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theresaramp's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
4.75
bhookjunkhie's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 STARS ..This was really good but I kinda missed all the other characters and all the craziness that usually goes on with the accession coming...This was more centered on the hero and heroine and his clan...not that that's bad!...just an observation...I still got me a good Nix scene! <3 As always...looking forward to more!
halleymalley1's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
booksandteatime's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Death, Pedophilia, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Vomit
ellie_klemm's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
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? It's complicated
4.0
jelam0721's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
laureljeanreads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
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
4.5
poppymonster's review against another edition
2.0
Mild spoilers -
What… what did I just read? I was so hopeful this would be a non asshat MMC because that trope is getting old, but the switch from sweet guy to raging asshole was rough. I get that he has trauma. I get that he has it from people like her. I get that being with her could trigger it. But that doesn’t mean that he has to treat her like the scum on his boots when she has done literally nothing to hurt him and is vulnerable AF. Bro she just lost EVERYTHING and you are abusing her as revenge for something that she had absolutely no involvement in.
Also, WTF was up with the “not like other girls” bullshit? Chloe was fine. She was a tomboy but never put other women down for being feminine. He looked for any hints of femininity as a was to shame her for literally existing. How can you be 900 years old, part of a species that most beings in the lore dislike and think are ruled by baser instincts, and still be unable to see that just maybe not all individuals are carbon copies?
Also, WTF kind of grovel was that? It was a non grovel with instant fucking forgiveness and then he fucking risks her life because of his hubris? That’s not love. He pissed me off. Maybe with years of self work he could be a good mate, but that 1 week time frame was unrealistic and toxic AF.
Spice: 4/5
Triggers: child SA, emotional and mental abuse, kidnapping, captivity, discussion of torture, grief/parent loss, gore and violence
What… what did I just read? I was so hopeful this would be a non asshat MMC because that trope is getting old, but the switch from sweet guy to raging asshole was rough. I get that he has trauma. I get that he has it from people like her. I get that being with her could trigger it. But that doesn’t mean that he has to treat her like the scum on his boots when she has done literally nothing to hurt him and is vulnerable AF. Bro she just lost EVERYTHING and you are abusing her as revenge for something that she had absolutely no involvement in.
Also, WTF was up with the “not like other girls” bullshit? Chloe was fine. She was a tomboy but never put other women down for being feminine. He looked for any hints of femininity as a was to shame her for literally existing. How can you be 900 years old, part of a species that most beings in the lore dislike and think are ruled by baser instincts, and still be unable to see that just maybe not all individuals are carbon copies?
Also, WTF kind of grovel was that? It was a non grovel with instant fucking forgiveness and then he fucking risks her life because of his hubris? That’s not love. He pissed me off. Maybe with years of self work he could be a good mate, but that 1 week time frame was unrealistic and toxic AF.
Spice: 4/5
Triggers: child SA, emotional and mental abuse, kidnapping, captivity, discussion of torture, grief/parent loss, gore and violence
ericawrites's review against another edition
5.0
CW for CSA, lashing out due to trauma triggers, and s*icide
MacRieve was a hard book to read. It opens 900+ years ago with 13-year-old Uilleam MacRieve being convinced that an adult female succubus is his fated mate and CSA. (If a succubus has sex 3 times with someone, that person becomes envenomed to them and gets physically ill and could maybe die without having sex with the succubus until one party dies.)
When MacRieve becomes ill and tries to sneak out of the castle to see the succubus, his parents catch him, and we find out that MacRieve has been being abused since he was 9 years old. We're told that the only reason he didn't die from this is because his wolf is strong.
His parents are immediately ready to kill her, and his pregnant mom rushes off to take care of it ASAP. Before the dad, MacRieve, and his twin brother Munro can catch up with her, the succubus has her envenomed vampire kill MacRieve's mom. While the dad kills the vampire and the succubus, because of how werewolf fated mates work, the dad takes his own life, leaving MacRieve and Munro orphaned.
That's just the first 23 pages.
Unlike MacRieve, his fated mate Chloe seems to have a great life. She's 24 with a loving single father and a great career as a professional soccer player on the Seattle Reign. However, her life is upturned when she discovers that the Lore exists, her father is Webb (the head of the Order), and that she's coming into being immortal. Webb leaves her with the Lore book but doesn't even tell her what kind of immortal she's becoming. Then he disappears.
Chloe is captured for auction by witches, who will sell her to the highest bidders who believe they can use her as bait to capture Webb. MacRieve cannot cut a break because he's been captured by the Order, vivisected, and then in the jailbreak, he kills 5 starving succubi while having CPTSD flashbacks and before they can r*pe him. He's ready to kill himself after he gets revenge.
Then MacRieve smells Chloe and goes full werewolf, stealing her from the auction. All the wolves back him — including his brother Munro, who only wants to see MacRieve happy and can scent that Chloe is his sister-in-law! — and they hid out at the wolf compound. Because Chloe isn't fully immortal, she smells, looks, and behaves like a human.
This setup is essential because MacRieve has dealt with zero of his past or more recent traumas. He's constantly on alert and triggered, and when he's not, he's depressed. The brothers have adopted two orphaned wolf young adults, and they refer to MacRieve with an ableist slur. Nïx keeps telling MacRieve that he's going to have to deal with trauma, or it's going to ruin him.
Cole does a fantastic job showing how deeply MacRieve is traumatized. She doesn't flinch from having him lash out in abusive ways, especially toward Chloe when she comes into her full succubus immortality while they are having sex.
MacRieve isn't our only hero who has experienced CSA. Malkom did as well, and his pre-Carrow solution (besides revenge) is to isolate himself fully. But MacRieve's ties to Munro and the pack nature of Lykae won't allow for that. Additionally, MacRieve's added trauma of his parents and unborn baby sister dying in that moment gives him guilt and self-blame for his abuse. Whereas Malkom seems to clearly understand that he was a child and what was done to him was wrong, even if seemingly common in his hell dimension. By the time he meets Carrow, he's gotten his revenge on his childhood abusers and those who abused and turned him into vemon. Like MacRieve, Malkom was also captured and vivisected by the Order.
I found it so interesting that Cole chose two of our most physically powerful (male) characters to have suffered from CSA. Vemons (demons turned vampires) are considered the most powerful Lore beings; other powerful characters are terrified of Malkom on sight. Lykae are also considered the strongest, especially if their mates are in danger. This lends an additional statement that abuse, especially as a minor, is not the victim's fault, and it does not matter how physically strong you become; trauma can still haunt you and ruin your life.
(Lucia, as a teenage bride, was also r*ped by her first husband, but her trauma manifests in chastity and a life's calling to keep him trapped forever and eventually kill him. Cole has the furthest out lens from Lucia's abuse, and I cannot help but think this is because the sexual abuse of women characters is so rampant in fiction. Lucia is the only IAD heroine to have experienced sexual abuse so far.)
While Cole does show Lucia and Malkom navigating sex with a trauma-informed lens, she gets extremely close to MacRieve and his (not great) sexual trauma coping mechanisms. When having sex, his wolf comes out to protect him, but with Chloe, his wolf recognizes his mate and doesn't want to hurt her, leaving MacRieve to deal with his trauma. I agree with the Fated Mates podcast that MacRieve is the closest to an erotic romance that Cole gets (or has gotten so far) in IAD because everything about MacRieve and Chloe eventually comes back to sex.
Many reviewers believe MacRieve's abusive treatment of Chloe, once he discovers she's a succubus and is triggered 100% of the time, goes too far and is too much. That Chloe should've left him and gone to some incubi healers when she finally met her people. But I found MacRieve's CPTSD reactions believable, real, messy af, and complicated. I like a complex story because, while this is a paranormal romance, like Chloe, people can choose to forgive their partners and continue to have relationships (when clear work is being done / apologies are made by the partner).
All of IAD needs therapy, and Nïx is a terrible therapist. MacRieve's biggest hurdle is shame and talking about his trauma. He eventually verbalizes everything (as he burns down his childhood abuser's cabin) to Chloe. This moves him to a place where he can finally heal, and they can finally become true mates and stronger together.
MacRieve isn't instantly better by the end, the same way Malkom isn't at the end of Demon from the Dark, but he has the capacity not to be constantly overwhelmed by his trauma and has the option to find joy, love, and the ability to thrive.
LGBTQ Watch: There were no new queer characters introduced and no returning known queer characters. Not even on Seattle Reign! Chloe only talks about her fellow teammates taking fanboys home. Yes, the women of the Seattle Reign are famously straight. <sarcasm>
However, reading about Chloe coming into herself and starting from a place where she didn't know she was immortal or a succubus until MacRieve recognized the change, this felt very trans. But how Chloe experienced it didn't feel trans at all.
While I did give this book 5 stars, I do think it lacks in Chloe freaking out just a little bit about the physical changes her body goes through (hair growing out, boobs and hips getting bigger, generally getting "hotter," suddenly having claws, etc.).
MacRieve was a hard book to read. It opens 900+ years ago with 13-year-old Uilleam MacRieve being convinced that an adult female succubus is his fated mate and CSA. (If a succubus has sex 3 times with someone, that person becomes envenomed to them and gets physically ill and could maybe die without having sex with the succubus until one party dies.)
When MacRieve becomes ill and tries to sneak out of the castle to see the succubus, his parents catch him, and we find out that MacRieve has been being abused since he was 9 years old. We're told that the only reason he didn't die from this is because his wolf is strong.
His parents are immediately ready to kill her, and his pregnant mom rushes off to take care of it ASAP. Before the dad, MacRieve, and his twin brother Munro can catch up with her, the succubus has her envenomed vampire kill MacRieve's mom. While the dad kills the vampire and the succubus, because of how werewolf fated mates work, the dad takes his own life, leaving MacRieve and Munro orphaned.
That's just the first 23 pages.
Unlike MacRieve, his fated mate Chloe seems to have a great life. She's 24 with a loving single father and a great career as a professional soccer player on the Seattle Reign. However, her life is upturned when she discovers that the Lore exists, her father is Webb (the head of the Order), and that she's coming into being immortal. Webb leaves her with the Lore book but doesn't even tell her what kind of immortal she's becoming. Then he disappears.
Chloe is captured for auction by witches, who will sell her to the highest bidders who believe they can use her as bait to capture Webb. MacRieve cannot cut a break because he's been captured by the Order, vivisected, and then in the jailbreak, he kills 5 starving succubi while having CPTSD flashbacks and before they can r*pe him. He's ready to kill himself after he gets revenge.
Then MacRieve smells Chloe and goes full werewolf, stealing her from the auction. All the wolves back him — including his brother Munro, who only wants to see MacRieve happy and can scent that Chloe is his sister-in-law! — and they hid out at the wolf compound. Because Chloe isn't fully immortal, she smells, looks, and behaves like a human.
This setup is essential because MacRieve has dealt with zero of his past or more recent traumas. He's constantly on alert and triggered, and when he's not, he's depressed. The brothers have adopted two orphaned wolf young adults, and they refer to MacRieve with an ableist slur. Nïx keeps telling MacRieve that he's going to have to deal with trauma, or it's going to ruin him.
Cole does a fantastic job showing how deeply MacRieve is traumatized. She doesn't flinch from having him lash out in abusive ways, especially toward Chloe when she comes into her full succubus immortality while they are having sex.
MacRieve isn't our only hero who has experienced CSA. Malkom did as well, and his pre-Carrow solution (besides revenge) is to isolate himself fully. But MacRieve's ties to Munro and the pack nature of Lykae won't allow for that. Additionally, MacRieve's added trauma of his parents and unborn baby sister dying in that moment gives him guilt and self-blame for his abuse. Whereas Malkom seems to clearly understand that he was a child and what was done to him was wrong, even if seemingly common in his hell dimension. By the time he meets Carrow, he's gotten his revenge on his childhood abusers and those who abused and turned him into vemon. Like MacRieve, Malkom was also captured and vivisected by the Order.
I found it so interesting that Cole chose two of our most physically powerful (male) characters to have suffered from CSA. Vemons (demons turned vampires) are considered the most powerful Lore beings; other powerful characters are terrified of Malkom on sight. Lykae are also considered the strongest, especially if their mates are in danger. This lends an additional statement that abuse, especially as a minor, is not the victim's fault, and it does not matter how physically strong you become; trauma can still haunt you and ruin your life.
(Lucia, as a teenage bride, was also r*ped by her first husband, but her trauma manifests in chastity and a life's calling to keep him trapped forever and eventually kill him. Cole has the furthest out lens from Lucia's abuse, and I cannot help but think this is because the sexual abuse of women characters is so rampant in fiction. Lucia is the only IAD heroine to have experienced sexual abuse so far.)
While Cole does show Lucia and Malkom navigating sex with a trauma-informed lens, she gets extremely close to MacRieve and his (not great) sexual trauma coping mechanisms. When having sex, his wolf comes out to protect him, but with Chloe, his wolf recognizes his mate and doesn't want to hurt her, leaving MacRieve to deal with his trauma. I agree with the Fated Mates podcast that MacRieve is the closest to an erotic romance that Cole gets (or has gotten so far) in IAD because everything about MacRieve and Chloe eventually comes back to sex.
Many reviewers believe MacRieve's abusive treatment of Chloe, once he discovers she's a succubus and is triggered 100% of the time, goes too far and is too much. That Chloe should've left him and gone to some incubi healers when she finally met her people. But I found MacRieve's CPTSD reactions believable, real, messy af, and complicated. I like a complex story because, while this is a paranormal romance, like Chloe, people can choose to forgive their partners and continue to have relationships (when clear work is being done / apologies are made by the partner).
All of IAD needs therapy, and Nïx is a terrible therapist. MacRieve's biggest hurdle is shame and talking about his trauma. He eventually verbalizes everything (as he burns down his childhood abuser's cabin) to Chloe. This moves him to a place where he can finally heal, and they can finally become true mates and stronger together.
MacRieve isn't instantly better by the end, the same way Malkom isn't at the end of Demon from the Dark, but he has the capacity not to be constantly overwhelmed by his trauma and has the option to find joy, love, and the ability to thrive.
LGBTQ Watch: There were no new queer characters introduced and no returning known queer characters. Not even on Seattle Reign! Chloe only talks about her fellow teammates taking fanboys home. Yes, the women of the Seattle Reign are famously straight. <sarcasm>
However, reading about Chloe coming into herself and starting from a place where she didn't know she was immortal or a succubus until MacRieve recognized the change, this felt very trans. But how Chloe experienced it didn't feel trans at all.
While I did give this book 5 stars, I do think it lacks in Chloe freaking out just a little bit about the physical changes her body goes through (hair growing out, boobs and hips getting bigger, generally getting "hotter," suddenly having claws, etc.).
birdloveranne's review against another edition
5.0
I absolutely loved Chloe! This audio book was awesome!