Reviewed by True
TITLE: Malin
SERIES: Van Doren #5
AUTHOR: Crea Reitan
PUBLISHER: Dragon Fire Fantasy
LENGTH: 204 pages
RELEASE DATE: November 27, 2025
BLURB:
I’m haunted by a childhood of abuse.
Ten years ago, the Van Dorens rescued me from a megachurch cult where the leader kept me as his. I’ve spent a decade trying to escape my past.
But that past refuses to let me go. The cult leader’s voice lingers in my mind and his figure is always there in my peripheral vision. He reminds me that I’m his, I’m filled with sin, and I’m going to hell if I don’t join him in death like I should have when he was murdered.
The day Gracen fills my office with phone books, I discover that his presence silences the voice incessantly filling my head. As we get closer, the voice gets louder until one day, Gracen realizes that the cult leader isn’t in my head at all. He’s haunting me—tormenting me—even in death.
***
This is a LGBTQIA+ story with content not intended for those under 18 years of age due to graphic scenes and situations.
REVIEW:
Ryan Johnston the cult leader and Malin’s abuser, still lives in Malin’s head, even though he’s long dead. Malin was his favorite boy, to praise and to punish.
Malin, traumatized, indoctrinated, and brainwashed, constantly hears and sees him. Telling him he’s a sinful boy who will end up in hell, and should have died just like Ryan.
Gracen is also a Van Doren, he works for them. The head of the Van Doren family, is Jalon Van Doren, who is Gracen’s great uncle.
Gracen is intrigued by and attracted to Malin, he watches him, daily!
“If you’re waiting for him to notice you, it’s never going to happen.”
Somehow, when Malin is with Gracen, the voices in his head are silent.
To give you a short impression of the Van Dorens.
It all started with Jalon Van Doren and his five sons.
The Van Dorens are super rich; they bought a large estate, and all the family members have their own place on the property. The family expanded enormously, there’s even a school.
After Malin was freed from the cult about ten years ago, Avory and Ellory adopted the then fourteen-year-old Malin as theirs.
Prepare yourself for a harsh read, alternating with some sweetness. Malin’s struggle felt very real and palpable. What he has been through was deeply hurtful. The conclusion was well thought out.
Overall, I loved this story; it was well written, felt honest and real, and had a good pace.
I think this family provides an inexhaustible source of inspiration! Awesome!
RATING: 
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