Red-Haired Ash Reads

Tess Voss knows that there are dangerous beings in the world and she is determined to take down as many as possible. When she finds an ancient creature chained up in the Welsh countryside, he offers a deal she can’t refuse. 

This was an interesting world that was a mixture of fae and Eldritch horror. There are creatures called Auf who impersonate humans after feeding on their bodies. Normal humans don’t normally notice the change, but Tessa can after her first brush with one. While I think this world was interesting, I wish there had been a bit more world building. We get a minimal explanation of what is going on with this world and what the auf are, which made it a bit hard for me to really love this book. Personally, I prefer more of an explanation of the world and characters to happen in the first book, but it seems like the next book will explain more from the author’s note at the end. 

Tessa is a hunter of the Auf creatures. She has abandoned everything she knew to destroy them and it has taken a toll on her body. I liked that Tessa was bloodthirsty and didn’t back down from the auf. Her motivations behind fighting though are still very vague, which was a bit disappointing. I wanted to know why she was doing this from the beginning but the few flashbacks we get don’t give a clear answer. Hopefully we see more character backstory from her in the next book. 

D’abel was imprisoned for eight hundred years. His freedom from the chains came because he offered a deal with Tessa, but he doesn’t disclose what it involves. D’abel was an interesting character because he is a sea serpent/naga who instantly falls for Tessa. He loves her aggression and hatred of him. I liked D’abel because of his willingness to do anything for Tessa. 

Tessa and D’abel’s relationship was an accident on Tessa’s part but not on D’abels. The deal they make links them together with a blood exchange and now they are basically married. It was an interesting concept and I enjoyed it for the most part. I found the transformation process for both of them an interesting addition and wonder what other things it changed for Tessa. 

This book ends with a potential why choose situation for Tessa after they help a god named Gamil and D’abel’s brother, Tsemkhoa. I will be interested in seeing how this plays out and how Tessa ends up dealing with this possibility. Gamil seems like a very chaotic god and it will be interesting to learn more about their abilities. 

Overall, this was an interesting world and characters and while I have some issues with it, I also want to know more so I will be reading the next book. 

TW: Death and torture; Violence and gore; Somnophilia; death of a pregnant woman briefly mentioned; institutionalization; 

*ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.*

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