I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I started Heathens by Alta Hensley but I think this one ended up being a miss for me. I definitely picked this because I was in the mood for a spicy book, and while it was really spicy, the plot felt kind of disappointing. I was hoping for a much more detailed hunt but the writing was a bit bland. It was hard to imagine the scenes and immerse myself in the story. The spice even felt underwhelming for me too. The audiobook was really well done though. The narrators did a great job bringing their characters to life.

Thank you to the publishers and netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Narration: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Duration: 6 hrs 34 mins
Narrated by Marie Hawkins; Robin Blake
Publication Date: 03.05.25

"One night to experience the unknown. One night to leave behind everything and everyone you ever knew, to feel free, to feel alive.”

🖤 Dark Romance
❤️ Age Gap
🖤 Forbidden Romance
❤️ Primal Play
🖤 Taboo
❤️ Masked Stalker
🖤 Touch Her & Die
❤️ Small Town Romance
🖤 Billionaire

"I knew I shouldn't be thinking about her like this. She was off limits. But the more I tried to push her out of my mind, the more my thoughts kept returning to her.”

** She invited the darkness in, so she had no one else to blame…when I came for her. It was a sinister game of submission. The Hunt. She’d run. I’d chase. And when I caught her… Primal. Untamed. Merciless. I’ve been watching her. Stalking her. I will become the beast from her darkest fantasies. Hunting her from behind a stag’s mask made of bone. Preying on her secret need for primal play. I should be protecting her, but I’m not. Instead… I am a Heathen. And she is an innocent who chose this. And if she made a mistake? If she wants to try and escape me? Escape The Hunt? It’s far too late. She’s mine now. Run. **

“Heathens” by Alta Hensley was unhinged, raw, intense, primal, feral, and spicy. The storyline was slightly predictable but there was some nice twists to it. I do wish there was a little more character development but overall was great. However, I did love how smooth the story flowed.

Our FMC, Storee Brooks, is orphaned and her father’s best friend vows to look after her and protect her. Until Locke Hartwell, our MMC, has a fascination and craving he has to fulfill. He just can’t help himself.

Overall, this was a really good story. I really liked the way the book ended. I will definitely be reading more from this author.

I do recommend looking up the ⚠️ trigger/ content warnings ⚠️

The narration of the book was great! I feel like they both really helped to bring the story alive. Both perfect for the book.

Thank you Netgalley and dreamscape media from this ALC.

I had the pleasure of receiving an Advance Listener Copy of Audiobook for Heathens. The narration was good.
This is a dark romance, that includes primal play, age-gap, dads best friend, touch her and…
The FMC Storee is a college student who’s dad has recently passed away and his best friend vows to keep an eye on Storee in more ways then one.
I give the story 3.5 stars
I give the audio 4 stars
The spice level is 4 stars
Making this a solid 4 star listening experience.

🎧AUDIOBOOK ARC 🎧

3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the audio ARC.

3 stars. I did really enjoy the audio. I love duet narration it’s always a big huge plus for me. I am an audiobook girl so I appreciate good narrators. The male and female narrators did a great job of embodying the characters. The narrator flowed well. No complaints there. The dark romance stalker trope just isn’t my thing. But it was still a good book and I would for sure recommend it to my dark romance girlies for sure.

Ａｕｄｉｏｂｏｏｋ Ｒｅｖｉｅｗ
4 ☆
Heathens by Alta is a dark, forbidden, age-gap romance with a few unhinged elements. I really enjoyed this book, but the female lead, Storee, drove me insane at the 80% mark. You signed up, or turned your light red, for a random masked man to come and "hunt" you and basically have his way with you, but once you realize it's the man "Locke"—the same man you'd been wanting since you were eighteen—was the masked man, you felt betrayed and hurt. Girl, please...that scene almost sent me over the edge. Besides that one part, the book was good.

The audiobook is a dual narration. They did a good job telling the story; it was easy to listen to and understand. I listened at 2x speed.

Thank you, Netgellay, and Dreamscape Media for the audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Such a great audiobook loved listening to it. Couldn't stop. Stayed up way too late trying to finish.

Heathens by Alta Hensley is a feral, unhinged fever dream wrapped in dark romance and primal obsession. This isn’t your grandma’s love story—unless your grandma is into The Hunt, bone masks, and morally gray men who toe the line between protector and predator.

The heroine? She’s running. The hero? He’s not letting her get away. It’s a game of cat and mouse, except the mouse might be just as into it as the cat. The writing is deliciously dark, the tension is electric, and the vibes? Absolutely feral.

Final verdict: If you like your romance with a side of should I be concerned?, buckle up—because this one drags you straight into the abyss (and you will thank it for the ride).

This book caught my attention quickly. Spicy and sexy read. Kind of wish it was longer though so hopefully there will be more.

Thank you Netgalley and dreamscape media for the free ALC. My opinions are being left voluntarily. I was hooked and enjoyed the narration which was done perfectly. There were some parts of the book the way it wad worded fave a bit of ick but great overall.love a dark romance where the MMC is dad's best friend. I need book 2 asap.

4.5/5☆

1 star ⭐️

Where do I even start😭? When I expected age gap, I didn't think it would be written that bad, but the MMC felt like the MMF's father because he was literally friends with her father. The FMC was just not thinking with her brain. The plot felt nonexistent, just an amalgamation of tropes.

So I want to start off by thanking #DreamscapeMedia for allowing me to get my hands on this audiobook. I loved the narration and it was a fun read!

So here’s my review. Let’s start off by saying this book is spicy AF. 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ for sure. It’s a dark romance about an orphaned daughter and her dad’s best friend who live in a town with a pretty dark, hot ritual.

The story line was decent and overall I enjoyed the quick listen. However, there was a spanking incident (not sexual) that seemed pretty unbelievable. I mean, it stuck in my mind the whole time and had me cringing.

Second, I wish there was more character development. I wanted to feel more connected to Story. She was pretty awesome, but I just didn’t get that emotional connection I was looking for. Overall, this book is a solid 3.5. Enjoyable for some quick spiciness.

The premise had so much potential, and since I loved He Sees You When You're Sleeping, I was really hoping this would hit just as hard. Unfortunately… not even close.

First of all—Storee?? What kind of name is that? Every time I read it, my brain short-circuited. And then we have Locke, which immediately made me picture the bald guy from Lost, so immersion was already a struggle.

But beyond the names, the FMC was just painfully dumb. Indecisive, irrational, and her actions made zero sense half the time. And don’t even get me started on the repetitions. If I had a dollar for every time I read tongue, ass, and load, I could buy a better book. Who edited this?? Is avoiding redundancy not a thing anymore?

Bottom line—this book was a hard no for me. Kink alone isn’t enough to make a story work, and this one just didn’t.

This is a dark spicy romance. Please be sure to check your triggers before starting. This book is a fairly fast paced romance. It has elements of primal play, and other darker mediums. This follows the tale of story and lock. It is an age gap dad‘s best friend romance.

I listen to the audio version of this book and the narrators did a wonderful job keeping you engaged in the story. Their voice is brought the book to life and was a listen all at one time type of story.

This was such a good book. I loved the story and the writing so much. The characters were great and the story flowed smoothly. Will definitely read more books by this author in the future.

It was a good read, forbidden age gap dark romance. Mutual pining/crush between the MCs. The spice is wild between the MCs, there is a bit of tension and angst between Gabriel and Locke. Not as dark as I thought it would be. For a moment I did think that it would end in a cliffhanger because there was no way they could resolve their fight so quickly. But they did and it was perfect. The second book I’ve read regarding The Hunt, I guess it’s a common book trope.

⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

This was an ALC.

My ratings for this book was all over the place while reading but I landed 2.75-3 and just rounded to a 3.

There were good parts that were a 4 but small bits. I like the whole red light chase through the woods aspect of the book. What I didn’t really care for is how many times it is mentioned that the male main character is her father’s best friend. It’s mentioned so frequently that you cannot forget it. Also didn’t like the third act breakup part of the book. The concept of this book was very good. I really like the whole receiving gifts after a night of being hunted.

I did listen to the audiobook. I thought that they a good job. I have nothing negative to say about the narrators. I’m very neutral on their performance.

This book has almost everything one looks for in a dark romance done down to such an excellent level of detail. The world building and how the primal play is encorporated into this island town feel so unique, with brilliantly placed suspense, and the age gap and dad's bests friend tropes both bring the right level of taboo and darkness to make this a binge worthy listen!

Both narrators voices were so well suited to a novel of this genre. The way in which both managed to bring the right levels of emotions and intensity as and where was needed was perfectly executed, they had me hooked from the first chapter!

There were a few overall plot points that let the overall story down for me, but only a little bit! I would have loved for The Hunt itself to be played out further, rather than feeling rushed from the moment Storee turns on the red light, to the beginning of the smutty scenes; I think a bit more suspense could have made fore a more thrilling read. The small plot twist we discover near the end of the book also felt a little out of place for me if I'm being honest - from what we learned about Storee's character throughout the rest of the novel, it just came across a bit too out of the blue from what I thought and felt about her character.

This gets a solid 5/5 for smut and narrations, however the plot brings it down just a smidge to an overall 4/5 for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, and Dreamscape Media for the chance to listen to this advanced audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Heathens by Alta Hensley is a dark, gripping read with intense emotions and a captivating plot. The characters are complex, and the tension kept me hooked. I especially loved the surprising twist at the end! Some parts felt a bit drawn out, but overall, it was a thrilling and satisfying read.

5 Stars – Dark, Primal, and Absolutely Addictive!

Heathens is everything I crave in a dark romance, raw, intense, and deliciously forbidden. If Praise and Devil’s Night had a book baby, this would be it! The age gap and dad’s best friend tropes added the perfect amount of forbidden tension, and the primal chase? Perfection.

The writing was immersive, the atmosphere dark and eerie, and the chemistry between the characters? Off the charts. I loved every second of the hunt—it was dangerous, twisted, and exactly the kind of sinful story that keeps me hooked.

Alta Hensley absolutely delivered with this one, and I cannot wait for more in the Heathens Hallow series! If you love your romance dark and your heroes unrelenting, this is a must-read. 🔥

This book deals with grief of a daughter and town. As well as some dark sexual primal play aspects that are depicted with care throughout.