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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is fluffy office romance if that romance involved two workaholics and a sex contact.
The worldbuilding fascinates me. Supernatural creatures are integrated into society. This means that for creatures like vampires and incubi, there’s designated professions to keep them fed. They are called feeders, and for incubi in particular, it amounts to legalized sex work. However, unlike real life sex work, since incubi feed on the desire of others, it means focus on pleasuring the sex worker with no requirement of the client to receive pleasure themselves. While this results in entitlement from feeders, they are also at greater risk of death or becoming drained beyond hope of ever recovering. Additionally, it’s a Fuck-or-Die scenario where incubi can be starved to death or into a feral state.
Ozen is an incubus in a predicament. He’s got a streak of bad luck finding a long term feeder. He desperately wants someone he can keep a professional distance with but who’s also trustworthy and reliable. And Avery is a temp worker who is the model of trustworthy and reliable professionalism, even after he’s unwittingly looped into becoming a feeder. He’s bent on keeping his relationship with Ozen strictly what is required for work.
The two of them obviously catch feelings in this coworkers-with-benefits scenario. They’re also both hellbent on denying there’s any feelings. There’s a literal legal contract they must adhere to, and they fear breaking it with their supposed unprofessionalism.
The chemistry and pacing of the sex scenes worked for me. But I think the story completely flounders in the final act.
The most major contradiction is in its insistence that Ozen can’t piece together that Avery could be his mate. It’s treated like this big reveal that incubi can even have mates when there’s literally a line at the start of the book indicating Ozen should know better. Ozen’s fangs are itching to bite Avery, and he notes that “blood sharing was only meant for mates and lovers, not feeders.” Meaning he should be aware that mates can exist for incubi. Except this is never brought up again, and Ozen becomes oblivious to any knowledge of what having a mate entails for an incubus. It’s all very frustrating and could have been solved by handwaving the fangs in a way that didn’t bring up mates.
Then there’s a contradiction within a scene where Avery has a whole internal monologue about not being able to write his novel around Taron because he knows Taron would read over his shoulder. A minute later Taron just stumbles upon Avery’s computer screen with the novel splashed right there in the center of it. This is while Avery is on his bed reading a book, meaning Avery’s computer conveniently never goes into screensaver mode and Avery just never once thought to minimize the document while knowing Taron is around. It’s all very contrived.
On a super minor note, I know it’s just a backstory plot device, but not all debt is passed on to next of kin. With student loans they force you to assign someone to pay the bill if you cannot, but when my own mom died of cancer, all her credit card debt was eventually voided since collectors didn’t have any legal follow through on their threats. In a story really preoccupied with the terms in a contract, this is something that makes me think the author simply assumed loan shark predatory debt collection is an inevitable part of life.
On a super super minor note, the author’s pet favorite phrase is “like the plague.” It’s used five times in total, and it’s across several different characters. If the 2020 pandemic taught us anything it’s that people don’t avoid the plague itself.
I’m a bit torn because I was having a good time until things started grinding near the end. I think I’ll still give the next book in the series a chance since the writing overall is pretty good.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment
Minor: Cancer, Death of parent
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes