Good Intentions

By: Elliott Kay

Narrated by: Tess Irondale

He knew it was a dumb stunt from the start. A midnight run through a cemetery to impress a couple of girls isn't the stuff of legend, but Alex Carlisle longs to escape the crushing mediocrity of life after high school.

Then, he stumbles upon the ritual, the cultists, and two bound and bloodied women. Alex intervenes, and the ritual blows up in his face, leaving him bound to them both: Rachel and Lorelei, an angel and a succubus. It’s hardly the sort of challenge a guy can face with dignity when he still lives at home with his mom.

Alex never imagined falling for an immortal demon seductress or that he’d spend his nights dodging her co-workers, her old boss, and every other supernatural freak in Seattle. He never thought a woman like Lorelei could have a rival like Rachel, either. But then, nobody ever said adulthood would be easy.

Warning: Good Intentions contains violence, explicit sex, nudity, inappropriate use of church property, portrayals of beings divine and demonic bearing little or no resemblance to established religion or mythology, trespassing, bad language, sacrilege, blasphemy, attempted murder, arguable murder, divinely mandated murder, justifiable murder, filthy murder, sexual promiscuity, kidnapping, attempted rape (which is never comedy), immolation of said attempted rapists, consistent abuse of vampires (which is always comedy), arson, dead animals, desecrated graves, gang activity, theft, assault and battery, panties, misuse of the 911 system, fantasy depictions of sorcery and witchcraft, multiple references to various matters of fandom, questionable interrogation tactics, cell phone abuse, reckless driving, even more explicit sexuality, illegal use of firearms within city limits, polyamory, abuse of authority, hit-and-run driving, destruction of private property, underage drinking, disturbances of the peace, disorderly conduct, internet harassment, bearers of false witness, mayhem, dismemberment, falsification of records, tax evasion, bad study habits, and an uncomfortably sexy mother.

©2011 Elliot Kay (P)2015 Audible, Inc.

Constant reread

This is not the first time i'm listening to this book, nor will it be the last. I love this series. It's different from what I normally read but I welcome the difference.

Great, steamy Fantasy story

First, I wanna say that Tess Irondale, who seems to have emerged solely for Kay's books, or has adopted a new moniker, has given a fantastic delivery. Easily one of my favorite narrators now. If she did adopt a moniker for these books, I wish I knew what other name she goes by to track down more titles. I hope to see more of her here.

This is really fun urban fantasy. I had a great time reading this and I purchased the remaining Kay novels in this universe. It is a story of urban sorcerers, vampires, werewolves, witches, demons, angels, and their relationship to each other and the world at large. He has some great villains, and they take on many forms. There is some great juxtaposition between Lorelei and another succubus to show how she is different from the others, and how much she has changed through here experiences.

It is certainly a guilty pleasure. The main characters become magically "bonded" which is common in fantasy stories these days, but this one has a sexual element. It is a polyamorous love story between 3 people and the ubiquitous love scenes described in explicit detail are very much meant to be part of the fun. These relationships are well handled by Kay, but they are extremely complicated by their very nature, so be prepared read through many discussions about how the characters feel about sex and shared experience.

I saw someone compare it to "Weird Science," the 80's movie where two guys create a sexy woman ala Frankenstein in their bedroom. It certainly has some of that feel to it, and it felt very much like a well executed, male fantasy. But I don't want you to think it's a shallow, puerile story. He takes it on seriously and that takes some effort to explain. It's about as close to a real "Weird Science" scenario as we could get.

For me, that part of the story sort of washed over me. Soon you'll find yourself entangled in the really fantastic plot, the characters' growth and discovery, and the complicated nature of their relationships. In most stories the sex is used as a narrative tool to convey plot and character development...that is not always the case here. Some of it is most definitely gratuitous, but, again, it's a guilty pleasure.

That said it was the plot and characters that drove me to the 2nd book in the series. :)

A fun romp

The premise is intriguing, the writing colorful, and the story engaging. What more could you want? However, it is a little porny, so if you're a prude, you may not like it. Unlike some though, it actually serves a purpose in this story.

Worth your time

Great urban fantasy that's padded by a lot of sex scenes that adds a lot to the joy of listening to it. It's pretty racy and not for everyone. But if it fits your niche, it'll satisfy.

Tess Irondale does a great job of narrating... female voices. She can make them sound so sexy. Each female voice is recognisably distinct and really really sexy, however the guys are just a mess. I can't distinguish guys from each other and had to rely on recognising the speech pattern. Weirdly though, she's able to do Wade really great. Her South American (USA) accent was pretty great in my opinion. Aside from that pretty great.

NSFW fair warning.

While this was a fun story, the main character is 19 so for me there's a disconnect there. But the characters are flawed in a great way. Some tear inducing moments are thrown in and some very exciting sex scenarios too. The fight scenes are well thought out and there's a preview of the sequel at the end of the Beek too.