This novella is available as a free download via Prolific Works as part of the Your Book Boyfriend’s Boyfriend M/M Romance Group Giveaway 2022.
Read my reviews of the previous books in the Necessary Evils series:
- Unhinged (Necessary Evils #1)
- Psycho (Necessary Evils #2)
- Moonstruck (Necessary Evils #3)
With this novella, set in the middle of an established series, James strikes the perfect balance for new and familiar readers. New readers will get an excellent sample of James’ writing ability and the themes and tone of this incredibly fantastic yet nontraditional romance series. In contrast, previous readers still get the treat of new information to add to the breadth of this world. Everyone wins with the reconnection and adventure that awaits Dmitri and Arlo as they confront a new threat to Arlo and deal with the aftermath.
Dmitri may be a psychopath, but he is not cut from the same cloth as the Mulvaney brothers, who populate the main books of this series. However, he is connected to them through his mother Calliope, and doing what a psychopath is gonna do when his person is threatened puts him on a collision course with the brothers. Though Calliope tries to keep her worlds separate, she underestimates how much she has also become a person who “belongs” to the Mulvaneys, when the strangest guardian angels ever sweep in to assist Dmitri and Arlo.
The love story that interweaves the action in this book is not the “insta-love” of most novella-length works. How these two reconnect has all the sweet awkwardness you could want between a psychopath and his rather emotionally damaged sweetheart. The steam between them manages to be hot while also perfect to the unique situation they find themselves in, and the depths of the emotional climax at the end wouldn’t be out of place in a longer work.
Fans of this series shouldn’t miss this side tale, and I hope that new readers are intrigued enough to give the full set of works a chance.
Rating: 5 (out of 5) stars. Cross-posted to Goodreads.