Crown Me Dead: A Dark Fantasy Romance (Heartstring Duet)
Liv Zander
by CJ Speaks
- [x]
Life isn’t easy for monsters.
My name is Gin. Not Ginny or Ginger. Just Gin, like the crappy alcohol that tastes like Pine-Sol.
I’m the Big Bad in a backwoods county in Oregon. Around here, I’m the one who keeps the local monsters in check.
Because I’m a bigger monster.
It’s not easy staying anonymous when you own magical blades that only archangels are supposed to possess, and you have to divide your time between running a ranch and killing the things that go bump in the night. But I manage.
I was managing just fine, anyway, until someone decided to plant a Dolmen in my woods.
Dolmens are the world-ending variety of bad news. They attract attention. They wake old things. And this one is about to undo nine years of careful isolation.
Now shifters, vampires, and demons are crawling out of the shadows like flies to rot. Worse, an archangel has started sniffing around, digging for secrets I buried for a reason.
They want my blades.
They want me leashed.
And their idea of mercy involves fire, steel, and a public execution.
Unfortunately, the angels are the least of my problems.
Something darker has come to town. A creature who wears a man’s face and leaves devastation in his wake. He’s opening a club designed to lure every bloodsucker and demon in the region straight to my doorstep.
And he’s got a leash of his own.
He looks at me like a challenge he intends to enjoy breaking.
He isn’t the kind of monster I want to kill. He’s the kind that makes me hesitate. The kind that tempts me into ruinous, reckless decisions.
The kind that could get me killed.
If I want to survive what’s coming, I’ll have to make alliances with the very monsters I’ve spent my life hunting.
I’ll have to get uncomfortable.
And I might have to become the worst monster of them all.
This is Book One of The Corrupted Paradise Chronicles.
This story features both first-person and third-person points of view.
This series is recommended for ages 18+
Trigger warnings are provided at the beginning of the book. Readers are encouraged to review them before proceeding.
This story contains dark and mature themes, including graphic violence, sexual content, strong language, and religious elements. Expect morally gray to morally black characters, destructive behavior, and consequences that are not softened or romanticized.
Dark romantasy with intense emotional stakes — HEA not guaranteed.
Reader discretion is advised.
May 21, 2026
I bought this book for my wife and her friend and they loved it. Dark urban fantasy with spice but not like a typical romance (according to her) )
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