Chosen by Shadows by Basia Pike – A Book Review

Posted April 16, 2019 by Booksandblurbs in Reverse Harem, Reviews, Urban Fantasy / 0 Comments

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Chosen by Shadows

(The Original Demons – Book 1)

by Basia Pike
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Slow Burn, Urban Fantasy RH

Available on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited

Down and Dirty

Great Premise, needs some work. If this was re-edited, it would make a stellar addition to your library.

What is it about?

(Blurb from GoodReads)

When there’s no way out, only the devil can help.

Hayley Saint unwittingly goes to hell to rescue her best friend from the devil’s sister, a violent, brutal, and savage fallen angel. And that’s on a good day.

Lucifer’s sister, Arianna, wants revenge on Haley for unearthing the gateway to hell, but the moment Lucifer sets eyes on Haley, he’s bonded to her in ways outside of his control.

If Lucifer’s mating bond to Hayley is discovered, he risks her life and his right to the throne. But the only other option is letting the woman he’s destined to love leave him forever.

Hayley just wants to get out alive. But when feelings for the devil start to surface, she must determine whether she wants to fight her way out of hell, or fight for the ability to stay.

Fans of Lucifer are falling for the devil in this addictive paranormal romance.

Thoughts

This one is hard to review, as I really, really like the premise of this book. The meta plot is phenomenal and revamps the angel/demon mythos in the most delicious way.

That said, the actual writing of this astounding plot was lacking. While some parts are very compelling and the narrative moves at a fast clip, the way the scenes blend stutters across the pages, offering flashes of insight that make little sense and do not inspire empathy with the characters – or understanding.

Frankly, there were moments where I felt that the writing was simply poor, but not as a reflection of a bad author. It struck me more as an author that should spend a bit more time on their manuscript, buffing and polishing the rough edges to make it shine. I would expect this from a first draft, Alpha read, not a published work. Run it through a few betas, rework some scenes and edit…. seriously… EDIT… and this would be a 5 star slowburn RH worth buying.

Perspective

First Person and Third Person, Multiple POV

Ending Type

Cliffhanger

Steam Level

Eh… alright? It gets heated towards the end, but the majority of the book involves emotional tension that ebbs and flows out of nowhere. PG for most, X for one scene.