Rating 5 stars out of 5

Temptation lurks around every corner in worlds sometimes dark, sometimes lurid. Giving in is both dangerous and satisfying, though never in the ways one expects. While these enticements offer a vast range of benefits and boons, the cost is a soul and the devil expects his due. Sometimes suave and charming or calculating and cruel, these devils have schemes and desires of their own. They can be creatures to run away from… or toward.

Join the most unique and celebrated authors of LGBT urban fantasy and paranormal fiction for a fast-paced and unpredictable ride, from a city on the other side of reality, to a world suspended in dusk, to a twisted version of the 1960s and 70s.

Meet devils in top hats and waistcoats, a defrocked motorcycle-riding priest, and a genderfluid antihero—among many more. Full of humor, romance, horror, action, intrigue, and magic, these stories have one common element….

They’re one hell of a good time.

5 Stars ~ just 5 stars because even if the ratings sorts of varied up and down ever so slightly in my mind per tale this is an exemplary collection of stories from a group of authors who know their way around the supernatural narrative.  Boy howdy, how they delivered.  Chilling, humorous, thought provoking, wildly imaginative, and filled with love and loyalty that borders on horror, every tale here is one to be savored.  So no ratings from here on out, they are just incredible in their own way.

Infernal Affairs by Jordan L. Hawk
Jordan L. Hawk launches the collection with a tale that’s one of my favorite’s. A demon Ralgath, on his first assignment as a crossroads demon, gets played by a gorgeous mortal, Chess, who screws Ralgath (literally) into giving them a contract for superhero powers so they can go out into the world and fight for good.  Ralgath’s boss is not happy with him, and the subsequent funny actions and events lead to Ralgath meeting up with Chase again.  This is a rich story, full of laughs, love, adventure, redemption, and heroes.  Done with in the wonderful Jordan L. Hawk style, with outstanding plot and characters so well done you wanted more.

Collared by TA Moore
“Sometimes, when you couldn’t change what was going on and you didn’t want to understand it, all you could do was shove it under the bed and make sure your toes didn’t stick out from the covers.”

TA Moore has become an author whose stories I look out for.  They twist and turn with the unusual and the edgy.  That’s very apparent here with Collared and the relationship between Jack and Meth.  It evolves, or better the truth of their relationship is slowly revealed over the course of the story.  However, it’s not so evident at the beginning when Jack sets out to track down a missing child.  It’s an horrific case, one that grows worse the more details that are gathered.  Jack’s background too is shown and the dynamics between Jack, Meth, and the other players becomes more complicated and fascinating.

This story had a way of sending me running off for more of this author immediately because everything was so spot on.  The world building, characters, storyline and ending.  Even down to the small chilling details that would come in the future.  Just amazing.  Would that I see more of this world, Jack, and Meth.  More cases, more of their haunting and haunted relationship. I would tell you this is a favorite of mine (it is), but that is going to get redundant after a while.

Counterfeit Viscount by Ginn Hale

.The Viscount Archibald is leading a double life. Since he’s soll his soul to Nimble, he becomes Archie and descends into the underbelly of the town to pay his due every three months. This allows him to keep his title and have his revenge against his uncle. This is alternative history where Prodigals, the descendants of fallen angels who have been converted by the Church, live alongside humans. A prodigal boy in service to a lord is afraid a fellow servant who’s gone missing was murdered at the Dee Club after its Sunday fights.

This story was one of the ones that was a little dense at the beginning.  It took time to get into.  Although once Archie and Nimble’s background become clear, I become more connected to them and this story.  The last section contained most of the action and held my attention.  This was probably the one story that I scrambled through.

11:59 by C.S. Poe
“He is all that stands between the innocent and the flesh-eating monsters who were once human. Because Asuka no longer dreams, he cannot be chased into consciousness by one of the nightmares.”

CS Poe is another name that’s landed on my must read list.  Such a marvelous, surprising author of great narrative depth.  This story is a perfect example of why you should search out their tales.  Incredible worldbuilding, endlessly fascinating, it starts with Asuka, who sold his soul to the devil so he would never dream again, lose the nightmares, and prevent him from becoming a monster.  But like all contracts with the devil, there’s the fine prints, and all the dreams are lost, including the ones that bring the hope, and the wishes, and much more.

Next up is Merrick, who has spent his time studying mythology and believes he knows the source of the nightmares and how they can be destroyed if he and Asuka work together.

What follows is an exciting, tautly constructed tale, full of mythology, gripping with suspense and action, twists and turns, plus an ending that will leave your jaw hanging open.

Wonderland City by Rhys Ford
“Back before I met the Devil and bled my soul out into his hands, I’d have thought chasing a cigar-munching white bunny with pink eyes was something I’d only run into after I chewed on a few peyote buttons.
Now it was a typical Tuesday.”

A Rhys Ford story can bring out the fangyrl in me and Wonderland City is a perfect example why.  Ford takes Lewis Carroll’s ‘Alice in Wonderland and gives it a warped, wonderful further twist  Here the Queen of Heart’s has been executed, Xander Spade sold his soul to the Devil because, hey, he was a very naive and dumb kid at the time, who ended in down the Rabbit hole.

Then the Devil,Az, says he will return Xander’s soul if he will just do a favor…yeah, right.

This is my all time favorite story here.  You meet all the characters you might expect to meet in Wonderland…just don’t expect them and it to look and things to go as you would think. Things here are convoluted, masterfully warped, the scenes vivid and sharp, and, each twist more memorable than the last.

Dark Favors by Jordan Castillo Price
“The driver looked me up and down and said, “You strike me as a perceptive young man.” That really should’ve been my first clue that I was dealing with the Prince of Lies.”

Johnny Lockheart has been offered the chance to get his soul back from the Devil if he murders a TV star, but her bodyguard Adam is going to have something to say about that. Both of them are Chosen, which means that they trade favors for power and know how the world really works stripped of illusion by the Sight. The flashbacks help us understand how Johnny ends up the way he is, and are well timed to pack a punch. This book makes better use of the idea of evil being seductive, whereas the other books focus on the grotesque, or horror elements.

Dark Favors was the perfect way to end this collection.  Strong, effective, and, for me, it held just that ever so fleeting hint of bittersweetness or darkness one needs when reading a collection of stories dealing with men who have sold their souls to the Devil. It is exactly how this story should end and what I would expect from Jordan Castillo Price, that extra depth that makes a story so memorable. 

Greg Tremblay did a superlative job with all the many voices here.  From little girls to white rabbits, to various demons to gender fluid humans and much more, he handles each one effortlessly.  It was such a pleasure to listen to each and every story.  The time just flew by.  He was the  perfect match for this collection!

Cover art: Reece Notley.  That model does draw your eye.  What does it represent to you?  One of the 7 deadly sins?  Could be….

Sales Links:   DSP Publications   |  Amazon |  Audible |

Audiobook Details:

Audible Audio, Unabridged
Published December 27th 2018 by Dreamspinner Press (first published October 16th 2018)
Original TitleDevil Take Me
ASINB07L5Y3M59
Edition LanguageEnglish