From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Laurelin Paige comes a new story in her Slay series… him.
He sees right through her carefully constructed facade.
And he’s going to slash it all to pieces.
Every 1001 Dark Nights novella is a standalone story. For new readers, it’s an introduction to an author’s world. And for fans, it’s a bonus book in the author’s series. We hope you’ll enjoy each one as much as we do.
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These 1001 Dark Nights Novellas are such a clever idea- a great way to give readers quick and meaningful windows into some of the broader world they’ve created in popular series so new readers can discover them before committing to a larger series- and it is also a delightful way for long-time readers to get a nice little snack in worlds they already love. Each is designed to be able to be read as a standalone appetizer, so Slash can be read as a nice little intro into the Slay Quartet. I have not read the Slay Quartet myself, but picked this up to get a feel for the series to see if it would be something I’d want to delve into more- and I certainly enjoyed it.
From what I can tell, fans of this series have already met our heroine Camilla in stories within the Slay world- she seems to be a character that fans were clamoring to hear and learn more about her. For me, I had not met her, but the novella gives plenty of context for her backstory and develops her characters well enough that I felt like I “got” her even without having read the quartet.
Camilla certainly has a lot of baggage from her childhood and from troublesome relationships- she’s found her footing as a photographer, but she’s apprehensive to give her heart away again. Unfortunately for her, who she thought was a one night stand shows up in her life again, and she can’t escape confronting her own past pain. Hendrix is so swoon-worthy- he’s persistent but patient with her, and his understanding and his calm and loving support help her start to heal from her past, help her open up and feel safe to love and be loved.
For such a short read, Laurelin sure gives us a wide array of emotions- there are parts that are heartbreaking juxtaposed with the sweet, and some good sexiness, too. I’m not sure if I would have felt differently if I’d read the series, but I definitely wanted more to this story. We get a lot for novella, but I wanted to know Hendrix more, and I wanted to revel in their journey a bit longer to feel more connected to it. That said, I enjoyed the story quite a bit, and the strong writing and emotional range definitely made me want to check out the quartet and dive deeper into this world. Overall, a nice quick little snapshot into Camilla’s story.
We know Camilla Fasbender from the Slay series and I’m so excited she got a story. She had a painful and tragic past that kept her hiding and doubting herself. He drive helps bring her to light. I love her and Hendrix and how talented and sexy she is! This was such a treat to read!
Laurelin Paige never ceases to amaze me. This novella tells the story of Camilla Fasbender, the younger sister of Edward Fasbender, who we were introduced to in the Slay series. Camilla endured abuse, first from her foster father and then from her husband. She wasn’t looking for a relationship when she started teaching a photography class but one of the names on the class roster was familiar. Hendrix Reid was a one night stand from the past. She never planned to see him again but here he is in her class. Camilla and Hendrix grow closer and she lets him in her heart. Camilla’s story has a sweet HEA and I’m craving more.
SWOON, SWOON, SWOOOOOOON! I absolutely LOVE Hendrix Reid. Oh how Laurelin Paige knows the ways to get inside my heart and mind.
She takes Camilla and Hendrix’s story and truly blows your mind open! She takes away any preconceived notions about Camilla’s ability to flourish, break through and bloom. Hendrix comes in Camilla’s life when and where she needs him. And despite the inner conflict, Hendrix’s patience was her best medicine. He was her salve, and exactly what the doctor ordered.
Laurelin Paige has this special ability to take some of the most twisted and loathsome characters; and let them finagle and burrow themselves in your heart and stay there. I loved this story so much. Although it is a novella, Laurelin maximizes every word and sentence, allowing this story to really pack a serious punch. This has to be one of my favorite novellas. Another top notch story, in a top notch series, by a top notch author!
SLASH by Laurelin Paige is the latest instalment in the author’s contemporary, adult SLAY erotic, romance series, and the latest novella in the multi-authored 1001 Dark Nights series. This is photographer and single mother Camilla Fasbender, and wildlife photographer Hendrix Reid’s story line. SLASH can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Camilla is the sister of Edward Fasbender (Slay 1-4)
Told from first person perspective (Camilla Fasbender) SLASH focuses on the rekindling romance between photographer and single mother Camilla Fasbender, and wildlife photographer Hendrix Reid. Seven months earlier Camilla Fasbender met Hendrix Reid at a photography convention but ran out after a one-night stand, never to see Hendrix again. Teaching a photography class at the local college, Camilla will come face to face with the man who has starred in her fantasies and dreams, the man currently enrolled in her photography course Hendrix Reid. As Hendrix tries desperately to rekindle their romantic involvement, Camilla struggles with demons from the past, demons that continue to control her daily life. What ensues is the rebuilding romance and relationship between Hendrix and Camilla, and the potential fall-out as Camilla reveals the truth as to why she feels the need to run and hide.
SLASH is a fast paced, haunting and spicy story of revelations and reconnections; a second chance romance about a wounded woman struggling to move on with her life. The premise is heart warming and inspiring; the romance is tender, emotional and provocative; the characters are tragic yet dynamic and energetic.
I’m so happy with the way Laurelin Paige shared Camilla’s story. For readers new to Laurelin Paige, if you enjoy this book, I highly recommend reading the Slay series next. Since this story is told from Camilla’s point of view, we feel all of her angst, fear, passion, courage and relief when she gives herself a chance to trust Hendrix, to differentiate him from all her past relationships. This book was all about Camilla and her relationship with Hendrix. In the Slay series, she plays more of a supporting cast role, but her relationship with her brother, Edward, completes Camilla’s story. For those of us who read the Slay series first, this book completes Camilla for us. Loved the epilogue as well!
I’m ecstatic that Laurelin Paige wrote Camilla’s book as I’ve been intrigued by her and her story since she was introduced as Edward’s sister in the Slay series. Ms. Paige definitely gave Camilla the story that she deserved and I devoured it. Although this is a novella, Slash is filled with so much depth and is intense at times with an emotional and engaging storyline. Hendrix and Camilla set the pages on fire, they’re amazing characters and both of them needed each other more than they knew. Slash is so much more than I anticipated and an excellent addition to the Slay series!
I loved this story! it sucked me in within the first page! it was fascinating and intriguing!
This is not just a romance, it’s a journey. The journey Camilla takes in her life and how crucial Hendrix is to that. She has scars, unseen but scars nonetheless. It’s such an emotional story that in the end, I was crying because the journey there was bittersweet. I love that it’s a novella so it’s long but we get exactly what we crave with the characters without it being overdone.
If you’ve read the Slay series you’ll love this little novella about Camilla, Edward’s sister. If you haven’t read the Slay series this is a great introduction to her and you’ll be dying to read more about the Fasbender family.
Camilla hasn’t had an easy life, she was an orphan, she experienced a lot of trauma, yet she was worked hard for herself as a photographer. However, someone from her past is back and is a student in the class she is teaching. He’s a man that she hasn’t forgot about, even if it was only one night.
I loved the chemistry between Camilla and Hendrix. I loved that he didn’t push her, he knew she had walls up and there was something she was hiding about her past. He was patient with her and that makes me love him even more. Plus, the way he makes her feel, he doesn’t look at her as some poor little girl who was an orphan. He sees a survivor and a beautiful woman.
Slash is a fast paced novella that is a great addition for fans of the Slay series or a great introduction to the series. A MUST READ.
Slash is the story of Camilla Fassbender, Edward’s sister from the Slay Quartet. It was a shorter read but packed with so many emotions and was a very intriguing love story. I loved Camilla and Hendrix. He was really great for her! Wish I could read more about them!
We meet Camila in Slay Series. She has one night stand with Hendrix Reid.She she didn’t expect to see him again.They both knew there is something between.When I started reading I couldn’t put it down.Laurelin Paige is magnifysent and amazing writer.I cannot wait to read more of there books.Keep up the great work.
This book is rich in detail and characterisations which had me glued to the page. It is sensitively and beautifully written, bringing Camilla to life in all her vulnerability and creative intelligence. I loved Hendrix for her partner in life. He has a grace and patience which is so infused with a loving nature that I seriously wanted him to walk through the door! This book is a wonderful compliment to the Slay series, rounding it out perfectly. It is now so tempting to start the whole series again as there is nothing better than immersing yourself in intelligent and absorbing writing. Fabulous!
I’ve wanted to know more about Camilla since seeing her in the Slay series. While this story doesn’t dive deep into her, it’s more a snippet in time, but oh, that snippet! I think we finally get to see what’s at the heart and soul of her, and all I’ll say is that she is so much more than meets the eye.
This is a quick read that I thoroughly enjoyed and has restored my faith in the art of the novella. A lot of story packed into fewer pages, yet I didn’t feel rushed or cheated. Well done!
This may be a novella but it still packs a mighty punch and this is the story we have all been waiting for, Camilla Fasbender has intrigued us all from her first appearance but what made her become that woman and after reading Slash you know exactly what makes this woman tick…..
Hendrix Reid was only meant to be one night but when he reappears Camilla’s feeling come rushing to the surface and it’s time for the man to show her how he really feels as well as helping to heal the hurt from the past. Camilla hasn’t always been an easy person to like but this novella puts everything into perspective, I loved this emotional, heartfelt story that at times broke my heart. This is the perfect addition to the Slay Series.
Overall Grade:
I often wonder how writers can say so much in the limited pages of a novella. Take one look at Laurelin Paige’s newest offering, Slash, and you realize it’s a master class in the form, much like the course taught within her story. Page after page, you find the heartrending, complicated story of Camila Fasbender, the sister of Edward Fasbender, Paige’s hero in her Slay series. The profession of truth that litters the pages of Slash overwhelms you in a way that feels both traumatic and essential. If I could give this novella a different title, it would be “The Persistence of Patience.” In that patience, Paige elaborates on some essential truths about life.
What I know from reading Laurelin Paige’s booklist is her ability to create these alpha men who consume their heroines. Donovan Kincaid is still my FAVORITE alpha hero in all of romancelandia. Yet, her hero in Slash is nuanced. It could be that we aren’t treated to his point of view in Slash. Quite honestly, it doesn’t feel necessary. What you learn quickly from this story is the erotic nature of patience. Hendrix Reid’s capacity for waiting is his romantic superpower. Paige has crafted him with equal amounts of empathy, persistence, and intuition. These qualities might seem to emasculate him; they don’t. Instead, they match brilliantly with her heroine who requires the capacity of these qualities.
Camila’s characterization is profound. Her being epitomizes trauma. And it feels necessary to read her story. The messages of Paige’s Slash reside in Camila’s portrayal. How do we live an abundant life after surviving it for so long? How do we become vulnerable so that we can be “seen” in our totality? How do we honor both the small and big moments of our life? How do we see our scars as more than their trauma? Over and over again, Paige’s articulation of Camila’s pain resonates and pushes against the scars of her readers, and it makes for a beautifully wrought, intentionally drawn story of healing. In her afterword, Paige explains that parts of Camila’s story didn’t need to be told in the pages of her novella, and I agree because the depth and gravity of Camila in this small space are pained enough that this shortened story form allows you, as the reader, to breathe through the difficulties of her story. Any longer, and I think it would feel like punishment, and her romance might be overpowered. Instead, the way that Hendrix loves Camila through her journey towards becoming vulnerable plays out exactly as it should. I found myself grabbed by Paige’s prose, thrown into Camila’s story, and upended by her truth. This is the art of Laurelin Paige’s Slash.
Paige says it best in her Author’s Note: “When the world feels fragile and broken and unsure, I needed to believe that fragile and broken and unsure is still beautiful.” That is the essence of Camila’s story. It is also the truth that love will see you through your pain. Paige’s Hendrix shows us how to love broken people, how to love humanity. Underscoring this axiom is the art of Paige’s writing. And one can’t help but wonder if Slash isn’t an apt representation of Paige’s own art, rife with anointed words, carefully composed characters, and a story that reminds us that we all bear some hurt and there is a fellowship in that knowledge. That it simply takes someone else “authentically see[ing]” us to be “free.”
Slash novella has everything I love about Paige’s books. I said it once and I will say it a million times more, I want to live in her Slay-Dirty-Fix universe. Camilla and Hendrix stole my heart, their story is so full of hope and true to real life. Laurelin did no beautifying and that is what I found in powering for women that will and should read Slash. I would give it 10 stars if I could. Bravo!!!
Slash is Camilla Fasbender’s happy ever after! If you read the Slay series, Camilla is Edward’s sister. We had little glimpses of her in the Slay series, so we know she had some hard life experiences especially with men around her.
Camilla is the star of Slash, now we see what a brilliant woman she is. Someone who is trying her best for her son, even though she has so many doubts about herself and still struggles with her vices.
Hendrix met Camilla sometime before, she was supposed to be a one-night stand, but he never got over her and decided to seek her out.
Slash is the short story of Camilla and Hendrix meeting again! If I say anymore – they would be spoilers.
I really enjoyed reading this!!!
5 Star Review of Slash (Slay Quartet #4.5 ) by Laurelin Paige
I have been intrigued by Camilla Fasbender since she first appeared. It was time for her to get her own happily ever after. She has had such a tragic past and survived so much; a woman to be admired and one who need to be taken care of.
Hendrix Reid was a one night stand who could have been so much more. When he reappears, it is fate even though Camilla has done her best to avoid the feelings he brings to the surface.
For me he was just the man, to treat her with the love and respect she deserves, a man to heal the scars of her past.
Although a novella, Ms.Paige certainly packs a lot in to the story. This was an emotional, raw at times confronting story that had me hooked from the first to the last page.
It is kind of rare that I give a novella 5 stars. Usually they are not long enough to get me emotionally pulled into the story. That was absolutely NOT the case here! Camilla’s story is one that got to me. I can not even imagine how difficult her story must have been to write, but Laurelin Paige did a fantastic job! Making it powerful enough without getting into too many details! And Hendrix is one of those hero’s that gets you right in the soul from the very beginning! The things he says, the way he behaves…. on a scale of 1-10 on the swoon meter he is ABSOLUTELY a 10! I love their story! It was one that will be sticking with me for quite some time!