Overall: 4.5 rounded to ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥
Humor: A bit
Perspective: third person from the heroine mostly. There’s only a few chapters from Anubis’ point of view
More character focused or plot focused? character
How did the speed of the story feel? slower
When mains are first on page together: it takes awhile for them to be together
Cliffhanger: No, this ends with a happily ever after
Epilogue: Yes, but it felt more like a final chapter to me and not a true epilogue to me (it’s not very far in the future)
Format: voluntarily read an advanced reader copy in e-book form from the author (thank you!)

Should I read in order?
I believe this is a stand alone novel (or at least book 1 of what will be a series?)

Basic plot:
Violet has been longing to go to Egypt as a connection to her mother she has lost. She is unaware how important her inherited bracelet is to someone there, however…

Give this a try if you want:
- historical monster romance
- 1933 time period
- Egypt setting
- bodyguard vibes
- Anubis hero (Egyptian God) and human heroine pairing
- slow burn with great build up
- height difference in his God form
- telepathic connection
- hero is sexually inexperienced
- medium steam – 3 full scenes

Ages:
- Heroine is 25, hero is thousands of years old

First line:
What use is a heart to the god of the dead?

My thoughts:
Oh my goodness, I just loooooooved this book. The cover drew me in! How could I resist the possibility of such a beautiful story with that cover???

And the story delivered for me. Delivered all the things I really enjoy and love in romance. It is a slower burn for sure, and the story itself can feel like it’s moving slowly. But I encourage you to stick with it because when it gets moving, it grabbed my heart sooooo good. In the best way it grabbed and held on and I was so invested in this story. I was dying for Anubis and Violet to give in to each other. Such delicious sexual tension for me!

Ideally I could have used a bit more from Anubis’ POV, and maybe a touch more emotion from him in some of the scenes – he’s very serious and some of his dialogue came across to me as monotone when I wanted him to be close to losing control over Violet. But overall, I just adored this whole story.

This is my first by Blacketer and I immediately signed up for her newsletter and plan on trying more. I really liked her writing style and I’m hoping I love more by her too! I stayed up allll night finishing this

Few random reading stats for this author
# of books read: This is my first
Average rating: 5 stars
Favorite book: This one!

Cock/Hero Stats:

- the hero can shift into smoke, man form, Anubis….
- in his Anubis form, he is 8 feet tall, black skin that is shiny. He has the features of a hound/jackal with gold eyes and pointed ears. Much muscles!
- his claws are retractable
- in his human form, cock is well endowed but normal
- in his God form, cock is at least as long as the heroine’s forearm. He has small ridges and a thick vein underneath with rounded crests. He also knots in this form.

Endearments

The hero calls the heroine ‘little thief’ and ‘little flower’.

Quotes/thoughts: (Any mistakes are my own)

He was sin incarnate. Raven hair lay in waves around his angular face, resting against the collar of his shirt and casting his features in highlight and shadow. Tall for certain. Most definitely strong, she wagered, judging by the fit of his tailored coat.
---
Khalid’s unwavering stoicism remained as he narrowed his eyes. “I have not taken you anywhere against your will, little thief. I saved your life.”
“You saved me?” Violet scoffed. “Have you saved hundreds of women before me?”
“In all of my existence, I have saved no one before,” Khalid said.
---
Inside her mind, memories of her conversation with Khalid replayed, rolling over like gemstones in the light, refracting truth and tempting her to linger.
 

Content warnings: (This should be taken as a minimum because I could have missed some!)

- parental loss and grief over the loss
- some scenes of violence, kidnapping, and harassment
Author given content warnings: none

Locations of kisses/intimate scenes, safe sex, consent, pregnancy/child in the story:

Safe sex: 

  No 

Hows the consent? 

  It’s good 

Pregnancy/children in story? 

  No children in the story. There is some brief thoughts of pregnancy with wondering if it’s possible to procreate between a human and a god. The heroine doesn’t get pregnant on page and no children are mentioned in the future 

54% - 🔥 fingering for her while hidden by Anubis’ shroud in the garden (he is in God form)

He shook his head. “If this is what you truly desire…”
Abubis’s arms wrapped around her, lifting her off the ground and pinning her ot his chest. She squealed at the sudden movement, aware of his muscles and the press of the gold-banded garment around his hips pushing hard into her stomach.
“Then I will do my best to give you what you need.”

68% - kiss with another man
73% - 🔥 oral for her with Anubis in human form, missionary

Violet moaned when his tongue caressed hers.
Khalid tightened his grip on her hips, his fingers digging into her flesh. He backed up, carrying her to the bed. Sinking slowly to the mattress, he settled her on his lap. Knees pressed to the soft bedding, Violet straddled his thighs, cursing the linen and silk keeping her from feeling the heat of his skin on hers.

84% - kiss
91% - 🔥her on top, followed after by a fingering for her (short)

The fabric polled around her waist before she easted it over her hips and down her thighs to lay in a puddle at her feet.
Hunger flashed across his features, and he bared his teeth. It should have been strange, seeing the amalgamation before her – the body of a man hewn from steel and marble with the head of a fierce canine, looking as though he could devour her in a single bite.