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Hammer Falls #2.5
Control
A 36K add-on novella for the Hammer Falls series to be read after Sons of Heaven & Hell (Book 2) and before The Tree of Life (Book 3). Not crucial reading for the trilogy but highly recommended for fans of the series - adding details Nate has missed and deepening both characters and the significance of certain things that relate to books 2 and 3. It is NOT a standalone and cannot be read in that way.
Grappling with a terrible truth only he knows, Leo Crow is doing all he can to prove his loyalty to the shadowy, controlling Seminary whilst keeping his siblings safe. Three things are working against him: his guilt about things he couldn't stop, a brother who won't stop researching things he shouldn't and sexy, carefree Zeke, who seems to be bringing everything up that Leo wants to keep crushed down. As Zeke tries to get closer and Leo tries to keep his distance, who will prevail? And what will the consequences be?
Content Warnings - Control contains very high-heat male-male romance scenes, strong swearing, gaslighting, violence (to demons). Dealing with a death is a major theme including questions about suicide & murder. The book refers to & plays off various events in the first two books of the series.
Grappling with a terrible truth only he knows, Leo Crow is doing all he can to prove his loyalty to the shadowy, controlling Seminary whilst keeping his siblings safe. Three things are working against him: his guilt about things he couldn't stop, a brother who won't stop researching things he shouldn't and sexy, carefree Zeke, who seems to be bringing everything up that Leo wants to keep crushed down. As Zeke tries to get closer and Leo tries to keep his distance, who will prevail? And what will the consequences be?
Content Warnings - Control contains very high-heat male-male romance scenes, strong swearing, gaslighting, violence (to demons). Dealing with a death is a major theme including questions about suicide & murder. The book refers to & plays off various events in the first two books of the series.
- GenresFantasy
126 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 6, 2023
1 person is currently reading
14 people want to read
About the author
Tal Frost
6 books44 followersTal Frost (he/him) is a trans, mostly gay author from here, there & everywhere. He writes gay/queer supernatural fantasy involving demons, angels, werebears, wyrdlings, a few humans, magic and hot sex. He loves dancing, velvet, cups of tea, frost in the moonlight and weirdish music. He lives in Devon in the UK.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 22, 2023
3.75 stars ...
Leo is an idiot.
Know that going in.
I've never liked Leo.
Didn't like Leo when he was introduced in Book #2.
Still don't like Leo.
Leo is an idiot.
Less Leo ...
More Sam ...
please! 😣
Leo is an idiot.
Know that going in.
I've never liked Leo.
Didn't like Leo when he was introduced in Book #2.
Still don't like Leo.
Leo is an idiot.
Less Leo ...
More Sam ...
please! 😣
February 14, 2023
A Bit of Danger
“Well, Leo. I want to know why you run off whenever you see me.” Leo was such a long time answering, Zeke almost repeated the question. At last he said, “The pool was a mistake. A moment o’ weakness.” He was still staring at the clump of herbs. Or maybe at the demon. And maybe it was more of a glare now. “Cool, you regret it. You can’t have even the tiniest thrill or the world will melt, I get it. That doesn’t explain why you keep running away.” Leo flinched. “You dinnae ken anything about me.”
Control is the novella that Tal Frost has written to further develop the relationship between Leo and Zeke, who are supporting characters in the phenomenal Hammer Falls series.
In Lust & Demons, a truly epic supernatural MM adventure, we meet Nate’s older brother Leo, as we learn of their family suffering. We continue to hear bits and pieces about Leo as Nate and Jin’s dangerous adventures are drawn into the spotlight in book 2, Sons of Heaven & Hell, a fabulous addition to the series.
As we are able to flesh out more family dynamics between Nate, Leo and their sister, Nate’s roommate, and fellow school pariah, Zeke, becomes an important part of Leo’s unraveling. So much happens in this angst filled tome, and every step in this story becomes more important than the last.
Control is all about who holds it, who wants it, and who needs it. It may be shorter than the first two books in Tal’s series, but it packs the same wallop to these struggling paranormals, as their demons and angels play with their souls!
“Well, Leo. I want to know why you run off whenever you see me.” Leo was such a long time answering, Zeke almost repeated the question. At last he said, “The pool was a mistake. A moment o’ weakness.” He was still staring at the clump of herbs. Or maybe at the demon. And maybe it was more of a glare now. “Cool, you regret it. You can’t have even the tiniest thrill or the world will melt, I get it. That doesn’t explain why you keep running away.” Leo flinched. “You dinnae ken anything about me.”
Control is the novella that Tal Frost has written to further develop the relationship between Leo and Zeke, who are supporting characters in the phenomenal Hammer Falls series.
In Lust & Demons, a truly epic supernatural MM adventure, we meet Nate’s older brother Leo, as we learn of their family suffering. We continue to hear bits and pieces about Leo as Nate and Jin’s dangerous adventures are drawn into the spotlight in book 2, Sons of Heaven & Hell, a fabulous addition to the series.
As we are able to flesh out more family dynamics between Nate, Leo and their sister, Nate’s roommate, and fellow school pariah, Zeke, becomes an important part of Leo’s unraveling. So much happens in this angst filled tome, and every step in this story becomes more important than the last.
Control is all about who holds it, who wants it, and who needs it. It may be shorter than the first two books in Tal’s series, but it packs the same wallop to these struggling paranormals, as their demons and angels play with their souls!
March 4, 2023
Tal Frost you are incredible, bless you and your dirty, plotting mind 🙏🖤 Wow wow! Pure bliss that what this was!
Perfectly balanced full of action, plot twist, mysteries, hot as hell sexy times, and sassy adorable Zeke and loyal Leo.
I absolutely loved it! Can even put in eloquent words!
And I think Ashmedai is a puppy next to the scum Hartree and the damn seminary!!!
This puts things in perspective for the next book, the plot is so rich my brain is literally on fire! And I thought that the Jin+Nate+Marshall+Sam shenanigans were my only concern….we know Nate made it across the freezing ocean… but what about Leo????
Tree of Life can wait to get my hands on you❣️
Perfectly balanced full of action, plot twist, mysteries, hot as hell sexy times, and sassy adorable Zeke and loyal Leo.
I absolutely loved it! Can even put in eloquent words!
And I think Ashmedai is a puppy next to the scum Hartree and the damn seminary!!!
This puts things in perspective for the next book, the plot is so rich my brain is literally on fire! And I thought that the Jin+Nate+Marshall+Sam shenanigans were my only concern….we know Nate made it across the freezing ocean… but what about Leo????
Tree of Life can wait to get my hands on you❣️
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 1, 2024
Oooooo. Ring ring, bestie. Pick up. We need to have a conversation, clearly…
BECAUSE WHAT IN THE CHICKEN FRIED FUCK WAS THAT??!
Also, the one review I saw on accident confused me so bad I thought I had the wrong thing queued up… I felt a little more crazy than usual for a solid minute. Some people just get audacity on sale and stockpile that shit. It is not shelf stable. Y’all’re weird🥴
Anyway, this is the kind of add-on content I’m fucking here for. This is how you get invited to the cookout—by giving depth of flavour, and not just gross raisins in your mayo salad. This is not one of those “see the side characters get their HEA” fluff-piece bonuses—which are fantastic as well so don’t even try to play that game with me right now—but something to add meat to the bones of the series and further hook you in to obsessing over those theories and subplots you’ve been trying to piece together. Like the “add a little spice” sound everyone uses in their TikToks, but make it a novella.
There just happens to be some bangin’ banging goin’ on, ya feel me?
Idk what to tell you, it’s labeled and nobody said it was one of those kinds of bonus novellas. Manage your expectations I guess if that’s a you problem you’re currently struggling with. This is not that, but it’s crucial if you want to be the most informed you can be before everything pops off in the third book. And it’s fucking phenomenal, but that’s not new business.
5/5. Leo, bb, what the shit did you just do… Also, am I allowed to be a hella disappointed in Sadie and Zeke yet?? Because I am… WE NEED SAM TO WRANGLE THESE IDIOTS STAT. None of us are surprised to hear I’ll be heading directly for the next installment of “Stabby Rip Stab Stab (my fucking soul)”.
BECAUSE WHAT IN THE CHICKEN FRIED FUCK WAS THAT??!
Also, the one review I saw on accident confused me so bad I thought I had the wrong thing queued up… I felt a little more crazy than usual for a solid minute. Some people just get audacity on sale and stockpile that shit. It is not shelf stable. Y’all’re weird🥴
Anyway, this is the kind of add-on content I’m fucking here for. This is how you get invited to the cookout—by giving depth of flavour, and not just gross raisins in your mayo salad. This is not one of those “see the side characters get their HEA” fluff-piece bonuses—which are fantastic as well so don’t even try to play that game with me right now—but something to add meat to the bones of the series and further hook you in to obsessing over those theories and subplots you’ve been trying to piece together. Like the “add a little spice” sound everyone uses in their TikToks, but make it a novella.
There just happens to be some bangin’ banging goin’ on, ya feel me?
Idk what to tell you, it’s labeled and nobody said it was one of those kinds of bonus novellas. Manage your expectations I guess if that’s a you problem you’re currently struggling with. This is not that, but it’s crucial if you want to be the most informed you can be before everything pops off in the third book. And it’s fucking phenomenal, but that’s not new business.
5/5. Leo, bb, what the shit did you just do… Also, am I allowed to be a hella disappointed in Sadie and Zeke yet?? Because I am… WE NEED SAM TO WRANGLE THESE IDIOTS STAT. None of us are surprised to hear I’ll be heading directly for the next installment of “Stabby Rip Stab Stab (my fucking soul)”.
November 16, 2023
This is a very difficult book to read. It is important to the continuing story of Hammer Falls, but I would recommend reading it just before The Tree of Life.
Control does not have an HEA. It is a tragic story with a startling ending that sets the reader up for the remainder of the series.
Control does not have an HEA. It is a tragic story with a startling ending that sets the reader up for the remainder of the series.
January 10, 2023
you just know shit is gonna go down in book 3
June 2, 2023
Ulysses Dietz Member of The Paranormal Guild Review Team
Rating: 4 stars
Title: Control (Hammer Falls 2.5)
Author: Tal Frost
Publisher: the author
Genre: paranormal
M/M
Publication date: 2023
Page count:
This is only four stars because it is a bonus novella for the Hammer Falls series, and feels exactly like what it is. With its abrupt ending and bleak outlook, it is not meant to satisfy, but to amplify—something it does admirably.
The title is apt and powerful—like a needle-sharp awl. Most interestingly, it all from the points of view of two characters only present secondarily in the first two books of the series: Leo Crow, Nate’s older brother; and Zeke Hafez, Nate’s roommate at the Seminary.
This novella finally gives us the truth we’ve been sort of suspecting all along, from what we’ve learned about the demonstalker Seminary at which all three of the Crow children are enrolled. Imagine if you will a Hogwarts run by Severus Snape, at which Harry, Hermione, and Ron are all in permanent disgrace and treated with disdain (at best) and gross unfairness for the sins of their father.
The Seminary, considered sacred by the community of demonstalkers, is more than just a dark place: there is something seriously wrong at the very core of its foundation. Nate had begun to discover things before his desperate flight to the mainland in “Sons of Heaven and Hell,” but in this book, it is Leo who begins to doubt the history he has been taught all his life, and Zeke who witnesses that doubt take hold.
Once more, intense sexual activity and a not-entirely-candid disavowal of feelings related to it is central and important. Frost is good at writing sex scenes, but he also fully understands how to use this as a tool for emotional exploration. These are teenagers, after all, driven by hormones as much as by their sharp, determined minds. They are learning about lust and love and how difficult it is to pretend the two are not linked. There’s a third “L” in this episode, however: loyalty.
Loyalty is a noble concept, unless it is twisted and misused and becomes something sinister. In fact, the Seminary is exactly comparable to a fundamentalist evangelical religious community. Outside ideas are seen as damaging to loyalty; indeed, thought itself is seen as potentially dangerous and corrupting. Nate’s research, Leo’s questions, Zeke’s involuntary feelings for Leo and Sadie Crow: all of these are potentially dangerous for these young people in the context of a controlling institution.
And there you have it. Not entirely satisfying as a stand-alone, “Control” gives focused and painful insight into the challenges that face the Crow children and the people about whom they care.
Now we wait for book 3 in the Hammer Falls series.
Rating: 4 stars
Title: Control (Hammer Falls 2.5)
Author: Tal Frost
Publisher: the author
Genre: paranormal
M/M
Publication date: 2023
Page count:
This is only four stars because it is a bonus novella for the Hammer Falls series, and feels exactly like what it is. With its abrupt ending and bleak outlook, it is not meant to satisfy, but to amplify—something it does admirably.
The title is apt and powerful—like a needle-sharp awl. Most interestingly, it all from the points of view of two characters only present secondarily in the first two books of the series: Leo Crow, Nate’s older brother; and Zeke Hafez, Nate’s roommate at the Seminary.
This novella finally gives us the truth we’ve been sort of suspecting all along, from what we’ve learned about the demonstalker Seminary at which all three of the Crow children are enrolled. Imagine if you will a Hogwarts run by Severus Snape, at which Harry, Hermione, and Ron are all in permanent disgrace and treated with disdain (at best) and gross unfairness for the sins of their father.
The Seminary, considered sacred by the community of demonstalkers, is more than just a dark place: there is something seriously wrong at the very core of its foundation. Nate had begun to discover things before his desperate flight to the mainland in “Sons of Heaven and Hell,” but in this book, it is Leo who begins to doubt the history he has been taught all his life, and Zeke who witnesses that doubt take hold.
Once more, intense sexual activity and a not-entirely-candid disavowal of feelings related to it is central and important. Frost is good at writing sex scenes, but he also fully understands how to use this as a tool for emotional exploration. These are teenagers, after all, driven by hormones as much as by their sharp, determined minds. They are learning about lust and love and how difficult it is to pretend the two are not linked. There’s a third “L” in this episode, however: loyalty.
Loyalty is a noble concept, unless it is twisted and misused and becomes something sinister. In fact, the Seminary is exactly comparable to a fundamentalist evangelical religious community. Outside ideas are seen as damaging to loyalty; indeed, thought itself is seen as potentially dangerous and corrupting. Nate’s research, Leo’s questions, Zeke’s involuntary feelings for Leo and Sadie Crow: all of these are potentially dangerous for these young people in the context of a controlling institution.
And there you have it. Not entirely satisfying as a stand-alone, “Control” gives focused and painful insight into the challenges that face the Crow children and the people about whom they care.
Now we wait for book 3 in the Hammer Falls series.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews