My First Monster Romance Read is The Evil Within

Book Review: The Evil Within

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Summary:

Camazotz

I’m drawn to the small town of Fort Gadsden, the blood calling to me like a beacon.
But it’s her that makes me stay.
Her light, her innocence, her blood.
She belongs to me, and soon… she will know it too.

Cecylia

I’m trapped in my home by my father, forced to participate in his sacrifices. A hopeless participant in his pursuit to serve his God.
I don’t know how much longer I can survive this, with each day that passes my hope dwindles.
Until the monster in my shadows saves me.
Now as I finally have my first taste of freedom, I’m forced to choose, do I escape his grasp or do I surrender to my fate?

**This book is a dark Monster Romance Novella. Please check Trigger and content Warning! This book is recommended for 18+ due to violence, and explicit sexual details. If you like a monster who looks like a monster and also has a few kinks and a knot, this book is for you!**

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First Sentences:

I never feared the dark, but now I know its secrets. I take a deep breath as I sink deeper into my bed, dragging the coves up to my neck. A chill skitters up the back of my neck and I can see the heat of my breath as I blow out another puff of air, the moon illuminating just enough of my room to make it visible.

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My Thoughts:

The Evil Within is another book I ordered off of the TikTok shop. Monster romances aren’t normally something that I find appealing, but the price was a total steal and I adore reading books from indie-authors. 

I wanted something completely different from what I normally read, and man, did I get it! The Evil Within is a milestone for me, as this is the first erotica story I have ever had the opportunity to read and review. There are loads of trigger warnings at the beginning of the book, which let me know real quick that I was in for an interesting ride.

Cecylia is a young human woman who has spent her entire life living with her psychotic father in a small village of absolute horror. The entire village is actually an extreme religious cult and Cecylia’s father just so happens to be the minister.

Right away, I am disgusted by the man. He sexually assaults Cecylia constantly, and also allows the men of the village to do the same. He practices animal as well as human sacrifices as a means to grow closer to God. Because the entire village is under the influence of her father, there is no one Cecylia can turn to for help. It’s a horrific situation for anyone to be in, and I felt like I wanted to magically reach into the pages and tear both her father and the villagers apart.

Luckily, there is a bad-ass bat demon in the story that is more than capable of getting the job done. Camazotz was unknowingly summoned as a result of the village’s sacrificial rituals. He soon becomes intrigued by Cecylia and watches her from the shadows of her bedroom every night for years. Cecylia knows that Camazotz is there, but never attempts to interact with him. That is, of course, until the night her father attempts to sacrifice her.

Camazotz turns out to be a cinnamon roll monster who has madly fallen in love with Cecylia. He shows the poor girl the love and kindness that she has not felt since she was little and her mother was still alive, and she quickly finds herself falling for him as well.

As I mentioned earlier, this is the first erotica story I have ever read. I have always avoided erotic stories in the past, as I’ve never been a big fan of hardcore sex and vulgar words (and no, I’m not a prude). The Evil Within is certainly not lacking in either of those things, but I braved it none the less and pushed pass my little hang-ups. It was a hot and steamy ride, but also an interesting story.

I’m embarrassed to say that there was a term or two I had to look up. I had no idea what was being referred to when Camazotz’s “knot” was mentioned, so I Googled ‘what does knot mean in an erotic story’, and learned that it means… oh lord, just… Google it yourself, please, if you don’t know.

Because this is a novella, there isn’t a lot of room for much character development, and that is fine as that’s not what this book was meant for. I have to be that person, however, that wishes it was meant for much more. I say this simply because the writing is strong, and it has so much potential to be a great full-length novel.

If it were in fact a novel that focused on more than just the sexual intensity, I could very well have given this a Klorrie Cup Award. I would love to have learned more about the village and how the father came to be the monster that he was. I would have loved to learn more about Cecylia and her mother. More flashbacks with Cecylia’s mother would have been awesome! I also would have loved to find out more about Camazotz and his history. Even better, it would have been interesting to see how the couple made a life together and what sort of challenges they would face.

In all, The Evil Within was a quick read that was well written. E.R. Hendricks is a strong writer and I would love to read a full-length novel from her.

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