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mx_virg 's review for:
A Soul to Keep
by Opal Reyne
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Romance: 5/5
Spicy scale: 5/5
I absolutely loved this book. Thank you Opal Reyne, my depraved monster-smashing-loving soul was also aching for a smutty story with Elias from the Ancient Magus's Bride, and you fucking delivered !
This book hits all my sweet spot for a monster erotica book.
🥰 Orpheus, who is a perfect mix of a beast and a cinnamon roll. He just wants to care for someone and be loved in return! But at the same time he will eat someone at the slightest provocation, our heroine included. And he not only behaves like a beast he also has the body of one (peen included) that we (author, heroine, me, hopefully you) totally embraced.
😊 I liked Reia well enough. She's strong-willed, stubborn, a little reckless. Seriously, for someone who has lost her whole family when she was seven and has lived alone while being scorned by her whole village for the next 20 years, she's done a pretty good job raising herself. She's a really good match for Orpheus. Also liked that she was 26 (still way younger than Orpheus, at least she wasn't a teen). And although she is a virgin, the book ends up poking fun at that trope (loved it when Orpheus explained what he meant by "pure").
💕 The romance is just how I love them. There's a definite spark of interest between Orpheus and Reia since pretty much the beginning, but there's no insta-love or insta-lust here. It takes its time to build up the chemistry, sexual tension and feelings between the MCs. Made their relationship so much stronger and believable, there were no cringe moments for me.
🌶️ The steamy scenes were great. They were long, detailed, weird, animalistic, sweet,... I loved them. Also, again, it's a monster erotica that doesn't shy away from the "monster" part (and I'm not just talking about what's between his legs).
✅ I really liked the world-building and the story. This is a romance first, the focus is definitely on our two MCs and their thoughts and feelings. But the author does a nice job building a world where to place this romance, and with enough side plots to make things move and not be boring. I'm actually curious to read more about it and see how things may change in the future (there are some interesting plot points hinted at in this book that I hope to see explored in the next ones).
One of the best monster romance/erotica I've read (Lillian Lark's Monstruous Matches are tough to beat). And although I prefer series where we follow one set of heroes (I get attached, I want to read more of them instead of starting all over again), I'll definitely read the next one. Since we'll probably follow the Duskwalker living close to Reia and Orpheus, I hope we'll get to see what they've been up to (for example, how many villagers they gave their neighbour to eat).
Spicy scale: 5/5
I absolutely loved this book. Thank you Opal Reyne, my depraved monster-smashing-loving soul was also aching for a smutty story with Elias from the Ancient Magus's Bride, and you fucking delivered !
This book hits all my sweet spot for a monster erotica book.
🥰 Orpheus, who is a perfect mix of a beast and a cinnamon roll. He just wants to care for someone and be loved in return! But at the same time he will eat someone at the slightest provocation, our heroine included. And he not only behaves like a beast he also has the body of one (peen included) that we (author, heroine, me, hopefully you) totally embraced.
😊 I liked Reia well enough. She's strong-willed, stubborn, a little reckless. Seriously, for someone who has lost her whole family when she was seven and has lived alone while being scorned by her whole village for the next 20 years, she's done a pretty good job raising herself. She's a really good match for Orpheus. Also liked that she was 26 (still way younger than Orpheus, at least she wasn't a teen). And although she is a virgin, the book ends up poking fun at that trope (loved it when Orpheus explained what he meant by "pure").
💕 The romance is just how I love them. There's a definite spark of interest between Orpheus and Reia since pretty much the beginning, but there's no insta-love or insta-lust here. It takes its time to build up the chemistry, sexual tension and feelings between the MCs. Made their relationship so much stronger and believable, there were no cringe moments for me.
🌶️ The steamy scenes were great. They were long, detailed, weird, animalistic, sweet,... I loved them. Also, again, it's a monster erotica that doesn't shy away from the "monster" part (and I'm not just talking about what's between his legs).
✅ I really liked the world-building and the story. This is a romance first, the focus is definitely on our two MCs and their thoughts and feelings. But the author does a nice job building a world where to place this romance, and with enough side plots to make things move and not be boring. I'm actually curious to read more about it and see how things may change in the future (there are some interesting plot points hinted at in this book that I hope to see explored in the next ones).
One of the best monster romance/erotica I've read (Lillian Lark's Monstruous Matches are tough to beat). And although I prefer series where we follow one set of heroes (I get attached, I want to read more of them instead of starting all over again), I'll definitely read the next one. Since we'll probably follow the Duskwalker living close to Reia and Orpheus, I hope we'll get to see what they've been up to (for example, how many villagers they gave their neighbour to eat).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder
Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Cannibalism, Death of parent
Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Grief