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Between the Devil and the Sea

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What happens when a devil claims a demon?

Detective Shadow Yor hates his life.

He spends all of his time, day after day, struggling against the demons in his head that tell him he’s a worthless, unlovable person. This doesn’t change when he’s sent on a new assignment with his partner to solve a series of murders. He’s good at his job and will find whoever did it, there’s no doubt there. The only question is whether or not he’ll be able to keep himself together, or if his empathic abilities will finally be the death of him.

Apollo Orobas is bored.

He’s bored of his secret nighttime proclivities and bored of playing the part of charming neighborhood do-gooder. Apollo isn’t good, never has been, but just when he’s starting to think life holds no interest, Shadow Yor stumbles into his sights. It doesn’t take long for him to figure out the detective is also hiding his true self, and suddenly coaxing Shade’s monster out into the light is all Apollo can think of. As obsession sinks its claws in, he decides it’s time for a new game, one Shade is going to play with him. Whether he likes it or not.

Kidnapped and forced to endure whatever twisted plans Apollo has in store, Shade struggles to hold onto his idea of right and wrong, but the more he tries to resist, the more those lines start to blur. What chance does a mere demon have against an actual devil? Especially one who soothes those twisted voices in his head and makes him feel for the first time ever that maybe he isn’t as unlovable as he’s always believed.

Trigger Warning: This is a stand-alone dark romance which means there are many themes that some might find disturbing. Some of these include, but are not limited to, dub-con, violence, a seriously obsessed male lead, a male lead who deals with low self-esteem, and explicit sexual content not suitable for all listeners. Please be sure to check out the Author's Note for a complete list of warnings! HEA guarantee!

©2023 Chani Lynn Feener (P)2024 Chani Lynn Feener Romance Science Fiction
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Given the blurb for this book I expected this to be right up my street and although by the end I did enjoy this read and found the premise, world building & characters interesting the overall execution of the story lacked something for me. Both Shadow & Apollo are intriguing characters with layers to them but their connection as a couple and how that came about wasn't strong enough for me, it lacked something outside of the physical to really cement their bond in my opinion and even what the author threw in towards the very end wasn't enough for me to really believe their connection. I totally understood how and what the author was trying to do but the lack of chemistry made it hard to fully believe. The very start of the book hooked me but then the pacing went right out the window and it seemed to take forever to reach a point where the story looked like it was finally going to deliver on what the synopsis & tws said it would, and to an extent it did but it quickly became repetitive and that had me zoning out.

Sci-fi setting, empaths, serial killer psychopath, noncon, stalking, kidnapping, murder, violence, abandonment issues, Stockholm syndrome, and yet I'm left feeling that somehow it wasn’t that dark. I can't explain it. Apollo delivers on being a true psychopath though, there is absolutely zero remorse for what he does and I appreciate the author delivering on that when I've read other books that claim to have a psychopathic character but they never fully commit. Overall the bones of a great story were there and somewhat delivered upon, this was my first book by this author and I enjoyed it enough to give more of their work a try. 🌶🌶🌶

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one of my favourite dark mm books and I am so pleasedmto say that the narrator absolutely smashes this out of the park. really loved it

amazing

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General: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🫦🫦🫦🫦🫦
Narration: 🎙️🎙️🎙️🎙️🎙️

✨✨✨ Between the Devil and the Sea by Chani Lynn Feener (@tempestchani), is first book in her The Devil and the Sea duet. Narrated by Dan Levy (@danlevy609). ✨✨✨

Tropes:
🌊 MM
😈 Enemies to Lovers
🌊 Kidnapping/Forced Proximity
😈 Dark Romance
🌊 Dub-Con
😈 Empathic Abilities
🌊 Power Struggle
😈 Obsessive Male Lead
🌊 Morally Gray Characters
😈 Manipulation & lies
🌊 Stalking

Chani Lynn has become my go-to author for MM sci-fi stories featuring highly unhinged characters. Knowing I’d be on the road for a while, I decided to pick up another one of her books in audiobook format. At first, I wasn’t sure—given the heavy trigger warnings and the additional caution from the author—but in my opinion, it was exactly what I expected from her.

We follow Detective Shadow Jor, who is called in to investigate a serial killer case where all the victims are depraved individuals themselves. As his investigation unfolds, Apollo, a journalist, appears and somehow manages to break through the thick emotional walls Shadow has built around himself.

If you enjoy complex characters with intense emotions, intriguing abilities, and a low sci-fi setting, this book is for you.

Narrator Dan Levy delivers an impressive performance, and from now on, I think I’ll always hear his version of Apollo’s honeyed growl.

Amazing narration of an incredible story

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This is my first Chani book, but it will definitely not be my last. I'm going on an obsessive reading spree, and I'm not stopping until I have gone through every book you've written, Chani. Every single one of them. Your mind is incredible. Thank you for sharing it with us.

I also want to commend Dan Levy for his beautiful narration. At first, I thought I wouldn't enjoy his voice, but three chapters in, and I was a gonner. I will keep an eye out for his narrations now because this is also my first time listening to him.

Lastly, to anyone reading this, get the hell out of here and go meet Shadow and Apollo. They are waiting for you. ❤️

PS: In my first review, I meant to say, "You might find tamer books that give you balance and surrender, but for those in love with the dark, you won't find something better right now,"

Hope that clears the mistake up.

Forgot To Add 👇🏾 In My First Review.

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2 ⭐ I feel a bit at a loss with this. On the surface it’s everything I like but something just doesn’t work. The relationship isn’t believable at all it’s just missing something vital.
I honestly couldn’t stand either MMC. It’s nothing to do with the triggers. I tend love a psychopath, especially one attracted to a damaged soul; and while Apollo is written as a genuine psychopath and Shade is clearly very mentally unwell and damaged..something is still missing. It’s made worse by not being 1st POV - I always think that takes away from genuinely connecting with the characters so that sure doesn’t help.

The actual story and world building is good and I think the plot would have been very good if the MMCs were even just slightly more likeable, regardless of their flaws etc. there’s just nothing to get on board with you kinda don’t care what happens to them. I almost DNF but was really hoping something big would happen towards the end, especially with such rave reviews, but it doesn’t.

🎧 got to be one the most annoying narrators I’ve ever listened to. Every time he spoke as Apollo he basically spoke in reverse motion - never mind slow motion - and it was so irritating. I get he was trying for the low deep growly voice but it was far too slow and put on. Yet as Shade he went from petulant child, to whiny brat to super miserable. It was just off.
I honestly don’t do this a lot but I don’t recommend it. Not as a book or as an audio. The only reason for 2 stars instead of 1, is that the overall plot is okay and credit where it’s due for creative writing.

50/50

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