Review shared on Goodreads and Amazon: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1990172862

Chanda is the Lord of Honey Flower House, a brothel that brings the paranormal to their clientele. He's an incubus who's given up on love, ever since his demon-who-won't-be named boyfriend did him wrong--a long long time ago.

One morning Azaz, a demon with a mission turns up at Honey Flower House to find a missing bridegroom--someone supposedly posing as a prostitute. Chanda's furious, and determined to get to the bottom of this mystery. Meanwhile, Azaz decides to claim Chanda as his own. As they collaborate to find the missing man, Chanda confesses his deep shame regarding his ex--and Azaz reveals his extreme power, and extreme dislike for Chanda's ex. Little surprise when the missing groom is found and Azaz gets to make Chanda's ex into a (gruesome) love token.

This on is a bit short on the details, and I didn't really get into it the way I have with other of the author's short fiction. It's okay, but lacking steam and context for this strange and wonderful world of the paranormal. I read a copy via NetGalley.

This is the darkest novel I have read from the author yet, I, unfortunately, wasn't as keen as usual on it but I applaud Derr for writing something, not as light as usual. I think perhaps her novellas /shorter stories don't sit with me as well as her fuller works.

Her world building is wonderful as usual, her ideas for plots are so good!. I just couldn't connect with the MCS they were a bit paint by the numbers. Interesting short for some but not me.

Okay so I really, really liked this, and I would have given it 5 stars except... it was just too short. Seriously! The characters and setting and everything were so interesting and well-written, and then... it was over!!

Also, there wasn't enough smut in it. I know, that's a terrible grievance to have, but it was set in a brothel with an incubus as the main character so maybe I'm allowed to complain about that a little bit ;)

But, Derr is definitely a good writer, and I'm going to check out all of her (longer) works right now.

Love Tokens by Megan Derr was a little disappointing, definitely not my favorite from her.

Megan Derr is one of those authors who I enjoy from time to time, but not for long. Love Tokens was cute, little thing, that was exactly what I've expected. It had quite predictible plot, and not-really-developed characters. None of the characters was much more than few adjectives, and mostly they were described by narrative, not by their actions. Which is a pity, because the premise of the story was really good.
I really liked Megan's take on incubus - making them intelligent, and a bit more than always hard sex addicts. I would love more of Chanda and Azar, as the hint of the dynamic between them was interesting.

And, you know? I totally approve of this particular love token. :)

Recommended if you need something easy, short and enjoyable for one evening. Less so, if you look for well developed character and complex plot.

Okay, I am a sucker for paranormal books. This one happens to have caught my attention with two simple words: Incubus and Demon. I don't know about you, but there are so many vamp/wolf books out there that those two words alone sold me on the book.

So begins the very sort tale of an Incubus by the name of Chanda, spurned by a demon long ago whom he thought he was destined for. Even though time has passed, he has never quite healed from the betrayal. Therefore, when a demon by the name of Azar comes to his establishment on the trail of a missing nobleman, Chanda’s world seems to tilt on its axis. Soon it becomes a game of who can find said nobleman first. Along the way, his defenses start to lower around Azar and he finds himself working with the demon.

There is a lot going in this story, which surprisingly worked well for such a short read. There were only a couple of things I was a bit disappointed in. One being there is an Incubus that owns a pleasure house. So, if you are like me then you are thinking it will be a HOT and steamy read. Well, not so much. Don’t get me wrong there is a couple of scenes, but the book is more geared towards the mystery part of the story.

In the end, you finally are able to understand the meaning of the title “Love Token.” With this, Chanda's remaining defenses fall and he completely gives himself over to Azar.

Megan Derr has done it again.
Another great short story with two believable MCs throughout.
I love how engaging her characters are hence why I own so many books and grab as many as come along to review.
It has a nice build up to the heat and wasn't overtly so either. I'd like more from these characters.

This story was originally published in LT3's Halloween Rentboys collection, but this is my first time reading it. Chanda runs a prostitution house where those interested in the paranormal can find the best night of their lives. As an incubus, the work fits with Chandra well, however he can't help wanting a little more than just sex. Then a demon appears on Chandra's doorstep and his careful life is immediately thrown into disarray.

Derr has two ways of telling stories. Her longer stories are rich in detail and plot, circling around drama and love until finally coming to a perfect conclusion. Her short stories generally lack detail and depth, but have a sweetness to them that I can't help enjoying. Love Tokens is a perfect example of Derr's short story style. Chandra's life and his interactions with Azar the demon made me smile. The focus was entirely on their story, with just a hint of a missing betrothed and other demons to give their relationship a touch more flare. Because of their relationship, I started the book smiling and I finished it smiling, which was a wonderful way to spend my afternoon.

That said, there is clearly a world outside of Chandra and Azar's relationship. The few glimpses I got showed that there are different societies of humans and magical creatures, kingdoms, and strange magic all around Chandra. The small glimpse was enough to settle this short story into the world and therefore provide it some much needed depth, but this story really needed more to push it to the next level. It felt like a short story set in the world of a longer book rather than a stand alone story.