— Nothing can stop true love. Not time. Not even the devil himself. — 1805. Laurent. Indentured servant. Desperate to escape a life that is falling apart. 2017. Beast. Kings of Hell Motorcycle Club vice president. His fists do the talking. Beast has been disfigured in a fire, but he’s covered his skin with tattoos to make sure no one mistakes his scars for weakness. The accident not only hurt … with tattoos to make sure no one mistakes his scars for weakness. The accident not only hurt his body, but damaged his soul and self-esteem, so he’s wrapped himself in a tight cocoon of violence and mayhem where no one can reach him.
Until one night, when he finds a young man covered in blood in their clubhouse. Sweet, innocent, and as beautiful as an angel fallen from heaven, Laurent pulls on all of Beast’s heartstrings. Laurent is so lost in the world around him, and is such a tangled mystery, that Beast can’t help but let the man claw his way into the stone that is Beast’s heart.
In 1805, Laurent has no family, no means, and his eyesight is failing. To escape a life of poverty, he uses his beauty, but that only backfires and leads him to a catastrophe that changes his life forever. He takes one step into the abyss and is transported to the future, ready to fight for a life worth living.
What he doesn’t expect in his way is a brutal, gruff wall of tattooed muscle with a tender side that only Laurent is allowed to touch. And yet, if Laurent ever wants to earn his freedom, he might have to tear out the heart of the very man who took care of him when it mattered most.
POSSIBLE SPOILERS:
Themes: time travel, servitude, serial killer, cruelty, motorcycle club, alternative lifestyles, disability, demons, tattoos, impossible choices, deception, crime, self-discovery, healing, virginity, black magic, gothic
Genre: Dark, paranormal romance
Scorching hot, emotional, explicit scenes
Length: ~135,000 words (Book 1 in the series, can be read as a standalone)
WARNING: This story contains scenes of violence, offensive language, and morally ambiguous characters.
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Time travel is impossible…unless you make a deal with a demon. Laurent is a young man from 1805 who dares to dream of the impossible: starting a romantic relationship with another man. But what should have been a chance at forbidden happiness quickly transcends into a nightmare. His only hope is to make a deal with a demon which transports him into 2017 and straight into the heart of the Kings of Hell Motorcycle Club.
Laurent and the Beast is the first book in the Kings of Hell MC series and immediately sets the stage for the paranormal romance. Laurent is a beautiful young man, proud and quick to judge, but he’s also just trying to find his own happiness in this new modern world. Beast has born the scars of his failure for years, resigned to the fact that he’ll never find love or happiness again. But meeting Laurent gives him something he never dreamed of having: hope. Both of these men are deeply flawed, but together they fit each other perfectly. Their romance is intoxicating as they do everything they can to stay together despite the attempts of demons and adversaries.
I listened to the audible version of this story and enjoyed it a lot. I don’t particularly care for romance books with a historical aspect to it however, I love paranormal stories. This author is new to me so I decided to give the book a try and I can say that this one left me wanting the next book in this series. I enjoyed the characters and although the story was a little slow at times, it made me laugh. I enjoyed Laurent and Beast a lot. There was just something so sweet and innocent about Laurent that you wanted him with a man like beast that was caring, even if he was a little impatient at times. Their differences just had you rooting for them and their ending was sweet. I’m looking forward to Knights story.
Audio.
This was my first book by K. A. Merikan (I literally found this book by poking around on my library’s site and following “you might likes” from book to book until I stumbled on this. Libraries are awesome y’all!), but I’m definitely familiar with Joel Leslie.
I was looking for something completely different and found it. I’m a sucker for age gap, Beast is 32, Laurent is 19 but the idea of time travel, an MC, a tattooed giant of a man and I was totally sucked in. At 15 hours, this was a big commitment ~ but worth every minute. While dark and serious, there were moments of levity to keep me from being overwhelmed.
Leslie is just phenomenal in this book. Laurent and the devil’s voices/accents could have easily come off as caricatures with anyone else. I was completely immersed in the world and never let out until the end.
I’m on to Knight’s book next (on hold at the library!) and can’t wait.
Reviewed by Pussnbooks.net
The first series I read by KA Merikan was The Copper Horse series and I loved it.
So I was really hoping this one would also be great…and I was so happy that it was!
These guys made me laugh, cry, blush, and I’m not gonna lie, they get me wet.
I love a bit of M/M action.
LAURENT
He is just the cutest wee dude! He is so unappreciated in his own time (1805) and is beautifully innocent and naive. What a kind man he is. He is so excited to be going to maybe hook up with a man that visits the book shop he works in and is hopeful that it’ll be his first sexual experience ever.
Of course, back then it was a no-no. But fuck that noise!
Anyway, trusting wee soul that he is, he doesn’t realise he’s walking into the arms of a nasty predator.
He is so emotionally and physically hurt when shit hits the fan with this possible suitor that he goes into shock…and when the devil himself offers him a chance at a new life where he could potentially have anything he wants, he agrees. Not realising that he’ll be going into the future.
However, he also has to agree to do something for the demon when he gets there.
BEAST
Och man! I love this guy.
He is the biggest, toughest, meanest looking teddy bear out there with a soft soul and beautiful and scarred heart…as well as his skin.
He was terribly burned in a fire 10 years ago and is now scarred over most of his body.
He’s basically given up on a relationship because he feels like everyone thinks he’s disgusting. It breaks my heart.
He just needs someone to love him for what’s inside and not judge him on what he looks like.
So when Laurent drops into his life suddenly and he is just so different and beautiful Beast gets hopeful but he ends up hurt again as things just do not go smoothly.
He is so scared to trust Laurent and he knows that something is up, yo.
SEX SCENES
There is a lot of delicious “will they or won’t they?” in this story and it just built up the anticipation perfectly.
The sex was a mix of super-steamy and beautiful because it was about two people discovering themselves. It was Laurent’s first time and Beast was learning himself all over again.
Greedy like a wolf at the end of winter, he devoured Laurent’s flesh, taking his young cock all the way into his throat. After years of celibacy, he managed to only choke a few times. He sucked on Laurent’s balls and played them in his hand. He kissed, bit, and sucked on Laurent’s trembling thighs. He spread his buttocks wide and ate Laurent’s ass with so much dedication the hole softened to him within minutes. With his tongue deep inside the tight channel, with the tip teasing the wrinkled flesh, he imagined burying his cock in Laurent’s ass and fucking it until Beast came, filling Laurent’s hole with his cum. They would look at one another, and Laurent would then understand that no other man could ever give him the things Beast could.
FINAL THOUGHTS on LAURENT and the BEAST by KA Merikan
I really enjoyed this book and all of these fierce men! Canny wait for the rest of these guys to get their own book.
I love the mix of M/M, Bikers, Time Travel and Paranormal!
4 Stars
What a novel take on Beauty and the Beast. This book is very original and as with K.A. Merikan books, it is devilishly twisted and dark at times. Laurent and Beast are perfect together, and I thoroughly enjoyed their journey towards their HEA. Throw in a notorious motor cycle club, time travel, demons and scorching hot sex, and you have one terrific, page-turner of a novel!
Gay fiction has always been a guilty pleasure of mine. I also want a plot and characters to invest in. This book gave me that and more. This book is romantic and sexy. I love Laurent and his beast.