From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Larissa Ione, comes HAWKYN, a passionate and spellbinding novella from the Demonica Underworld Series, brought to you by 1,001 Dark Nights! Grab your copy today!
About HAWKYN
From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Larissa Ione comes a new story in her Demonica Underworld series…
As a special class of earthbound guardian angel called Memitim, Hawkyn is charged with protecting those whose lives are woven into the fabric of the future. His success is legendary, so when he’s given a serial killer to watch over, he sees no reason for that to change. But Hawkyn’s own future is jeopardized after he breaks the rules and rescues a beautiful woman from the killer’s clutches, setting off an explosive, demonic game of cat and mouse that pits brother against brother and that won’t end until someone dies.
Aurora Mercer is the half-wytch lone survivor of a psychopath who gets off on the sadistic torture of his victims. A psychopath whose obsessive psyche won’t let him move on until he kills her. Now she’s marked for death, her fate tied to that of a murderer…and to a sexy angel who makes her blood burn with desire…
**Every 1001 Dark Nights novella is a standalone story. For new readers, it’s an introduction to an author’s world. And for fans, it’s a bonus book in the author’s series. We hope you’ll enjoy each one as much as we do.**
Amazon | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon AU
Download the Free Kindle App
Review
Hawkyn finds himself in quite the difficult position in the latest novella from Larissa Ione’s Demonica Underworld series; as a Memitim, it is his duty to protect his Primori, but when that person ends up being a serial killer, hell bent on claiming his only victim who got away, Hawkyn is torn between his obligation and the half-wytch female who makes him yearn for his own piece of heaven here on Earth before he earns his way to the pearly gates.
The dynamics that Hawkyn must contend with due to his precarious situation plays out well throughout the story; it’s clear from their initial interaction that Hawkyn and Aurora are not only physically attracted to one another but fill a void that they never knew they had. The progression of their relationship is at the perfect pace given the circumstances of their first meeting and what’s at stake for both of them as they work together to protect Aurora’s life and figure out how Hawkyn can still accomplish his mission without jeopardizing the woman who has come to mean everything to him.
Hawkyn is quite the complex angel; as Azagoth’s son, he’s completely badass and alpha male to his core, but there’s also another side to him…the one that works hard to gain his entry into heaven, not only for himself, but for his family who means everything to him. His feelings for Aurora are definitely a game changer but what that means for his mission as well as his place in heaven still has to be discovered because even though his course has changed, a bit, it’s clear Hawkyn is torn by honor and duty as well as his newly developed feelings for someone who is supposed to be forbidden.
I would say that what builds between Hawkyn and Aurora is a slow burn of attraction. Trust is a huge issue at the beginning and Aurora has every right to question Hawkyn’s true nature as well as his task when it comes to her and the serial killer he’s supposed to protect. There are an immense amount of obstacles and complications that continually threaten to drive Hawkyn and Aurora apart, so what becomes of their attraction as well as Hawkyn’s decisions when it comes to his Primori and the woman he wants to claim are the very things that play out amidst the pages of this novella.
I’m a huge fan of paranormal romance, but I don’t get a lot of opportunity to read it based on a variety of reasons. So, anytime I can delve into a fantastical world, I always enjoy the journey. Ione has built an amazing world for her supernatural characters to roam and experience in the Demonica Underworld, and she’s done it in a way that allows new readers to understand the setting, its inhabitants and the risks that are involved for all of the characters who have very particular skillsets and objectives when it comes to their time on Earth and their time elsewhere. I’ve read several of the books in the series and each time, I’m struck by how easy it is to visualize the world I’m exploring and who these supernatural beings truly are, and there hasn’t been one story that hasn’t made me want to reenter this world every chance I get.
4 Poison Apples
Excerpt
The best thing about grocery shopping at midnight was that the stores were relatively quiet. As someone sensitive to life-force energy, Aurora Mercer liked that.
But sometimes the lack of activity wasn’t a good thing.
Like now, as she walked her groceries out to her car. Fog common to Portland, Oregon in the fall had rolled in, obscuring everything farther than about forty feet out. She’d parked her dark blue Mercedes close to the building and under a light, but as she opened the rear door she was unnerved to see a black van pull next to her, blocking her faint view of the store-and blocking employee views of her.
The van’s windows were blacked out.
She laughed nervously. It was probably nothing. Serial killers didn’t drive anything so obvious, right?
Right?
Still, she picked up her pace, not caring that she was all but throwing her groceries in the back seat and food was spilling everywhere. She could salvage the cherries on the floor when she got home, and raspberry juice stains on cream leather wouldn’t look that bad.
Not as bad as blood.
She finished and slammed the door closed. But shit…the cart corral was several stalls away. Her heart started racing at the thought of getting that far from her car and the light. Screw it, she could leave the cart here. She hated when people did that, but avoiding death was as good an excuse as any to be lazy.
Hastily she pushed the cart in front of her car, secured it over a concrete tire block-
“Fog’s bad, isn’t it?”
She spun around with a startled yelp. An attractive man, maybe six-four with a
Celtic cross tattoo on his neck, stood between her and her driver side door. How had he gotten there so fast?
Stay calm.
Easier said than done, but she’d give it a shot. “Excuse me,” she said firmly. “I’m in a hurry.”
He didn’t budge. “I’m sure you are.”
As casually as she could, she reached into her purse for her keys and the attached canister of pepper spray, but as she fished around she realized she’d left them on her back seat. Her heart skipped a beat and then pounded so fast and hard she could feel it in her ears.
Deep breaths. You don’t have your pepper spray, but you aren’t weaponless.
The man smiled as if he knew she’d come up empty of pepper spray and was happy about it. “Problem? Something I can help you with?”
“No. Thank you.” She dredged up a smile of her own and prayed it looked genuine and not like she was scared out of her mind. “If you’ll step aside, I’ll just go-”
She broke off as, out of the corner of her eye, she detected movement. Another man-shaped shadow stepped out of the fog behind the van, and her throat constricted with terror.
About Larissa Ione
Larissa Ione is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. An Air Force veteran, she traded in a career as a meteorologist to pursue her passion of writing. She now spends her days in pajamas with her computer, strong coffee, and supernatural worlds. She believes in celebrating everything, and would never be caught without a bottle of Champagne chilling in the fridge…just in case. She currently lives in Wisconsin with her U.S. Coast Guard husband, her teenage son, a rescue cat named Vegas, and her very own hellhound, a King Shepherd named Hexe.
Website | Facebook |Twitter | 1001 Dark Nights
Head of the class…
A hot and hilarious new standalone from New York Times bestseller Kendall Ryan.
A New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of more than two dozen titles, Kendall Ryan has sold over 1.5 million books and her books have been translated into several languages in countries around the world. She’s a traditionally published author with Simon & Schuster and Harper Collins UK, as well as an independently published author. Since she first began self-publishing in 2012, she’s appeared at #1 on Barnes & Noble and iBooks charts around the world. Her books have also appeared on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists more than three dozen times. Ryan has been featured in such publications as USA Today, Newsweek, and InTouch Magazine.
Fairest Of All Book Reviews 