The Deer and the Dragon

No Other Gods, Book 1

By: Piper CJ

Narrated by: Luna Rey

Hazbin Hotel meets Crescent City in this new fantasy romance series from USA Today bestseller Piper CJ.

"How does a human girl lose the Prince of Hell?"

Marlow needs to believe she's crazy. The alternative would mean embracing the gift—or curse—shared by her mother and grandmother: she can see angels and demons, including a dark and haunting entity who's been with Marlow her entire life. At least, she believes that's all he is until a fae from the Nordic pantheon strolls into her life and informs her that she's been sharing a bed with the Prince of Hell.

A Prince who's now gone missing.

Before she knows it, Marlow is deeply entangled in a centuries-old war, stumbling straight into a battleground between mighty beings of myth and legend from powerful pantheons around the world. And who will come out on top may just depend on her and the love she never dared to believe in.

Contains mature themes.

©2024 Piper CJ (P)2024 Tantor

Amazing storytelling, hell of a cliffhanger!

I enjoyed everything about this story, from the writing to the performance of the narrator! Any woman who experienced the "purity culture" of the Christian church, among other forms of religious abuse, should read this book. I can't wait for the next installment!

The characters are wonderfully written

The story is believable and enthralling. I loved the characters. The world is built very well. Very enjoyable.

Absolutely captivating!!

This story will grab you from the beginning and it will have a chokehold on your psyche until you’re finished.. and then it will ultimately become a siren’s song that pulls you back in for a second and third read!! It’s mesmerizing and filled with all of the lusty, mystical moments that you’ve been craving! Bravo!

Loved it!

This was a great book! I can’t wait for the next one! It is steamy without going overboard and I thought the story line was really interesting.

Frustrating FMC

I really wanted to like this more. It had promise but the FMC is annoying and frustratingly slow on the uptake.

Fae Smut for Those of Us With Religious Trauma

As an ex-evangelical Preacher's Kid with my own degree in biblical and religious studies, I was fascinated by the fun way that the author interweaves various pantheons in this opening book of the series. The way she pays special attention to a few fascinating ancient myths that are on the fringe of biblical lore contributes to this story easily transcending the typically shallow paranormal love story featuring Angels and Demons.

The protagonist has deconstructed from her own religious baggage in a way that will resonate DEEPLY with anyone who has followed a similar journey. The character took an academic journey away from the abuse of her youthful religious indoctrination, but along the way she encounters some folks who have taken a more spiritual or witchy route away from the Christian Church.

While the book is often intentionally sacrilegious – hurling multiple insults at the Christian God, and painting a few followers of such a God as abusive – it also takes intentional steps to validate the religious experience of devout Christians who believe they have certain spiritual gifts such as "the discernment of spirits". The mythos of the fictional world paints a long-standing war between Heaven and Hell, about which very few of the other pantheons of even care.

As for sexual tension, this book starts and ends with a lot of it. Nevertheless, do not go into the book expecting gratuitous smut throughout. Sex plays an unapologetic role in the story, but I honestly expected much more based on the way the opening was written.

The narration was wonderfully immersive, fitting the irreverent voice of the protagonist very well.

I can't wait to catch future books in this series! The cliffhanger was definitely a little mean!

No dragons? MC is anti-BAMF

I loved the approach to mythology and the way various pantheons are presented as coexisting. Could have done with much less of the main character having meltdowns and being clueless. Perhaps it’s just a personal preference, but I would much rather an overpowered, BAMF MC with entirely unbelievable coping skills and adaptability than constant internal monologuing about how much of a mess they are at every turn. In all fairness, however, I can imagine it’s probably more resonant for those who grew up with religious trauma and can relate to what the character has experienced. I unfortunately also didn’t really care for Fauna, she felt too mean and bratty to really be a solid friend to the MC. The best character was Azrames, would read a book about him and his activities any day.

A Heathen’s Dream

A blasphemous abomination. And the absolute best literary work of Piper’s so far. I was blessed in that I didn’t get the religious trauma so many have been cursed with, but feeling like a disappointment and constantly questioning my reality IS something I understand. So even if her decisions and survival instincts are questionable at best, I couldn’t help but be immediately enthralled with Marlow.
One of my favorite (and arguably most hated) elements of this novel are how flawed and yet devilishly perfect each of the characters are. One second you’re curling your toes with desire, and the next you’re huffing about how annoying everyone is being (in the best way). They all feel so real and, dare I say, human that I felt like they were old friends I was being reacquainted with.
The art Piper shares on her socials, as well as their descriptions - down to their drink orders - leaves little room to not just immediately fall in love (and lust) with everyone the moment they appear on the page. I didn’t stand a chance when she paired my favorite gray-scale-demon-boy with a song from Corpse, so if you aren’t following her, you should be. This novel kept me on edge, aroused, horrified, and craving more at every second. I often end up actively avoiding Piper’s books because I just can’t stop once I start them and the wait for more (no matter how short) is torture. This book pulled me in even harder than TNAIM did.. and it’s criminal that I have to wait so long for more. With each novel I consume, her voice as an author grows and strengthens.. and if you aren’t worshiping her yet, you may want to consider it because this totally-not-fae storyteller is on her way to becoming one of the greats of our generation and I cannot wait to see where she takes us, and Marlow next. AATINNAATIW. If you know, you know.
As far as the audiobook goes, this is a godsend for people who, like me, just cannot focus on the written word. If a full cast recording was ever done, I don’t think I would ever stop listening to this book. Luna does an absolutely fantastic job, but if Caliban or Azrames or even Silas were purring in my ear on top of Marlow and Fauna? Gods save us all…
Do your ears (or eyes) a favor and get this book!

Tension

I flew through this story and can’t wait for book two. The story telling touches you and I felt that I could relate to the main character’s internal battle with religious deconstruction. Also, I can’t wait to see where we go with Silas!

Fast paced

Oooo I ate this up…. I saw it on TikTok because I love this creator and when I seen her advertised I ran to my audible! Now I have a book hangover… book 2? 🥰🥰🥰