Book review :
An utterly fresh and unique take on the shifter genre. Dark, gruesome, and brutal, but also heart meltingly sweet, and filled with real emotions. (and a ton of sex)

This is a MM love story. It's hardcore and animalistic with alpha/beta dynamics. It takes place in the current world, where stupid humans decided it was a good idea to play around with an ancient book.

This is an intricate story, alternating between the present day and flashbacks to earlier events. Told from both Luca and Nox’s points of view, we get their perspectives on their growing understanding of the mystery, as well as their blossoming love affair.

The premise that scientists are exploring unorthodox ways to cure fatal illness, or even dabbling with resurrecting the dead, is frighteningly close to reality. Adrienne Wilder cleverly blends Egyptian lore with modern science and a touch of magic, to create an event that’s just close enough to possible to make my skin crawl.

The author has well weaved the storyline and added a lot of spicy scenes to read. Characters are well plotted.

I am thankful to @netgalley and the publisher for providing me this book in return of an honest review.
Happy Reading!

3.5 stars

When I saw this book and the shifter/Anubis angle, I was sold. MF or MM it doesn't matter (even though, I've kind of been in a bit of a MM reading mood more lately) if it's a shifter and let alone an Ancient Egyptian slant of a paranormal book, I am all over it.

I will give the author some props for originality. Nox and the worldbuilding within were fairly original. I really enjoyed the world Ms. Wilder created here. There was tons of action and mystery. My main set bad was the squick factor of Koda being Luca's brother and the whole swarm orgy thing. (I am not a huge fan of my main characters actively being with others in the books I read. I'm a very possessive person like that, I know. But, I am who I am. Just be forewarned if you feel the same) But that swarm factor did lend itself to the originality of the storyline and the world.

The author leaves a lot more to be discussed/discovered in further books. I am pretty connected with the characters and am invested in seeing how this world continues on. I will most likely be continuing the series.

*ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

This book just wasn't for me. I ended up dnf-ing it at about 50%. There wasn't anything wrong with it, it had an interesting concept involving shifters, but I just found it hard to follow at times and it was so long. Again, it just wasn't for me personally, but I'm sure other people would enjoy it!

This book is the first one I have read from this author and I have fallen in love. This a perfect book with the perfect misture of romance, angst, thrill, plot, pain and much more. I can guarantee this will not be my last book. Thankyou so much for writing this masterpiece Adrienne Wilder.
The story begins when a naked man, NOX storms into Luca's house. He then proceeds to tell him his life is in danger and takes him with him to escape. But there is a teeny tiny problem, the guy does not know from what or how he got here, or what his name was? At the same time the there is a huge explosion at a well known laboratory causing many government agencies to take action. This starts the whirlwind of there journey.
This is the best Sci Fi/Fantasy book I have ever read. This will have a huge impact on the industry after it's release. I can forsee this book being sold in all book stores.
The picturisque discription, emotional flow, the plot flow, the POVs and flash backs. Hats off to you author!

DNF

The writing is not for me, the sexual urges and intimacy were described in a super uncomfortable way for me, and the plot was uninteresting.

This book is delightfully dark! I wasn't sure what to expect going on but I really enjoyed it. This kind of hits both sides of the spectrum... it's violent and dark, but has moments that are very tender and sweet. Some new and original world building in the "shifter" universe and I liked it. I found some of the science a little confusing... maybe it just needed to be fleshed out a bit more.

Great characters, lots of tension! Really enjoyed it.

A nude man invades Luca Suarez's home and protects him from creatures who cannot exist. Creatures hunting him. The stranger can't tell Luca why. He can't even tell Luca his name. He remembers nothing until the moment he sees Luca. The only hint Luca has to the stranger's identity is a tattoo on his wrist: N o X. Nox doesn't know who he is, but he's sure of three things, his memory loss is temporary, the monsters chasing Luca are called Anubis, and his Alpha, Koda, sent Nox to protect him. There's just one problem… Koda is Luca's brother who was murdered five years ago. With each passing hour, Nox fills in the pieces painting an impossible truth. And with each passing hour, both men find themselves unexplainably attracted to each other. Something Luca is willing to embrace because he has nothing left to lose. And one Nox can't let happen because it could get Luca killed. Nox is a HEA/HFN m/m paranormal, science-fiction romance. But be warned, these are NOT the shifters you are used to reading about.

*A fast pace, twist and turns, edge of your seat, dark paranormal suspense, passionate, high-heat, Egyptian lore, protective alpha male, size difference, hurt/comfort, reluctant lover, mm, m/m gay romance, that will "knock your fluffy socks off" (according to readers).*

I really liked the premise for this book. It’s a shifter romance with and Egyptology twist! Amazing! The characters were well developed and the story was easy to follow.

However, it was sooooo long. I’m not sure if that was my perception because there were only 12 chapter but it sometimes took over an hour to read one chapter or if it was really a long book. The purpose of a chapter can be to create drama and suspense or it can be to introduce a change (scene, day/time, narrator, etc.) but there didn’t seem to be a rhyme or reason for most of the chapters in this book. It also was just really long. I get that there was a lot of complicated science going on and they needed opportunities to explain but I would have loved a little compaction of explanations, events, and just general descriptions.

It ends as a Happy For Now and I am really excited for the next book because the author created an interesting world that I can’t wait to hear more about.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I started this book... but oh my wow... was it SPICY!!!

Luca and Nox were so intense, and I was so here for it. I LOVED just how protective he is of Luca.

Paranormal Romance is always my jam... and NOX definitely DELIVERED.

I couldn't put it down once I picked it up. It's fast paced, has such GOOD action/steam/gore/passion.... I got hooked. I hope there are more books to come, because I will DEFINITELY be reading them all!

I went into this story not really knowing what to expect but man was it way more flushed out than I initially thought it would be.

Nox and Luca were pure fire on the page. Slow burn that turns into not stop intensive heat! Like 🔥🔥🔥 heat! So buckle up and prepare your loins cause damn even the fire fighters are sitting this one out!

The story itself was so unique and engaging to me. It didn’t just take the typical werewolf lore and run with it. The author took that but added so many twists. Egyptian myth, scientists, military, on the run! This book was like go, go, go!

Definitely would recommend and want to see what comes next!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5
🌶🌶🌶🌶/5

Luca’s cancer has come back and he know this is it.

Then a stranger breaks into his house to protect him from dog like creatures.

Nox can’t remember much but knows his job is to protect Luca at all costs.

This story explores science thwarting death with the help of ancient lore.

A big Thanks to Netgalley for sending me this ARC.

This is adult paranormal fiction, so it's definitely not for the younger audience. There's a lot of explicit scenes so just keep that in mind.

It became one of my favorite books immediately, and I will always recommend it to people who wants a paranormal, action filled, queer read!
This book kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time, and I couldn't put it down until I knew everyone was going to be okay!

I fell in love with the characters! Luka is such an adorable guy and Nox is so protective of him (in a cute way)
So many things happens all at ones, and it's impossible to put the book down as soon as you've started it.
I loved everything about the plot, and I'm very excited for the sequel.

4.5 stars from me!

I always think I know what'll happen in Wilder stories, and I'm usually surprised at least once. I love that.

This is a pretty weird shifter story (that's good; I don't like the typical kind) and while I found the nuances of Anubis a bit confusing, I didn't let that bother me. I hope there's a second book. The end left me very curious.

This is a violent story, and carnal, and yet the effort to have permission left me thrilled. I enjoyed all the characters. It's a good story. If the descriptions appeal, do read it.

The reason I deducted a star is, in the Kindle edition at least, it desperately needs a line edit. Typos and missing commas and wrong words really pile up by the last few chapters. Lots of readers can ignore that. I'm editing my own book. I can't turn that awareness off. Sometimes they throw me out of the story, and makes me sad. I hope other versions fared better.

This book is definitely wild - in pretty much every way. Luca is dying from a final recurrence of leukemia. He has no one left after the death of his brother and his parents. When Nox shows up, naked and telling him they needed to run or Luca was going to die - everything changes in an instant. Nox has no memories other than a drive to keep Luca safe and returning memories and knowledge of being something other than human.

I loved the concept of the book and the growth both Nox and Luca showed over time. There were definitely a lot of super exciting moments - and a good amount of sex and gore. All the best elements of a wild sci-fi ride!
The book however, was a little too long I think - or maybe too meandering in the middle. It also took a turn at the end - I think to expand the book into a series - but the groundwork for that hadn't really been laid. It definitely qualifies as a twist - but I felt like I was being jolted out of the book I was reading and into something else entirely.

Overall - I enjoyed it and it was a really interesting take on shifter/sci-fi/urban paranormal.

I received this book as an ARC via NetGalley, but these opinions are all my own.