Review: Soul in Darkness by Wendy Higgins

Title: Soul In Darkness
Author: Wendy Higgins
Genre: Fantasy, Mythology, Adult 
Publication Date: February 10th 2019
Kindle Edition, 298 pages

Summary: 

People travel from afar to the small isle in the Aegean Sea hoping for a single glimpse of Princess Psyche. Their adoration for the mortal woman is so all-consuming that citizens begin to shower her with the very gifts and offerings they once left at the alter of Venus, goddess of love and beauty. But gods are known for their jealousy. Cupid, the god of love, takes pleasure in causing strife and mischief in the lives of humans. He uses love as a weapon, humoring in the weakness of people at the whims of their feelings. When his mother Venus approaches him about punishing the human girl who dares to steal her offerings and affections from the people, Cupid gladly accepts. Psyche's punishment is to be given to a mysterious creature who only comes to her in the dark of night under the pact that she will never lay eyes on him. She is terrified of this stranger, who the oracle described as a serpent. Her mate, however, is masterful in his dealings with his bride. He takes his time, morphing her fears into different sensations completely. Based on the Roman/Greek mythology of Cupid and Psyche from Lucius Apuleius, New York Times bestseller Wendy Higgins brings the tale to life, weaving layers that show exactly how a sacrificial lamb can be enchanted by an unseen monster.

*This book is characterized as adult and contains on page sex scenes that may not be suitable for younger readers.*

I am a huge Wendy Higgin's fan from the time she released her debut novel Sweet Evil. I was super excited when I learned that she was going to be self publishing an adult, stand alone Cupid retelling based on Greek/Roman mythology. Sign me up! Then naturally it took me forever to get around to reading it, but here we are! I will admit that at first I really wasn't sure how I felt about Soul in Darkness, but then suddenly it was 3 a.m. and I just finished the story. So needless to say that I did end up enjoying it. 

I think the retelling was unique and it definitely had that edge that left me: Holy shit what is going to happen next? I loved how Wendy took the well known story of Cupid and twisted it into something completely different and immersive. Sometimes retellings rely to heavy on the actually story and Soul in Darkness did not at all. 

This is a Wendy Higgins book so naturally we are in for a swoon worthy romance. This was sort of the enemies to lover trope that I love. But it was more Psyche thought Cupid was evil and hated him but cupid actually really loves her and wants the best for her. Regardless, I loved it. It was also interesting for the fact that Cupid is invisible due to a curse for more then half of the book, so seeing how to romance progressed with out the typically "dreamy eyes" or "sharp angular jaw" descriptions was quite refreshing. Also I am a sucker for some good smut, and this book did not disappoint in the aspect. 

In my honest opinion: Besides the on page sex, this book would be suitable for upper YA readers. But that is just my opinion. I say this only because I was reading New Adult romances with sex scenes at 16. 

Overall I really enjoyed Soul in Darkness and thought that for a stand alone Wendy did a good job of wrapping the story up. I can't wait to see what Wendy has in store next for her readers, because she is an auto read and buy author for me.