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A review by agrippinaes
Her Soul for Revenge by Harley Laroux
5.0
Rating: 5 stars
What I Liked: This book grew on me. Harley Laroux’s writing style is really lovely - its engaging and personable whilst also still being beautifully descriptive, and there’s a sense of humour in her work that always takes me by surprise. I also think the horror elements of this novel were really strong: it was so creepy in parts, and her descriptions of monsters are so horrifying and believable. There was a lot of worldbuilding in this that I enjoyed, and I liked the depth that it went into explaining more about how the world of demons works in this universe.
I liked both main characters. Juniper was such a great heroine - she was so fierce and determined about everything, and I also loved how her trauma was handled through the book. It was beautifully done and I loved that the message, at the end of it, was that she still deserved love and happiness despite her trauma telling her she didn’t. There were some parts towards the end that made me tear up. I just really appreciated that Juniper was allowed to be this incredibly messy character who sometimes made bad choices, or at least not very sensible ones. She felt like a very real character.
Zane was also such a nice change of hero from Leon, the hero of the previous novel. I loved his weirdness, his laidback personality, his jokes, his sense of humour, but how that contrasted with the fact he’s genuinely a dangerous creature, more powerful than a lot of the other characters in the story.
I enjoyed the dynamic between the two of them. I didn’t enjoy it as much as the one between Leon and Raelynn from Her Soul To Take, but really that’s just personal preference. It was still incredibly hot, their chemistry was super strong, and their bond felt very, very real to me. The sex scenes in this book are very well-written and are just deliciously filthy. Zane and Juniper were so well-matched in so many ways, and despite all the heaviness in the story, they seemed to have so much genuine fun in each other’s company that it really lightened the tone. But they also had such a lovely relationship in a lot of ways: I loved how protective and caring Zane was with her, and her to him in turn - I also liked that Zane wanting to take on the burden of killing Jeremiah at the end had little to do with the usual overprotective man stance and was more to do with him wanting to lighten Juniper’s burdens, to make things easier for her. I loved how often and loudly he acknowledged that she had suffered so badly, after so many years of everyone else in her life telling her she was imagining things. His validation of her feelings worked so well and made me feel really emotional in parts. That whole scene on the beach after the fighting is done was just beautiful, so soft and tender.
I also liked the emphasis on consent in the demon world -
Other notes - loved the glimpses of Everly and Callum and I cannot wait for their story; the Watcher was such a creepy and sinister addition, and the final few chapters of this novel showed real skill on Harley’s part in how she constructed the final denouement. It was a real thrill ride towards the end and my heart was in my mouth wondering how on Earth they were going to make it out of it alive.
What I Didn’t: As I said earlier, this book did grow on me. I really liked it from the start, but I think if I hadn’t read anything by this author before I might not have continued. I found it a little bit slower at points and I didn’t enjoy the dynamic between Zane and Juniper as much in the first half of the book. But by the end, I was all in.
Overall: This just a very, very good book. It’s entertaining, it’s funny, it’s thrilling; there’s some really great and creepy horror writing, the sex is super hot and very well-written, the characters are realistic and such good fun. Yes, I wasn’t initially as invested in it as I thought I would be, but it really won me over by the end and I thought the way the novel handled Juniper’s trauma, and how it showed Zane clearly and repeatedly validating her and checking in on her, was really beautifully done.
Would I Recommend It?: Yes, if you’re looking for a well-written horror romance with BDSM elements, but check the content warnings.
Would I Read Something By The Author Again?: Yes.
Content Notes:.
Other On page sex, unsafe sex (no condom use), knife play, gun play, body modification including piercing and scarification, derogatory language / degradation play, flogging, blood, public play, voyeurism, bondage, primal play.
What I Liked: This book grew on me. Harley Laroux’s writing style is really lovely - its engaging and personable whilst also still being beautifully descriptive, and there’s a sense of humour in her work that always takes me by surprise. I also think the horror elements of this novel were really strong: it was so creepy in parts, and her descriptions of monsters are so horrifying and believable. There was a lot of worldbuilding in this that I enjoyed, and I liked the depth that it went into explaining more about how the world of demons works in this universe.
I liked both main characters. Juniper was such a great heroine - she was so fierce and determined about everything, and I also loved how her trauma was handled through the book. It was beautifully done and I loved that the message, at the end of it, was that she still deserved love and happiness despite her trauma telling her she didn’t. There were some parts towards the end that made me tear up. I just really appreciated that Juniper was allowed to be this incredibly messy character who sometimes made bad choices, or at least not very sensible ones. She felt like a very real character.
Zane was also such a nice change of hero from Leon, the hero of the previous novel. I loved his weirdness, his laidback personality, his jokes, his sense of humour, but how that contrasted with the fact he’s genuinely a dangerous creature, more powerful than a lot of the other characters in the story.
I enjoyed the dynamic between the two of them. I didn’t enjoy it as much as the one between Leon and Raelynn from Her Soul To Take, but really that’s just personal preference. It was still incredibly hot, their chemistry was super strong, and their bond felt very, very real to me. The sex scenes in this book are very well-written and are just deliciously filthy. Zane and Juniper were so well-matched in so many ways, and despite all the heaviness in the story, they seemed to have so much genuine fun in each other’s company that it really lightened the tone.
Spoiler
Also - I’ve got to say, I really never thought I would enjoy a scene of sex-on-top-of-man-we’ve-just-murdered, but Harley really pulled that off.Spoiler
I particularly enjoyed Zane’s fury when she was attacked by the Eldbeasts, and how he said he never wanted to hear her scream like that again.I also liked the emphasis on consent in the demon world -
Spoiler
this really came through in Her Soul to Take, too, but the scene in the demon club was one of the best in the whole novel.Other notes - loved the glimpses of Everly and Callum and I cannot wait for their story; the Watcher was such a creepy and sinister addition, and the final few chapters of this novel showed real skill on Harley’s part in how she constructed the final denouement. It was a real thrill ride towards the end and my heart was in my mouth wondering how on Earth they were going to make it out of it alive.
What I Didn’t: As I said earlier, this book did grow on me. I really liked it from the start, but I think if I hadn’t read anything by this author before I might not have continued. I found it a little bit slower at points and I didn’t enjoy the dynamic between Zane and Juniper as much in the first half of the book. But by the end, I was all in.
Overall: This just a very, very good book. It’s entertaining, it’s funny, it’s thrilling; there’s some really great and creepy horror writing, the sex is super hot and very well-written, the characters are realistic and such good fun. Yes, I wasn’t initially as invested in it as I thought I would be, but it really won me over by the end and I thought the way the novel handled Juniper’s trauma, and how it showed Zane clearly and repeatedly validating her and checking in on her, was really beautifully done.
Would I Recommend It?: Yes, if you’re looking for a well-written horror romance with BDSM elements, but check the content warnings.
Would I Read Something By The Author Again?: Yes.
Content Notes:
Spoiler
Warnings: Violence, blood, gore, cults, torture, murder (on page), drug use (on page, by main characters), death of a loved one (in story), death of a parent (in past), grief, scenes of trauma, anxiety, PTSD, mentions of suicide and domestic violence, descriptions of a corpse, vomiting, drink spiking, forced institutionalisationSpoiler
Heroine was committed to a psychiatric hospital against her will.Other On page sex, unsafe sex (no condom use), knife play, gun play, body modification including piercing and scarification, derogatory language / degradation play, flogging, blood, public play, voyeurism, bondage, primal play.