Ghoul

Dark and Twisted #1

by Layla Fae

The hunt has begun and I am the prey.

The newspapers call him Ghoul. He is a serial killer responsible for murdering countless female victims.
They say he eats human flesh. Bites off chunks of bloody tissue with his inhumanly sharp teeth, his eyes flashing white in the dark. They call him a monster, a demon, a beast.
Some claim he isn’t human.
So when I walk in on Ghoul standing over another victim and licking her blood off his knife, I don’t stop to think. I run.
And Ghoul gives chase.

WARNING: This MF romance contains dark and supernatural themes and is intended for adult audiences. Check the content note inside before reading. Reader discretion is advised.

Genres: Dark Romance, Dark, Paranormal, Paranormal Romance, Romance, Halloween, Monsters

108 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 21, 2022

About the author

Sign up for my newsletter: here.
Layla Fae writes steamy monster romance of many varieties. Fluffy or dark, with TWs ranging from flavored monster essence used as food to blood play and dark taboo romance, she explores the fantasy of monster love from various angles.
She is not an author for the faint of heart.

Reviews

[Darlene I read WAY to many books · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 ⭐️

I'll be honest I was loving this book up until few things which I'll get into.

But let's start at the beginning Holly has had a horrible life but it's sorta okay now she tried to steal something her step father took but she got caught. Walking home she runs into the serial Killer Ghoul who was killing someone so she ran and got caught the tension is high ghoul wants something and Holly isn't afraid to die. So the two have some wired attraction to one another. He kills anyone who touches her but also punish her.

This is where I had a problem. She is beaten by her step father again and when ghoul goes to her he uses his knife which I don't mind... but during sex he punches her in the spots the step father beat her????? Over and over again? And she's taking it and loves it???? Then he takes a chunk of her skin yes he bites a chunk of skin off her. Like eat other ppls skin but yeah I didn't like that.

Low angst, drama, sexy times, no virgins


Recommend-maybe
Cover-⭐️⭐️⭐️
Heat level-🌶🌶🌶

Slowinsta
Pinning
Push away
No condom
Violence
Murder
Breath play/choking
blood play
knife play
cannibalism
torture
abuse
Suicide
Degradation
Praise kink
anal
biting
drinking blood
Sorta HFN

[Kait · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️ Nothing sweet about this one 😈

Dark romance
Degradation
Blood play
Knife play
Choking

[Layla Fae]

I rarely reread most of my books, yet I come back to this one every year sometime in spring. I don't know why. It just pulls me close, and I can't resist.
Reading it is an ordeal, just like writing it was. But I'm slowly figuring out another book for this series, because apparently, that's the kind of ordeal I can't live without. No promises about book 2's release date, but the main male character already lives in my head, and after they are born, it's impossible to let them go.

[Lindsay · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I like an author I tend to consume their entire backlist even if each individual book doesn’t perfectly fit my taste. I ended up reading this one at the end of March because I made a typo in pen when counting the books I had read so far this year. This is my 8th book by Layla Fae since January 1st (which is insane I know). To make the numbers match, I checked this out from KU.

Layla Fae knows erotica and I know sometimes I don’t enjoy certain tropes in the genre, with her writing I can power through even when I’m not a fan. Before we talk triggers and tropes, please know I am shit at remembering things so other reviews might be the move. The knife play was fine if you’ve read Den of Vipers by K.A. Knight its comparable or maybe even less extreme.

I was honestly kind of on board with the whole supernatural cannibal thing. But I started to feel the urge to take the L and DNF in one specific situation. Ghoul punching the FMC Holly was a huge no no for me. But it was far from a sexy slap, but an actual punch. Worse yet it was purposefully inflicted on the vary places that Holly had experienced violence by her stepfather. I’m so glad they killed the PoS. Also why did he have to threaten to kill her bestie?!!

So, alot of this was a no from me. 2 stars.

I’ll be back to Layla Fae for sure. I need closure about Yaga. <333

[Kimmylongtime · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is as wicked as the title. That’s why we love it. Ghoul is a MF savage and the woman of his dreams is silly and likes fear. Bing bong match made in heaven anyone. This book went on like that. Our heroine running, hero catching her, wicked nasty you know what and a love affair that was kind of uncomfortable but it just worked.

[kymagirl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. So, this is one of those books that after I read it, I give myself some space and then ask myself if I liked it. The answer is yes, and then I think that what kind of a sick puppy am I. Ghoul isn't a read for the faint of heart. If you're the person who thinks Michael Myers or Jason Voorhees is boyfriend material, then that's a good starting point. Ghoul/Adam (H) is a human flesh eating, knife wielding serial killer, and he's just what Holly (h) needs. Ghoul finds a kindred partner in her who'll transform and join him without seeking to change who and what he is. When I started thinking about Holly's transformation, I found myself thinking about Silences of the Lambs and the transformation quote "Caterpillar into chrysalis, or pupa, and from thence into beauty." This a dark horror romance with things that might be a trigger for some readers: blood play, knife play, human flesh consumption, biting, torture, beatings, disembowelment, and more. Me, I loved it, but that's me.

[Laynara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t know how to express to you what I just read but I can say I couldn’t put it down! This book was most definitely dark!

[Neermboop · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was going nice and darkly good until he beat her in the same place on her body as her stepfather did- to punish her for letting someone else touch what is "his".
Ummmm...... 😬 no.

Overall it was okay, but I would've enjoyed it a bit more if he just kept going around being possesive of her by killing other people.

[Ryn Meagher · Rating 3 out of 5]

I went in expecting monster. Or man. Or at least a clear tax bracket of “what am I attracted to here.” Instead, I got… vibes. Just vibes. Is he a ghoul? Is he a guy? Is he a serial killer with a skincare routine? The physical description said nothing and everything at the same time, and my imagination was left unpaid and overworked.

Enter Holly, our FMC, who is having the worst time. Deadbeat, abusive stepfather. Questionable job situation. Is she a stripper? A sex worker? Both? Neither? Schrödinger’s employment.

The insta-attraction between Holly and Ghoul Man Creature Person Thing was immediate and feral and honestly? I was vibing. I was locked in. I was ready. And then we hit the halfway point and suddenly we are on a quest for a bracelet that may or may not hold the meaning of life because I still don’t know why it mattered.

Then things went from dark romance to “wait, pause, rewind.” Holly gets physically hurt by her stepfather again. Ghoul swoops in… and then proceeds to hurt her in the exact same places and she’s into it. And that’s where my brain blue-screened. I love dark romance. I respect degradation kink. I understand walking the razor line. But this felt less “consensual dark fantasy” and more “sir, this needs a very long conversation and possibly a therapist in the room.”

By the end, I was staring at the wall asking myself:
Do I love this?
Do I like this?
Do I hate this?
Am I confused?
Is he a monster?
Is he human?
Is he a serial killer?
Is he just… deeply weird?

I don’t know. I truly do not know what I read. All I know is Ghoul left me questioning my sanity, my taste, and whether bracelets are secretly cursed.

[Read What I Like Blog · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve read some of Layla’s books (more the monsters ever after series) and didn’t know exactly what I was getting into when I started Ghoul. It’s completely different. It’s very dark with bunches of gore. The romance is there, somewhere, but I’ll tell you, this book is not for most of the people, so you should think if you are really prepared. I wasn’t, but the story is so enthralling that I read it in one sitting. If there are more books in this series, I’ll read them.

[Britney Jean | JeanInTheHeatOfBooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Darkness and desire intertwine in this bloody, cannibalistic psychological tale. Equal parts chilling and unexpectedly steamy, this short novel dives deep into the shadows of romantic horror. If you’re drawn to intense, twisted love stories with a macabre edge, this is one you won’t want to miss.

- Serial killer MMC
- Touch her & die
- Dark romantic horror
- Under 150 pages
- Knife / blood play

[LiLu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Waking Nightmare ~ Read the authors warning. It’s not a joke. I do believe that those who have seen darkness will be able to handle this book. This is dark way more than it is about a kink, yet somehow they are mixed together. The writing was fantastic!

[Natalie H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compared to the Monster ever after series, this one is definitely darker. It's fun but in a really twisted way. Holly has gone through some bad things, so their cat and mouse game where she gets what she wants was nice. I didn't like the rib punches to cover Tom's. Seemed a bit dangerous for a human. Also, the flesh eating, nope on that. Favorite bit was the friend saying Adam was civilized, whilst Holly is panicking.

[Оля (hiatus) ***]

Perhaps someone will be interested, this is a very dark book without treason, but as I found out the heroine very experienced and sexually liberated.

[Kit · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read : November 3, 2022
Rating : 2,5 Stars


This totally has SPOILERS FYI. As in, I'm pretty sure everything is spoilers.



Honestly, booktok keep giving me these type of recs and I hate 90% of them but oh, those 10% are sooo good.

This is not the amazing 10% but also not the worst of the worst.

I can't remember the actual content creator that put this in a list but I remembered her saying that he uses her blood as lube, which is really not an adviced substitute for lube, just saying.

The dude, ghoul, is a dick. Just to get that out straight from the start.
Like abusive sicko cannibal kinda dick.

There were definitely some hot, spicy, steamy scenes but honestly a lot just felt like gore p*rn to me, and while I'm just as up for knife play as the next person (that's normal right?!) the ghoul dude using his knife on her cl*t made me twitch so hard that I almost threw my ereader out of my hand.

Also other things were not cool and made it into a very meh read for me, like him beating her for getting beaten by someone else or you know, eating her actual flesh... Not to mention the unexpected anal with the aforementioned blood as lube..

Yeah safe to say this was in the end a pretty disappointing read for me, I had higher hopes.

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

What Did I Just Read?!

Wow… just wow… This story is unlike any other I’ve ever read. It’s absolutely a horror story, there’s no redemption arc for the monster, she gets dragged down as well, and yet, I found it strangely beautiful. Holly is stronger at the end of it all and their relationship, such as it was, felt positive. It’s dark (soooo dark) and there were parts I had to skim, but the darkly erotic parts were absolutely mesmerizing. I read it before bedtime - here’s to hoping I can get to sleep…

[lyssidoll · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is genuinely one of the strangest novellas I’ve ever read and I found myself equal parts intrigued and grossed out. But I will say it was captivating. I had to finish it, I needed to see how things played out for Holly. One thing about Layla’s books is that she can really come up with an original plot.

Ghoul was a weirdo freak.

Holly was also a weirdo freak.

Tom got EXACTLY what he deserved.

Armie Hammer would absolutely LOVE this book; tw: cannibalism

[bella fazzati · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5 ⭐️
i have no idea of what the actual fuck i just read

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a little darker than LF usually writes and...I liked it? Yes, I liked it. Sure, it wasn't the fluffy, food-adjacent bodily fluids fun I was used to, but it worked for me.

So. Ghoul is...well, he's a serial killer. He kills people. And Holly is a lady teetering on the edge. She's existing more than living and her stepfather has her in a bad place (this isn't any sort of step-romance, btw, he's physically and emotionally abusive and she can't escape him even though her mother is no longer around. Which is a whole other story, honestly). When Holly stumbles over Ghoul's latest kill, she should have been just another statistic. Instead, he's intrigued.

She's also intrigued. Their interactions are bloody and a little brutal, but she can't stop thinking about this man who maybe isn't entirely a man at all. And she REALLY can't stop thinking about how he made her feel alive. So she pushes outside her comfort zone and lets him lead her into his world.

It's dark, dangerous, and deadly. Ghoul/Adam could turn on her at any time. She has to learn his rules so she doesn't break them. She has to push herself past her breaking point and the more time she spends in his world, the more she knows it's the place she wants to be. Darker than I normally read, but I liked it.

-Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal

[Varya · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book wasn't for me. This book TRULY WAS NOT for me.

1) I can't say I dislike monster romance, considering this was my first book with that trope but I can say I avoid them because I can't seem to find them entertaining for myself.
I didn't know the guy was paranormal before I went into this and that's on me.

2) Also, I love to read kink in smut scenes. If he's spanking.... it's Good, if slapping .....fucking exciting, and if there's a knife and blood involved .....hell to the fuck yes. But the thing I couldn't find enjoyment in here was him using his fists to punch the woman while having sex.
For those who have this kink, ....no judgement here ...but it's not something I can stomach.

3) There were a lot of sexy scenes here but I couldn't feel any chemistry between the MC's. 😬

[Vân-Lam purplecloudreads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Phew. Based on the content warning I knew it was going to be a dark serial killer romance. But it’s dark in a good way? There’s something to be said about a mmc who is ready and willing to kill anyone who dares to touch the fmc. However, there’s no redeeming either of them. There’s also no tiptoeing around crossing over the line. Just acceptance of of the fact that Holly is f*d up and so is Ghoul/Adam. And you know what? That’s okay. I enjoyed this book. And that’s okay too. Sometimes you just have to embrace the darkness.

[Chey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Holly runs into the serial killer Ghoul mid murder and runs. But she's got and the pair find they have a different kind of chemistry than expected.

Right off the bat, this book screams drama. Holly has a not great past where she was abused by her step father, and has her struggles in life. Ghoul is a literal serial killer that thrives on murder. So when he catches Holly, and she's unafraid to die it creates an attraction between them. The steamy scenes are absolutely fantastic and have several different kinks as well as dark moments. There were scenes where he would hit her during their steamy scene where her stepfather did, which I chalked up to him turning the bad memories into good ones.

I wasn't really crazy about him biting a chunk of her skin off. That was slightly grotesque, although it did fit his personality. The book is dark, which doesn't bother me, but it does have a lot of triggering moments that readers need to beware of.

Overall rating
4 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
3 🌶🌶🌶

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

What makes someone a monster? How much are you willing to surrender to survive? Can you play the game and win?
Hot, dark and definitely not for the faint of heart. Ghoul is much darker then any other books by this author. She’s turned the heat up too, as long as your okay with a few new, intense kinks. Heed the TWs, but this story of finding inner strength resonates as so many levels. And the smutty goodness is pretty fantastic too

[Heather_Readsalot · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whew! This was something! Dark and twisted is very accurate. I've read dark, stalker serial killer books before, but a stalker serial killer that's an actual non-human monster was new. It added a whole new level of dark horror because the author no longer had to play by human biological/physiological rules. It was a wild and slightly terrifying ride, but one I didn't want to stop.

[Laura Walsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not for the weak!

This book is crazy f****d up!
I’m a voracious reader (165+ books this year..), but hardly leave reviews; everyone’s entitled to their opinion. BUT, the author asked for support, and I’m giving it!
Yup, twisted as hell, but also very hot if you’re willing to go there. No therapy needed ;)

[She Reads So Much · Rating 5 out of 5]

My kinda meet-cute🤣 Um… so basically, Ghoul and I would never be able to be together. I would be fainting left and right. Blood and gore (though fun to read about) tend to make me woozy. But BOY OH BOY, did I enjoy this read. 5/5⭐️ 3.5/5🔥🌶

[Leslie OBrien · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nightmarish

In all the right ways. Or wrong ways. Definitely won't be telling my therapist about this book. But then again...

[Dru · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶🌶🌶🌶
🔥🔥🔥

I couldn't really tell you what I just read...

But did I enjoy it? Absolutely. Was it disturbing? Incredibly. Was it predictable? No. I can confidently say that my expectations quickly evaporated.

Worth every minute of reading it.


⟣Tropes⟢
✅ Touch her and 💀
✅ 🖤 Morally Black MMC 🖤
✅ Obsessive/JP MMC
✅ Insta-Love-ish
✅ FMC not Virgin
✅ Cannibalism
✅ 🔥 Medium Burn 🔥
✅ Stalker
✅ HEA



‼️‼️‼️Trigger Warning‼️‼️‼️
I don’t have any specific triggers and was okay reading it without any warnings, but always take care of your mental health before diving in, since this book definitely has triggers.

[Jeren's Trashy Porn Stash · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book; I seriously did. Instead, I couldn't even finish it.

I couldn't get past how consistently and annoyingly blasé everyone is about a cannibal serial killer being in their presence, especially Holly's best friend.

Neither character attempts to call the cops, and they team up to lure him out for sex? When Holly is aware that Ghoul might be waiting for her in her bedroom, she's able to convince her friend to go to her own bedroom and not come out, "no matter what she hears". And her friend was is cool with it - she doesn't even argue. I think the most realistic reaction in this book were the screams of NPCs when they'd stumbled across one of Ghoul's victims.

I didn't even think that Ghoul was a supernatural creature until a sudden description of him possessing a freaky tongue. It had also been so vaguely described and Holly had such a non-reaction to it that I legitimately wasn't certain if the description wasn't hyperbole.

And even after that, very little kept reminding me that he was a supernatural being. I somewhat remember something about his saliva keeping her wounds from bleeding further after sex? I don't know, it was ridiculous.

[LiesbethCe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh my, did I so wrongly judge a book by its cover.
My simple mind saw a pretty cover and the word romance and thought I was walking into something soft and sweet. I was WRONG 😂

Yes, it is a romance in my eyes, but absolutely nothing like I thought it would be. This thing is dark and not for most people. And yet? It’s fun. Twisted fun.
Because there’s just something about a mmc who will cheerfully commit murder if someone even breathes near the fmc. One of my absolute favorite tropes, and this book delivers it on a silver, slightly bloodstained platter 🙅‍♀️

Will I be telling my therapist about this? Absolutely not.
But did I read it in one sitting and love every messed-up second?
Yeah… and I’m not sure what that says about me, but we move 🤸‍♀️