Title: A Seduction of Dreams and NightmaresAuthor: A.J. Locke
Publication: March 26, 2024
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance
Find it on:Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Rating: 4/5★
They say humans are dreams and Fiends are nightmares. For though Fiends have magic, beauty, and power, their immortal lives are restricted. Vampires must sate their blood lust. Wytches will crumble to dust when their magic runs out. Shapeshifting Haunts must keep their vicious beasts caged. Incubi and succubi cannot indulge in carnal pleasure without dire consequences.
Novari is a human who bartends for Luccero, an alluring incubus and the star of her fantasies. She can’t have Luc, but she does have Keo, who also wouldn’t mind Luc’s touch. Keo, who loathes being a vampire, is in pursuit of a fabled cure that will turn Fiends human. A cure highly in demand as many Fiends crave freedom from their burdened lives.
When an unexpected discovery about the cure’s location puts Novari and Keo in danger, they take refuge in Luccero’s sprawling manor. There, they contemplate how to stay safe … and succumb to each other’s seduction.
The pleasure she finds with Luc and Keo makes Novari want to hide away forever, but when the danger zeroes in, they’ll have to figure out how to overcome it before the dream they’ve found together becomes a nightmare.
A Seduction of Dreams and Nightmares by A.J. Locke was a scorching hot fantasy novel full of all kinds of paranormal creatures like vampires, wytches, incubi, succubi and many types of shifters that a mysterious Deity conjured up and are called Fiends. This unique premise really stood out to me because although I’ve read several books that feature different kinds of paranormal creatures as well as humans, it was one of the more enjoyable and surprising that I’ve read in recent years.
This book features Novari (a.k.a. Nova), a human who is a bartender for Luccero, a sexy as hell incubus. She would love to get her hands all over him but Luc being a incubus comes with lots of complications. Then there is Keo, her friend with benefits who is a vampire. He hates his existence and that he has to survive by sucking blood, never aging, so he spends his days searching for the mythical cure that’s supposed to be out there, although no know ons what or who it is. You might guess it but Nova, Luc and Keo discover the cure by accident but it might endanger their lives, especially Nova’s, if anyone else discovers it. In the meanwhile all three of them can’t help but be seduced by one another and giving in to their sensual and lustful desires.
There are no words invented for the way I loved the trio of Nova, Luc and Keo. They were all very different from one another but when they came together they just fit as puzzle pieces. To call the sex scenes hot is such an understatement. Erotic, carnal and and arousing might come closer and then some. And beyond that they also started having real feelings for one another, even with everything that was going on around them.
I also got to talk more about the uniqueness of this book when it comes to how these paranormal creatures are created. In the book they talk about a Deity that conjures them up. You see, vampires, wytches, shifters, incubi (and so on), come into the world fully formed as adults and that’s that. I never have known a book to do this but I really liked this part and how mysterious it was. I have so many questions too. Who is this Deity? Why does he create so many Fiends? Why is there a cure? I’ve gotta know!
The end of the book was a cliffhanger that left me pretty shocked. I had not seen this particular reveal coming at all. It only made me more excited for the second book which also will be the final one. I can’t wait to find out where the story goes and what will be in store for Nova, Luc and Keo.
About the author:
A.J. Locke is a young adult and adult fantasy author, and also writes and illustrates picture books. She is an artist of various mediums including oil and acrylic paint, and watercolor. When she’s trying to avoid her writing projects she can be found trying to make a dent in her TBR pile, playing video games, watching anime, baking, and chasing the ever elusive eight hours of sleep. A.J. is originally from Trinidad and Tobago and now resides in NYC.
A.J. is represented by Rebecca Podos of Rees Agency.
Love the sound of this! Especially all the different kinds of supernatural creatures in one story. Trios can be tricky to get right but it seems the author did a great job with the three main characters😁
I would die for these three characters and especially Keo. He’s so precious!
This looks like a wonderful read. Thanks for sharing your review.
I feel like most of the paranormal romances I’ve read tend to only feature one or two kinds of creates, so mixing all of them together is really fun!
This does indeed sound like such a unique take on paranormal creatures, I’m super intrigued!