Title: Stung (Zombie Gentlemen)
Author: K.A. Merikan
Release Date: October 29th 2013
Genre(s): Historical Paranormal, Zombies
Page Count: 149
Reviewed by: Ele
Heat Level: 4 flames out of 5
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
— If you want honey, prepare to get stung. —
October 1907, Honeyhill
Twenty years into the zombie Plague
Victor is a man of delicate sensibilities, not fit to do backbreaking labour on a farm ran by the mob. Upon arrival in Honeyhill, he decides he needs an anchor, an alliance with one of the guards, if he wants to survive. That anchor comes in the form of Crunch, a hunky ex-sailor with a pair of tight leather trousers and a ruggedly handsome face.
But from day one, Victor knows he won’t last long with the hard physical work assigned to him and the torment he suffers at the hands of a sadistic guard. He needs to run, and his new alliance might prove to be a burden instead of solace.
If Crunch wants Honeyhill liberated, he needs to focus on his job, not on protecting Victor, one of many new arrivals on the farm. Distraction is the last thing he needs after months of undercover work. But it’s hard not to get seduced by Victor’s big brown eyes and fingertips that don’t know work. Hundreds of people depend on Crunch keeping his identity a secret, revealing it could be fatal for both him and Victor, and a failure of his mission. Thankfully, Victor would never be dumb enough to try and escape through a forest that’s swarming with zombies. Would he?
“Stung” is a standalone book and a part of the “Zombie Gentlemen” universe.
Themes (may contain SPOILERS): zombies, prisoner/guard, beekeeping, gore, deception, undercover agent, captivity, romance, brutality, forced labour camp, murder, farm, torment, forbidden romance, Victorian
Erotic content: explicit m/m sexual scenes (including dubious consent)
Genre: dystopian homoerotic thriller
I can never look at honey the same way again…Or bees…
This is a love story between a slave and his guard. Or so I thought, because really, it’s more than that. But I won’t spoil it for you.
Victor finds himself captive in Honeyhill (and holy shit this is how the Dals make their honey! EWW!!!). But soon things will heat up between him and his cruel guard, Crunch.
Despite the setting and the circumstances under which the MCs meet, this is a surprisingly sweet (no pun intended), gentle romance. Even the heartbreaking lashing scene toward the end is wrapped in tenderness. So amazing!
The sex is scorching hot, the action intense, and the zombies…GROSS! Seriously, I applaud the authors for the creativity, but the zombies and the bees and…everything that’s going on in Honeyhill is so.damn.gross!
This is turning out to be my favorite alternate universe. This is important because I very rarely read paranormal. I can count on one hand the non-contemporary books I ‘ve loved. Actually, it’s just two: this one and Darien Cox’s The Village.
Every book in the Zombie Gentlemen series has something different to say, and new things to explore, but the ongoing theme is pretty awesome, original, and imaginative.
As for the ending, it’s very realistic, satisfying enough, but I would call it a tentative HFN. I expect things to get settled in Stung: Winter Special which I’m planning on reading very soon, as well as the rest of the books in the Zombie Gentlemen series.
Prepare to get Stung!