Angel Murray has spent half her life in a basement, and now she has a second chance, an opportunity to start over with the love that was ripped from her. Except she’s destined to go from one prison to another, one that she can’t escape no matter how badly she wants to.
A fight over love
On Halloween night, The Fellowship forces her to seal a bond that will change her for better or for worse. The dangerous organization has acquired control over her, and when she’s forced into marriage, none of the right questions are asked. Now she’s torn, pulled in two different directions, with no end in sight. Not that she wants to choose.
When love and fate collide, who comes out unscathed?
This book is for you if you like cults, why choose with MMF scenes, forced marriage, multiple MMCs/3 POV
Author of dark romance & toxic love. Sometimes diverse.
International Bestselling Author in five different countries, Shae Ruby spends their time writing, mostly queer, books that make you feel. Shae's stories come from deep within their bleeding heart, and they let the drops flow into their words.
Shae is represented by Lunar Literary Agency.
For all subsidiary rights, contact Angie Ojeda-Hazen.
Tropes: ~ Cult vibes/Rituals ~ Forced marriage ~ Secret society
This is a MMF romance and it is really dark as well so make sure you check your triggers. This is the perfect spooky season read and I highly recommend it!
This book had my face in flames and made me feel like I was melting it was SO HOT. I literally cannot wait for the next book in the series. Everything Shae writes is a literal masterpiece. Her writing is beautiful and I love the characters she gives us as well.
There is degradation, praise, blood play, dub con, CNC, and PRIMAL FREAKIN' PLAY. Did I mention one of the guys has a peen piercing? Yeah, yup.
i feel literally insane seeing all the 5 star reviews. like i love dark romance and don’t have any triggers really, but the shit in this book is just so badly written and not explained at all that it actually made me feel like icky about what’s going on.
and then the zero explanation about anything really important, like background on the characters besides anything superficial or building any type of relationship drove me CRAZY. like i’m supposed to believe killian just becomes obsessed with her after literally seeing her??? and we get hardly any back story on draven and angel’s relationship so how am i supposed to believe they’re in love and have been after being locked up together for however long??? unless that was in the last 40 pages of this 165 page book, but i don’t think it was.
Thank you so much for the opportunity to read your ARC, Shae!
Holy shit this is such a dark book! This is my first book by Shae Ruby, and let me just say that this did not disappoint, nor did it hold back. This was intense, gritty, steamy.
Ok, but seriously, aside from the MMF aspect of the book (even if it was hot), the story was phenomenal! I love culty, ritualistic books and this one delivered!
I can't wait to see what else Shae has planned for these characters because this was insanely good.
🔪 Play 🍑 Play Primal Play Praise & Degradation kinks 🩸 Play DubCon Forced Marriage Jacob's 🪜 Cult/Secret Society Possessive MCs Poly MMF
Oh man!! I cannot wait for the full length novel of this.. I absolutely adore Draven and Killian.. I cannot wait to read more about all three of these characters and the guys that I know I will slightly be obsessed with lol (Killian style) 😍
NB: I initially didn't give this book a star rating, as it was a DNF, but after the author DMd me through IG to get me to suppress my written review, I felt it necessary to return and update. The following is the original review that was written in 2023 and remains valid.
DNF at 70%
This novella has so much potential! Cult/secret society, ritual sacrifices, brotherly bonds ("soulmates"), forced marriage, but I found the characters to be very juvenile and annoying. They had zero communication skills and the MM portion of the relationship felt forced.
The author threw in a lot of background information that messed with the flow of the story. Yes, I am interested in how the secret society works, but not at the expense of the pacing or plot flow.
There is some good spice spread throughout - MF and MMF scenes, blood play, primal play, and dubcon. But it wasn't enough to keep me interested in finishing the book.
Might try to pick up again later. The only change in my initial review is that I will not pick this book up in the future. The author's behavior has tainted any potential enjoyment.
Okay, I love this novella and the spice it has. I wish this novella had some scene between the MMC's and because of that, I rate this book 4.5 stars.
* Please read the trigger warnings before you read this book.
What happens when you are caged in the basement for over a decade? What happens when suddenly one day you get free and taken somewhere but you have no idea where? What happens when you finally realize that you got freed from one cage to get into another? What do you think will happen to FMC when she gets to know what kind of mess she has gotten herself into? What will happen when she gets to know that she is a part of a secret society and it much more to it than she could ever imagine? What happens when she gets an offer to be with both MMCs? Do you think she'll willing to accept such an offer?
This is an amazing spicy secretive society MMF novella and let me know what you think of it.
P.S. - I couldn't stop annotating this novella. Probably I have annotated half of this novella.
From one prison to another. When Angel is saved from her basement, she has no idea what she’s been led into. With an impending marriage, and talks of rituals, it’s not until she enters the darkness that she realises nothing is as she thought, but one thing she’s sure of is this union will ruin her - for better or for worse. Love vs obsession.
I’ve had the Shae’s books on my TBR for the longest time! And if this is what to expect then I’m dropping everything to read what’s already out, and clearing my schedule for everything that’s to come!
If you want dark, this is it. If you want spicy, this is it. If you want mind gripping story that leaves its mark on your soul, this is fcking it!
Honestly this has become one of my most anticipated series, this was only the prequel novella and I’m already burning up to the point of combustion so I’m prepping my will because I’m certain this series will be the end of me in the best way imaginable 🥵💀 even the freaking cliffhanger left me crazy…
(To Shae I leave my soul, she ruined it, so she can keep it)
Holy damn, I went into this blind, other than the trigger warnings 😂 •Forced into marriage/arranged marriage •Cults/rituals •Secret society •Primal play •You’re mine •MMF scene •They both want her
This was such a great novella, I ate it up so fast and it was my first She Ruby book. I 100% will not be my last. And I cannot wait to read more about these characters. Check TWs!!
It was very short and didn’t give that much. I did get kind of curious to the future work in the series, but the plot is still quote weird to me. Good smut though.
💀Poly MMF 💀 Cult 💀 Dark romance 💀 Primal Play 💀 Forced Marriage 💀 jacobs 🪜 💀praise and deg 💀some rituals going on
Check TW/CW cause this has dark themes so read responsibly
Thanks so much for the ARC Shae and for the opportunity to read your book!
Shae omg I AM OBSESSED! I have no words cause it was written so well I couldn’t stop reading it. Angel is saved by a familiar face her one love she hasnt seen for years, but she doesn’t know bro what she’s getting into cough cough cult.
Draven has gone through hoops to get Angel and to be with her, but in order to do that she must abide by the “secret society’s” rules to make this happen. Little did they know Killian, my fuckin MAAAAN has his eyes set on her too. Killian you freaking wild 😮💨😮💨😮💨 and Draven who knew you’d have a dom side. I do love Angel she’s tough ass bish, but i dont blame her for showing weakness for these men.
The chemistry between these three e-fucking-lectric. Omg its HOT 🥵 TENSION, feels, and I cant wait to see whats in store for them.
“I’ll ruin your fucking life and enjoy doing it. But loving you? I don’t think I’m capable of it. I’ll do you one better though. I’ll be so fucking obsessed with you, I won’t even be able to breathe.”
If you’re looking for a short dark romance novella to up your book count, this is it!
This was such an easy & quick read (165 pages) it could definitely be used to get out of a reading slump too!
2 adoptive brothers loving the same girl, while also having a thing for each other 🤨 Sign me tf up!
- Dark Romance - Taboo - Prequel novella - Secret Society/Rituals - Forced Marriage - MMF/love triangle ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
It’s so short but this was so hard to read and I couldn’t even finish the last bit because it pained me to do so. The beginning was weird with the girl being raised in a basement, but then for her former boyfriend to have randomly been adopted by a rich politician family and now having the ability to have power as long as she does some weird stuff for his family…no thanks.
The characters were also very dumb and had terrible personalities.
“I vow to bind myself to you, from now until death, and even after yours.”
Dark & depraved, I cant find a much more fitting words to describe this one but those two words fit like it was made for this MMF dark romance novella . If you are an avid fan of darker books and enjoys watching documentary about cvlts then you will know how scary accurate this book is. It didn't help than after I read this book and opened my tiktok to watch gaming videos, tiktok gave me cvlt related vids instead 💀💀
“There are things that make me a monster, a monster that isn’t even worth you but will keep you all the same.”
This is my first Shae Ruby book and I have seen other reviews where they say that Shae's writing can make you feel, and Im here to tell you that, that it is indeed true. There's something raw in the way she wrote this one.
I knew the characters will drive me wild while reading this one and I was proven Im right when I met Killian, he is unhinged and possessive and I love him so much.
Unhallowed is really just a preview (hence novella) of Angel, Killian and Drav's story as they navigate the dark & disturbing life of being a member of a powerful cvlt. This novella is a perfect balance between spice and plot and im all here for it!
This might be the best cult/secret society book I've read, and it's one og my favorite tropes. This secret society was seriously messed up. Their marriage ritual had my mouth hanging open.
I don't typically read a lot of mfm but I really enjoyed this one. I liked that there was a rivalry between Draven and Killian but there was also something more between them. Something I don't think they fully understood themselves.
I felt for Angel. Not just the life she'd lived before being reunited with Draven but also how confused she must have been since no one really told her what the heck was going on.
I had a hard time choosing between Draven and Killian. Both were great characters. Draven loved Angel and he really wanted the best for her which wasn't easy for him with all the secrets happening. Killian was the definition of obsessed. He wanted Angel and nothing would stand in his way, not even his own brother.
I hope there will be more books in this series cause this was a really good read.
♡ Why choose ♡ Cult/secret society ♡ MMF ♡ Forced marriage ☆ Check Trigger warnings ☆
I always love my reads with my book club girlies and this month's pick was Unhallowed.
I have mixed feelings about this book, when I finished I wasn't quite sure what to think of it, although I did enjoy it and I did think it was a fun read and the spice was amazing! I just felt it was lacking something. I enjoyed the first chapter and the story behind Angel and what happened to her but then it just seemed to go full throttle out of nowhere with no build up.
I liked the characters especially Killian, he was definitely my favourite and things got very interesting to say the least when he was introduced! I know this is a prequel novella so you're not going to get the full picture and it is hard to fit everything in so I will be reading the next book as I feel it might give me what I was looking for in this novella.
📖 Unhallowed by Shae Ruby (Prequel Novella) Star Rating: 5/5 ★★★★★ Spice Rating: 5/5 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ available on KU ☑ couple: Killian x Angel x Draven (MFM) POV: Multi/1st Releases: 10.13.23
• why choose / poly romance • prim@l play / bløod play / breath play • pierced 🍆 • love triangle • praise 🤤 • STFUATTDLAGG 👏 • forced marriage • cult / secret society
Holy hëll, this book swept me off my feet. 👏🤤 This is a small novella and yet Shae has got me COMPLETELY INVESTED. FROM A NOVELLA. I’m on my knees, begging, pleading for the next book because this one has me so entranced and hot and bothered. The secret society/cult aspect make the book so perfect for spooky season and kept me really enthralled with the plot. Plus, the spice was SO HOTTTT. We’ve got a sort of love triangle, ploy romance type thing going on and there’s one scene with all three of them that is sure to make you….switch to reading one handed if you know what I mean.
I literally LOVED this, and I’m so freaking impressed with how Shae managed to completely capture me just from a small novella. Hats off to you, babe. I’m officially obsessed! 🫶
Thank you Shae for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Angel has been in a dark basement for the last ten years, and gets taken to a huge mansion. Once there she sees a person from her past, but there is something wrong and dark about this place. She becomes an obsession to one man, and the love to another man. There are many secrets and secret society. Can Angel survive what’s coming for her ? Great characters and storyline Highly recommended Amazing book. I love Angel and her strength. Great supporting characters. I couldn’t put this book down. This book ends with a cliffhanger. Make sure you read Trigger Warnings. This book has nonstop intrigue and the spice is hot.
A quick prequel read, the story line is good and hopefully will lead into an intriguing next book.
A couple of irritants:- she was branded on her right hand….I mean I’ve had burns from irons, ovens, cookers etc. and let me just say they are painful, they hurt at the time, they throb for hours, they ache for days, blister, scab! Our FMC screams in pain then goes on with what life throws her way never looking at, wrapping up, or rubbing at it seeming oblivious to it 🤷🏼♀️
She wasn’t a virgin for the sacrifice, having lost that in the basement, could it not have been intimated that she was given some sort of contraceptive, for then and of course after she’s been bought. Because we are all taught that you can get pregnant.
Rant over, just those things that play on your mind when you are going to sleep 🤣
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Ok this book is just brilliant! I randomly come across it and was obsessed with the cover but the actual plot is just 🔥 I haven’t read many MM books and why chose has never been my favourite trope but this book! Omg! I can’t wait to read more about these characters and find out what’s going on. I love secrets societies, cults and anything psychological. So that along with the spice! Just wow. Obviously read the trigger warnings but if you look at them like a shopping list then you’ll love this book.
Eh idk, was it hot? Yes. If reading purely for smut? Fine. But idk as far as storyline goes I could’ve definitely used a bit more of the basement history as well as like history between Drav/Angel? And even maybe the cult? Feels like there is ritualistic sacrifice just to qualify this as a “dark romance” when we know nothing about who/what/why. Just tossed murder in there to be ‘dark’ but not enough development or tension for it to be scary or thrilling..
Feels like some major plot holes, idk this would have maybe benefited from being a novel rather than a novella? I have mixed feelings
Oh this one. This one was good. I devoured it and then it ended on a cliffy?! I was shocked but remembered there’s three books that follow and then got really fucking excited. Shae’s stories are so captivating and her writing makes it easy to get lost in her fictional world. I’m sorry, but I’m team Killian right now. The fact that he was willing to give Angel more information did it for me. I can’t wait to see where this story goes. How many times will my jaw drop during the following books?! We shall see! I’m off to go read the rest of the series, I’ll be back with more thoughts soon!
This novella is short and spicy 🥵🥵🥵 I wasn't sure exactly what I was getting into, but the dedication and author notes at the beginning filled me in.
I don't want to spoil anything so I can't say alot but I will say that this will make you have an internal battle with yourself on which guy you want to be with Angel. I wanted to be a Draven girl so badly, but there's just something about Killian.
I absolutely LOVED this book. I cannot wait to dive into more of this story and it’s characters. This book is so deliciously unhinged and I just can’t function with that cliffhanger. Killian is just 🔥🔥🔥 and he has a serious mouth on him. Also, Killian AND Draven together??!? GOOD GOD. It was 🥵🥵🥵🥵