Heartless Heathens

By: Santana Knox

Narrated by: Celia Stone, Corvin King

Length: 13 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

Hey,

Over here.

No, look up.

Yeah, I’m the one they talk about. The headmaster’s prized possession, locked away in the bell tower of Notredame Parochial College. To most of the students, I was just a myth.

An urban legend.

The girl who rings the bells up in the tower, the one who talks to gargoyles.

Frollo’s secret.

Then they showed up, those heathens. Outcasts, just like me. But these men aren’t just dangerous, they’re heartless. They won’t abide or bend to the rules of this deranged school and the secrets it keeps from the world.

Now that they’ve found me, they may never let me go. And maybe I wouldn’t want them to....

Heartless Heathens is a dark why-choose gothic romance loosely inspired from major points of Victor Hugo's Notre Dame de Paris. This is not a retelling, it is not a fractured fairy tale. This story does not involve any characters of Romani descent. The female main character will not choose between the love interests in this story.

This is a corruption story, there are no heroes here. Please take the author's note and content warning into consideration. This book is dark and graphic in nature, touching topics that may not be suitable for listeners under 18.

©2022 Baneful Ink Publishing; 1st edition (P)2023 Fireside Audio

Exceeded my expectations

I had previously read the book and loved it. I was excited for the audio version and it exceeded my expectations. I think the voices were perfect for my previous imaginings, and if it’s even possible, I think I love this story even more now.

Such a good dark romance!

4/5 ⭐️
4/5 🌶️
4/5 🎧

FMMM
Dark romance
Forced proximity
Occultism

This was my first Santana book and I really liked it! I knew it was going to be dark, but I wasn’t expecting how dark and unhïnged it would be. Be sure to check trigger warnings as this covers some dark themes.

We meet Romina who’s locked up in a tower for her whole life. My heart hurt for her and the trauma she endured at the hands of her father figure. She made a some naive decisions that are completely excusable due to her past making me feel so bad for her.

The boys are complete heathens and I was here for all of it. Sonny is by far my favorite. I love a possêssive unhïnged alpha guy and he didn’t disappoint. I also really enjoyed reading about the twins and their relationship.

The way they each cared for Romina was one of my favorite things about the book. They each took care of her in their own way and even though some of the themes were dark they cared for her more than I expected.

I also couldn’t handle the smüt in this book 🥵 the scenes Santana wrote were so descriptive and I was here for them all 🥵👏🏼

The narrators really voiced this story well. I enjoyed how deep the male narrators voice was and he truly fit the vibe. Also, the female narrator played Romina very well.

I can’t wait to read another Santana book.

Awesome

Omg! This story was so well written and got me hooked starting with the blurb. Santana is a new author to me and I'm so glad I gave her a try. Dark, bully romance, why choose, twists, awesome characters and really good.#The FlockonTour

It’s definitely a must!

The book was so good! Romina being locked away in a bell tower to meeting the heathens! 🥵🔥These men saved her from what was to become or not become of her! Her innocence at times was annoying but understandable(I think that some of that may have been from the the female narrator’s voice). She learned a lot from these men and neither of them could be a part from each other. In a world where a virus has taken so many and the control over women’s bodies is strong. These men did what they could to protect Romina! She was controlled by the church and that was all she knew until she met 3 hot men!! I don’t want to give anything a way but, this book is a must! As far as performance I think Corvin did an amazing job! Celia did a great job as well! Sometimes her accent came out but it was nothing to frown upon. I did notice a couple times where they went back and re-recorded a line and then there was was section repeated a couple time. But, all in all this audiobook was amazing! I will definitely listen to it again! It has a lot of spice so definitely not safe for work or little ears! 🤣🥵🔥

Umm, Yes Please!

While some are torn regarding how they feel about this book, I absolutely loved it. The plot and the spice 🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶 were divine. I was cheering for them from the beginning, even before everything unfolded. As always, check the TWs before you start if you are concerned.

dark spicy

times where the religion controls the country. angel and demons and the conflicts of 1 who has been sheltered. religion is the law and government. but is just as corrupt as the dark side. the innocent is she so holy as she is made to believe or as sinister as the heathens she meets.

Dark and Spicy 🌶️

loved it loved it loved it !

If u like dark romances, this is your audio! Check Triggers.
Just amazing! It's so difficult to find this kind of romance well written!
And don't get me started on the narrator, omg, what a duo !
spice 5/5 🌶️
narrators 5/5 🎧
plot 4/5 ⭐ - I think there were some parts that maybe should've been a little more explained or take mor time but still awesome !
oh, did I say LOVED IT yet ??? yeah... that !!

Seriously Dark and Spicy

Thos is a new author for me and I need to first repeat this book is seriously dark. Please check trigger warnings before starting this book. Just to name a few tropes and TW inckuded in this book, we have: RH, satanic cult, antisemitism, post-apocaypse, nonconsent/consent, captivity, a touch of paranormal, DP and DVP, and murder. This is a story of 3 broken men and 1 broken woman that find each other not by chance but fate.

Romine was held captive by the priest that runs the college and forced to live in the bell tower at the college. She is not allowed to leave the bell tower and is provided with the bare minimum to survive. When the 3 men, Sunny, and the twins, Felix and Corvin purchase the cathedral and bell tower and remodel it and move in they meet "Mina" when they find her in one of their rooms. No longer a bell tower myth, they developed a bond with her.

I had a hard time through the first half of this book, but I kept going because my curiosity was there to see how it ends. the second half of the book when you get a few answers is much better and moves at a quicker pace. I went from feeling the men were way too toxic for her to loving the pairing with them all. They make it work and put some pieces back together for each other. I love a good dark romance but at first I thought this may a little too dark for me but it wasn't.

As a Christian I never once found this book to be offensive. Its fiction and strictly for entertainment. The main focus is not the cult or antisemitism but the love story between the 4 broken people and how even in diverse, post-apocalyptic times, together they can persevere and still find protection, love and commitment.

I would reccomend this book to anyone who loves a good dark gothic romance that does not get easily offended or have any trigger warnings. It was worth the read.

I'm torn

This book was good in theory but something about it just turned me off. I think it was a mixture of the "mentally/ socially regressed" FMC and the plot that just didn't do it for me. I also wasn't fond of the character POV's changing every chapter. I found myself struggling to try to finish the book. It wasn't for me, but that's okay!

Okay listen to the trigger warnings!,,

This book had a great story.Overall performance is amazing, and I am definitely a dark romance person, but I definitely should have believed the trigger warnings. If you’re a Christian in anyway this book could be very upsetting to you. I gave a great rating for the writing and performance. But for feel I needed to read the Bible afterwards.