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Hell-Bent: A Tale Dripping in Crimson (eBook)
| Hell-Bent: A Tale Dripping in Crimson | |
|---|---|
 Hell-Bent: A Tale Dripping in Crimson eBook Cover, written by Erica Beale | |
| Author(s) | Erica Beale |
| Series | Tales In Crimson |
| Publisher |
Amazon Digital Services Smashwords |
| Publication date | March 7, 2023 |
| Media type | eBook |
| Length | 32 Pages |
| ISBN | 9798215469248 |
| ASIN | B0BWYV3TKS |
For other uses of the word Succubus, see Succubus (disambiguation).
Hell-Bent: A Tale Dripping in Crimson is an eBook written by Erica Beale. It is a work in the Tales In Crimson series by this author. In this work the character Na'ahmeh is a Succubus.
Overview
- Title: Hell-Bent: A Tale Dripping in Crimson
- Author: Erica Beale
- Published By: Amazon Digital Services & Smashwords
- Length: 32 Pages
- Format: eBook
- ASIN: B0BWYV3TKS
- ISBN: 9798215469248
- Publishing Date: March 7, 2023
Plot Summary
A King of Hell is used to being in charge, however, faced with a demoness armed with sensuality as her weapon, he learns even he can fall victim to a powerful predator.
Mammon, a King of Hell, has been trapped in the human realm for centuries. When offered a chance to return home, he jumps at the opportunity. The catch? He must free a powerful succubus named Na'ahmeh who's bent on revenge against her maker. Mammon, posing as billionaire playboy Dezi Pater, has been living it up in Crimson, enjoying the perks of wealth and power. But after releasing Na'ahmeh, Mammon realizes his mistake and must confront the consequences of his actions. With Na'ahmeh on a rampage, Mammon must use every ounce of his arrogance, confidence, and power to subdue her before she destroys everything he's come to love.
That is if he can resist the taste of home she represents.
Book Review
The following review was originally published by Tera on her Blog, A Succubi's Tale on May 21, 2023
Mammon has desires that he cannot resist. Hell beckons for him to return, but cannot. It’s just impossible. But Na’ahmeh has her own plan, her own desires and she will do whatever is necessary to have what is hers. Including Mammon whether he wants to or not.
The work is an erotic fantasy told in a flashback for the most part though Mammon’s memories. It’s both terribly sad for what he learns when he encounters Na’ahmeh and so dearly needful at the same time. For Na’ahmeh, the story is more of a need towards ultimate revenge and how she has placed all of the pieces, including Mammon himself to give what she demands.
There are many layers to the story which slowly come to show just how evil Na’ahmeh is, her power over all around her is shadowed just enough that the revelation of what all of her moves are driving towards is completely unexpected. Na’ahmeh is very much the stereotypical evil succubus that tempts others, draws them to her and then bends them to her will. Her actual physical form the story is rather a unique take, being something that I hadn’t read before in how that pieces together. Her power mixed with her force of seduction was delicious when she and the main character finally meet and the heat between them, driven by her ultimate need, works wonderfully.
But Na’ahmeh feels incomplete overall nonetheless. There’s a story not told of the past which, even in passing, would have added what was missing for me as a character. That missing part is the series that came before I think. As this is part of a series, without reading the prior works there’s a gap in what you need to know about Na’ahmeh which is a bit glossed over.
She’s evil, more than that by far, but just felt too one-dimensional given all the other characters tell of her. It would have been nice to have an interlude with her before she and the main character met, to see from her perspective if for no other reason to hear her gloat and scheme.
If anything Na’ahmeh needs a book for herself, to tell things from her perspective. There need not be the ultimate battle, she doesn’t have to have her plans come to fruition. At least she should be reflecting on her past, her plans and her singular desire. She’s a power character in many ways and should be shown in all her deadly evil which was barely touched on here.
Three and a half out of five pitchforks.
Na’ahmeh interests me, perhaps there will be the other shoe to be dropped in another work in the series. Mammon is a tragedy unfolding which might becomes far more than what he has become. Both have their attraction, perhaps this particular encounter isn’t the end of their entanglement.