When a nude man with no memory except for a tattoo “N o X” invades Luca Suarez’s home and protects him from otherworldly creatures called Anubis, Luca learns the stranger, Nox, was sent by Luca’s supposedly dead brother, Koda. As Nox’s memories slowly return, revealing an impossible truth, both men grapple with their growing attraction, despite the danger it poses.

Okay, so this is one of those books where every chapter introduces W.I.L.D worldbuilding that left me speechless. (Not always in a good way, but not always in a bad way either.) To a certain degree, I feel like some of the POVs were unnecessary and took away from the mystery and the drama. I think I would have preferred to figure out the mystery of Nox with Luca and Nox, rather than being told it via exposition through another POV.

That being said, if books are a journey, this is a bucking bronco. You’re in for a wild ride if you can hang on.

** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE **
Copy received through Netgalley

~

NoX
Wolves Incarnate, Book 1
by Adrienne Wilder

★★★★★
484 Pages
3rd person, multi-character POV (split into 3 characters with two storylines)

TRIGGERS: on page violence and gore; racial slurs; homophobia; abuse by cops; human rights violations; illegal human experimentation; genetic mutilation; mentions of off-page torture and medical experiments; cops victim blaming
THEMES: medical experimentation; age difference; size difference; monster romance; forced proximity; slow burn, UST; group sex, double penetration; touch him and die


NoX is my first book by Adrienne Wilder but it won't be the last. As well as buying the next book in this series, I'll be devouring anything else they've ever written, because this was a fantastic first book by a new-to-me author to whet my appetite.

NoX takes all the known lore around shifters and completely turns it on its head, creating a new – but familiarly old – concept from the trope. Using Egyptology at its core, combined with some pseudo-science and biology, Wilder has managed to create a gut-punch of a first book for a new series and craft it into an expertly written – wholly new and refreshing – take on shifters.

Unfortunately, it took me a LONG time to get around to this on my Netgalley list, mostly due to life and reasons. However, that worked in my favour, because that means that Book 2 is already available. So although I regret taking so long to get this review written for the author's sake, as a reader I'm happy to be able to binge both books in just a few days.

However, because this was an ARC on Netgalley, I did find quite a few editing errors. I'm not sure if they exist in the published version or not, but there were a lot and some weren't so much editing errors as much as choice errors, e.g. “on accident” instead of “by accident”. There were a few flip-flops between Nox's surname being Keli or Kelli; little things that should/could have been spotted in a final edit. But I have to review what's in front of me, so that's why I'm mentioning it. I never let editing issues interfere with my rating on an ARC, unless it's something huge like plot gaps or inconsistencies in the plot. That didn't happen here, so although I did fine a lot of editing errors, I'm giving the author the benefit of the doubt that they would have been spotted and fixed before publishing.

~

When it comes to the story, I feel I need to preface anything I say with the fact that I have been Luca. I had cancer as a teen, went through treatment, and I know the toll it takes on a body. I'm now 20 years down the line from recovery and it still resonates through every day and every bone in my body, so...I get it. I get Luca's acceptance, his grief, his weariness, his resignation and his reluctance to hope. I get his hopes and wishes, and I CANNOT thank the author enough for how viscerally and sympathetically they wrote Luca. He is exactly what I would want to see in an MC who has/had cancer.

Thank you.

~

PLOT

Luca is a 19 year old Hispanic male, who is all alone in the world with a death sentence hanging over his head. After beating leukaemia twice before, it's come back and the doctor's can't help any more. His brother was murdered 5 years ago, and his parents died a year ago in a freak car crash. He's alone, with only an old neighbour as the last one who gives a shit.

Nox is a naked, buff man with amnesia who stumbles into his house one late night during a storm, insisting that Luca isn't safe and someone is going to hurt him. Of course Luca is doubtful, until massive non-wolf beasts erupt onto his property and try to kill him. Then they run, in a race against time to escape these otherworldly creatures.

Reese – aka Dr Dante – is a medical researcher who is responsible for not just creating the otherworldly creatures, but for creating Nox. And he's just been woken in the middle of the night by the army for a super secret mission. A medical compound – where the Anubis creatures were created – has impossibly gone dark and Reese, having once worked for them, is the only person who can get them access, information and help solve the riddle of just what the flippin' heck is going on.

The story is, in one word – ingenious. It's clever, sophisticated, intriguing and expertly crafted. The world building is fantastic and in depth to the point where I didn't even care that most of the science mumbo jumbo went right over my head. It still made sense.
As a student of Archaeology and Egyptology, I was so happy to see them coming together into unique concept of genetic archaeology with an Egyptological twist. The whole essence of the Anubis creation was like something ripped out of my teenage dreams from when I was most obsessed with Ancient Egypt. It really couldn't have been better. Except...add the characters, the craft of the writing style, the pacing, the perfect blend of romance, action and science, and it gave me the same feeling I had when I watched Stargate the movie for the first time. It's that good.

I'm not going to try to explain the plot, because it's very complex and complicated and intricate and I wouldn't even start to do it justice. But it's smart, logical, completely possible, and terrifyingly fascinating.

If you take the movie Venom, mix in some of the concepts of the Resident Evil movies (specifically the beginning of 1 and 2) then you get an idea of what's going on here. I definitely got Venom vibes from the ichor, and the whole collection of Reese by the army was strongly reminiscent of RE's second movie, with the good doctor. Then the exploration of the facility gave me flashbacks of RE's first movie when they explore the Hive.
Saying that, the book still manages to be completely original. It just gave me the same feeling and vibe as those movies, which is no bad thing.

~

CHARACTERS

I LOVED Luca and Nox. Together and separately they were incredible. The power dynamic between them was so interesting to watch, as it twisted and grew and reshaped itself. I loved how Nox helped Luca find his confidence and some independence, how they filled in the gaps for each other, while bolstering each other. I also loved the whole muscled man, touch-him-and-die aspect of Nox's personality and how he fought that so hard just to keep Luca safe.

As for side characters, I really loved Reese, and I found myself surprisingly enjoying Harrington. It's a shame he's married. *grins* I felt so sorry for Vic and hope that he pops up again later, just so that we can see what happened to him. I also really loved Koda, despite him being almost a fifth level character – on page but not really the centre of the focus, yet so vitally important.

I definitely feel like all the characters were crystal clearly individual, no caricatures or stereotypes. There was huge diversity in the cast as well as some ambiguous or morally gray characters, who were interesting to watch.

~

OVERALL

I loved everything about it. It's obvious there was an incredible amount of research done – into the science, biology, archaeology, Egyptology and military – aspects of the plot, which I really appreciated. I could feel how precise and in depth everything had been explored, nothing feeling wishy-washy or half-assed.

I loved the division of POV. It's not easy to split a plot between 3 POV's, but Wilder managed to show equal parts of the two stories – Reese's investigation and Luca on the run – without missing out on the chance to show a dual POV romance between Luca and Nox, which was SO important to their story. I really felt like the plot was nicely divided between the POV as well as the two storylines.

~

Favourite Quotes

I found it hard to pick just one, so I had to go with all three of my favourites.

“Luca wanted forever. A forever of sunrises and sunsets. Forever for Nox to touch him, kiss him, bury that beautiful cock in his ass.
Surely, forever was enough time to fall in love.”

“He wanted to experience life, fall in love, grow old. He wanted to eat cake and get fat. He wanted a cat or a dog. He wanted friends. He wanted a job.
To feel.... To feel everything. To be held, to hold, be touched.
Luca just wanted to live.”

“I'm not grumpy. I've had coffee and a bagel. I've got at least forty-eight hours before I start killing anyone.”

Book review :
An utterly fresh and unique take on the shifter genre. Dark, gruesome, and brutal, but also heart meltingly sweet, and filled with real emotions. (and a ton of sex)

This is a MM love story. It's hardcore and animalistic with alpha/beta dynamics. It takes place in the current world, where stupid humans decided it was a good idea to play around with an ancient book.

This is an intricate story, alternating between the present day and flashbacks to earlier events. Told from both Luca and Nox’s points of view, we get their perspectives on their growing understanding of the mystery, as well as their blossoming love affair.

The premise that scientists are exploring unorthodox ways to cure fatal illness, or even dabbling with resurrecting the dead, is frighteningly close to reality. Adrienne Wilder cleverly blends Egyptian lore with modern science and a touch of magic, to create an event that’s just close enough to possible to make my skin crawl.

The author has well weaved the storyline and added a lot of spicy scenes to read. Characters are well plotted.

I am thankful to @netgalley and the publisher for providing me this book in return of an honest review.
Happy Reading!

3.5 stars

When I saw this book and the shifter/Anubis angle, I was sold. MF or MM it doesn't matter (even though, I've kind of been in a bit of a MM reading mood more lately) if it's a shifter and let alone an Ancient Egyptian slant of a paranormal book, I am all over it.

I will give the author some props for originality. Nox and the worldbuilding within were fairly original. I really enjoyed the world Ms. Wilder created here. There was tons of action and mystery. My main set bad was the squick factor of Koda being Luca's brother and the whole swarm orgy thing. (I am not a huge fan of my main characters actively being with others in the books I read. I'm a very possessive person like that, I know. But, I am who I am. Just be forewarned if you feel the same) But that swarm factor did lend itself to the originality of the storyline and the world.

The author leaves a lot more to be discussed/discovered in further books. I am pretty connected with the characters and am invested in seeing how this world continues on. I will most likely be continuing the series.

*ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

This book just wasn't for me. I ended up dnf-ing it at about 50%. There wasn't anything wrong with it, it had an interesting concept involving shifters, but I just found it hard to follow at times and it was so long. Again, it just wasn't for me personally, but I'm sure other people would enjoy it!

This book is the first one I have read from this author and I have fallen in love. This a perfect book with the perfect misture of romance, angst, thrill, plot, pain and much more. I can guarantee this will not be my last book. Thankyou so much for writing this masterpiece Adrienne Wilder.
The story begins when a naked man, NOX storms into Luca's house. He then proceeds to tell him his life is in danger and takes him with him to escape. But there is a teeny tiny problem, the guy does not know from what or how he got here, or what his name was? At the same time the there is a huge explosion at a well known laboratory causing many government agencies to take action. This starts the whirlwind of there journey.
This is the best Sci Fi/Fantasy book I have ever read. This will have a huge impact on the industry after it's release. I can forsee this book being sold in all book stores.
The picturisque discription, emotional flow, the plot flow, the POVs and flash backs. Hats off to you author!

DNF

The writing is not for me, the sexual urges and intimacy were described in a super uncomfortable way for me, and the plot was uninteresting.

This book is delightfully dark! I wasn't sure what to expect going on but I really enjoyed it. This kind of hits both sides of the spectrum... it's violent and dark, but has moments that are very tender and sweet. Some new and original world building in the "shifter" universe and I liked it. I found some of the science a little confusing... maybe it just needed to be fleshed out a bit more.

Great characters, lots of tension! Really enjoyed it.

A nude man invades Luca Suarez's home and protects him from creatures who cannot exist. Creatures hunting him. The stranger can't tell Luca why. He can't even tell Luca his name. He remembers nothing until the moment he sees Luca. The only hint Luca has to the stranger's identity is a tattoo on his wrist: N o X. Nox doesn't know who he is, but he's sure of three things, his memory loss is temporary, the monsters chasing Luca are called Anubis, and his Alpha, Koda, sent Nox to protect him. There's just one problem… Koda is Luca's brother who was murdered five years ago. With each passing hour, Nox fills in the pieces painting an impossible truth. And with each passing hour, both men find themselves unexplainably attracted to each other. Something Luca is willing to embrace because he has nothing left to lose. And one Nox can't let happen because it could get Luca killed. Nox is a HEA/HFN m/m paranormal, science-fiction romance. But be warned, these are NOT the shifters you are used to reading about.

*A fast pace, twist and turns, edge of your seat, dark paranormal suspense, passionate, high-heat, Egyptian lore, protective alpha male, size difference, hurt/comfort, reluctant lover, mm, m/m gay romance, that will "knock your fluffy socks off" (according to readers).*

I really liked the premise for this book. It’s a shifter romance with and Egyptology twist! Amazing! The characters were well developed and the story was easy to follow.

However, it was sooooo long. I’m not sure if that was my perception because there were only 12 chapter but it sometimes took over an hour to read one chapter or if it was really a long book. The purpose of a chapter can be to create drama and suspense or it can be to introduce a change (scene, day/time, narrator, etc.) but there didn’t seem to be a rhyme or reason for most of the chapters in this book. It also was just really long. I get that there was a lot of complicated science going on and they needed opportunities to explain but I would have loved a little compaction of explanations, events, and just general descriptions.

It ends as a Happy For Now and I am really excited for the next book because the author created an interesting world that I can’t wait to hear more about.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I started this book... but oh my wow... was it SPICY!!!

Luca and Nox were so intense, and I was so here for it. I LOVED just how protective he is of Luca.

Paranormal Romance is always my jam... and NOX definitely DELIVERED.

I couldn't put it down once I picked it up. It's fast paced, has such GOOD action/steam/gore/passion.... I got hooked. I hope there are more books to come, because I will DEFINITELY be reading them all!

I went into this story not really knowing what to expect but man was it way more flushed out than I initially thought it would be.

Nox and Luca were pure fire on the page. Slow burn that turns into not stop intensive heat! Like 🔥🔥🔥 heat! So buckle up and prepare your loins cause damn even the fire fighters are sitting this one out!

The story itself was so unique and engaging to me. It didn’t just take the typical werewolf lore and run with it. The author took that but added so many twists. Egyptian myth, scientists, military, on the run! This book was like go, go, go!

Definitely would recommend and want to see what comes next!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5
🌶🌶🌶🌶/5

Luca’s cancer has come back and he know this is it.

Then a stranger breaks into his house to protect him from dog like creatures.

Nox can’t remember much but knows his job is to protect Luca at all costs.

This story explores science thwarting death with the help of ancient lore.

A big Thanks to Netgalley for sending me this ARC.

This is adult paranormal fiction, so it's definitely not for the younger audience. There's a lot of explicit scenes so just keep that in mind.

It became one of my favorite books immediately, and I will always recommend it to people who wants a paranormal, action filled, queer read!
This book kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time, and I couldn't put it down until I knew everyone was going to be okay!

I fell in love with the characters! Luka is such an adorable guy and Nox is so protective of him (in a cute way)
So many things happens all at ones, and it's impossible to put the book down as soon as you've started it.
I loved everything about the plot, and I'm very excited for the sequel.

4.5 stars from me!

I always think I know what'll happen in Wilder stories, and I'm usually surprised at least once. I love that.

This is a pretty weird shifter story (that's good; I don't like the typical kind) and while I found the nuances of Anubis a bit confusing, I didn't let that bother me. I hope there's a second book. The end left me very curious.

This is a violent story, and carnal, and yet the effort to have permission left me thrilled. I enjoyed all the characters. It's a good story. If the descriptions appeal, do read it.

The reason I deducted a star is, in the Kindle edition at least, it desperately needs a line edit. Typos and missing commas and wrong words really pile up by the last few chapters. Lots of readers can ignore that. I'm editing my own book. I can't turn that awareness off. Sometimes they throw me out of the story, and makes me sad. I hope other versions fared better.

This book is definitely wild - in pretty much every way. Luca is dying from a final recurrence of leukemia. He has no one left after the death of his brother and his parents. When Nox shows up, naked and telling him they needed to run or Luca was going to die - everything changes in an instant. Nox has no memories other than a drive to keep Luca safe and returning memories and knowledge of being something other than human.

I loved the concept of the book and the growth both Nox and Luca showed over time. There were definitely a lot of super exciting moments - and a good amount of sex and gore. All the best elements of a wild sci-fi ride!
The book however, was a little too long I think - or maybe too meandering in the middle. It also took a turn at the end - I think to expand the book into a series - but the groundwork for that hadn't really been laid. It definitely qualifies as a twist - but I felt like I was being jolted out of the book I was reading and into something else entirely.

Overall - I enjoyed it and it was a really interesting take on shifter/sci-fi/urban paranormal.

I received this book as an ARC via NetGalley, but these opinions are all my own.