The Feed Review Novels & Stories

Ken has always hated who he is: a half-vampire. His guardian, Allen, encourages the young man to embrace the darkness within. Vampires can’t help but feed on humans. Why fight something that’s a part of you? Ken knows that behind Allen’s charismatic demeanor lies a monster. He also realizes that every step he takes into the world of blood and brutality moves him further away from love and humanity. Ken has managed to carve half a life for himself by refusing to give in to his temptations, but that all changes when he meets Teya. Teya is a lonely college student who is recovering from a painful breakup. After she witnesses several vampires savagely murder her roommate at a frat party, she finds herself in grave danger. She has information that vampires would kill to keep secret and that vampire hunters would just plain kill to keep. Ken vows to protect Teya but begins breaking his own rules as he grows closer to her. Ken has always believed he can never be with a woman due to his nature, but Teya just might inspire him to start thinking differently about his identity and his future.

I sell handmade fortune cookies in the park. Each one costs $10,000, yet every day, people fight to buy them. That’s because what I sell are fertility fortune cookies. Eat one, and you can get pregnant instantly. You can even choose what kind of child you want. Slip in a double-yolk charm, and you’ll have twins. Seal in a perfect test paper, and your child will be a genius. A spayed female dog ate one and ended up pregnant with six puppies. Someone buried a fortune cookie beneath a withered tree, and by the next day, it had burst into full bloom. I sell fortune cookies to both women and men—anyone who wants to get pregnant. I turn no one away. Even animals, if they so much as make a sound, I’ll feed them. Until one day, a young woman, Mara Kessler, who had been standing in line from dawn until dusk, finally stepped forward and timidly said she wanted to buy a fortune cookie. I only took one look at her, then staggered back in terror. "I can’t sell to you. Leave. Now."

The world knows no master like Lucian Daiuz. While they claim that no one is above the law, he stands far beyond it—beyond governments, kings, monarchs, or mafias. All bow to him. His face is a mystery, his voice unheard by any who live to tell the tale. To some, he is a devil, a monster. Whispers and rumours paint him in a thousand shades of darkness, even questioning his manhood for remaining without a wife at 33. Every woman he takes as a wife vanishes before a month passes, and his wealth, so immense, could feed the entire country and still leave a fortune untouched. Lucian Daiuz—he is the man who haunts every nightmare. And now, I have been chosen to be his wife... She is the embodiment of grace in a world marred by shadows, a damsel whose beauty radiates across the kingdom. Men fall to their knees for a chance at her favour, but none have succeeded in capturing her heart. She turns them all away, waiting for the one who can truly claim her. Her purity and light are enough to banish the darkness that surrounds me. She is Princess Aurora von Dysheria, and I have claimed her to be my bride.

Sharon McKinzie's husband's first love was dying. He often said to Sharon, "Sharon, Kelly doesn't have much time left. Don't be petty and hold things against her." To make up for the regrets of his past, he traveled with Kelly—through mountains and rivers, beneath starlit skies and over distant seas. He even handed over the wedding they had planned—his and Sharon's—to Kelly Walt, without shame or hesitation. Even their five-year-old son clung to Kelly. "Mommy isn't even half as pretty as Kelly," he said. "Kelly's pretty. Why can't Kelly be my mommy?" Sharon decided to grant them their wish. She left behind the divorce papers and walked away without a word. Later, her ex-husband and son knelt before her—her ex-husband full of regret, her son's cheeks streaked with tears. "Honey… please come back to us." "Mommy… do you really not want us anymore?" Just then, a handsome man wrapped his arm around Sharon's waist. "There you are, honey," he said gently. "Our son's still at home, waiting for you to feed him."

My fiance is the best Neuro Healer among the werewolves. His first love is his little stepsister, who once took a fatal silver arrow for him. Now, her old condition has flared up, and she has a fatal silver venom disease. She only has 21 days left to live. In order to stay with her in her final days, he pours his newly developed "Memory Lock Potion" into me to eliminate all my memories of him by force. He says, "It's just 21 days. Once she's gone, I'll feed you the antidote myself, and you'll remember me again." In those 21 days, he holds a grand bonding ceremony for his stepsister, dances with her during the Moon Goddess Festival, and makes an oath swearing that they will become mates again in their next life. Finally, he sends her off. After 21 days, the potion wears off, and he kneels in the rain with tears and blood all over his face. He asks hoarsely in an accusing tone, "The potion only lasts for 21 days… why have you forgotten me completely?" I just look up impassively at him. "Sorry, but who are you?"

“I’m not your toy.” “Yes, you’re my toy, Tesoro. Mine to fuck, and mine to do with as I please. I could break you in half too, if I want. So watch your mouth!” ~•~ After discovering the same woman he’d had a one-night stand with years ago owes him a debt, Giovanni, blinded by his own desires, uses the opportunity to abduct her and propose a twisted bargain. Elaine is given two options; pay in two weeks or pay with her body when the time limit is up. But this is the same man she loathes for ruining her five years ago after impregnating her which led to her disownment. She’s had a hard life - working tirelessly to feed two mouths - hers and the son she loves so much. But knowing they won’t be able to stay together if his father is aware of his existence, Elaine decides to keep the child a secret and tread carefully. It was meant to be just sex, but Giovanni has plans to reignite their long-lost passion from the first night they made love, and also break the sharp witted woman who’s making him question his senses.

Eidolon Avenue: Where the secretly guilty go to die. One building. Five floors. Five doors per floor. Twenty-five nightmares feeding the hunger lurking between the bricks and waiting beneath the boards. The sequel to Eidolon Avenue: The First Feast (“a great read...powerful and jarring” - Cemetery Dance) returns to the voracious Eidolon as it savors The Second Feast. A narcoleptic man in apartment 2A battles a vengeful past determined to rob him of everything as he runs from the barbaric disaster of a delusional love. A woman in 2B, reinventing herself to please a callous boyfriend, discovers the horrors that wait in the shadows of her self-renovation. The man in 2C, a teacher at the nearby Catholic girl’s school, collapses beneath the brutal consequences of his lecherous desires. An older woman in 2D, after decades dedicated to the church, is cornered at last by the grisly carnage beating at the hollow center of her faith. And a college student in 2E, hungry to escape an ignored life of invisible anonymity, finds herself captured between the pages of a ravenous book. All thrown into their own private hell as every cruel choice, every drop of spilled blood, every silent, complicit moment of cowardice is remembered, resurrected and relived to feed the ancient evil that lives on Eidolon Avenue. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

At the New Year’s team-building event, the intern, Lilith Woods, did not obtain my approval and changed our suburban trip to a seven-day tour of Baline. “Mr. Lucian Stone, I hear a change of scenery can really spice things up. Don’t lock up tonight. I’ll come by for a deep dive into our collaboration.” She pretended to be drunk and fell into my arms while slipping the room key into my pocket in the process. To avoid suspicion, I did not return to the hotel. However, in the middle of the night, the police called me in for questioning—someone had reported a dine-and-dash. Only then did I realize that the reserved budget of $100,000 for the accommodation had long since been exceeded. Lilith had upgraded their room to a presidential suite, feasted on high-end seafood buffets, and even used company funds to buy luxury handbags! When I showed up at their private room, the interns were still casually taking king crabs and several unopened bottles of the Macallan Whisky with them. “Mr. Stone, you’re just in time. Could you please settle the bill?” Lilith looked utterly righteous as she said this with a grin. “Young people like us make mistakes, while adults help to pay the price. You’re not exactly short on cash, anyway. Just think of it as buying my happiness.” I stared at the $700,000 bill and paid it in silence. The next day, the payment invoices made their grand entrance in the group chat, accompanied by my pinned message. [Upon financial review, this team-building event does not meet reimbursement criteria. All expenses will be shared equally among the seven participants.] [Each person will need to pay $100,000, payable immediately. If payment needs to be deferred, please print the proof and submit it to the President’s Office.]

Who meets Prince Charming in an elevator while carrying their broken shoe? Lena Masterson was having a rough day. Her coffee pot exploded, her favorite heel broke on the way to work, her computer died, and her coworker sabotaged her performance review that she should have aced. To top it all off, she had to stay late. So when she ran into a handsome stranger at work, she was certain that it was the worst day of her life. Instead, it was the start of something wonderful. From the moment she nearly bowled the man over, she thought about him. She didn’t know anything about him, and could only assume that he was someone’s assistant. Still, the encounter left her with new self-confidence. She made a move assertive enough to get the attention of her boss’ boss, and be granted a new position as the personal paralegal of the head partner. This promotion soon led to an important trip to the Caribbean, where she saw a familiar face on the beach… Everything seemed perfect when she was in Aiden’s arms, but he was holding something back. Worse, Lena was keeping a secret from him as well. She knew that she couldn’t keep up her little white lie forever, but it turned out that Aiden’s secret was much bigger. Much much much bigger. A billion times bigger, in fact. Even though he treated her like Cinderella at the ball, it was possible that the billionaire playboy just thought of her as one of his “flavors of the week”. After saying goodbye with one last barefoot kiss and returning to the real world, there was a burning question on Lena’s mind: Did this Prince Charming love her as much as she loved him?

I’d been married to my husband James for three years. On Valentine’s Day, he gave his stepsister, Mia, one hundred and eighty thousand dollars, along with millions in jewelry. I, on the other hand, received a free bouquet of roses. When I didn’t look thrilled, he accused me of being a gold digger. “Mia never had anyone to care for her growing up. Why are you competing with her? Isn’t being Mrs. Smith enough to feed your vanity?” Furious, I stormed out of the house. When a car lost control and came barreling toward me, he instinctively rushed to protect Mia, who was standing a full ten feet from the road. I was the one who ended up in the hospital. Lying in that bed, I finally gave up. I signed the divorce papers without hesitation. “Giving up the title of Mrs. Smith is the dumbest decision you’ll ever make,” he told me, looking down at me from above before walking away. Seven years later, we met again. He took one glance at my simple dress and laughed out loud. I didn’t bother to respond. I just held my daughter close and waited for her father—the richest man in the city—to arrive.