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Princes of the Underground #1
Velvet Cataclysm
In his battle to resist, he found the impossible. His soul.
Princes of the Underground, Book 1
Christina Astor’s telepathic ability is an asset in her job as a psychiatric social worker. What’s driving her crazy, though, is her elusive, gorgeous landlord. She senses that Saint Sevliss wants her with an all-consuming hunger that’s somehow…different. Just how different becomes all too clear when his dangerous world collides with hers.
For centuries, Saint’s kind have been called vampire and werewolf. Even soulless. But their true nature remains a mystery. Bound by a magical mandate to control his bloodthirsty clone, Teslar, at all costs, Saint will do anything to keep Christina away. She infuses his gray universe with life and color, but his world—and his need—would destroy her. When an attack reveals the true power of Christina’s gift, one thing is certain—Teslar won’t rest in his underground labyrinth until he possesses her, body and soul...
Warning: This book contains some violence, smoking hot, explicit sex scenes and anal sex. In addition, there is brief M/M sexual interaction and a ménage a trois.
Princes of the Underground, Book 1
Christina Astor’s telepathic ability is an asset in her job as a psychiatric social worker. What’s driving her crazy, though, is her elusive, gorgeous landlord. She senses that Saint Sevliss wants her with an all-consuming hunger that’s somehow…different. Just how different becomes all too clear when his dangerous world collides with hers.
For centuries, Saint’s kind have been called vampire and werewolf. Even soulless. But their true nature remains a mystery. Bound by a magical mandate to control his bloodthirsty clone, Teslar, at all costs, Saint will do anything to keep Christina away. She infuses his gray universe with life and color, but his world—and his need—would destroy her. When an attack reveals the true power of Christina’s gift, one thing is certain—Teslar won’t rest in his underground labyrinth until he possesses her, body and soul...
Warning: This book contains some violence, smoking hot, explicit sex scenes and anal sex. In addition, there is brief M/M sexual interaction and a ménage a trois.
264 pages, Paperback
First published May 18, 2010
5 people are currently reading
393 people want to read
About the author
Beth Kery
174 books2,696 followersBeth Kery is the New York Times and USA Today best selling author of over thirty novels, novellas and serials. She writes contemporary romances as well as erotic contemporary romances, her hallmarks being emotional intensity, leap-off-the-page realistic characters and steamy sexual tension.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
April 24, 2021
3.25*
Shapeshifter+Vampire+Alien? A zombie army too?
How? What? Why?
The H to the h, and the author to the reader - it's all of those but not quite any of them. Just shut up and don't ask too many questions.
And then the book touches on all the erotica mains -voyeurism, bondage, anal, menage, (does alien sex count?) etc. but I kept skimming the sex scenes (except that last one!) to get the story and make head or tail of it.
Sometimes, it makes sense and sometimes it doesn't. Some very sweet and sexy bits, some iffy ones and some eyerollingly funny ones.
Every shapeshifter/vampire author does things their way and so does Kery. But the physical, physiological and metaphysical aspects can be pretty confusing for readers. Not saying for this book per se but for all of them generally. So, best to close one's mind and accept it or just stick to puny humans.
Shapeshifter+Vampire+Alien? A zombie army too?
How? What? Why?
The H to the h, and the author to the reader - it's all of those but not quite any of them. Just shut up and don't ask too many questions.
And then the book touches on all the erotica mains -voyeurism, bondage, anal, menage, (does alien sex count?) etc. but I kept skimming the sex scenes (except that last one!) to get the story and make head or tail of it.
Sometimes, it makes sense and sometimes it doesn't. Some very sweet and sexy bits, some iffy ones and some eyerollingly funny ones.
Every shapeshifter/vampire author does things their way and so does Kery. But the physical, physiological and metaphysical aspects can be pretty confusing for readers. Not saying for this book per se but for all of them generally. So, best to close one's mind and accept it or just stick to puny humans.
March 1, 2011
Relies too much on paranormal rules and riddles for conflict and mystery. I wanted more character and relationship development.
STORY BRIEF:
Saint Sevliss is a combination vampire and wolf shape shifter. He needs vitessence to survive which he obtains by drinking human blood and consuming bodily fluids during sex. Saint is “good.” He does not kill. He supports charitable organizations. His clone Teslar is “bad.” Teslar kills humans and causes fear as he drains their blood.
Christina can read most minds through mental telepathy. She and her son rent a coach house from Saint. When Teslar sees Christina, he wants her.
Kavya is of their type and visits Saint and Teslar from time to time. Kavya knows answers to their problems, but he speaks in riddles.
REVIEWER’S OPINION:
A relationship and a happy ending are why I read romance novels. I love seeing a relationship develop, with interesting personalities, priorities, and the back and forth. This paranormal romance didn’t give me that, because the author relied mostly on paranormal rules and riddles to create mystery and conflict. Saint and Christina have been attracted to each other for years but Saint does not act on it, because he fears his paranormal needs might hurt her. Then we have Kavya telling Saint, Teslar, and Christina that there is a solution to their problems. But Kavya speaks in riddles and doesn’t tell them specifically what to do to solve their problems. He tells Saint “you will have to discover for yourself.” He tells Teslar and Christina something similar and vague. So if Kavya had been open and honest with Saint and Teslar centuries ago, they might have solved the problem. By not telling them, they have to stumble around with conflicts and suffering until a solution falls on top of them. One of the rules I found odd was that Teslar could kill Saint, but Saint could not kill Teslar. Although I enjoy the author’s writing style and talent, this book just gets an ok from me due to not enough emphasis on relationship and character development.
The sex scenes were pretty good but might have been better if there had been more emotional tangle or hotness between the characters. There is light bondage, spanking, rear door activity, men with men, and ménage a trois (MWM).
I liked the title and how it was referred to during a sex scene. “it was like a velvet cataclysm – an explosion of sensation contained within the softest embrace.”
DATA:
Story length: 251 pages. Swearing language: strong, including religious swear words. Sexual language: strong/erotic. Number of sex scenes: 11. Estimated number of sex scene pages: 72. Setting: current day Chicago, Illinois area. Copyright: 2011. Genre: erotic paranormal romance.
STORY BRIEF:
Saint Sevliss is a combination vampire and wolf shape shifter. He needs vitessence to survive which he obtains by drinking human blood and consuming bodily fluids during sex. Saint is “good.” He does not kill. He supports charitable organizations. His clone Teslar is “bad.” Teslar kills humans and causes fear as he drains their blood.
Christina can read most minds through mental telepathy. She and her son rent a coach house from Saint. When Teslar sees Christina, he wants her.
Kavya is of their type and visits Saint and Teslar from time to time. Kavya knows answers to their problems, but he speaks in riddles.
REVIEWER’S OPINION:
A relationship and a happy ending are why I read romance novels. I love seeing a relationship develop, with interesting personalities, priorities, and the back and forth. This paranormal romance didn’t give me that, because the author relied mostly on paranormal rules and riddles to create mystery and conflict. Saint and Christina have been attracted to each other for years but Saint does not act on it, because he fears his paranormal needs might hurt her. Then we have Kavya telling Saint, Teslar, and Christina that there is a solution to their problems. But Kavya speaks in riddles and doesn’t tell them specifically what to do to solve their problems. He tells Saint “you will have to discover for yourself.” He tells Teslar and Christina something similar and vague. So if Kavya had been open and honest with Saint and Teslar centuries ago, they might have solved the problem. By not telling them, they have to stumble around with conflicts and suffering until a solution falls on top of them. One of the rules I found odd was that Teslar could kill Saint, but Saint could not kill Teslar. Although I enjoy the author’s writing style and talent, this book just gets an ok from me due to not enough emphasis on relationship and character development.
The sex scenes were pretty good but might have been better if there had been more emotional tangle or hotness between the characters. There is light bondage, spanking, rear door activity, men with men, and ménage a trois (MWM).
I liked the title and how it was referred to during a sex scene. “it was like a velvet cataclysm – an explosion of sensation contained within the softest embrace.”
DATA:
Story length: 251 pages. Swearing language: strong, including religious swear words. Sexual language: strong/erotic. Number of sex scenes: 11. Estimated number of sex scene pages: 72. Setting: current day Chicago, Illinois area. Copyright: 2011. Genre: erotic paranormal romance.
December 30, 2012
Christina and Saint
February 15, 2013
This was a very interesting story. Very interesting paranormal/alien elements.
Saint sounds/acts like what we think of as a vampire, but he's not a vampire. He's one half of a clone set put here by aliens as some sort of experiment. He's the "good" half, his brother Teslar is everything dark Saint is not. And Saint is charged with keeping his clone under control. But Teslar is making that difficult. These beings feed on human "vitessence", which can be found in anything derived from passion (be that sexual or based in fear): sweat, blood, sexual excretions. When they first came to consciousness and felt the hunger, he and Teslar almost obliterated the Iniskium, an American Indian tribe. Saint pulled back first and realized they were killing them all. Ultimately, the Iniskium were made immortal by Saint and served as his guard. They are wolf shifters.
Christina and her son, Aidan, have lived on Saint's property for eight years. Christina and Saint have sort of danced around each other for years, but Christina is tired of waiting for Saint to make a move. For his part, Saint doesn't think he deserves Christina, so he continually pushes her away. Christina is special. She can read minds. But beyond that, she apparently has the most vitessence Saint has ever seen in a human. He's drawn to her, yet he's so afraid he'll harm her, so he keeps his distance as best he can. But now that Teslar has also discovered her, Saint is forced to keep her near to keep her safe, which makes her impossible to resist.
Saint's internal struggle was so sad. He wanted Christina so badly but felt it would be the worst thing for her to be with him. For her part, Christina was extremely strong. Once she thought she figured out what he was (she guessed vampire), she still didn't shy away from him. No matter how many times Saint protested that he'd hurt her, she knew he never would. Once they finally came together, they were on fire. It was really very sweet how this strong, virtually invincible being turned into a puddle for Christina. And she for him.
As with most Beth Kery stories, there was a lot of sex. And it was hot sex. But when a couple of scenes spanned chapters, I giggled a bit. It was almost overkill. But it was still hot!
I'm probably going to have to continue with this series. I love Beth Kery, and I'm guessing there could be seven more of these since there are eight Sevliss princes and we dealt with Saint in this one. It'll be interesting to see how they grow throughout the series, because I'm sure there's something unique about all of them.
Saint sounds/acts like what we think of as a vampire, but he's not a vampire. He's one half of a clone set put here by aliens as some sort of experiment. He's the "good" half, his brother Teslar is everything dark Saint is not. And Saint is charged with keeping his clone under control. But Teslar is making that difficult. These beings feed on human "vitessence", which can be found in anything derived from passion (be that sexual or based in fear): sweat, blood, sexual excretions. When they first came to consciousness and felt the hunger, he and Teslar almost obliterated the Iniskium, an American Indian tribe. Saint pulled back first and realized they were killing them all. Ultimately, the Iniskium were made immortal by Saint and served as his guard. They are wolf shifters.
Christina and her son, Aidan, have lived on Saint's property for eight years. Christina and Saint have sort of danced around each other for years, but Christina is tired of waiting for Saint to make a move. For his part, Saint doesn't think he deserves Christina, so he continually pushes her away. Christina is special. She can read minds. But beyond that, she apparently has the most vitessence Saint has ever seen in a human. He's drawn to her, yet he's so afraid he'll harm her, so he keeps his distance as best he can. But now that Teslar has also discovered her, Saint is forced to keep her near to keep her safe, which makes her impossible to resist.
Saint's internal struggle was so sad. He wanted Christina so badly but felt it would be the worst thing for her to be with him. For her part, Christina was extremely strong. Once she thought she figured out what he was (she guessed vampire), she still didn't shy away from him. No matter how many times Saint protested that he'd hurt her, she knew he never would. Once they finally came together, they were on fire. It was really very sweet how this strong, virtually invincible being turned into a puddle for Christina. And she for him.
As with most Beth Kery stories, there was a lot of sex. And it was hot sex. But when a couple of scenes spanned chapters, I giggled a bit. It was almost overkill. But it was still hot!
I'm probably going to have to continue with this series. I love Beth Kery, and I'm guessing there could be seven more of these since there are eight Sevliss princes and we dealt with Saint in this one. It'll be interesting to see how they grow throughout the series, because I'm sure there's something unique about all of them.
March 8, 2011
4.5 stars
Excellent story. When I first started reading it, I wasn't at all enamored of the main hero, Saint, but as I read further I understood him more, even though he was so wrong about many of his assumptions.
I liked the heroine, Christina all the way through. She was steadfast in her perceptions of Saint, in spite of all the revelations she experienced in the story.
I am not going to write a recap of the story, since there are several lengthy reviews already, but I finished this liking it more than some other reviewers seemed to... a reversal of what is the usual case. At any rate, I thought the story was a sophisticated take on the usual 'girl meets vampire/werewolf' tale and for anyone who likes that genre, they should find this isn't the usual sort of book.
It does have a lot of sex of all sorts. I usually skip over a lot of that after the first scene or two since it's sort of similar all the way through and I am more interested in the story. This time I read every word, since the sex scenes contribute to resolutions or deeper understanding of Saint, in particular.
I think a lot of my Goodreads friends would like this book. I will be looking for Book 2 of this series.
Excellent story. When I first started reading it, I wasn't at all enamored of the main hero, Saint, but as I read further I understood him more, even though he was so wrong about many of his assumptions.
I liked the heroine, Christina all the way through. She was steadfast in her perceptions of Saint, in spite of all the revelations she experienced in the story.
I am not going to write a recap of the story, since there are several lengthy reviews already, but I finished this liking it more than some other reviewers seemed to... a reversal of what is the usual case. At any rate, I thought the story was a sophisticated take on the usual 'girl meets vampire/werewolf' tale and for anyone who likes that genre, they should find this isn't the usual sort of book.
It does have a lot of sex of all sorts. I usually skip over a lot of that after the first scene or two since it's sort of similar all the way through and I am more interested in the story. This time I read every word, since the sex scenes contribute to resolutions or deeper understanding of Saint, in particular.
I think a lot of my Goodreads friends would like this book. I will be looking for Book 2 of this series.
December 1, 2011
Having read several of Beth Kery’s novels, I expected a hot and titillating read. Velvet Cataclysm is exactly that and more. Vampires, werewolves, and a story that unfolds through twists and turns will keep you turning the pages in eager anticipation. The main characters, Saint and Christina, are dynamic together and the story that brings them into each other’s embrace comes from a dark threat that creates mayhem and more questions of the origins of Saint’s existence as a Prince of the Underground. Saint is one of several Princes of the Underground series and I look forward to discovering the tantalizing lives of the other princes and the darkness that dwell within their lives. Velvet Cataclysm is a great paranormal with a different twist on the vampire stories I have read. Beth Kery creates a world of erotica pleasures with thrilling characters to keep you hot and bothered on a cold winter’s night. Enjoy the ties that bind these remarkable characters together.
March 7, 2011
The story isn't so much of a vampire story or a werewolf story, even though there are beings that transform into wolves and those that drink blood. The main characters (Saint and Teslar) are supernatural, alien beings who get their strength through a human's vitaessence.
This is the first Beth Kery book that I've read. The legend behind the characters in the book were interesting however they weren't the focus of the book. The real focus is the "relationship" between Saint and Christina. So if you are looking for dirty, this book has it. A lot of it and just about every type of it!
Bottom line: It was a $4 Kindle book and for that price it is a quick, amusing and extremely filthy tale!
This is the first Beth Kery book that I've read. The legend behind the characters in the book were interesting however they weren't the focus of the book. The real focus is the "relationship" between Saint and Christina. So if you are looking for dirty, this book has it. A lot of it and just about every type of it!
Bottom line: It was a $4 Kindle book and for that price it is a quick, amusing and extremely filthy tale!
March 28, 2012
I received the book for free through Goodreads First Read
Mystery , sex, love, vampires, romance.
I liked the book , it is not a deep story, but good to pass time and it is easy to enjoy the story that has little spice to it. The sex are good , but not overly, it wasn't hot enough. The characters Christina and Saint is very likable their difficult relationship and love are in the middle of the story.
He is vampire and think he is bad for her, she is telepath and she wants him anyway. The solution of their dilemma is to find it themself, Saint know it exist but he doesn't know what is it.
erotic paranormal romance
Not for teens.
Mystery , sex, love, vampires, romance.
I liked the book , it is not a deep story, but good to pass time and it is easy to enjoy the story that has little spice to it. The sex are good , but not overly, it wasn't hot enough. The characters Christina and Saint is very likable their difficult relationship and love are in the middle of the story.
He is vampire and think he is bad for her, she is telepath and she wants him anyway. The solution of their dilemma is to find it themself, Saint know it exist but he doesn't know what is it.
erotic paranormal romance
Not for teens.
August 5, 2010
Velvet Cataclysm is the first book in a sexy new series by Beth Kery. The worldbuilding is solid, if not a bit strange. There are six (originally seven) Sevliss princes and their clones roaming the world. There are rules in place to keep the princes from killing their clones, but not the other way around. The men are vampiric in nature, both physically and psychically, and can shift shape into different animals. It’s a very old school paranormal feel with a touch of new age science-fiction.
Complete review available here: http://bittenbybooks.com/?p=28381#mor...
Complete review available here: http://bittenbybooks.com/?p=28381#mor...
July 9, 2015
This is hard because I LOVE beth Kery, so my real complaint would be too short as in comparison to her other books which I love but I loved the Vampiresk abilities and the son, I love when their is great things with families, so the couple in here is sweet, the sex is hot and the story line was good, I enjoyed it, it was a very fast read but she is one of my must read authors so it's hard to give her a bad review as her books pack a punch and you are reading them like you would eat a tray of cookies!!! Pick it up try it out or any of her books for that matter.
June 30, 2011
I'm so glad I found this book and even happier that it appears to be a series. I thoroughly enjoyed the story line and the cast of characters.
A different take on vampires, one that easily made it enjoyable.
Christina is very likeable and someone I could relate to. Saint...WOW...I think I fell in love...many admirable characterics up to and including a sex god.
I highly recommend you get your hands on this book, it will definitely get you hooked.
A different take on vampires, one that easily made it enjoyable.
Christina is very likeable and someone I could relate to. Saint...WOW...I think I fell in love...many admirable characterics up to and including a sex god.
I highly recommend you get your hands on this book, it will definitely get you hooked.
October 2, 2011
Pretty good all in all. I agree that the characters should have been a bit more developed, the deeper part of the story (magic, otherworldly being etc etc.) was almost hard to follow? You read it but you don't retain the knowledge of the history/magic she creates for them...you'll understand when you read it. I always like it better when they turn their mate but I can live with what happened I guess. Oh. And most inportantly. The sex was SMOKIN'!!!!
August 27, 2015
2.5-3 stars. Wanted a PNR book for a change of scenery. I LOVEEE Beth Kery and her books..especially Glimmer (and am looking fwd to Glow like crazy!) but this book was just flat out weird. It's a new take on vampires and werewolves and aliens? Ok what?! The storyline was cray and not "omfg this is amazing" cray but "come on...i know I'm high cuz im still effing reading this" cray. No Bueno. And yup first time I can say this but DP saved the day. Really? smh
December 7, 2014
This book was good in all the right places... but... it just didn't do it for me.
Ok, that's a lie because it did do it for me in certain aspects... the sex scenes had me so hot but in other aspects even though nothing was done wrong, it just never... clicked.
Which is why this got 3 stars instead of 5, something didn't click. Pretty bad explanation, I know.
Ok, that's a lie because it did do it for me in certain aspects... the sex scenes had me so hot but in other aspects even though nothing was done wrong, it just never... clicked.
Which is why this got 3 stars instead of 5, something didn't click. Pretty bad explanation, I know.
August 15, 2011
Ok so the story line was a bit hard to follow. At times it jumped around so much I didn't know if Christina was awake or remembering something. But hot damn the sex was HOT!!! like 5 flames hot. She really knows how to write her a love scene.
July 15, 2010
Interesting world building, not vampires, not werewolves but both together.
July 28, 2011
3.5
Fun take on the the vampire/werewolf motif with some interesting twists.
Fun take on the the vampire/werewolf motif with some interesting twists.
April 25, 2013
Not my favorite book. Just OK. Not to read again. Weird premise that Saint is some type of alien vampire werewolf.
February 9, 2012
More like 3.75 but I rounded up
February 19, 2015
It was just an a OK read. Not really my type read though. I didn't connect to any of the characters all that much. It definitely was a different paranormal read from what I'm used to. I give it that.
May 29, 2012
Loved this book.
January 30, 2013
Interesting read. New myth about a mix of vaöpire and werewofl, among others...
I wasn´t in love with the writting style but still appreciated reading this book.
I wasn´t in love with the writting style but still appreciated reading this book.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews