“Carnal Calling” is a free short story by Rhea Harp, I accessed it through Rhea Harp’s website (https://rheaharp.com) which was super easy download, and not to mention a sneak peek at her other books which are looking so hot for the dark romance girlies!

Anyways, some context… think dark mafia romance with plenty of spice! It is only a short story, so it’s nothing too strenuous to read and it can feel like it’s a little rushed in telling the story but I did really enjoy the story that came of it. It follows the telling of girl runs from cheating boyfriend, has the misfortune of wrong time wrong place which puts her in the sights of the Bratva’s fixer (*sigh*).

Fair warning! Some spoilers do follow, so continue at your own risk!

Now, the characters… Scarlet is our leading lady, and the poor thing just can’t get a break! She confronts her boyfriend about cheating on her and the scumbag has the audacity to beat her up and kick her out on the street! Safe to say, I was completely on Scarlet’s side early on in the book. Her character came across as someone who needed protection, both physical and emotional, I got the impression that she would be the weaker character in the book very early on. So, we find her on a train all alone, her ex is being a emotionally manipulating ass and her mother is not as understanding as she could be (poor Scarlet had no hope with these people!), when some random phone she decided to pick up at the station starts ringing.

Queue talk dark and handsome, Kiril, his deep captivating voice leading her to safety, and so it should because it was him who got her caught in the middle of a Brava mess! Anyways, Kiril is your typical dark romance leading man, as the Bratva’s fixer he is no stranger to violence, torture and death. As expected, he does have a few kinks that are brought on by Scarlet’s submissiveness as well as a sense of amusement when Scarlet suddenly shows the spine she’s kept hidden and starts to fight back in certain instances. But, like all of our favourite morally grey, dark romance men, Kiril has an intense sense of protectiveness and ownership. This leads him to pay Scarlet’s ex a visit, which I think is probably one of my favourite Kiril moments, and yes that even includes the shower when he sees Scarlet’s bruises (*double sigh*), and then Scarlet shows her spine again – loved it!

This is a happily ever after finish, which I also love. Scarlet grows into a person she chooses to be, Kiril works to make sure that happens while continuing his work as the Bratva’s fixer which Scarlet is totally ok with. I don’t want to spoil anything about the spicy scenes, but they were vivid, sexy and just plain naughty. There’s even an inclusion of sexting which I am not used to reading about, so that was also a very nice surprise. It also added another dimension to Kiril’s need to be with Scarlet, especially when his work takes him away from her for days at a time, which then highlights how violent he can be when he’s being kept from her (*another sigh*).

All in all, I’m pretty impressed with Rhea Harp’s writing of this short story. Her characters had a few different levels to them, I especially related to Scarlet having had similar experiences to her character, this makes her come across as more real. I would have loved for this to have been a full blown novel, being able to explore Kiril’s character more and watch their relationship develop more slowly and intensely would have been amazing! But, for a short story, I really enjoyed it.

Other books currently published by Rhea Harp include:

• “Darkest Craving” – A dark mafia arranged marriage romance
• “Under His Command” – A dark military romance
• “Under His Wrath” – Sequel to “Under His Command“, also a dark military romance

Happy Reading!