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The Ascended (The Aesymarean Duet)
Parker Lennox
4.7
City of Gods and Monsters (House of Devils)
by Kayla Edwards
Published Apr 21, 2026
Categories
About this book
In the sprawling, supernatural metropolis of Angelthene, Loren Calla lives a life defined by her ordinariness. Surrounded by vampires, werewolves, and witches, she clings to the safety of her human existence until a violent abduction shatters her world. When her friend is snatched in her place, Loren is forced to abandon her quiet life and venture into the city’s lethal underbelly.
Her only hope for rescue lies with Darien Cassel, the cold, calculating leader of the most feared Darkslayer circle in the city. As a bounty hunter, Darien is everything Loren should avoid, yet he is the only one with the power to navigate the shadows where her friend disappeared. Bound by a desperate alliance, the two form an uneasy partnership that blurs the lines between professional necessity and dangerous attraction.
As they descend into a conspiracy that threatens the very foundation of Angelthene, the tension between them intensifies. Loren must navigate the treacherous politics of the supernatural elite while grappling with a growing, complicated connection to a man whose life is built on violence. In a race against time, Loren discovers that survival requires more than just caution—it demands the courage to embrace an extraordinary destiny.
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What readers are saying
MichelleThis book had me emotionally invested, fully spiraling. NO NOTES.
"4.5⭐️ This book completely sucked me in from page one. I loved the writing style. The descriptions were immaculate. I could picture every scene, every creature and character. The world building is rich and immersive. The vibes are dark and gritty. The slow burn had me on the edge of my seat the entire time, emotionally invested, fully spiraling. NO NOTES. If you’re craving an urban fantasy, with a side of emotional depth, found family, slow burn romance and a story that keeps you guessing, then add this to your TBR. Can’t wait to start book 2. ["
March 20, 2026 Verified Purchase
book whispernice fun easy read MILD SPOILERS
"Although this book didn’t need to be this long I still enjoyed it for some unbeknownst reason. The only character that had any sort of development was the MMC all of the side characters were lack luster and one dimensional. SABRINE Let’s start with sabrine, our MC friend that goes missing and Loren is all twisted up about it. She is found with no help from any of our MC’s. She’s just found by a random side character and that’s it. You vaguely see her mentioned throughout the rest of the book maybe 3 more times. No extensive questioning about where she was , if she remembered anything about her captors, how she feels about being turned, just nothing, even though half of the book was about finding her. LACE Next let’s talk about Lace our MMC ex GF. I felt like there was so much that could’ve been done with her character and the author just let her exist by vaguely mentioning her over in the living room or over there in the kitchen. I felt like her and Loren could’ve hated each other in the begging of and loved each other by the end. Like have Loren thinks that she still wants Darien but she doesn’t and warns Loren of Darien’s heartbreaking ways that Loren doesn’t take heed to and choke it up as jealousy and then lace turns out to be right and they bond and have a better understanding of each other… etc The chapters became repetitive. It was too much of our MC’s almost touching, kissing, telling each other how they feel before Darien receives a phone call and they have to rush half way across the city to find out absolutely nothing. I found myself skipping some of those chapters and not missing a thing. The constant time lapse skips when we could’ve gotten some great descriptions of things that were skipped. We keep reading about how Darien is fear and such a great fighter but every time he goes to the pit it’s glossed over and not describe in detail. Oh, I almost forgot. What was that with SLADE ??? Shouldn’t Darien have been the one to kill him since you know all of the abuse ? It would’ve been more impactful if SLADE had been killed by Darien and they was so good dialogue between the two. The world building could’ve use a little work. It’s was so interesting but we got little to no flesh out chapters of the fleet, the witches and how they used their staves. The vampires, the wolfs. With all that being said I STILL enjoyed the book and rated it 3. ["
November 30, 2024 Verified Purchase
Sydniurban fantasy x darien cassel
"5 star urban fantasy romance!! This was definitely romance forward for quite a bit of the book but once the plot picked up, it picked UP. It kept evolving to be bigger and more intricate and I loved the build up! The last 20% of this was so action packed I couldn't put it down!! This was a completely satisfying book all on its own while setting us up for interesting over-arching series plot. Let's be honest, did I hear everyone talking about Darien Cassel and decide that I needed to read these books to meet him myself? Yup-- and he was everything I hoped he would be! He has such a broken, tortured soul and I just want to give him the biggest hug!!! I loved seeing Loren slowly break through the walls he has around his heart. He takes on 7 demons in the Pit with his bare hands and also watches chick flicks with her...we LOVE a man who can do it all!! He's such a little cinnamon roll, but only for her, and I will eat that up every single time. Loren is just the sweetest little fmc. Throughout the whole book she stays true to who she is while discovering so much about herself, in more ways than one. Being a human in a world full of immortal beings makes her an easy damsel in distress, but towards the end she refused to sit idly by when she and the people she loves were in danger. Her undying selflessness is her biggest strength. I can't wait to see how her story unfolds!! I wasn't expecting the relationship between Darien and Loren to be so sweet and romantic and I was absolutely giddy I love them so much!!! The slowwwwest of all slow burns (literally 700 pages, y'all) and it burned so good!!! This is what I WANT-- an author who makes me work for it!!! I live for the tension. I love all of the side characters and I would have liked for the found family to have more time to shine, but I think we're going to see a lot more of these characters moving forward. They all have so much potential for their own storylines. Please enjoy a few out of context, favorite Darien Cassel quotes: “You’re wrecking me is what you’re doing. You’re wrecking me for anyone else.” “Sweetheart, I am not a devil. I am the devil. Don't start getting the wrong idea.” “You are the kindest thing that has ever happened to me.” And lastly, a few tropes that you'll find in here: 🪽 would let the world burn for her 🪽 grumpy x sunshine 🪽 slowwwwww burn 🪽 lots of immortal beings & creatures 🪽 found family ["
July 13, 2025 Verified Purchase
ErinUrban Fantasy Romance!
"Gods & Monsters by Kayla Edwards is book one in the House of Devils series — an urban fantasy romance filled with supernatural creatures, action, grit and tension. I read this series a few years ago and absolutely loved it. That being said — after rereading this I think readers that are newer to the genre may appreciate this more as their first foray into epic urban fantasy romance. She’s thick and a definite time investment but there’s a lot of characters growth and plot development. Seasoned readers may find Loren a little too young and struggle to empathize with her naivety. For having a reputation as the most feared and intimidating Darkslayer — Darian sometimes feels like more of a surface level “bad boy”, too (but I still love him). Gods & Monsters was picked up by Scarlett Press for traditional publishing and comes out April 21st. Urban fantasy romance fans of reluctant allies to lovers, familiars, morally grey MMCs, sunshine/grumpy, found family, bodyguard/protector and slow burn to light open door spice should check this out! ["
April 16, 2026 Verified Purchase
