“Friends are like condoms. They protect you when things get hard.” That’s what my five drool-worthy best friends, turned boyfriends, turned mates, said when we were younger. We lived by it. But I don’t know if there’s a condom out there that’s strong enough to protect us from what’s coming … Pun intended.Five mates? Yeah, it gets a little hectic around here. That’s a lot of dcks to handle. … dcks to handle. They’re lucky I love them—because patience sure as hell isn’t a virtue of mine.
Add in natural disasters laying havoc to our world, learning we have magic from the goddess, Gaia—oh, and that one of my mates shares a soul bond with the man who killed us all in our previous lives…
Welcome to the Lana shtshow. Grab a seat and buckle up, buttercups.
Because no way in hell am I letting my mates die in this life.
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Author Note: Desolation is a reverse harem novel that touches on some dark themes such as molestation at a young age and rape which may be triggering for some readers. This book has a 18+ warning and is intended for mature audiences. Book one in the Darkness Rising series which will end in a cliff hanger.
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I just wanted to note that there are some Trigger topics such as PTSD, abuse, sexual assault, violence, also issues surrounding foster care system that should be taken under advisement.
This is R.L Caulder’s debut story and it was freaking amazing. I was taken on a wild emotional rollercoaster ride. One moment, it was hilarious and playful and fun. Next moment, you feel the pain, and anger and sadness the character(s) feel. She did an amazing job with the different displays of emotions.
The characters: I loved how the different types of personalities complements each other so well. You have your playful twins, shy introvert, the leader, and the alpha. You also have a kickass MC who has been through hell and back and battling her inner demons and still remains strong for her boys. The love between them and the MC felt so real. You can feel how much they care about her. It was very well done.
It was just a fantastic read. Although, yes, it does end in a cliffhanger and will leave you wanting more. Can’t wait until the Desolation #2 comes out.
Six kids brought together by fate. Paige, Ash, Hale, Zedd and the twins Luke and Leo. The world they live in is full of natural disasters. All of them had a hard childhood and lost their families at a very young age. They were taken in by their amazing foster mother Beth. Paige has been in love with the boys for years. The boys finally pull their head out of the sand and work together to tell Paige that they all love her. Greater forces are at play and Paige’s 21st birthday is the trigger. Life as they know it will change forever and Paige is the key to saving everything. This is their second lifetime and they have to get it right this time because there aren’t any more do overs. What happens when one of their own has something buried deep inside that can tip the scales in their fight of good versus evil? When long buried secrets and the past come to light can they work together to save each other and the world? You’ll have to read to find out. I love this book and all the characters. It kept me guessing and just when I thought I knew something it changed. All the characters are unique in their own way. I love all the jokes, sarcasm and witty banter between them all. I laughed then I cried and then laughed some more. It’s a roller coaster of emotion. I highly recommend this book!
I recieved an arc in exchange for an honest review.
When you can’t put a book down because you have to know what happens next, you might have the beginnings of a great series on your hands. Desolation is the first book baby of author R.L. Caulder and it is an interesting and amazing read for so many different reasons. The characters are engaging, and will have you laughing, crying, and absolutely furious at various points in the story. I love Lana. She is strong, feisty and does not put up with the nonsense that her guys throw at her at times. The twins are hilarious and I love their hijinks and crazy nicknames for Lana. Zedd has my heart. He is the geeky, shy, nerdy guy that I am always drawn to in a story. Hale is probably my second favorite. He is strong and willing to do anything to keep his family together. Ash, I am still not sure of for reasons you will find out if you read the book. Together, they can be unstoppable. I cannot wait to see what book two brings us.
“Remember that we are not the sum of our demons and our past. We are the sum of our love and perseverance through the trials along our journey.”
Such a great quote! I really enjoyed this book! Lana is full of sass and sarcasm which is always fun to read. I enjoyed watching her grow throughout her journey. The guys brought such a great dynamic to the story. I was not expecting that twist with the villian and I’m really looking forward to the next book!
LOVE LOVE LOVE.
Paranormal? Check. Reverse Harem? Check. Witty? Check. Hot guys? Check. Funny? Check! This book has it all! I was giggling and DYING for more throughout this book! I’m now SALIVATING for book two of the Darkness Rising! The suspense at the end with that cliffhanger! great debut novel!
Very good start to new series. Stayed up most of the night just to finish. And wow what an ending. Lana the main character had me laughing at some points and sometimes wanted me to smack her in back of head. She was a really good MC. Love the guys. Omg twins. Ending is yes a cliffhanger. Which just means there is another book!!! That’s always good news to me. Means story doesn’t end and I get to read more. Definitely recommend reading this one. You will laugh and at some parts you might cry. But I absolutely loved reading this one.
This is not a genre I would normally read but this book is phenomenal. Each character brought a compelling real ness to the story. The plot twist at the end had me screaming for more. I honestly cannot wait for the next installment. A book that’s filled with love, darkness and action what more could you ask for. A five Read
OOHH this an amazing debut for R. L. Caulder. Once I started reading the prologue, I was immediately sucked in. I could not put the book down and finished in one sitting. So we meet Lana, Hale, Ash, Luke, and Zed. These five have known each other since they were kids. I love how we do get some background on each of the characters to get a good understanding of them. The story builds slow but does pick up so you are not rushing through anything and it flows well. It is intense in moments and funny in others. I love the movie references that are made in this book. Oh the twists and waiting for the other shoe drops and oh boy does it. The ending was shocking and now I cannot wait for the next book.
This author did such an amazin job writing this book and this was her first story. I loved these characters and couldn’t put down at all from start to end. Everything about this story had me so dang intrigued and loving every minute of it. I really can not wait for the next book.
R.E.V.I.E.W
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Desolation
Author: R.L Caulder
Stars:
Heat: (medium burn. A lot of buildup)
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Desolation is the start to a new RH PRN series by R.L Caulder and is also her debut book. I am a PRN/fantasy junky and I enjoyed this book immensely. I love the personalities of each mate and how they each bring something different to the group. I haven’t decided who is my favorite. #whychoose
At the beginning, I was often annoyed at the FMC . Throughout the journey however, I watched her grow and mature, along with her mates. By the end, I adored her. It takes a special strength to endure what she has endured. I relate so hard to her constant sarcasm and her love for Transformers. Autobots roll out!!
Overall, this was a great debut novel and I can’t wait to continue this story in the next book.
RL Caulder is definitely going to be a go to author for me!
I’m still new to this genre but I was so pleased with this book! I absolutely love books with different POV and that’s exactly what I got!
Congratulations RL Caulder, you successfully did it!!! I can’t wait for book 2!
This was a fun read with interesting characters and plenty of action. The world building was good but I kind of wish this had been made into three books instead of two so we’d have more time to understand the crisis on Earth and develop some more mature relationships with the main characters. They grew up together and they seem to be stuck in that juvenile relationship now turned sexy.
I also wished for way more time and development in the Magic realm. Everything just seemed rushed from point to point and the ending is a horrible cliffhanger. I just feel like Lana has gone off half- cocked into something she couldn’t possibly be ready for magically, emotionally or physically. She’s had little training and now she’ll have no help against a powerful enemy. And after a trauma that realistically should have left her weakened and needing time to regroup, instead she jumps up like nothing big happened and rushes off to save the day? Don’t buy that part at all.
Trigger warnings fir childhood sexual abuse, rape, and discussion of torture.
Desolation is the first book in this series. It is a modern fantasy RH novel. This book is told from multiple points of view between Lana and her mates. I really like this writing style because it lets me know what the characters are thinking and feeling. It starts out with Lana in her past life losing her mates, due to a battle.
In the new life Lana is with a foster mom named Beth. Beth also fostered her five brothers Ash, Zedd, Hale and the twins Leo and Luke. Lana has feelings for all of them, but isn’t sure if they feel the same way as her. They all bring something different to the table.
Their 21st birthday is coming up and the boys want to do something special for Lana. She learns that they have feelings for her as well. They are out and about when a storm picks up the day before their birthday and their foster mother passes away from complications. Lana learns that Beth had passed away before, but was reincarnated to take care of Lana and the five boys until their 21st birthday, and it was time for her to go and be with her husband and son.
At the hotel after their foster mother passes, Lana learns that they have all been reincarnated and are all Fae and they need to protect their realm. A witch comes to collect them for training. While they are at their training Lana has meetings with Gaia a goddess and learns that her five boys are her mates for life. They were all together in her past life. They are training go learn their powers and how to work with them. This is their last chance to save their realm.
As they are training Lana learns who has the dark magic and has to battle with them. Can she get enough training before returning to her realm? Can her mates protect her. This book ends on a cliffhanger and I can’t wait for the next book in the series!
** I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Phenomenal story
What an epic read! For Caulder’s first book she blew this out of the park! I couldn’t get enough! She turns our world into an almost apocalyptic world and brings in other releams. There was a no way moment where I was sitting staring at the words wondering how Caulder could do this to me… my poor Ash! Que the tears! The guys! They all have their own personalities that mesh perfectly with Lana. Soulmates tethered together through time to come back and fight the battle again.
5 stars and I cant wait til the next book!!! A phenomenal read!
Actual rating 4.5
This book is life. This is a great first book in this epic paranormal series. R.L Caulder is a new to me author and I can honestly say she now has a top fan!
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Witty, humorous, entertaining, suspenseful, action packed and full of romance. In a world where natural disasters happen on a regular Lana navigates crossing from best friend status to lovers/mates as well as pain, grief, over coming the past and realising her destiny.
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I absolutely loved this book. The humour I’m living for, I did not expect it to be funny and the interactions and relationship the characters each have with each other sparked a hint of envy and note of wistfulness. This had everything I love about a paranormal book. The plot takes you on a captivating ride. You fee every emotion in this book. The world build and imagery the detail inspires is amazing. The writing was done so well it truly feels you are living and breathing in this world.
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I cannot wait to see what the next book brings. There was nothing predictable about this book. I was pleasantly surprised throughout and it made the experience of reading all the more exciting.
Hokey pokey Lana, your boss!
R.L. Caulder creates an extremely versatile world, filled with love, laughter, lust, anger, pain and growth. the world is in shambles and families are destroyed, but fate brings a little joy and forms a makeshift family, bonds form between the 6 kids, and true to life and happiness, tragic events occurred. Lana and the boys grow and learn and evolve and leave us dying for more! With twists and turns it’ll keep reeling you in and holding you close
spoilers afoot
ahhhhhhh this is one hell of a read from beginning to end lana aka anal (youll understand the nickname as you progress in the book) is one hell of an amazing mc and i thouroughly enjoyed her and her mates and the story overall it was action packed from beginning to end i also loved the side characters though the one known as beth her death hit me as hard as it hit lana serenity the one who was chosen by gaia to train lana and her mates in her gifts was also the best choice given there shared history (youll understand when you get to it in the book) as much as i liked seeing things from lana and her mates perspective as this is her story i wouldnt mind seeing things from serenity perspective 🙂 these 2 have quite a connection the reincarnation aspects of this book were also well done and as for anshar hes quite the bad guy and not in the good bad guy kind of way but i did not see his entrance coming at all though i should have and as for gaia she maybe a godess but she has alot to answer for and i hope she does work to seriously mend bridges and i also equally hope lana makes her work for it for couple centuries atleast 🙂 overall this book was amazing simply amazing despite how i may wanna see a certain goddess be humbled because of actions she took and actions she didnt take it was amazing and im hungering verry much for the sequel 🙂 well done rl caulder well done indeed
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“Opinions are like assholes. Everyone has one” and this is my honest opinion.
This is the first book by RL Caulder and the first in a her series Darkness Rising. It is a reverse harem with broken, quirky, and lovable characters. Lana rises from an insecure girl with a broken and damaged past, to a woman fighting for her life, her realm, her loves.
Even though I had a migraine for part of the ARC timeline, I had trouble not reading this. I just wanted to know how it worked out. I hate sometimes when you are right about something, but you hold out hope it gets resolved. Guess we will have to wait for Book 2, Detonation.
I received an eARC in exchange for my honest review.
You are now one of my favorite authors. This book left me an emotional wreck. That cliffhanger was cruel and freaking amazing. The characters personalities are so different and well written, I fell in love with every single one of them. The banter between Serenity and Lana is hilarious, as well as Leo and Luke. My heart breaks for Ash and everything he’s going through, as well as for Lana, I can’t wait for what comes in the next book
WHERE DO I EVEN START!? After reading Desolation I had to take a step back and really process everything I had just read. And let’s say right now that I’m writing my review, I’m still in shock. So here we go.
R.L. Caulder takes you into a paranormal world and makes you want to stay in it. Okay I just want to live in her books especially if I have the mates that Lana has. From the very beginning the story of Oslana and her mates takes you in and makes you want to keep reading til the very end. The twists and turns and turmoil are just what I needed at the moment. I’m not trying to give to many spoilers but seriously take a chance on this series you will not be disappointed.
But when an author can make you visualize what you are reading, laugh along with the characters, cry because you can feel the emotions coming off from the pages, and want to go and ki….I mean make people disappear along with the main characters…yeah you know you have a great author in the making. I cannot wait to see what else she comes out with. Be it paranormal or not.