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Eric Linnaeus - ALTERNATE
ALTERNATE! Is a standalone prequel that runs concurrently to the original Eric Linnaeus series. Set in a parallel timeline where Mercury Linnaeus—Eric’s father— survives, their world is war-torn and ruled by his malice.
In this steamy dark fantasy, a centuries-old battle wages between the Fae, an ancient race of elves, and savage deities known as the Vanir. With his loyal son by his side, Mercury’s influence spreads and hope is fading as all who dared resist are eliminated one by one.
Now, only the Fae remain to stand against the Vanir, but their dwindling numbers and apathetic nature offer little hope. The future looks grim until an unlikely relationship sparks between Nathaniel, a disgraced Fae heir, and Eiríkr, the tainted son of Mercury.
Can Nathaniel sway Eiríkr to his side, or will the detestable savage corrupt him further…?
The standalone Prequel/Book six in the dark fantasy horror series Eric Linnaeus.
In this steamy dark fantasy, a centuries-old battle wages between the Fae, an ancient race of elves, and savage deities known as the Vanir. With his loyal son by his side, Mercury’s influence spreads and hope is fading as all who dared resist are eliminated one by one.
Now, only the Fae remain to stand against the Vanir, but their dwindling numbers and apathetic nature offer little hope. The future looks grim until an unlikely relationship sparks between Nathaniel, a disgraced Fae heir, and Eiríkr, the tainted son of Mercury.
Can Nathaniel sway Eiríkr to his side, or will the detestable savage corrupt him further…?
The standalone Prequel/Book six in the dark fantasy horror series Eric Linnaeus.
740 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 30, 2025
About the author
Kikito Lynn
5 books292 followersKikito Lynn is the creator behind the Eric Linnaeus novels, webcomic, and animations. She is an unconventional author who began writing horror fiction on r/nosleep, and many of her older stories can be found narrated on YouTube or in horror Podcasts.
Nowadays, Kikito writes dark fantasy, slow-burning, enemies-to-lovers romances filled with morally complex characters and a touch of drama. Her stories weave together layered mysteries, unreliable narrators, and leave subtle clues for readers to unravel.
Based in Australia, she is accompanied by a very opinionated siren (a cat) and enjoys daydreaming new plots, long walks, and reading.
TikTok: @Kikitolynn
YouTube: @Kikitolynn
Instagram: @Kikitolynn
Facebook: @Kikitolynn
Nowadays, Kikito writes dark fantasy, slow-burning, enemies-to-lovers romances filled with morally complex characters and a touch of drama. Her stories weave together layered mysteries, unreliable narrators, and leave subtle clues for readers to unravel.
Based in Australia, she is accompanied by a very opinionated siren (a cat) and enjoys daydreaming new plots, long walks, and reading.
TikTok: @Kikitolynn
YouTube: @Kikitolynn
Instagram: @Kikitolynn
Facebook: @Kikitolynn
Ratings & Reviews
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 5, 2025
✨ I read this book in essentially a day! Once you pick it up you can’t put it down
✨The angst is this book is so well written, the characters break your heart
✨Does enemies to lovers so well
✨Favs from the original series I didn’t expect to see appeared! Kicked my feet to see old favourites
✨Eric and Nathanial I don’t care how toxic you are I love you together
🪄I’m personally not a massive fan of time travel, however I’m reserving any opinions on how it’s done until I read the next book (need a release day asap please)
🪄 Missed having the characters perspectives during the final fight, but I’m personally more of a character development/emotional journey reader than an action/fight scenes reader. That said the final battle was still well written
✨The angst is this book is so well written, the characters break your heart
✨Does enemies to lovers so well
✨Favs from the original series I didn’t expect to see appeared! Kicked my feet to see old favourites
✨Eric and Nathanial I don’t care how toxic you are I love you together
🪄I’m personally not a massive fan of time travel, however I’m reserving any opinions on how it’s done until I read the next book (need a release day asap please)
🪄 Missed having the characters perspectives during the final fight, but I’m personally more of a character development/emotional journey reader than an action/fight scenes reader. That said the final battle was still well written
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 8, 2026
best book I ever read in my life
May 3, 2026
It's been a long time since I read a story that grabbed me so much, this one absolutely captivated me. I couldn't put it down and I loved the way you laid out the story and the characters, I especially appreciated the way the relationship between the two main characters evolved, and the ups and downs in between. Thank you for this beautiful story I'm looking for the continue. (also having read the whole saga Eric and Nathaniel have a special place in my heart)
March 28, 2026
When I finished this book I was honestly speechless . Honestly this was an amazing book and I love how differently things were done in this book .
January 16, 2026
This book turned out to be more or less what I expected, and I’m satisfied with that.
I really enjoyed the enemies to lovers romance between Nathaniel and Eric, especially with the tension between their families and races. In the previous book, they met in a completely different way, but here they had to build trust in each other slowly and carefully.
The strongest part of their relationship is the fact that they both betray their families in order to save one another. Their bond is built through humor, fear, and pain, and for a long time they don’t know if they can truly trust each other. They are willing to sacrifice their lives for one another, and that makes their connection feel intense and earned.
Their sister was also a standout for me. Even though she didn’t always agree with Nathaniel, and was afraid that the Vanir (Eric) would betray them, she still chose to help him and protect Nathaniel. That loyalty, despite fear and doubt, added a lot of emotional weight to the story.
The pain both Eric and Nathaniel carry feels justified. Eric’s fear of abandonment comes from his childhood, after his leg stopped functioning properly. In his race, this is considered a weakness, something that should be eliminated, which makes his anxiety deeply rooted and believable.
Nathaniel struggles with expressing his emotions, and at first he doesn’t fully accept his attraction to men. He also resists the role he is expected to take as a ruler. Unlike the previous book, where it took him a long time to make his choice, in this story he chooses Eric over his brother much more quickly. That shift feels important. While Nathaniel finds it hard to open up emotionally, expressing feelings comes easily to Eric, and that contrast is sometimes confusing for Nathaniel, but it also pushes him to grow.
I’m glad that Claire and Charles are still part of Eric’s life, even though their role in the story is more limited this time. Kella’s pregnancy makes sense in this timeline, since Eric didn’t interfere the way he did before, but I’m still not sure how I feel about it. I do, however, continue to hope that Marcus and Claire will meet in a future book.
Overall, while I’m still not sure which parallel world I prefer, I appreciated how this book focused more on the present and on Eric and Nathaniel’s perspectives. Their relationship felt warmer, more complex, and more emotionally honest this time around.
A small, purely personal note about the cover: to me, Eric looks like Nathaniel, and Nathaniel looks like Eric. It feels like they simply need to swap hair colors, but that’s just my opinion 😅
I really enjoyed the enemies to lovers romance between Nathaniel and Eric, especially with the tension between their families and races. In the previous book, they met in a completely different way, but here they had to build trust in each other slowly and carefully.
The strongest part of their relationship is the fact that they both betray their families in order to save one another. Their bond is built through humor, fear, and pain, and for a long time they don’t know if they can truly trust each other. They are willing to sacrifice their lives for one another, and that makes their connection feel intense and earned.
Their sister was also a standout for me. Even though she didn’t always agree with Nathaniel, and was afraid that the Vanir (Eric) would betray them, she still chose to help him and protect Nathaniel. That loyalty, despite fear and doubt, added a lot of emotional weight to the story.
The pain both Eric and Nathaniel carry feels justified. Eric’s fear of abandonment comes from his childhood, after his leg stopped functioning properly. In his race, this is considered a weakness, something that should be eliminated, which makes his anxiety deeply rooted and believable.
Nathaniel struggles with expressing his emotions, and at first he doesn’t fully accept his attraction to men. He also resists the role he is expected to take as a ruler. Unlike the previous book, where it took him a long time to make his choice, in this story he chooses Eric over his brother much more quickly. That shift feels important. While Nathaniel finds it hard to open up emotionally, expressing feelings comes easily to Eric, and that contrast is sometimes confusing for Nathaniel, but it also pushes him to grow.
I’m glad that Claire and Charles are still part of Eric’s life, even though their role in the story is more limited this time. Kella’s pregnancy makes sense in this timeline, since Eric didn’t interfere the way he did before, but I’m still not sure how I feel about it. I do, however, continue to hope that Marcus and Claire will meet in a future book.
Overall, while I’m still not sure which parallel world I prefer, I appreciated how this book focused more on the present and on Eric and Nathaniel’s perspectives. Their relationship felt warmer, more complex, and more emotionally honest this time around.
A small, purely personal note about the cover: to me, Eric looks like Nathaniel, and Nathaniel looks like Eric. It feels like they simply need to swap hair colors, but that’s just my opinion 😅
November 17, 2025
Currently only on Patreon,
it's so amazing with a TON of spice!
The author recommends reading it either before reading the original series or after being fully up to date on the original series.
it's so amazing with a TON of spice!
The author recommends reading it either before reading the original series or after being fully up to date on the original series.
March 6, 2026
This was one of the best alternative reality books of the universe I have ever read! I’m dying for Perception!
May 3, 2026
I was debating which book of this series to write a review for then I saw this book and was like yep that one was my favorite. I read this book after reading the first four books and I think that only made it hurt more. This book gave me a much better look into Eric and Nathaniel and I liked how it was a little more straightforward. The first four books felt almost like a puzzle to solve which I loved especially rereading them. While this book was more like a true story with some of that amazing puzzle aspect still there. I bought this book the day it came out and I’m pretty sure I finished reading it in like two days maybe one and a half. The story hooked me in immediately and just didn’t let go. The character development and relationship between Eric and Nathaniel is amazing and very interesting to see after reading the other books. If you love an enemy’s to lovers book that’s honestly kinda toxic the whole time, with some fluffy bits, and a good bit of spice and then you will love this book. Not to mention but I love the magic system in these books, it’s definitely one of my favorites. I like how they use some folklore aspects in the world building. For my last little bit I will say it is hard for a book to get me to cry but the ending of this one had me in tears. I won’t say anymore cause I’d like to try and avoid spoilers but it was an ending that left me questioning everything. This is an amazing book and you should definitely read it.
May 14, 2026
I really enjoyed this book. The writing made it easy to picture everything so clearly, and I got pulled into the world really fast. Nathaniel was great, but Eriker ended up being my favorite character. There was something heartbreaking about him that kept sticking with me even after I finished. I loved the sadness woven through parts of the story, and some scenes genuinely hurt in the best way. If you like fantasy with strong characters and emotional moments, I’d definitely recommend giving this one a try.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews