Set

Gods of the Duat #1

by Alessa Thorn

Once, Set had been a god of the deserts, with war and storms in his veins. He was a beast of cunning, strength and protection, annihilation and destruction...

Now, masquerading as a human mercenary, he was nothing but a thug for hire.

SET is the first book in the new series ‘Gods of the Duat’ that centers around the Egyptian gods of war, magic and the dead. This series is perfect for readers who love their heroes dark and dirty, and their heroines strong and feisty.

Set thinks it’s going to be another boring day in Egypt when he's asked to protect his boss's secret daughter. Then he sees Doctor Ayla Neilos in the flesh and the god inside of him wakes for the first time in centuries.

Before he was known as a god of war, Set had been a god of protection, and he isn’t going to let anything happen to Ayla, no matter the cost.

As a doctor used to working in war zones, Ayla thought she would be prepared for the worst kind of conflict. That is until she’s kidnapped and then saved by a massive mercenary determined to keep her safe.

Not only does Ayla learn her father isn’t dead, but she’s also being baby sat by a god of war. A god who isn’t exactly acting like the villain that the stories have made him out to be.

Trying to hide from bounty hunters is hard enough, but neither Ayla or Set is going to be prepared for what they awaken in each other. With half of Egypt wanting them dead, they will both pay the ultimate price to keep each other safe.

Please note, SET is an adult paranormal romance that contains graphic violence, swearing and steamy sex scenes.

Genres: Romance, Fantasy, Mythology, Paranormal Romance, Paranormal, Magic, Adult

207 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 24, 2021

About the author

Alessa Thorn believes that all monsters and villains deserve their happy endings. She prefers her clothes black, eyeliner winged and books full of hot romance. She thinks heroes are boring, so her first series 'The Court of the Underworld' centers around dark gods, monsters and villains from her favorite Greek Myths.

Reviews

[Natalie ~ The Biblioholic · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading and loving this author's The Court of the Underworld series, I knew I needed to get my hands on her other books. I fell in love with the way she created this world full of mythical beings, walking and talking and living among us, burdened with problems both familiar and alien to us all.

Being introduced to Set was like stepping into a piece of unheard of history. I thought it was hilarious that he knew there were stories about him and that so much of what humans thought they knew... they didn't have a clue. Here was a god who had lived and loved and suffered and triumphed. A god who knew how to feel, to hurt, to distance himself from those who cared for him. And all it took for everything to come to a head was his protection detail of Ayla.

Both of these characters held such warmth that it was easy to fall into heavy like with them right from the start. And aside from the fact that my fellow nubians were somewhat white-washed, I enjoyed the heck out of this story.

There's action and adventure. Secrets and betrayals. Otherworldliness unlike anything I've read before. And the love that grew between Ayla and Set was a magic all its own.

As much as I didn't want to let this story go, I'm excited to get started on the books to come. Thoth accomplished the impossible to help these two out and he seems to be in for a world of trouble on his way to finding love. And then there's Anubis, who's been missing for a very long time. Seeing these great beings fall in love is always fun!

Find more here: Set by Alessa Thorn

[Lina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like Alessa Thorn's books. They are really good. But sadly in this one I couldn't feel the love between the two MC. Personally I prefer "The Wrath of Fae" series.

[Cass (wonderlandandwhisky) · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a start to this trilogy!

I'm not going to lie, I don't know as much about Egyptian myth as I do Greek so I didn't go in with a lot of comparison points. BUT! Alessa has done it again.

I loved the introduction to this trilogy and our bear man Set was the perfect starting point. I also loved Ayla. Smart, charismatic, and knows how to put a God in his place? That's my perfect FMC.

This series is also has a slight crossover with The Court of the Underworld and I cannot WAIT to see how these two collide.

[Kerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love them. I could keep reading about these two forever.

[Krys (spicy.spine.breaker) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 *'s! This was the first book I've read by Alessa Thorn, & I'm not an offish fan.

It was centered around the Ancient Eqyptian God, Set, but tied in connections to several others (Osiris, Anubus, Sebek, Isis), and I really liked how she demonstrated the relationship dynamics between them. The gods (across cultures) are strutting around Earth like it's NBD, mostly announcing themselves and loving the attention - Set on the other hand is the opposite. He does his best to remain under the radar, keeps to himself in some ways, has a dark past etc etc.

So basically.... he's your classic tall, dark, muscular, (devastatingly) handsome, cold soul, dark heart, very mysterious, major male character... my favorite. (swoons)

I see she has a series surrounding the Greek &/or Roman gods as well. I haven't read those yet, I can't say this for certain, but since these gods from other cultures were referenced (Hades, Medusa) and even made an appearence (Bellona), I'm assuming the gods are tied into this other series aswell. Will be THRILLED if that's the case - love intertwining story lines / plots.

The only thing missing imo, keeping me from giving it the above avg 4 * rating, is the length. This was pretty short, which isn't a big deal because the story was very straight forward. However, I do wish the romance between Set and Ayla was carried out just a little bit more - maybe more in depth. that being said.....

Over all, this was a great, easy read & a great start to the soon to be series. I can't wait for the others! The end was the perfect segway into what I BELIEVE included the god that the next book will be centered on.

[Coco.V]

🎁 FREE on Amazon today (8/31/2021)! 🎁

[Mary Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a super fun read, and that's reason number one why I gave it 5 stars. I loved Set, and thoroughly enjoyed the descriptions of him letting his god powers out...fun stuff. Reason number two...hallelujah! A heroine (Ayla) who is a mature, sensible and believable, grown up woman. At no point did she show adolescent behavior, petulance, "you're not the boss of me," or whining over being fat or not good enough, or "too curvy." Those qualities in an MC can totally ruin a book for me. It's hard to find good romance that doesn't present as the MC a self doubting child-woman who is terrified of communication, and who just can't believe anyone would love her. Alya is a physician, and behaves like one..educated, confident, industrious, helpful, and knows her own worth. This isn't great literature, but it is well written, held my attention thoroughly, and was a great adventure in imagination.

[Mak ♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

. . .
É uma leitura F(. . .), desculpe pela palavra, eu amei 🖤. . .
Set é o primeiro livro da Série Gods of the Duat, é ele veio com tudo, devo dizer que um assassino que tem alma de protetor, foi delicioso de ler, cada página, foi uma entrega total de coração. Set e Ayla são top demais juntos, e mesmo sendo perseguidos eles encontram tempo para se amar e muito. Adorei, a Corte de Hades ainda é minha paixão, e espero que a Linda e Maravilhosa Alessa escreva mais sobre Deuses e Deusas, como a Bellona, seria uma ótima história. . . Boa Leitura 😘

[Shelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alessa Thorn’s Court of the Underworld series was amazing. But her follow up books have been too formulaic. I recognize the pattern and know what will happen.

That said, this was a good book. The part with Thoth was the best part. More of those interactions please

I will read the next one.

[Queen Reviews · Rating 2 out of 5]

An ok read

This book was an ok read. A little on the predictable side but it was ok. Very lukewarm spice but funny.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook. Library. After getting a little bored at the end of the Greek Gods series, this was a fun return to that world and I loved Set and Ayla together.

[Inês Campelo · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5⭐

[Joy Hale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set is coming in Hawt🔥🔥🔥

I love Egyptian mythology just as much as Greek, and this was a great start to the Gods of the Duat series.
Set is a bodyguard employed by Cairo's most feared crime lord. He's been sent to protect Ayla, the crime Lord's daughter. Ayla knows nothing of this man. Ayla soon finds out that she is in danger and Set has been unleashed to do everything in his god powers to protect her.

Some of my favorite myths have been weaved into this story and I love the mentions of Hades Court throughout the book, though Set had to throw some shade😂

Can't wait for the second book Thoth

[Cara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A doctor and a god? Kind of a moot point but Ayla and Set make it work, one of my favourite couples in Thorn’s universe

[JA George · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m excited to see how this series goes! Set was the perfect opener. I’m also loving the references to the other books this author writes, what can I say I’m a sucker for a good cross over.

[Chrissie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was the perfect start to this series & as usual, Alessa's world building, characters & 🌶️ are *𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘧'𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴*! As a history (especially Egyptian history) nerd, this book & the whole series was right up my alley & I was hooked from the first chapter!

✯ Some of my favorite things in this book:
- Egyptian Gods that are living among us.
- Super 🔥 MMC that's not only the God of War & Protection, but these days he's masquerading as a mercenary that works for one of Egypt's biggest gangs.
- A FMC who's fierce but also caring & who sees Set not only for who he is, but also who he can be.
- The banter between Set & Ayla is hilarious! While they might get on each other's nerves, the genuine support & love between them is just amazing!
- Lots of magic & 🗡️🩸, which of course makes it a 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 for me!

✯ I would 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘭𝘺 recommend it! Especially if you enjoyed the Court of the Underworld series, or just enjoy urban fantasy books with a healthy dose of magic, Gods, ass-kicking & 🌶️!

[Corey Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Promising Beginning to the Egyptian Gods part of the saga

I felt like this one took a little while for me to really get into it, compared to the Greek ones. However, once it did catch my interest, I found it to be just as much fun as the Court of the Underworld. I am interested in seeing how Set & Ayla's new bond affects them as they go into the next two books. I am looking forward to Thoth, who has always been among the most interesting of Egyptian gods, in my book-- god of knowledge & magic, how cool is that?! And I am also excited to see how the overarching mystery progresses. I hope there is more magic in the next one. Bottom line, not as good as the Greek ones (so far), but still very entertaining.

[Kseniya V. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dear diary,

I had a wonderful Halloween night, we watched *The Mummy* (1999 of course) with my sister and I finished reading this book, which has been the cherry on top.

There was no "Wonders of Egypt" book in my childhood (different part of the world) but somehow I stumbled upon mythology, first Greek and Roman, then Egyptian, I compared pantheons . . . It was like a big telenovela plot in my mind, all the gods and their squabbles.

What was I trying to say? Ah, yeah. Cool story!

As always, one of Alessa's books has brought me boughs of joy and heaps of entertainment.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recommended Listening: The Killing Kind

Man, I'm just a sucker for this series.

I haven't come across a lot of book delving into Egyptian Mythology, which is a shame, because it is a lot of fun. So to see that this series was waiting for me after the Court of the Underworld was a treat. I am SO excited to read these new stories.

Set reminds me a lot of the men from the Black Jewels trilogy, which does not bother me in the slightest as I love that series. He is passionate and violent and a much better being that he lets on (or believes himself to be). On the other side, we have Ayla, who is a firecracker, but a healer. And unlike Selene, who didn't want Hermes killing people, Ayla encourages Set to be who he is, so long as it's being unleashed on bad people and she can help the ones who need it. It's a great dynamic and one I like to see in just about any story.

The banter between the two was fun to read, particularly when they were discussing his career choices after this job was done.

All in all, I was not disappointed by this book, which was why I picked it after two books that just felt... meh.

Also, what is up with Anubis?! And when do we get to find out!

[Sahana Ramnath · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set has been alive for thousands of years, and his existence has become more of an emotionless survival, just trying to adapt to the changing times and get by the day. All of that is changed when he meets Ayla.

Ayla is the daughter of Set's latest cartel-boss employer (though she doesn't know her father). She's a doctor working with Panacea, going over her daily routine of paperwork. And suddenly Set whirls into her life, to protect her from a dangerous threat.

Set and Ayla have an amazing relationship growth from allies to friends to love 🤍 they have a lot of understanding and love for each other, and they are a perfect example of slow-burn soulmates!
The plot as well was captivating, and culminates in an amazing ending which leads to renewed goals in life for both of them! The book was a very wholesome read 🤍

I also loved the scenes with Thoth - they were entertaining af, and I just can't wait to get to his book.

[Jewels · Rating 5 out of 5]

After every book I read in the series I think “this is my favorite! “And then I read another, and I think the same thing. This is one of my favorite series!

This book starts the new part of the series in Egypt. And don’t know if I’ve ever read a book or series of Egyptian gods and I hope there are more out there because it’s so fun to read.

Unlike the gods in Greece, the gods in Egypt are in hiding. So when Set lets out his godly powers, it’s pretty amazing. Another thing is that the Egyptian gods are much older than the Greek and Roman gods. So they feel much more mysterious. But I love about this book is that weaved in through the love story, the mystery, there is so much interesting Egyptian God history. It’s really fascinating.

The love story between Set and Ayla is beautiful. Set has a rough history with love and to see him find if again and with someone who loves him back as much is beautiful.

[TeeReads · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was certainly a book that I read.

There wasn't anything wrong with it, and I absolutely enjoyed parts of it was just overall a very mid book.

For the positives, it was so fun reading a book set in Egypt! It made me so happy to recognise words and places that I know, and it felt like a small and silly ear to connect to my heritage.

Set was a very sexy character, and I liked the chemistry that was building between him and Ayla. She was also a very interesting character, and I would have loved to see her personality and interests explored more.

I think the main thing holding me back from loving this one was the lack of depth. The story felt rushed, and because of that, I didn't connect to the characters or plot as much as I would have liked. I'm unsure if I'll continue with this series, but I do want more Egypt, so we shall see

🔥🔥.5

[Veronika B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick and nice read. Thought, it was to fast that she fells hard for him. It was my first book of the series, so I will continue with book 2 and start from the beginning with the underworld chronicles.

I love Egyptian mythology just as much as Greek, and this was a great start to the Gods of the Duat series. I am happy that I found one set with the Egyptian mythology.

I also think the implementation in the modern world is very successful.

Some of my favorite myths/ worlds have been weaved into this story and I love the mentions of Hades Court throughout the book, though Set had to throw some shade.

[D. Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! What a rip roaring ride. Just the right amount of everything. Banging action, great characters and a few oh my god moments. I've not read any of Alessa Thorn's books but if this is what they're like, then you go girl. I've already downloaded Thoth and started reading. I'm not one for jumping into series so I clearly NEED to read this, I like to break them up. Anubis was already on my Kindle to read (Anubis is my favourite god, so I'm hoping that's going to steal my heart not break it.) Let you know. Or better still go read them.😁

[Nyxed - The Book Snob · Rating 1 out of 5]

Abandoned

Couldn't continue after the 20% mark. Absolutely every element of the book fell flat for me: The characters, plot, pace. Everything had potential, but just couldn't quite manage to snare me. It was synonymous with watching a poorly acted play. Grandiose exclamations accompanied barest of stimuli. Characters are just there: no personality or depth. Pace was rapid, with no flow between events.

[Aneta Kamińska · Rating 5 out of 5]

That was amazing! Each Alessas book is better than previous one. Always when I start to read her book is like I'm transfer to different world. I just love the way she connected modern world with gods from diffrent religions. I love that she connects Gods of Duat with Court of the Underworld series especialy that I loved it.

[Avidreader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Relationship building a bit unrealistic

I found the progression in the relationship between Set and Ayla rather unrealistic to be honest. It felt rushed like the writer just went from 0 to 160miles and hour. Also the characters were also not very well developed and seemed a bit flimsy and two dimensional. After the greek gods series this was a bit lackluster. I will try the second oome in the series and hope it gets bettet

[Lynall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good story bad guys who are decimated.the romance is

This is a Gods of Egypt tale, a romance, but bloodthirsty and gory. For all the bloodshed, it is only the bad guys who are decimated. It is different and interesting, starting with a rescue, and ending with a definite to be continued. I am enjoying these stories so I definitely want more

[AmyHeartsFiction · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strange

So the majority of this book was really good...but after the main arc comes full circle, the book starts going all over the place. Lots of redundancies and honestly felt like the author got bored. I wish she would have concluded it after main story arc completed. Just my opinion, still worth a read.

[Victoria Jade Moss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Egyptian gods, romance, assassins. Yes, please!

Epic world building
Angsty immortals
Morally grey characters
Romance
And redemption.

Loved it.
Set, was a nice quick, action packed read with interesting characters and a heartwarming romance.
I’m excited to carry on the series !

If you enjoyed Laura Thalassa’s Four Horsemen series I definitely recommend this !

2.5/5 🌶