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A Soul to Keep: Duskwalker Brides: Book One: Duskwalker Brides: book 1

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Words cannot express my joy in reading a fantasy of this caliber. Just the simple idea that you become what you consume, felt like such a statement on humanity in general.

If I erase this part of the story from my mind, I loved the book. I can’t wait to learn more about the unnamed Duskwalker, and I will be reading the rest of the series with hopes that a situation like the one above isn’t repeated. The book is long, and I struggled with that too. I think some of the side ‘danger’ could have been cut a bit (for me).She knew she hadn’t screamed, hadn’t tried to run, hadn’t done anything but wait as her family was eaten. It had been dark which made it hard to see. This one might not have the most original premise but the world building, the demons are very original. I of course have an interest in a certain appendage and let me just say I wasn’t disappointed and that too felt very original. The story was steamy (3/5), after a gradual stroking-the-flames build-up. Be prepared for some surprising dirty talk from our sweet hero and some creativity in their uniting. (You will welcome a picture of our hero’s inner workings once you read.) Also, expect some eye-orbed jealousy as other characters are introduced. It was a bit much considering it was kind of in passing and monotone sounding and without any real pain or angst over it I don’t know what I was expecting – like I’m all for a monster and dark romance and having to control urges but this just made me laugh

Duskwalker Brides a series that features a very real monster who never turns into a handsome prince. Every 10 years, the village must sacrifice someone to the Duskwalker in exchange for protection. This year, Reia is chosen, yet she finds that this 7ft tall demon creature Orpheus isn't as bad as she'd expected. I was on Reia’s side, I felt bad for her but more so I felt anger. The way the other villagers treated her proves that not all monsters appear as one.I wanted to like this book. The premise, world, characters all seemed interesting and not quite like other books I have read. However when I hit the first cringy trope the bubble absolutely burst. He'd thought it was a hopeless endeavour, until he met her. She’s not afraid of him, and his insatiable desire deepens within every moment of her presence. Reia, I just never grew to like her. And I felt like I didn’t know her that well by the end of the book. Orpheus we learn more about, but it seemed like a lot of it was revealed by others and I wanted to know him more from his perspective. I genuinely enjoyed the storyline until the other woman drama was introduced. I can withstand a lot of OW storylines, but this one just decimated Reia’s character (because of how she viewed said character’s experiences) and hurt Orpheus’s characterization as well. In romance, when a main character is held captive by the other main character, readers know in real life it is not romantic, attractive, or good-hearted. Most people can differentiate between reality and fiction, so the trope becomes something sweet and fun in fiction.

The choice of villain. Katerina really felt like a victim of woman-blaming/victim blaming. She was taken from her home and forced (I.e. was very likely to die if she tried to escape and given no other choices) to live with someone she thought was a monster. Of course she would do whatever it took to keep him happy and then leave as soon as she could. I can’t even really blame her for wanting revenge either. I mean I would have had more sympathy for her if she hadn’t gone that route, but really revenge was quite a rational desire for her, so the fact that she is made out to be totally evil (rather than just traumatized and a bit of a bitch) bothered me. And what is that?” she sobbed, her heart breaking further for him. Her tears finally fell, dripping from the corners of her eyes to run over her temples and into her hair. While Reia was out here living her monster lover dreams, Katerina was surviving a supernatural true crime horror nightmare. Reia got to experience Orpheus after he's learned from his 18 other failed relationships. Katerina was his first, and therefore the one who experienced Orpheus at his least humane, at his most dangerous. I guess it would've made the romance too uncomfortable if Katerina was given the grace to actually express how awful it was to be trapped in that relationship with him, fearing that saying no would mean her death. I don't expect highly nuanced feminism in my monster romance, but this plot point was so stupid and misogynistic that I could not enjoy any part of the story after that.

And yet, for some reason, Katerina is still jealously possessive of Orpheus and reminds Reia that she's "just a replacement." Her character exists only to make Orpheus sad and to make Reia look better by comparison, and she has no consistency. Even worse, Reia has the audacity to be JEALOUS of Katerina for being Orpheus's first partner, despite knowing that Katerina is so traumatized from her experiences that she wants to kill Orpheus. She's portrayed as some slutty, greedy ex-girlfriend who abandoned poor unloved Orpheus when she's actually just a survivor of some horrific kidnapping and assault who's turned her life around with a new partner who treats her better. The story follows Reia, lone survivor of her family’s brutal murder at the hands of a bunch of demons turned sacrifice by the local townspeople, who plan to offer her to the Duskwalker to rid them of her bad juju and to ensure their protection from the demons who terrorize them nightly. But I am shameless enough to admit I read alllll the sex, which was interesting to say the least lol.

Ladies, just because your man treats you nicely doesn't mean that his ex, who is still dealing with PTSD from being his first partner, is evil.

A Soul to Keep is reminiscent of Beauty & The Beast except with charming Duskwalkers and bloodthirsty demons.

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