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Thursday, April 13, 2017

Double Book Review: Damned (A Damned Novel #1) by LM Pruitt

Damned (A Damned Novel #1)
by LM Pruitt
February 23, 2017
256 pages
All things truly wicked start from innocence.
—Ernest Hemingway
Being a demon isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Especially when you make a massive mistake your first month on the job.

Even more so when your sister is one of the all-star players on the other team.

Add in the rumors of not one but two coups and it’s not hard to see—something wicked this way comes…




Bianca Greenwood's Review
Four ½ Damn’ that’s Good Sheep
Thirty year-old Julie is rather aimless. She’s beautiful and privileged, but not challenged and definitely not happy. When a couple of lust demons make her an offer she can’t refuse, Julie sells her soul in exchange for eternal life, abundant wealth, and endless mind-blowing sex. In exchange, Julie must fill energy quotas for her boss at a weekly tip-in. Julie tumbles headlong into a glamourous lifestyle with an immensely powerful, thousand-year-old demon at her side, barely looking back at the life she left behind.

Julie is an interesting character. She starts the book a bit damaged, a bit empty. Ironically, her transformation into a demon is what makes her more human.  In short order Julie knows she’s being manipulated and there are secrets she needs to uncover. Her journey, so far, is one of self-discovery and awakening. At times she’s definitely not likeable, not even close, but when a main character is an anti-hero, and indulges in things a typical hero wouldn’t, the possibilities are wildly endless. 

Now, this may speak to my own flawed character, but I adore the character of Asmodeus, Julie’s mentor and lover. He’s domineering to the core, but so damn sexy. The relationship between the two is interesting and anything but pedestrian. I’m staunchly team Asmodeus. 

This book is off the charts sexy. So if that’s not your thing, it may not be for you. For the record, it’s sooo my thing and this book was a delicious guilty pleasure and a damn near perfect reading experience. I have one major complaint to lodge. Damned ends with a cliff hanger. I despise cliff hangers. I need closure! Also, there are some emerging character dynamics I don’t care for. But we’ll see where this goes. Eventually.

Every so often, I devour a book.  Damned has been the first book this year to wholly capture my attention. I read with feverish devotion, never wanting it to end. I need book two. Like, now. The book is a spin-off to Pruitt’s Winged series, a series I knew nothing about until this week.  Pruitt’s whole collection just shot to the top of my TBR.


Jeanie G's Review
Getting 3 "you make the decision" sheep!
This is the second book I have read from this author so I went back and looked at the review from last year. I had some of the same concerns. Character building was a little thin but then this book was about Succubi and what can you really say about them!? Constant pleasure? No Judgement? Why not join those ranks when you are unhappy with your human life? I also thought this was a continuation of the "Winged" series but apparently it starts a whole new series. Although characters such as Gideon, Gabriel and Raphael all play some cameo roles.

I still felt like I was missing some background story on Julie's sister who died 3 years ago. She apparently plays an important role in the recruitment of Julie and no mention of where she is or why is provided until the last couple pages. There were other characters introduced but most didn't seem to play a major role.

The first few chapters were fun. The recruitment and mentoring of Julie were pretty standard (I would imagine) for a new Succubi and definitely had the erotic factor front and center. The next 50 percent was mainly more erotica. Julie and her mentor "fall in love" but then jealousy and control rear their ugly heads and Julie begins to question her decisions. I felt like the author got on this track and forgot to get off. Mainly descriptive erotic writing with little substance. The last couple chapters of the read picked up and advanced the story but left you hanging. UGGGGHHH! I would pick up the next installment when it's out but not sure I want to go through a lot of miscellaneous erotica to get to the storyline.

I think I am in the minority with most of L.M. Pruitt's readers as most give rave reviews. I would be more attracted to the books if the storyline instead of the erotica was the main feature. There is a place for both but in my opinion it doesn't work well here.


About the Author:
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L.M. Pruitt has been reading and writing for as long as she can remember. A native of Florida with a love of New Orleans, she has the uncanny ability to find humor in most things and would probably kill a plastic plant. She knows this because she's killed bamboo. Twice.  She is the author of the Winged series, the Plaisir Coupable series, Jude Magdalyn series, the Moon Rising series, and Taken: A Frankie Post Novel.

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