Monster Without Mercy

Cynthia Eden

Blurb:

Anyone can be tempted…

Xavier Hollow is the king of destruction. A shifter, a vampire, a demon—every nightmare you have—all rolled into one very smoking hot package. Xavier snaps his fingers, and the world falls at his feet. His enemies tremble in fear. And the women who want him? They tremble with yearning. Life (and death) is one fabulous ride…until a certain very old curse kicks in for him. A curse that threatens to take away all of his dark power.

He needs someone good…to fall for him. STAT.

Three days. That’s how long Xavier has to tempt one Mercy Josephine. Innocent, pure, the actual descendant of an angel, she’s all the things that normally give him hives—literally. He’s allergic to good and just can’t stand it. Committing a “good” act causes Xavier physical pain. The bigger the act, the more intense his suffering. But, for Mercy, he’ll have to pretend to be someone very, very different. Someone who is—unfortunately and ever-so-disgustingly—good.

He’ll corrupt her. She’ll save him.

A simple enough task. Go to the costume ball. Charm the modern-day princess. Get her to sacrifice her soul for him. Done. He could probably bring her to the dark side with just a kiss. But then he meets Mercy and realizes that he’s not the only one looking to destroy some goodness. Other beasts are closing in, and in order to break the curse that haunts him, Xavier will have to do the one thing he never expected…protect Mercy. Beautiful, brave, and—shudder—good Mercy.

The plan won’t change.

By the time the clock strikes midnight on the third day, Mercy will be under his spell. He’ll convince her that he’s a hero, that she’s desperately in love with him. She’ll give up her soul—and her life—for him. The desire that rages between them is hotter than the fires of—well, home. Temptation is his specialty, and he can seduce her like no other.

Not like he’s going to change his mind for her. Not like…

Not like anyone can teach a monster to love. Because only the good love. And Xavier is many things, but he will never, ever be good. Not when being bad is so much fun.

Time for the world to burn. Time for an innocent to fall. And time for the monsters to reign…

Themes: Paranormal, Angels & Demons

Rating: 4.25 stars

Heat Rating:

Review:

As always Cynthia Eden comes right out of the gate with her dark humor and throws her H/h into the drama in her release where good and bad mix to the most delicious of consequences. I always love an Eden release, but my biggest complaint about this one was that it wasn’t longer, giving us more time to enjoy the sometimes twisted always steamy, and perfectly dynamic relationship between Xavier and Mercy. Mercy is literally a descendant of angels and Xavier is the king of destruction that has to turn her to the dark in order to break a curse, but as always good wins when her love shows him another way. I loved the quirky and dark love that develops between these two, with sensuality and laughter as they find their way through all the drama and danger of enemies and dark curses. There truly was no chance for Xavier to do anything but fall in love with Mercy and find a way to protect her and keep her for his own, proving that even the darkest of hearts can love and protect what they claim as their own. I would love to see another story set in this world, maybe focusing on Xavier’s buddy Micah, but in the meantime, I will just enjoy rereading Monster without Mercy each holiday season (yes, I mean Halloween people) so that I can repeat the greatness of Cynthia’s story.

*ARC provided by author for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review. No compensation was provided.