3.5/5 ✩
"I mull over what Rusalka told me about the god of the incubi and succubi, a great, unknowable being they worship through adhering to their nature because how could something intrinsic to your nature be a sin?"
QUICK SUMMARY
The Succubus’s Prize is the fourth installment in the Deal with a Demon series, focusing on human Belladonna and succubus Rusalka. This book brought a spark back to the series that had been missing since book one, in my opinion - the characters were interesting, and the smut was fun in a way that seemed to be lacking in stories past. The weaknesses, however, lie in the relationships and world-building, which both needed more time and investment to create an in-depth narrative that could rival the atmosphere of the story that started it all, the Dragon’s Bride.
PROS
• I think this has the best set up of the series thus far - Belladonna is struggling with religious trauma and a difficult family life, so pairing her up with a succubus is the perfect fit for healing and character development.
• For me, the smut was great, lovely, and sensual. The group scenes were well-balanced and, dare I say, even more fun to read than the monogamous moments between Belladonna and Rusalka.
• Something about this book really charmed me; it had heart, and a warm quality between Belladonna and Rusalka that had me rooting for them from the start.
NEUTRALS
• Like all books in this series, I think this one was too short to fully explore the potential of Belladonna, her relationship with Rusalka, and the succubi territory itself. Belladonna healing from her past is something I would have loved to explore more, but it felt more like a cursory thing than something important to her character. I also found the romantic connection between her and Rusalka a bit lackluster; they could have used more emotional and heartfelt scenes to really sell the relationship between them.
CONS
• This story felt very isolated to me in that there were hardly any moments showcasing Rusalka’s realm or any side characters; it caused a sort of emptiness to the narrative that made this the most dull territory of all the books thus far.
• The number of typos in this one became distracting overtime. It wasn’t so bad an offense that they were showing up constantly, but they were so obvious that I’m surprised they made it to print. Typos are, unfortunately, pretty common in this series.
R.E.A.D.S. SCORE
R: 6/10
E: 8/10
A: 6/10
D: 7/10
S: 7/10
Total: 6.80/10.00