1) Darkling
2) Undertow


content warnings: death, blood magic, blood play, discussions of past abusive relationship, past infidelity
representation: main m/m relationship, gay main character, mlm main character, bisexual main character, non-binary side characters, sapphic side character of colour


“You say my name like a prayer.”


Brooklyn Ray just keeps killing it with these books! This is a side novella in the Port Lewis series and follows Michael, a human who has just moved to Port Lewis with his sister to start college. The house they move into is kind of creepy and turns out that that's because there's a demon inhabiting it; a really hot demon that Michael ends up fucking.

Let's start there: this main relationship is so cute. I was expecting some kinky monsterfucking, and you do get that, but there are so many sweet moments between Michael and Victor where they're just cuddling or baking and it made me feel real soft. Their relationship does happen very quickly - as in, by chapter two they're already fucking - but your feelings on that are really going to depend on whether you buy into it or not, which I did.

The sex was also So! Good! We already knew that Brooklyn Ray could write a killer sex scene, but she's outdone herself with these ones. They're kinky as hell (lot's of bloodplay, even for Brooklyn Ray's usual standards) and are genuinely some of the best I've ever read. There's also really good BDSM etiquette in this, though, with normalisation and use of a safe word, depictions and discussions of sub drop, aftercare, and explicit consent given. I'm going to hold all new adult smut to an entire new standard and it's all Brooklyn Ray's fault.

There are a few new side characters introduced in this with Janice, Michael's sister, and Corey, their roommate, and while neither were anything spectacular I still enjoyed them whenever they were on the page. Janice and Michael's dynamic in particular I really liked; they have a strained relationship but both desperately just want to reconnect with the other one, and I loved it. There are also cameos from familiar Port Lewis characters, most notably Thalia towards the end, and that was fun.

I can't get over how great these books are! They're witchy, sexy and diverse, and I love 'em with my whole heart and soul. If any of that appeals to you and you haven't picked this series up yet, you need to right now because they genuinely are fantastic!


I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.