Hell Kissed: A Rejected Mates Romance

The Rejected Realms Series, Book 1

By: A.K. Koonce, Harper Wylde

Narrated by: Jennifer Blom

Length: 7 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

I never expected my life to go up in literal hellfire.

The Dark Moon should be the best night of my life as a shifter. Instead, my sweet little house cat just combusted into flames in the middle of my bedroom, my tormenting alpha says he’s my mate, and three hellish men just blazed into my life like sinful gods.

It’s fine. Everything’s fine. No big deal.

Except rejecting the alpha who’s determined to make me his whore ends worse than I ever could have imagined…

With nowhere left to run, I’m forced to acknowledge the gorgeous existence of the three dark stalkers hunting me. They offer me something I can’t ignore: protection in the realm of Hell…as well as answers about my past.

My magic and my wolf grow stronger, fiercer, and deadlier in their presence. She settles right in with this murderous pack of misfits.

But I’ll never trust them.

Because the four of us together are like fire and gasoline.

And in the end, we’ll all go up in flames.

©2021 AK Koonce (P)2021 AK Koonce

oooooohhhhhh

yaaaazzzz!! this is so ducking well written! I have the ebook and loved it and man does the audio deliver such great naration!!🌜😍💞🙃

Nope

I'm four chapters in, and I just can't anymore. While this book is, presumably, written by and for adults, the writing doesn't reflect this. At only four chapters in, and I can't even count how many times the main character has made small-penis comments -- or had small-penis thoughts -- about her antagonist. Like, I can forgive one small-penis insult, but, seriously, after this many remarks, I now just think the main character is not intelligent (or mature) enough to think of a better comeback. The antagonist is equally juvenile, taunting the main character by calling her "Rice", instead of "Rhys". You wouldn't be blamed for thinking these were some foolish middle-schoolers, but they are purportedly in their twenties.

There is also some questionable grammar and odd diction. It isn't precisely that words are used contrary to their respective meanings, but that the words that were chosen aren't necessarily the best options for their particular sentences. It's as if more elaborate synonyms were chosen when their simpler counterparts would have actually read more fluently. In general, the writing seems overwrought and melodramatic, and is overly embellished with figurative language that comes across as amateur rather than high-brow. As an example: "Pressure shoves into my chest as I slide on my sneakers and grab my black bookbag." On top of the passive phrasing, the word "shoves" just feels off. Also, as you can see, the intensity level is inexplicably already at a 10, despite the only action at this moment being her putting on shoes and grabbing a bag.

Perhaps, despite all the aforementioned, this book has a really fresh and interesting plot that makes it all worth it. Admittedly, I haven't read far enough to know one way or the other, but, at this point, I haven't gleaned enough of an inkling to forge ahead. Maybe this book would have benefited from better editing and revisions? Or perhaps just more writing experience?

As for the narrator, she wasn't terrible, but it's really hard to judge her narration skills when I found so many issues with the writing. I'm inclined to say her performance was overwrought and melodramatic, but, considering I've described the writing thusly, maybe it was just the writing and not at all the narration? Or, did the narrator's performance compound the situation? I'm not sure.