He corners me in an alley. An assassin. A killer of killers. A usurped king.
The Moonlight Wraith is hungry to regain his stolen throne, and he claims I have the magic he needs to secure his vengeance. He must have lost his sanity along with his kingdom because the only true ability I possess is wielding my smart mouth at times I shouldn’t. So I do what any drunk human trying to survive in a supernatural world might do—I throw up on his shoes.
Despite my attempts to refuse the sexy fae, I soon find myself sucked into his war—and lost in his penetrating silver stare. The way he looks at me makes it seem like he wants me for more than just revenge. But how could a powerful fae king fall for a lowly human outcast like me?
I’m no queen. And once he figures that out, my heart won’t be the only casualty.
QUEEN ME, a low-spice standalone paranormal romance by USA Today bestselling author Amber Lynn Natusch set in the Immortal Vices and Virtues Universe.
Amazon & Kindle Unlimited
Signed Paperbacks | Special Edition Hardcovers
My Review of the Book
April 30th was the audiobook release of QUEEN ME by BookMojo author Amber Lynn Natusch and I used my Audible credit to scoop up a copy. Guys, I know I may be biased and all that but it was sooooooo good. This is one of the few ALN titles I hadn’t read yet and I’m glad I waited for the audiobook version. It’s got alternating POV narration read by Kit Swann and Tyler Darby. They totally knock it out of the park. The book is a complete standalone story within Kel Carpenter’s Immortal Vices & Virtues universe and I loved the world rules. I’ve read a few of the other books in the series and this has been my favorite so far.
Rowe is funny and charming. She’s not a perfect badass out of the gate but it makes her relatable. She’s a human living among supernaturals who quickly begins to realize that she doesn’t know everything about her own story. And in her world, that lack of info is a dangerous thing.
Enter Volker/The Midnight Wraith. He’s an overthrown fae king and an assassin. Their first few encounters are sooooooooo tense. This is not an instalove story. Volker is a walking red flag and she’s well aware of it from jump. Watching them work their way to one another was a lot of fun.
It’s got the fun banter of an enemies-to-lovers but they’re not really enemies, per se. It’s an uneasy alliance. The whole story has a dangerous, gritty edge to it and a twist ending that you likely wont see coming.
Overall, I loved the book. Up until now, my favorite ALN title was the Force of Nature series. Queen Me might have taken the top spot. This is an audiobook that I will definitely be re-listening to in the future.
Spice Level
🌶️🌶️🌶️
Jena’s Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Romance Tropes & Plot Bunnies
✦ Slow Burn Romance ✦
✦ Unknown Power ✦
✦ Alphahole Antihero ✦
✦ Witty Heroine ✦
✦ Revenge ✦
✦ Forced Allies ✦
✦ Sunshine & Grump ✦
✦ Sassy Best Friend ✦
Disclosure: Amber (the author) is a client but she became one because I was a reader of hers first. This review is not a paid promotion. She doesn’t even know I’m writing it. lol
QUEEN ME
An Immortal Vices & Virtues Novel
2022 © Amber Lynn Natusch
The early morning moon poured down between the closely huddled brick buildings to shine on the wall of man staring me down. Bottomless steel-grey eyes, framed with lashes as pale as his skin and hair, bored into me as I stood in shock, unable to move. Though tall and muscular, there was an elegance to him—a refined quality—that made him less intimidating somehow, which was undoubtedly by design (or courtesy of my drunken state). Because gorgeous men in midnight-blue wool coats with perfectly styled hair couldn’t be killers, right?
“I’m so sorry,” I said as sweat beaded on my forehead. “I didn’t see you.”
“As was initially intended.” He stared down at me with inhuman grey eyes that slowly began to shine like the moon itself. “But now it’s time…”
A warning blared in the back of my mind, cutting through my alcohol-driven haze with every screech of its siren until my body went rigid with realization. His aura of power was undeniable, but it was the way he analyzed me with those gleaming silver eyes that gave him away.
He was the villain of the legends and tales my mother had told me for as long as I could remember. The ghostly fae assassin made of moonlight and shadow. A killer to best all killers.
And he was standing right in front of me like a sexy beacon of death.
My mind begged my body to run, but it held fast, too paralyzed by fear to react. There would be no escaping the beautiful nightmare before me: the recently usurped fae king of the House of Air and Amethyst.
The notorious Moonlight Wraith.
I pulled my hand away from the infamous killer and staggered back a step, still too drunk for my own good, but sober enough to know I was in deep shit.
“It seems my reputation precedes me,” he said in a quizzical tone.
“I… I…”
“But what I really want to know is: who are you?”
“Me?” I repeated, inching backward toward the door. “I’m no one. Nobody…”
Those perfectly shaped lips lifted at the corners. “I beg to differ.” He closed the distance between us in a blink and I flinched, expecting him to hit me or stab me or do whatever it was fae assassins did, but nothing happened. Instead, I opened my eyes to find him looming above me, a curious expression on his perfectly chiseled face. “Because none can see what I really am unless I want them to. And there is only one being I’m searching for.”
“Well, unless you want a useless human, I’d say your magic is funky,” I said, hoping I’d just made a good point in my addled state.
His eyes narrowed at my words, and an angry rumble shook his chest. “Are you saying I’m wrong?” he asked, pressing in closer to me. My pulse raced and my chest seized as Death himself leaned against me.
“Are you going to kill me if I say yes?”
His brow quirked slightly at my response. “Maybe I’ll kill you if you say no…”
I stared at him, my heart slamming against my ribs. “That logic doesn’t give me much reason to answer at all.”
“Unless I kill you because you refuse to.”
I gulped back a wave of fear and nausea. “But then you wouldn’t get your answer.”
He canted his head and dipped his face lower to stare into my eyes. “I think you are the answer to my current predicament,” he said, raking an elegant hand through his short platinum hair that shone silvery-white in the moonlight, “which means you’re much more valuable to me alive than dead.”
“Well, that’s a plus—”
A wicked smirk tugged at his lips. “Only if I’m right.”
I leaned away from him, my throat dry and my heart racing with his proximity. The weight of his presence was too much to process in my current state; I needed space—room to breathe. Instead, I found myself pressed up against the door I desperately wanted to disappear behind.
So I could get away from the violent being before me.
So I could pretend his proximity wasn’t as thrilling as it was terrifying.
So I could gaslight myself into believing the whole event had only happened in my mind.
But there was no escaping him. He caged me in with his body, his coat straining over the muscles in his shoulders as he pressed his hands against the door on either side of my face. I had to crane my neck so I could look up at his face, now cast in shadow. “You don’t seem like the kinda guy who’s wrong very often.”
Another expression that came dangerously close to a smile tugged at his mouth. “No. I’m not.” The intensity of his gaze was too much, and I fumbled behind me, trying to open the door, but damn if it wasn’t locked from the inside. “In a hurry to get back to something?”
“It’s girls’ night… my friends are going to wonder where I disappeared to soon. Especially Danni,” I said, officially rambling now. “She’s overprotective of me and likely to come looking for me soon if I don’t get back in there.”
He canted his head. “And you don’t want her to find us alone back here?”
I gripped the door handle harder, wishing I had Danni’s strength so I could just rip it open. “I don’t want any trouble—for her or me.”
“I’m afraid it’s too late for that,” he said, “but you already know that, don’t you, Miss…?”
“Little. Regina Little,” I said without thinking—like I hadn’t grown up hearing that giving a fae your real name was a terrible idea. “But I go by Rowe.”
Bonus stupidity points for throwing in the nickname.
That strange almost-smile widened at my reply as he reached forward to brush a stray red curl from my face. His proximity set off every warning alarm in my body, but I didn’t move. Like a cornered rabbit, I stood and stared at the beautiful death before me and tried to ignore that things other than adrenaline coursed through me as his finger grazed my ear when he pulled away.
“Little queen…” His whispered tone was wistful and distant, and he sounded like he was lost in a memory for that fleeting moment. Then a scuff on the pavement echoed toward us, and our collective attention snapped to the opening of the alleyway and the voice calling from just beyond.
“Rowe! Girl, you can’t hide from the dance floor forever… I’ll finnnnnd youuuu…”
His hand clapped over my mouth before I could do something drunk and reckless like scream for Danni to help me—or to run for her life. Because if he really was the Moonlight Wraith, I wasn’t sure if she would stand a chance against him, even with Nova at her side.
“I’ll come for you soon,” he said in my ear.
Then I watched with bated breath as he disappeared into the shadows as though he were one himself.
CONTINUE READING…
Amazon & Kindle Unlimited | Listen on Audible
Signed Paperbacks | Special Edition Hardcovers
AMBER LYNN NATUSCH is the author of the bestselling Caged and Force of Nature series. She was born and raised in Winnipeg, and speaks sarcasm fluently because of her Canadian roots. She loves to dance and sing in her kitchen—much to the detriment of those near her—but spends most of her time running a practice with her husband, raising two children, and attempting to write when she can lock herself in the bathroom for ten minutes.
She has many hidden talents, most of which should not be mentioned but include putting her foot in her mouth, acting inappropriately when nervous, swearing like a sailor at inopportune times, and not listening when she should. She’s obsessed with home renovation shows, should never be caffeinated, and loves snow. Amber has a deep-seated fear of clowns and deep water…especially clowns swimming in deep water.
Discover more from Jena Gregoire + Avery Lennox
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
[…] from a severe book hangover, I had no idea what to scoop up when my Audible credit came up. I recently listened to Queen Me, Amber Lynn Natusch’s novel in the Immortal Vices & Virtues shared world. Ever since […]
[…] from a severe book hangover, I had no idea what to scoop up when my Audible credit came up. I recently listened to Queen Me, Amber Lynn Natusch’s novel in the Immortal Vices & Virtues shared world (reviewed on my […]
[…] this week and I’m really excited about the book! If you follow my blog, you may have caught my audiobook review for her book Queen Me, a standalone set in Kel Carpenter’s Immortal Vices and Virtues shared […]
[…] you follow my blog, you may have caught my audiobook review for her book Queen Me, a standalone set in Kel Carpenter’s Immortal Vices and Virtues shared […]