Wicked Things by Nyla K is a collection of four paranormal/monster/alien romance novellas featuring the Grim Reaper, werewolves, kraken, pirates, mermen, aliens, and cloned creations. If you’re a fan of monsters and dark romance, you’ll love this collection.
Note: If you are easily triggered, you may want to check out the author’s extensive trigger warnings at the start of each novella.
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Collection Rating:
🥭🥭🥭🥭.25
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
(you can find my rating and spice system here)
Nyla starts things off with the world’s best dedication page ever:
Wicked Things Novella 1: Scared to Death
POV & Tense: Dual POV, first person, present tense
Genre: Paranormal Romance, MM Romance
Tropes/Themes: Grief/Mourning, Alcoholism, Horror, Blood, Dead Cows, Grim Reaper, Shapeshifting, Cockpocket
tw: suicidal thoughts, starts off as very dubcon/SA but turns into enthusiastic consent
Synopsis:
Following the death of his beloved wife, life isn’t worth living for farmer Zeke. He drinks himself into oblivion, cuts off family, friends, and all offers of help as the bank threatens to foreclose on his farm.
Bel has one job to do — reap Zeke’s soul. It should be a simple task, but when it comes to the farmer, Bel can’t take his soul and can’t keep his hands off the man either.
My Review:
Nyla gets into the grieving process with Zeke and delivers a tale of a man at the end of his rope, hoping for death. The horror elements are so intriguing: cows screaming, blood and large, black feathers, shapeshifting black mist, and a creepy scarecrow. I loved everything about Bel, from his physical attributes to his inner conflict. My favorite thing about this story is the theme of how death and despair can spark new life.
Hurting him was inevitable. It is. That’s why I’m here, after all. To take from him the last remaining thing he has… But the problem with Ezekiel is that he doesn’t fear death. He wants it. And because I’m stubborn, and maybe a tad dramatic, I refuse to end his life if he wants it to end.
Wicked Things Novella 2: Purr for Me
POV & Tense: Dual POV, first person, present tense
Genre: Monster Romance, MM Romance, Shifter Romance (Werewolf)
Tropes/Themes: Peter and the Wolf Retelling, Age Gap, BDSM, Daddy Kink, lingerie, exhibitionism/voyeurism, knotting, shifted and unshifted sex, fated mates, hookup app
Synopsis:
A beast lurks in the village shadows, preying on unsuspecting villagers. There’s a bounty on the beast’s head, but animal lover Pyotr (aka Purr) yearns to tame the beast for himself.
My Review:
Purr has a tender heart, and I love his affinity for the forest and creatures within. While his father never understood him, his relationship with his grandfather is special. The man gives Purr leeway to be himself but ultimately wants to protect him. The hookup app part of the story is delicious, and I couldn’t wait for Purr and Vlad to realize they were texting with each other. Vlad tries very hard to do the right thing and resist, but Purr is a little minx, and we know how things will inevitably turn out. The climax and ending are spectacular.
“When you undress for me, you’ll do it slowly,” I rumble. “You’ll present yourself to me as my property. Display every piece that belongs to me.”
“Yes Daddy,” he replies, almost robotically. Like a reflex already. The kid is a born submissive.
Wicked Things Novella 3: Wrecked
POV & Tense: Multi POV, first person, present tense
Genre: Paranormal/Monster Romance, MMM Romance, Historical (ish—set in 1700s but they talk modern)
Tropes/Themes: Human Pirate, Merman, Kraken, Bisexual Awakening, Forced Proximity, Stranded on an Island
tw: dubcon, Stockholm Syndrome, period-typical homophobia, breath play
I can’t help myself. I’m drawn to the drama of the chase. The sweet suffering of incompatibility.
Synopsis:
Inspired by The Little Mermaid and Moby Dick. When buccaneer Andros Van Alden’s ship is smashed during a storm, he thinks he’s dead, and that he’s only imagined the powerful arms and flash of a teal tail as he’s carried ashore. But when he comes to, he finds he’s not as alone on the remote island as he once thought.
Cane, the reluctant Triton Prince, longs for connection to the human world and a collection of trinkets to prove it. When he rescues a human, he’s determined to make him his. And if things weren’t complicated enough, a former foe reappears… Wreck, kraken and local troublemaker, just can’t leave well enough alone. And when all is said and done, Cane and Andros may not want him to leave…
My Review:
This one is a deliciously sinful read (as are all the novellas in this collection). I really enjoyed Andros’ emotional journey and the push-pull between his desire for Cane versus his determination that he’s completely 100% straight. Both Cane and Andros have been thrust into roles predetermined by their birthright, but their growing attraction to each other, and to Wreck, just might set them free.
“Sweet pirate,” I growl, slinking a tentacle around his throat. “I’m not going to kill you…” He lets out a subtle breath of relief before I hum, “But when I’m done with you, you’ll wish you were dead.”
Wicked Things Novella 4: The Creator’s Hands
POV & Tense: Multi POV, first person, present tense
Genre: Alien Romance, MMM Romance, Science Fiction
Tropes/Themes: Frankenstein retelling, Aliens, Alien Abduction, Cloning, Telepathy, Naughty Creations (non-binary clones)
tw: incest-adjacent (the clones have some of Bastien’s DNA)
Synopsis:
Geneticist Bastien Krenworth is married to his job, which is why the Theobromians chose him. Five hundred years after the Earth’s destruction, he emerges from stasis, tasked with creating a new race—a human-Theobromian hybrid called the Prometheans—to repopulate the Earth. But his horny creations have other things on their minds.
My Review:
I’ll admit I didn’t think this story was going to be my cup of tea, but boy was I wrong. I enjoyed this one a lot. Bastien’s exhilaration at creating life is heartwarming and infectious, further compounding his moral dilemma when his creations admit their attraction to him. I LOVE that he named each one after candy (Snicker is my favorite). Each creation has a unique personality and physical attributes, but all are temptation personified. I love where this one went and how it ended.
His eyelids flutter, and my heart leaps. Then his lips part, and he sucks in a breath.
“He’s alive!” I gasp in awe, watching closely as his eyes slowly creep open, locking right on me.
Final Thoughts:
Wicked Things is a wild ride that makes me wish for more Nyla K paranormal/monster romance. But she’s got an extensive catalog of MM and MMM contemporary romance that I need to work my way through. I’ve recently purchased Distorted, book one of her Alabaster Penitentiary series, and am looking forward to it.
Author Stalking (but not in a creepy way):
Nyla K is the author of scorching hot MM and MMM contemporary romance (some is too hot for AZ, so check her website for additional books to purchase).
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Banner image credit: Ocean, Tentacles
~~If you like spicy books with tentacles, check out my SPICY TENTACLE REC LIST~~
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