Summary
Roslyn Blackthorne is dead.
Technically.
I faked my death to get out of a loveless marriage but that was only half the battle. To ensure my vampire duke can never find me, I have to run far and fast enough he can’t catch me. Because if he does, it’s over. Not just my life—for real this time—but my entire family’s.
So how does the princess of the Blackthorne vampires disappear in a world where every supernatural creature knows who she is? Summon a demon, of course.
Pan agrees to keep me hidden, help me start a new life…for a cost. And it’s not my soul he’s after. Oh no, he wants my blood…and my body.
But so do they.
The shifter twins.
The cursed hacker.
And, of course, my estranged husband.
Starting over should be easy after my bargain with the demon. New name. New job. New reality in a tiny town where no one would think to search.
Welcome to Aurora Springs, Alaska, a sleepy place where everyone is hiding something and nothing ever happens. At least it was…until I arrived and people started dropping like flies.
It looks like I brought my past, and a whole host of other problems, with me. But that’s not a big deal, right? It’s not the end of the world or anything.
Review
(audiobook) In the previous series, we met some of the characters who get their story here. So to say I was excited about this book is an understatement. And my very high expectations were mostly satisfied.
It’s again a character oriented series.
We get an officially married and dead vampire as the heroine. Rosie has married her family’s enemy, Gavin, then faked her death to escape this marriage. She’s determined to use the skills of a previously met character, Asher the hacker, to stay hidden. But where she ends up in Alaska, she meets twin werewolves, Remi and Ben, and makes an arrangement with demon Pan. And that’s how Rosie loses her V card.
Rosie is, of course, the fated mate of every member of her little harem. They all feel a pull to her that they can’t understand–but the readers who enjoyed the first series may have an inkling of what’s happening. Gavin, her kinky possessive vampire husband; Asher, the cursed hacker, who has an intimate relationship with; Remington, the flirty werewolf; and his twin brother, the stuttering and broody Bentley; and Pan, the demon who asks for her blood.
The array of males displayed here was quite impressive, and also different from the mates in the first series. Clearly, the authors were careful to write new dynamics into their book. Even Rosie is a new kind of heroine–though she shares some characteristics with Sunday, like the fact that she’s an outsider in her race.
To keep writing something new, the authors also sped up the way Rosie accepts the various men in her life. I understand the reason behing their choice, but I must admit I wasn’t a fan of how fast Rosie falls in bed–and in love–with every one of them. I’d have enjoyed more building up. I felt it didn’t leave Rosie much time to really know each of them. And as she’s introduced as a virgin, that was some leap from no man ever to five men.
The setting changed too. The characters are stuck in a small town in Alaska, where everybody has something to hide–a good pretext to surround the characters with various creatures. I liked this idea a lot, and the side characters are pretty interesting.
And of course, there’s a grand scheme. We get just a hint at what is planned for Rosie, with most of the mystery kept in the dark. Add to that a killing spree, and you can imagine the tension and suspense that fill this book.
And it’s another great cast of narrators behind the audio. The female narrator comes back for the heroine, with a slight British accent that comes and goes–but for legitimate reasons. Gavin’s narrator is full on British, and perfect for the angry vampire with his deep voice. Asher’s brings a nervous energy that works well for the hacker. You’ll fall in love with the cute stutter of Bentley’s narrator. What a performance! Flirty Remington’s narrator gets his nonchalance, but goes angry when it’s needed. And finally, Pan’s narrator offers a strange mix of British accent and French words that is weirdly enticing. They all do a great job, and clearly enhance a book that is pretty good in the first place.
Quickie
- Series: The mate games: Pestilence #1 (linked to another series by the same authors and ends on a cliffhanger)
- Hashtags: #paranormal romance #reverse harem #werewolf #vampire #human #demon #new adult #kinks #bisexual #virgin #twins
- Triggers: various kinks, violence and death (off page), technically cheating
- Main “couple”: Roslyn Blackthorne & (Remington Mercer/Bentley Mercer/Gavin Donoghue/Asher Henry)
- Hotness: 5+++/5
- Romance: 3/5
- + the characters are all compelling
- – not enough build up before Rosie falls for every man
Stalker mode
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