Redemption: Incubus by Brynn Paulin

TITLE: Redemption: Incubus
AUTHOR: Brynn Paulin
PUBLISHER: Total-e-bound
LENGTH: Novella (roughly 17k)
GENRE: Paranormal erotic romance
COST: ₤2.49

Reclusive Valentine Jones seeks out sexual partners online, but one has finally gotten to her. A man who calls himself Master Noah finds her, no matter where she hides. What she doesn’t know is that he is an incubus, and he won’t stop until she’s dead. At least, that’s what the demon inside him wants. The human Noah used to be wants something else…

Sometimes I wonder what gets into me with some of the books I choose. After I was done with this, I went back and re-read the blurb, curious about what it was that drew me to the story in the first place. And…I don’t know. It remains a mystery.

Why did I bother? Because I finished the story with a headache.

I knew when I purchased it that it was the second in this particular series from this author. A quick scan of the first book, though, didn’t make it seem like I needed to have read that in order to enjoy this one. I was wrong. Dead wrong. The story jumps feet first into sex, with Noah fighting against the incubus inside him to keep from killing Val. There is an entire backstory there that is never really explained very well, and when some explanation finally does come – at the end of the book – it’s far, far, far too late. It makes me believe that there is story told in the first book that explains just how this whole thing works with Noah, but there is no way I’m buying it to find out.

In essence, Noah is a walking penis. Seriously. His sole purpose in the book is to have sex with Val. They do nothing else. There is no break for the reader, just as there’s no break for Val, and it’s exhausting to read. Add in the confusion about what exactly is going on with Noah, and really, there’s no wonder why I had a headache in the end.

I can’t even root for or like Val too much. In the very first scene, Noah makes it clear that he’s spying on her by telling her via chat exactly what she’s wearing. What’s her reaction?

Maybe it was a lucky guess. He’d never done this before. She’d never felt threatened. She paused at the wild fluttering in her belly. Her arms crossed her middle as she realised she didn’t feel terribly threatened now. What kind of idiot are you? You’re excited.

She continues to chat with him. Not for long, granted, but that single reaction was enough to completely destroy her credibility for me.

I’m getting a headache just from writing up this review of the story. Enough said, then. A waste of my time.

Readability	6/10 – Minor technical issues, including misused words and headhopping, hold the story back
Hero	4/10 – A vessel more than anything else, no personality except for sexual need
Heroine	3/10 – Inconsistent and idiotic
Entertainment value	2/10 – I had a throbbing headache by the time I was done. Ick.
World building	4/10 – While the suggestions to the backstory were interesting, there wasn’t nearly enough detail or efficient execution to make it comprehensible.
TOTAL:	19/50