Being the Terran ambassador assigned to Kenistal, the Demon home world, is not a particularly easy posting. Caris Dealyn wants nothing more than to get this assignment done so he can continue searching for his missing Avanti friends. But first, he needs to solve the mystery surrounding the last ambassador’s disappearance, while navigating the Demon court with all its whisperings of plots and betrayals. It's not such a bad job, if he could keep his attention on work and not on the prince who seems to distract him just by being near.
Prince Dasalin Kan’erkit is busy running the kingdom in his father's absence, but not so busy he doesn’t notice the new Ambassador. Caris gets under his skin like no one else before, which is quite a feat considering Dasa’s demonically tough scales.
The attraction between them is undeniable, and when events throw them together, sparks fly. They can't get enough of each other. But there are forces at work that wish to keep them apart. In a fight for their survival, the two must figure out which demonic faction is behind the plot and protect not only themselves, but the people they have both vowed to serve.
Again, I guess my luck with fantastic books streak last year has apparently run out because I didn’t enjoy this book. 😁 There are so many things to like in this one but the details and again, the execution of the story was a total miss for me. 😐
First of all, 348 pages? It was unnecessary because the story could have done beautifully in 200 pages. There were so many unnecessary characters popped out of nowhere in this story. And I was thinking, “Ah, they are going to become somewhat important in the coming books in the series!” (3 books have already out in the series 😁) And I checked the blurbs of the other two and the extra characters from this book played no role at all in other stories. At least, not significant ones since they won’t become one of the MCs of the other two books. 😕 So why stuff all these characters into this book? I just don’t get it. 😞
Second, I love tails, I love horns and I love anything paranormal. And size difference is one of my biggest kink. So hear me out. The demon prince is 8 feet tall and the terran/human Caris is 5’6’’ or 5’8’’. (I can’t remember the exact height) If I’m not mistaken, the very first time they had sex, they didn’t use any lube. 😱 And no, demon prince doesn’t self-lubricate. 😏 So let’s just think scientifically! How does the ding dong of a 8 feet tall dude can fit into a tiny human’s arse without any lube to ease the way in??? 😂 It was just impossible!!! 😳 They later use lube in their bedroom but I vividly remember they going at each other without any lube for several scenes. How those two fit with each other is beyond me! 😁
And while the storyline is interesting, again, with so many unnecessary side characters and long page count, it just drags on and on and on after 40% mark. But for what it’s worth, I loved that the author included a glossary at the end of the book (although I wish it’s in the beginning. I have no idea why it’s always in the end! 😒) and if you can look past the ridiculous impossibility of these two having sex without any lube, the bedroom scenes are pretty hot! 🔥 Overall, I just didn’t feel like it was enough of a good story for a 350 pages novel.
I tried, I really really tried! I had been looking forward to reading this book, but it did not work for me at all! Caris was 'weak'! I have no issues with submissives AT ALL, but it was just... There was no 'power exchange', just Caris acting weird, catching Dasalin's eye, and then Casalin being kind of a jerk! I didn't get very far, maybe 26% before giving up... Also the names!!! I get that this is a demon world, but when you're having trouble separating characters and it doesn't 'flow' it becomes hard to read. I am clearly in the minority, which means I'm pretty sure I missed something, but it did not work for me.
This was a nice surprise ... I really liked the story. yes there were some weaknesses but all in all it was really good and I enjoyed the story. (and yes, the sex was hot in the most parts)
I don't even know where to start with this. I have enjoyed all of Hannah's books. I love her Avanti series, but this one is just amazing. It pulled me in from page one and never let go. Seeing the interaction of different worlds, the politics of one people trying to get along with another. It was fascinating. I was there with the characters, not just reading them. The imaging is crystal clear and the plot so smooth I couldn't put it down. I loved how it opened doors to new books and introduced us to others from far planets. I can't recommend this enough. I dare say I love the Demons more than the Avanti and I didn't think that was possible.
I finished reading this with great difficulty and much eye-rolling. This book was not for me, from the writing style (mistakes, constant POV shifting, artificial-feeling dialogue and weird pet names ) to the story (insufficient world-building and a lot of cliché M/M genre situations). I was hoping for a nice M/M sci-fi story, but was really disappointed by the lack of subtelty involved in writing this book. This is just my own opinion however, it seems that overall a lot of people enjoyed it and I am in the minority here ^^
Hemm... this is 'yaoi' book I love so much when the Alpha Male hero fall for delicate, almost fragile male hero as the heroine but not. Yup. This very kind of book, dear sis.
No no no, this alien wasn't slick with slime gel or with tentacles eww no! The alien was about tall and big and purple with hard body and horns, please don't forget the horns, you can imagine them being grab when... you know... *squirming here*
oh! and tail. Yes. The alien demon has tail. And his human-like mate aka the hero as the heroine but no. Yes. I love this kind of story. I craved it actually. Want more, pleaseeeee
A well written, fast paced, varied story that really only was missing a bit of setup and build up at the beginning to keep it from being perfect.
This story seems to be a bit of a spin off of the Avanti Chronicles. Having never read those books, indeed never having even heard of them until half way through the book when it comes up, I can assure you this book is independent enough that it can be read apart from that series. I do wonder though if that is where some of the world building would lie. This book has a fantastic universe, with multiple planets that have varying races, all of whom are spacefaring. We get a good sense of Kenistal, the world this is set on, but We learn next to nothing about the Barin Alliance, which is a major player in this book and in this universe. It made it seem that there was a missing portion to this universe, though it may be that the Alliance, its worlds, and the role Caris plays within it were explained there.
The other lack is how quick Caris and Dasa jump to a relationship. True, they had been 'dancing around each other for months'. But the fact that after one night together, they decide that's it? True, it doesn't go exactly like that, but I did have a bit of that impression. In a way it made sense with their lives; a Prince can't exactly publicly date unless he is serious, and a temporary ambassador would need to make some decisions about his future. And really, by not having them angst about their relationship, the rest of the book was allowed to progress and get through a surprising amount of action and danger that I really enjoyed. I just wish a bit more build had been there.
Now everything that was good; quite a bit. I really enjoyed Dasa and Caris. They were a good fit and fun to watch together. Dasa was an excellent prince, not just one who did lip service. He got out there with the people and genuinely believed in working hard to keep his planet great. Caris was strong, fiery, andthe compassionate. He cared for those who needed it, but was more than ready to stand up for himself against a bully or an opponent. Together they were a great team. But I loved that they weren't the only ones in the book. There is a strong cast of characters in this book, all of whom have lives, jobs, desires that were important to the story. It made this a really good read and I look forward to seeing what happens in the next book!
2.5 Stars. This book had a lot of issues. So many, I was afraid I would forget the ones I identified as problems for many readers; I felt I had to stop reading and take notes multiple times. I am just going to copy and paste. But before I do that, I'm going to add that the last 30% really improved for me, and that is what elevated it to 3 Stars. I found the plot intriguing enough I might try the next book sometime in the future.
Issues for many readers - at 9%—constantly changing POV. Made worse by nothing denoting it. Overuse of jarring pet names seemingly out of character. So far, not a lot of world or character building, & I'm being told everything not shown.
* each snippet below is at a different % complete*
OMG feels like major Insta Love — because we're only told about them knowing each other previously. The 1st night we see them, they are suddenly all in.
Sex & more sex before we have any connection to characters & without any nod to how a puny human could handle it. No issue really with a lot of sex. Just the lack of connection and before any real plot.
Travels with a faulty security detail - no invrstigation even after attacked or repercussions after "choking incident". ( Added after: Eventually an explanation is somewhat govern much later on, but it's the blasé attitude in the beginning despite the danger that rankled.)
What is this alliance? What are they offering, who are the Landran another race, planet, country etc.. ones initially against it etc... @15% to 22% completed. (Again somewhat explained later, but it's info and background better served in the beginning)
Multiple sentences that disrupted the flow of the reading. It often required me to re-read multiple times to parse meaning from context.
Even more minor editing issues snagged at the reading flow; Example = Caris "was stood by" the massive view pane on the observation deck. Or, Referring to a demon as the man.
M/C asks, "Do demons even dance?" This is after being at a party where he actually danced with them. So, Huh?
Another great book by Hannah Walker! Dasa kept cracking me up with all his he-man over protectiveness. Caris was a good complement to Dasa. I only wish that I could see more of the carefree Caris in the book instead of the uptight ambassador that was in the first half of the book. I enjoyed finally seeing more of my Avanti boys too! I can't wait to read the next book in the series.. Hmmhmm I mean Bo's story! I can't wait till that man gets a little payback--Aridian--because of all the trouble he gave Dasa.
I loved Booker's song, and more than delighted at finding a new favorite author, I bought this book. Big mistake! Head hopping, way too many unexplained emotions if you're, like me, new to the series, no build up, just fucking. To be honest, this book could have been great! The world building sounded pretty cool, but the many "voices" were hard to follow, and I gave up when even more were added to the mix *_* Will wait for the next Dragon, and skip this as well as the other series - same universe.
Meh, it felt like the whole set up is playing in high school. Characters behave and speak like high schoolers, not to mention the stereotypes....top is a macho prince and bottom a snickering blond fragile guy with “sharp cheekbones”. It’s usually the first indication for me that the book is more of a porn than content, if MC have sex at 5%, insta love, and the bottom is snickering push over with “sharp cheekbones”. It got all of that in there.
I couldn't even finish it. I really liked the colorful Demons and what not, but I really couldn't stand the MC. The plot was not interesting, I didn't even want to go on reading. And I usually at least like this kind of books.
MAybe reading the avanti chronicles would have made some things less confusing but it wasn't strictly necessary. Thankfully. Because I didn't read them. I kind of want to now, after having briefly met some of the players from that series in this book. So, maybe I will because the universe is pretty interesting.
Having jumped straight into this book there are a lot of unanswered questions that might have been/might be answered somewhere else so I am hesitant to dock enjoyment points from this book. One big thing that we never got a real answer about was caris' security detail. There were other things too, but they felt like part of the wider arc and probably WILL be answered eventually.
Biggest issue: this is not a stand alone book in any way, shape, or form. I do enjoy the over-reaching storylines and pop up cameos from other books, but if you don't read the other books it's confusing and honestly I'm not 100% sure I want to invest that much money into something so vast. It is all very interesting but....... there is alot.
Something I LOVED: multi pov. It was really well done and I really really loved it. I like the multi pov because you really get more out of all the characters. Very well done indeed!
I liked this alot. It's just a very big commitment to get full satisfaction.
I definitely enjoyed it; but one thing I wish I knew before going in and only found out 50% in is that it's a spin off to an other series. There are a lot of characters with difficult names to remember, some that aren't even that important to the story. So when it gets too crowded in a scene it could get a little confusing to read. Especially when the Avanti Chronicles characters were introduced. The only positive thing is that if I ever decide to read that series I won't remember anything about them since 6 or 7 were introduced all at once and they kinda blurred together. It was definitely the moment where I struggled the most to keep up with the character but thankfully it was only for a small part of the book.
Overall I still think it's possible to read it without knowing anything about the Avanti Chronicles since they aren't a very significant part of the book or the plot in general. It might just a be bit confusing for a bit/look like info dump about what happened to them in the past.
Rating: 4 stars I decided to give this series a try after I gave up on the Avanti Chronicles. I must say that I liked this series much better than the last book I read in that series. This series had enough going on that it kept me interested. Ms. Walker does have a habit of getting a bit sappy in her writing, but this book toned it down a bit more than in previous books. I liked both Desalin and Coris as the MCs. I also liked Bo, Mac and Ari as secondary characters. I was glad that we got to see things from their point of view as well as the main characters.
If I had to lodge a complaint, it would be that I am not a fan of changing POV from paragraph to paragraph. The author did that constantly and while I didn’t particularly like it, the story kept me entertained enough that I could overlook it.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to reading more in this series.
This author really isn’t for me. All her stories are instalove. Within the first 50 pages they are already shagging and deeply in love. There is no suspense, no evolution, no nothing. The author also seem to have problems to understand the concept of balanced points of view/narrators. If you want to have multiple narrators that’s fine but reserve one chapter for each, or make it very clear who is talking at least. Here it was a continuous switch of perspectives and pretty much undistinguishable who’s internal thoughts were reading at one point or another. So so so confusing and unnerving. The plot is also all over the place: we hear about the two main big mysteries around half way through the book. How does that make sense?
Demons? You gotta love em' or hate em'... and I usually don't love em'! ;p
BUT... except for the erratic POV changes and the occasional, "You have got to be kidding me!" moments... this was an OK read! At times it was an emotional read that actually left me ready to jump right into Bo and Ari's story! (Don't even get me started on their "real" names... just work with me here!) LOL!!!
I was surprised to find out that there was another "slightly" connecting series before this one... which I may or may not go back and read. We shall see! But, if purple, red or even silver demons work for you, then you should give this series a try... it does have its moments! *grin*
This is the best book in the series yet! Hannah Walker just gets better and better.
The barin alliance ambassador Caris is assigned to the Demon home world to get them to join the alliance. Dasa is the Demon prince and he has a thing for Caris.
Bad things happen, someone gets kidnapped, and a battle happens. Love prevails.
Didn’t like the beginning, it felt too cliche. Once the story got going it’s interesting and easy to fall in love with the characters. Caris isn’t a pushover or a victim. Dasa isn’t the a hole he first seems. Bo is just awesome and I’m curious to see what happened to Veris. Plenty of smut, action and for someone that doesn’t enjoy space stuff, this was amazing.
I struggled with this one. I liked the idea of the book, i liked the idea of the characters, i liked the idea of the plot. Unfortunately, the "idea" only took it so far. I had a hard time connecting to the characters in anyway, there was no backstory, just BAM here we are! We are told some stuff but there wasn't a lot of world building so we only know little bits. The POV was all over the place and switched with no warning. The story did pick up for me in the last part of the book so i may give the series another chance...maybe.
It was a bit of a strange mix of sexy times up front followed by long a loooong stretch of action type stuff. But I guess I liked the characters enough to make it all go down easily enough. If I'm in a mood for more long stretches of sci-fi action I may continue with the series.
This is the first on a series but it feels as if it’s set on an already existing universe by the author. There’s not a lot of world building and the writing is kind of choppy. Dnf at 31%
THE ONLY ISSUE IS PAGE 10... BO IS A BLUE DEMON BUT WHEN HE IS HOLDING HIS HAND UP THE AUTHOR HAS HIM WITH GREEN HANDS... need a little bit more reviewing before publishing.
This is a separate, but related, series from the Avanti. I liked seeing some familiar faces in this one, but it was a wholly separate book. These demons are great, as usual, I love the richness of Hannah Walker's world building.