I've been on the run my whole life. Hiding didn't feel real until my fathers disappeared, and my mother sent my brother and me to Earth. By ourselves. At age eight.
Regardless to say, I was a little messed up. My fear of Lucifer enslaving me was crippling. Talking to strangers, yeah right. Showing emotions, not if I can help it. Protective instincts for the weak, on fucking steroids. Relationships, not going to happen.
Did the Light Souls council care? Nope. My demon side made me a Dark Soul. Someone not worthy of rights. Even worse, if they knew what kind of demon I was, they'd kill me. So, I shut my mouth and followed the enforcers into a place of nightmares. Hell.
I was now a prisoner... a student at Dark Souls Academy for half-demons. My main goal was to survive, but my secret made it difficult. Power was everything in the demon world and demons would do anything to climb up the ladder of power.
Thankfully, I had a few people on my side. Two lower leveled demons I have to take care of and two outcast men that feel right in every way. Even three off-limit brothers, but I didn't count them. They had a mate, and I wouldn't go there.
But can I really trust these people, though? Or would they be more power-hungry demons waiting for the perfect opportunity to betray me? If I survived, anyway.
Urban Fantasy 18+ This is a full-length Why Choose Paranormal Romance novel. There are Trigger Warnings. This book happens in Hell with demons, so it contains violence, adult language, and strong conduct. There's also abuse, murders, mental health disorders, illnesses, lite cheating, and ends on a cliffhanger. See more in the author's note.
Tosha spends most of her days reading and writing. She loves anything fantasy and swears her black cat, Xena, is secretly a shifter. Tosha wants Xena to steal her away from the human world, but she’s playing the slow game. She’ll just have to butter her up by letting her sleep on her chest some more. One day, she’ll get to dance in the dark with real supernaturals. Until then, she’ll keep writing stories about strong women and sexy men with powers.
This is the first book I’ve read by this author and I was immediately sucked and and loved the characters and storyline! I can’t wait for the next book!!!
Oh my god. I don’t even know what I just read in all the best ways. Ivy is such a strong fmc and I love how protective she is over the girls. I truly appreciate that ivy wants to get to know her two guys before she makes any decisions. The set up of the demon academy is a lot closer to what you would picture than in other books I’ve read. Ivy herself has killed on campus a in front of everyone and it’s justified because of her claim over her “slave”. I can’t even begin to talk about how she feels about the three princes of hell. But I’m getting a strong feeling that they aren’t actually talias mates? Just me? I think I’m being to hopeful. But no I’m right! Cause other wise why would she be attracted to them the same way that she is to Dex and Alaric. And multiple times she and other mention how if she does take mates she will need some with more power than dex or Alaric have. And the only people in the school with more power than her are the princes. Annndddd the prophecy that the guys were given? Like how is that not about her. And the fact that they are basically rejecting talia even though they can’t break that bond no matter how bad they want to be free of her. And let’s talk about the ending. The only reason I’m not losing my mind is the author blurb saying ivy will be back so I’m gonna hold it together until then. This is definitely going in the favorites pile. Not because of the spicy scenes (even though there weren’t many they were perfect) but because the friendships she builds and her determination to start making a change for the better and not letting others demean her or her friends. It’s such a great found family read. The battle at the end got me. It showed just how powerful she was. And she didn’t even let her inner demon fight her battle 🤯
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This book has plot, spice, growth, and a whole lot of a butt kickin’ FMC! I love the friendships and the relationships she’s forming. As someone not big into the fantasy reads, the guide at the beginning was extremely helpful to follow along with certain things for the book! Also all the explanations were amazing. So good!
This was a fast pace paranormal romance that has demons and tons of other supernaturals. Ivy is a hero but kept getting in her own way. Next book better have mating. I loved it.
This was really really good, but ends on a pretty big cliffy with a lot of questions left up in the air.
Ivy, our MFC, has been on the run ever since Lucifer destroyed her family. (At least this is what she thinks) after 15 years her luck has finally run out. She's caught and sent back to Hell as a prisoner of a dark souls academy. This world is so well crafted with a complete magical hierarchy and many different demonic creatures. At school she meets at least two of her forever mates, but is unwilling to bond with them because that could put them in danger if Lucifer ever discovers what she is. She is also drawn to three other guys, but they're already "supposedly" mated to another girl, who is the queen bitch of the school and absolutely evil. I think we'll find out that Tila did something to fake a mate connection and they aren't really destined to be. We'll see.
I really enjoyed this author's writing and can't wait to check out more of her work.
Different take than a lot of academy or hellscape books. And I like the MFC isn’t a pushover! Promising. There are definitely things that could be better but overall, I liked it and am starting the next now. Hopefully this series doesn’t disappoint in the end 😂
2.75/5 Series Review First two books were good the third was ehh and the fourth was just plain disappointing.
Book 1 was good. I did hate when FMC would complain of being alone and wanting someone to help with the weight on her shoulders. Heeeello you have 2 men screaming to help you but you keep avoiding the issue. I feel sooo bad for Dax. Where’s book 2, lol I need it now. I hope it’s not a year away, please next month?.?
Oh man that cliff is steep! But before any of that Ivy is brought to Dark Soul Academy after being found on Earth just like all demons found on are. However, Ivy is different from other demons and as such even the headmaster agrees that she should not go about broadcasting who/what she is. Dark Soul Academy is split into a Higher and Lower class system which allows higher ranked more powerful demons to own lower less powerful sl4v3s. While Ivy does not agree with this system she will protect those she deems hers and will continue to fight and keep them safe, even if she has to figure out creative ways to punish hers. Ivy has also gained the attention of some friendly and not so friendly demons.
This book is a why choose romance, so Ivy certainly has more than one love interest and there is some spice in this book about a 3.5 out of 5 for me. This was a great start to the series and I cannot wait for the next book to see how Ivy continues to handle what’s coming her way.
The best part of this book was Ivy explaining her beliefs to those in her class and the teacher making everyone follow Ivy’s lead with their lowers for the class.
I liked the idea of this, but the execution was shaky. There were some grammatical issues that really bothered me (incomplete sentences, mostly). I also struggled with truly understanding the world and its "rules."
Ivy goes back and forth about her feelings so much it's hard to follow. She goes on for pages about how dangerous it is to have a faction, and then summarizes that she's ready to fight for them, only to go back on that decision in the next scene. It left me confused a lot. The other thing that didn't make sense is that she avoids crowds (and relationships) because she can't deal with emotion when she literally FEEDS off of emotion. I don't get it. The romance/harem aspect seemed a little lackluster to me, mostly because of Ivy's indecision and that fact that three of her lover interests are mated to someone else.
If book two had been out, I might have skimmed it to see how the story ends, but I doubt I'll still be interested by the time its released.
Wow! This book was in my TBR pile for Way to long. The summary truly doesn’t do the book justice. Honestly, which is why it was on my TBR pile for Everr.. the fmc she just keeps getting hit and keeps on going. It’s written in the fmc pov, which I think was perfect for this story. All the emotions she has, the strength to hold back, the hurt she feels from the way society should dictate, it was all written so naturally that I felt like I was the main character. It flowed from one chapter to the next beautifully. She finally learns of her brothers fate, and vows to do everything she can to see him again. She holds back her full demon shift on multiple occasions when it could have benefited her. All to be a good person, regardless of her blood type. I can not Wait to read what happens next! Tosha, your now one of my favourite authors. Thank you for writing this masterpiece of a world that needs a kick in the ass by a fiesty female character.
I was sent an arc for a different series by tosha and loved it so I wanted to check out her other books. With the third in this series coming out soon I chose it as my second in her family of books. I absolutely loved it, the FMC is a total bad**s and puts all the has into protecting those she loves. I am not usually a fan of college/highschool romance books but this does have a ya feel at all. The dark souls academy is exactly what you imagine a school for demons in hell to be, it’s dark and your chances of getting killed are hire than your chances of getting out. The story line was great and I am ready to jump into book two!
i liked the idea of this story … just not how it was written
there were just too many spelling mistakes ( did the writer actually mean to use a female sheep to describe a situation?) too many odd sentences ( his hair was long , blonde and had wind tousled hair) too many sentences that made no sense at all and it just didn’t “flow” the way a really good book does
these are all things a decent proof reader would have picked up immediately
which made me wonder if english is the writer’s second language ?
either way i found it all too annoying … but that doesn’t mean another reader won’t enjoy this book … just not me
I really wanted to like this book, and I just kept hoping that it would get better. But the poor writing really just took away from the story too much for me. Way too many grammatical errors, sentence structure was generally confusing, tenses were mixed up… and honestly, Ivy’s mental monologue gave me whiplash. I was also extremely confused about her awareness of the demon world - she left Hell when she was eight, so does she know the world and the rules or not? Ended on a cliff, but I don’t think I can go back for another book.
I wasn’t expecting to like this book. To be completely honest I was losing hope .. I was missing that spark but lucky me this book came along. The only problem I have with it it’s that it ends on a cliffhanger and there is no second yet. But I’ll be keeping my eyes out for the next one.
What grabbed my attention was the great cover and then the storytelling. I absolutely loved this book. The plot was original and never became boring. The female lead had a strong moral character that I definitely got behind. I can not wait for the next book.
From the blurb of this book i’ve expected lots of story and action, but out of 360 page, 20 pages was story and evth else was s** or around stuff cause our FMC is succubus.
And i have nothing against it but i totally miss lots of details in this story overall… Will still try next book
This was such a good book. I’ve definitely been I. A slump lately everything seeming like the same book but finally this book pulled me out of it! I cannot wait for the next one to come out
I loved this story and the characters, but the copyediting was terrible. Within a few starting lines, punctuation mistakes actually changed the meaning of a sentence and then commas were appearing willy-nilly. As the story progressed, the editing got better but was still an issue throughout. I see book 2 isn’t even advertised yet so there is still a chance to give that one a thorough check!
This was really good! That ending however is just mean... Great characters, terrific world building, and interesting relationships. Definitely worth reading. I'm really hoping book 2 comes out soon.
Loved it. Especially the fresh perspective of the Alpha FMC, who is not only ultra protective, ultra powerful and uniquely dominant in bed, she’s insanely delightful woman! Can’t wait for more Ivy, pleassseeeeeeeee!
Definitely a great book that will keep you turning the page. If you like paranormal, dark themes, angst, head strong h, action packed, with a small dash of spice then you’ll want to read this book. I’m ready for the next one!
Dark Souls Academy, book 1 of the Demon Story series, is an ebook I borrowed through Kindle Unlimited (KU). The writing wasn't bad, but too many tropes and not enough world building. Worth a read, but the series is not for me.
Could not put this book down! Great way to start a series. Cant wait for the next book! Ivy is a kick ass leading lady who goes to show that just cause people say you should be evil doesn’t mean you have to act like it! Highly recommend this book!
I can’t wait for book two, I couldn’t put this one down mates demons strong female character YES! You won’t regret it (just don’t start it late at night, I couldn’t put it down)
One of my top favorite lead characters. She was awesome. I loved seeing into the different courses the students take. The slave and lower system was interesting to see how that played out in the book.. very excited for the next book.
Wow I really enjoyed this book! Rh, demons, academy life in hell and enemies all around. What could go wrong? Strong fmc with a super protective side. Excited to read the rest :)
I stumbled on this book browsing on my kindle ! And I a some glad that o did ! I do love books about hell , normally they are just fun and the plots really good ! This one is no exception! Loved it ! Counting the months for the next one !