Thank you to the author for an early copy of this book. This review is my honest feedback and given voluntarily.
4.5 ⭐️s, rounding to 5!
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book! Hot vampires, sexy witches, and shifters, oh my! Couldn't put it down once I got started. I will preface the rest of my review by saying I had not read the first 3 books of this series prior to reading this one. I did read the blurbs for the first 3, so I had an idea of the main characters referenced in Vicious Cravings and a very high-level understanding of some of the background of the world. But overall I would say I didn't feel like I was missing much by not reading the others first. Little bits of info about other characters are inserted into this book as well.
This story was absolutely delicious! So much smut! Believe me, I loved it, but I felt like the larger, overall plot probably suffered just a teeny weeny bit. I will say though, the portion of the story centered around Ace, Hunter, and Nelloix (being the majority of the book), I really enjoyed. I loved seeing the progression and dynamics of their relationship as the story played out. It was so damn hot and beautiful. 🥵😍 And all the pet names! *melting in a puddle on the floor*
Hunter and Nelloix's chemistry from jump was so hot and electric and I was so intrigued by where things were going with them. Hunter was so sexy and intuitive. Nelloix was this sexy, spunxy, and independent woman that was determined to see her mission through. I loved that about her. I loved the fact that Hunter just knew she was something special and important to him immediately. Ace was such a hotty-dom and I freakin loved him. His whole broody academic vibe was just perfection. Picturing him in the glasses was just melt-to-the-floor goodness! The three of them together was fantastic once Ace got his sh*t together and they all finally got their rhythm. Their dynamic as a throuple was so good! I am a true sucker for a hot MMF and I really enjoyed the way Ace and Hunter's bisexuality was portrayed. Hunter is literally the embodiment of the switch dynamic and I adore that vamp with all my heart and soul. Ace's dom nature was the perfect counterpart to Nelloix's sub, but I also loved the way he let her bring him to his knee's just a tad at times. Ace and Hunter's overall love and devotion to Nelloix and her reciprocity of all that was so beautiful. And the fact that Nelloix wanted Hunter to ensure that Ace was saved in the end just made my heart break. Not only did she love them, but she also loved them for each other, and that, to me, just showed an even deeper level of devotion.
I did feel like it took a little longer than I would have liked for Nelloix's inner "issue" to be described and reveal itself. She spent a lot of time trying to hide it and not talk about it, even with us, the audience. Even when it did come to light, we still didn't get a whole lot of information on what exactly this being was (other than a name) and what it's purpose was. Even by the end, I was still a little unsure of why she had been forced to be a vessel for this entity, not to mention why this powerful entity had been submissive to Nell's mother...it seemed to me that it was quite powerful and could have taken her out all on its own. But it never had the desire to do so. It wanted power, but for what reason? So I was just a little confused about why all of that had happened. Also, why was Melinkya so important to Nell's mother that she had spent so much time trying to destroy her before they all escaped? Maybe I missed that part, but I still didn't feel that was explained by the end of the book. I also felt confused about Ace's monster. He was obviously a vampire but also had this other dark monster within him, kind of like Nelloix, but they coexisted. Why is it that he was the only vampire that had one? How come none of the other vampires had these monsters inside them? I didn't feel that part of Ace's background was really fleshed out very well. Maybe it was described in some of the earlier books...?
I thought the writing was great, it was very smooth and easy to digest, and felt appropriate for the time period and environment. The dialogue among characters was enjoyable. There were funny moments, serious moments, and beautiful loving moments. I enjoyed the relationship between Nell, Brigid, Thena, and Melinkya and I loved the fact that Nell's vamps wanted to foster that relationship and work with them and help Nelloix in her mission to save Melinkya.
I loved how this story ended! And I think it set things up for another adventure for some of the other characters. Whether you're reading this book as the first of this series or a continuation of it, I think you will definitely enjoy it if you love your fantasy romance hot and your vampires and witches even hotter! Enjoy! 🤙🏼💕