Opal Reyne

All Reia ever wanted was freedom.Known as a harbinger of bad omens and blamed for Demons eating her family, Reia is shunned by her entire village. When the next offering is due and the monstrous Duskwalker is seen heading their way, her village offers her an impossible choice - be thrown into the prison cells or allow herself to be sacrificed to a faceless monster.However, he is not what he seems. His skull face and glow eyes are ethereal, and she finds herself unwittingly enchanted by him.All Orpheus ever wanted was a companion.Each decade, in exchange for a protection ward from the Demons that terrorise the world, Orpheus takes a human offering to the Veil - the place he lives and the home of Demons. The brief companionship does little to ease his loneliness, and their lives were always, unfortunately, cut short.He'd thought it was a hopeless endeavour, until he met her. She's not afraid of him, and his insatiable desire deepens within every moment of her presence.But will Orpheus be able to convince Reia to stay before she's lost to him forever?

Duskwalker Brides: Book 1

A Soul to Keep

mila

“Come, little human.” He gestured his hand out to present more of his left arm for her. “Let me melt your heart.”

Another speck of drool dripped onto her cheek as the crunching of snow crackled in her ears from his snout and round pointed jaw pressing into it. His tongue was now resting firmly against her cheek.

Reia felt a cut of fear slash through her, and a laugh slipped past her quivering lips. An unhinged, panicked laugh. 

. Watching his open maw preparing to crush her entire skull, in what she was sure would be a single chop, to kill her was unbelievably unsettling.

She laughed more when her giggle echoed back through the crevice of his mouth as though she was answering herself from beyond the grave.

is this supposed to have a double meaning or am i too perverted for my own sake

“I can toy with you freely when I am home. Here is not safe for a human who does not wear protection, nor comfortable.”

i may have giggled and kicked my feet a little

A yelp tore from her aching lungs when he picked her up, lifting her off the ground and into the air by her waist.

“What are you doing?” she asked when he settled her backside into the crook of his elbow with his arm curling around her mid-section to hold onto her.

His hand spanned her side right below her breast, cupping her ribcage firmly to make sure she wouldn’t fall.

“You’re complaining that I am too fast, and you are too cold walking in the snow.” She looked towards him to find that he was already staring up at her, his glowing eyes blue once more. “I do not wish to slow down. I will carry you.”

SNOWY ONE… that’s kinda cute i like him

Is she angry with me or the other humans? 

“To help protect my people,” she answered through gritted teeth. He tilted his head when he was in front of her once more, looking at her clenched jaw and creased brows. 

“Yes. You will do.” He brought his gloved hand out from his cloak and offered it to her. “You will become my newest human, snowy one.”

“We wanted to make sure we appeased you, is all.” 

Orpheus placed the blonde-haired woman named Reia on the ground and twisted his head at her while examining her once more. 

. He could see she wasn’t missing any limbs and didn’t have the look of deathly sicknesses that seeped from the skins of humans. 

“I did not ask you,” Orpheus said, letting his voice come out as a deep growl. 

“I am standing here, aren’t I?” she said up to him, rubbing her neck before frowning at her hand as though she couldn’t fathom why him holding her hadn’t hurt.

Excellent plot and creativity, writing needs some work. Love the innocence of the Duskwalker & Reia’s patience. 

Kristen Savage

Primero que nada quiero empezar diciendo que este libro lo leí porque me recordó un poco al anime de Mahoutsukai no Yome, Orpheus me hizo pensar en Elias y me dije ¿Por qué no? El asunto es que, no es igual ni de cerca, además de unas breves similitudes quizá. Creo que por momentos la historia sí me atrapó un poquitín, sentí en más de una oportunidad pena por Orpheus, fue un personaje ignorante en muchos aspectos, muy literal en otros, y claramente aunque siente, en realidad no puede entender del todo sus emociones y las del resto. No soy mucho de Monsterlove, pero una vez al año no hace daño.

Mara Jane

Surprisingly good for what it is. Some parts were awkwardly worded or the wrong words were used for the context. 

Alyssa deRaad

Scarlett

Estuvo raro pero no tan mal
Si me perturbo un poco sus momentos de bachata horizontal pero bueno

(Before my review, I'd like to state that this book is 18+!! As is this review.

First off, let me say how much I loved this book!! It was a little borderline cliche only because it followed a kidnapper/stockholm syndrome trope. However, the author wrote this story so beautifully that I didn't really mind it! I love fantasy and romance. Even more, I love me some smut!! This book has so many smutty and delicious scenes. It got to a point where I could only read this book at home because MY GOD it was that good!! Unfortunately, I have discovered something about myself from reading this book. Thanks to Opal Reyne, I now know I am a monster f*cker. Not only that, much like Reia, I FELT for Orpheus. He's so goddamn sweet and blissfully ignorant. I definitely grew attach to this character she created. In the beginning, every time Reia wanted to leave, I was screaming at her not to. 

The only downside to this book was the end. It was abrupt that Reia got kidnapped and it was revealed that Katherine was wanting to kill Orpheus. I feel like there could have been more. It was over with too quickly. As was the book. I mean, Reia gives him her soul as she's dying, then becomes a phantom, and then the book is over. I would have LOVED a book two continuing on with their story. 

Overall, I loved this book and how smutty it was.

FMC and MMC have a cute relationship. It does remind me of the Ancient Magus Bride with some of their interactions. 

Interesting concept. I like the Beauty and the Beast esque stories. I think the beginning had a lot of promise.

Length of the novel. I can read a long book; don't get me wrong. But 600 pages with only two characters getting any real development and there's no major worldbuilding is unnecessary. I think this could have benefitted from some scenes being cut.

Not enough worldbuilding. There are some kernels of a great concept here with things like the Veil or the Demons becoming more intelligent by eating humans. I think these being explored more (especially since it was almost 600 pages) and could've fleshed out the world. 

Typos and other writing errors. I believe this book could have benefitted from another round of editing. For example, a character is described as 'massive and large' when only one of these descriptives would be necessary or another scene where 'revolution' is used to describe a reveal when I think it was intended to be 'revulsion'. 

Modernisms and phrases. This might be nitpicky but in a fantasy setting, please don't use things like 'stockholm syndrome.' Our FMC also uses terms like 'peaches and cream' or 'freaking.' Phrases like these can take some readers out of a fantasy setting.

Genre: Monster-Romance, Fantasy Romance.

What I Liked:

FMC and MMC have a cute relationship. It does remind me of the Ancient Magus Bride with some of their interactions. 

Interesting concept. I like the Beauty and the Beast esque stories. I think the beginning had a lot of promise.

Smut was decent.

What I Didn't Like:

Length of the novel. I can read a long book; don't get me wrong. But 600 pages with only two characters getting any real development and there's no major worldbuilding is unnecessary. I think this could have benefitted from some scenes being cut.

Not enough worldbuilding. There are some kernels of a great concept here with things like the Veil or the Demons becoming more intelligent by eating humans. I think these being explored more (especially since it was almost 600 pages) and could've fleshed out the world. 

Typos and other writing errors. I believe this book could have benefitted from another round of editing. For example, a character is described as 'massive and large' when only one of these descriptives would be necessary or another scene where 'revolution' is used to describe a reveal when I think it was intended to be 'revulsion'. 

Modernisms and phrases. This might be nitpicky but in a fantasy setting, please don't use things like 'stockholm syndrome.' Our FMC also uses terms like 'peaches and cream' or 'freaking.' Phrases like these can take some readers out of a fantasy setting.

Lydia Enge

Geni

honestly , it was so easy to read and you just fell in love with the characters, if you like anime and especially a fan of The ancient magnus bride, than go for it. You will love it!

Amanda Autumn Berrey

Looking for Love in all the Wrong Dust Jackets

What's a soul when you can have monster at your beck and call?
Spice Rating - 3.5
Dani - 3.5
Liz - 3.5
Wiggles - 3.5

Romance Rating - 3
Dani - 3.5
Liz - 3
Wiggles - 2.5

Overall Rating- 3.3
Dani - 4
Liz - 4
Wiggles - 2

Cici Pearson

Glenda

so i really liked this one but the ONE thing that took me away from giving it 4 stars was... there was like barely any worldbuilding. I was expecting this cool monster (fucker jdhkhdkjj) fantasy romance and then when any of the characters tried to explain anything about the world the reasoning was always "just because" or "why does anything happen in this magical world?" lol and that really took me out of it. Reia and Orpheus were great but the other characters were just sort of....there. It kinda dragged in some parts too imo... so yeah 3 stars for me. I was surprised by the 4.2 rating and that's why i picked it up so I guess I just expected too much lol

Does what the label says, monster-smut with hardly any depth or deeper world building. Although I heard the other books will do more of that.  Aim female character was a bit annoying 

Rabia Sitabi

I have been in the worst reading slump since I begun reading again and this book took me out of it. I needed a different romance than what I normally read & I'm so glad I picked this one. The characters were really engaging & I was rooting for the monster the entire time. 😭 this gave me the motivation to finish my current reads! 

alexandra 

Super f****** weird, I liked the premise but I wasn't prepared at all for this book. Definitely an interesting read

Cameryn Wright

I’m so confused but like, okay? It’s not really my thing but it’s not a bad book I suppose 🤷🏻‍♀️

Caitlin Russell

I am not usually a fan of monster focused books but I really liked this one. Once it got to the 2/3 plot point I got nervous for the characters and stopped reading lol. But I picked it up again and I’m glad i finished it, very cute ending

Sydney Lawson

If you liked the manga/anime The Ancient Magus’ Bride, read this. And if you haven’t, still read this. It’s one of the best paranormal/fantasy romances I have ever read and for me is right up there with the ACOTAR series. I cannot wait for her second book in this series to come out. Also note, while this book has an amazing story line that had me up until dawn reading it to find out what happens, it also has a good amount of spice so be warned. Read it!

A Soul to Keep Duskwalker Brides: Book 1

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