Jessica M. Butler
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Rhea, an Amdawm, wants nothing more than an end to the curse that’s attacking her family, Tiehro and Salanca. It’s a curse which attacks the psychic population of her world, sending them unspeakable nightmares nightly; and which will eventually send them into a coma consisting of never ending terrors. Once in a coma, no one has woken – the curse and the strange purple mist that accompanies it each night decimating the population. And worse, no one knows what its source is, never mind the solution. Until Salanca uses a Forbidden Art to connect Rhea with someone who could either be the cause of the problem, or the answer to all of their prayers. But Rhea has to trust her own senses, and repulsion when she sees a Naga (a snake-like person) standing before a roiling sea of purple fog. Salanca’s concoction then suddenly connects her to another being; a beautiful, soulful man who seems just as terrified of the Naga as she; and she knows, she must kill that crown wearing Naga if her family and the handsome man are to survive.
Slaying the Naga King takes a fair while to actually get going. Butler spends almost the first half of the book world-building Rhea’s home world and a city built into giant sequoia trees with an infirmary dug into a mountain side. Although we do meet ‘Chicory’ (the beautiful man Rhea sees in her dreams) early on, we don’t really get to fully meet him until Rhea, Tiehro and Killoth finally leave their planet. It’s only then, when Rhea is too busy spitting insults that the twist (which was pretty obvious) was revealed. Chicory is the Naga from her vision. But, all is not as it seems to Rhea’s eyes. It’s frustrating to read, as much could have been saved had she simply shut up and listened; or had Chicory actually told her what was happening while he dreamt. I know that these things are never supposed to be that easy in literature, but in this case, it was almost agonising as the frustration with the lack of communication skills increased. Considering that this is the fourth book in the Mortal Enemies to Monster Lovers series, Butler really didn’t need to keep Chicory’s identity a secret for so long. The title of the series already suggests that Rhea will fall in love (or lust) with the Naga King…
In regards to the sex, well, once again, Butler seems to take an age to get to the nitty gritty of the attraction that Rhea and ‘Chicory’ feel for each other from their first meeting. When they eventually admit their feelings for each other the sex scene is somewhat underwhelming compared to others in the Mortal Enemies series. This is a story that’s more plot based – but the plot is basically someone over-agonising over something which should be a simple decision. Rather than adults, Rhea and ‘Chicory’ seem to act more like brooding teenagers who refuse to communicate and trust other people.
S. A.
I read Slaying the Naga King through my own volition. It’s the fourth book in the Mortal Enemies to Monster Lovers series and is available from Amazon and to read for free on Kindle Unlimited.
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