Demon's Mate (Lovers of the Damned Book 1) by Colette Rivera

Lovers of the Damned is a new series by Colette Rivera which features the stories of three demons who escaped the afterlife along with their now enemy Lucifer. Book one features Ash, a grumpy isolationist, who on the way to warn his demon brothers about some new information finds more than he bargained for in the town of Shearwater Landing.


From the blurb:

Love isn’t for the Fallen.
Ash will never find his fated mate. He lost all hope over a millennia ago. Being alone forever is his punishment for falling to Earth, but as he works to reunite his demon brothers and remain free from Lucifer’s clutches, he’s captivated by a human.

And Ash wonders if he’s wrong.

Harper Nightingale is finally a free witch. Sent to hunt the demons known as the Hounds of Hell, Harper seizes the chance to escape his evil coven. Now, he’s living in Shearwater Landing, disguised as a human, and nothing is more important than holding on to his freedom.

Harper trusts no one and won’t let anyone get close until one night when he’s drawn to a man named Ash and decides to take him home.

But Ash isn’t a man. He’s one of the demons Harper's been sent to hunt.

Once they meet, Ash can’t stay away, no matter how he tries. Could Harper be his mate? Can a demon and a witch set on hiding their identities ever trust each other enough to embrace a fated connection?

***
Demon’s Mate is book one in the Lovers of the Damned series. Each book features a different couple. This fated mate MM paranormal romance ends in a HEA. While the romance stands alone, this series is best read in order due to an overarching plot. Content warnings can be found using the look inside feature and on the author’s website


Jacqueleen the Reading Queen's review:

"𝙸'𝚖 𝚐𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚏*𝚌𝚔 𝚢𝚘𝚞, 𝙷𝚊𝚛𝚙𝚎𝚛. 𝙵𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚖𝚢 𝚌*𝚖, 𝚖𝚢 𝚖𝚊𝚐𝚒𝚌. 𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝙸'𝚖 𝚐𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚖𝚢 𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚌𝚎, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝙸 𝚝𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜, 𝚢𝚘𝚞'𝚛𝚎 𝚐𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚎𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚜."

Eek I love that this author has ventured into demons!! This was spicy and sweet. I enjoyed meeting all the side characters as well as the MCs. Ash was such a grump before he met Harper. I loved how finally finding his mate helped to bring him back to who he used to be before the bitterness got to him. It was so cute seeing him turn to mush for his mate. His fellow escaped demons got a kick out of it too.

"𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗'𝚝 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚣𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚕 𝙸 𝚖𝚎𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞. 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚍 𝚖𝚢 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚕𝚍, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙸'𝚖 𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜."

On the flip side of the coin, Harper is just now having the freedom to find out who he actually is. He's spent his entire life under the thumb of his evil father who leads his coven. Not only that, but Harper was subjected to torture under that man over and over again. (None of this happens on page FYI, but it is discussed) In my opinion death would be too kind for what that man has done to his own flesh and blood.

Other than the romantic aspect of this book which I loved, there is also a plotline that is going to continue throughout the series as each demon finds their mate, they wrongly believed lost to them. Ash finding his fated was a major shock to all of them, even Dante who swore he never lost hope. If anyone found their mate, they all thought it would be him, not Ash.

We've been introduced to Dante's mate (which I'm thrilled about), but the man for Onyx is still out there. Something weird is also going on with the third member of their demon family, but Onyx isn't one to share his feelings easily, or at all. I don't know if we will find out what his deal is until we finally get a chance to peek in his head. All I know is I hope both Ash's demon brothers end up with a wonderful mate who they deserve.


SNik's review:

First in series (Lovers of the Damned). Paranormal. Fated mates. Found family. Dual POV. 

Harper is a witch on the run from his evil coven, after being used for his powerful blood and abused for years he wants to try and warn a hidden group of demons of the plot against them. Ash is a demon that long ago gave up on finding his fated mate, but he is drawn to Harper inexplicably, and even though Lucifer is a threat, Ash pursues the man that could possibly be his fated mate. 

This was a really fun world build of demons hoping to find their fated mates. Ash and Harper are so combustible and steamy together, and although the secrets lasted a long while, their acceptance and embracing of their possible bond was chef’s kiss. I appreciated Harper’s personal strength and overwhelming fears and how trusting Ash was a struggle, while Ash’s protectiveness and patience was swoony. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and look forward to more from this series.


Demon's Mate is currently available as an e-book and can be read as part of your Kindle Unlimited Subscription