******WARNING*******
This is not a story about a hero, or some bad boy-badass-antihero.
This is a love story between two monstrous villains and one valiant kid, held together by their entwined heartstrings.
It won't be pretty.
It won't be pleasant.
There's no fluffy good feelings about it.
It will rip out your heart and never give it back.
Breno Hades el Oscuro took no bullshit from anyone. He ruled the crime world of the United States. When the King fell, what was left in the ashes was not the small boy that grew up without his father, not the same kid that chose a life of crime at seventeen, nor was it the King who had killed and clawed through a river of blood to stand at the top.
The King was dragged from his throne of bones into a deep dark pit, leaving only the raw flesh of a savage monster to crawl out of Hell.
One that knew love, but didn't want it again.
Kemono Orochi was destined to inherit the legacy of his father, known as The Dragon's Tongue. It was an inheritance he never wanted it, never desiring the power that came with the title of Dragon. Kemono ended it all by tearing off the Dragon's head, watching the serpent's remains be consumed in hellfire. Now tormented by the scars of his past inflicted by his father, he is struggling to come to terms with the Akuma he has become.
One that wants to devour everyone in his path to protect the only one that matters to him.
The only person that had ever made his icy heart beat.
His heart. His love. His beautiful pride.
Rex Hunter dreams of becoming a principal ballerino...all fierce, like a Phoenix. But this Phoenix has lost his wings and fallen prey, straight into the clutched claws and callus hands of two vicious beasts. Each bore the blackest of hearts, each desiring to keep him safe, cherished and loved unconditionally. Or was Rex just destined to be the goo that would stick two shattered souls together and prevent them from forever falling to pieces?
There will be blood, gore and nasty shit.
There will be watersports, crude, angry, sometimes sensual and other times just downright dirty and dysfunctional sex.
BUT...
There will always be LOVE...
Because even villains understand the tortured scars love leaves in its wake.
This is not a story about a hero, or some bad boy-badass-antihero.
This is a love story between two monstrous villains and one valiant kid, held together by their entwined heartstrings.
It won't be pretty.
It won't be pleasant.
There's no fluffy good feelings about it.
It will rip out your heart and never give it back.
Breno Hades el Oscuro took no bullshit from anyone. He ruled the crime world of the United States. When the King fell, what was left in the ashes was not the small boy that grew up without his father, not the same kid that chose a life of crime at seventeen, nor was it the King who had killed and clawed through a river of blood to stand at the top.
The King was dragged from his throne of bones into a deep dark pit, leaving only the raw flesh of a savage monster to crawl out of Hell.
One that knew love, but didn't want it again.
Kemono Orochi was destined to inherit the legacy of his father, known as The Dragon's Tongue. It was an inheritance he never wanted it, never desiring the power that came with the title of Dragon. Kemono ended it all by tearing off the Dragon's head, watching the serpent's remains be consumed in hellfire. Now tormented by the scars of his past inflicted by his father, he is struggling to come to terms with the Akuma he has become.
One that wants to devour everyone in his path to protect the only one that matters to him.
The only person that had ever made his icy heart beat.
His heart. His love. His beautiful pride.
Rex Hunter dreams of becoming a principal ballerino...all fierce, like a Phoenix. But this Phoenix has lost his wings and fallen prey, straight into the clutched claws and callus hands of two vicious beasts. Each bore the blackest of hearts, each desiring to keep him safe, cherished and loved unconditionally. Or was Rex just destined to be the goo that would stick two shattered souls together and prevent them from forever falling to pieces?
There will be blood, gore and nasty shit.
There will be watersports, crude, angry, sometimes sensual and other times just downright dirty and dysfunctional sex.
BUT...
There will always be LOVE...
Because even villains understand the tortured scars love leaves in its wake.
Author/s: Wulf Francú Godgluck
Publication Date: January 2016
ISBN13: 9781311871787
Buy it from Amazon
Maria's Rating: ★★★★★
My god I love this book so much. Which is surprising, because I was very skeptical proceeding to this after reading the first installment. But man, am I SO GLAD I gave this book a chance.
The first thing I noticed is the improvement in the writing and the storytelling. I was not a big fan of Colt and Beo's book, but even from the first page of Hades' story I could easily tell that I would be in for a very good ride. The writing is solid; Wulf has a unique way of stringing words together that makes the dark and the twisted and the ugly sound... beautiful. Romantic, even. The book has a language of its own, and despite my initial misgivings, I got used to it pretty fast and ended up considering it as one of the best things about the book.
This being said, I do need to point out that following the text can be confusing at times because of the foreign words thrown here and there (so glad I took Spanish 10). I wish the glossary of terms had been added in the beginning instead; that would have made reading much easier. I also saw other readers point out that they never knew about the glossary until they finished the book, so it was pretty useless. Maybe this can be a consideration in a re-edited version? Do they still do that sort of thing?
In any case, it was around 30 pages into the book that I realized I was gonna be in love with this installment. Bears and twinks are hot, but scary, ugly, temperamental bears with cute, feisty little twinks are just so much hotter. Just imagine how happy it made me to realize that I was gonna get 300 pages of that. Literally one of the happiest moments of my life. I was practically tearing up and nearly ditched the application I was supposed to write.
I love Hades. I've been rooting for him since I first met him in Colt's book. Nothing is pretty when it comes to this guy, but that's a big part of why he appeals to me so much. He has a filthy mouth and he has absolutely no illusions when it comes to his physical appearance. Hell, he'll be the first person to admit all the bad things about himself, the way he looks, the way he lives his life, etc. He admits he probably has image issues, which I thought was really funny (I'm sorry lol). And again, that's why I like him so much: Because in the same breath, despite all the tough guy talk, he easily admits that he would be more than happy to have someone to protect and nurture and cuddle with. AND DAMN IF THAT DIDN'T WIN ME OVER. I'm a big sucker for tough guys who are softies on the inside.
Honestly, I think Hades is actually much nicer than he gives himself credit for, including but not limited to the following reasons:
1. He takes the couch and tells (orders) Rex to sleep on the bed the night he returns home after getting out of prison. It's not really a big deal, until you remember that Hades just got out of prison after four damn years, where he was tortured and beaten every single day; asked to fight to amuse the guards; and made to sleep on some filthy, dank cell. I mean, sure, the life he leads must make him quite familiar with the ugly side of everything, but it's also worth remembering that he's pretty filthy fucking rich, so it's not hard to imagine that one of the things he must have missed was the comfort of an actual bed. And, y'know, he could have been a dick about it since he owned the place anyway, but that he insisted that Rex take the bed? Totally earned him lots of brownie points.
2. He goes to a ballet boutique to get stuff for Rex. Hello? As if we'll easily forget that he scares people off with his appearance? I literally laughed out loud when it mentioned that he bumped against the damn door chime because of his height. And of course the entire experience turned out quite bad because of judgmental people, but it wasn't like he didn't expect that. And that's the thing: he knew what would happen but he still went anyway, because he wanted to give Rex something and make his boy happy. He even bought a tiara for the random little kid in the store. GUYS. He's practically screaming #boyfriend material. How can you not be onboard?
3. He treasures his family so much. From his mother we learn that he took his promise to his dad pretty seriously. He took care of his mother and sister when his dad passed away, going to school even though he wasn't interested in order to make sure that he would be able to look after his sister. Not only a thoughtful boyfriend but a damn amazing brother and son, too? Damn.
4. He cares about the members of his gang a lot. I get that it's supposed to be normal in their group, but what really made an impression on me is how these people also care about him very much. I think my favorite is actually Witch, because he blows shit up and that's hella fun. Also, let's not forget Wendigo, whose backstory we get a glimpse of in his conversation with Hades.
5. He buys Rex magnolias for no reason. Because pink for Rex's blush and white for his soul. GODDAMN IT. This guy's sweetness is gonna end me.
Rex. Rex is the son of Dean Hunter, the Old Devil Eyes and lemme tell you, it's perhaps because of this why the kid is not a fragile little flower despite his size. First of all, he has a thing for bad guys who can probably break him in half without breaking a sweat. I really don't buy his thing for that Kemono guy, because I feel like he just got stuck with Kemono and had no other options so he "fell in love" with him, but whatever. I still like Rex because although he was pretty frightened of Hades at first (we can't blame him; even Hades admits he's scary), he was able to look past all the tough guy exterior and reach out to Hades.
He's also pretty assertive when he wants to. I particularly enjoyed him calling out Hades on the whole Beo fiasco because yes, Hades has to drop that Beo chapter of his life already. God, I can't stand it when people still think about people they shouldn't think about anymore. Although I guess I'm pretty biased because I'm okay with Hades and Beo, since Hades has already accepted the fact that Beo will be with Maxus while he welcomes a future with Rex instead.
Also, shoot, I guess at this point it's pretty obvious I'm a huuuge Hades fangirl because wow I've spent so much time talking about him already. Which I guess is the reason why I can't even start to give a fuck about Kemono. I'm sorry (not) but I really couldn't pay as much attention as I should have had whenever there would be chapters from Kemono's perspective. Liiike. Can we please not deal with all his emotional baggage. I mean, look dude. You had your chance but you blew it. I'm enjoying Hades' story just fine, thank you very much. Seriously, I get upset when Rex even brings up Kemono, because, y'know. That's in the past already; let's move forward and never look back. That kind of thing.
Right, before I forget, I just need to rave about my favorite part of the book, where Hades punishes Rex for doing stupid shit while they're traveling. Spanking and all that aftercare jazz makes me want to weep with joy. For the punishment and the cuddles after. Also, mad props to Hades for being tough on Rex. Totally won me over. Wulf's writing really tugged at the feelings in that one.
If you've read the book you'll know it ends in a cliffhanger. Which is terrible for readers, so I'm really glad I read this just now, because damn, all the waiting would have killed me. At this point, I'm really, really worried about the sequel, because, like I said, I don't give a shit about Kemono. But the third book sounds like it will be about him. I mean, the title is Komainu, which is the lion-dog statues that you see when you go to Shinto shrines in Japan. AND THAT WORRIES ME. A LOT. Does it mean we get to see more of Kemono? Because, again, seriously, I can't even begin to give a fuck. I'm here for Hades. I swear, I'd be really, really upset if Hades gets sidelined UGH THAT WOULD BE TERRIBLE.
Also, what's that bullshit in the blurb from Hades' perspective that "he [Rex?] will choose another man"?? I DON'T NEED THAT NEGATIVITY IN MY LIFE. Also oh my god Rex you make me want to tear my hair out I hate it so much when a person can't make up their mind about who they're in love with just please fucking pick Hades.
Fingers crossed that the third book won't be menage because I hate that shit and I'm already super invested in Hades and Rex together.
But hey, all my pessimism aside, I'm giving five solid stars to this second installment. And yup, in case you missed it: I really totally love Hades and hopes he gets a spectacular happy ever after.
The first thing I noticed is the improvement in the writing and the storytelling. I was not a big fan of Colt and Beo's book, but even from the first page of Hades' story I could easily tell that I would be in for a very good ride. The writing is solid; Wulf has a unique way of stringing words together that makes the dark and the twisted and the ugly sound... beautiful. Romantic, even. The book has a language of its own, and despite my initial misgivings, I got used to it pretty fast and ended up considering it as one of the best things about the book.
This being said, I do need to point out that following the text can be confusing at times because of the foreign words thrown here and there (so glad I took Spanish 10). I wish the glossary of terms had been added in the beginning instead; that would have made reading much easier. I also saw other readers point out that they never knew about the glossary until they finished the book, so it was pretty useless. Maybe this can be a consideration in a re-edited version? Do they still do that sort of thing?
In any case, it was around 30 pages into the book that I realized I was gonna be in love with this installment. Bears and twinks are hot, but scary, ugly, temperamental bears with cute, feisty little twinks are just so much hotter. Just imagine how happy it made me to realize that I was gonna get 300 pages of that. Literally one of the happiest moments of my life. I was practically tearing up and nearly ditched the application I was supposed to write.
I love Hades. I've been rooting for him since I first met him in Colt's book. Nothing is pretty when it comes to this guy, but that's a big part of why he appeals to me so much. He has a filthy mouth and he has absolutely no illusions when it comes to his physical appearance. Hell, he'll be the first person to admit all the bad things about himself, the way he looks, the way he lives his life, etc. He admits he probably has image issues, which I thought was really funny (I'm sorry lol). And again, that's why I like him so much: Because in the same breath, despite all the tough guy talk, he easily admits that he would be more than happy to have someone to protect and nurture and cuddle with. AND DAMN IF THAT DIDN'T WIN ME OVER. I'm a big sucker for tough guys who are softies on the inside.
Honestly, I think Hades is actually much nicer than he gives himself credit for, including but not limited to the following reasons:
1. He takes the couch and tells (orders) Rex to sleep on the bed the night he returns home after getting out of prison. It's not really a big deal, until you remember that Hades just got out of prison after four damn years, where he was tortured and beaten every single day; asked to fight to amuse the guards; and made to sleep on some filthy, dank cell. I mean, sure, the life he leads must make him quite familiar with the ugly side of everything, but it's also worth remembering that he's pretty filthy fucking rich, so it's not hard to imagine that one of the things he must have missed was the comfort of an actual bed. And, y'know, he could have been a dick about it since he owned the place anyway, but that he insisted that Rex take the bed? Totally earned him lots of brownie points.
2. He goes to a ballet boutique to get stuff for Rex. Hello? As if we'll easily forget that he scares people off with his appearance? I literally laughed out loud when it mentioned that he bumped against the damn door chime because of his height. And of course the entire experience turned out quite bad because of judgmental people, but it wasn't like he didn't expect that. And that's the thing: he knew what would happen but he still went anyway, because he wanted to give Rex something and make his boy happy. He even bought a tiara for the random little kid in the store. GUYS. He's practically screaming #boyfriend material. How can you not be onboard?
3. He treasures his family so much. From his mother we learn that he took his promise to his dad pretty seriously. He took care of his mother and sister when his dad passed away, going to school even though he wasn't interested in order to make sure that he would be able to look after his sister. Not only a thoughtful boyfriend but a damn amazing brother and son, too? Damn.
4. He cares about the members of his gang a lot. I get that it's supposed to be normal in their group, but what really made an impression on me is how these people also care about him very much. I think my favorite is actually Witch, because he blows shit up and that's hella fun. Also, let's not forget Wendigo, whose backstory we get a glimpse of in his conversation with Hades.
5. He buys Rex magnolias for no reason. Because pink for Rex's blush and white for his soul. GODDAMN IT. This guy's sweetness is gonna end me.
Rex. Rex is the son of Dean Hunter, the Old Devil Eyes and lemme tell you, it's perhaps because of this why the kid is not a fragile little flower despite his size. First of all, he has a thing for bad guys who can probably break him in half without breaking a sweat. I really don't buy his thing for that Kemono guy, because I feel like he just got stuck with Kemono and had no other options so he "fell in love" with him, but whatever. I still like Rex because although he was pretty frightened of Hades at first (we can't blame him; even Hades admits he's scary), he was able to look past all the tough guy exterior and reach out to Hades.
He's also pretty assertive when he wants to. I particularly enjoyed him calling out Hades on the whole Beo fiasco because yes, Hades has to drop that Beo chapter of his life already. God, I can't stand it when people still think about people they shouldn't think about anymore. Although I guess I'm pretty biased because I'm okay with Hades and Beo, since Hades has already accepted the fact that Beo will be with Maxus while he welcomes a future with Rex instead.
Also, shoot, I guess at this point it's pretty obvious I'm a huuuge Hades fangirl because wow I've spent so much time talking about him already. Which I guess is the reason why I can't even start to give a fuck about Kemono. I'm sorry (not) but I really couldn't pay as much attention as I should have had whenever there would be chapters from Kemono's perspective. Liiike. Can we please not deal with all his emotional baggage. I mean, look dude. You had your chance but you blew it. I'm enjoying Hades' story just fine, thank you very much. Seriously, I get upset when Rex even brings up Kemono, because, y'know. That's in the past already; let's move forward and never look back. That kind of thing.
Right, before I forget, I just need to rave about my favorite part of the book, where Hades punishes Rex for doing stupid shit while they're traveling. Spanking and all that aftercare jazz makes me want to weep with joy. For the punishment and the cuddles after. Also, mad props to Hades for being tough on Rex. Totally won me over. Wulf's writing really tugged at the feelings in that one.
If you've read the book you'll know it ends in a cliffhanger. Which is terrible for readers, so I'm really glad I read this just now, because damn, all the waiting would have killed me. At this point, I'm really, really worried about the sequel, because, like I said, I don't give a shit about Kemono. But the third book sounds like it will be about him. I mean, the title is Komainu, which is the lion-dog statues that you see when you go to Shinto shrines in Japan. AND THAT WORRIES ME. A LOT. Does it mean we get to see more of Kemono? Because, again, seriously, I can't even begin to give a fuck. I'm here for Hades. I swear, I'd be really, really upset if Hades gets sidelined UGH THAT WOULD BE TERRIBLE.
Also, what's that bullshit in the blurb from Hades' perspective that "he [Rex?] will choose another man"?? I DON'T NEED THAT NEGATIVITY IN MY LIFE. Also oh my god Rex you make me want to tear my hair out I hate it so much when a person can't make up their mind about who they're in love with just please fucking pick Hades.
Fingers crossed that the third book won't be menage because I hate that shit and I'm already super invested in Hades and Rex together.
But hey, all my pessimism aside, I'm giving five solid stars to this second installment. And yup, in case you missed it: I really totally love Hades and hopes he gets a spectacular happy ever after.
Sigh... do I love this review so fucking hard!!!!!!!!!!! You just made my year!!! Thank you so much :) And in advance I'm sorry.
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