Whispers in the Dark

Black Oasis #1

by Nik Knight, Lily Mayne

You never know what’s hiding under your bed…

At twenty-four, Cody has already lost hope of having a life of his own. All his time is spent playing nurse to a dying, spiteful step-father and maid to his bully half-brother. His only escapes are playing his favorite online fantasy game, Black Oasis, and talking to the strange, unearthly presence under his bed that may or may not actually exist.

But everything changes when his nightly visitor, who introduces himself as Nor, starts talking back.

As their connection deepens, Nor invites Cody into the surreal world existing just beyond his nightmares, filled with haughty demons, passion-killing pet bugs named Gef, and a dark landscape that is oddly familiar. With his sweet but monstrous companion by his side, Cody might finally gain the life of freedom and adventure that he’s always wanted.

Join Nor and Cody as they unearth the true meaning of hope, passion, and a love of endless depths that spans between worlds in Whispers in the Dark, the first book in Knight and Mayne’s co-authored queer, monster romance series, Black Oasis.

Whispers in the Dark is an M/M monster romance full of hurt/comfort, angst, humor, and a sweet, spicy love between a redheaded Texan and his precious, six-fingered Deepdweller. This love story contains explicit content and is not suitable for young readers. Be sure to check the Trigger Warnings at the beginning of the book for more details.

Genres: M M Romance, Fantasy, Romance, Paranormal, Monsters, Monster Romance, Dark

339 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 28, 2023

About the author

Nik Knight (they/them) is a born and bred Hoosier living in a top-secret location in Europe. They are a single parent to two wonderful gremlins, and they write love in all its forms.

When they aren’t busy adulting, Nik can be found in their writing nook, typing away as their fingers turn to nubs.

Reviews

[ML · Rating 1 out of 5]

-⭐️X 100

Writing my review as I read…

⚠️Spoilers ahead⚠️

NGL, the first 12% is mainly internal dialogue and its abuse of the MC. Parental and sibling abuse ugh. Repetitive abuse. I’m like we get it. He has a bad home life 🙄 AND I’m reminded why I don’t read Nikole Knight anymore. The internal dialogue queen 😣😑 Author colabs are tricky and very few work out

Finally something happens at 15%. Cody meets Nor.

19% in and he wants to show Nor porn. Not much for subtle romance are we. Ugh. This colab is a disaster. Lily is great with the relationship building of monsters vs humans. There is none of that here. I’m going to skim to see if it gets better..

35% in and it hasn’t gotten better. The abuse by the father is really really bad. I’m not into trauma porn. I avoid books like that. I’m not even sure this book is worth a skim. I’m really disappointed. This author collaboration is dubious. The weaker author always ends up bringing down the stronger author. Ugh.

38% there is sex but since there really isn’t much foundation built there it was kinda emotionless sadly. Cody is happy for 2 seconds then he’s being abused again on the very next page by his brother 🙄🙄
Plus the internal dialogue never stops 😫. It’s like almost the whole book. I think I need a TW for excessive internal dialogue 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫

47% in and finally Nor takes Cody to his world. It’s like Cody’s video game. 🤪
Which they never explain why in the book.

More stuff happened that I did not care about. More and more homophobic slurs directed at Cody. More physical abuse.
The dad dies and then the brother tries to rape Cody that very day because now they are finally alone. This book is seriously vile. Nor intervenes before there is penetration and we are not sure but he basically shreds the brother.

They leave and go to Nor’s world. More boring stuff happens. Cody feels guilty about his brother the rapist because he’s a complete moron and then has demon sex with Nor where he asks Nor to break him. Ugh and small mercies it’s over the end.

**See my highlights for how truly terrible this book was because I don’t have the words to describe the ughness of this book. 🙄🙄🙄🙄
If I could give negative stars ⭐️ I would

[Astra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok. But why do I want a monster under my bed now?

I liked this one! I wasn’t sure if It would be one of those books that just took my ages to finish. But it wasn’t :D And I was pleasantly surprised by the nice world building. 4.5

[Kati *☆･ﾟ]

dropped @30%

As I am way too late to the Monstrous party I thought I better start with everyone else on this new monster series. Doesn’t make me feel left behind, you know?! *wink

These were my initial thoughts when I started the book. Watching the abuse Cody experienced by his father and brother was hard. And now after having seen multiple disappointed reviews from mutuals totally killed my excitement and I’m not up for what’s to happen next in here. There are better books to pursue, I think. So thanks for the warning, friends.


Still, Nor was the sweetest. ♡

“I have you, little rabbit.”

[aleksandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

2/5

if monster romance, why boring?

[Jewel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm a huge fan of Lily Mayne's Monsterous series but sadly, I didn't really enjoy this collab. The world building was lacking and the story was just was depressing. I could never understand why Cody refused to stand up for himself or, I don't know, LEAVE. He's 24 years old and his family has treated him like crap forever and he lets them. He is the lone carer for his abusive father and gets nothing but derision for it and his brother is a bully and his mom is basically useless. Cody is 100% a doormat for everyone from his family to his father's doctor. He knows he doesn't deserve the abuse so I don't understand why he continually took it.

Also, I was really hoping that it would be explained why Nor's world and the creatures that live there look just like the game Cody plays. Has Cody had a psychotic break? Has the creator of the game been to Nor's world? We're never told.

I have no plans to continue this series. :(

[Alexandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great addition to the monster romance genre!

-First love, loosing the VCard
-Sweet, tender characters
-Angst outside of the romance
-Vivid and rich world building
-More monsters!!
-HEA

The world building has a Twilight Zone ( or for the younger generation Black Mirror) vibe, what I really enjoy! You can buy me with this kind of story everyday:)
The romance part was lovely, with tentative steps and full on trust.

““No, little rabbit. I feel your heart.” His other hand flattened over my chest and pressed. “All that you feel. It’s so big. And I feel it all.””

I would give it five stars if not Cody’s doormat personality, that he stayed with his family too long. I don’t understand that part and it made hard to get into the story.

Lucky the monster world was awesome and made up for Cody’s life choices:)

I’m looking forward to reading more books in this world/series.

I’ve received an ARC from the author and this is my honest review.

[haletostilinski · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐︎ 4.5 Stars Rounded Up ⭐︎

Trigger Warning: For attempted sexual assault near the end. I believe it's warned for at the beginning of the book, but I'm just reiterating it. It doesn't go too far before it's stopped, but the beginning of it does happen and it's hard to read, even if you aren't triggered by it

Ahhh, I always love a good Lily Mayne read. With a new-to-me author as well in Nikole Knight.

If you know Lily Mayne then you know of her Monstrous series and how good she is at writing human/monster relationships.

This story is in the same vain.

You know how you sometimes have monsters and sometimes scary monster looking things can be in your dreams, whatever you mind can think of?

Well, in Cody's world, those monsters are real. They even have their own separate universe, a whole different world than our regular world.

Nor is an inhabitant of that world, and also a "sleep demon" meaning he, like many (or all? Not sure) demons from his world are. They not only feed on regular food from their world, but also nightmares of humans.

So sleep demons can either just slip into or latch onto your nightmare to feed or some even twist people's dreams to make them into nightmares.

Nor doesn't do the latter, but he does slip into or latch onto nightmares. That's how he found Cody, and something about Cody completely drew him in and fascinated him.

Cody, who had nightmares because his reality sucks ass.

His mother is checked out completely, almost always gone working two jobs, since his father (or, well, step-dad, really, as we learn early on that his mother seemed to have an affair and Cody's biological father is not the father's he'd always known) can't work because of his worsening health.

His father is horrible and belligerent, treating Cody like shit just because he was born, a product of his mom's affair. It got even worse when Cody came out as bisexual in high school.

His brother - excuse me, half brother - is absolutely horrible, he's completely verbally and sometimes physically abusive to Cody, and he definitely has a weird, creepy interest in Cody. In that way that Cody tries to ignore but can't help but tense up whenever Brad, his brother, comes near him.

Cody is now 24, and it's like he's trapped in this life, in this apartment they live in. The only remotely safe space he has is his room, and that can be easily invaded by his brother all the damn time, so it's not 100% safe.

And he's stuck taking care of his ailing, abusive father because Brad certainly won't do it. And Cody has been beaten down so much, and abused basically all this life, that he just kind does it. Takes care of the horrible father, takes his verbal abuse, takes Brad's verbal and physical abuse, and his mother's neglect.

To top it all off, he feels some sort of guilt if he doesn't want to take care of his dying not-really-his-father father, so he forces himself to do it most days.

So of course he has nightmares, and one day Nor comes across his nightmare and so every night after that, Nor comes and hides under his bed when Cody is asleep, as the veil between their worlds is more open for him to get through into our world when Cody is falling asleep/is asleep.

At first Cody doesn't notice, but then he starts hearing noises under his bed, potential clicking of claws on the floor, etc. Things really change when Brad comes in Cody's room one night and almost goes too far, but Nor is there to protect Cody.

He doesn't come out from under Cody's bed at first, thinking himself too "ugly" or "scary" compared to Cody, but eventually they start talking enough and get close enough where he does come out.

Honestly in real life, a monster like Nor would probably scare me half to death, but this is a monster romance book so of course after some initial fear, Cody is alll into that 😉

I just have the smallest of niggles with this, that being that it was kinda slow going at first for me. Not too slow, and I wasn't stalled when reading or anything like that, just that it took a bit for things to really get going.

Also, while Cody sometimes stood up to his dad and brother near the end, I wanted more from that. He kinda does, but not as much as I was wishing he would. And it really bothered me that he felt any sort of grief or sadness for his father and brother near the end. Especially after what Brad almost does to him.

I get it, and realistically Cody's reactions make sense. But I just wanted him to straight up hate them being like "fuck them" and "bye bye bitches" about it all instead of being all...human about it lol. No Cody, please don't be complex about this! Just hate them and say good riddance. They weren't worth any of his feelings other than hatred in my book. So it slightly annoyed me when even after everything that happens, he somehow felt a little bad even. Nuh uh. Fuck that noise!

But other than those few niggles, I loved this.

Since I've never read Nikole Knight, I couldn't tell at all what part of this was written by her or what was her influence, because this felt so much like just a Lily Mayne book to me.

Nor, while capable of violence and all that, and of carrying it out when needed, is mostly just a big softie underneath it all, and he worships his human. His Cody. (Whenever he says "my Cody" in this I just melt) He wants the best for Cody and wants to protect him at all costs. He never wants to hurt Cody, ever. He treats Cody like a prince in his own "demon" way.

And sometimes he's just so earnest and adorable, I can't. And he has the type of ears Lor did (if you've read it. If you haven't just know I'm talking about big bat-like hears that can twitch when he's embarrassed or droop when he's sad, etc) and it's just so cute. Also there's a tail involved (which is used for sexy purposes but also to show Nor's excitement or happiness and I found it so adorable.

Their chemistry was really well done too. This book takes its time to build up their connection and it really came across in their interactions, the growing love they have for each other.

I also enjoyed Lau, another sleep demon from Nor's world who is a friend of Nor's but who "hates" humans (you know what that means. He's ass backwards in love with a human tee hee 😁) and is more snarky than Nor. He and Cody don't get along the best but kind of soften towards each other near the end (and will probably become actual friends once Lau falls for his own human). I'm intrigued to see who the human is that will get Lau all up in knots. (We get kind of a hint near the end when he asks very detailed questions about humans to Cody.)

So overall, I definitely recommend this. Beware the abusive language and physical abuse and overall shittiness of Cody's family, as well as the TW I gave at the beginning of this review. If you still want to dive in knowing about those tough to read things, then dive in, it's so good!

And we get another great monster love story from Ms. Mayne (and Nikole Knight, who I'll probably have to check out after reading this).

Can't wait for Lau's love story next! 😍

[KaylaMarie · Rating 4 out of 5]

✰4 stars✰

“You’re beautiful,” Nor whispered, something ridiculous like… awe in his voice. “You are wonderful. My little rabbit.”

I’ve previously read all of Lily Mayne’s Monstrous series and couldn’t get enough of those so I was very excited to read this and it didn’t disappoint!

I really feel for our MC, Cody, because the life he is living is not easy, so when Nor comes along and treats him with all of the sweetness he deserves it just makes my little mood reader heart happy.
The plot here is very low angst between the MCs themselves and high quantity of spice.
They are just little saps for one another!

”A demon had appeared under my bed, and I’d fallen in love with him. Pretty sure they didn’t write romance novels about that.”

I definitely recommend this one! I’m excited to see the pairing in the next story for this series too.

Check trigger warnings, as some content might be sensitive for some readers

[Renae Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whispers in the Dark is a great monster romance that is very creative in its world-building while having a consistent slow-burn romance that makes you feel for the characters and hope for their survival. Cody is such a sweet character, who has a terrible home situation, and shockingly his only source of comfort is his silent protector, Nor who hides under his bed, watching and waiting for Cody to interact and finally notice his presence.

I really loved the dynamic between Cody and Nor. Cody is effortlessly kind, while Nor offers such a strong and primal need to protect his precious Cody. Their relationship is so sweet and endearing, which made for a great reading experience.

I also enjoyed the world-building and the introduction of other monsters. There is one in particular, Lau that was a complete hoot and I really hope we get his story next.

Overall another fantastic monster romance that completely draws you into this world with its rich characters and unique premise. Cannot wait to read more!!!

*** I reviewed a complimentary copy of this story.***

[⋆｡°✮ Lucy InTheSky ✮°｡⋆ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Re-Read on Aug-30th/24

I re-read this today because I'm about to read the next installment that I've been putting off for quite a while.

"Have I always had a demon kink? I feel like this is something I should've realized sooner in my life."
You and me both, Cody. You and me both.

On second thought, I'm rating this with 4.25 - 4.5⭐ and I'll round it up because I like the world setting and I still have my passport



Let's goooo

_________________________________


Original review on Oct-14th/23

Damn you Cody for living my dream. 5⭐

FINALLY -- a true monster romance! I'm a complete, total monster lover at heart, so when I started reading romance books years ago, I quickly found myself a devoted monster fan, even before I started reviewing books on this platform, so I am of course very happy when I get to a real, wonderful monster book, one I absolutely love.

Whispers in the dark is definitely one of those books. I'm familiar with Mayne and her monsters, who isn't, but this book really hit home for me, probably because I just loved Nor so much, not only that,I loved the ideas within this book; the world setting, the demons, the dialogues, the humour, the good smut and I cannot wait for other books to come.

🟡 Monster/human
🔵 Nightmares, demons (but good), another dimension
🟢 A game that's a replica of this other world
🟣 Great world building
🟡 Wonderful main characters
❗ Abuse in the family of the human MC
🌶️ Smut is very good, descriptive sex; both vers



The story is about Cody, a 24 - year old ginger twink, who's living with his mom, stepdad and villain stepbro Brad. He's playing a miserable role in that home - unneccesarily so, in my opinion - because he's a caretaker for the stepdad, who literally hates him and then there's Brad, who's harassing him.

This was my Cody.



Cody does have a job - he's a graphic designer, so he does have his own money and it was strange to me how come he doesn't live elsewhere with a couple of roommates, just to be away from his rotten family, but Cody is a too nice guy, who's been taught he's nothing and noone, so he's feeling guilty all the time, staying at home, having no social life, no boyfriend, nothing, just serving the family.

Nor comes to visit him when Cody's having a nightmare. Nor's a sleep demon from another world, another dimension and ever since he saw Cody in his nightmare, Nor is attracted to him and is following Cody into his world, lying under his bed.

"Good god, was I seriously flirting with a... a demon? I'd never flirted with anyone in my life, and now I was trying it out for the first time with a demon?"

Nor is also a cinnamon roll, so despite his apearance he's a deadly, loner sweetheart, who wants nothing more than to keep Cody safe, take him to his bed, keep him warm and have as much crazy hot sex with him as possible.

"I let out a forceful huff and shook the ire off, grinning up at Nor. "Not like you." I squeezed his hand. "My big, sweet demon."
His silver eyes grew heated as he looked back down at me. "Not always sweet, Cody. But always big."



Bahaha 😆

Cody as a lonely, sad soul found his home in a world of demons, strange animals and a violet sky with the earth below humming, I mean, again, damn you Cody for living my dream. A very good world building, I loved this other world. Love it. Hopefully we'll get more time here in the future books.

Cody and Nor were so special together. Both gentle, loving souls who cared so much about how the other felt. They wanted to make each other as comfortable as possible, always touching and reassuring one another, saying sweet words and having amazing sex.
Cody was a virgin, but he got a hot, sexy demon to take him to heaven and back, the sex scenes were descriptive and hot, I couldn't have wanted more, it was perfect.

"The sight of his inhuman face, with its gleaming eyes, sharp teeth, and dark textured skin, sent a sense of peace cascading through me, from my scalp to the soles of my feet. This was the view I was supposed to wake up to every morning. I knew it."



🟠 Brad was an interesting addition to the story. A complete bully who also tried to sexually assault Cody, but got served some justice by Nor at the end of it - even so, I'm really glad he survived, because I'm hoping, really hoping, we'll get Brad's story too. He needs to beg for Cody's forgiveness and turn around as a person while also getting his hot demon. Probably won't happen, but one can hope.

Last but not least, I can't forget Lau. Yeah. Every good series has a blonde, sarcastic, hot fucker and I'm here for it, I want Lau's book, which is probably coming next.
Lau's an interesting, great side character that I absolutely loved, I loved his humour, him being this important demon with sky-high ego, yet completely shy with a bunch of dildos at home and we've already found out he's a bottom, so I absolutely can't wait for his book, considering he was chasing after that little twink in his nightmare, well...

I'M SO READY FOR IT!

[Jacqueleen the Reading Queen♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was different... a good different. However, I don't know if I'll be able to sleep tonight without knowing there's a sweet monster under my bed like Nor to protect me from the rest of the nightmare demons. *shudders.* My heart hurt for the MC Cody. His life is complete shit. I'm not saying that to be mean, it really is. He lives with his absent mother, verbally abusive invalid father, and his rather sickening prick of a half brother. Cody spends his days caring for said abusive father, even so far as bathing him while his father repeatedly berates him. He's basically treated as a slave with his so called brother tracking his every move and being physically abusive when the mood suits him. It's no way to live.

Cody feels like he has no escape from his shitty life. He's too good a person to abandon his family. To be perfectly honest I would have split long ago. The streets would be better than how he was treated. When he can Cody spends his time hiding in his room, sometimes playing his favorite video game Black Oasis. It's his one space, even if there is no lock on the door. When he starts to hear noises under his bed, he thinks it must be his mind playing tricks on him. He couldn't be more wrong.

I don't know what I expected from a nightmare monster, but Nor was not it. I mean he's terrifying in appearance for sure, but he is oh so sweet to Cody. I adored him, full stop. I loved his naivete about some things in the human world, while also enjoying his fierce protectiveness of his human. Nor was the first person, for lack of a better term, to make Cody feel like he was something. That he wasn't worthless. In fact, to Nor, Cody was everything.


Meeting Nor's best friend Lau was a treat. He made me nostalgic for Lily Mayne's Moth with his snootiness and downright arrogance. Not to mention his overall looks. I'm hoping his book is next. I'm also hoping we get some more information on the side plot that involves a certain video game. I'm an avid fan of Mayne, but this was my first book by Knight. Looking forward to more of their collabs in the future.

[Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️ 4.5 stars ⭐️

Whispers in the Dark was like a sweet taste of Lily Mayne’s Monstrous series.

The plot and world-building are more in the background, the main focus being on the growing relationship between Cody and Nor.
The videogame/demon parallel universe is such an intriguing concept I wished they expanded and built on it a little more.

“You’re my treasure. If I had a treasure box, you would be the only thing worthy to be in it.”

Their relationship is just the cutest thing ever, and who knew demons could be such cinnamon rolls.

Hopefully we get a Lau sequel, because he’s giving major Moth vibes and I need more!

CW and NSFW info (spoilers):
- virgin MC
- Vers MCs
- Abusive parent and half-brother
- Attempted SA

POV: 1st person, single POV (only Cody’s)

[Iman (hiatus) · Rating 3 out of 5]

“I protect you,” he said again, almost pleadingly, his monstrous hands running up and down my sides. “My Cody. My tiny rabbit.”

Cody is so lucky to have a sweet-talker boyfriend like Nor. The way he describes Cody every single time damn! 🥹

It has been a while since I love the feeling of starting a new book. This book started fast, in terms of their romance. Didn’t really bother me, I think it’s cute and perfect with the whole hurt/comfort trope. I like the way Nor and Cody connect and get to know each other, it felt really intimate. It still has touches of Lily Mayne’s monstrous elements but different atmosphere. Somehow familiar, but new.

“Stay with me,” I begged, and he hummed. “Until the sunrise.”

They are sooooooo touchy with each other I love it! 🥹

I do have some issues regarding this. This book focused much more on the porny side. Although this book is interesting in it’s own way, I do find it really low stimulating. Not a lot of things happen and too slow for it to be fun. There isn’t much adventure or explanation on the world building in this book, so i’ll be honest some might find this a little slow or boring. I think it’s being a first book so there was a lot of why, how and what, but still, it should have been much more aggressive and full of context like in Wyn. And the constant sex scenes didn’t really help with my enjoyment.

I did enjoy their cute moments — that was what made me stay mostly.

Their connection was amazing the first time they get to know each other, but then the sex kinda overshadowed their emotional connection. It was just them and I know nothing else after. No more backstory, flashbacks or even character development of Nor and Cody. The plot is like a circle. However, it did pick up after 80% and I was enjoying it again hahahahaha I would say this was purely rescue and hurt/comfort which is comforting if you’re up for that ;)

[BookSafety Reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book safety, content warnings, and tropes down below.

Hmm. Great concept and the writing itself is good, but my god this book was boring. It’s like it repeated the same three scenes over and over again with minimal variations. I don’t know how you can fumble this kinda plot and make it tedious, but ya nailed it, lol.

Very forgettable and I honestly can’t be bothered to download the ebook and find quotes. The narration was good tho. Love Michael Ferraiuolo.

⬇️ Blanket spoiler warning ⬇️

⚠️ Tropes & content tags ⚠️
Monster romance
Hurt/comfort
Terrible family
Lonely MC
Virgin MC
First times
Bisexual MC
Monster cock
Sleep demon
Monster tail

⚠️ Content warning ⚠️
Past and present bullying by brother and father
Physical and verbal abuse by parent (on page)
Use of homophobic slur
MC born as a result of infidelity
Mentions of parent addiction
Toxic masculinity (SCs)
Misogynistic behavior and comments (SCs)
Non-human genitalia
Explicit sexual content
On-page intoxicated side character
MC sexually harassed by brother
Chronically ill parent
Parent hospitalized (diabetic coma)
Absent and neglectful parent
Attempted sexual assault on MC by brother (on page)
Death of family members

⚠️Book safety ⚠️
Cheating: No
Other person drama: No
Breakup: No
POV: 1st person, single
Genre: Monster romance
Pairing: M/M
Strict roles or versatile: Versatile
Main characters’ age: 24 and not specified
Series: Interconnected standalone
Kindle Unlimited: Yes
Pages: 339
Happy ending: Yes





You can find most of my reviews on Instagram as well: https://www.instagram.com/booksafety?...

[Laurie (barksbooks) · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫. This was a really sweet, VERY angsty monster romance. Sleep demon Nor was a genuine monster but had a mushy heart. I don’t recommend watching the movie “Nightmare” while reading this because I had a hard time not picturing the sleep demon from that movie while reading 😳 Anyhow this was a decent book, I only wish Cody hadn’t put up with so much bullshit from his awful family but he is who he is.

[rayy ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

How does one make a scary looking monster hot and likeable? I will never understand this and yet here I am, gushing over this other-worldly creature. Sometimes I wonder where Lily Mayne's mind goes. Not complaining, I am here for it. I didn't even know I liked this stuff until I read the Monstrous series (I've read the first 3 books so far). I will also be trying out Nikole Knight's work soon.


Something pretty embarrassing happened to me while I was reading this. It was about 3 am when I decided to sleep and of course I stopped on the part when Cody found out he had a monster lurking under his bed. He said he'd jerk himself awake when the monster came, like the feeling of falling, I kid you not that happened to me like five times that night. I don't normally read scary stuff, so that's why I'm such a chicken about this. It did get less scary though.


This monster was so sweet you'd wish you'd have one of your own to spoil you rotten. Their story (and size difference lol) reminded me of Edin and Hunter, but it has an entirely different vibe. The chemistry was actually good, too and didn't feel forced at all. Another character named Lau is someone I look forward to in this series.

If you enjoyed the Monstrous series, you might love this one too like I did. Just a warning on really toxic family dynamic, assault, and bullying.

[Ellie · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

Oof. Nikole Knight and Lily Mayne really pile on the shit in this one. I am a bit of a grinch and I really struggle with doormat MCs, and would've enjoyed this so much more if they'd both buggered off immediately from that awful apartment to live in the monster world or something.

There's not much character development, or relationship development for that matter, and I felt that time passed so ambiguously that I couldn't get a grasp on the timeframe and it all felt quite rushed.

Honestly, I was a bit bored by this couple and apart from the trauma porn, there's not much going in terms of plot.

I'm not sold on the MC of the next book either, and found him to be a pretty unlikeable character. There were lots of worldbuilding threads vaguely raised then just left hanging.

I'd never read anything from Nikole Knight and this hasn't left a very good impression. I do quite enjoy Lily Mayne's Monstrous series in spite of its flaws, and feel like she grew a lot as an author over the course of the series. To see this come out after something as amazing as Seraph is disappointing and I won't be reading on.

[Peppa · Rating 5 out of 5]

„You’re my treasure. If I had a treasure box, you would be the only thing worthy to be in it.“
(….)
„And I said, “I’ll be the judge of your worth from now on. You are my char crystal. My most precious treasure. And I will love you for the rest of my human life. If you let me. If you… want me.“

I thought really long about it but I think I won’t write a full review to this book since soooo many other people already wrote auch beautiful ones (and honestly I just wann get into the next one).

But this book was everything to me it has been ages since I enjoyed a entire book from start to finish! But it definitely was not a light read at all there was so much pain so much anguish but then there was also so so much love, acceptance and devotion as Cody and Nor got together.
I have literally zero complains here. For me it was prefect and deserves all the stars of the world! It will definitely be one of my comfort reads in the future.

„He was everything I never knew I needed, everything I’d ever wanted. I didn’t know if I deserved it, but I wasn’t going to let him go. I was finally going to be selfish. He was mine, and I was his. And I’d fight for him with everything I had and everything I was.“

And Nor and Cody were the most precious babies every!! I might have almost cried a few times…they really have my heartland I will kept them there forever! I loved their dynamic, I loved how their relationship proceeded I just really really loved them.

[Gabriela Martinez · Rating 5 out of 5]

My personal opinion: Objectively. If you want to read a book about the paranormal and romance, this is the book for you. I liked the story between Nor & Cody. I liked that it's not a book that is boring to read, but one that draws you and makes you want to read on to find out more about the plot and the characters. I hope to read more about Lau in the future, he is my favourite character to be honest.

[Jenn (The Book Refuge) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very unique experience! Another crazy but strangely adorable monster to love.

4 stars
3.5 on the spice scale

CW: abusive parent, abusive family environment, caretaking of I'll parent, death of parent, SA

[Ash🍉]

DNF @ 16%

The bully and homophobic slurs from Cody’s dad and half-brother just really turned me off this book too quickly. Plus the harassment from his half-brother having a tone of being sexual, which I get the feeling will become worse, has just made me decide to DNF.

[Elena Rodríguez · Rating 3 out of 5]

“We can be monsters together, okay”.

Primer libro de la saga Black Oasis que está creando Lily Mayne con Nicole Knight.

“You’re the only person who has ever protect me. I love you more than anything.”

La verdad es que no me ha disgustado lo que he leído. Sin embargo, he tenido dos pequeños problemas con esta novela en cuestión: la primera ha sido que me ha recordado a ciertas historias mezcladas de su otra saga, Monstrous y por otro lado me he sentido incómoda con la historia. Eso último es algo personal porque con este tipo de argumentos yo la verdad que empatizo bastante y me siento incomoda.

Lo recomendaría sin lugar a dudas, es más, he leído ya el segundo y puedo decir que presiento que va ser una saga que me va a gustar como Monstrous.

“Run, run, run, little rabbit. ”

[Shelby | Spicy.booknook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Monster/Human MM
Dark & Emotional Yet Sweet
Super Protective MC
Virgin MC
Sweetest Monster Ever
Nice & Spicy

“You’re beautiful,” Nor whispered, something ridiculous like… awe in his voice. “You are wonderful. My little rabbit.”

This book was all over the place when it comes to emotions. It was so dark at times, yet so unbelievably sweet and funny. I will say, I don't think I have ever hated characters as much as I hated Cody's family. They just made me so angry!

Cody lives at home, and even though his family treats him like absolute shit, he still feels the need to take care of his ailing father (who's really not even his bio-dad) and hold down the fort for the rest. Hes harassed by his half brother and his mother is just checked out. So its not surprising that when he discovers a monster under his bed, its a better alternative to the shitshow family that he has. Through Nor, his super sweet and totally dedicated monster, Cody starts to feel and its wonderful to read.

Its very hard not to try and compare to the Monstrous series. Nor reminded me so much at time of Seraph. I just love when you read about something that's supposedly so grotesque being so gentle and sweet. And Nor is so so gentle and almost over protective of Cody, but its ok. Cody deserved it all.

Now the funny comes in when we meet Nor's friend Lau. Oh man, I giggled a lot with that dude. The banter between Lau and Cody was just so freaking funny and I am super happy that Lau is going to be the focus of the next in this series. I have a feeling its gonna feel a lot different from this book.

******
Updated 03/17/2025 - Read Book Two and its just as good, if not better!

[Camila T 🍉 · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 solid stars for sure.

I didn’t read much of Nikole Knight to know what is their signature when writing a book, but this had all of my favorites when reading a Lily Mayne one: sweet sweet romance, overcoming their past, many awww shucks moments that just made me giddy for them ❤️❤️

Cody is trapped: forced to be the caregiver of a violent father, living with his alcoholic stepbrother who’s a little too handsy, and a mother who checked out of family life years ago. His only reprieve is his dog and his game, Black Oasis. After his ongoing nightmare stops, a series of strange noises start under his bed. What (or better yet, who) could it be?

[Shonee · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book started at a solid 3-3.5 and dropped down to a 2 because of one thing, and one thing only - Cody's refusal to remember how dangerous his brother Brad is. He realizes it multiple times, but seems to completely forget it and even put himself in situations where he's alone with Brad.

You know an author effed up when you don't care if the MC gets assaulted.

[Brittanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I enjoyed both Nor and Cody, plus the peek into the Black Oasis world, this wasn't quite as interesting as Mayne's other books, mostly because of the lack of a post-apocalypse setting. Once Cody starts crossing over with Nor into Nor's world, the book becomes more interesting. All of the scenes in Cody's apartment are really depressing, mostly because his home life is absolute shit. He's taking care of a father who claims Cody isn't his son (due to Cody's Ginger colouring), has a live-in older brother who treats Cody like trash and then tries to assault him, and a mother working multiple jobs who has no time for anyone but work. This is a little much for the story, I feel, and pushed it into what (I hope) is an unrealistic situation. This might be a situation people who are used to abuse would find themselves in but I found it hard to believe or relate so it was a bit too much for me. However, Nor is very sweet and Cody basically uses Nor, and an online game, to escape his own dark reality.

If this had been my first foray into the "monster love" romance genre I probably wouldn't have continued. Cody and Nor don't have the best chemistry and it seems silly that Nor basically fell in love with this lanky, dirty Ginger 20-something at first sight, especially when humans are viewed as lesser than, as food, in Nor'd world. However, the writing kept me interested and I did enjoy the world building. I will definitely read the sequel that I assume will be from the POVs of Nor's friend, Lau, and the nightmare vision human we saw briefly in the book.

While I had my own issues with the book, the wildly mixed reviews for this are interesting. I assume a lot of Mayne's Monstrous fans immediately read this thinking it would be similar, but the only thing it has in common with that series is that it has sexual monsters in an alternate reality. While Nor is pretty similar to the Monstrous monsters, Cody is going to come off as a lot more naive and child-like than any of the men in that series since he has not gone through the end of the world and the deaths of most of mankind. To expect just another entry into that series is doing the authors, and yourself as a reader, a disservice. Despite those low reviews or DNFs, I'd still say give it a chance yourself, not constantly comparing it to unrelated books by either author.

[Tare · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so sweet and I loved every second of it.

We start off with our main character Cody. He has a really shitty family and, as stated in the synopsis, is the full-time caregiver to his dying father. He actually gave me major Cinderella vibes. He is lonely, has no real friends, barely leaves the house and is miserable. His story was honestly pretty hard to read at times and I had very strong feelings towards his entire family 🤬

But, when the monster under his bed starts talking back to him, they form a beautiful friendship and he finds someone who can give him the love he very much needs and deserves. I adored how they slowly built their relationship. All the sweet moments of connection and getting to know each other 🥺

Nor was the sweetest, most adorably soft monster and I loved him instantly. He was captivated by Cody from first sight and his adoration never lessens. He worships his Cody and is fiercely protective of him.

"You're beautiful," Nor whispered, something ridiculous like... awe in his voice. "You are wonderful. My little rabbit."

"He was going to be the death of me, wasn't he? Death by cuteness."

So yes, these two had me practically swooning with how adorable they were but let me tell you their chemistry is also 🔥🔥 Damn.

As to be expected, the world building of the demon realm was fantastic. I can’t wait to explore it more throughout this series. And the addition of the pets here? Crumbs and Gef were hilarious and it was the best!

Now for my very favorite part of the book - Lau. I am fairly certain his book will be next and I AM SO READY. The moment he appeared on page I was like yup, this one 😍 This arrogant, beautiful demon with long white hair . This is the one. 👌 (Yes he gives off strong Moth vibes and I am here for every second of it) Lau’s friendship with Nor was so sweet and his reluctant friendship with Cody - all the initial bickering, taunting, cockblocking 😂 but in the end they do form a cute little dynamic of their own.

I loved this first book by this duo and I think it would be a great starting point for people that maybe have not read either author before and feel intimidated by their longer series. Or for someone who is dipping their toes into the monster romance thing ✌

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

**I received a complimentary advanced copy of Whispers In The Dark and these are my honest thoughts**

”I don’t have anything to give you,” I said. “I don’t really own anything of value.” “You give me everything,” he said seriously. “You give me you.

If Lily Mayne writes it, I’m going to read it. Plain and simple. And this new co-write in a new monster world was absolutely no exception.

•••

Cody’s life is not easy and through all of the trauma and chaos he finds hope in the demon that lives under his bed. Nor is the cinnamon roll mc to top all other cinnamon roll mc’s and he’s a demon? It works okay.

Ultimately this story is about a man who needs to see that he deserves love and the demon that moves hell and hell(?) for him.

If fiercely over protective monsters are your thing then I think you’ve come to the right place.

Side note- I’m obsessed with Lau. He’s so Moth coded with his hissy fits and snarky attitude and I need more of him.

Overall
⭐️4.1/5
👻2/5
🌶️3/5

[☆Kylie☆ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 3.5 Stars.
Steam: 6 out of 10.
Triggers: physical abuse, mental abuse, neglect
Love Triangle: No
Cheating: No
HEA: Yes

This was such a sad book but at the same time happy, review to come

[Heather K (dentist in my spare time)]

Thank you to my GR secret elf for the gift!