The cover doesn’t really do it justice. It’s dark. It’s got depth. It takes its time building the plot so when things really get moving you care what happens to the characters.
It really is dark. It’s got violence, references to rape. People get attacked and assaulted. It’s not fluff, but it’s so good.
This book was so intense, it literally gutted me and I LOVED IT! It was also recommended by @fuck-yeah-monsters-and-villains and I’m so glad I’ve read it.
But seriously, this book is really dark, it had me crying a few times so be prepared to suffer!
Hey guys, they’ve also wrote a book called The Last Hour of Gann. It’s one of my favorite books of all time! It’s about a plus size woman on a pilgrimage with a badass religious lizard man and a bunch of incompetent human assholes. She writes some of the best character you will Fuckingloathe. The main character Amber is my spirit animal and her lizardman Meoraq does not put up with human’s bullshit. Plus, it’s HELLA long. You have time to get super invested in all the characters. I love it.
However, I need to warn that if anyone has suffered from sexual abuse they may want to skip this read. It’s well written, but there is an entire chapter that will trigger some people. Smith’s books are always VERY dark and not for the faint of heart. That chapter is very uncomfortable, but if you can get past it then please give this book a chance.
I was kind of looking at The Last Hour of Gann(Which is over 1,000 pages) and also Heat* (about 600 pages). Both are by R. Lee Smith. All the books by this author look somewhat heavy, and like they deal with darker themes; the shittier sides of humanity, rape, torture, and brutal deaths, so honestly if you want happy fluff please steer clear.
As one person described it in their reviews; “If you’re used to reading romance, it’s going to be really dark. If you’re used to reading horror, it’s about average.”
*Heat gets its own disclaimer as being extra dark even on the scale of this author. One of the main characters is an evil sadist. Tread carefully.
I can absolutely confirm everthing that’s been said about this author. I’ve read three books by R. Lee Smith so far and I have to say that there are hardly any writers out there that got me invested that much in their characters. The plot, the descriptions, the world building, actually everything is unbelievably good.
Imagine my surprise when I started The Last Hour of Gann for the space lizard-man alien erotica but got so much more. But yeah, it left me emotionally drained. The themes and descriptions are VERY intense.
Cottonwood was a light fun read in comparison. Although this still might not be the the book for you if you are easily triggered.
Unfortunately this one fell a bit flat for me in comparison to the two other books. The writing is still top notch, I simply wasn’t overly invested in the main characters. The male main character has a harem (yes, yes he’s lonely and tortured and a man’s gotta cope…) and the heroine is a mix between a “sacrifice everything for the cause” and a “stand by your man” type. I’m into neither of those things. Still, great writing, far above the average fare within this genre (or any genre, actually). Don’t let my personal taste deter you from reading! 😉
For centuries, there has been a legend of a hidden school where magic is taught by the demons who dwell there to anyone who seeks them out, but they ask a terrible price: Anyone who reaches the door of the Scholomance may enter, but the Devil takes every tenth student who tries to leave.
A hidden school. Demonic masters. An inescapable fate for one out of every ten graduates. But Connie would do anything to have the magic her best friend was born with.
And Mara would do anything to get Connie back.
X-rated Harry Potter but with a female protagonist and demon sex? Yes, please!!!
As far as I could glean from the reviews on Goodreads this might feature a love triangle, a trope which I normally loathe (unless it ends in a three-way, then it’s fine). But if there’s one author I’d trust with the execution of a love triangle it’s R. Lee Smith.
Monsters and Villains 