Get your tea ready because this is going to be a rather interesting book for some of y’all. Julie Mannino’s As Above is an erotic romance novel centered on two males. When I say I read anything and everything, I meant it. It’s certainly evidenced by the books I’ve reviewed in the past on my blog. So, if you’re ready for a tasteful review of this one, buckle in!
Let me preface this by saying that I’ve never read an erotic romance centered on two male characters. Did I learn a few things about what could potentially go down in the bedroom? I would say so. But besides that, the book was quite surprising in the fact that there was substance to these characters. Generally, with books that focus intensely on erotica this type of growth is severely lacking.
Riley is a submissive male who has been living on Earth with a condition that makes him age slowly. Because of this, he’s very quiet, apprehensive, and closed-off. Always on the move, he decides to make his way back to his home village where he spent the few years of his life being cared for by a kind man referred to as Uncle Grevin and playing with a very particular child he met in the woods. With those memories of his strange childhood friend eating away at him, he wanders into the woods and is kidnapped to a magical world simply known as Hell.
This isn’t your typical story about demons and angels. These two entities have been at war with each other over this magical place for centuries. The demons have their own way of living under the rule of Lord Ereberus, their powerful and cruel demon overlord who Riley only remembers as Eren, his long-lost childhood friend. Riley is given to Lord Ereberus as a gift as humans are slaves in the demonic world, but Riley isn’t just some ordinary human.
I will say that the world the author has created is quite imaginative and deliciously sinister. Mannino wasn’t afraid to make demons how they truly should be which are vile, malicious creatures. Sometimes you read a book about demons or Hell and it’s like the author won’t push boundaries, but Mannino doesn’t seem afraid to do so. I will say that there are some boundaries the author won’t cross which gives the demons a semblance of morality among their kind. The dynamics of Hell and its citizens are interesting to say the least. Something that Riley points out when he’s learning about their culture and customs.
This book won’t be for everyone as there is a plethora of erotic scenes sprinkled among the plot line. Some may find the scenes to be too much, but I think it was a way to show the building trust between Eren and Riley as potential lovers instead of owner and slave. These scenes do reflect BDSM and although there is that power dynamic, the sex between the characters is consensual. I do believe having the two characters as childhood friends made it more believable because it established familiarity and a closeness that was once had instead of spiraling straight into Stockholm Syndrome.
To be honest, this is the first LGBT erotic romance that I’ve read. I’ve read LGBT romance novels before but none so explicit. It was different, and the story held my attention. This is the first book in the series, and I’ve already ordered the second one because I need to know what happens. The cliffhanger is too enticing to pass up!
If this sounds like a book that piques your interest, give it a shot. Don’t forget to leave the author an honest review if you do! Happy reading!
Author Lauren Eason 