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

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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. She loves everything spicy, smutty,and everything boarder-line monster loving. She started writing because of her love of the written word, and because she wanted to build a diverse world of mythological creatures, while also showing the beauty of all ethnicities of humanity. She thrives to produce a plot driven, character developing book while sprinkling in enchanting imagery. 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.

This is not like those boring old fantasy books from the past. This doesn't have mindnumbing world building, or multiple family units with names you can't pronounce, a confusing magic system or generic bad guys. 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. Orpheus is sort of a classic monster archetype… deadly and scary, but a sweet and lonely soul on the inside. A big difference between him and other monster heroes is that he has no “human” qualities, physically. He has no mouth, just a tongue; his whole head is a skull with horns; he has fur, fish gills, and an extruding penis with tentacles. By the 20% mark I adored him, because he’s just… so sweet. Duskwalkers “eat” their humanity - as they eat humans they learn and gain capabilities like the ability to do magic. He craves a bride, but will settle for a companion - he’s just lonely and it broke my heart. 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.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. 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). 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. 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. 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.

A Soul to Keep is reminiscent of Beauty & The Beast except with charming Duskwalkers and bloodthirsty demons. This book is for you. Don’t pretend that you’ve never wanted to be railed by some human eating, dark entity that has a skull for a face – you saw the cover, you knew what you were getting yourself into, and you still chose to open this book and read it. But I am shameless enough to admit I read alllll the sex, which was interesting to say the least lol.Entre a leer este libro super emocionada con mil expectativas y les quiero decir felizmente que no me decepciono, fue super SUPER cute y emocional pero también divertido y muy HOT PERO RE CONTRA RE MIL HOT. Los personajes son geniales y la construcción del mundo a mi me re gusto, te da lo suficiente para mantenerte enganchada y te deja mas preguntas para después en los otros libros seguir contestándolas. I-I thought you were going to eat me,” she whispered, her hands falling limply next to her in the snow. I think I would try another book from this author but maybe this particular series isn’t going to be exactly what I want. I think if you want some weird/unique monster creatures then definitely give this one a try! There was never a dull moment, (well apart from the dreaded traveling) it was one adventure after another. I liked the addition of secondary characters be they good or bad. My favorites were the other mavka, the bookshop keeper and of course the witch owl. I’m super curious about her and I hope we get more of her in future books. 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.

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.I just want to say—most of the novel was enjoyable. Watching Orpheus try so hard to give Reia everything she wanted was so sweet, and his petty jealousy with the other Duskwalker was adorable. He was so caring toward her, even in the moments the beast took over, and he wanted to kill her. 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. There were a few moments of frustration, when I wanted something different to happen. But overall I was so impressed with the storytelling here, and these amazing characters this author has created. I will add, and this could be a perk to some readers, I felt like the erotica near the end took over the story. Seriously, they're at it again....

I really struggled with getting into this book. And I never really ended getting into it, really. I think I really just had a disconnect with the writing. This is a beauty and the beast retelling, with a very different ending than we're used to. It was deeply erotic, with a well executed plot. The sex (surprisingly?) which was described in a way that sounded painful rather than hot. Rearranging someone's guts... metaphorically is fine... but literally? Jeez Louise, no thanks! The way Katerina was reduced to a caricaturish jealous woman villain irritated me to no end. Katerina is vilified for leaving Orpheus because she apparently never saw the humanity beneath the monstrous exterior. We are told that her suffering was self-imposed because she didn't give him a chance, that her painful experiences of SA were just because she "didn't tell him no." Why wouldn't a woman, after being taken from her home where he'd just slaughtered all of her neighbors, muster up the courage to say no? The audacity.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 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.