Review: Master of Seduction

Masters of Seduction (Masters of Seduction #1-4)

by Lara Adrian, Donna Grant, Laura Wright , Alexandra Ivy 

Blurb:

Surrender to sinful pleasures and forbidden passions with Masters of Seduction, the sizzling new paranormal romance novella series from New York Times and internationally bestselling authors Lara Adrian, Donna Grant, Laura Wright and Alexandra Ivy.

In the realm of the Incubi Masters, pleasure is to die for and love is the deadliest game of all . . .

MERCILESS: House of Gravor ~ by Lara Adrian

Seeking vengeance for the murder of his brother, Incubus Master Devlin Gravori demands justice from the high court of the Nephilim. But fury and retribution are no match for the consuming desire he feels for Nahiri, the beautiful Nephilim warrior he claims as his hostage.

SOULLESS: House of Romerac ~ by Donna Grant

Incubus Master Canaan Romerac is focused solely on revenge against those who betrayed him and put him in the Oubliette for five hundred years. That is until he sets eyes on Rayna. Can the beautiful Nephilim heal Canaan’s wounded soul before it’s too late?

SHAMELESS: House of Vipera ~ by Laura Wright

Sexy Incubus Master Scarus Vipera has grown weak, and the only thing that will strengthen him again is Rosamund, the power-rich female of the Harem. But the mysterious Nephilim is determined to leave the Harem untouched, her heart intact.

RUTHLESS: House of Xanthe ~ by Alexandra Ivy

Jian, Master of the House Xanthe, has devoted his life to returning his family to their former prominence. When he’s offered a contract to hunt down the missing Sovereign, he’s eager to accept. The last thing he expects is to encounter a stunningly beautiful angel who stirs more than his lust

Themes: paranormal, anthology

Rating: 4.75 stars

Heat Rating: 

Review:

There is a new trend that many romance readers may have noticed—authors teaming up on new series that are continuous stories instead of just having a theme to make an anthology.  In the case of Masters of Seduction, four of my all-time favorite paranormal romance authors have teamed up for a fabulous series revolving around Incubi and the sexiness that entails the lives of male sex demons.  Really, can you go wrong with something like that? I don’t think so.  But these authors were just the women to bring us this series and take us into this amazing and detailed world.  Generally, in an anthology, I would break down each story, but the flow between these stories is so easy and well done that it could be read as a continuous story, so I’ll just give you my overall opinion. 

All four stories revolve around the Master of one of the seven houses (or families you could say) of Incubi.  Each Master faces a challenge as he meets the female that is to be his mate.  Each meeting has its own interesting twist and they are so original that I am not sure how they can top it in the next round of stories. One male meets his love in a warrior that he kidnaps, another when he is seeking revenge, another when he visits the harem to find a simple bedmate, and not the least one finds his mate in an angel that runs the prison that he breaks IN to.  Each female has a strength of character and just the right level of softness to counter the aggressive male they mate with, without being awed by the fact that they are the all powerful sex demons.  Each of the Masters has his own issues to deal with and it is obvious that their power comes not just from their level of demonic power but also from their abilities to anticipate and defeat all challenges that come their way.

The plot lines of each individual story seem very different, but as the stories progress the revelations of each story become more and more important and in the final story everything comes together in a big “AH HA” moment for the reader.  I am really looking forward to where these authors take the story in the future and cannot wait to see how these badass demons come together to kick some butt. 

Having sex demons as the hero in each story, it goes without saying there was plenty of passion, but I shall say it anyway.  HOLY SMOKES, these guys are hotter than hell. (Forgive the pun)  Each of the men has their own style of seduction, but as the females resist them, it becomes more of a challenge for each of them.  As is often the case the increase in the challenge, increases the desirability, but I felt a small amount of fate working in each case, because otherwise I cannot see how too such disparate characters could come together in such perfection.  Opposites attract is more than an understatement here. 

The world building was also interesting, showing me that there could be many more stories to come.  There were so many openings for future Heroes, future plots and the possibility of making the world even more complex.  In the end it was the combination all the subtley different voices of each author, I think, that made the story as a whole completely so great, not just each individual novella. There is sensuality, drama, danger, love and affection.  There was even a bit of familial attachment formed for a few of the characters, giving the family feel a more rounded appeal.  This was certainly a twist on a lot of the demonology I have encountered in other stories and I cannot wait to learn even more.   Four of my favorite authors have come together to dazzle my senses and ensure that I will fall in love with their new world and crave my own Master of Seduction.

*eARC provided by publisher (via netgalley) for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review.  No compensation was provided.