A Soul to Heal: Duskwalker Brides, Book Two

Caroline

Excellent follow up to the first!

"I’m only 2 in, but I really have enjoyed both of these books in the series. The first one laid the groundwork for these mysterious Duskwalkers, and while Orpheus and Reia make multiple appearances in this one, they’re not overly saturated in it which is both good and bad. There were a couple instances I wished they were around to help our leads with certain things (2 very primary things: Without giving away too much, how to safely enjoy themselves, and the Demon King’s confrontation), but I understand the reasoning for both and why the author went about it the way she did. This is a series, and everything will be revealed in its time. Now, our characters! Delora is human, plain and simple. And when I say that, I mean she is seriously human- flaws and all. She’s sinned, she’s average, she has so many characteristics that many of us can identify with, from her anger and rage, to her depression, to even her joy. Our Magnar is something! Nameless in the beginning, the name Delora gifts him is appropriate. I found him more loveable than Orpheus, and his naïveté was adorable, but also made him a better partner. He was eager to learn, and grow, and he was the perfect yin to Delora’s yang. You almost forget they’re “monsters,” despite the incredible descriptions provided. I truly just pictured him as a man, his humanity was just that strong. ***SPOILERS*** In reading the author’s notes at the end, she states she is not a mother, but she wrote the emotions of pregnancy, birth, and afterbirth exquisitely! Truly, the struggle is real, and if you are a mom, you know postpartum is real, even in its smallest form, and this author did such a fantastic job conveying the raw emotions us women feel, despite it being a “monster birth”. The level of spice wasn’t that overwhelming, but when there were intimate scenes, they were so tastefully written, in such detail, you appreciated every word. Because there is a child in the mix, it was refreshing to read the struggles couples face when they’re new parents and are fully extended to their child’s needs, but also, you need that intimacy with your partner. This was truly well done. I look forward to the next one! Loved the glimpse of the Ram-horned Kitty, and the Owl Witch continues to impress me. Like a reliant grandparent, she’s there when you need her. ["

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December 31, 2023 Verified Purchase

Angelavenger

Love the malvka's!

"So I was drawn to this series by seeing the cover art of this second book. A cute plus size girl, hell yeah! I've never seen one on the cover of any book. The one next to her reminded me of Elias from ancient magus bride, one of my all time favorite mangas and anime. Immediately went and downloaded both books in the series. Review: The good- I absolutely adore the characters of the duskwalkers. Magnar especially since his awkwardness and silliness were so endearing. Dolora was great too and I liked her progression. This author is so great at writing romantic (not referring to the spicy stuff) and comfort scenes. I really liked any time the characters interacted with the demon city or with Orpheus and his bride. The world was interesting and I definitely wanted to see and learn more. I love the idea of it starting in book 1 with the monsters all being lonely and separate and as each book in the series goes along they gain more family. I hope by the end its a big boisterous clan of Mavka brothers, their brides, kids, and of course grandma owl. Magnar and Orpheus brother moments were fantastic. I thought Fyodor was cute and interesting. I was really wishing for art periodically in the book like they do in Japanese light novels, because a mini rabbit mavka sounds so flippan cute! I love how they balanced the cute and creepy feeling of having a monster baby, and how Dolora overcomes that struggle. The not as good- I personally preferred the spicy scenes in the first book. The second one had a lot of stuff I think traditionally men are more into and their were times I was just kind of grossed out. Specifically extreme bukakke and calling things slimy just Ick. It was a weird dichotomy because they'd have a romantic scene and I'd be all in and than a spicy scene and I was flipping pages to get out of it. This wasn't badly written I think just a matter of different tastes for different folks. Constructive criticism- The one thing in both books that did keep bringing me out of the story was how they spoke. Especially the humans. This is a fantasy world where they are living in medieval equivalent villages and yet use extremely modern vernacular all the time. Lots of modern cussing and knowing things like biology, history etc... Dolora maybe the knowledge made sense since she mentioned a library in her first village but the first girl literally lived alone in a house on the edge of a village. She should be way less educated than she was, and less so than Dolora. Instead of saying modern cuss words all the time what would superstitious people say... something about evil eye, or the sun, or spirits or gods. Just seemed like the woman were more like an isekai protagonist than ones that actually grew up in this world. Over all loved the series, and am looking forward to more! Can't wait to see what the ram horned and bull horned mavkas are like. (Whenever I hear bull horned I think of Iron Bull from dragon age inquisition and am like hell yeah!) ["

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October 24, 2022 Verified Purchase

Sarah Marie

Don't Miss out on this fantastical Monster Romance!

"Opal does it again with her newest book and second installment of the Duskwalker Brides Series! Bringing to life all those cuddly, loveable monsters but with complex desires, feelings and relationships, Opal will leave you satisfied but wanting more. Her writing will have you on edge with spinetingling, butterfly inducing, teary eyed and blushing responses! Always the perfect balance of well-developed characters, emotions, plot, and steamy romance. . As punishment for her crimes, Delora is thrown into the veil, and quite literally falls onto Nameless, the other Duskwalker we were introduced to in the first book. Bewildered and intrigued, Nameless decides not to eat Delora, but instead brings her to his cave. Left to his own devices on how to care for the unconscious and wounded female, there he decides this female will be his chosen companion. After learning how to heal Delora physically, Nameless starts to realize there is more to heal than just the physical wounds. Still learning about humanity and trying to gain more of it, Nameless works to provide all for Delora, while trying to keep her safe and heal the wounds magic cannot. Dive into their world and follow their relationship. . I think Delora will be a relatable character for a lot of people, especially those on their own journey to healing and experience with depression. ***I had the privilege to be selected as an ARC reader for this book and this is my honest review*** . . . . Spoilers below! . . . . . . We finally get to see more of the Witch Owl and the Demon Village! It was interesting to see the Demon village again from a different perspective as Delora visits being a phantom. And the Witch Owl is just as helpful but aloof in this book. It was also funny to see how in the beginning of the book, Nameless, while trying to figure out how to do things, mocks Orpheus and how he would be scolded. Just like how siblings would, lol. And the fight between Orpheus and the now “Magnar” was hilarious! When Magnar turned and exclaimed, “Oh Shit!” before Orpheus tackled him! Still one of my favorite scenes. ["

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October 13, 2022 Verified Purchase

NikiMinnow

This one was a toughie

"3.895… Off bat, Delora being super emo touches something way deep inside my bones. It was too relatable (minus the whole murder thing). And at times, her sadness made it difficult to read. The reason is that reading, for me, is supposed to be an act of escapism, and reading about her depression was way too damn real at times. However, I appreciated the story all the same. The story starts with our dear Delora literally falling from the sky on the very sweet himbo Mavka from the first book. He’s a dork, fast learning, and not fully developed. But he still manages to take the best care of Delora. Their journey was a rough one. The sweet Duskwalker had his work cut out for him even if she so easily gave her soul to him. He quickly realized that it wasn’t because she wanted to. It was because she didn’t have the will to live. Thus, starts the journey of him “healing” her little dark soul. The things that they went through were effing wild! Reia and Orpheus definitely had it easy as pie in comparison. But I also loved that the couple was there to help them through some of the toughest situations. Now my issues: Delora murdering her cheating, cruel husband? Totally see that being a thing. But why did the young girl have to die too? I would have been cool if she just beat her up or something. But not kill. That was a hard one to get over. I felt bad for Magnar and for their little baby Duskwalker at times because it seemed as if Delora was pretty self centered. When she was depressed. She didn’t care about the murders, only how it made her appear to Magnar. And the she was very adamant about having her baby, seeming as if she accepted that they would be different, and have to eat flesh like her dude does. Only for her to act horrible towards her poor little crying baby. And then had the nerve to get mad at sweet Magnar for sneaking the baby in to be next to her while she slept. Like seriously?! But then, once she accepted the baby she wanted it to stay stunted almost like how she wanted Magnar to be instead of encouraging their growth and development? And being grossed out about them eating. WTF did you expect!!? I dunno. She was very selfish. I wouldn’t say she was completely unlikable, she had some redeeming moments, but a lot of her actions made it difficult to root for her. The Demon King is a dirtbag and I’m really hoping that the Mavkas realize that all they have to do is work together and take him out and life would be so much better for them. Or who knows, maybe Jabrez just needs somebody to love him. He’s giving very, emotionally abused and hurt people, hurt people, vibes. That would be an interesting plot twist if he found someone to change his evil ways. But as of right now, he can get bent. The introduction of Kitty - another Mavka- was so awesome and heartbreaking at the same time. I don’t even know if I want to read his book because I’m afraid it will be even more heart-wrenching than this one. But he is so sweet and Delora and Magnar are the real MVPs for protecting him. Delora won a couple points here for taking an L and letting the Demon King kill her. No, it wasn’t completely to save Kitty, but still. I give her a couple stars. Even if she was hella mean to Magnar in order to do it. I’m loving the character development thus far. Besides Delora - I don’t feel like she fully had an evolution. Even at the end she was pissed about her baby getting big and wanted to stunt it, which was selfish. But I’m happy we’re learning more about the Witch Owl and the creation and development of the Duskwalkers. It’s really cool and interesting, and tender as well as intense. I’m excited to read the next books, and hope to see this universe expanded more because I’m loving it! ["

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July 12, 2023 Verified Purchase