Never Hollowed By The Stare

Between the Devil and the Sea – Chani Lynn Feener

What happens when a devil claims a demon?

Detective Shadow Yor hates his life.

He spends all of his time, day after day, struggling against the demons in his head that tell him he’s a worthless, unlovable person. This doesn’t change when he’s sent on a new assignment with his partner to solve a series of murders. He’s good at his job and will find whoever did it, there’s no doubt there. The only question is whether or not he’ll be able to keep himself together, or if his empathic abilities will finally be the death of him.

Apollo Orobas is bored.

He’s bored of his secret nighttime proclivities and bored of playing the part of charming neighborhood do-gooder. Apollo isn’t good, never has been, but just when he’s starting to think life holds no interest, Shadow Yor stumbles into his sights. It doesn’t take long for him to figure out the detective is also hiding his true self, and suddenly coaxing Shade’s monster out into the light is all Apollo can think of. As obsession sinks its claws in, he decides it’s time for a new game, one Shade is going to play with him. Whether he likes it or not.

Kidnapped and forced to endure whatever twisted plans Apollo has in store, Shade struggles to hold onto his idea of right and wrong, but the more he tries to resist, the more those lines start to blur. What chance does a mere demon have against an actual devil? Especially one who soothes those twisted voices in his head and makes him feel for the first time ever that maybe he isn’t as unlovable as he’s always believed.

Trigger Warning: This is a stand-alone dark romance which means there are many themes that some might find disturbing. Some of these include, but are not limited to, dub-con, violence, a seriously obsessed male lead, a male lead who deals with low self-esteem, and explicit sexual content not suitable for all readers. Please be sure to read the Author’s Note for a complete list of warnings! HEA guarantee!

Between the Devil and the Sea by Chani Lynn Feener has a long list of trigger warnings that should be heeded. The gist is that it is pitch black with a guaranteed HEA. The book is a sci-fi serial killer romance, low on the sci-fi, high in serial killer, and a slow-burning romance.

The setting is an intergalactic world where law enforcement officers jump from planet to planet depending on where their cases take them. Most of the story takes place on a planet that is really no different from Earth. Apart from a few high-tech gadgets mentioned, the story feels very contemporary.

Detective Shadow Yor and his partner and best friend, Inspector Gael Thiago, are working on a new case that points to a serial killing. Shadow, known to most as Shade, is an empath, a rare variety whose powers can’t be turned off. Empaths are usually trained to be detectives because they can suss out lies.

He met Apollo Orobas, a well-liked art journalist currently assigned to cover their case. It turned out Apollo was an empath himself, although a low-level one. Apollo is easygoing, with a boy-next-door charm. Shadow’s fellow LEOs encourage their friendship, seeing how they hit it off quite well.

A deadly encounter with a suspect led to an abduction, and suddenly Shadow is face to face with his nightmare – or is it his deepest, darkest desires?

This is a deliciously intense, twisty turny tale, though it lost some of its bite with Shadow’s repetitive woe-is-me internal dialogue, which took up almost the entire first half of the story. Like that complaint, nobody wants to date someone who can read all their emotions. He whined about this at least three times.

While there’s a lot of self-depreciation, Shadow has a strong will, fighting spirit, and snark, so he’s not a doormat. He had a traumatic, lonely childhood and a solitary adulthood if not for Gael, who immediately took his introverted partner under his wing.

Meanwhile, Apollo wears his public face with aplomb and embraces his true self with glee. Our boy’s not sweating the small stuff and handles crisis with a deft hand. He knows when to dole out punishment and when to soothe, taking the hurt part of the story to kinky and the comfort part to hella swoony levels.

There are lots of things Shadow is afraid to admit to himself but trust the psychopath to teach Shadow how to embrace his dark side by letting Apollo be his light. Because shadows thrive best in the light.

And holy hell, did it work! Apollo took Shadow apart and put him back together the right way. It took a while for their connection to click, but when it did, the chemistry was off the charts! And I especially loved the ending because that’s where they zing!

Between the Devil and the Sea is one man’s journey to self-acceptance and finding the yin to his yang. Overall, it is a potent example of soul-deep connections that make a broken man whole, and the devil you know holds the glue.

Rating:
4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bits

Soundtrack: Breathe
Artist: Christian Cohle
Album: Holy Trouble

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