The Shape of Monsters
The Crossfades, Book 1
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Narrated by:
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Omari Douglas
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By:
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C L Hellisen
About this listen
Audible Originals are proud to present, The Shape of Monsters by CL Hellisen, narrated by Omari Douglas, star of Black Doves and It's a Sin.
In a world where power is everything, Aleks and Vaira Kercheval have rejected their magical heritage. The lives they have carefully constructed for themselves are torn asunder when they inherit Aubrey House, their family's ancestral home. When the siblings cross the threshold, a long-dormant magic awakens, thrusting them into a world of ancient feuds and twisted powers.
As Vaira embraces her magical heritage, determined to claim her rightful place among the Mage Houses, the powerless Aleks accidentally summons Ilea, a monstrous prince from the Void, thereby binding himself to a creature of immense power and insatiable hunger.
Aleks and Vaira find themselves on either side of a magical divide. But dark forces are at work, threatening to tear apart the fragile peace between the ancient families.
When Vaira's quest for power leads her into the depths of the Void, Aleks must make an impossible choice - betray his sister to save her from corruption, or watch as she becomes something monstrous and inhuman. As the lines between human and monster blur, each must decide how far they'll go to survive in a world where even gods can fall.
The Shape of Monsters is a treasure trove of dark magic and family blood, where the price of power is paid with the ultimate sacrifice.
©2025 C L Hellison (P)2025 Audible Ltd.Continue the series
Woke cannibal erotica 😅
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To clarify, the protagonist is ( mainly) gay his demon an amorphous, gigantic power from another realm, bound by accident, diminished in power but still able to take whatever form it wishes. With that in mind, I think the use of non-binary pronouns are completely apt. Author also goes to a lot of effort to underscore the fact that the Long Lived, Massively Powerful, Demon from Dark Depths is given freedom of choice ( about the relationship).
It's a little dark, narrator does a good job, storyline is ok . I'd probably buy the next in series to see how the plot develops.
I always read the negative reviews before...
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Brilliant
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Not for me - the whole they/them thing was weird
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On the downside, none of the characters were likable or relatable. Also, a central plot point just ... was never explained.
Lastly, the pauses between chapters were about one and a half seconds too long.
Spoilers for the following gripes:
A frustration from the start was the refusal to go into any detail at all about the contract between the Dunham and Aubrey houses. Was something provided to the Aubrey family? If yes, I can understand Dunham's anger and vendetta. If not, then the contract wasn't really entered into, and my sympathy would lie more with Aubrey. To me, this was a critical element of the story. I might have missed it, and if so I apologise.
I also began to actively hate Alex. Mind you, neither sibling exactly covers themselves in glory. Or anything admirable. Vaira I think gets painted in a worse light than she deserves, but still a bit of an ass.
Good but frustrating
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