Title: Hungry
Author: Glyn Soitiño
Length: 5,100 words (19 pdf pages)
Publisher: Torquere Press
Genre: m/m paranormal
Rating: B
Blurb:
It’s Valentine’s Day, and incubus Rafael is missing his lover, demon-hunter Dominic, currently away on a mission. An incurable romantic, Rafael has decided to match-make a couple of cops whose unacknowledged feelings for one another Rafael read in their minds while feeding off them in the past. Also, Rafael is hungry; he hasn’t fed since Dominic left, over a week ago.
If all goes according to plan, Charlie and Rick will admit their love, Rafael will feed, and Dominic will join him on this most romantic night of the year. But plans depend on timing — and Rafael’s is proving to be just a little off…
Originally published in the Care and Feeding of Demons
Review:
This is a cute little Valentine’s day story, told from demon Rafael’s point of view. He’s in a committed relationship with his soul-mate Dominic, who just happens to be a demon hunter, but in this world there are bad demons and good demons. Since Rafael pretty much falls on the good side, while the demon hunting council might not like his relationship with Dominick, they tolerate it. He is an incubus though, which means he feeds on sexual energy, or in his case semen. He has an agreement with Dominic, he can “feed” from others, but Dominic is the only one to have sex with him and this is working well for them.
This is a cute little Valentine’s day story, told from demon Rafael’s point of view. He’s in a committed relationship with his soul-mate Dominic, who just happens to be a demon hunter, but in this world there are bad demons and good demons. Since Rafael pretty much falls on the good side, while the demon hunting council might not like his relationship with Dominick, they tolerate it. He is an incubus though, which means he feeds on sexual energy, or in his case semen. He has an agreement with Dominic, he can “feed” from others, but Dominic is the only one to have sex with him and this is working well for them.
However Valentine’s Day is approaching and Raphael has been getting hungry and Dominic is out doing his thing, so he decides to kill three birds with one stone. He decides to do a little matchmaking with two cops who he knows are hot for each other, have some dinner, AND make Dominic a bit jealous to get some Valentine’s attention.
You get to know a bit about Raphael through his internal musings, along with his conversation with the cops. When they mistake him for an underage kid, it brings up some painful memories from his past, but I found him a very likable character. He comes across as rather happy-go-lucky and enjoying his life most of the time, he loves his man and he likes to make people happy, like the two cops, even though as Dominic points out, it could backfire.
This story is not meant to be taken to seriously. After Dominic comes to “rescue” him, they take off into the woods, Dominic naked, and you wonder “How are they going to get home?” but really, it doesn’t matter. Magic. It’s meant to be fun and sexy and romantic, even rolling on the forest floor, as Rafael reminds his man why they are together. So when you are in the mood for a good time, without thinking too much about the logic of it all, it’s a great little demon character. You don’t get to know Dominic at all, but I just thought Rafael was great fun. I really do enjoy playful little demons in stories I’m finding and he fits the bill.
Some people may find the sexual interaction between Rafael and other people unappealing, but he is a demon and he has to eat, so I had no problem with it, but I realize it’s a personal thing for individual readers.
Hmm. Maybe I’ll have to actually read the original anthology (I have it!) someday…
I have the anthology too. I should read the other stories. This one was cute and up my alley.
This sounds like a great story, and I definitely like multiple partner stories. Nice review Tam
The idea of multi-partners fit perfectly here. It was a fun little story.
[...] Hungry by Glyn Soitiño – I reviewed this story at Brief Encounters Reviews [...]
[...] is a follow-up to Hungry, which again… is not mentioned anywhere in the blurb. I was reading and thinking “this [...]