Rating: 2.5 / 5
So....as evidenced by my rating, clearly I did not enjoy this book as some of the rest of Regine Abel's works and...yeah, I have my reasons. Let's detail them here, shall we?
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Starting off with the premise, it's clear that the author wanted to do something different here, and for that I do have to give kudos! This time around, it's not either the hero or heroine applying to the Prime Mating Agency or seeking out Kayog's help; on the contrary, the heroine, Ciara, isn't actively looking for anyone, but then when Kayog announces that he just got a hone in on who her perfect soulmate is, of course that's an attractive option--all wrapped up in a Hell Lord package, no less!
Said hero, Amreth, doesn't even get to meet Ciara though, as she's kidnapped by pirates and now he has to go out and save her as soon as he hears of her existence from Kayog. While it may seem crazy that this is all done just on the off-chance of what he heard from Kayog though...yeah, let's just say that it's actually quite sweet, as Amreth himself is apparently quite lonely and would love a guaranteed soulmate as well.
The two meet and...yeah, that's where things went downhill for me. This is something that I've noticed other readers mentioning in reviews as well, so I might as well: the chemistry between Ciara and Amreth is...negligible. Not to say that it's not there, but it feels like they've both gone into the relationship with confidence only because they already have Kayog's assurance that they're meant for each other, and they feel an instant attraction to each other. Alright, technically, all the couples in this series are relying on Kayog's intuition to be the perfect matchmaker, but there's still some doubt and uncertainty as to how they will work out together, seeing as they're different species (physically and otherwise) and how one of their species is technically considered "primitive".
Here, not only is that not an issue since Amreth's species are highly advanced anyway, but the PMA isn't even officially involved, so they don't have to follow the first-night-consummation rule or anything like that. Again, I thought this was a refreshing change not to just re-do the whole "human woman settling into a new society and navigating its nuisances to be with her alien mate" plotline, but one thing that could have been kept from that formula was the more organic way that the relationships formed. Here, it's not so much that Amreth and Ciara don't respect boundaries and take things slow--i.e. getting to know each other first before jumping into bed together--but rather that it felt unnecessary that they do, since they both obviously want each other, and again: that confidence that they've already found their soulmate is what drives their relationships, to the point that it's like someone wrote out the answer to their equation already, and now they're just trying to work backwards to figure out how to get that answer.
Only...it doesn't really work, because if I was in their shoes and already knew the answer, I wouldn't care how I got there--just that I already had the dang answer, so why bother? 100% if I knew my perfect soulmate was standing in front of me, I wouldn't waste words or insist on going slow just for the sake of it--screw that and just jump into bed together PMA-style, start picking out nursery wallpapers, the works!
Ahem, but yeah, anyway, it just feels like something genuine about their connection is missing because of this element, and unfortunately it does take away from the story for me.
Additionally, as I've also seen others commenting about, the plot that they're tossed into with curing an epidemic IS resolved rather quickly and obviously. It could've been a really intriguing plot in and of itself if maybe Ciara and Amreth had to contend with more of a sense of urgency about it that put them at odds with one another--now, THAT would've been an original twist, considering this series!--but as it is, it's just straightforward them working together, and then skip to the epilogue where everything is hunky-dory.
So far...that's two stars off in terms of my rating, leaving me to explain taking off the third one, which is a combination of two things that I'm freely going to say just did NOT do it for me:
1 - Ciara's age
2 - Amreth's piercings
On the first point, it's mentioned early on in the book that Ciara is aged 41. Now...not that women at age 41 can't fall in love and whatnot, but my issue with Ciara's age is that she doesn't sound like she's that old and mature, and the author really didn't sell it for me that this was a woman with all this medical experience and whatnot. Like...especially when she's mooning over Amreth, she sounds like your typical 20-something infatuated club girl, and I really wish the author could've tried for a more mature tone for her, a different type of heroine.
As for Amreth's piercings...let's just say that it's described that he has a lot in a 'certain area', and that honestly just made me wince in thinking about the bedroom scenes, rather than be hot--which is what I think the author intended. Anyway, it was a turn-off rather than a turn-on, and in this genre of book...that's a big no-no, enough to downrank a star, if not several.
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To conclude therefore, this really wasn't the author's best work, and while another Hell Lord romance is nice and whatnot, it didn't feel like it had as much of a place or identity in this series. The best part of it was honestly Aku, who I'm 99% sure is going to get his own romance, maybe in the next book.
Anyways, just a note to myself to NOT re-read this book if ever I re-read the series. Next, please!