The Vixen’s Deceit by Nikki Sloane: A Horror Romance Review

Check out our review of The Vixen’s Deceit by Nikki Sloane it’s the fantasy romance to read if you are in the mood for a book with a dark slow burn romance and a nail biting, horror heavy plot.

Disclosure: I received this book for free from the PR company in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. This post contains affiliate links. That means we receive a small commission at no cost to you from any purchases you make through these links.

SYnopsis

When reporter Tyler Quinn finds himself the only one available to write a piece on the immersive horror experience called Void, he unwillingly finds himself on a plane to Castle Docherty in Scotland. There, Tyler will question his very sense of reality as room after room gets darker and more terrifying, and each new hallway brings its own new horrors. Tyler’s only moment of clarity comes in the form of a pink-haired woman in the elevator. But as he continues through Void, and the supposedly fake dangers suddenly become real, Tyler realizes that not everything in this spooky castle is only for show.

review

After reading the first three titles in the Peculiar Tastes series, The Vixen’s Deceit was not at all what I was expecting. This one was decidedly less monster romance, and more like what the Saw or Hostel movies would be like if they were books.

When I say this story was a horror-infused adrenaline rush for both Tyler and the reader, it’s not an exaggeration. I do love the dark, terrifying, and macabre, so this entry in the series has (so far) turned out to be my favorite. However, if you’re wanting more big monster schlong and less blood and gore, The Vixen’s Deceit may not be for you.

horror or spicy read?

I was immediately impressed with how descriptive Nikki Sloane is in her writing. I could easily envision every room and hallway that Tyler entered in Void. This was exactly the type of detail needed to make readers feel the hellscape that Tyler was experiencing. To me, this book reads more like a horror story about 90% of the time which is vastly different from how the first three books in the Peculiar Tastes series came across. I immensely enjoyed both the horror and the spice in this story even as those two elements are rarely mixed. The horror elements of this story definitely took center stage throughout the plot, with what little spice there was happening towards the end.

I actually would have been completely okay if Sloane hadn’t included any spice in this story at all, which is totally out of character for me. I really enjoyed what spice there was and found it to be really well done, but I also didn’t think it actually added anything to Tyler’s story. He was coming out of his shell with or without a sexy pause in the horror. However, I didn’t find the sex gratuitous, either. It was there, it was hot, but it didn’t add or subtract from the fact that there was something evil lurking in the castle.

about that title…

I think the only thing I didn’t like about Nikki Sloane’s contribution to the Peculiar Tastes series is the story’s title. Honestly, after reading the story, the title itself feels like the greatest deceit. To me, the title implies that there would be a vixen whose deceit could be the main character’s downfall. Instead, there was mutual pining and the equivalent of stage acting. To even call the female main character a vixen seems like quite a bit of a stretch.

in conclusion

All in all, I loved the horror elements, enjoyed the spice, but found the title to be misleading.

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