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Demigod Monsters of Protheka #1
Creature Comforts
A Dark Fantasy Romance
Vengeance made him a monster.
Love will make him my mate.
Deknol has sold his soul to The Deceiver. I can see it in the powers that he now wields. Far stronger than any magic present on Protheka.
It excites me.
Because he will use his power to rescue me. To protect me. To pleasure me.
The value of my life on Protheka is less than worthless. But when I stand next to Deknol, whose godlike powers crackle the air around him, I am a queen.
His queen.
With all of our enemies seeking to tear us down, one question keeps nagging in my mind. With all of this power, Deknol has a body that can fight, a mind that can do magic…
But does he still have a heart that can love?
Vengeance made him a monster.
Love will make him my mate.
Deknol has sold his soul to The Deceiver. I can see it in the powers that he now wields. Far stronger than any magic present on Protheka.
It excites me.
Because he will use his power to rescue me. To protect me. To pleasure me.
The value of my life on Protheka is less than worthless. But when I stand next to Deknol, whose godlike powers crackle the air around him, I am a queen.
His queen.
With all of our enemies seeking to tear us down, one question keeps nagging in my mind. With all of this power, Deknol has a body that can fight, a mind that can do magic…
But does he still have a heart that can love?
215 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 21, 2023
58 people are currently reading
63 people want to read
About the author
Celeste King
319 books279 followersCeleste King is the author behind the Worlds of Protheka, a collection of interconnected series that promise dark fantasy, intense romance, and washboard abs. When it comes to her stories, there are sure to brooding alphas, sassy humans, and plenty of spice to look forward to.
With the ever growing fantasy worlds, the 'what ifs' are endless, and that is what excites her the most. Even she doesn't know just how far these characters will go, but she's gladly along for the ride.
You can always find her fearlessly diving into an adventure (in this world or another), typically with her husband, and partner in crime, at her side.
She helps keep the excitement alive for the rest us with each of her Prothekan works, where there are no heroes coming to save you and being kidnapped...isn't so bad when your captor is this hot.
With the ever growing fantasy worlds, the 'what ifs' are endless, and that is what excites her the most. Even she doesn't know just how far these characters will go, but she's gladly along for the ride.
You can always find her fearlessly diving into an adventure (in this world or another), typically with her husband, and partner in crime, at her side.
She helps keep the excitement alive for the rest us with each of her Prothekan works, where there are no heroes coming to save you and being kidnapped...isn't so bad when your captor is this hot.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
June 24, 2025
This one was very different than I expected!
The following ratings are out of 5:
Romance: 💙💜💚❤️🩶
Heat/Steam: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Chemistry: 🧪🧪🧪🧪
Story/Plot: 📕📗📙📘
World building: 🌏🌍🌎🌏🌍
Character development: 🤓😋😀😍
Narration: 🎙🎙🎙🎙🎙
Narration Type: Dual Narration
The Hero: Deknol - he is a dark elf and a personal chef for a wealthy dark elf family. He is looking for justice for the disappearance and possible murder of his sister. Deknol figures she was killed by her boss, a man named Arsheko, a wealthy merchant. Narnoni had previously told Deknol she was afraid of her boss since he had been harassing her and had been becoming increasingly violent. Soon after telling Deknol about that, she disappeared. The courts didn’t believe Deknol since he was from the working caste, called Zagfer.
The heroine: Poppy - she is a slave and works at a spice shop. She was ok with her job working for Arsheko, since previously she had worked for some Orcs and they are libel to eat you if they are not happy with your work, at least with Arsheko, she had food and a bed. So, she keeps her mouth shut about things she sees and about the way she is treated by her boss and co-workers of higher caste than the slave labor of humans. She knows that she is forbidden from speaking, on threat of having their tongues cut out. She also knows not to be caught alone with her boss. She liked Narnoni, even though they never talked. Narnoni was nice to her until she suddenly disappeared.
The Story: Deknol goes to the temple of the god called The Deceiver. He asks for the god’s favor to seek vengeance. He promises that he will live out the rest of his days as a tool for the god, if he is granted powers that will allow him to get his revenge. That same morning, Poppy is woken early because the master summons her. She isn’t happy to be brought in front of Arsheko alone, but she is a slave, so she has no choice. He tells her that she will be moved to the front of the store since Narnoni is gone. He tells her she might be seen and bought by wealthy elves, though he will have to break her in first. Poppy seriously considers hanging herself at the prospect.
The next morning Deknol’s mind is spinning, and he tries to walk off his excess emotion. He ends up at the spice shop and finds a pretty human at the counter, looking terrified. She mistakes Deknol for Kasuth (upper caste), and he lets her believe it. He tells her that her master has committed a crime, and he is looking for evidence. When she balks at helping him for fear of being beaten, he tells her that he will buy her if she helps. Poppy agrees but is fearful of what she got herself into.
One night The Deceiver comes to Deknol in a dream and tells him that he has five moons to solve his sister’s disappearance, or his soul will belong to The Deceiver. I did like the premise of this book, but I don’t know that I would ever ask for or trust any help that came from a god called “The Deceiver”. Trusting a god with that name is like handing your soul to a snake and hoping it doesn’t bite. It adds an ominous ticking clock to the story and raises the stakes not just for Deknol’s revenge but his very self. I also worried about Deknol’s ability to help Poppy out of her situation once he makes things worse for her. I won’t give up more of the plot, but this book did keep me interested.
This setup has such a gripping emotional core. The dynamic between Deknol and Poppy crackles with tension—two people trapped in different versions of powerlessness, drawn together by trauma, vengeance, and a very uneasy alliance. Deknol’s desperation bleeds through every choice he makes and pairing that with Poppy’s quiet resilience makes for a deeply compelling contrast. The book also balances dark world-building and social commentary, too—particularly with caste systems, systemic injustice, and the hierarchy of value assigned to different races. And Narnoni, even in her absence, continued to anchor the emotional weight of the story.
This audiobook was narrated from multiple perspectives, done in dual narration by Kingsley Rose and Tyler Darby. Tyler Darby has a deep, gravelly voice that I really like and is very expressive, though he does read at a slower pace, than I like sometimes. Kingsley Rose has a soft, slightly scratchy sounding voice and I really enjoyed her narration.
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The following ratings are out of 5:
Romance: 💙💜💚❤️🩶
Heat/Steam: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Chemistry: 🧪🧪🧪🧪
Story/Plot: 📕📗📙📘
World building: 🌏🌍🌎🌏🌍
Character development: 🤓😋😀😍
Narration: 🎙🎙🎙🎙🎙
Narration Type: Dual Narration
The Hero: Deknol - he is a dark elf and a personal chef for a wealthy dark elf family. He is looking for justice for the disappearance and possible murder of his sister. Deknol figures she was killed by her boss, a man named Arsheko, a wealthy merchant. Narnoni had previously told Deknol she was afraid of her boss since he had been harassing her and had been becoming increasingly violent. Soon after telling Deknol about that, she disappeared. The courts didn’t believe Deknol since he was from the working caste, called Zagfer.
The heroine: Poppy - she is a slave and works at a spice shop. She was ok with her job working for Arsheko, since previously she had worked for some Orcs and they are libel to eat you if they are not happy with your work, at least with Arsheko, she had food and a bed. So, she keeps her mouth shut about things she sees and about the way she is treated by her boss and co-workers of higher caste than the slave labor of humans. She knows that she is forbidden from speaking, on threat of having their tongues cut out. She also knows not to be caught alone with her boss. She liked Narnoni, even though they never talked. Narnoni was nice to her until she suddenly disappeared.
The Story: Deknol goes to the temple of the god called The Deceiver. He asks for the god’s favor to seek vengeance. He promises that he will live out the rest of his days as a tool for the god, if he is granted powers that will allow him to get his revenge. That same morning, Poppy is woken early because the master summons her. She isn’t happy to be brought in front of Arsheko alone, but she is a slave, so she has no choice. He tells her that she will be moved to the front of the store since Narnoni is gone. He tells her she might be seen and bought by wealthy elves, though he will have to break her in first. Poppy seriously considers hanging herself at the prospect.
The next morning Deknol’s mind is spinning, and he tries to walk off his excess emotion. He ends up at the spice shop and finds a pretty human at the counter, looking terrified. She mistakes Deknol for Kasuth (upper caste), and he lets her believe it. He tells her that her master has committed a crime, and he is looking for evidence. When she balks at helping him for fear of being beaten, he tells her that he will buy her if she helps. Poppy agrees but is fearful of what she got herself into.
One night The Deceiver comes to Deknol in a dream and tells him that he has five moons to solve his sister’s disappearance, or his soul will belong to The Deceiver. I did like the premise of this book, but I don’t know that I would ever ask for or trust any help that came from a god called “The Deceiver”. Trusting a god with that name is like handing your soul to a snake and hoping it doesn’t bite. It adds an ominous ticking clock to the story and raises the stakes not just for Deknol’s revenge but his very self. I also worried about Deknol’s ability to help Poppy out of her situation once he makes things worse for her. I won’t give up more of the plot, but this book did keep me interested.
This setup has such a gripping emotional core. The dynamic between Deknol and Poppy crackles with tension—two people trapped in different versions of powerlessness, drawn together by trauma, vengeance, and a very uneasy alliance. Deknol’s desperation bleeds through every choice he makes and pairing that with Poppy’s quiet resilience makes for a deeply compelling contrast. The book also balances dark world-building and social commentary, too—particularly with caste systems, systemic injustice, and the hierarchy of value assigned to different races. And Narnoni, even in her absence, continued to anchor the emotional weight of the story.
This audiobook was narrated from multiple perspectives, done in dual narration by Kingsley Rose and Tyler Darby. Tyler Darby has a deep, gravelly voice that I really like and is very expressive, though he does read at a slower pace, than I like sometimes. Kingsley Rose has a soft, slightly scratchy sounding voice and I really enjoyed her narration.
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March 22, 2023
Distraught over the disappearance and almost certain death of his sister, Narnoni, Deknol (H), a zagfer dark elf of the servant caste, is frustrated that her murderer will go unpunished and takes matters into his own hands by sacrificing himself to The Deceiver, a dark god of The Thirteen, whom he hopes will help him on his quest. Poppy (h), a human salve in a spice shop, is promoted to serve the front counter where Narnoni once worked and she finds herself drawn in when Deknol comes seeking her help to gather evidence against her employer, the k’sheng merchant who Deknol suspects of the murder. As Poppy continues to gather evidence for Deknol, the pair find themselves drawn together and Deknol begins to question the danger he’s putting Poppy in, even as his dark powers grow. A little darker storyline in this zagfer-human romance that again broaches the caste system within the dark elves of Protheka and the upcoming storm that is brewing as The Thirteen awaken.
March 25, 2023
Based on the cover, I was expecting hot, spicy, smex with tentacles. The tentacles are not even physical only mentioned once and the smex is clean. Oh boy, no monster sex, no demonic sex, nada. No wonder the supreme being in this story is called the "Deceiver" At least the Dark elf character is true. This is an ordinary relationship romance, and it is ok. I still feel deceived because there was not much adventure, action, monstery, shenanigans. I was also not liking the FL name. All the characters I have read named Poppy have been bland, she was no exception even with her bright colored hair. There was not even any humor in the book. Maybe this will be ok for other readers new to PNR but it was not for me.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 4, 2023
did I read the same book? others did
The cover AND the description do not match this book. This isn’t a dark romance, at. All. There’s no tentacles or white hair and dark skin (he mentioned his skin was lilac) I’m not sure why the art looks that way. The summary leads you to believe the h wants her mate to be vicious (mafia romance anyone? Only they can do that right I think) when the reality is she’s super submissive never speaks and talks him out of violence. LOL. What.
Those were my biggest complaints, however, the grammatical errors (in both spelling and sentence structure) as well as the pacing of the book were also lacking. When the deceiver said moons I honestly thought months, nope. Days. So instalove and a lot of filler chapters. Yippee.
This is gonna be harsh but save yourself the time and skip it. I wish I did.
The cover AND the description do not match this book. This isn’t a dark romance, at. All. There’s no tentacles or white hair and dark skin (he mentioned his skin was lilac) I’m not sure why the art looks that way. The summary leads you to believe the h wants her mate to be vicious (mafia romance anyone? Only they can do that right I think) when the reality is she’s super submissive never speaks and talks him out of violence. LOL. What.
Those were my biggest complaints, however, the grammatical errors (in both spelling and sentence structure) as well as the pacing of the book were also lacking. When the deceiver said moons I honestly thought months, nope. Days. So instalove and a lot of filler chapters. Yippee.
This is gonna be harsh but save yourself the time and skip it. I wish I did.
March 21, 2023
Deknol and Poppy's Story . . .
Deknol is a dark elf whose sister, Narnoni, may have been murdered by her employer. Deknol is driven to find out what happened to her and to enact vengeance. He sold his soul to The Deceiver so he would be powerful enough to do what he needs to do. He enlists the help of a slave, Poppy, who worked in the spice store where his sister had been and she agreed to help gather proof against her boss. As they work together on this, they find themselves attracted to each other. Will Poppy be put in danger by helping him? Can he protect her? Will he make her his? War is coming and The Deceiver has already chosen his champion.
Deknol is a dark elf whose sister, Narnoni, may have been murdered by her employer. Deknol is driven to find out what happened to her and to enact vengeance. He sold his soul to The Deceiver so he would be powerful enough to do what he needs to do. He enlists the help of a slave, Poppy, who worked in the spice store where his sister had been and she agreed to help gather proof against her boss. As they work together on this, they find themselves attracted to each other. Will Poppy be put in danger by helping him? Can he protect her? Will he make her his? War is coming and The Deceiver has already chosen his champion.
March 22, 2023
This is another gripping story for the Protheka world and a fab series opener. Deknol was willing to do anything for revenge and Poppy, a human that worked at the same store as his missing sister, was willing to help him. Their interactions showed an evolution of their relationship and the building of feelings. The mystery of his missing sister, though, gave it a darker feel and had me totally glued to my reader to see how thing would unfold. There's a lot more to come for Protheka and I can't wait to explore it all ;D
March 31, 2023
I really enjoyed this book. Great world building and a nice opening to a new Protheka series. The mystery surrounding Deknol's sister, who disappeared after telling her brother how uncomfortable her boss made her feel, and how Deknol was determined to find proof of her murder and bring her justice, was captivating and riveting. Poppy is employed by the same man, and helps find evidence for Deknol, during which the two of them begin to grow close and develop feelings for each other. I really liked both of them. Looking forward to more in this series. 4 stars.
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March 21, 2023I liked the set-up of this new entry or new series in the Protheka world. The focus on Deknol and his need for vengeance really drew me in. And when he teamed up with Poppy and their relationship started to develop it was really well done.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
March 26, 2023
The story shows another side of the elves and Protheka. A low caste elf is paired with a lowly human. And their god sits amidst the story and will exert control over this story and I guess the rest of the series.
This makes me wonder what is next for this world.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This makes me wonder what is next for this world.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews