Review: Damned if You Do: The Complete Collection by JL Merrow

Sexy male succubus Rael has an insatiable appetite for men that gets him into all kinds of trouble. And he’s just found his favorite flavor: hunky blond detective Lars Thornsson. When those cool Nordic looks combine with Rael’s smoldering dark charms, all Hell could break loose.

Lars’s job at the Paranormal Enforcement Agency means he’s supposed to be policing demons, not falling in lust—or love—with them. But there’s something about this feisty little sex demon that hits all his buttons.

With no shortage of deadly sinners in his city, from serial-killing succubi to drug-dealing demons, all Lars can do is try to keep his private life from interfering with his work. But Rael has a knack for getting mixed up in cases that threaten both their domestic harmony and their lives.

What a great set of Novellas! The Collection is a set of novella’s that make up a series about Paranormal Enforcement Agency cop, Lars, and succubus demon, Rael. 

In the first novella, A Calling for Pleasure, we have Rael being summoned by a teenager who was definitely expecting a woman to show up, not a man. Rael is hungry though so shows the boy a good time and then goes on his way. He eventually gets arrested because the PEA – arresting officers Lars Thornsson and his partner Chelle Rochelle – think he’s the sex demon that’s being killing men all over town. Lars doesn’t want to be having a million little fantasies in his head about his murder suspect but he manages to hand over the number of a good lawyer and next thing you know Lars is taking Rael home to stay. Rael eventually helps Lars and Rochelle catch the true killer.

In novella #2, A Blast from the Past, Rael gets visited by his ex-lover, who is an envy demon and dead set on getting Rael back. Rael doesn’t want to have anything to do with his cheating ex boyfriend and is happy being a one man man – namely with Lars.

In novella #3, A Wish Too Far, Lars and Rochelle are looking for a drug dealer who is handing out wish pills but when they wish and aren’t specific enough they don’t exactly get what they want. Rael hears about some evidence in the case from Lars and thinks about a friend he had a couple centuries earlier so goes about trying to find out if his friend and the drug dealer are one in the same.

Novella #4 brings us A Glutton for Punishment. Rael has started working as a guest chef on a tv show when the head chef and host of the show turns up kidnapped. Rael gets temporarily moved to the position of head chef but then starts to get threatening notes. On top of that Rael has to say that he’s boyfriends with the hosts PA because he’s not a legal resident and doesn’t want to get Lars in trouble. This makes for some tense times between Lars and Rael.

I have to say that every single one of these novellas was fun, funny, entertaining, hotter than hell in the sex department and just all around great stories. Nothing deep and meaningful, just an unlikely romance with lots of humor thrown in.

Rael and Lars are perfect together. Lars is willing to put his job at stake to keep Rael and though Rael always finds himself in a bit of trouble it all gets worked out. I loved their easygoing relationship and all its little quirks.

Then we had secondary characters who threaded through all of the stories – Rochelle the petite and pretty foul-mouthed partner. She could scare the skin off a lion with just one look. She had a soft underbelly though and she ended up showing it time and time again without taking away from any of her toughness.

There were other PEA officers Dumont and Dee – what a bunch of numbnuts. Merrow wrote these two so well and I loved hating them.

I loved Lars and Rael’s pet salamander, Kitty, who was loving and incendiary at the same time. lol She was adorable.

Four great stories that I definitely recommend.

Rating: 4 out of 5

JL Merrow 
 
These novellas come out on June 24th and will be sold either as a collection or separately

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