Thank you for letting me read this early 🖤

I LOVED this novella and I'm already needing book two! Vera needs to unalive people to 💦, and Nikolai 💦 while he's being unalived. A match made in heaven if you ask me 🤣

It was spicy, quick, and interesting. I finished it in one sitting 😍

🖤 Dark Romance
🖤 Paranormal
🖤 30+ Curvy & Cursed FMC
🖤 Stabby FMC
🖤 Cinnamon Roll Stalker MMC
🖤 Morally Grey MMCs
🖤 Novella

Darkly Addictive and Utterly Original—A Spellbinding Start

Ink, Blood, and Other Afflictions: Episode One is the kind of story that immediately sinks its claws into you—in the best possible way. Kristen Coar has conjured a world that feels gritty, visceral, and brimming with dark magic that pulses through every page.

From the first line, I knew I was in for something special. Coar’s writing is sharp and immersive, striking that perfect balance between haunting and poetic. The atmosphere drips with tension—each scene feels like it’s written in ink and blood, exactly as the title promises.

The characters are equally magnetic. They’re flawed, dangerous, and impossible to look away from. Even in this first installment, you get the sense that each of them carries secrets like hidden daggers, and I found myself dying (pun intended) to know more about what drives them—and what they might do next.

I also love how this episode format leaves you wanting more in the best, most agonizing way. It’s like watching the pilot of a dark, addictive series and instantly needing the next episode.

If you love urban fantasy with a sharp edge, morally grey characters, and magic that feels raw and unpredictable, *Ink, Blood, and Other Afflictions* will be your next obsession. Kristen Coar is an author to watch—I can’t wait to see where this wicked tale goes next.

Vera habría sido una bibliotecaria típica, excepto por esa vez que abrió el libro equivocado y fue poseída por una diosa oscura. Ahora, cada vez que termina una vida, experimenta el tipo de orgasmo alucinante que podría romper los cimientos de su apartamento. ¿Y Nikolai? Él es el inmortal que ruega ser su próxima víctima.

Es oscuro, picante y el tipo correcto de incorrecto, ¿quieres probar?


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La idea me parece interesante, pero debido a que se centra más en lo sexual llega a volverse monótono. Tiene elementos que se eluden explotar más, espero que en las siguientes entregas podamos conocer más a los protagonistas .

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest

This was a really interesting read. Made me think of a cross over between Ruin me Gently and Cadavers.
Only issue was it was so short - I just got a taste for the story and it was done.
The spice was okay - but I did expect more detail especially with the fact the end up in bed being the main plot point.
There were one or two inconsistencies with the time of day
But overall I did enjoy it

Whew 🥵🥵🥵

This paranormal romance was so good and kept you wanting more. I honestly cannot wait to see what happens next!

Vera is amazing and works in the library where she finds a mystery book that leaves her feeling a certain type of way.

Nikolai is our stalker with a few tricks up his sleeve.

I absolutely loved the two of them so much!

3.5
Thank you to Netgalley and Kristen Coar for the arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was an absolutely unhinged wild ride from the beginning. It was a very fast novella that leaves you ready and excited for episode 2.
Vera is a librarian who opened the wrong book and everytime she kills she has a world shattering orgasm.
This book features a dark goddess, serial killers and spicy murders with a little blood involved.
I do wish there were trigger warnings at the beginning of the book.
It was a lot of fun, it is funny and incredibly unhinged.

Amazing novella. I loved how this was a perfect palette cleanser for between books. I was laughing out loud at some of the banter and really enjoyed it!

This was a great, short, spicy and entertaining read!

I enjoyed the setting and the characters. The romance plot was a little insta-lust but I absolutely ate it up! You can feel the spark between them instantly.

This is no ordinary boy meets girl, this is dark and unhinged. There's blood, there's spice, there's murder mystery and there's a story that has left me absolutely begging for more.

Initially I had hoped this was almost a teaser for a full length novel because believe me this has such amazing potential to be one. I want to know more about the MMC, I want to know more about The Goddess and even creepy David. However, I can see that there are other episodes of this series coming out later this year and I absolutely can't wait!!!

Thank you to Victory Editing, NetGalley and the author for the arc. This is my own honest review of the book.

I really enjoyed this novella. It was quick and spicy and very intriguing. Vera and Nikolai were really interesting characters and I can't wait to see more of them!

My full review is currently live on my instagram. Link is below.

Have you read The Ruinous Love trilogy but thought "this is great but needs a hot demon"? Then this may be the novella for you! This is the first of four in the series and I can't wait for the next one.

This novella was an absolute blast! It’s dark, spicy, and wildly entertaining from start to finish! It’s a quick paranormal read that blends murder, magic, and mayhem with a wicked sense of humor. The story centers on a seemingly ordinary librarian who stumbles upon a mysterious book and ends up cursed with a bloodthirsty goddess living rent-free in her mind. The twist? She can only experience pleasure when she’s well unaliving people lol. Things take an even stranger turn when someone catches her in the act, cleans up the scene, and leaves behind a single black rose. Yep, we’ve got ourselves a spooky little stalker with soulmate potential. Add in another serial killer on the loose, and you’ve got chaos in the best way. It’s over-the-top, hilarious, and delightfully unhinged. I devoured it in one sitting and can’t wait for the next installment in this wild little series!

This novella is a wild, addictive ride packed into just 80 pages – and I loved every moment. I’m already counting down the days until the next episode drops in September.

Vera is a shy, timid librarian with a fierce secret – she’s possessed by a dark goddess who gives her intense, very literal pleasure whenever she kills the city’s worst men. Her mix of quiet bookishness and deadly sinfulness, combined with banter that had me chuckling out loud, makes her utterly captivating.

Enter Nikolai, an immortal with a brooding charm and a total soft spot for Vera. He’s awkward, devoted, and honestly a bit of a lovable simp – the way he cleans up her messes, leaves her black roses and follows her around had me grinning like a lunatic.

And then there’s David, the creepiest guy at the library – I was ready for him to disappear from the moment he showed up.

With perfectly paced dual perspectives, this dark, spicy, and hilarious story is utterly unhinged in the best way. If you want something fresh, wicked, and impossible to put down, this is it.

With thanks to NetGalley and Kirsten Coar for the ARC, this is my honest opinion.

LOVED THIS! It was crazy and funny and overall a fantastic time. I kept going WTF and some of Vera’s responses to things felt like what I would say. I can’t wait to see how the rest of this unfolds! It’s also such a quick read but the author could have made it longer and I would still eat it up.

This was a fun, quick read!
Episode 1 in a 4 part series.
I loved Vera! And fell for Nikolai right away. He’s a stalker. But make it cinnamon roll demon? YES. ALSO cleans up your murder scene and leaves a black rose. 😍 I am absolutely obsessed and can’t wait for book two!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Tropes:
🖤Possessed FMC
🥀Morally grey Immorral MMC
🔪Supernatural Dark romance


This story is everything I needed and then some! 🖤

Just wow. This was unhinged in a glorious way, fast and sharp and quick witted. It was dark and delicious with a bit of humor thrown in. It was SUCH a fun read!!!🖤 I was so caught up I finished in an hour..👀

I wanted more though. I wanted more backstory, more world building, I wanted to go deeper. It's more like a snippet of a larger story, just a slice of cake, and dammit I am greedy and I want the whole thing shoved in my face!🎂

It has fabulous potential to be more than the novella it currently is, and if there's more coming? You can count me in 1000%.

i loved this book! if you like dark, spicy and unhinged this is definitely the book for you. usually some books would catch my attention within a few pages on a good day BUT this book had me hooked after reading the first page! i cannot wait for the next part.

This book was so much fun! I went in with exactly zero expectation because the author is new to me, but I can already tell she’s going to become one of my go-to authors.
I was drawn in by the plot summary and have no regrets. Vera is possessed. She’s also snarky, funny, unhinged and stabby. Nikolai is a dark immortal whose idea of courting is cleaning up her crime scenes for her and then stalking her. Match made in hell.
If you like your dark romance with a side of laughing-out-loud, this is definitely for you. I’d say the vibes are close to what I found in <i>Butcher & Blackbird</i>, I was so sad to get to the end because I was ready to continue all night long with these characters.
I can’t wait for the next episodes!

Great novella! The story was a quick read and paced really well. I am not normally a novella person but this was done extremely well!

I really loved part one of this book, the story was intriguing and has definitely left me wanting more. The writing was good and made for an easy read, I can’t wait to read part 2 now!!

This book was really crazy !!!! What did I read I would recommend because I love me a crazy wtf book lol I kept turning the pages cause it kept me interested