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Darkmourn Universe #3
Alpha of Mortal Flesh
From the bestselling author, Ben Alderson comes a fantastical and spicy reimagining of the Red Riding Hood tale. Alpha of Mortal Flesh is a stand alone in the Darkmourn Universe.
Witch. To Darkmourn, Rhory Coleman is married to the Head of the Crimson Guard - when in reality, his husband is nothing but a monster. Since his mother was brutally murdered by rogue vampires, and his father died of a broken mind - Rhory was left in the hands of someone who was supposed to love him. Someone who vowed to protect him actually threatens his existence with every breath. Rhory must hide his innate powers alongside the bruises left by the hand of his husband. Until everything changes when a mysterious summons requests Rhory's 'unique talent'. He finds himself standing before a paranormal threat, one unlike anything Darkmourn has seen before.
Wolf. Calix Grey is a monster. Everything has been taken from him. His brother, his parents, his heart. He has nothing left to fight for - until fate comes knocking on his door. He believes Rhory Coleman is the key to ensure his brother is returned home - but is the price to pay worth the pain? After years of peace between the mortal and immortals of Darkmourn - the Crimson Guard are corrupted by those who are clouded by dark pasts. Murders are left unsolved. Family secrets are tangled in a web of iron. And it will take those who lost everything to discover their truth. Even if that means unleashing a dangerous creature into the streets of their home.
Although this book is set in the Darkmourn Universe, you can read it in any order although recommended in publication date.
Witch. To Darkmourn, Rhory Coleman is married to the Head of the Crimson Guard - when in reality, his husband is nothing but a monster. Since his mother was brutally murdered by rogue vampires, and his father died of a broken mind - Rhory was left in the hands of someone who was supposed to love him. Someone who vowed to protect him actually threatens his existence with every breath. Rhory must hide his innate powers alongside the bruises left by the hand of his husband. Until everything changes when a mysterious summons requests Rhory's 'unique talent'. He finds himself standing before a paranormal threat, one unlike anything Darkmourn has seen before.
Wolf. Calix Grey is a monster. Everything has been taken from him. His brother, his parents, his heart. He has nothing left to fight for - until fate comes knocking on his door. He believes Rhory Coleman is the key to ensure his brother is returned home - but is the price to pay worth the pain? After years of peace between the mortal and immortals of Darkmourn - the Crimson Guard are corrupted by those who are clouded by dark pasts. Murders are left unsolved. Family secrets are tangled in a web of iron. And it will take those who lost everything to discover their truth. Even if that means unleashing a dangerous creature into the streets of their home.
Although this book is set in the Darkmourn Universe, you can read it in any order although recommended in publication date.
520 pages, Paperback
First published April 29, 2023
309 people are currently reading
3899 people want to read
About the author
Ben Alderson
33 books14.4k followersBen Alderson is a #1 Amazon bestselling author. His stories are set in fantasy worlds filled with magic, adventure and MM romance. Ben lives in Oxfordshire and, when not writing, can be found reading, taking Winston - his Labrador - out for long walks, or obsessing over Marvel’s The Scarlet Witch.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 252 reviews
July 22, 2023
cool plot twists, but writing and characters are just “meh”.
May 18, 2023
Rory my child I want to wrap you in blankets and protect you from all evil. Calix babygirl never did anything wrong.
It was incredible to see the origins of the wolves in this universe, just as we got a glimpse as to how vampires were created in book 1. Not gonna lie, wish Eamon's death had been longer and more excruciating and detailed in gore, that bastard deserved much much worse.
I'm sad we didn't get to see Arlo and Faenir in this one, but I'm curious as to why they haven't returned to Darkmourn after the convenant, and also where Jak is storing all his witches.
Although I enjoyed this read, King of Immortal Tithe is still my favourite of the series. Let's see if book 4 manages to change that.
Thank you Ben for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review. Sorry it took me this long.
It was incredible to see the origins of the wolves in this universe, just as we got a glimpse as to how vampires were created in book 1. Not gonna lie, wish Eamon's death had been longer and more excruciating and detailed in gore, that bastard deserved much much worse.
I'm sad we didn't get to see Arlo and Faenir in this one, but I'm curious as to why they haven't returned to Darkmourn after the convenant, and also where Jak is storing all his witches.
Although I enjoyed this read, King of Immortal Tithe is still my favourite of the series. Let's see if book 4 manages to change that.
Thank you Ben for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review. Sorry it took me this long.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 16, 2023
God these two were insufferable. This book was also like 150 pages too long. The other couples atleast had some charm to them but i just didn't care about these two. I was really entertained up to the like 50% mark but after that it was really dull and dragged on so long. I just wanted it to be done with when it turned out Rhory had had his memories erased. 2.5 stars.
February 6, 2024
finished it, at what cost? if i can give this a 0 star i would.
i thought book #1 was mediocre, and book #2 was a colossal mess, but i really wanted to give the author and this series one more try, because he seems like such a sweet dude just having fun writing fantasy.
no. don't read this one. this was somehow worse than #2. oh and how.
- the usual: grammar, wording choice, dissonance of logic and facts between scenes, and just to make it worse, there are even sprinkles of modern slang in a high fantasy skin ("It seemed autumn had awoken today and chosen war." that was the exact quote that started a chapter like please be so fr with me right now. the word 'radar' was used at one point. your characters don't know what that is! death, the entity, was described to be 'on a white horse' like ahaha you're very subtle.)
- author's writing style remains the same as ever - i'm not being mean, the style is a very common gripe amongst reviewers, just go check the 2* and 1* ones in the previous books - and the passive voice kills me inside because how can i expect to feel tension or care for these characters when they themselves talk about whatever happened to and around them so detachedly? like brother you can't write "Although I had not long woken, I beheld a deep tiredness that told me night was upon us." and expect me to give a rat's ass about the mc.
- what i'm trying to say is, my guy needs editors. if he has one, he needs to get a better one because this has been ongoing for how many books at this point? (my conspiracy theory is there's none, and author edits his own work which of course people do, but clearly isn't working out here and for a lot of people...)
- special mention to the word 'sing' and its variants being used thirty-six times throughout the book. none of the use cases called for it. (i don't remember the exact quote but it was something like "his howl sang" wtf does that even mean? when it should've been "his howl screeched" within the context)
- the smut scenes continue to be about as spicy as mayonnaise. we actually made ass eating unsexy. criminal.
- if i squint my eyes and glaze over every single time the mc's name and pronouns were brought up, i'd have thought that rhory was a chick. seriously why was he written like that? even without all the shit that happens to him, he's just whiny as all hell, and this time we have no little sister to whine about! but i can't talk about rhory without bringing up the fact that...
- i'm surprised to see people are not bothered by how abuse is portrayed, as well as how rhory reacts to it? this alone cements the 1* rating for me even without the rest of the shenanigans. this will be full spoilers but trust me when i say i'm doing you a favor.
starting from the beginning, it's very clear that eamon actively beats rhory because he won't shut up about it! but okay abuse is awful, that should be the entry point for me to feel for him, right? no, because rhory is completely unable to decide how he wants to feel about it. on one page he'd be like "no i hated that :( i wish my own husband won't abuse me" to "honestly fuck him castle dread doesn't even sound so bad" on the next.
i understand that abuse victims engage with and feel about their trauma their own way, but right here, it was first used as an 'introduction' to the romance, with calix showing up while eamon was beating rhory in his own bed. and of course, because our mc is written like a woman, the damsel in distress needs rescuing! so he did.
dis-honorary mention to the fact that he STILL goes back and forth between "being kidnapped isn't too bad actually" to "please let me go back if i go back soon enough maybe he won't beat me" and this. gets. old.
and then sike! turns out rhory and calix knew each other and were lovers! sike again, because turns out rhory's memories were altered by witches (btw witches are literal miracle enablers because we still aren't sure what they are truly capable of, and it's handwaves as 'anything can happen in darkmourn' like xdddd alright), and the memories with calix in them were changed to with eamon instead! wow, turns out that angle of "my abuser used to be so sweet what happened to him?" is completely null and void because haha, gotcha, he was never sweet!
(never mind the fact that irl, some abusers do sprinkle 'good' moments in between their cruelty to manipulate their victims into feeling like their relationship together is salvageable. we decided to ditch that because we don't care about actually exploring and understanding what such gaslighting would do to an abuse victim. swish swosh memory-altering magic!!!)
if you thought writing an asshole that abuses his husband was the end of it, oh yeah haha me too. so, turns out, eamon has calix's brother silas because he wanted silas to turn him into a werewolf through his bite (oh yeah this was supposed to be a queer red riding hood retelling), but he never got it. shit happened and calix got mad and bit eamon and that allows him to change and shift after all these times.
and he wanted that because... i'll just quote, "We will purify the world and return it to the way it should have always been." mf this guy is also a maniac? how does this logic even check out anyways??? "i hate the fucking vampires so much i'll acquire the power of the wolves (that originated from marius' garden) and turn myself and my followers into another type of a monster so i can exterminate them all!"
oh yeah, 'followers', well you see, the crimson guards have long since corrupted by the people who share eamon's ideals. so he shares the wolfin' powers with them, because he abuses the ever-fuck out of silas to get him to bite them.
now is the time to bring up the fact that the memory altering spell was cast by none other than rhory's dead mom! the one calix killed because she was trying to alter calix's memories too! why? well, "because eamon is a better partner for my son so he won't be hurt" my in the what fuck????
my point being, writing a completely irredeemable character and make him to all these things, only to try to justify them with one (1) trauma from his childhood (that's also the prologue!) isn't the flex or play here. i also super hate the "look isn't he being so awful? don't you hate him? (yes i do because he IS doing terrible things) then oh look, the love interest! don't you like him?" angle of storytelling because it's lazy.
tldr: abuse was written horribly. rhory cannot decide between not wanting to be abused to offering himself up as a sacrifice. main villain is comically evil to the point of being ridiculous.
- i'm just saying, the both mcs are so annoying that i was rooting for them to not be together. alas.
- bonus round: the main love interest, calix, is described to be gigantically, extremely, genuinely unsexy. just read this.
and he gets described every time he's on page! i'm aware that he's big strong muscle hunk hulk hung i don't need to be reminded!!!
0/5, i'm just glad that i'm free. i gave this author more tries than i probably should because i wanted more gay authors writing mlm. unfortunately, i also have standards. this is very likely the last book i try from him and i wish him the best in his future works.
ps: debating if i want to make my highlights public because there are almost 300 of them, and that's me eventually skimming because i was tired of doing what was essentially marking a paper.
i thought book #1 was mediocre, and book #2 was a colossal mess, but i really wanted to give the author and this series one more try, because he seems like such a sweet dude just having fun writing fantasy.
no. don't read this one. this was somehow worse than #2. oh and how.
- the usual: grammar, wording choice, dissonance of logic and facts between scenes, and just to make it worse, there are even sprinkles of modern slang in a high fantasy skin ("It seemed autumn had awoken today and chosen war." that was the exact quote that started a chapter like please be so fr with me right now. the word 'radar' was used at one point. your characters don't know what that is! death, the entity, was described to be 'on a white horse' like ahaha you're very subtle.)
- author's writing style remains the same as ever - i'm not being mean, the style is a very common gripe amongst reviewers, just go check the 2* and 1* ones in the previous books - and the passive voice kills me inside because how can i expect to feel tension or care for these characters when they themselves talk about whatever happened to and around them so detachedly? like brother you can't write "Although I had not long woken, I beheld a deep tiredness that told me night was upon us." and expect me to give a rat's ass about the mc.
- what i'm trying to say is, my guy needs editors. if he has one, he needs to get a better one because this has been ongoing for how many books at this point? (my conspiracy theory is there's none, and author edits his own work which of course people do, but clearly isn't working out here and for a lot of people...)
- special mention to the word 'sing' and its variants being used thirty-six times throughout the book. none of the use cases called for it. (i don't remember the exact quote but it was something like "his howl sang" wtf does that even mean? when it should've been "his howl screeched" within the context)
- the smut scenes continue to be about as spicy as mayonnaise. we actually made ass eating unsexy. criminal.
- if i squint my eyes and glaze over every single time the mc's name and pronouns were brought up, i'd have thought that rhory was a chick. seriously why was he written like that? even without all the shit that happens to him, he's just whiny as all hell, and this time we have no little sister to whine about! but i can't talk about rhory without bringing up the fact that...
- i'm surprised to see people are not bothered by how abuse is portrayed, as well as how rhory reacts to it? this alone cements the 1* rating for me even without the rest of the shenanigans. this will be full spoilers but trust me when i say i'm doing you a favor.
starting from the beginning, it's very clear that eamon actively beats rhory because he won't shut up about it! but okay abuse is awful, that should be the entry point for me to feel for him, right? no, because rhory is completely unable to decide how he wants to feel about it. on one page he'd be like "no i hated that :( i wish my own husband won't abuse me" to "honestly fuck him castle dread doesn't even sound so bad" on the next.
i understand that abuse victims engage with and feel about their trauma their own way, but right here, it was first used as an 'introduction' to the romance, with calix showing up while eamon was beating rhory in his own bed. and of course, because our mc is written like a woman, the damsel in distress needs rescuing! so he did.
dis-honorary mention to the fact that he STILL goes back and forth between "being kidnapped isn't too bad actually" to "please let me go back if i go back soon enough maybe he won't beat me" and this. gets. old.
and then sike! turns out rhory and calix knew each other and were lovers! sike again, because turns out rhory's memories were altered by witches (btw witches are literal miracle enablers because we still aren't sure what they are truly capable of, and it's handwaves as 'anything can happen in darkmourn' like xdddd alright), and the memories with calix in them were changed to with eamon instead! wow, turns out that angle of "my abuser used to be so sweet what happened to him?" is completely null and void because haha, gotcha, he was never sweet!
(never mind the fact that irl, some abusers do sprinkle 'good' moments in between their cruelty to manipulate their victims into feeling like their relationship together is salvageable. we decided to ditch that because we don't care about actually exploring and understanding what such gaslighting would do to an abuse victim. swish swosh memory-altering magic!!!)
if you thought writing an asshole that abuses his husband was the end of it, oh yeah haha me too. so, turns out, eamon has calix's brother silas because he wanted silas to turn him into a werewolf through his bite (oh yeah this was supposed to be a queer red riding hood retelling), but he never got it. shit happened and calix got mad and bit eamon and that allows him to change and shift after all these times.
and he wanted that because... i'll just quote, "We will purify the world and return it to the way it should have always been." mf this guy is also a maniac? how does this logic even check out anyways??? "i hate the fucking vampires so much i'll acquire the power of the wolves (that originated from marius' garden) and turn myself and my followers into another type of a monster so i can exterminate them all!"
oh yeah, 'followers', well you see, the crimson guards have long since corrupted by the people who share eamon's ideals. so he shares the wolfin' powers with them, because he abuses the ever-fuck out of silas to get him to bite them.
now is the time to bring up the fact that the memory altering spell was cast by none other than rhory's dead mom! the one calix killed because she was trying to alter calix's memories too! why? well, "because eamon is a better partner for my son so he won't be hurt" my in the what fuck????
my point being, writing a completely irredeemable character and make him to all these things, only to try to justify them with one (1) trauma from his childhood (that's also the prologue!) isn't the flex or play here. i also super hate the "look isn't he being so awful? don't you hate him? (yes i do because he IS doing terrible things) then oh look, the love interest! don't you like him?" angle of storytelling because it's lazy.
tldr: abuse was written horribly. rhory cannot decide between not wanting to be abused to offering himself up as a sacrifice. main villain is comically evil to the point of being ridiculous.
- i'm just saying, the both mcs are so annoying that i was rooting for them to not be together. alas.
- bonus round: the main love interest, calix, is described to be gigantically, extremely, genuinely unsexy. just read this.
He was a god carved in flesh. Broad shoulders and a powerful, sculpted chest that gradually narrowed to his firm hips. If I had the time, I would have counted every muscle. Instead, I was hynotised by the rivers of rain that ran over his body. I was jealous of them, wishing to touch him in the places they graced.
and he gets described every time he's on page! i'm aware that he's big strong muscle hunk hulk hung i don't need to be reminded!!!
0/5, i'm just glad that i'm free. i gave this author more tries than i probably should because i wanted more gay authors writing mlm. unfortunately, i also have standards. this is very likely the last book i try from him and i wish him the best in his future works.
ps: debating if i want to make my highlights public because there are almost 300 of them, and that's me eventually skimming because i was tired of doing what was essentially marking a paper.
January 19, 2024
So. I really liked this book as y'all can see. Little Red Riding Hood is one of my favorite fairy tales ever and this retelling felt very inspired.
I loved the plot (found myself thinking pls guys get your dicks out of my plot, thank you I'm trying to learn what the hell happened here! once or twice lmao), the twist were fun and while not totally unexpected I thought them very cleverly done. I wish Calix was physically capable of not being mysterious and withholding any and every piece of information he comes across, but oh well. The dog was dogging for the plot !!
It's my first time reading anything by the author (won't be my last though) so I wasn't sure what to expect in terms of romance and spice. Both where okay, but I was more interested in the plot. The ending was a bit rushed and random, which I blame in me not knowing shit about the previous books and Jak and Marius, but that's on me not the book itself.
Also, to finish the technical review, I really enjoyed the flashbacks in this one. Some scenes needed the context and others were just fun to see happen. And I liked how we could never be sure who was talking at the very beginning. Kept it fun and interesting, at least for me. (and I kept waiting for one of those to be an Eamon pov, can't lie)
So!!!! Characters!!!
Rhory is a delight. He is a wonderful MC and his trauma is very well handled in my opinion. I really loved him and I can't believe he is gone from my life now :( From his wonderful set of powers I can only say that I wish he had used them more. They seem like a great weapon and skill, I wish the plot used them a bit more than just a portable polygraph for most of the time. Still, when in use, the powers where cleverly thought of and fun to read.
I don't have much to say about Calix, he was good and his devotion to Rhory was heartwarming, but I would have liked the whole 'mate' thing to be a bit more explored. I thought we would get some magical/mystical connection between mates or something like that after Rhory managed not to get killed by the fully transformed werewolf, something apparently unheard of, but alas. Guess they just really loved each other.
The rest of the supporting cast, vampires and werewolves and evil witches, where carefully written and leave a great impression on a first read. They were very well handled and gave the story a lot of depth.
Now let's talk Eamon. My dear Eamon. I find him both the most interesting character and the least explored. I can't lie, I was expecting some more insight into his head and feelings seen as how we start the book with his traumatic pov and the very first thing Rhory thinks in the book is:
"I do love you, Rhory Coleman.
It’s strange how such words hurt far greater than the physical pain left in their wake. Eamon always seemed shocked when he spoke them to me."
(WHY DOES HE LOOK SHOCKED IF IT TURNS OUT HE IS JUST THE FUCKING DEVIL HIMSELF WALKING ON CLOWN SHOES)
Call me naive if you will but between this whole opening, the possessiveness/rivalry with Calix and some comments, lines and moments in the book.... I thought we would explore more his feelings towards Rhory, and that they would be a bit more complicated than the whole mustache turning villain marry-the-princess-for-the-kingdom ---> hate-the-princess-wants-her-dead-anyway-after-three-years-of-marriage pipeline.
But to be fair there are enough strange lines about him for me to make my own little Eamon pov in my mind. And that's what fanfiction is for after all!!! To explore the deeply one-sided relationships that evil men build inside their heads with the people they emotionally kidnap.
In any case, I really enjoyed this book. And I have a ton of thoughts about it, as you might have been able to guess, but this is long enough. I'll go scream the rest of my thoughts out the window.
Over all, it gets the 5 stars, had me engaged thorough the whole thing, a mysterious and easy read from beginning to end.
Came for the promised dark fairytale with smut and stayed for the plot, the vibes, the little mysteries and the potential of the story. Ben definitely passed the vibe check with this one.
I loved the plot (found myself thinking pls guys get your dicks out of my plot, thank you I'm trying to learn what the hell happened here! once or twice lmao), the twist were fun and while not totally unexpected I thought them very cleverly done. I wish Calix was physically capable of not being mysterious and withholding any and every piece of information he comes across, but oh well. The dog was dogging for the plot !!
It's my first time reading anything by the author (won't be my last though) so I wasn't sure what to expect in terms of romance and spice. Both where okay, but I was more interested in the plot. The ending was a bit rushed and random, which I blame in me not knowing shit about the previous books and Jak and Marius, but that's on me not the book itself.
Also, to finish the technical review, I really enjoyed the flashbacks in this one. Some scenes needed the context and others were just fun to see happen. And I liked how we could never be sure who was talking at the very beginning. Kept it fun and interesting, at least for me. (and I kept waiting for one of those to be an Eamon pov, can't lie)
So!!!! Characters!!!
Rhory is a delight. He is a wonderful MC and his trauma is very well handled in my opinion. I really loved him and I can't believe he is gone from my life now :( From his wonderful set of powers I can only say that I wish he had used them more. They seem like a great weapon and skill, I wish the plot used them a bit more than just a portable polygraph for most of the time. Still, when in use, the powers where cleverly thought of and fun to read.
I don't have much to say about Calix, he was good and his devotion to Rhory was heartwarming, but I would have liked the whole 'mate' thing to be a bit more explored. I thought we would get some magical/mystical connection between mates or something like that after Rhory managed not to get killed by the fully transformed werewolf, something apparently unheard of, but alas. Guess they just really loved each other.
The rest of the supporting cast, vampires and werewolves and evil witches, where carefully written and leave a great impression on a first read. They were very well handled and gave the story a lot of depth.
Now let's talk Eamon. My dear Eamon. I find him both the most interesting character and the least explored. I can't lie, I was expecting some more insight into his head and feelings seen as how we start the book with his traumatic pov and the very first thing Rhory thinks in the book is:
"I do love you, Rhory Coleman.
It’s strange how such words hurt far greater than the physical pain left in their wake. Eamon always seemed shocked when he spoke them to me."
(WHY DOES HE LOOK SHOCKED IF IT TURNS OUT HE IS JUST THE FUCKING DEVIL HIMSELF WALKING ON CLOWN SHOES)
Call me naive if you will but between this whole opening, the possessiveness/rivalry with Calix and some comments, lines and moments in the book.... I thought we would explore more his feelings towards Rhory, and that they would be a bit more complicated than the whole mustache turning villain marry-the-princess-for-the-kingdom ---> hate-the-princess-wants-her-dead-anyway-after-three-years-of-marriage pipeline.
But to be fair there are enough strange lines about him for me to make my own little Eamon pov in my mind. And that's what fanfiction is for after all!!! To explore the deeply one-sided relationships that evil men build inside their heads with the people they emotionally kidnap.
In any case, I really enjoyed this book. And I have a ton of thoughts about it, as you might have been able to guess, but this is long enough. I'll go scream the rest of my thoughts out the window.
Over all, it gets the 5 stars, had me engaged thorough the whole thing, a mysterious and easy read from beginning to end.
Came for the promised dark fairytale with smut and stayed for the plot, the vibes, the little mysteries and the potential of the story. Ben definitely passed the vibe check with this one.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 6, 2023
The twists and turns in this one, I tell ya. I’m so happy that justice was served and everyone got what they deserved. Rhory and Calix got their ending they wished for.
May 11, 2023
best book in the series yet! Ben really stepped up his game with this one.
November 2, 2023
Incredibly dramatic and ridiculous but entertaining.
June 10, 2025
4.5/5 ⭐️
Probably my favorite in the Darkmourn series so far! I really enjoyed Rhory and Calix. Their story was interesting and all of the characters were written really well.
Probably my favorite in the Darkmourn series so far! I really enjoyed Rhory and Calix. Their story was interesting and all of the characters were written really well.
May 14, 2023
Ben Alderson's “Alpha of Mortal Flesh” is a thrilling addition to the Darkmourn Universe, offering a unique retelling of the Red Riding Hood tale full of suspense and spicy romance. The story is well-crafted, with characters that are both engaging and complex, and the addition of the werewolf lore in this book takes the existing world-building to the next level. Alderson's writing style is immersive, drawing the reader into the story from the first page and keeping them hooked until the very end.
“The story focuses on our two main characters, Rhory Coleman, a witch, and Calix Grey, a werewolf. Rhory is trapped in an abusive relationship with the Head of the Crimson Guard, and Calix has lost his entire family. Despite their difficult circumstances, fate brings them together, and they both discover that their unique talents will be needed to face a common threat.
The peace in Darkmourn is threatened by the corrupted Crimson Guard, and there are unsolved murders and tangled family secrets that must be brought to light. To uncover the truth, they would have to work together to overcome all obstacles and bring peace to their world”.
The book is for adults, it features spicy content that never feels out of place; instead, it adds layers of thrills and depth to our main characters love story. The domestic abuse and violence included in the story make it a dark and at times difficult read, but it is handled with the appropriate sensitivity and does not detract from the overall plot. Please check out content warnings before diving in.
One of the strengths of this book is the way that it intertwines elements of traditional folklore with a modern twist, creating a world that is both familiar and yet completely unique.
Overall, “Alpha of Mortal Flesh” is a must-read for fans of queer, spicy, and dark fantasy stories. It is a beautifully crafted book that offers both thrills and heart, and is a testament to the ongoing brilliance of the Darkmourn Universe.
“The story focuses on our two main characters, Rhory Coleman, a witch, and Calix Grey, a werewolf. Rhory is trapped in an abusive relationship with the Head of the Crimson Guard, and Calix has lost his entire family. Despite their difficult circumstances, fate brings them together, and they both discover that their unique talents will be needed to face a common threat.
The peace in Darkmourn is threatened by the corrupted Crimson Guard, and there are unsolved murders and tangled family secrets that must be brought to light. To uncover the truth, they would have to work together to overcome all obstacles and bring peace to their world”.
The book is for adults, it features spicy content that never feels out of place; instead, it adds layers of thrills and depth to our main characters love story. The domestic abuse and violence included in the story make it a dark and at times difficult read, but it is handled with the appropriate sensitivity and does not detract from the overall plot. Please check out content warnings before diving in.
One of the strengths of this book is the way that it intertwines elements of traditional folklore with a modern twist, creating a world that is both familiar and yet completely unique.
Overall, “Alpha of Mortal Flesh” is a must-read for fans of queer, spicy, and dark fantasy stories. It is a beautifully crafted book that offers both thrills and heart, and is a testament to the ongoing brilliance of the Darkmourn Universe.
July 27, 2023
That's more like it, Ben.
LAST SEASON in the Darkmourn Universe... jk, but also low-key wish there was a quick little recap on the previous books before beginning the new ones - there's just so many little details to follow! But all those little pieces (see gif above lol) are finally all slotting together to create this beautiful multilayered plot.
Admittedly, I didn't particularly love book 2 King of Immortal Tithe but reading this one almost makes me like it more just because of the part it plays in the overall picture.
I LOVED Rhory and Calix and the complexity of their relationship and oh my, did I love to hate Eamon.
There's so much going on in this one, it almost felt like two books after a certain point. Normally, I would find some minor fault in that, but I can feel Ben gearing up for something bigger. Also, one of my criticisms for the first book was that I wanted more - this book very much granted that wish, so I'm not going to complain.
Even if it was brief, my heart was all aflutter at seeing Jak again - he is and, foreseeably, will be my all-time favorite character in this series. I hope to see much more of he and Marius in future books - Ben definitely alludes to that a bit in the end, so fingers crossed. And where, oh where might Arlo and Faenir be? The mystery has me very much intrigued - can't wait for the next one!
Rating: 3.5 rounded up to 4!
July 1, 2025
Ahhh, estoy muy triste pq es el que menos me ha gustado hasta el momento
Empezó bastante bien pero alrededor del 50% es cuando empezó a decaer a mis ojos
Empezó bastante bien pero alrededor del 50% es cuando empezó a decaer a mis ojos
Read
September 11, 2025dnf ~70%
This was just way too long for the meh quality. I was exhausted.
This was just way too long for the meh quality. I was exhausted.
June 5, 2023
I really had wanted to like this book because I had enjoyed the first one a lot when it had just been released (Book Twitter seemed to have mentioned it at some point) and I found out the second one hadn’t been released long ago — which I ended up reading fairly quickly. So having enjoyed the Darkmourn Series, I was delighted to see that the last addition had been released only a couple weeks ago.
That is to say I’m unfortunately very disappointed to have really not enjoyed this book. I had almost dropped it at around 30% because it just didn’t hook me with the way the story was told nor any of the characters. Wanting to give it a fair chance to at least read up to 50% to see if it’s just a slow start— especially having liked the concept of a witch and (were)wolf falling in love. To my surprise I even ended up finishing the book but only under the premise of wanting to get the satisfaction of knowing how it all ends.
Gotta say one thing that will be stuck with me is this part at page 165 that made me laugh out loud for how misplaced and ridiculous the situation was:
“Calix’s fingers worked quickly to untie the red cloak. It slipped from my shoulders with ease. He broke away from my mouth long enough to lay the cloak out across the muddied and wet ground. “It may not be the comfort I wish to give you, but I promise you will not notice.””
It was certainly not the contents of the story that had bothered me— I don’t need a happy and light story— but the way Rhory’s character was written just had started to annoy me. I tried to justify it with the abuse that has been done to him but I simply didn’t warm up to care for him. Same goes for Calix which just had me frustrated by constantly being secretive which certainly didn’t help Rhory in his situation of having no recollection of his memories.
In general all this unnecessary secrecy what has happened between Eamon-Calix/Eamon-Silas was not helping me want to know more about the story. It more so confused me to keep getting the throwbacks to 3 years ago and overall it just didn’t work for me to have these be put in at very odd pacing of the story.
I did enjoy seeing what had become of Marius and Jak, was odd though that Arlo and Faenir were absolutely irrelevant and only mentioned Arlo when talking about Auriol. Would have been nice to know what happened to them when all we knew was that no one heard of them ever since.
Have to say I’m happy to have finished this and put this book behind me but very unfortunate it ended up not being as enjoyable as the other ones.
That is to say I’m unfortunately very disappointed to have really not enjoyed this book. I had almost dropped it at around 30% because it just didn’t hook me with the way the story was told nor any of the characters. Wanting to give it a fair chance to at least read up to 50% to see if it’s just a slow start— especially having liked the concept of a witch and (were)wolf falling in love. To my surprise I even ended up finishing the book but only under the premise of wanting to get the satisfaction of knowing how it all ends.
Gotta say one thing that will be stuck with me is this part at page 165 that made me laugh out loud for how misplaced and ridiculous the situation was:
“Calix’s fingers worked quickly to untie the red cloak. It slipped from my shoulders with ease. He broke away from my mouth long enough to lay the cloak out across the muddied and wet ground. “It may not be the comfort I wish to give you, but I promise you will not notice.””
It was certainly not the contents of the story that had bothered me— I don’t need a happy and light story— but the way Rhory’s character was written just had started to annoy me. I tried to justify it with the abuse that has been done to him but I simply didn’t warm up to care for him. Same goes for Calix which just had me frustrated by constantly being secretive which certainly didn’t help Rhory in his situation of having no recollection of his memories.
In general all this unnecessary secrecy what has happened between Eamon-Calix/Eamon-Silas was not helping me want to know more about the story. It more so confused me to keep getting the throwbacks to 3 years ago and overall it just didn’t work for me to have these be put in at very odd pacing of the story.
I did enjoy seeing what had become of Marius and Jak, was odd though that Arlo and Faenir were absolutely irrelevant and only mentioned Arlo when talking about Auriol. Would have been nice to know what happened to them when all we knew was that no one heard of them ever since.
Have to say I’m happy to have finished this and put this book behind me but very unfortunate it ended up not being as enjoyable as the other ones.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 22, 2024
LMAO i. Am not going to attempt to explain
2.5 stars. Honestly? The plot twist were amazing and made me genuinely enjoy the book at times. The concept is great, the execution, however, felt rushed and shallow, imo. The writing and certain scenes were also really cringy, unfortunately. And my fav character died?? Wth? I would consider trying this author again though, because I think he has good story ideas.
2.5 stars. Honestly? The plot twist were amazing and made me genuinely enjoy the book at times. The concept is great, the execution, however, felt rushed and shallow, imo. The writing and certain scenes were also really cringy, unfortunately. And my fav character died?? Wth? I would consider trying this author again though, because I think he has good story ideas.
June 30, 2023
4/5⭐
Okay, this was WAAAY better than I had expected.
It's not a 5⭐ because some things were just too convenient for the plot. Also, you know I'm biased and I don't give Romance books 5⭐. Sue me!
Anyway, this was actually well-written, which, I won't lie, surprised me. It's also my first Ben Alderson book, though I own some others. Be sure I will read them.
Okay, this was WAAAY better than I had expected.
It's not a 5⭐ because some things were just too convenient for the plot. Also, you know I'm biased and I don't give Romance books 5⭐. Sue me!
Anyway, this was actually well-written, which, I won't lie, surprised me. It's also my first Ben Alderson book, though I own some others. Be sure I will read them.
August 18, 2023
DNF at 43%.
I enjoyed the first two in the series, but this is a MESS. It feels like the first draft was published. Typos. Awkward dialogue. Cardboard characters. Strange descriptions. 😩
This is the second book by Ben that I just couldn’t finish. I don’t know if I’ll try another, even though I want to support him.
I enjoyed the first two in the series, but this is a MESS. It feels like the first draft was published. Typos. Awkward dialogue. Cardboard characters. Strange descriptions. 😩
This is the second book by Ben that I just couldn’t finish. I don’t know if I’ll try another, even though I want to support him.
March 6, 2025
2.5 stars
Ben Alderson, you burned me again.
While an easy and consumable read with a plot and twists that had me going, "Well, this certainly is a book!" I found this - like all of Ben Alderson's work I've read so far - incredibly lacking. This lead me to the realisation, Ben Alderson is just gay S.J. Maas. This is gay Acotar!
I think if a younger me, desperate for queer rep, had accessed this (which originally put this author on my map) I would have liked it more. Idk. It felt shallow, which was odd since it truly tried to cover heavy subjects but with the sheer lack of character introspection I find in these books it fell flat. I'm in the character's pov, why is he keeping secrets from me? He doesn't know I'm there!
I also just felt icky with how the women where treated in this book, its something I find quite common in particularly fantasy written by gay cisgender men. Like, I understand it is difficult to highlight characters outside of the main couples in a romantasy. I'm not expecting you to throw in a female main character in every work but killing them off and tucking them out of the narrative feels gross? Also having them be like, it's okay that so and so died because she wanted to! Don't feel bad about it! Weird. Also Mildred was not mourned, and also was killed for no reason! Actually the reason is so Rhory can run off with his boyfriend - who's dick is as wide as his wrist and somehow fits into Rhory with no prep, only lube - and not feel as though he's leaving anything behind!
Well, for my last notes, I am officially done with this author. I don't think his work is for me which is fine. Glad I got more queer books in my local library by making them buy this though. I hope it finds its people.
Ben Alderson, you burned me again.
While an easy and consumable read with a plot and twists that had me going, "Well, this certainly is a book!" I found this - like all of Ben Alderson's work I've read so far - incredibly lacking. This lead me to the realisation, Ben Alderson is just gay S.J. Maas. This is gay Acotar!
I think if a younger me, desperate for queer rep, had accessed this (which originally put this author on my map) I would have liked it more. Idk. It felt shallow, which was odd since it truly tried to cover heavy subjects but with the sheer lack of character introspection I find in these books it fell flat. I'm in the character's pov, why is he keeping secrets from me? He doesn't know I'm there!
I also just felt icky with how the women where treated in this book, its something I find quite common in particularly fantasy written by gay cisgender men. Like, I understand it is difficult to highlight characters outside of the main couples in a romantasy. I'm not expecting you to throw in a female main character in every work but killing them off and tucking them out of the narrative feels gross? Also having them be like, it's okay that so and so died because she wanted to! Don't feel bad about it! Weird. Also Mildred was not mourned, and also was killed for no reason! Actually the reason is so Rhory can run off with his boyfriend - who's dick is as wide as his wrist and somehow fits into Rhory with no prep, only lube - and not feel as though he's leaving anything behind!
Well, for my last notes, I am officially done with this author. I don't think his work is for me which is fine. Glad I got more queer books in my local library by making them buy this though. I hope it finds its people.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 15, 2023
3/5⭐️
Ugh I really wanted to love this but it just fell flat
There are huge time line jumps between the books and it kept throwing me off but this was the hardest to get into in my opinion. I liked the different perspectives but overall didn’t love the reading experience
Ugh I really wanted to love this but it just fell flat
There are huge time line jumps between the books and it kept throwing me off but this was the hardest to get into in my opinion. I liked the different perspectives but overall didn’t love the reading experience
May 21, 2025
I gave this book five stars bc I really did enjoy the story… BUT it really messed with my head. I loved the premise, the writing, the story, the ending, etc. but it conjured things I did NOT want to remember.
August 27, 2023
I really enjoyed Calix and Rhory, especially Rhory's growth. There were several twists and turns in the plot that kept me engaged. Very fun read.
October 31, 2025
DNF. i am howling, this book is SHOCKINGLY bad.
i wanted to read this book when i heard the premise of "sexy + gay story of little red riding hood", and though some of the reviews talked about the bad writing, I thought it might be enjoyable enough.
there are certainly things to enjoy. it has a heart, which i appreciate. the author clearly wants to tell this story, and he cares about it. it's soulful. but fucking hell, is it not enough.
the editing is nonexistent and awful, clearly just with some word processing grammar checker at most. the constant and i mean CONSTANT mistakes, wrong word choices made me fucking keel over with laughter every other page which does not, unfortunately, make me invested in the drama of the story. Memorable things off the top of my head include "her skin was lacklustre of color". Dialogue is utterly awful, most of the book feels like it went through the "thesaurus treatment" where the author just takes words that sounds fancier and sticks them in because it's "more fantasy" without thinking about it.
just a few examples:
"I pulled the red cloak over my head and moved with speed."
"I felt as though I had walked into a cobweb of iron with my eyes closed."
Though i liked the characters they are again taken out back and shot in the face by the awful writing. how am i supposed to take a mysterious interaction seriously when it sounds like this:
"[You've murdered] more than just someone I gather. [...] Care to tell me how you have done it?" It is so utterly wooden, clunky and unbearable to read.
I was gonna stubbornly keep going and enjoying the nonsense and weird metaphors, bad writing etc. and i do still kinda want to. but i honestly started feeling more angry than entertained. such SIMPLE mistakes and such an AWFUL result because there was just no style, rhythm or normal goddamn grammar. and now it's the halfway point of the book and you want me to care about the action and plot contrivances? NO! How can I care about these characters when their dialogue sounds like a hobby-horse clattering on the floor and their sex scene (just a few chapter ago) made me fucking howl with laughter from all the inept analogies and weird visuals?!
Just one more little description for you:
"It was as thick as my wrist was. Blessed with length, that even hard, it couldn't stand completely to attention for its weight was too great."
i will not care about this book, not sincerely. i may try to read it again because I'm stubborn or because I want more funny grammar mistakes but that's about it. I'm sorry. I truly wish this book could've been better. With a better editor and more time spent paying attention to details, it surely would have.
i wanted to read this book when i heard the premise of "sexy + gay story of little red riding hood", and though some of the reviews talked about the bad writing, I thought it might be enjoyable enough.
there are certainly things to enjoy. it has a heart, which i appreciate. the author clearly wants to tell this story, and he cares about it. it's soulful. but fucking hell, is it not enough.
the editing is nonexistent and awful, clearly just with some word processing grammar checker at most. the constant and i mean CONSTANT mistakes, wrong word choices made me fucking keel over with laughter every other page which does not, unfortunately, make me invested in the drama of the story. Memorable things off the top of my head include "her skin was lacklustre of color". Dialogue is utterly awful, most of the book feels like it went through the "thesaurus treatment" where the author just takes words that sounds fancier and sticks them in because it's "more fantasy" without thinking about it.
just a few examples:
"I pulled the red cloak over my head and moved with speed."
"I felt as though I had walked into a cobweb of iron with my eyes closed."
Though i liked the characters they are again taken out back and shot in the face by the awful writing. how am i supposed to take a mysterious interaction seriously when it sounds like this:
"[You've murdered] more than just someone I gather. [...] Care to tell me how you have done it?" It is so utterly wooden, clunky and unbearable to read.
I was gonna stubbornly keep going and enjoying the nonsense and weird metaphors, bad writing etc. and i do still kinda want to. but i honestly started feeling more angry than entertained. such SIMPLE mistakes and such an AWFUL result because there was just no style, rhythm or normal goddamn grammar. and now it's the halfway point of the book and you want me to care about the action and plot contrivances? NO! How can I care about these characters when their dialogue sounds like a hobby-horse clattering on the floor and their sex scene (just a few chapter ago) made me fucking howl with laughter from all the inept analogies and weird visuals?!
Just one more little description for you:
"It was as thick as my wrist was. Blessed with length, that even hard, it couldn't stand completely to attention for its weight was too great."
i will not care about this book, not sincerely. i may try to read it again because I'm stubborn or because I want more funny grammar mistakes but that's about it. I'm sorry. I truly wish this book could've been better. With a better editor and more time spent paying attention to details, it surely would have.
March 1, 2024
Alright, this is a hard review to write because I wanted to like it so much, and I did at some points. But it’s just not good?
Story is solid until it’s not, basically the story could have ended or changed directions after the first resolution. It in fact does not do that, rather, it drags on and makes the antagonist into a terrible villain.
The antagonist is essentially two people, and neither of them really fucking matter? The main one is the abusive partner that without the abuse part would be an even more lacklustre villain. The second one is someone you don’t meet until 80% of the book, like who really gives a shit? Just end the book.
Our main character is a whole copy and paste of every main character in Alderson’s writing. However, he has even less agency than the rest? At no point in time is his power really explained or useful. In fact, it’s so vague that it’s almost too powerful when it shouldn’t and too weak when it also shouldn’t be.
CALIX, however, is the only good thing about this book. I enjoyed him from start to finish, shoutout to Shaun Grindell for narrating him in the best way (And for making this book not a DNF early on for me even though it should have been). Calix is sexy and kind and dominant without being a total asshole. He’s literally the perfect character, but he is also totally useless? Like RIDDLE ME THIS: How is the werewolf character practically useless in fights? It’s beyond me, but whatever I’m finished with the book and that’s all that matters.
I have so much more to say and so many thoughts, however, the main one is that this is a DNF in every way for me and would have been if I wasn’t listening to it on audio. The audio is actually good, but I can’t put the logical oversight lack of plausibility aside in favour for the audio. I know for a fact that if I was reading this on my kindle there would be a lot of comments. In fact, I think I only made it 20 pages in the first time I picked it up on KU but mood DNF’d it because it was so similar to his prior works.
The formula works, but you can’t just copy and paste with a different font.
Story is solid until it’s not, basically the story could have ended or changed directions after the first resolution. It in fact does not do that, rather, it drags on and makes the antagonist into a terrible villain.
The antagonist is essentially two people, and neither of them really fucking matter? The main one is the abusive partner that without the abuse part would be an even more lacklustre villain. The second one is someone you don’t meet until 80% of the book, like who really gives a shit? Just end the book.
Our main character is a whole copy and paste of every main character in Alderson’s writing. However, he has even less agency than the rest? At no point in time is his power really explained or useful. In fact, it’s so vague that it’s almost too powerful when it shouldn’t and too weak when it also shouldn’t be.
CALIX, however, is the only good thing about this book. I enjoyed him from start to finish, shoutout to Shaun Grindell for narrating him in the best way (And for making this book not a DNF early on for me even though it should have been). Calix is sexy and kind and dominant without being a total asshole. He’s literally the perfect character, but he is also totally useless? Like RIDDLE ME THIS: How is the werewolf character practically useless in fights? It’s beyond me, but whatever I’m finished with the book and that’s all that matters.
I have so much more to say and so many thoughts, however, the main one is that this is a DNF in every way for me and would have been if I wasn’t listening to it on audio. The audio is actually good, but I can’t put the logical oversight lack of plausibility aside in favour for the audio. I know for a fact that if I was reading this on my kindle there would be a lot of comments. In fact, I think I only made it 20 pages in the first time I picked it up on KU but mood DNF’d it because it was so similar to his prior works.
The formula works, but you can’t just copy and paste with a different font.
May 1, 2023
Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf? Say no more fam.
I've loved this series from the beginning and the very best thing about it is that it gets better with each book. Alpha of Mortal Flesh is easily my new favorite, and the darker themes have everything to do with it.
All of the Darkmourn books have dark themes. Trauma and murder and monsters etc, etc. AoMF is no different, but actually, it is. Rhory, our Little Red, is subject to abuse almost immediately from his husband Eamon. Ben doesn't shy away from it, but he also doesn't glorify it as some sort of trauma porn. We see Rhory suffer, and we see him dissociate. We see Eamon apologize over and over and we see him control Rhory's every move. We see how Rhory has lost himself completely and internalized what's happening to him. Eamon even has his own trauma to suffer and it's such a stark contrast of how we deal with it. Eamon becomes a monster hungry for revenge, and Rhory turns small but determined to spread good and healing where he can. It's also a reminder that even though trauma may touch the individual, it can also touch everyone around them.
The story of Calix and Rhory is complicated and twisty, and even though we don't quite know why until later, the build-up of emotion is done really well here. Calix has his own demons to face and conquer and even some familiar faces to think about. He's the absolute hot lumberjack rugged werewolf of everyone's dreams, but also he's soft. His entire focus is Rhory's safety, even while he suffers for it.
I love the way Ben is tying this series and these characters together. I can't wait to see where it all ends up!
I've loved this series from the beginning and the very best thing about it is that it gets better with each book. Alpha of Mortal Flesh is easily my new favorite, and the darker themes have everything to do with it.
All of the Darkmourn books have dark themes. Trauma and murder and monsters etc, etc. AoMF is no different, but actually, it is. Rhory, our Little Red, is subject to abuse almost immediately from his husband Eamon. Ben doesn't shy away from it, but he also doesn't glorify it as some sort of trauma porn. We see Rhory suffer, and we see him dissociate. We see Eamon apologize over and over and we see him control Rhory's every move. We see how Rhory has lost himself completely and internalized what's happening to him. Eamon even has his own trauma to suffer and it's such a stark contrast of how we deal with it. Eamon becomes a monster hungry for revenge, and Rhory turns small but determined to spread good and healing where he can. It's also a reminder that even though trauma may touch the individual, it can also touch everyone around them.
The story of Calix and Rhory is complicated and twisty, and even though we don't quite know why until later, the build-up of emotion is done really well here. Calix has his own demons to face and conquer and even some familiar faces to think about. He's the absolute hot lumberjack rugged werewolf of everyone's dreams, but also he's soft. His entire focus is Rhory's safety, even while he suffers for it.
I love the way Ben is tying this series and these characters together. I can't wait to see where it all ends up!
March 24, 2023
*First Part Review*
this review considers the first half of AoMF because i am a slow reader. second part will be out when i finish this life-changing book ❤️ now, every book in the darkmourn universe is a treasure. this goes for both lord of eternal night and king of immortal tithe sincerily. as for alpha of mortal flesh, the book is rich with emotion, nostalgia and bittersweetness. even though a standalone, what i love inexplicably about it are the references to previous, amazing characters. however, Rhory Coleman is perhaps what i love the most about the AoMF. he is a real person in a world made out of pure imagination. everything he feels, i feel, and that is beautifully ironic in a way you shall find out while reading 🫂 i also feel what he feels because ben’s writing is probably the most unique thing i have faced in this world. beautiful skills. Rhory is strong in ways i cannot grasp. there is domestic abuse in this book and it hits hard. but his development is powerful. i can just imagine how much more is coming in the course of this book ❤️ detailed full review will be out soon.
this review considers the first half of AoMF because i am a slow reader. second part will be out when i finish this life-changing book ❤️ now, every book in the darkmourn universe is a treasure. this goes for both lord of eternal night and king of immortal tithe sincerily. as for alpha of mortal flesh, the book is rich with emotion, nostalgia and bittersweetness. even though a standalone, what i love inexplicably about it are the references to previous, amazing characters. however, Rhory Coleman is perhaps what i love the most about the AoMF. he is a real person in a world made out of pure imagination. everything he feels, i feel, and that is beautifully ironic in a way you shall find out while reading 🫂 i also feel what he feels because ben’s writing is probably the most unique thing i have faced in this world. beautiful skills. Rhory is strong in ways i cannot grasp. there is domestic abuse in this book and it hits hard. but his development is powerful. i can just imagine how much more is coming in the course of this book ❤️ detailed full review will be out soon.
May 26, 2025
I’ve now read three out of the four Darknourn books. It’s taken me four years because, well… the books are terrible. The writing is poor, repetitive, and riddled with clichés. The dialogue is clunky as hell, the structure is sluggish, and there’s not much going on in terms of characterisation.
That said, I do appreciate what the books are trying to achieve. I come back every couple of years to read another one - not because I enjoy them, but because I’m yearning for something like this but better. Anytime I read one, it only ever ends up being a reminder of how bad they really are. Surely this isn’t the pinnacle of MLM spicy fantasy? There must be something else out there that attempts this, but does it better.
The sad part is, I can see the potential for this to be a great series, but the author seems more focused on churning out as many books as possible than on revising and refining anything to the point of it actually being good.
Keep an eye out for my inevitable ‘Prince of Endless Tides’ review in a few years, when I crawl back to this drivel because I’m (1) a completionist and (2) a masochist.
That said, I do appreciate what the books are trying to achieve. I come back every couple of years to read another one - not because I enjoy them, but because I’m yearning for something like this but better. Anytime I read one, it only ever ends up being a reminder of how bad they really are. Surely this isn’t the pinnacle of MLM spicy fantasy? There must be something else out there that attempts this, but does it better.
The sad part is, I can see the potential for this to be a great series, but the author seems more focused on churning out as many books as possible than on revising and refining anything to the point of it actually being good.
Keep an eye out for my inevitable ‘Prince of Endless Tides’ review in a few years, when I crawl back to this drivel because I’m (1) a completionist and (2) a masochist.
April 1, 2023
ARC Review
AOMF is the third book in the Darkmourn Univers, and I think, so far, my favorite.
Rhorys story is so much more than a fantasy retelling. It's about finding yourself, surviving trauma on an absolute realistic level, and not giving up. Please check your triggers and be aware of them because this book is not easy in that way.⚠️
Bens writing is as always fantastic. It's easy to get sucked into the story from page One. I especially enjoyed the "before" Chapters, it gives backstory and fill in the missing parts. We meet new friends and enemies but also get to know about old friends.
Calix is the definition of the big bad wolf but has the softest heart of them all. 🐺🩶
I feel like we're not done in Darkmourn, and I'm excited to see what's coming next.
Thank you so much, Ben, for trusting me with this ARC. 🖤
AOMF is the third book in the Darkmourn Univers, and I think, so far, my favorite.
Rhorys story is so much more than a fantasy retelling. It's about finding yourself, surviving trauma on an absolute realistic level, and not giving up. Please check your triggers and be aware of them because this book is not easy in that way.⚠️
Bens writing is as always fantastic. It's easy to get sucked into the story from page One. I especially enjoyed the "before" Chapters, it gives backstory and fill in the missing parts. We meet new friends and enemies but also get to know about old friends.
Calix is the definition of the big bad wolf but has the softest heart of them all. 🐺🩶
I feel like we're not done in Darkmourn, and I'm excited to see what's coming next.
Thank you so much, Ben, for trusting me with this ARC. 🖤
May 18, 2023
Ben come back, I have so many more Darkmourn questions!!! You left me with more questions than answers!!! AAAAA
Good book, Ben’s writing improves with each new release. This one was full of good twists and turns, and I’m fascinated by the changes in the Darkmourn universe. It has the most overlap with the previous two stories (yay for that, because I want to keep tabs on Arlo and Jak), so if you’ve enjoyed the series so far you’ll love this addition!
It feels the most like a creative tale-retelling and I love that. Such cool spins on Little Red Riding Hood, like why the wolf is so big and bad, who the grandma is, or what the big bad wolf is doing in her bed when Little Red comes in and says, “what big [redacted] you have.” 👀
4/5 spice
Good book, Ben’s writing improves with each new release. This one was full of good twists and turns, and I’m fascinated by the changes in the Darkmourn universe. It has the most overlap with the previous two stories (yay for that, because I want to keep tabs on Arlo and Jak), so if you’ve enjoyed the series so far you’ll love this addition!
It feels the most like a creative tale-retelling and I love that. Such cool spins on Little Red Riding Hood, like why the wolf is so big and bad, who the grandma is, or what the big bad wolf is doing in her bed when Little Red comes in and says, “what big [redacted] you have.” 👀
4/5 spice
March 12, 2025
I listen to Ben Alderson audiobooks at night before I go to sleep, and I have to say that this one really puts the "Dark" in "Darkmourn," enough so that I ended up not listening to it while falling asleep. Despite that, this book still fits well in the series and was exactly what I've come to expect and love from Alderson: boy meets monster, enemies-to-lovers, paranormal gay romance. It's tropey, it's predictable, and it's an entertaining delight.
This particular novel really hits on the question of what makes a monster? Who defines what's monstrous and why? I appreciated that overarching theme; it added some nice existential philosophy.
This particular novel really hits on the question of what makes a monster? Who defines what's monstrous and why? I appreciated that overarching theme; it added some nice existential philosophy.
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