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Never Hollowed By The Stare
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  • Home
  • REVIEWS+RECS
    • MANGA
    • BOOK REVIEW
    • SOUNDTRACK
    • QUOTE
    • TRAILER
    • DESERT ISLAND CASTAWAYS
    • BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS
    • Reviews A-Z
    • MINI MOVIE REVIEWS
  • MEMES+TAGS
    • MUSIC MONDAY
    • LAST YEAR I WAS READING
    • FLICKer FADE SUNDAY
    • TAGS
    • MISC POSTS
    • PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE
    • FIRST LINES FRIDAY 56
  • TOURS & BLITZES
    • COVER REVEAL
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  • About + Ratings
    • ABOUT + RATINGS
    • ADVERTISE WITH US
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  • Uncategorized

    NEW RELEASE BLITZ: Illuminated by Alexa Piper (Excerpt & Giveaway)

    February 11, 2023 / No Comments
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    neverhollowed

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    NEW RELEASE BLITZ: Love, Blood, And Sanctuary by Brenda Murphy, Megan Hart & Fiona Zedde (Excerpt & Giveaway)

    June 13, 2021

    LAST YEAR I WAS READING…(March 03, 2021)

    March 3, 2021

    RELEASE BLITZ: Crossing the Line by A.G. Meiers (Excerpt & Giveaway)

    August 28, 2022
  • Uncategorized

    RELEASE BLITZ: Blood Catalyst by Lynn Michaels (Excerpt)

    February 7, 2023 / No Comments
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    NEW RELEASE BLITZ: Love’s Gamble by Hayden West (Excerpt & Giveaway)

    October 12, 2021

    SERIES TOUR: Naughty In Pendleton by Brigham Vaughn (Excerpt & Giveaway)

    May 23, 2021

    RELEASE BLITZ: Sexted By Santa by D.J. Jamison (Excerpt & Giveaway)

    November 21, 2021
  • Uncategorized

    NEW RELEASE BLITZ: Perishable by J. Hali Steele (Excerpt & Giveaway)

    January 28, 2023 / No Comments
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    FLICKer: Stum

    February 11, 2021

    RELEASE BLITZ: Reclaiming Pride by Jessie G (Excerpt & Giveaway)

    May 19, 2021

    COVER REVEAL: Reigniting Chase by Jeanne St. James

    May 10, 2022
  • book,  Uncategorized

    SERIES REVIEW: The Vampire’s Club Books 6-7 by X. Aratare

    January 20, 2023 / 1 Comment

    The Vampire’s Club 6 – X. Aratare

    Lucas Daniels knows that witches and vampires are real.

    Lucas has discovered that witch blood flows through his veins and he can perform magic, but it is hardly within his control. And the more he delves into his gifts, the more dangerous they appear.

    Count Konstantin “the Wolf” Volk must keep Lucas’ parentage a secret from the Nomad while searching for a way to free himself and Lucas from Gaia’s plot. But how can he succeed when the Nomad sees and hears all?

    NOTE: THIS NOVELLA SERIES HAS CLIFFHANGERS! EVERY BOOK WILL END ON ONE. THAT’S MY NATURAL WRITING STYLE. IF YOU DO NOT LIKE CLIFFHANGERS, WAIT UNTIL THE WHOLE SERIES IS PUBLISHED TO READ. THANKS FOR THE SUPPORT


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

    Soundtrack: Bloodstream
    Artist: Stateless
    Album: Stateless


    The Vampire’s Club 7 – X. Aratare

    Lucas Daniels is a vampire… and a witch.

    Can he use his newfound powers to help Konstantin “the Wolf” Volk, the dangerous and mysterious Nomad, and the witch, Gaia, to stop the destruction of all vampires by the coven leader Rachel?

    If Lucas does, he’ll have to convince the Nomad that he is not a threat to Konstantin. While Konstantin wants only to protect his very new and special fledgling from the dangers that Lucas wants to help him face.

    The end of The Vampire’s Club Series!


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

    Soundtrack: Sore wa Matta Betsu no Ohanashi
    Artist: Amazarashi
    Album: Yuuhi shinkou higashizumu 


    When it was first released in 2019, I was ridiculously obsessed with The Vampire’s Club. The books had such intense level of USTs and squee-tastic moments I was reduced to incoherent gushing emojis. However, the start of Book 6 wasn’t working for me, so the series was stuck in TBR limbo.

    Recently, I had a sudden urge for vampire romance and decided to pick up where I left off. This time, Book 6 had me completely engaged.

    Admittedly, the emotional distance created by time reduced the impact the books had on me. I wasn’t a gushy stan anymore. I was more aware of how cringey some of the scenes were. Cringey like having Lucas’s mother speaking inside Konstantine’s head while the boys were having sex.

    Having read the author’s other works, The Fall and The Bodyguard, I’ve recognized certain themes and tropes they like to employ. The stories are dark and sensual, conjuring images of luxurious, dimly lit rooms heavy with musk.

    The stories feature relationships that are vaguely incestuous involving father figures. For instance, here we have Lucas’s stepdad attempting to molest him. The vampires use terms such as Childe, Sire, and Grandpere when referring to their creators and fledglings who are usually also their lovers.

    The heroes tend to be barely legal, naive, or innocent young men paired with a much older, worldly love interest. The series underscores that by having centuries-old Konstantine fondly calling college-age Lucas “nevinovnyy”, the Russian word for innocent.

    By Book 6, Lucas is not so innocent anymore, fully aware of what he can do, who his real mother is and what Konstantine is. Meanwhile, Konstantine agonizes over the fact that Lucas is the key to lifting his curse, but then his boy would have to pay the prize should the vampire turn him to save himself. The witches are also making their power move to destroy the vampires.

    Where the first five books were merely dark and gothic, Books 6 and 7 nearly crossed over to horror because now there’s blood, gore, rape and torture (the latter two were off page). Lucas unleashed was unlike anything anyone had ever seen before, a powerful killing machine who can go toe to toe with eldritch monsters from other worlds. And our boy hasn’t even showed 100% of his powers yet!

    Konstantine unlocks magical abilities like his Sire, The Nomad, is known for. Then realizes The Nomad’s secret identity. This part I cheered the most because Konstantine was abandoned by his Sire for centuries. Little did he know, The Nomad had always watched over him. The little tidbit I found really endearing was The Nomad was secretly Club Dyavol’s first customer!

    Much of the series was spent building tension, both the sexual and the deadly kind, so the big showdown when it exploded sent shockwaves that swept everyone. The fight scenes were thrilling and spectacularly gruesome!

    Some of the casualties were especially tragic, like Lucas’s foster mom. This part could have been written differently, less tragically, but I guess it was the way it was to completely cut off Lucas’s ties to the mundane world.

    Another gripe is that there were too much dialogue on what should have been a time for action. It happened when Lucas and his real mother teamed up. They received texts that Konstantine and The Nomad were in grave danger and needed to be rescued ASAP. Mother and son then proceeded to have pages of dialogue, all the while mentioning the urgency of the situation. It was like those scenes where a character is dying, but still managed to have a lengthy monologue. Meh!

    The Vampire’s Club 6 and 7 wasn’t quite what the first books were, but this finale pulled out all the stops! Lucas reclaimed his heritage and became so much more than anyone could have predicted. Konstantine reclaimed his Sire and his best friend, his beloved nevinovnyy, and his home Club Dyavol. A fairy tale ending for the vampire romance of my dreams!

    Overall, The Vampire’s Club is a heady mix of fluff and steam, dark and sweet. It’s pure escapism, seductive, enthralling, dangerous. Yes, exactly like our favorite undead creature.

    P.S.

    The Vampire’s Club is a serial. The books are meant to be read in order because seriously, that dream sequence and the elevator scene are two of the most unforgettable scenes of my entire reading life!

    Incoherent squees a.k.a. reviews:
    The Vampire’s Club
    The Vampire’s Club 2 
    The Vampire’s Club 3
    The Vampire’s Club 4
    The Vampire’s Club 5


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    The Vampire’s Club: US

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    COVER REVEAL: Emerett Has Never Been In Love by Anyta Sunday (Excerpt & Giveaway)

    February 1, 2021

    FAVORITE COVERS: March 2022

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    NEW RELEASE BLITZ: Heart of Egypt by Megan Slayer (Excerpt & Giveaway)

    October 25, 2022
  • Uncategorized

    RELEASE BLITZ: Twice Bitten by Eliot Grayson (Giveaway)

    January 5, 2023 / No Comments
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    BOOK BLAST: Pulling Focus by H.J. Welch (Excerpt & Giveaway)

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    COVER REVEAL: Soul Of The Imperian by Jessamyn Kingley

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    RELEASE BLITZ: Lost In Amber by Maz Maddox (Excerpt)

    June 8, 2022
  • Uncategorized

    BLOG TOUR: Fangsgiving by Robert Winters (Excerpt & Giveaway)

    January 5, 2023 / No Comments
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    NEW RELEASE BLITZ: Ridden Hard by Jon Keys (Excerpt & Giveaway)

    March 30, 2021

    BLOG TOUR: Heroes in Love by David C. Dawson (Excerpt & Giveaway)

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    PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE (April 15, 2020)

    April 15, 2020
  • Uncategorized

    BOOK TOUR: Mythical Desires by M.L. Eaden (Excerpt & Giveaway + Guest Post)

    December 31, 2022 / 3 Comments
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    MUSIC MONDAY: Timeless by Ambar Lucid

    August 8, 2022

    RELEASE BLITZ: O Deadly Night: A Dark MM Charity Anthology (Giveaway)

    November 15, 2022

    COVER REVEAL: Playing It Safe by Amy Andrews

    June 16, 2021
  • Uncategorized

    NEW RELEASE BLITZ: An Elf’s Fate by Casey Wolfe (Excerpt & Giveaway)

    December 29, 2022 / No Comments
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    FAVORITE COVERS: January 2021

    February 2, 2021

    NEW RELEASE BLITZ: The Last of the Moussakas by Fearne Hill (Excerpt & Giveaway)

    March 11, 2021

    BOOK BLITZ: Whatever He Needs by Mia Kerick (Excerpt & Giveaway)7

    August 25, 2021
  • Uncategorized

    One Line Reviews Of Some Books I Read This Year (September – December 2022)

    December 28, 2022 / No Comments

    This is a round up of the books I read on the 4rd quarter of this year that I’m too lazy to do a full review.

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    RELEASE BLITZ: Virgin Shifters: Shifting for the First Time by Various Authors (Excerpt & Giveaway)

    October 18, 2020

    FLICKer FADE SUNDAY: The Definition of Lonely

    June 7, 2020

    RELEASE BLITZ: Alien Eyes by Storm Caywood (Excerpt & Giveaway)

    June 26, 2020
  • Uncategorized

    NEW RELEASE BLITZ: Coven by Mell Eight (Excerpt & Giveaway)

    December 28, 2022 / No Comments
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    RELEASE BLITZ: Acing the Game by Carey PW (Excerpt & Giveaway)

    February 21, 2023

    BOOK BLAST: At Lodgings In Lyme by Jackie North (Excerpt & Giveaway)

    May 26, 2022

    BLOG TOUR: Real Danger by Elle Keaton (Excerpt & Giveaway)

    November 16, 2021
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