Never Hollowed By The Stare

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Never Hollowed By The Stare
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  • Home
  • NAVIGATION
    • MANGA
    • BOOK REVIEW
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    • QUOTE
    • TRAILER
  • MISC
    • MUSIC MONDAY
    • PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE
    • FIRST LINES FRIDAY 56
    • FLICKer FADE SUNDAY
    • RELEASE BLITZ & GIVEAWAYS
    • COVER REVEAL
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    • Reviews A-Z
  • About + Ratings
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  • Uncategorized

    COVER REVEAL: Run This Town Series by Avril Ashton (Excerpt)

    January 25, 2021 / 2 Comments
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    NEW RELEASE BLITZ: Teddy’s Truth by K.D. Ellis (Excerpt & Giveaway)

    January 17, 2021 / No Comments
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    FLICKer FADE SUNDAY: Gryning (Stockholm Daybreak)

    December 15, 2019
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    NEW RELEASE BLITZ: Limits And Stakes by Jacqueline Grey (Excerpt & Giveaway)

    December 23, 2020 / No Comments
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    December 9, 2019
  • book,  Uncategorized

    REVIEW: Handled by Romilly King

    December 15, 2020 / 6 Comments
    55812669. sy475

    Handled – Romilly King

    Serial killers think if it all goes south and they finally get caught that their swan song is a day in court, making the families relive the agony while they get off on that delicious pain, all over again.

    Not happening. Not anymore. We’re not making celebrities out of monsters. We’re not giving them a stage to strut on.

    Now they get an audience of two.

    One to Handle the problem, one to Witness it.

    I’m a Witness. I trained for six years to do my duty, to manage my contracted killer, and to watch justice be done.

    I knew it would be hard, the first time, to watch the eye for an eye moment.

    I expected to feel a lot of things – fear, disgust, guilt.

    I didn’t expect to feel turned on.

    And I didn’t expect my contracted killer to look quite so pretty with blood on his hands.

    HANDLED is a dark gay romance with themes of justice, retribution, and unsuitable love. It is not for the faint of heart and contains graphic scenes intended for an adult audience. Further trigger warnings inside.


    So deliciously dark! I love Gray!!!

    I’ve read a lot of serial killer mysteries and just when I’m getting the same old same old feels about the genre, Romilly King creates this novel world of Handlers and Witnesses in her riveting new series, Handled. The way I see it, it’s fighting monsters with monsters.

    Handled introduces us to a government program where they controlled and trained young psychopaths into Handlers. Basically killers sanctioned to render whatever punishment they see fit on serial killers roaming in the wilds. To make sure these Handlers are doing their jobs properly and within the bounds of the law, they are assigned a Witness each. It goes without saying that Witnessing is a very dangerous job. Attrition rates are extremely high.

    The book is a police procedural of sorts. We follow Gray and Nathan as they go about their business of investigating the prime suspect and establishing concrete evidence for their cases. The government requires hard evidence before they are allowed to handle a certain client a.k.a the guilty party.

    The world-building here was very well-thought out. It was done without much info-dumping. Everything felt real. I had no problems following the set-up. The jargon was easy to pick up. I got some slight dystopian vibes from it. Especially with the government involved.

    It’s Nathan’s first time to Witness and he was assigned the best and most notorious Handler, Gray. Now this Handler doesn’t play well with others. When Gray doesn’t like a somebody, the least you can expect is lose an eye. The rare exception is Nora, his long-time Witness, who is now passing the baton to Nathan.

    It was lust at first sight for our young rookie. Like most psychos we loved, Gray exuded that magnetic charisma that had Nathan mesmerized even with the full knowledge of what the man is capable of.

    Gray loves pain. All kinds, whether inflicted by him or on him. When he is in a killing mood, the man is intense! That big scene with Nathan and his client at the climax was pretty nasty. But it was glorious!

    I wouldn’t put it past her to plant the seeds knowing something might blossom because the wily Nora chose the perfect man as her successor. Nathan was totally green, he made errors that could have been fatal. But Gray sensed he was different.

    Nathan was a bit naive but direct. He’s scared but he didn’t give his Handler bullshit. He was respectful of Gray, taking time to ask him about his background instead of simply reading his file. He sassed him back once in a while too.

    I love Nathan! As he acclimatized to his grim job, we see him drawing out Gray’s various nuances. The way he complemented Gray’s personality, they just fit so naturally. I appreciated him for considering that Gray could be something more than what the system thinks he should be.

    And holy heck, the chemistry!!!

    The dynamics between the two was fantastic. They played off each other so well. The interactions were fraught with danger and sexual tension. Any minute Gray could snap. You’d never know if he would kill Nathan or fuck him. Both really.

    I am so happy the book is written in dual POV. Not knowing what goes on inside Gray’s head would be totally frustrating. I love that even though we are privy to his thoughts, it didn’t diminish his mystique. He’s still an enigmatic figure you’ll want to know more about. I enjoyed watching him deal with feelings Nathan is making him feel, feelings that are mostly foreign to him.

    Handled grabbed me and didn’t let me go. It’s a great balance of blood, gore, sex, and romance with a huge heaping of mystery, suspense and sprinkles of sweet. I didn’t find any of the scenes gratuitous. The plot just worked so well.

    I can’t wait to get more of Gray and Nathan as they mete out bloody justice while slowing finding their way to a happy ever after. But for now we are gifted with that super sweet ending.

    Please do heed the trigger warnings. I wouldn’t outright recommend this because it gets pretty dark. But if you dare…

    “Gray is the book you don’t skip to the last page of to see if your guesses are right. Gray is the book you read slowly and savour.”

    P.S.

    Handled is not a standalone novel. Rightly so because you’ll never be satisfied with just one book.

    Rating:
    5 Stars – absolutely perfect

    Soundtrack: Used To The Darkness
    Artist: Des Rocs
    Album: Let The Vultures In


    If you like my content, please consider using my Amazon affiliate links below to get your copy of Handled. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying Amazon purchases at no additional cost to you.

    You can also use my Bookshop affiliate links to buy paperback copies and help support independent bookstores.

    HANDLED | CLEANSED

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    BLOG TOUR: Fawned by Winter Prior (Excerpt & Giveaway + Playlist)

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    BLOG TOUR: The Offering by Rosary Deville (Excerpt & Giveaway + Q & A with Author)

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    AUDIOBOOK REVIEW TOUR: A Boy Made Of Sunshine by Colette Davison

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Hi there! I'm neverhollowed. I read too much MM romance and play music too loud. My blog combines my passion for books and indie music. I write book and manga reviews, create bookish playlists and share LGBT-related movies. Welcome to my blog! Hope you enjoy your visit.

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Book images and promotional materials are from Goodreads or media kits provided for blog tours, cover reveals and release blitzes. Manga covers and other images are sourced through Google image search. The two dorks in the header image is from a manga by TogaQ & Kikuchi Neko. The cat logo is my own design. Reviews and other writings found in the blog are mine unless otherwise stated. All Buy Links to Amazon and Bookshop in my posts contain affiliate links.

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SkydanceSkydance@Skydance·
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Relationship goals. #TheOldGuard

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neverhollowedNever Hollowed By The Stare@neverhollowed·
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#NewRelease #Giveaway Magnified by Mell Eight https://books2read.com/u/mgzXR7 @ninestarpress @MellEight https://neverhollowed.com/2021/03/07/new-release-blitz-magnified-by-mell-eight-excerpt-giveaway/

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What’s a retired rockstar vamp to do in a quaint, quiet English town?

RELEASE TOUR: Blood On Tap by Riley Long (Excerpt & #Giveaway)

https://getbook.at/BloodOnTap

https://neverhollowed.com/2021/03/07/release-tour-blood-on-tap-by-riley-long-excerpt-giveaway/

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