The life of Thalia Smith is the epitome of routine. Get up, go to work, check social media. The only thing that keeps her life from becoming mundane is the hour she allows herself to listen to her favorite true crime podcast.
She never expects how much her life would soon change when she attracts the attention of the host and the producer of the show.
"Who are you, new listener...I can't wait to find out."
Hello, Listener is an Erotic Horror novel with some elements of Extreme Horror and of the subgenre of horror known as Splatterpunk. It contains many forms of content that are not meant for anyone under 18 such as but not limited -Stalking -Strong sexual content -Alcohol abuse -Infidelity -Strong acts of violence
Dark romance, it’s a genre that undoubtedly polarises readers. Is romance really supposed to be rainbows and glitter with a little bit of medicore sex thrown in? Maybe i want the nuances of real life. People aren’t just black and white, there are shades of grey, I like to see people being, well, people and Hello, Listener does just that.
Lorien Ray has done a phenomenal job of making me care too damn much. The men in this story are just mind numbinly hawt! I couldn’t choose which one I wanted to fantasize about more. The scenes made me cringe, fan the fires and read with one eye closed all at once. A writing style that was simple yet highly addictive.
I love a podcast format and this was done so well. Man i think I need a minute!
Fantastic!!! as a debut novel I am so impressed!! I seriously could not put this book down! I loved it extremely fucked up, but the story was just so good!!! Absolutely loved all the characters!! The ending shocked me!!
Thalia loves podcasts. Especially a specific podcast hosted by two men who have nice voices. She is a tad obsessed with the podcast. She is also a bartender who posts on her Instagram often. Which is problem if you don’t want someone to know your location.
One night the man of her dreams walks in and it just so happens to be one of the men from the podcast she is obsessed with and his name is Lee. Her friends push her to enjoy herself with Lee. Eventually she also meets Alan the other host. She is in heaven meeting her true crime idols.
But we have to think do you ever know really know people? Is Thalia putting herself in danger chilling with her idols or are they the ones in danger?
I enjoyed this book, I’m excited to see more from this author. I’m also looking forward to a sequel 🩵
Fantastic debut from this author! I actually haven’t been reading anything with spice lately but this has put me back in the game! I really liked the concept of this story, it kept me guessing, it kept me engaged and it had me blushing at times too! I kinda had an idea about the plot twist and I was right but the story was still enjoyable. If you like spice, suspense, and violence, you’ll enjoy this book! (there’s a list of trigger warnings before the story)
The level of ✨UNHINGED✨ that this man was had me LITERALLY screaming out loud at this book. It ended and I said, “This can’t be it. Where is the rest?!”
Incredible debut novel! I loved the fast pace and the twist and turns of the overall plot.
Thalia - beautiful, talented, quiet and addicted to her fav podcast and will listen to episodes whenever she can. The hosts, Alan and Lee, are her fantasy fuel. She is floored when they walk into her bar one night.
Alan - ex jock turned lawyer stuck in an unhappy marriage with a passion for true crime and runs his own podcast
Lee - fashionable ladies man, has the tatts and the growly Mustang. Runs a true crime podcast with his best friend Alan
I loved the banter between Alan and Lee. They would bust each others balls, but one beautiful woman has caught both their eyes.
Thalia meets the men behind the voices who are fueling her fantasies, and daaaammmmmmm they do not disappoint. Both men are more than willing to do what it takes to make Thalia their own. Each becomes obsessed and possesive of her in their own way.
That ending!!!! I cannot!! I need more. Feed me more!!!!
What happens when dark romance, thriller and splatter punk make a bookbaby? This book, that's what.
I DEVOURED this. The story, the character, the mystery, the spice, the gore. I LOVED it. The last few chapters had me on the edge of my seat, I want mooooooore! Amazing read, exactly what I needed to get out of a reading pause.
This book immediately caught my interest from the first page. I thought this was a creative and fun read! I love that it kept me guessing and overall was an amazing debut novel.
I am in awe that this is truly a debut novel. I absolutely loved it!!!
I was hooked from the prologue, as it immediately piqued my interest. This book was so hard to put down! In the last half of the book, it was actually painful to have to put it down because I was so enthralled by all the chaos within the pages.
So so good!! Thalia is a beautiful bartender who loves to listen to a good true crime podcast episode hosted by her favorites in her free time. When she meets these men in the bar she works at, & they're as gorgeous as their voices, her whole world shifts.
If you love erotic horror, this is absolutely for you! It is packed full of gore, spice & even more gore.
Please check for triggers if you need!
Thank you, Lorien, for the opportunity to read your book!!
There isn't anything wrong with this story concept, I actually love it. What I don't love however, is reading the same scene over and over again from three different POV's. It doesn't flow well and it doesn't lend to a good reading experience.
“ꜱʜᴇ’ꜱ ɴᴇxᴛ ᴛᴏ ᴍᴇ, ꜱᴏ ꜰᴜᴄᴋɪɴɢ ᴄʟᴏꜱᴇ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ɪ ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅ ᴛᴏᴜᴄʜ ʜᴇʀ. ꜱʜᴇ ꜱᴍᴇʟʟꜱ ꜰᴜᴄᴋɪɴɢ ᴅᴇʟɪᴄɪᴏᴜꜱ. ᴡʜᴀᴛ ɪꜱ ᴛʜᴀᴛ, ꜰᴜᴄᴋɪɴɢ ᴄᴏᴏᴋɪᴇꜱ? ɢᴏᴅ, ɪ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ʟᴏᴠᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴛᴀꜱᴛᴇ ʜᴇʀ. ɪ ʙᴇᴛ ꜱʜᴇ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ᴛᴀꜱᴛᴇ ʙᴇᴛᴛᴇʀ ᴛʜᴀɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴀᴋᴇᴅ ɢᴏᴏᴅꜱ ꜱʜᴇ ꜱᴍᴇʟʟꜱ ʟɪᴋᴇ. ꜱʜᴇ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ʙᴇ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴍʏ ᴏᴡɴ ᴅᴇʟɪᴄᴀᴄʏ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ɪ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ʜᴀᴘᴘɪʟʏ ᴇᴀᴛ ᴏᴠᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴏᴠᴇʀ ᴀɢᴀɪɴ.“ - Review: I have no words. Like I’m being for real when I say that this book took me in for loophole. Lorien respectfully- HOW DARE YOU?! This was my second erotic horror and can I just say it didn’t disappoint as you can see for my reaction, I started this today and I couldn’t put it down, I had to know what other crazy shít I had to witness. Plot twist after plot twist I, I couldn’t even guess what was going to happen next. AND THE ENDING?! Lorien- I need book two like now. I highly recommend as long as you do read trigger warning considering this is an EROTIC HORROR, not a dark romance, your mental health matters most 🫶🏼
Yall…… This book was WILD from start to finish I went into this book blind, as Lorien Ray is a new author, and this was such a great erotic horror read, SO many twists and turns. FMC, Thalia is obsessed with this Murder Mystery podcast, religiously listening to episodes, until one night the men from the podcast are standing infront of her. There is so much I wanna say about this book but I don’t wanna spoil it.. GO read it when it comes out in a few weeks! And don’t forget to check your TW’s because there is no chill!
-Erotic horror -Two obsessed men -Two pages of trigger warnings -Tons of gore -Podcasts -True Crime -Stalkers -Lots of spice
Y’all I finished my ARC read of Hello, Listener by Lorien Ray and holy mother of all things stalker! 🙌🏻 YES! It was everything I wanted and then some! A solid 4.5 ⭐️ definitely advise you to read the TWs lol this book is not for everyone but it was absolutely for me! It had a little why choose vibes , heavy spice after all it is an erotic horror /splatterpunk romance you have to expect anything can happen! Her writing is absolutely intoxicating and the more I read the more I needed, before I knew it I found myself coming to the end of the book! I absolutely cannot wait for the next book to come out! I need more from this brilliant author!
Alan and Lee are two ridiculously cool guys who host a true crime podcast show together. Thalia is just a girl with a cat who works long hours as a bartender in the big city and has an obsession with a local podcast about true crime.
Unfortunately, Thalia has learned nothing from her hours or listening so when her world collides with the men of Manhattan Murders, it leads to hot car sex, severed limbs and an ending I absolutely did not see coming!
Dark romance and splatterpunk readers will devour ‘Hello Listener’ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
What an incredible read! This book had me hooked from the beginning. The twists and turns this book had made it a wild ride. This was an amazing debut novel. The plot, characters, character development, the spice- all fantastically done. Had very many "What?!?!" moments while reading and didn't want it to end. The ending though? Absolute chefs kiss!!! Mind those trigger warnings, it is a heavy book. Congrats Lorien on an amazing first book. I can't wait to read more from you!
-Multiple POVs -True Crime -Podcasts -Stalking -Obsession -Gore -A long list of triggers -Serial Unalivers
Such a fantastic debut! I read this in two sittings. I was so invested in this story and I had to know how it would end.
Hello, Listener follows Thalia, a young bartender, who is quite obsessed with this particular true crime podcast and uses it to help her sleep ;)
The two masterminds behind the podcast, Lee and Alan, insert themselves into Thalia's life when they notice she is one of their new followers. She is beautiful and irresistible in their eyes. She also doesn't keep her settings private on Instagram which makes it even easier to find her.
As Thalia gets to know both of these men her life begins to change. Her nightly routine is replaced with the physical thing now. ;) Meanwhile, there is a killer lurking in the shadows. Will Thalia be its next victim?
This story had me in such a chokehold. If you love erotic horror and true crime then this is the book for you! I highly recommend checking this one out.
I hope to see more from this author in the near future!
This book had me yelling 'Noooooo, don't' about 100x in the best way.
This book is incredibly intense and kind of addictive in the sense that if I didn't have kids and a husband, I probably would have read this in one sitting.
I don't just want more, I NEED more.
This would make a fantastic horror TV show!!!
It had me grasping my chest and my eyes wide!
***As always please read content warnings before reading. It contains a lot of intense and scary triggers, which are all listed for your mental health
Wow, I don't even know where to begin I absolutely loved this erotic horror! An amazing debut novel, I'm impressed!!
We follow Thalia in her everyday life where everything goes on by routine, until one day when she meets the producer and host of her favourite podcast. They both seem to have their eyes on the same price, and that price is Thalia.
This book is beautifully written and very detailed. It kept my interest hooked throughout and was fast paced, and honestly every time I thought I had something figured out there was a new twist thrown my way! This book is SPICY, beautiful, bloody, eerie and I really love the authentic feel that this could actually happen. The way Lorien describes the emotions and the insanity was just chefs kiss.
I really loved the characters and that you got to follow from diffrent perspectives. It made me feel closer to each of them and it felt like you were in their head. I was super stressed out while reading because I cared so much for them all.
I was lucky to receive an arc of this book, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is looking for a spicy horror with some hot stalkers! I can't wait to read more from this author! Please check trigger warnings if you need them, because it does get dark.
I need a second book more then I need my morning coffee. 🙄
This was an amazing read. I was hooked from the very beginning! I wouldn't have known this is a debut novel if I hadn't been following Lorien on her writing journey. Hello, Listener gave me everything I wanted from twist, turns, and make you brush spice!
This book passed my expectations! Anything written by the author will be an immediate buy!
5/5 read ⭐️ 4/5 spice🌶 10/10 for making me feel crazy about rooting for the bad guy. 😂
Wow! Omg! I’m so mad at myself for reading this on a busy week! I really wished I could have read this in one sitting! From the very beginning I was hooked!! All the twists and turns omg! I never wanted to put it down!! Definitely check your triggers for this book! This book was a ride I was alllll for it!!
This is such a fantastic debut novel and when I say I loved it, I mean it. My little macabre heart was so into this, the gruesome parts are some of the best I have read. I loved Thalia and could picture every outfit she wore. I also related heavily to her being a creature of habit. I felt like I was yelling "Omg no, don't do that, don't go there, stop girl" constantly. It was a wild ride. The ending had me shocked! I hope it means that Lorien Ray has more in store for us.
this was absolutely fucking wild, unhinged, pure freaking perfection. i wouldn’t even call it romance because the level of obsession Alan reaches for Thalia is beyond anything i’ve read before. (but in a good way😉) i was genuinely shocked and surprised by the twists and turns that Lorien Ray took us on in the book. What an incredible debut for this author! i can’t wait to read more.
Okay listen, I love gory messy books and this one was a mind f***. It took a left turn so quickly and I think it altered my brain chemistry. I’ve never read a book with a podcast in the story and I thought turning a true crime podcast into a sinister plot is GENIUS. I can’t wait for the next book I need to know what happens with Lee!!!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This was SO good! It kept me engaged the whole time. I found myself saying WTF several Times and I am honestly impressed with some of the unaliving scenes! Can’t wait to read more from this author!
Strong writing, good storyline. Funny that her “heals” would be from her Achilles heel. I was really hoping she might be secretly do the same things as Alan. Sorry, trying so hard to not to say spoilers but I just have to comment on a few things hahaha good book, you should read it!
Wow!!!! Hello.Plot twist… this book is a roller coaster!!! Absolutely loved it from start to finish. I fell in love with the characters and reading the twists had me in a chokehold!!! I didn’t want to put the book down!!!! Great erotic horror book and cannot wait for the story to continue!!!!
This book is absolutely insane. The storyline is perfect .The characters are so much fun. It combines some of my favorite things into one crazy story. It gives us serial killers, a podcast, a decent amount of gore, and some fantastic smut! What's not to love?