Gremlins Are Malfunctioning by Susan Laine at Venom Quill Publications
Genre | Gay / Paranormal / Urban Fantasy / BDSM / Erotic Romance |
Reviewed by | Serena Yates on 05-November-2019 |
Genre | Gay / Paranormal / Urban Fantasy / BDSM / Erotic Romance |
Reviewed by | Serena Yates on 05-November-2019 |
A year ago, supernatural creatures swarmed the earth—and ensured that human technology could no longer function without them.
Eliot Tate works for the Civilian and Environmental Protection Agency, so he's on the receiving end of customer complaints about their gas gremlins. Despite his efforts, though, he can't figure out what's wrong.
He gets help in the form of Alek Saroyan, an agent with the Mythkin Energy Research Facility, but right from the start the two men despise each other. With antagonism, the gas gremlin problem, and rising questions about mythkin sentience hanging over their heads, Eliot and Alek are going to have find their own balance if they stand any chance of restoring the balance that's been lost.
First edition published by Less Than Three Press, August 2018.
As a supernatural mystery sprinkled with political satire and the occasional flare of humor, this story had me fascinated, amused, and spellbound in turn. Set in a world very close to our own – with the exception of the appearance of supernatural creatures called mythkin a year prior – the adventures of two government agents who pretty much hate each other on sight took me into the realm of the impossible with surprising ease. There is some great worldbuilding that underpins the rules of this world, and the way it subtly exposes the flaws in some of our behaviors shows sneaky genius. Focused on the issues around “dirty” and “clean” energy and our dependence on electricity, this novel points out the issues and their consequences in fictional form – and that makes reading it a lot more fun than a dry scientific article.
Eliot works for CEPA as a customer service rep, so he is one of the first to hear about the effects of suddenly malfunctioning gas gremlins (who suck up carbon dioxide and produce gas), oil hellions, and voltaic devils. Since gas gremlins have replaced gas, cars are now dependent on them rather than oil. Having them not work is a real problem, but finding out the cause is not something Eliot can do on his own.
Alek works for MERF, the agency in charge of researching the various kinds of mythkin and their abilities. He knows a little more about how they work, but as it turns out, even MERF has only scratched the surface of what is actually going on with these trans-phase beings with the colorful names. Some think they come from a parallel dimension, but their behavior is not always consistent with that theory, so more work needs to be done.
Neither man wants to admit that he needs the help of the other, but as it turns out, they each understand part of the problem and pooling their resources is the only way they will be able to solve the issue. Eliot and Alek follow the clues, discover new facts, and get closer on a personal level as they work on the problem. In fact, their initial physical attraction and discovery that they are well suited as a sub and Dom soon deepens as they learn to trust each other inside and outside the bedroom. But then there is Alek’s secret – and Alek fears that if Eliot finds out the truth, it may destroy all the progress they have made and endanger their mission.
If you like fantastical supernatural stories with a touch of humor, if lovers working together to solve a mystery is your thing, and if you’re looking for a suspenseful read that is imaginative, contains subterfuge and evil plans, and contains some very hot scenes of BDSM play, then you will probably like this novel as much as I do. It’s great fun to read as well as tantalizingly creative.
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Format | ebook |
Length | Novel, 352 pages/78000 words |
Heat Level | |
Publication Date | 22-September-2019 |
Price | $7.59 ebook |
Buy Link | https://www.amazon.com/Gremlins-Are-Malfunctioning-Susan-Laine-ebook/dp/B07Y8CJ23B |