Poa

by R.N.A.

Most people shy away from death.

Ardella’s obsession started with a hunter’s kill. What started with a rabbit turned into a taboo passion working with her beloved father at the family mortuary.

"The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins?"

Death was all she knew until she meets a cute goth boy who doesn’t mind the strange, yellow-eyed girl and her taboo obsession with death. For they loved with a love that was more than love. But then tragedy strikes and rips that love away.

For our Little Raven to live, she flies away to college to find herself. College is where she first meets the wild and free Ana. They were light and dark with a friendship that was like spring. A dream and a need for creative freedom leads to Ardella discovering herself though a secret writing career during her last year of college. Little did she know an author rivalry would put the devil at her back and a masked enemy to be unveiled, for the death of a beautiful woman is, unquestionably, the most poetical topic in the world.

Coming home after college to help with the family business reveals deeply buried secrets as she stumbles upon two grave robbers who find themselves hypnotized by the strange beauty. For beauty of whatever kind, in its supreme development, invariably, excites the sensitive soul to tears. Death is a promise to everyone and everything that breathes.

Poa is an Edgar Allen Poe inspired, standalone with MFM and taboo themes. 18+

Genres: Dark Romance, Romance, Dark, Fantasy, Menage

241 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 24, 2024

About the author

RNA / RNA Author / R.N.A. Author
(The variations based on media accounts, as some don't allow the periods.)

RNA is a neurodivergent spicy romance author who spends her days contributing to society, writing, traveling, and working on various projects.

Reviews

[Lexi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good gothic dark story with some Poe elements to it. I had a lot of fun getting to know Ardella who’s the daughter of one of the morticians in the small town. Which colors how she views life and the world. This was MFM and was very good to see the romance develop. It’s moderate to high spice in the story and had a fun twist to it. If you like modern gothic stories then you’ll enjoy this one. And if you’re like me and really like Poe then you’ll have a good time reading the story. I hope to get to read more with this similar vibe or tone to it.

[XxLaVampiresaAlexisxX · Rating 5 out of 5]

POA is a Gothic, contemporary romance, that is absolutely delightful read for Edgar Allan Poe fans.

You have:
*MFM, mid-burn
*Contemporary
*Multi-PoV
*Gothic fiction
*Dark themes
*Centred around ☠
*standalone

I freaking enjoyed this soooo much. As a lover of Edgar Allan Poe, this seriously fed my dark and depraved heart. The characters were likable, the references got me fangirling over here. This is my favorite RNA book to date! Absolutely loooved it! I really hope RNA does more Gothic and macbre author inspired stories!

[The_Book_Brat · Rating 4 out of 5]

*MFM
*Contemporary
*Multi-PoV
*Gothic
*Dark themes
*💀 centred
*Poe references
*mid-burn
*standalone
Unique Read
This was my first read by the author and certainly a different one!
The characters largely focus on death in their jobs and somewhat with their characteristics/interests but it isn’t gorey more questioning. There are Edgar Allen Poe reference throughout which adds to the gothic nature but you could certainly still read this without knowing/recognising them 👍 there’s strong characters in this book - despite the loss and grief Ardella goes through she’s on a journey to find herself and explore those darker aspects her mind conjures! Roman has a cheeky streak to him with a lot of love to give and Jackson although more sedate in his character has a wicked tongue on him 😉 they have some great chemistry 😃 a kooky standalone read.

[Dominique · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poa is a quirky gothic standalone that was inspired by Edgar Allen Poe. While I'm not completely familiar with the work of Poe (other than some basic knowledge), I found myself able to fully immerse my mind into this author's unconventional mind and thoroughly enjoy the story. Ardella has a twisty little kind and I quite liked jumping into it. This book is a journey of grief, mental health, and finding one's true self. I'm certainly going to enjoy delving into R.N.A’s backlog now!

[Cleocutie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book that is complex and well done. It is dark and gothic and not an easy lightweight book, but well worth the read.

[Cali Mafiaa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aaahhhhhh oh my gosh I love this book!!! It was 🥵🥵🥵 and definitely dark!! amazing!!! Aahhh I couldn’t get enough so dang good!!! This is a Must Freak’n read!!!🩵🖤

[Ines · Rating 5 out of 5]

* 4.5 stars

I never know how to describe this author’s work, because no matter what she writes, it never seems to fit within the frame of whatever book trope is out there. Every trope that pops up in my mind is a “yes, but…” It makes a fascinating book to read, but also a real struggle to review.

So for me, no matter what, this is my go-to author for something original to find. And even though my knowledge of Edgar Allan Poe is minimal, and I missed pretty much every reference to the famous writer, I still enjoyed this book on its own. It’s a standalone with an edge, with characters who have their strengths and their weaknesses, with love that both heals and breaks and with an ending that still holds some lingering questions. In a way, this books resembles life where nothing is black or white, where no one is perfect and where life moves no matter what.

[Olga Kamińska · Rating 3 out of 5]

im not good at titles

Love the spice but still don’t really get what exactly was happening in the background.
Jacky boy with his red curls and omg girl…. I was a goner

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best way to describe this book is a quirky neo-modern gothic romance novel with moderate to high spice levels. Ardella is the daughter of one of the morticians in a small town who grows up in the business of post-mortem care. This colors (or I guess darkens?) her entire view of life, and, as a result, she is isolated from most of her peers. She comes into her own when she leaves town for college, but upon returning home to help her father, her story truly takes off. The book in interspersed with some truly inspired modern poetry and pays homage to Edgar Allen Poe in a way that doesn't make it an obvious ripoff. One question/weirdness is the era of the book is difficult to assess as the main character conducts a writing job via mail. Not email but actual mail, and there is no mention of other more modern technological advancements beyond telephones, though she does go to college. While I think the author is trying to make the story more "timeless," this, in some ways, pulled me out of the story as I was desperately trying to figure out when this book was set. This book does become verbose at times but the story does advance fairly well despite this. Overall a great read with some dark grey behavior (exhibitionism, mild stalking, grave robbing) but nothing over the top. Be warned it is GOTHIC in the morbid fascination sense. This is not a feel good light read.

[Colby Bettley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew I was going to love this book but wow. Poa is the gothic, eerie book of my dreams.

I’m obsessed with this female-led Edgar Allen Poe inspired novel. It’s beautiful and steamy and filled with such interesting little nods to the dark poet himself.

Ardella is the FMC I’ve always dreamed of. I love her dark, twisted mind and found myself resonating with her so much of the time. Her journey with exploration of the darkness within her, mental health, grief, loss—it was just beautiful to read.

And our two men? My, oh my! Jackson is such a soft, gentle soul with a pure heart and a filthy mind. And Roman? My hilarious, dark hearted love with the biggest heart. I love them both so much and I love that I didn’t have to choose between them… because Ardella doesn’t either!

This was just so beautiful and I can’t wait to devour more of RNA’s next works. Especially a book about a certain flirty little side character I know everyone will love!

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

POA by R.N.A was a book I couldn’t wait to read. After seeing the book description mention it was Edgar Allen Poe inspired I was one hundred percent on board. I can’t even begin to say how much I loved this book. I couldn’t stop reading it once I started…I was hooked from the start. It was written so well and the plot just kept me interested to the very end. There was such a pleasant mix of gothic feels with romance. The worldbuilding and characters were on another level. I really enjoyed the morally gray aspects woven throughout. I would check your content warning just to be on the safe side. I will mention it’s a why choose which is great because I was a fan of both Jackson and Roman. This book is just in a league of its own, I don’t know how I can describe all the amazing ness without giving spoilers. I can’t begin to recommend this book enough and this author has written some great reads. I would definitely put both on your reading radar.

Final review:
5 out of 5 stars

[Suzanne McNeill Taviner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, this was a curious book! Ardella is an unusual woman with an fascination of death and Poe. She hasn't had a tough or harm filled life but she has know heartache and sadness, escaping her little village for college helped bring some light to her life and a trustworthy best friend. Return to the village brought her 2 new love interests as well as family problems. I would have liked a more tidy ending with further information about those problems but, I guess, life isn't always like that, but I did like her ending.
Looking forward to reading Ana's story too,

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first time I have read from this author and I didn't know what to expect. She is certainly has an edge and different style to her writing that I was not expecting. It was a good read that you had to keep focus to understanding what was going on.

Lots of twist and turns to keep you hooked and wondering what is going to happen next. Enjoyed the steam she writes into the pages. This author certainly has an unique style of writing and storyline to her book
I do look forward to reading more from this author.

[Rachel Stephens · Rating 3 out of 5]

I went into this one blind, and it ended being different than I expected. I don't mean it badly, it was just more difficult for me to get through. I don't want to give away any spoilers, though.
There was darkness, mystery, spicy scenes and more.
Overall, I thought it was a good read, but it just wasn't for me.

[Tammy Willoughby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow

This is a well written book. Tbis story is one of a kind, I have read no other like it. I enjoyed the character building and the magic of this story. There are some nice spicy moments with Ardella and her guys, Jack and Roman. If you are looking for a great unique read, grab this book up.

[MaddTheSimmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a morbid, poetic story of love, loss, and finding happiness in the most unlikely of ways. This untraditional romance made me laugh, cry, and gasp out loud. I really loved reading Ardella’s tale. It was a fascinating, unique story and I recommend it to anyone who craves a little bit of darkness in their life.

[Anna Gilbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

So many unanswered questions?

I didnt enjoy this book as much as I wanted to. It had a great story but I just felt there were so many things that didn't give an answer to. But where it lacked in plot for me (I personally love a strong plot with reasoning as to why they happen) the intimate moments between characters was great. People coming together (in more ways than one) and acceptance for who they are without changing them. 💯

Mortician + grave diggers = 🌶🌶🌶

[Chels · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book very much. I’ve never read anything quite like this before. I love the shadows of Edgar Allan Poe that are woven into the story. If you are looking for something otherworldly and dark then this is the book for you.

[Blue · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book!

I loved how poetic it was yet being a dark romance I loved the characters and all their darkness. I loved how this book was about a mortician’s daughter and steamy spicy scenes. I loved how it was Edgar Allen Poe themed it made it extremely good to read and one of my favourites. I honestly wish there was more than it just being a standalone but honestly it was a really good read.

[Ima Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a unique and gothic luxury story inspired by Edgar Allen Poe, and the vibes were in place! We watch Ardella and her experiences with death through the men and best friend she meets. Check the trigger warnings and enjoy!

[Catieann1985 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very good sweet little Gothic romance. Great why choose elements. Great FMC who knew who she was and didn't hide it. Great mmc's who supported her fully through everything. It was a sweet adorable love story with great little Gothic elements. I was very impressed with this book overall.

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was definitely not what I was expecting. It had some excellent twists and turns, and plenty of heat!

[Alexis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book. It had Edgar Allen Poe vibes and all the gothic dark romance. Ardella and her guys were great. I can't wait to read the next book from this author!

[Michaela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Words don't describe this author writing it was amazing I loved every second of it

[Em · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dark, sexy, and right up my alley. POA is a contemporary, gothic novel inspired by the master of macabre and, somehow, my fantasies. The angst, sensuality, and overall character progression was crafted with skill and care. The story's sexual and emotional chemistry brings tingles to all the right places. There is at least one scene permanently living in my head rent-free.

[Faye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where do i even start....
Morbid.... absolutely
Gorgeously sexy...... oh yes!!
Mmf that had me melting
And one of the most moving quotes I have ever read made me cry and melt



"Sometimes,people don't get the love and care in their life, so they must receive it here.
No matter what."

[APut · Rating 4 out of 5]

Likes: the themes and characters. The mausoleum. Spice.

Dislikes: Low stakes, not a ton of conflict

[Ann Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Different to what I have read before. A dark, gothic story inspired by Edgar Allan Poe. Lots of references to his work with captivating, interesting characters. A really great read.

[Chelsea Bailey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am left with so many questions. The book was hot, and I enjoyed the storyline, but some of what happened didn’t make any sense.

[R.N.A. R.N.A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story was inspired by not only Edgar Allan Poe but also by hearing various funeral directing stories from a friend.
I thought, hmmm, how about I create inspiration from Edgar's life but make it female main character (and less incest, but still dark and morbid).
I'm no Edgar or a poet, but the poems are all original coming from my own twisty mind.
There is no given historical timeline, done on purpose, because I wanted a mix of modern and old.
Morella is a town stuck in an older time, so yes, there's electricity and plumbing, but that town is isolated in the mountains. The city life and college hold the mix of how women are treated in the late 1900s, only really showing up in the caregiving-type of professions. Hence, the secret identity. Yet the language is still modern and not quite late 1900s-vibes.
Ardella is a free spirit, morbid with her thoughts and obsessions, passionate about her dreams and desires.
As the dedication states, "this is for all the spooky, morbid bitches. Stay wild. Stay weird."