Possession
by A.D. Blackburn
Rating 3 out of 5 flames.

Possession reminded me a wee bit too much of the tv show Supernatural. Haven’t seen it? You need to! It is one of the darkest, sexiest, snarkiest shows on tv, in my opinion. Possession features a hunky hunter who finds and destroys demons, there are pesky and plentiful demons who inhabit innocent humans, angels who bestow angelic help to the hunters, there’s even the black eye demon bit and the familiar vomitus riot of black smoke that is spewed from humans when a demon is exorcised from a possessed body. The only difference here is that instead of two sexy brothers who hunt, there’s a crew of tattooed, motorcycle riding bad-asses who were bound for hell but have been recruited as hunters instead. And oh let’s not forget, there’s plenty of hot, graphic sex! They can’t show that stuff on the CW, damn shame, really.

James is the leader of the “Diabolus Venator”, those devil killing, demon hunting hunks of men who help out the police with the demon infestation wreaking havoc on innocents. During a recent hunt, a demon tells James, “The Elder is coming” and says “We know your heart. We will take it and you will give us your soul to get it back.” During the kerfuffle the demon gives him a festering poison filled wound that knocks him out for a few days. Yikes! While he’s out, one of his best comrades contacts Maddy, the love James had to leave behind for her own good.

The two are reunited, have a nasty fight and then some scorching make-up sex and James once again is torn for his love for his soul mate Maddy and his fear of losing her forever. He continually tries to push her away to keep her safe, which only breaks her heart over and over again. What I really didn’t understand here was why James allowed himself to become so involved with Maddy in the first place. It wasn’t thoroughly explained or explored to my satisfaction and it niggled. Also, they were both completely in love with each other before the story ever begins and James just walked away. I have to admit I felt cheated a little at missing all of their firsts but I’m greedy like that.

This story is told almost exclusively from an uber masculine point of view and I very much appreciated that. I loved the descriptive prose from the manly point of view. “It was ball shrinking cold.” When the men talk to each other it feels genuine and their comradery and easiness with each other is very well written. “. . . you can be a miserable bastard who no one wants to be around . . .”

There are a few kinks in the writing that need some ironing out. Words are missing here and there, there are some spelling errors (toady instead of today, a “scarp of eyeball”) and the initial chapters are slightly confusing.

Possession was not a strong, emotional romance for me because there was so much else going on and there was the constant threat of danger overshadowing everything but I enjoyed the blood-soaked demon slaying with the same glee I do a Supernatural episode. Maddy was sweet, the sex was hot and all of the many larger than life men who were introduced in this story were a nice bonus too. I would definitely check out the next installment to see what happens next.

Possession can be purchased at Evernight Publishing