Author: K. Loraine & Meg Anne

Series: The Mate Games: Apocalypse

First Published: 27 January 2025

“Snow White at least has different personalities to go with her seven roommates. I got stuck with the grump brigade.”   

I will start by saying that I was given an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review. These opinions are my own. Thank you so much to Kim and Meg for sending a copy my way!

How does one stop the end of the world, you might ask? You gotta knock up Lucifer’s vessel before he does.

I know, I know. I was surprised too. But let me tell you, if ever there was an incubus made for the job, it’s me.

With a name like Sin, you’d think this should have been the easiest task I’d ever been assigned. And you’d be correct. Except said vessel is a beautiful and dangerously powerful succubus in her own right. Oh, and she’s not interested.

Not in me or any of the other horsemen who were assigned to protect her. Yup, that’s right. The four horsemen of the apocalypse are back.

War
Pestilence
Famine
Death

She may not be our biggest fan, but one of us has to be her baby’s daddy. Which is why she’s been forced to live with us until we get the job done. We’ve never been very good at sharing. Or at saving things instead of destroying them, but when you know who calls in a favor, you don’t say no.

The Doomsday clock is ticking, so save the world it is.

Now if only we could get Merri to play ball. Because if we don’t find a way to get her pregnant before he does, then it’s not just the end of us. It’s the end of everything.

I couldn’t think of a better way to start 2025 than to read a new Mate Games book. Sin has the signature spice and wild plot I’ve come to know and love from the series. I can’t wait to see how this story plays out.

After the event of The Mates Games: Death, the four horsemen, now free, seek retribution for their mistreatment. What better way to disrupt the balance of power than by joining the force of good and helping stop the apocalypse? All they must do is knock up Lucifer’s vessel, the fated mother of the anti-Christ, before he does. Simple, right? The Horsemen, Grim, Sin, Chaos and Mal, are assigned to protect Merri–the vessel which creates the perfect forced proximity opportunity to get the job done. The horsemen aren’t very good at sharing and don’t want to be ordered around. However, despite being a succubus, Merri has taken a vow of celibacy so Grim, Sin, Chaos and Mal will need to woo her to achieve their goal. Queue the chaos.

I loved getting to see more of Merri. What we saw of her in the previous series has me intrigued. She’s had a pretty tough time with her powers and has a tragic accident with her high school sweetheart is why she is celibate. To help feed Merri is a cam girl. I’m interested to see how she will learn to accept her needs as her ability to cam becomes limited as the apocalypse rages on. One of her subscribers has made me wonder if Lucifer is also hunting for her.

I am fascinated by this world. It weaves together so many elements and creatures across fairytales, folklore and legends. I am fully obsessed and the mythos behind the horseman was no expectation. We learn that Sin and Mal are not the original horsemen from Famine and Pestilence, which gives me Dread Pirate Robert vibes from The Princess Bride, which I am here for it. Also, I loved the twist we get on these two horsemen. Famine is an incubus, defined by his insatiable hunger, which is a unique take on the archetype of this horseman. Pestilence has developed to create computer viruses alongside the standard plagues we can expect. I am excited to learn more about them in the upcoming books.

I always appreciate how sex-positive Meg Anne and K. Loraine made their books. Both Sin and Merri need to feed on sexual energy as they are an incubus and a succubus. If either don’t feed, they end up getting sick. This leads to some interesting group and voyeur scenes. I know the feelings will develop once our broody horsemen stop huffing and realise that she is perfect for them. Sin, Chaos and Mal are all interested in Merri and don’t want to share her. This is always a fun part of The Mate Games romances, there is always some alpha posturing before everyone settles into the dynamic. It will be interesting to see when Grim finally cracks and how they can get around his death touch.

I love the cameos from the characters from the previous Mate Games series via Operation Pffn. Our resident hacker, hermit and puffin enthusiast, Asher has started a radio broadcast to reach out to the other characters to share information so they can try to stop another apocalypse. Operation Pffn was a beautiful touch. Getting to see the characters makes me want to go back and start Obsession.

I listen to Sin on audio, which is my favourite way to consume the series. The narrators do an absolutely fantastic job of bringing these characters and this world to life. Shout out to Stella Hunter, Shane East, JF Harding, Jason Clarke, James Joseph, Teddy Hamilton and Christian Fox for their amazing performances. I always get a kick out of any changes they make to the audio production. For example, the Operation PFFN interludes are slightly distorted to mimic the sound quality of a radio broadcast. That attention to detail is incredible. This is why The Mate Games series will always be my favourite audiobooks.

I flew through Sin as I was having the best time. Because I was so gutted when it ended, I almost dived straight into a reread of it. I know I should come to expect a cliffhanger ending, but wow, this one just hit differently. I need the second book, Chaos, stat! If you have not picked up The Mate Games books yet, I highly recommend you do! They are a wild, fun time. I am beyond excited to see how this series ends.