It’s not often I try new-to-me authors when it comes to the paranormal romance genre (never mind erotic paranormal romance) as I tend to stick to auto-buy authors. You see, I’m an awful picky reader. Very, very picky. But when I saw this series was available on NG, I took a chance because the blurb caught my interest and I was in the mood for some good ole dirty smexing reading. I’m glad I did because I have found myself a new paranormal series. Huzzah! Ecstasy Unbound is very heavy on the erotic sex and it features the mated trope heavily. Despite some issues I have–namely some of the worldbuilding and how the bad guys treat women–I found myself so engaged with the book and the romance. Alexandra is a Demi-Goddess who kicks ass like a pro. She has some unique powers; she is able to head-hop into another person; she has an instinct of intuition, and she has a shield which she built which is tied to her brothers after she was attacked and raped.
The hero Uri has been aware of Alexandra for years when she watches him having sex with others and it’s become a voyeurism aspect between them. When Alex needs help from the Guardians after her brother is in dire straights, they come together in an explosive meeting of hot fucking. Uri loses his mind and turns into a raging man of lust because unbeknown to them they are mates and all their pheromones are going lusty wild. Like I said above the romance does rely on the mated trope but while Uri does get into protective mode at times the heroine holds her own. In fact I would say she is just as powerful—maybe more so than Uri—and was able to kick ass without him coming to the rescue. I did like Uri and the setup of the compound with the other Guardians. The subplot with the hellhound was kinda cute too. And the m/f/m scene was hawt–and I’m not a huge fan of menage.
Sexual violence is apart of the worldbuilding and it seems to be very prevalent amongst the Immortal bad guys. I’m not sure if this theme is going to be a continuation throughout the rest of the books because I’m unsure if it’s something I could read about book after book. Plus the info dump in the beginning was a little long and convoluted.
Despite some of my issues I did enjoy this book. It’s super heavy on the erotic and the author voice is very engaging. I’m looking forward to reading Gregoire’s book next. I give Ecstasy Unbound a B-.