Taken by the group of demons that killed her father, twenty year old Ava is tortured, starved, and brought to the edge of death. She knew nothing of this supernatural world but suddenly the years of military level training her father put her through make sense.
Rescued by a team of hunters and on the run from the demons that want another taste of her soul, Ava learns more of the world she has been thrust into. Her only hope of survival is to find the demon prince and destroy him. How hard could taking down the immortal prince of demons really be?
Emotionally captivating, Triggered will make your heart bleed while adding a twist of humor and hot desire. It's not everyday that four sexy supernatural hunters come to your aid.
**This is a reverse harem novel. This book contains scenes of abuse and a character experiencing PTSD**
Ava has been a prisoner of 6 demons for many weeks now. After watching her father's murder at the hands of her captors, and suffering for what feels like years, even her rescue doesn't feel like it saved her. They rescued a shell, a husk. Inside she's already dead, the wrapper just hasn't fallen to the ground yet. But, some spark kills the last demon holding her, and that same spark pulls her from the dark. The four that rescued her have all been in her shoes. They've all lost loved ones to monsters and hope that the spark is enough to reignite. Because this beaten shell holds the clue of where the demon prince is hiding. Can she come back from the nightmares? Can her memory be triggered?
Spoilers ahead. This is an elaborate chess board here. We have pieces moving about, many expendable. The king/prince is far behind the lines and throwing everything he's got at them. And he has some pretty good toys to do that with. Humans aren't the top predators they think they are, even with so many ways to adapt. They lack magic, super strength and speed. They can learn wards, runes and spells, though. And it helps level the field some. I'm not sure exactly what the end game is for the demons. Has to be something beyond just destruction and chaos and feeding. And I'm really curious as to how an incorporeal being has a form in the human realm. But, back to the book, the bonds between the guys are explained in vignettes and flashbacks. Ava gives clues about her past, as well as adding to the riddle that was her life before capture. There are a lot of layers working here and it's fun to peel them all back. As the title leads you to believe, there are triggers in this book. So warnings for violence, trauma, torture, sexual assault (no rape has been mentioned but definitely assault), suicide attempts and survivor's guilt. The abuse isn't "witnessed" first-hand, it's all seen through memories and flashbacks. Ava doesn't miraculously recover. She has scars, she has PTSD- they all do, she has to adapt her stomach to food again. It's rushed but not instant. She reacts to being alive, free and safety, but there's no insta-love. There's also no HEA or even a HFN lol. They have found each other, they are bonding, but they are nowhere near dreaming of white picket fences and 2.5 kids. Especially as they know that since they're hunters, their loved ones just become targets. But the story is interesting and I'm curious about what book 2 will reveal. And how many more layers of mystery and riddles it will add.
Oh, and there's a few typos, errors and grammatical issues. Captures instead of captors, ruins instead of runes, as examples. Not huge things but a little jarring to the readers.
The only reason I’m not giving this a one star is because I went in with high expectations, so the reality hit THAT much harder. I’m being nice.
I just can’t comprehend how people....are we reading the same fucking book? This girl had been tortured by demons (some really horrible shit happened to her) and, when saved by the guys, she tells them that she wants them to let her die...so, while she’s on the brink of death, the guys whip out a television, pop on a comedy show, make some cocktails (okay, they didn’t make cocktails, but, in my defence, they might as well have) and wake her up with their roaring laughter. Why did they literally buy a new television, I hear you ask? Well, they were bored waiting for her to DIE, of course. So, yeah, I had a problem with that.
SO, let’s say that the guys aren’t being insensitive pricks and annoying the shit out of me...the author didn’t do her research on PTSD. You don’t fucking recover because you’ve found some hot guys that care about you - especially not as quickly as she did. Please, authors out there, do your fucking research on whatever psychological diagnosis you have given your character.
That not enough? This wasn’t proof read! At least, it doesn’t seem like it. The writing is pretty terrible and there are loads of grammatical errors and...I just gave up. Stop this shit please and thank you.
I really wish authors would take a moment to research PTSD and the resulting physical stressors that come from a flashback and the time it takes for a survivor to recover. I liked this story but the heroine went through a major trauma and then, imo, recovered waaaaaaaaay too fast. When you come out of a panic attack, I don't think you're noticing the sexy guys around you. I also don't think you can walk after almost dying of starvation, dehydration, and physical torture the day after you've been brought back to life.
Again, really good premise, good world building, good characters, great start, I just wish the story was more true to how someone recovers after a kidnaping, torture, and PTSD flashbacks than this story portrayed.
Ava is a twenty year old girl kidnapped by a bunch of demons with her father. While in front of her, her father was killed. Protecting her for the secrets she carries. She knowns the location of the Demon Prince. Beaten, starved, fed off of and loosing all hope, she tries to survive. Just when she has given up, she is saved by a team of hunters. But are the hunters to late? Has she lost the will to survive? Can the team save Ava, a lost broken girl who has lost the will to survive? They will do whatever it takes to save the girl that has awoken something protective in each of them.
Wow guys, just Wow!!! I fell in love with these characters right from the start. The writing style, everything from the scenes written, the emotion, humor and tense scenes were spot on. Everything was done in such a flowing and descriptive manner. There are some hard scenes to read, and if you are sensitive to abuse scenes and a character experiencing PTSD , you may want to either skip this one, or be cautions.
Now, Ava, bless her freaking heart. She has been through some S**t!! She is such a bad a@@ character but, with what she went through, I felt so sorry for her. From having to watch your father die in front of you. Loosing all that you know, to being beaten, fed off of, starved. Never knowing when your last day would be. I could understand her reluctance to go on. I felt for her so much. The guys Seth, Quinn, Corey and Damion. Just these guys made me fall in love with them. They had orders to find Ava, and I do not want to give anything away. I want you to find out things on your own. But these guys, what they do and how they help Ava will make you melt.
Overall, Triggered is a dark paranormal Rh read wit demons, twists and turns, being lost, finding purpose, maybe even finding love, and survival. This is definitely a must read and I eagerly await book two!!
Merged review:
What a wild ride this was. If you enjoyed Triggered, Origins will blow you away. So much happens in this book. Origins pretty much starts right after the event that happens in Triggered. Ava has been triggered. She knows where Wren is, the Prince of Demons. She is hell bent on killing him. So she set off with only Seth in tow. But if you have read book one then you know at the ending Damion has his own problems he has to deal with. I do not want to give anything away in case you have not read Triggered yet.
There is a lot going on with Ava and what is going on with her. Her connection to Wren, and the consequences of that bond. The demon six, who tourtured Ava when she was held captive, and did horrible things to her. He will stop at nothing to get her back. But he is a demon after all and he does not play fair.
The guys are so amazing in this book. If you did not fall in love with them in the first one, I guarantee you will in this one. Every single one has their own personality, which is just what Ava needs. Seth is her safe place, she knows she will always be safe with him. Damion is her grinning naughty boy who feels so much and can put a smile on her face. Quinn and Corey are her rock, and so damn alpha I love it. Ava has so much she has to overcome, but can she do it? Or will she be forever reliant on the guys.
The story itself is very well written, and is very descriptive. I could almost feel myself right there with them. The pace is fast, and the plot will ensnare you. I could not stop until I finished. There is a slight cliffhanger. Which has just made me want book three like now. So if you have not read this series yet, I would highly suggest you give it a try.
DNF - I finished the first book but I am not gonna continue...
I love a good tortured fmc. I love the PTSD aspect and how she was at her all time low but managed to find a reason to fight thanks to the guys. But everything else was just kind of falling flat?
Also when it comes to the romantic relationships.. I am alllll for instalove. But there was no real chemistry that made the instalove in this believable.
There were also A LOT of errors.... Usually I don't let this effect my review. If you have a good plot, good world building, good character development, I don't care about some grammatical errors. However, when the plot is slow and confusing, the world building is too complicated and not explained well, the characters are confusing thanks to them being too similar and they are annoying... The grammatical errors stick out even more.
Also the fact that the book is literally called Triggered, and everyone wants the girl for her to be Triggered... and then when the Trigger finally happens it's SUPER anti-climatic.. disappointed. Decided not to bother with the second book. Sorry.
*Spoiler* Also I shipped her with Wren because I'm *like that* so that... hurt.
Ava has been through a lot of (mildly said) badly experiences. She has been kidnapped, tortured and watched her loved one die. When she is finally saved she learns that there is a whole other world, that her father has unknown to her prepared her for her whole life, than the human reality she as been living.
The author explains some of what Ava has been through in flashbacks throughout the book and it's not pretty. She has been through both trauma, torture, violence and attempted suicide. I really like that the author did this and didn't underplay or skip over the emotional trauma and PTSD that Ava has after she is saved by Quinn, Corey, Seth and Damion. These 4 guys haven't had it easy in life neither and you will get some of their stories in the book. Ava is a fighter as you will learn while reading the book and even though she has set backs and trauma from her kidnapping, she doesn't give up or stop fighting side by side with the guys.
It does end in a cliffhanger, so i will be looking forward to reading book 2.
I had not heard of this book or author. When I borrowed this novel there were no reviews or discussions (in the various book groups I visit) so to say I went into my reading experience blind is an understatement. I was pleasantly surprised how quickly I was engaged. There were some grammatical and typo issues as well as some small consistency issues. These problems didn't keep me from enjoying the story, however. There is still a great deal of information to learn but I was given enough to somewhat connect to the characters and understand the world without being confused. I can't wait to see where this goes. The book does end on a nasty cliffhanger.
All I can say is wow!! I wasn't sure originally if I was going to like this or not due to the warning triggers in blurb but so glad I have it a chance! Triggered is about a girl named Ava who was captured and tortured by a group of demons then rescued by a group of hunters because of a memory only she has that needed to be triggered. The story is well paced and well developed. Core characters well developed as well and I was unable to stop reading! Definitely will be reading book 2 as well! Highly recommend this book if you are a fan of dark, rh, paranormal fantasy.
Really enjoyed this it's a different type of story line than I'm used to but that's a good thing! It's gritty and dark at times but that just made me like the characters more to know they had walked through hell but just kept going. There's a lot of information in the book what I tend to think of as "world building" and they were different spins on the supernatural folklore from the norm for a supernatural book which made me keep reading avidly! I did however swear aloud at the cliff hanger ending really anticipating book 2!
Their is an interesting mystery around the heroine and she also experiences the drama of being a prisoner and comes out a survivor.
However two things I didn’t care for was the cliffhanger ending, also the twist at the end of the cliffhanger -how could experienced hunters miss what happened and the fact it took much longer to get to this plot point than it should’ve.
The entire book they spend running.
Overall I actually did like it and will probably pick up book 2.
Wow - this is a great debut. I really liked and felt for Ava. She has gone through a lot and is still fighting her demons, both lateral and in her head. She is a fighter. I liked the guys and how they support, protect, and push her. The story does end on a shocking note, and I am looking forward to seeing where this series goes :)
Note - this is a dark story, and it does deal with abuse and PTSD.
This was an interesting read. It had good points and not so good ones. The good being the idea behind the story, the direction it was taking, and the likability of the characters. The not so good being the typos and there was some areas that needed a little more work to make it feel less like a first or second draft and more like a finished product. Overall it was a good story and I am interested to see what comes next after that cliffhanger.
I didn’t know it was a cliffhanger before I started. Not a huge fan of half-books. I can’t recommend them to others. And I feel a huge urge to warn everyone. I think there should be huge warnings on books that authors don’t want to finish before publishing. (I am fine with books continuing and not all the ends being tied up in bows, especially when it’s part of a series, but give us a full book!) Do not recommend.
Gah so awesome 😍! I need book three! The beginning is frickin amazing pulled me in immediately. I love this group of guys and I'm enjoying the character development of the fmc. I'm really intrigued to see what happens with Wren I hope he joins the rh. The only thing which would have made it better is if the books were a little longer we could have really drawn out that delicious slow burn, they came together a touch too soon for me. I look forward to many rereads of this series.
Paranormal. Rh. 4 hunters. Demon hunters! I really like this. Definitely has the Supernatural feel to it. It was an awesome intro to the series. Ava has some mystery going on that even she doesn't know about. They guys each have there own character and personalities. Looking forward to the next on.
This book was so amazing! From the plot To the characters. To the plot that drags you on and grips you tight and doesn’t let go. This is the first book I’ve read from this author and it was such perfection and so beautifully done with the trauma to the ptsd to how the characters interact. Can’t wait for more!
I was wary at first, but that changed so fast. You're immediately thrown into turmoil and it does a number to the emotions. Oh but it's so worth it! The way Aly wrote this is captivating and nail biting, there's plenty of mystery and eye candy. The boys are amazingly thought out and different. I'll just be here waiting on the edge of my seat for book #2!
I like this book a lot. However, something’s missing and I can’t put my finger on what.
Also, the cliffhanger, it should bother me a great deal more, but I don’t know, I just thought “meh”. Is there something wrong with me, or am I just not that into this book? Perhaps I’ll get my answers when (or if) I read the following book.
Ava has been through the ringer after being held captive by demons. She is saved by a group of hunters. As she learns more about them, can their scars help heal her soul. There is a lot of action and a little bit of romance. This is a slow burn story. There is quite the cliffhanger. I look forward to reading book 2.
Oh my god! Talk about exciting! At first the POV was a little confusing and kind of switch with no indication. However, that changed half way through and the story was amazing and intriguing. Can’t wait for book two!
Man this was an intense story! I lived it the whole way through, poor Ava is taken through alot and still rise up. The guys have their moments and I really want to know what's up with this Prince....
I really enjoyed this book and loved the characters and how they came together. I can't wait to see what will happen next since Damion got taken over by one of the demons that tortured Ava.
fantastic, fantastic, fantastic. First time author for me and boy did she make herself ALL time author (and instant purchaser of her books). Very well written, RH novel with such a dynamic storyline that pulls the reader in.