This book had an intriguing premise with its dark, primal themes and the mysterious Pagan Hunt ritual, but overall, it landed somewhere in the middle for me. The dynamic between Storee and Locke had potential, but Locke’s overbearing possessiveness often felt more frustrating than enticing. While I understood Storee’s hesitation to push back, I wish she had asserted herself more, especially when certain boundaries were crossed.

The spice was solid, and the darker, suspenseful elements at the beginning set up an exciting tone, but the story quickly lost momentum. The Hunt itself—one of the more unique aspects of the book—felt underutilized, appearing only briefly instead of being fully explored. The rest of the book became a cycle of arguments and steamy scenes, which, while entertaining, didn’t add much depth.

As for the audiobook, it was a solid production. The two voice actors did a great job bringing the characters to life, staying in character, and delivering the right emotions for each scene. There weren’t any issues with the narration or audio quality, making for an easy listening experience.

It was a quick read with an interesting concept, but it didn’t quite live up to its full potential.

Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ☆ ☆ (3/5)
Spicy Level: 🌶 🌶️ 🌶️ 🌶️☆ (4/5)


Thank you so much to NetGalley and Alta Hensley for providing me an advanced copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

This audiobook was pretty good. I was intrigued about it and listened to the whole thing within 2 days. The concept/plot is there and it held so much promise. However there was some dialogue/wording that threw me off in some areas. The narrators were good at bringing voices to the characters.

This book had a lot of potential to it, but it didn’t hit the mark. I love a good dark romance and taboo romance. I wouldn’t consider this a dark romance either. It wanted to be a dark romance, but again it missed the mark. On the night of the hunt Storee puts her red light in and it is game one for all who play. Lacke her dad’s best friend only wants her and will stop at nothing to make her his own. Locke doesn’t let anyone else hunt her but himself and will kill anyone who does.
The book was a little bit all over the place between the sex club, the hunt, and trying to make her love him. Also I’m sorry but spanking her?? I read a lot of dark romance but that was just ick.

Late fathers best friend, age gap, primal kink, & more smut than plot. Heathens was a great quick listen! It was hot, steamy and I may not be a huge fan of the characters names but I loved the smutty scenes.
The narrators Marie Hawkins & Robin Blake were fantastic and at 2x speed they were both very easy to understand.

This one delivers on the dark, primal vibes it promises—intense, immersive, and heavy on the hunt. The tension is solid, and if you’re here for the aesthetic of bone masks and feral obsession, you’ll get exactly that.

But beyond the surface-level intensity, it doesn’t quite stick the landing. The characters feel more like archetypes than fully developed people, and the relationship dynamic leans more into the game than actual chemistry. The tension is there, but the emotional depth? Not so much. Some scenes started to blur together, and I never really felt the stakes.

If you’re in it purely for the dark fantasy and primal play, this will scratch that itch. But if you need more than just the chase, you might walk away wanting a little more.

I’m very disappointed in this one. It sounded like something I would love and was within my genre, but I think I’m just underwhelmed. It held so much promise but fell flat. I didn’t relate to the characters and found them contradicting themselves a fair bit.

Not my cup of tea I’m sorry to say.

Thank you to NetGalley for the audio copy of this book for review.

🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
The glaring issue I have with this book is the FMC's name....Storee. To the point it was distracting me when I was supposed to be enjoying the smutty smut scenes. Now that I have that out of the way I have mixed feelings about the actual storee (sorry) story. The plot tried really hard to plot, and it was definitely dark and had many taboo elements and that's actually what made it an enjoyable smut fairytale type story. My other wtf moment was when the sex party club night dress code was "pagan" and really all the descriptions given were skimpy and sexy. It made me wonder if the author knows what most pagans and even heathens generally wear, especially to gatherings, or if they confuse those terms with festival fashion and hedonists. The dead dad side plot could have been removed completely and not changed the book. If you want some primal hunter/prey, age gap, taboo smut with a very, very controlling MMC, this is a decent short read for that. I would give book two a chance.

This was a dual POV book narrated by Marie Hawkins and Robin Blake. Marie did nothing for me but the whole Storee character did nothing for me either. Robin Blake kept this book afloat for me and was easy on the ears. My immersion was not great for many reasons, more so on the story but Robin's voice during some of the smut scenes was more likely to make me laugh than anything else.

Thank you Dreamscape Media via Netgalley for the ALC. All opinions are my own.

I absolutely loved this and so ready for more. Listening to this, I ate it right up! The narrators were great, the dialogue was great, the concept I fell for.
I loved how dark and spooky this is, the protective/possessive MMC, the stalking, the masks, the spice. I don't think I have read/listened to something with this concept. This is one of those where I wish I immersive read because I feel like there is so much more to understand than what I listened to.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the ALC.

Heathens by Alta Hensley is the first book in Heathens Hollow series. It's dark, primal, and intense. If you’re into books that blur the line between danger and desire, this one absolutely delivers.

Storee and Locke have this tension simmering between them, and when she signs up for The Hunt? Ohhh, it gets wild. The whole setup is dark and taboo, with Locke shifting from protector to predator in the most sinisterly sexy way. I loved the audiobook! The narrators, Marie Hawkins and Robin Blake, did an amazing job bringing the story to another level!

If you love your dark romance unapologetic, primal, and toeing the edge of too much (in the best way), Heathens is definitely a must read/listen!

Heathens Honest ARC Audiobook Review:

Hello Plot twist! This was well done! Complex characters that developed further throughout the novel. Independent, fierce FMC. Touch her and die, genuine and caring MMC. Sexy and Spicy. Romantic. Primal, untamed… the Hunt.

This is Definitely 💯 one to add to your TBR list!

A year after the death of her father, Storee finds herself adrift. She is working multiple jobs that she hates and isn’t going in any particular direction.
Enter Locke.

I really enjoyed this story and all the interesting twists. Thank you for sharing this ARC with me.

This was amazing to listen to! The narrators were perfect. It was so easy to listen to, even at 2x. DON'T COME AT ME. Dark billionaire stalker romance? I ate this up and left no crumbs. Storee and Locke are an unlikely couple, but ohhh mannn I loved them together.

10/10, no notes.

Age Gap
Alphahole
Forbidden
Jealous/Possessive
Billionaire Romance
Stalker Romance
Party Club
Spicy

This was a short but delicious primal play and age gap romance. I don't normally like age gap but this one was okay. I listened to this on audio and really enjoyed the narrator's. Well done!

I absolutely loved the audio. The catch was wild, and the way it played with sensual games was crazy but captivating. It was dark, sensual, and had this forbidden romance element that kept me hooked. The age gap dynamic added a layer of complexity that was intriguing, and then there's the murder mystery to unravel. The suspense built up so perfectly, and I can’t wait for the next part to see where it all goes! The whole vibe was just so intense and thrilling.

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).