Hellhound AU

Because Canon Sucks

by Shannon Mae

Rowan
I'm a hellhound who doesn't love murdering evil people. Well, of course I'd like to see them dead, but I'd rather not deal with talking to them or getting messy. I like a nice, orderly existence. Milo (who I still think may be a chaos demon) is the opposite of orderly, yet I can't seem to stay away from him. If he wants me to come on a few jobs with him, I'm happy to help. After all, he does all the awkward talking and stuff. I just get to be scary looking.

Milo
I'm not sure how I ended up becoming an assassin, but I don't mind the work. When I meet a sexy, redheaded man who may be the worst liar I ever met (he totally burned down that cabin), I decide maybe I'll keep him around. Yeah, his cover stories suck, but he seems to be good at scaring people. Must be those colored contacts he wears, because no one actually has flames in their eyes. Right?

Paranormal M/M Romance; Milo/Rowan; “Because Canon Sucks” multi-author series; burning down a cabin is a great meet-cute; Rowan sucks at cover stories; Milo accidentally became an assassin for people in a retirement community; Rowan loves baked goods; Milo may be trying to kill Rowan with his homemade baked atrocities; retirement homes make the best found family; Rowan doesn’t really like killing people, but Milo does so it’s fine; only very bad people die; Ray needs to find a nice guy to date; Riley will either kill Milo or become his best friend; hellhounds have tails, and they know how to use them.

Hellhound AU is a MM fanfiction style novel, based on the Canon short story written by AM Rose for the multi author series Because Canon Sucks. In Canon, Milo and Rowan miss out on their happy ever after, so this series strives to give them one in every other universe.

Genres: M M Romance, Shapeshifters, Paranormal, Humor

222 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication August 5, 2026

Reviews

[Laina Gruver · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5-4.75 stars

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! You don’t have to have read the Hellhound series to enjoy this book but, it will help you enjoy the ‘author notes’ before each chapter. You also do not have to have read Canon (although it was an enjoyable quick read).

Rowan is a Hellhound who doesn’t like to get messy and Milo is a human who helps his friends in the retirement home solve problems (AKA hitman). Rowan feels that Milo is an accident waiting to happen. Unlike Rowan, Milo doesn’t mind getting dirty (even if most of the time it’s not intentional).

Milo finds Rowan adorable and loves that he can make the big, strong hulk of a man blush. Rowan calls Milo his Chaos Demon.

This book was written as ‘fan fiction’ by Toby, one of the MCs in the author’s Hellhound series. You do NOT need to have read that series to enjoy this book but, you will find Toby’s author’s notes at the beginning of each chapter to be funnier.

*****
POV… multi first person

Standalone or series… part of multi author series and pseudo spinoff novella from Hellhound series but, CAN be read as a standalone

Hangover… slight

Recommend… yes

Reread… yea
S

[Caro · Rating 4 out of 5]

A hellhound whose literal job is sending genuinely evil people to hell but who is somehow completely unsuited to the actual murdering part of the job and Milo being an assassin for a retirement community. What could be better?

Rowan and Milo's meet cute might be one of my favourites in this entire series. Rowan has just burned down a cabin full of cultists, Milo shows up dragging a suitcase through the woods because HE was planning to burn down said cabin, and they just... sit together and watch it burn while Milo eats an apple and offers Rowan one of his absolutely atrocious brownies. Romance is alive and well.

And then, because this is Milo we're talking about, approximately five minutes later Rowan does one (1) nice thing for him and Milo basically proposes marriage. The impromptu marriage proposal is so incredibly Milo it hurts. Give him the smallest amount of affection and apparently you're now planning a life together.

I also loved the reversal of expectations with Rowan and Milo. Rowan is a literal hellhound. He has hellfire in his eyes. He sends evil souls to hell. And yet he's standing there worrying about how awkward it is to torture someone, whether he should offer his victims water, and how much of a mess everything is going to make. Meanwhile, human Milo is running around gleefully threatening terrible people and somehow proving over and over again that Rowan may be right about him being a chaos demon. Their relationship is basically acts of service with a side of murder.

But underneath all of that chaos, I really loved how protective they both are. Milo's retirement community and Ray are his family, and there is absolutely nothing he wouldn't do for them. I especially loved seeing their worlds eventually come together. Milo already had this wonderfully chaotic found family at the retirement community, Rowan has his equally unusual supernatural family, and by the end they're all just... one big weird family.

[GiveMeBooksOrGiveMeDeath · Rating 5 out of 5]

I already knew going into this book that I was going to love it, because of my love for Shannon‘s hellhound series. It was a fun surprise to see the “author” of the book writing the notes was Toby from the first book of that series “How To Flirt With A Hellhound”. In this AU, Ronan is a Hellhound who hates getting dirty and disposing of evil souls. Then accidentally meets Milo, an assassin who answers to a gang of elderly bad asses of which Ethel is the ring leader. Ethel is one of the greatest characters and I just love her so so much. Ronan was instantly drawn to this cute chaos demon and decides to aid Milo with his “assignments”. They were quite attracted to each other from the start and Milo makes it very obvious that he is down to get with Ronan. And when Milo started calling Ronan his “strawberry milkshake” it made me so happy because that is the greatest pet name I think I have read so far in my opinion. Between taking out bad guys and saving the day, Ronan and Milo get a lot closer emotionally, and physically. Of course they fall in love and while their confessions didn’t go quite as planned, it was still meaningful and unique. Not only did they fall in love but they adopt two children together… of the furry variety. The best way to describe these two I would say is controlled chaos because they are opposites yet complement each other perfectly. On a side note, the apple thing is freaky lol. Overall, I love this book and highly recommend it as well as Shannon’s Hellhound series, it’s quite good. I would like to thank the author for allowing me to read this in advance.

Tropes: Hellhound x Assassin, Size Difference, Fated Mates, “my little chaos demon”, Elderly Chaos Gremlins,
“my strawberry milkshake”, Dog Rescue

Story 5/5
Spice 3/5

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

**********Contains Spoilers**********

I enjoyed this book and thought that it was another good addition to the multi-authored Because Canon Sucks Series. This book is based on the short story Canon written by AM Rose for this series. In Canon, Milo and Rowan miss out on their happy ever after, so this series strives to give them one in every other universe. The authors notes during this book just make it a much more enjoyable read. I love that Shannon decided to write this book like it was written by our resident author from How to Flirt with a Hellhound, Toby. I could not put this book down and was hooked from page one. Milo and Rowan are great together and their chemistry was completely off the charts.

I love that Milo is an assassin, taking out people that totally deserve it and his jobs are given to him by his “team” aka a group of retirees who live in a retirement community. Milo loves his job as well as his found family of retirees. Whereas Rowan is a hellhound who takes out rotten hellhound souls he really doesn’t get much enjoyment out of it so fate definitely was on to something by matching these two together. I thought that their meet cute was absolutely perfect for these two. It would’ve been great if there was a bit more page time of Milo and Ray together but that’s just a very minor issue. I’m looking forward to reading more from this series, as well as more books by Shannon Mae in the future. I’d recommend this book, series and author to others.

******I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author. I would still happily review this book even if I purchased it myself. My thoughts and feelings about this book are completely unbiased******

[Jacqueleen the Reading Queen♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm going to be real here. I didn't really understand the whole AU thing before this book landed on my e-reader. I think I have it figured out that these characters, Rowan and Milo, met in a story by AM Rose and had a missed connection moment. That missed connection spawned this entire series, which is meant to give each author's spin on Rowan and Milos very own HEA. I have to say, I certainly had a fun time reading Mae's version of their story.

Milo was certainly an interesting character. Full disclosure, he's kind of cray, but the loveable kind of cray if you catch my drift. The man is all over the place and yet even with his clumsiness he tends to get the job he's doing done. Whether that's scaring an abusive ex husband or taking down a nazi gang. To be fair, Milo had help with those tasks, but before he met Rowan he tackled these types of things on his own.

Rowan was pretty much one of the most chill hellhounds this author has introduced us to. He doesn't have a taste for bloodlust. He doesn't get excited to take out rotten souls. In fact, Rowan pretty much loathes the whole mess it makes. It was pretty funny seeing him complain about getting blood on himself while we also have Toby's author notes discussing how much blood Dex handles with ease.

These two may seem like opposites, but I think that is what made them work so well. Milo made Rowan have fun and come out of his shell a bit. Rowan was steady rock for Milo to lean on and to sometimes pull him back from doing something that will likely get them all unalived. It truly was a perfect partnership and led to a very cute HEA.

[That One Romance Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intro:
This book is an MM romance between Milo, a human solving issues the police won't fix (wink) and Rowan, a hellhound enamored by Milo


Tropes/Highlights:
-MM
-Open Door
-Hellhound/Human
-Size Difference
-Kill Together
-Opposites Attract
-Do Anything For Him
-HEA


Likes:
-Hilarious meet cute
-Rowan is the sweetest
-Meeting the family
-Nicknames
-Spice
-"Chaos demon"
-Bad cover stories
-Slight stalking
-Humor
-Protective MC


Quotes:
-"Maybe I needed to go around hugging the little humans, and then less of them would turn out to be horrendous people"
-"I wasn't sure what it did taste like. Pain and suffering, maybe?"
-"I didn't ask where he was going with a gun, and he didn't ask why I was naked. Sounded perfectly fair to me"
-"The man was a menace"
-"Yes, my little chaos demon"


This is book 9 in the Because Canon Sucks series and it is my favorite so far! This is the first time I have read this author before and I was hooked from chapter one. Milo and Rowan are hilarious and so sweet, especially together. Milo is such a chaotic mess, but he has a big heart and is determined to protect his loved ones and those in need of less than legal help. Rowan is a sweetie pie of a ginger giant who has an aversion to mess. These polar opposites are perfect for each other and their story was so much fun to read. I recommend reading this book if you love darker books with hellfire, shifted forms, general chaos, protective characters, teasing, some murder with a side of justice and a meet cute for the ages

[Jeanette Waters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of course. Of course! Shannon Mae writing about hellhounds. Who'd a thunk! She made "Hellhound AU" adjacent to her Hellhounds Of Paradise Falls and gave Toby his go ahead with the writing. While the Paradise Falls and Canon Sucks worlds don't completely align, we can put it down to author preference.
All the Canon books have been terrific reads. But sorry, not sorry, I jumped books seven and eight to get to "Hellhounds" first and it was completely worth it. Although she doesn't have any current plans, I hope that Ms Mae will write more books "with" Toby.
Rowan is a "strawberry milkshake" hellhound (Milo's words). He'll do his due diligence in regards to hell bound souls. But he doesn't really enjoy the gore. Or the torture. He calls Milo chaos demon, and that is soooo apt. Milo doesn't mind a bit of a mess. His focus is on protecting innocents, people and animals.
An absolutely perfect match. Lots of "Boo"s, a good deal of blushing (hence strawberry milkshake). Just sharing a meal, or holding hands, the sizzle is there. The intimate scenes, very, very hot. Throw in the retirement home "crew" and Rowan's harpy sisters. What an enjoyable read. Fast paced. Toby gives us a wonderful worldbuild (his boyfriend totally ISN'T a hellhound after all).
Yes, this was my favorite Canon story.
I received an advanced copy of this ebook and this is my review.

[Xanthe · Rating 5 out of 5]

**4.5**
Of course Shannon's book in some way is related to their Hellhound series! I love how that has been worked into this book, really different but I don't want to give away the surprise.
Rowan as a hellhound who doesn't really like killing, or mess, is so perfect up against Milo's human assassin who has possibly, maybe killed by accident.
I love this version of Milo's Found family. Ethel, whose partner was Milo's Aunt Annabelle, now lives in a retirement home that turns out to have some people who are only too happy to help out a guy with cases of people in need of being 'dealt with'. Some surprising computer skills in the older generation!
Rowan's family is made up of hellhounds and harpy's, which actually fits Riley's character (as I've come to know her in the series so far) very well! Bless his heart, he wants to deal with the hellbound people but does not enjoy the actual act. How lucky that he and Milo stumble across each other in the woods, both with the same plan of dealing with a cult. Milo is hilarious throughout and Rowan is just as sweet. Very much an opposites attract match up but so perfect for each other.
This book was a lot of fun to read, just like Mae's Hellhound series and the rest of the Canon series. Can't believe there's only a couple more to go!
I received an ARC and am happily giving a review.

[Fiona Tewson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my goodness, I couldn't stop laughing! This incarnation of Rowan and Milo is one of the best!

It took me FAR too long to get the authors notes, but once I realised it was Toby and Dexter from How to Flirt with a Hellhound, I was hooked!

Rowan is a Hellhound and spends his time sending hellbound souls to hell. But, he doesn't like torture as it makes a mess, he gags his prisoners as he doesn't like their pleading and never knows whether to offer them water or not! Seriously, he's a big softy (and shy about his feelings for Milo). Milo, on the other hand, is a chaos demon - though he's human. Ethel and her friends at the retirement home ask Milo to look into certain people and Milo does this. Milo just wants to be needed and loved.

We first find Rowan in a cabin in the woods, which he has just set on fire, when Milo comes strolling up, pulling a suitcase on wheels behind him. Milo doesn't show any surprise about the fire, and just starts to eat an apple. (Much to Rowan's surprise). Once they move away, Rowan realises that he wants to find out more about Milo and starts to stalk him. What happens after is hilarious!

The book is written so well, I love Shannon Mae's writing. There is so much fun in this book that I can't help but say everyone needs to read it.

Thanks to the author for a copy in return for an honest opinion.

[Lois · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a massive fan of the Hellhounds of Paradise Falls series, so when I heard that this AU was written by one of the characters from those stories, I absolutely had to read it.

In this AU Milo is a hellhound who sends hellhound souls early to the afterlife, except he's not really very good at it. He finds torture awkward and he really hates mess. Milo is an accidental assassin, but he only hurts bad people. He absolutely loves torture and gore. A match made in heaven (or is that hell?).

These guys were so cute together and definitely brought out the best in each other. I loved their relationship and they were definitely very hot and steamy in the bedroom - hellhounds have tails and they know how to use them 😉

This was a fantastic world to set Milo and Rowan's story in and I loved that the crew in the old people's home were all included and that Ray made an appearance too. No sighting of Andrew in this one, he was NOT missed!

I think this story works well as a standalone, but if you've read the original series, then you'll love the Author notes at the beginning of each chapter - I was laughing so hard my ribs hurt. So many easter eggs to enjoy 😍. If I could give this more than 5*, I really would

[Twilight · Rating 5 out of 5]

𝑨𝑹𝑪 𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑫

𝑩𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝑵𝒂𝒎𝒆: Because Canon Sucks: HellHound AU

𝑻𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒔: hellhoundxhuman,
fated mates, instalove, grumpyxsunshine

𝑹𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈: 5/5 ⭐️ | 𝑺𝒑𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝑹𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈: 4/5 🌶️

𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝑻𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉: 📲 — > Arc Read

𝑭𝒂𝒗𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝑸𝒖𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒔:
“I sighed. ‘I meant for you to shut him up.’ ‘He isn’t talking anymore’ Rowan said, scratching his beard”

“Milo was mine. My mate. My perfect match. I loved him, and maybe I would tell him tonight.”



𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘: Firstly, I want to thank the author for providing me with an ARC copy — With that being said all opinions are my own.

Have you ever wanted an MC’s that reminded you of Drax from Guardians of the Galaxy, because I swear that was the vibe I got from Rowan this entire book and I completely ate it up. I never laughed so hard reading a book in quite a long time. Milo and Rowan’s entire relationship throughout this book is the most adorable, chaotic, and funny thing I have read in quite a while.
Out of all the books in the series that I have read so far, I feel like this one does the best job in my opinion of really capturing that fan fiction vibe to which these books are based on/supposed to resemble!

[angie_bookrecs · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was pure chaos, and I simply couldn't get enough!!

Rowan is an absolute sweetheart trapped in the body of a terrifying hellhound whose job is literally sending evil people to hell. The fact that he hates killing because it's messy and awkward had me laughing from page one. Meanwhile, Milo is an assassin with approximately ZERO self-preservation instincts, a heart of gold, and enough chaos to make everyone around him question if he's secretly a demon. Especially Rowan.

Their relationship is everything. Rowan is immediately protective, constantly trying to feed his disaster human, and once he realises Milo is his mate? That's it. Decision made. Forever. Watching these two idiots fall hopelessly in love while stumbling through explosions, kidnappings, supernatural chaos, and some absolutely unhinged author notes was an absolute joy.

The humor is top-tier, the found family is everything I love in a romance, and the emotional moments hit just as hard as the laughs. The ending left me with the biggest smile on my face, surrounded by a family that chooses each other, and the chaos every single day.

Also...hellhound tails. That's all I'm saying 👀🔥

[SNik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part of a multi-author series (Because Canon Sucks), but can be read as a standalone. Paranormal. Mates. Size difference. Found family. Dual POV. Heed content warnings.

Take one chaotic assassin working for a group of elderly dogooders and mix with a golden retriever hellhound who doesn’t like gore. When Milo stumbles across Rowan already having taken care of some bad guys he then meanders away, not realizing he has caught the attention of Rowan, and once they become friendly, Rowan begins to tag along to all of Milo’s vigilante jobs.

This was a real humorous foray into the author’s Hellhounds of Paradise Falls universe with two main characters that happily share a mission to do away with evil, are equally as accomplished, and easily fall into a relationship that includes both work and play. There are supportive characters that surround both Milo and Rowan, and the fact that no one bats an eye at discovering supernatural beings was so fun to read. Rowan is sweetly enamoured and Milo is fiercely committed to keeping Rowan, the fact that they are mates is just the cherry on top. A really entertaining Fanfiction that gives a more than satisfying HEA.

[Katriana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my gosh, I'm in love with this book!!! I'm not super familiar with Shannon Mae's writing, but after reading this AMAZING book, I will definitely be looking into more of their books!

From the very first page I was immediately transported into this world full of humor, destruction, chaos, fire, and for some reason, apples?? The writing of the story was exceptional, there was a comedic undertone to the writing that made reading this so much fun! I loved how quirky both Rowan and Milo were in this version, and I thought it was super clever of Shannon to have ond of their characters from one of their other books be the 'writer' of this one. I thought that was really smart and that added an extra fun element to the overall story.

I've enjoyed all of the AU books, but this one is definitely in my top 2, I loved the characters, the writing, the world building, the snark, the animals, and yews, even the destruction. Everything was just incredible!!

You have to read this book yourself, you won't regret it!

[ds321 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Usually when I have the privilege of reading an ARC, I jot down notes for my review while I read. Occasionally, however, I am too busy devouring the book to remember to do that. This was one of those. 😊

I absolutely 100% ***love*** that this was “written” by Toby, from Shannon Mae’s first hellhound book!! And I don’t even know that you’d have to read “how to flirt with a hellhound” before reading Hellhound AU. I tried to put myself in the mindset of someone who hadn’t, and I think it would still be super fun and hilarious, maybe just in slightly different ways. I’d still recommend reading “how to flirt with a hellhound” (and the whole rest of the series!) once you’re done with the AU.

As for Hellhound AU itself, this Milo and Rowan (individually and as a couple) were terrific. Basically, Milo has the soul of a hellhound and Rowan… kind of does. 😂🤣 in fact, Rowan reminds me a teensy bit of Atticus from Onley James’ Necessary Evils series. Not in a derivative way, just… if Rowan and Atticus met, they’d probably get along.

Wonderful, wonderful read.

[Molly Otto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leave it to Shannon Mae to make the human a chaos demon incarnate, and the hellhound to be the sensible one in the relationship. Milo & Rowan this go around are thrust into Shannon Mae’s Hellhounds are on this plane alternate universe. It was fun to see another pack of her world, that just felt the vibe of the Mystic Falls Pack, yet at the same time had their own spin to the world. These two as usual were a blast to be a part of the world, and you could feel all of these authors got a similar feel for the MC’s just with their own flare put upon the characters and some of the side characters. Ehtel is a hoot that I wish I had someone like in my life and it was fun to see the octogenarians be Milos accomplices in their own feisty way and to have Rowan have a family who love and support him while driving him up the dang wall all at the same time. Seriously adoring each one of these alternate universes and how the spin Milo and Rowan on their heads each and every time.

[Cynthia M Brow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hellhound AU is part of the multi author Because Canon Sucks series. Each book can be read as a standalone but why not enjoy the whole series. In this AU fanfiction type story for Rowan and Milo, Rowan is a hellhound who hates getting messy and Milo is a human assassin who causes lots of chaos. I loved this story so much. Rowan is just the sweetest guy you could ever want, you just have to look past his outside appearance. Milo is just a little chaotic chatterbox. When you put them together the make the perfect couple. I loved the chapter notes at the beginning of the chapters because they are funny and written by a character from Shannon Mae's hellhound series. This was just another wonderful story in an amazing series. I can't wait to see what Shannon Mae writes next. I also can't wait for the next book in the series. I would definitely recommend this book and series as 5 star reads.
received a free review copy

[KJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an enjoyably silly tribute to fanfiction as part of the Because Canon Sucks series. In this incarnation, Rowan is a fussy hellhound who likes things neat and tidy. Milo is an unlikely assassin who is essentially a human pinball bouncing through life. They meet up in the woods (that suitcase was a beautiful nod to the original Canon story) and quickly form a partnership taking out the local baddies. As such, there is violence and meyham, although the overall tone is quite cheerful.

I haven’t read Mae’s Paradise Falls Hellhound series but, aside from the “author” notes at the start of each chapter, this story stands alone just fine (and can stand alone even with those “author” notes, although I’m assuming that the references would mean more with that background).

I received an ARC of this book from the author and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Readergirl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so much fun to read! Not only is it a wonderful homage to fan fiction with a fantastic story of its own, but it also offers a fresh perspective on Shannon Mae's Hellhound universe by making Toby (the MC from How to Flirt with a Hellhound) the author of the fanfic.

It was such a delight seeing how Toby's random questions, enthusiastic deep dives into research, and wonderfully spacey personality all end up influencing the stories he writes. Since we usually only see his books referenced, it was fun to realize how his writing actually turns out. He really is a great author—I think he should definitely co-write with Shannon more! (Kidding... mostly.)

Rowan and Milo have a sweet, action-packed story that's supported by a cast of fun side characters. I definitely recommend giving it a read!

[Elizabeth D · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5 This is a lot of fun! It’s got a grey edge since both Milo and Rowan kill people—but they only kill bad people! (Think Dexter.) Otherwise, the tone is light-hearted and irreverent. I’m a fan of Shannon’s Hellhound series, so I felt right at home in this AU. (I also have a fanfic background, so this style with the author notes at the top of each chapter was very nostalgic.)

Milo is chaos embodied (where *do* all those apples keep coming from, lol), and it’s very entertaining to watch Rowan fall completely for him even if he also doesn’t seem to quite know what hit him. They have a very entertaining dynamic, and it’s very satisfying to see them get their HEA. (They’re definitely murder husbands.)

Looking forward to more in this collaborative series!

[bookygirl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yet another awesome AU! This whole series is fantastic!

In Hellhound AU, we get hellhound Rowan who meets the (human) chaos demon Milo after taking down a cult. While Rowan and his family of hellhounds and harpy sisters are able to sense hellbound souls and meter out justice accordingly, Milo is an accidental vigilante killer who gets justice with help from his “crew” at the seniors care home (including the awesome in every AU Ethel).

This AU was hilarious, an absolutely delightful quick read if you’re a fan of morally grey characters and vigilante justice. Loved the instant connection between the leads, and the pure chaos energy of Milo. Will definitely be reading more Shannon Mae after this!

[Patrycja · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was honestly so freaking amazing I would give it 6⭐️ if I could!

And OMG Toby wrote it! If you've read anything by Shannon Mae, you propably know Toby, the writer with a totally-human-boyfriend (How to flirt with a Hellhound) and this story was made to look as if he wrote it and I loved it so much.

The whole story itself was a perfect mix of hilarious, bloody and sweet. Milo was a perfect chaos of a human and Rowan was just as perfect of a Hellhound who very much didn't like messes, but would, without hesitation, get all messy for his mate.

As in every book in this series we got some amazing side characters, especially Ethel. Ethel is the best. And could someone give Ray his own HEA? The poor guy deserves it.

Overall, this story was amazing!

[🤍 · Rating 4 out of 5]

As always I love Rowan and Milo, they’re made for each other and I love seeing them fall in love again and again. My favourite thing about them in this book was how they just started dating without telling each other. Another thing I love about them is how rowan is a fucking hellhound and hates blood and torture but human Milo loves torture, messy death and killing.

Milo has a crew of retirees and Rowan has harpy sisters and a hellhound brother. Family torture sessions?? Family killing sprees and saving puppies?? (Milo and Rowan been there and done that)


HellhoundxHuman
MiloxRowan
Pet names
Boyfriends that kill together stay together
First POV
Knot
Tail sex
Vers
A tiny little kidnapping
Cabin fire meet cute
A funny as fuck author with authors notes every chapter

[Khai · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hellhound AU was a joy to read. I love the Because Canon Sucks premise with its loving homage to fanfiction, and Shannon Mae's contribution was well worth the read! Problem solver Milo and hellhound Rowan were fun and creative characters, and their story was sweet and loving and, naturally, a bit bloody.

The extra dimension of lore that arose as a result of Toby being the author with his little "cryptic" author's notes at the start of each chapter were delightful, too.

I certainly recommend this book, and the rest of the series, as well! I'm excited to see more versions of them both.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

First let me say, this series is so much fun! I've really enjoyed reading the different takes on Rowan and Milo's story. I'm a fan of Shannon Mae, and I loved how she incorporated their characters into her existing Hellhound universe. I also appreciated the similarities in personality she kept from the original Cannon short story. Rowan the Hellhound and Milo the quirky human were adorable together. There were several interesting side characters, and I'm sure I'm not alone in hoping we get a Ray/Ruben story in the future.

Note: I received an advance copy in exchange for a voluntary, honest review.

[Hope · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to the author for the early copy! This review is my own thoughts!

Oh I had an unbelievable good time with this story!!

Rowan and Milo in the Hellhound AU is something that was sooo fun and fitting, I was giggling the whole time!
I adored how their relationship developed, we got to see Milo in all his chaos glory and Rowan's soft exasperation and love that went with it was just so so wonderful!!

Also, Milo's "crew" were some of the best characters in the book and Ethel, as always, took the cake and ran away with it!

It was an amazing story, fun and heartwarming! Definitely worth the read when it comes out!!

[Demetra Roussakis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this one. If you loved the Paradise Falls series, you will also love this one, especially since the author notes are from Toby. The story starts with Rowan at a cabin with hellbound souls. As he is leaving, he hears noises coming from the forest and goes to investigate. He meets Milo who is wheeling luggage. When he realizes that the cabin he was wanting to go to is on fire, he figures one thing less for him to do. This stats their story with how Rowan is helping out Milo with his jobs. I loved the way they were each other and how Milo didn’t freak out when he met Rowan’s sister. Cannot wait to read more from this author.

[Bianca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rowan and Milo story was amazing with a hellhound and assassin pairing, and their story has an unexpected author, hint hint, that will really make your day.
I adored their moments together, as well as their shenanigans, teasing, and loving ones.
It had a great perspective, with danger and adrenaline that was encapsulated in humour and tenderness.
It also had it’s emotional side that was treated with care, love, and reassurance.
I enjoyed their experience, and I hope certain characters will also have their chance at love.

[Raven and Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I should have known Toby would be the author notes in this one!! I think this is my favorite one I have read so far. (I haven’t read the AJ Sherwood one yet though.) I loved this one so much! Shannon Mae’s Hellhound Universe is one of my favorites right now. Rowan and Milo in this incarnation were absolutely perfect. Rowan is a hellhound with two harpy sisters and Milo is a human chaos demon (not literally) but he is a little gremlin in human form. I laughed out loud more than once reading this one. It’s worth it!

[Melissa Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

The plot and characters are utterly ridiculous, and I loved it!

It's dark, but the violence is campy and over the top. I loved the socially awkward killer dynamic. And Milo was his full chaos gremlin self in his criminal pursuits.

Don't expect anything too deep from this book. Milo and Rowan sorta just fell into a relationship and figured out their forever-together plan with little work or discussion. I would describe it as an easy HEA (rather than hard-won). But the action/criminal/investigation parts, the general wonderful wierdness, and the hot spice kept the plot engaging.