Book Review: Chosen: Episode One by Nicholas Bella

Reviewed by JustJen

Title: Chosen:  Episode One
Author: Nicholas Bella
Series: The Demon Gate Series #1
Heroes: Brian/Raphael
Genre: MM Paranormal
Length: 74 Pages
Publisher: Nicholas Bella
Release Date: July 3, 2015
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  “One minute, everything was normal for me, and the next, all hell breaks loose. ”

I’m a cop with the Alandale City police force. I love my job, protecting the public and getting rid of scum was what made my day. Everything was going just fine until my lunch was interrupted by some rich, arrogant jerk in an Aston Martin who thought he could just speed past my squad car and get away with it. I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I wrote Mr. Ledéo his speeding ticket, but after what happened to me, I wish I had just let him go. Maybe then, my world wouldn’t have been turned upside down and inside out.

Warning: This serial contains strong adult content not meant for sensitive eyes. The novelettes in this serial will be filled with dark, twisted, raunchy and steamy scenes between powerful, sexy men and women that will either offend you or get ya revved up. This series will not be pulling any punches, and it won’t apologize for hurting your feelings, either. You’ll find no fluff and ruffles here. These demons play hard and they fight dirty. There are approximately 25100 words in this novelette.

Review: This is a very intriguing start to a new series by the very talented, no holds barred, Mr. Bella. Here, we have various demon species at play with the focus being the very rare Agoto demon of which the main characters are two out of only five I believe.

Raphael is the main guy who is already a demon. Brian is a straight cop who pulled the wrong guy over, or just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Raphael’s demon recognizes Brian as its host mate, and Raphael has no choice but to mate with Brian thus allowing his demon to spawn a new one in Brian. These couplings are very rare, so when they happen, there is pretty much nothing standing in their way. Here is where the dub/non con comes in. Brian has no clue what is really going to happen, aside from being tied down and forced to have sex with a guy.

The first half of this story is about Brian’s coming to terms with the demon that is now a part of him and Raphael giving him the basics of which he will need to feed, survive, etc., as well as some of his new capabilities. I think the hardest one of all for Brian was having to see Raphael once a month for sex. Even though he believes he is totally straight, he is struggling with the fact that he actually enjoyed some aspects of their coupling. So, things are looking to get a lot more interesting in that department.

The story got even more interesting after Brian went back to work. He seems to be managing, although his cravings are getting a bit more uncontrollable as time goes on.  He was eventually contacted by a secret organization looking to recruit him in their fight against evil demons and their attempts to close certain gates of Hell. While the other parts of the story were important, this is where it really got going for me. There was more of a long-term purpose laid out with various players, yet still had the issues from earlier for Brian to deal with.

I really liked Raphael’s character. He’s snarky, sassy and just a bit on the evil side, though I think much of that comes from circumstance. I sense some very exciting times ahead when Brian and Raphael next meet, and I’m really looking forward to seeing where this story is headed. It is a serial, so things are left open, but there is enough here to satisfy, and Mr. Bella isn’t one for making us wait too long for the next meal.

Overall Impression: I really liked it

*I received a copy of this book from the author in return for a fair and honest review.*