By Naomi Lucas
Dommik was a monster, a Monster Hunter, and an alpha. Part of an elite group that dealt with the horrors of the universe. At least that was what everyone at the spaceport was whispering as he walked by. A Cyborg, a hunter, a beast with eyes as dark as the pits of Hell and the stride of a predator.
Katalina was a nobody who was intimate with death. It clung to her like a shroud, It followed her like the plague, and infected her like a parasite. When she overheard that the Monster Hunter needed an assistant, she took the job. And when the Cyborg’s eyes caught hers, she knew getting closer to death might just bring her back to life.
The Cyborg didn’t scare her. So she followed him and left fate up to chance.
This is my first encounter with Ms. Lucas's writing and it was definitely interesting and memorable. There were a few reviews that convinced me to give it a whirl. I was promised superb imagination and intense "romance". Ms. Lucas certainly delivered on both.
In this book, we are introduced to the Earthian Planetary Exploration Division (EPED) and one of it's employees, Dommik. Dommik is a cyborg and was specifically designed to hunt and destroy. This makes him, and other cyborgs like him, perfectly suited for this job that has him collecting flora and fauna all across the dangerous universe.
Due to a horrific event on a previous mission, Dommik is being forced to hire an assistant. As a loner with some secrets, this is the last thing that he wants. Our heroine, Katalina (Kat) takes advantage of this situation and jumps head first into not only a new job and adventure but into the clutches of a sexy monster.
A few important things:
1) This is NOT a sweet and simple romance story
2) The imagery is descriptive and dark
3) On a 10 point erotica scale, I would give this a solid 8
4) If bugs make you squeamish, you may want to steer clear
I have read A LOT of shifter type stories but this was a first for me. Not only does our cyborg shift, but he has been spliced with arachnid DNA and so his other form resembles a spider. Literally. The description of his body reforming to allow for extra arms and legs as well as teeth filled with venom is highly detailed and intriguingly grotesque.
The author could have gone a few directions with Kat's reaction to this. But, I like how it was dealt with. Kat is terrified at times, asking "WTF is she seeing". But, she also looks past it and this dark, scary side of him is enticing to her. He's attractive but also creepy. And, that sort of thing is what turns her on.
Kat has grown up sheltered, purposely. She was believed to have been born with a deadly parasite that killed her parents and, most recently, her grandmother. Because of this, she grew up quarantined. And with a life, so close to death, she chose a certain type of profession. She is a hospice care provider and has been around death all her life. She see's Dom, and this new job, as a way to finally live.
Dommick is not a hero. He is an anti-hero with lists of reasons why Kat should stay clear. But they need each other. Dom needs Kat to finally care about another person and Kat needs Dom to get over her fears and move on with her life.
This is not your lovey-dovey romance. It's dark and a little disturbing. But, I didn't find it completely unpleasant. Sure, I personally may have not made the same choices or reacted the same way as Kat does, but that's the beauty of reading books. We get to walk in someone else's shoes.
Ms. Lucas certainly excels in world building and character development. Overall, the story is well-written but there were grammatical errors here and there and at times, the language did get a little flowery and that caused some confusion.
There are other books in this series and although I'm not dying to get started on them, I may be inclined to give those a chance as well.
What did you think?
