cage outside our camp.

I’m used to it. It’s what I do here. Kill monsters and other people. And this monster, Seraph, is particularly unstable—has been since the moment he arrived from Collector Mary’s monster menagerie to the west, where the military stashed him away.

He’s in pain. I can see it. But he’s not a mindless beast. Not like some of the others think.

When I start guarding him in his cage every night, I begin to see the person beneath the agony that tortures his every waking moment. I begin to see who Seraph could have been if he hadn’t been twisted into this monstrous creature.

I realise that I wouldn’t be able to bring myself to kill him, even for his own sake, but it doesn’t matter anyway. He’s already dying, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it. Not even when new visitors at our raider camp bring with them secrets about Seraph. Secrets the military has tried to hide.

Secrets that reveal the true extent of the horror he’s been put through.

And now… Now, I will kill anyone who tries to hurt him again.

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Have tissues and a strong fan ready because Seraph and Lilac were so heartbreaking and explicitly filthy together!

For years, Lilac had isolated himself within the walls of the raider camp. He was the go-to killer of monsters, although his job was getting kinda redundant with all the monsters moving in. He hadn't learned to get close to anyone, though he did consider Rig and Ghost friends. And then Seraph made an appearance and everything changed.

I had an inkling of Seraph's background and I was very sad to realize that I was right. However, I fell in love with the way this author created his story. The pain of his new journey as a monster touched my heart so deeply. The humanity she infused his character with made me smile SO HARD. And what ended up growing, slowly but surely between Seraph and Lilac, was illustrated so beautifully that I'm not sure if I'll ever be the same after witnessing it.

Can I just say... the scenes between Seraph and the other monsters... so freaking sweet. I already loved them, but the tenderness, patience and understanding they showed Seraph made me love them all so much more. I can't wait to see what is next for these monsters and their human mates. Heading to the monster world sounds like it's going to be a trip!

Some gorgeous fanart:

Lily Mayne writes what she loves to read: achingly sweet yet gritty romances against unusual backdrops—dark, futuristic, dystopian and more.

She enjoys reading and writing (duh), cooking and baking, watching terrible horror movies and many other hobbies that would have potentially made her an ideal Victorian maid. Just a really lazy one.

She currently lives in the UK with her husband and several fluffballs, who like to make a lot of noise while she’s writing.

Find out more at lily-mayne.com

Adam spent his life dwelling in darkness and Noah felt like the light.

Unhinged by Onley James

Adam Mulvaney lives a double life. By day, he’s the spoiled youngest son of an eccentric billionaire. By night, he’s an unrepentant killer, one of seven psychopaths raised to right the wrongs of a justice system that keeps failing.

Noah Holt has spent years dreaming of vengeance for the death of his father, but when faced with his killer, he learns a daunting truth he can’t escape. His father was a monster.

Unable to ignore his own surfacing memories, Noah embarks on a quest to find the truth about his childhood with the help of an unlikely ally: the very person who murdered his father. Since their confrontation, Adam is obsessed with Noah, and he wants to help him uncover the answers he seeks, however dark they may be.

The two share a mutual attraction, but, deep down, Noah knows Adam’s not like other boys. Adam can’t love. He wasn’t born that way. But he refuses to let Noah go, and Noah’s not sure he wants him to.

Can Adam prove to Noah that passion, power, and protection are just as good as love?

Find it here: Goodreads * Amazon

My Rating - ★★★★¼

This was one of those times that an Amazon recommendation worked out!

It's not like I haven't seen this author's books make the rounds on my favourite blogs, but for some reason, I kept putting off the effort of trying. My bad because I was really missing out.

Adam is a filthy rich playboy by day, a killing machine at night. He takes out the garbage that the justice system fails to punish.
When Noah comes looking for him to get his revenge, gun pointed at his head in an alley, Adam falls... and falls hard.
Noah had no clue to the truth of his past and Adam tells him everything he needs to know (and a little more).
Traumatized and sick to his soul, Noah doesn't have to heal alone.
He's picked up a stalker.
He's bound to a psychopath who loves him in the only way he knows how.
He's found a forever kind of guy.


I loved the ridiculous and intense dynamic between Noah and Adam. Noah was super sweet, street smart, with a huge heart. Adam didn't have emotions, couldn't process 'normal' behaviour, but he would lay anyone out or lay down his life to keep Noah safe. He wanted to spoil his man and never wanted him to leave his sight. EVER!!

Seriously, who can resist an anti-hero who will KILL THEM ALL while tickling and smooching his man up at the same time? I can't.

Meeting Adam's brothers and his father, seeing how they work out the whole 'meting out justice' job, I'm definitely intrigued. I'll be continuing this series for sure.



Onley James lives in North Carolina with her daughter, her daughter-in-law, son-in-law, and a menagerie of animals, both good and evil. James splits her time between writing m/m romance and mainlining dangerous levels of caffeine and attempting to maintain her ever-slipping sanity.

When not at her desk you can find her whining about how much writing she has to do while avoiding said writing by binge-watching unhealthy amounts of television and doom scrolling on social media. She loves true crime documentaries, anti-heroes, and writing kinky, snarky books about morally gray men who fall in love with other men.

Visit linktr.ee/OnleyJames for more information

What’s a white knight to do when his princess is causing utter havoc leading in mass murder? Go to the famous Black Sorcerer of Grimslock for help, apparently.

What’s a black sorcerer to do when the white knight comes to him for help? Keep him, naturally.

Devan does not approve of this payment plan. Tan does.

Villainy #1

Find it here: Goodreads * Amazon

Diving into the world created for Devan and Tan was a strange delight. These characters cracked me up. For a start, our heroes are set to rescue an entire village from a barbarian rampage. The princess has planned to sacrifice all of the people. Devan has another plan. As her most dedicated, fierce, and loyal knight, he seeks out the black sorcerer for aid. Tan does not disappoint. Throw in some mystical shenanigans, Tan's inappropriateness, Devan's stoicness, and everything in between, I was freaking rolling. Tan begging for cuddles as payment gave me life! I had so much fun reading this book and knew from the first bit that I'd be continuing this series.

Villainy #2

Find it here: Goodreads * Amazon

Still the same creative dynamic in this book. Devan has been tasked with hunting a strange creature in the woods who only hunts adults. It tears their throats out and drains them dry. Sound familiar? When Devan goes up against it, he finds himself swiftly outmatched and in need of help. Who does he call?

Tan couldn't be happier to help Devan, but he's livid that the Princess, once again, shows a lack of concern for everyone's favourite knight. We're introduced to Tan's siblings, who are almost as ridiculous as he is. His sister, Fa, is a hot mess of comedic delights and his brother, Niran, is a necromance unlike any other I've experienced before. I'm serious, these characters are full of fun. Our heroes take on the undead with glee and I was excited to see the deep level of trust developing between Devan and Tan.

Are we one huge step closer to happily ever after? Tan hopes so!!

Villainy #3

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Could these characters be any sweeter? The grumpy/sunshine dynamic between these two is so fun! I'm in love with their every interaction, their banter, and the wacky adventures they find themselves a part of. In this book, Tan and Devan are in search of a magical sword.

I enjoyed the fact that they were in a new town, that Tan was using some new magic, and that Devan was fighting the very endearing temptation right in front of him.

Am I the only one who finds it hilarious how quickly our heroes dispatch the dumdums who think they have what it takes to best them?

There's more hilarity, some action, and Tan couldn't stop flirting to save his life.

When will Devan finally give in?

Villainy #4

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This latest adventure takes Devan and Tan on the high seas. Kinda. Devan's cousin reaches out to him for help because several ships have been capsized and the crews were missing. What is lurking out there?

My biggest takeaway of this book was that Devan and Tan finally consummated their relationship. All of the back and forth, the delicious sexual tension, and absolutely adorable banter brought us to the moment we had all been waiting for... hot sex!

Yes, there was plenty of action and adventure, I was surprised (and strangely excited) to see Tan in a rage, but I was happy to be here for all of it. Especially because Devan finally gave in to what was obviously between them.

Love is in the air people and I can't wait to see how it factors into the stories to come.

Villainy #5

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For this adventure, our heroes don't really have to go anywhere. Tan is determined to fix his past mistakes (The Void), but something goes wrong. He's magically depleted, left unconscious, found by other adventurers, and portalled to the dungeon of Goodwine. It's up to Devan to get him out and he has an ingenous plan to do so. I loved this issue!

Full of more shenanigans, this book showed us how close Devan and Tan had grown, not that it was ever in doubt. Devan is even more pressed to find a solution to having his cake and eating it too. He wants to spend his life with Tan, but he can't abandon his people to the whims of a mad woman. How are they going to make this work?

Well, this author hasn't disappointed me yet with this story, so book 6 is already loaded up!

Villainy #6

Find it here: Goodreads * Amazon

Devan needed to find a way to protect the people from Princess Serenity while being with the love of his life. Tan just wanted whatever made Devan happy and was willing to do any and everything for his man. Somehow they made it work and I loved it!

Both men were their badass selves. The people knew who they wanted to rule and it wasn't Serenity of her father, the king. And I was giddy getting to read all about it!

Honestly, if you like stories about adventure, action, hilarious ridiculousness and tons of love, you need to grab this series up. Devan and Tan, their motley crew of allies, and everything they all experience and do, will keep you entertained!!

Hello hello and welcome to another recap!

Can I tell you how I'm still surprised by how great my reading game is right now? I'm officially out of my book slump and I hope those days don't come around for a long time (if ever)!

July went by so fast for me and I can't believe summer only has one more month. Where did the time go???

Okay, so here's how my July reading went...




There were many standouts and I can't believe I found so many 5-star worthy reads this month!





Aside from books I borrowed from both the library and Kindle Unlimited (and a couple gifted by blogger friends), I've bought nothing!! I'm doing so well with this DON'T YOU DARE BUY ANY MORE BOOKS, NATALIE goal I've set for myself :)

I hope we find only the best reads in August!

Talk soon,

xo, Natalie