It’s Smut Vault Monday and it’s once again time to try our hand at an audio book review. With a familiar author and an unfamiliar voice, today’s entry is exciting us with a new twist from a guy that’s impressed, confused, and bewildered with his first few visits. Can’t imagine he’s suddenly gone normie on us so let’s dig in and take a listen to the crazy shit we’re certainly in for with this audio edition of THE VAULT.
The Shifter: Other Worldly Passions by T.S. Lovecraft and narrated by Nikki Monroe introduces us to Lisa, a quantifiably successful romance author that’s at a bit of a crossroads regarding her love life. She’s been seeing Becky for a good while now but Lisa needs something more than just a good sex life; she’s looking for love. Still, Becky is fun to be with and it’s not like love is just going to drop out of sky, right? While on a late night walk back to her house, Lisa is accosted by a mugger with bad intentions. In the blink of an eye, a wolf creature comes to her rescue and saves the day. Lisa thanks the mysterious wolf and….the wolf replies back? As the wolf is morphing back into a beautiful (and naked) 18 year old girl, Lisa can hardly believe her eyes…or hardly believe her luck either. Did Lisa just make a new friend, or might there be something else at play?
While the base story is grounded in realism, there’s obviously a paranormal element at play here, with the character we learn to be known as Sarah being a shapeshifter. There’s not a lot of intel or agreed canon when it comes to shapeshifting, but Sarah appears to change into any animal creature at will, and may even have some less controllable “half shifting” issues while she’s asleep. Lisa soon learns that Sarah is an outcast without a place to stay…and surely having a shapeshifter vigilante killer that’s dripping with raw sex appeal… that’s the kind of girl you bring home after just meeting them!
There’s an insta love/lust going on here that while convenient, helps push the story right along after this first encounter. This isn’t a fantasy tale solely by the paranormal element, but by every conceivable moving part of the story as well. It’s great that Lisa is so successful doing what she loves as an author, but besides her FWB not feeling the same way romantically, everything else in her life is so perfectly put into place. Remember how I mentioned Sarah can sort of “half shift” in her sleep? Well occasionally this half shift can cause her to form a fox tail and ears….while still otherwise appearing as a perfect 18 year old piece of ass. How bout it? I know if I had a shapeshifter gf she’d sleep with half a pig’s ass and a swordfish mouth…but I’m beyond happy that Lisa gets to wake up next to an anime lover’s personal wet dream. ANYWAY, Sarah and Lisa are quickly falling in love, and once Becky comes back into the picture, any jealousy and hurt feelings are QUICKLY replaced by the notion of a smoking hot threesome. Sarah is more than willing to lose her virginity via this method and the sexual tension is so palpable the three girls are happy to publicly brag about their potential conquests in while in public. I should be clear, the actual sex is romantic, genuine, and takes the proper amount of time to build up, but that certainly wasn’t the vibe going in. Lisa gets everything she wants and nothing she doesn’t…and I’ve never been more jealous in my life.
Verdict: The Shifter: Other Worldly Passions by T.S. Lovecraft and narrated by Nikki Monroe is an intriguing erotic romance hybrid that keeps sexual tension high while keeping the actual fornication appropriate to context. The narration is well done, and blends perfectly into the fabric of the story. The paranormal romance is the stuff of pure fantasy, but it makes an excellent getaway story to get lost in and imagine a more simplified existence. This author continues to grow and has never been afraid to take chances, made perfectly clear through the lens of this story’s lovers. Perhaps a character like Lisa is a goal, something to aspire to long term. I don’t know where to find an on-demand fox girl switcheroo…but I can still root for this character (and writer) to get everything they’ve ever wanted.
Special Thanks to T.S. Lovecraft for providing an audio copy of The Shifter to TehBen.com for review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Author’s Twitter: @LovecraftTs
Purchase Link: Amazon (Audible)
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