The Hungering Dark by Adrian Blue [Review]

The Hungering Dark (Dark Season #5) by Adrian Blue
Format: ebook
Source: borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: November 6, 2025

Dark Season
1. Dark Migration
2. Primal Territory
3. Cold Surrender
4. Winter's Deep
5. The Hungering Dark - Kindle

Adrian Blue
| Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):

Travel vlogger Amelia Sinclair's dream expedition to Antarctica turns into her darkest nightmare when she falls into a crevasse and encounters something ancient and inhuman beneath the ice. Marked and claimed by a creature that defies explanation, she finds herself torn between revulsion and a forbidden desire that consumes her very soul. As the line between captive and willing participant blurs with each encounter, Amelia must confront unspeakable truths about herself and the hungers awakened within her. With the pristine white landscape hiding unimaginable horrors, she discovers that some bonds transcend understanding—and some marks can never be erased.

Thoughts on The Hungering Dark: This collection has given us a nice range of monsters and this one might be the creeeeepiest of all. The combo of icy weather, slimy tentacles (like the moistness would cause even more cold and YIKES, bro. At least get the girl a blanket or something), and a serious disregard for personal space (so much disregard) just rachets up the creep factor.

This isn't about me and my cold weather hang-ups, though. It's about Amelia and her first visit to Antarctica. She went there to share the beauty of the continent with her followers. However, she got a little more up close and personal with the ancient thing living in the ice than she ever expected to. To be fair, she probably didn't expect to run into ANY ancient thing in the ice when she set out, so everything that happened was a shock.

A whole lot of ice, a shocking encounter, and a lady who doesn't want to be drawn to the thing out there, but just can't stop herself from responding when it calls. I'm just going to say there was some nicely done creepiness in this one and leave it at that.

Winter's Deep by Adrian Blue [Review]

Winter's Deep (Dark Season #4) by Adrian Blue
Format: ebook
Source: borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: November 6, 2025

Dark Season
1. Dark Migration
2. Primal Territory
3. Cold Surrender
4. Winter's Deep - Kindle
5. The Hungering Dark

Adrian Blue
| Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):

Heartbroken and needing a change of scenery, Robin is captivated by the rugged beauty of Patagonia. But nature is as brutal as it is majestic. There is something dangerous lurking beneath the glassy water. Something hungry. When a monstrous creature emerges from the depths, she discovers a primal passion unlike anything she's ever experienced. In this remote wilderness where nature strips away all pretense, she surrenders to a forbidden desire that leaves her craving more.

Thoughts on Winter's Deep: To get her mind off her cheating ex, Robin and her friend have taken a vacation in a frigid, primal place. Robin is trying to forget her ex's betrayal, but she's having a hard time even surrounded by freezing air, stunning views, and dark water beneath the boat they're on.

Then something monstrous drags her overboard and now she's living the "in order to get over someone, get under someone" saying and that someone is most definitely not human. Not that it bothers her. He's feral and blazes with heat in the cold and he's showing her exactly what she'd been missing with her ex.

Yeah, she's okay with the whole thing and she's maybe contemplating planning another trip to this desolate place to experience it again. Which, right on! Live your life the way you want to and all that. *thumbs up*

Cold Surrender by Adrian Blue [Review]

Cold Surrender (Dark Season #3) by Adrian Blue
Format: ebook
Source: borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: November 2, 2025

Dark Season
1. Dark Migration
2. Primal Territory
3. Cold Surrender - Kindle
4. Winter's Deep
5. The Hungering Dark

Adrian Blue
| Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):

Lost in a deadly blizzard, experienced hiker Emily Parker stumbles upon a mysterious cave and its even more mysterious inhabitant - a creature who radiates dangerous allure and raw, primal power. When he offers her shelter from the storm, there's only one price: her complete surrender.

As the howling wind rages outside, Emily finds herself drawn into a world of forbidden desire, where the line between fear and passion blurs with every heated touch. Brun may be more beast than man, but his gentle possession awakens needs Emily never knew she had.

What begins as a desperate bargain for survival becomes something far more consuming, leaving Emily to question whether she'll ever want to return to the human world at all. But in the depths of his mountain lair, she'll discover that some surrenders change you forever.

Thoughts on Cold Surrender: The next, err, adventure we're on is when hiker Emily gets separated from her hiking group during a blizzard. She's lost, cold, and probably won't last much longer given that her clothes are wet. Then she stumbles over (or into, I guess) a cave and suddenly there's a slight possibility her imminent death isn't on the horizon.

Except...the cave isn't exactly uninhabited. In fact, there's a massive, bear-like creature living in it who offers Emily a deal: He'll keep her warm, if she keeps him warm. Metaphorically. I mean, the dude's pumping off heat like a furnace. He doesn't actually need the warmth her puny human body generates. Anyway. He'll help her if she agrees to spend some quality time in his furs.

Given that she's not entirely repulsed by the idea of sexy times with the creature, Emily agrees to the bargain. AND BRUN SHOWS HER A VERY GOOD TIME. You know, good enough that Emily's mentally rearranging her life so she can head back out to that cave as soon as possible.

An unexpected blizzard, a cave of delights, a creature who is pretty gentlemanly (all things considered), and a lady who doesn't mind IN THE LEAST cuddling up to her furry companion. GOOD TIMES!

Primal Territory by Adrian Blue [Review]

Primal Territory (Dark Season #2) by Adrian Blue
Format: ebook
Source: borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: November 1, 2025

Dark Season
1. Dark Migration
2. Primal Territory - Kindle
3. Cold Surrender
4. Winter's Deep
5. The Hungering Dark

Adrian Blue
| Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):

Lorna has tracked and studied wolves all over the world. But this trip is different. This time she is the one being tracked. The one being studied. Something massive and savage has claimed this territory, and tonight it will claim her.

Thoughts on Primal Territory: A wolf who is more than a wolf (not a werewolf, but definitely not a straight up wolf) and the lady who studies wolves. Lorna isn't necessarily unafraid when the creature approaches her, but she's curious enough to follow him when he leads her deeper into the forest.

She's also pretty on board as soon as the wolf makes his intentions clear (which is a nice change from the last book since that monster didn't really do any asking, just dove on in and made things happen). While her night in his den could be written off as a woman indulging her curiosity, when he shows up at her cabin the next night, Lorna knows letting him in will change everything for her.

Guess what? That doesn't stop her in the slightest. *thumbs up* to curious women and the beasts who worship them!

Dark Migration by Adrian Blue [Review]

Dark Migration (Dark Season #1) by Adrian Blue
Format: ebook
Source: borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: October 31, 2025

Dark Season
1. Dark Migration - Kindle
2. Primal Territory
3. Cold Surrender
4. Winter's Deep
5. The Hungering Dark

Adrian Blue
| Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):

Sarah has always loved the quiet and solitude of ice fishing. Miles from the nearest neighbor, her family's frozen lake has always been a peaceful sanctuary. Until today. Something cold and twisted has chosen her, something with a monstrous hunger. Alone on the frozen lake, she will learn that nature's appetites run darker and deeper than she ever imagined.

Thoughts on Dark Migration: I'm not sure how I feel about this one. I mean, it jumped right into the...honestly, I don't even want to call it sexy times because it was a little, erm, rougher (let's say) than I like my fictional sexy times. But I can also absolutely appreciate the idea that something monstrous and primal isn't going to really care about making sure their partner is all in. Or whether they're fully enjoying themselves, I guess. Although Sarah did (maybe?) enjoy it. Enough, you know, to think about whether the beast will swing by her isolated lake again next year during its migration.

On a slightly unrelated note, how does one even explain the complete destruction of the fishing shack to their family? Like "Hey, a giant bird monster busted in and we bonked. Sorry about the shack." That's just a weirdly awkward conversation waiting to happen.

RtP's Week in Review (11/01/26)

Reading the Paranormal's Week in Review

• Monster in the Mist by Honey Phillips [Review] - Alien love!
• Creep by L. Taylor [Review] - Step-love!
• Falling for a Villainous Vampire by Charlotte Stein [Review] - Witchy/Vampire love!
• Run Baby Run by D. Sabia [Review] - Chase-y chase!
• Monday by Adrian Blue [Review] - Monster love!
• Tuesday by Adrian Blue [Review] - More monster love!
• Jack 2 by Layla Fae [Review] - Even MORE monster love!

Bookish Delights

• Books added to the pile
• Roses & Stone (Silver & Blood #2) by Jessie Mihalik - For review!
• Currently reading
• Knot Mine by Iris Aster

Jack 2 by Layla Fae [Review]

Jack 2 (Monster Ever After #10) by Layla Fae
Format: ebook
Source: borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: October 26, 2025

Monster Ever After
1. Jack
2. Grim
3. Satan
4. Orc
5. Crow
6. Full Sack
7. Mr. Jingle
8. Bunny
9. Thick Beef
10. Jack 2 - Paperback | Kindle

Layla Fae
| Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):

It’s Halloween and Jack is back to claim what’s his.

Ava hasn’t seen her ex for a year. She trembles at the very thought of him as she saw him last: a monster, his powerful body sleek with sweat, his head a flaming jack-o’-lantern. Even though she ran away as soon as he revealed his true form, the image is burned into her mind.

It haunts her in hot, sweaty dreams from which she wakes with a moan on her lips, the sheets tangled between her legs. But those dark, sensuous dreams are not enough to push her back into Jack’s monstrous embrace. Ava avoids him at all costs.

And Jack won’t have it. It’s Halloween, the night when he is the most powerful, and he will have Ava back, even if he has to hold her captive in his Halloween mansion. It lies in the Halloween Realm, a magical place where everything is hotter, spicier, and more orange.

Ava will be at the mercy of the pumpkin-headed demon whose heart and body hunger for her and her only. She’s in for a Halloween night full of filthy, monstrous wonders.

Some of them may taste like pumpkin spice.

Thoughts on Jack 2: This is Jack's son, Jack, and he's ABSOLUTELY ready to find a way to convince his special someone that he's not the monster she thinks he is. He goes about this by taking her to his Halloween mansion (which is in another realm) and showing her all the unearthly delights that are hers for the taking if she's willing to give him a chance.

On Ava's end, she's...conflicted. When jack revealed his true form to her, she panicked and reacted badly. Which is understandable. She's still holding on to some of her anger over his deception, but she also hasn't forgotten him. At all. So when he shows up on Halloween and asks her to give him a chance, she agrees.

Now she's in a house that is everything she could ever dream of with the hunk she hasn't forgotten and she's starting to realize that some things are worth fighting (and forgiving) for.

A little Halloween sexiness, a whole lot of pumpkin spice, and a lady who has to let go of her hurt if she wants to have a chance with the guy who is utterly devoted to her. *thumbs up*