Ciara Harney

Gosh, I finally finished this frickin' book. This took me awhile to get back into but I did it (for reasons unrelated to the book itself). I know a lot of folks really don't like it for how vulgar and kinda gross the MMC is. I think that I am kind of desensitized at this point to those type of beginnings. Once that was over I did enjoy the book for how over the top it was. I mean this is not one of those romances for the ages but it can be a good time if you want a short romp with a lot of "will they, won't they express their feelings" like ever.

Here is a breakdown of my rating

Characters: 7/10 Plot: 7/10 Writing: 6/10 Setting: 8/10 Enjoyment: 9/10

Now honestly, the writing isn't all that great. But, I still did get sucked into the story. Admittedly, I did take a long break from this book. A good few months break. The place I stopped was not the easiest to get back into and I had forgotten what the writing was like. F* this and F* that, F* F* F*. I think this might be the author's favorite word (at least for the Male characters). As I slogged through and got past the F's and the constant sex, the story actually picked up with an interesting storyline. I don't know if this storyline is continued in any of their other books but I would love to see the end result or continuation at least of that particular part of the story. So that interesting plot point ended up bumping this rating from 3 to 4 stars for me. I can admit when the writing is bad but, I can also admit when this author does write some good ish that keeps me reading. I guess jordan silver's work will be added to my list of guilty pleasures.

**UPDATE 2/4/25: Okay, thinking back over this book I decided to change my rating from a 4 to a 3. Reason being, in all honesty, this book is not good -at all- BUT I still enjoyed it. Realistically I would've rated this a 1.5-2 if it were any other author but Jordan Silver's work really is one of my guilty pleasures. And, I have no idea how they do it. **

3.5 ⭐'s rounded down

I was excited to read this since I enjoy Tessa Bailey's writing style and fun romance. Although, I had fun with the book and some of the characters, this is definitely not that good. It's the kind of not good that is entertaining though.

Was this the best that she has written? No. Was this instalovey as all heck? Yes. Did I still like it? Yes.

The speed with which everything happened was – whew – REALLY fast. Like a couple days to two weeks at most. Despite all of that, I did like the dynamic between Elise, Tobias, Banks, and Gabe. It would've been nice to have it fleshed out BUT the point of this book is to have a short fun time with something close to fate without the supernatural world or attributes.

If you want a quick read with nice banter between overly horny people and a small exploration into relationship dynamics that might make you laugh out loud, I think you should give it a try.

***Also that epilogue was better than most trad published epilogues in my humble opinion. Certainly helps that it was in the POV of my fav character.

Finally got around to finishing this book after I read it halfway and forgot about it months ago.

I really enjoyed the relationship between our main characters or at least the development with relation to a short period of time and everything that comes to light about them. I did also like the explanation on the origins of supernatural creatures as different species of demons representing sins. Though this book isn't very long, I did like the initial view into the world we got. And yes, this book does end with a cliffhanger but I honestly didn't mind it as it offered the whole “wait, what? Wow”. I will definitely be reading the next book to find out what's going on.

Characters: 10/10

Writing: 10/10

Plot: 10/10

Setting: 10/10

Enjoyment: 10/10

Oooooh myyyyy Gooodneeeeeeeess! Ahhhhh!

I LOVE this book so much. The way it was written was so funny and engaging and truly made fall for both Josh and Clara. I loved them and their motivations. And the YEARNING, it was so palpable. I was giddy, laughing, having a good time, had my heart broken, and then stitched back together. I don't care what anyone says. This was a masterpiece.

I loved the discussions as well surrounding sex and desire within relationships and business, i.e. the adult film industry. It felt amazing to see it written with such care despite the casual format. The way this author also talked about intimacy without it ever being raunchy. Heck out of any spicy book I've read I would've thought this would take the cake with raunchiness. But, no, it was never over the top. It was unapologetic, yes, but not as anatomical and everywhere like many other unassuming erotica parading as romance.

Needless to say, this is one of my top reads of this year, if not my life.

This has been my first physical manga that I've experienced. Honestly it took me longer to read than I initially thought it would. Though I do acknowledge what others have said in their reviews regarding characters and their on page personalities. And yes, the names of certain characters are, I don't how to articulate it but, oof. Our main antagonist, Dr. Jack Clown Pudding, made me laugh out loud when he introduced himself.

What I liked about this though was the artwork. It was honestly amazing and so aesthetically pleasing to my eyes. It is steampunk-esque with some like gothic and dainty touches here and there. The atmosphere for me really pushed me through to finish it. I will say that I did enjoy the story going on though it felt a little 1-dimensional to me in terms of motivations and propelling the story.

But alas, I still really enjoyed it overall and that is why I gave 5 stars.

I am feeling such a wide range of emotions after having finished this book. I had tears in my eyes while simultaneously laughing. I love the world building, the magic, and the characters, even if a handfull were awful people. They were all so interesting and different. Everything was just built with such care and a little humor here and there. And it was not afraid of getting gruesome, in death and in the price of magic.

I listened to the audiobook of this as well as read the physical book. I have to say that Moira Quirk did an amazing job of bringing the characters to life each with their own voice and intonation.

Upon first hearing the premise, this book may seem like a lot or too ambitious. But Tamsyn Muir really weaved all the elements of necromancy, outer space, a haunted house and the murder mystery within. As well as the presence of 18+ characters each with distinct personality and motivations.

I cannot wait till I dive back into the nine houses that encompass this deadly solar system.

I picked this up on a whim but got pleasantly surprised and sucked into the story. The beginning for sure was an interesting way to start the book but pulled me in nonetheless. I loved Edie and I loved John (honestly I LOVED Anders, the most).

I really enjoyed the progression of their relationship. And Edie's inner monologue exploring anxiety, panic attacks, night terrors, and PTSD symptoms felt really well presented from the perspective of a teenager trying to deal after everything that happened to her and John.

Normally I would get bored with books of similar boy meet girl, girl like boy, boy wants to be friends until - f e e l i n g s. The way the author wrote this though was very compelling to me even with the pop culture references (a very small peeve of mine).

I liked that our main character is presented as a thicker girl and actually stayed that way throughout the book. I hate when I read a book about a plus sized woman/girl and it feels like her size changes throughout the book without the author meaning to. Here we had none of that, and yes she does get mean remarks and insults regarding her weight but she owns it.

I do kinda wish that this was dual POV but that's just me being spoiled and wanting to know what john was thinking a lot of the time. Like I could see what he was doing and guess how he felt but, uhhh what I wouldn't give to find what he felt the whole time.

People might have things to critique this about but I honestly can't find any fault in the book at all. I have this warm fuzzy feeling just thinking about it (ok maybe the ending was a little concise and short for me but still...). I have to give it 5 stars just cause I am real happy about just everything that happened.

I did get sucked into this book initially cause it was fast paced and the characters attitudes were interesting to me. I still think that this is a solid book but I did come to a point where I stopped reading it and hadn't picked it back up for a good few months. In finishing it I did get brought back in with his groveling because, honestly, I'm a sucker for groveling.

This would've been 4 stars if the character's attitudes didn't get old for me. I can only take so much snark from one and broodiness from another for so long. And the unintentional break I took from reading the book didn't do any favors in my rating. I can honestly say that if I hadn't forgotten about the book, being halfway through it, and finished it sooner, I would've maybe enjoyed it more.

3.5 stars

I picked this book up with no expectations really since I haven't read that many books in the sports rom genre. I will say that I did enjoy this book mostly for the ridiculousness of the FMC and the MMC for his consistency in asking for consent. There were some things that rubbed me the wrong way but it didn't deter me from finishing the book.

What rubbed me the wrong way at times and may deter others:

- The FMC's constant ridicule and shaming of hockey team fans, most specifically female fans. They were referred to as “puck bunnies” and the FMC's favorite term: “hockey hookers”. This made every female other than the FMC, her friend, and the team's family members into essentially attention seeking whores, sluts, and any other creative insult she could think of.

- Her constant yes and no with the MMC. What I mean: she says one thing but does another and regrets it. But does it again and then when it should be shown that she knows who he is (the MMC) as a person he makes a mistake (pretty big one, I'll admit) but she acts like “I was right the whole time”. Which means, she was just waiting for him to mess up.

- She (FMC) was pretty obnoxious to an extent and immature. Especially surrounding the MMC's “MC” or appendage. Though to me, her utter ridiculousness as a character did make me laugh because I never expected a character like her. Considering how the author wrote her, I would say they both have pretty strange imaginations and perhaps no filters.

So, it's not the best book that I have ever read but it was pretty good for an easy read though it lasted longer than I expected. A lot of the portrayals of people or concepts were OTT. But nonetheless, I mostly liked it for the side characters and the MMC. So I will definitely continue the series just to see their stories.

BTW I am not an expert critique or anything. I honestly find most things people hate to be funny and/or enjoyable, even if it's stupid (to them or just in general). Just letting anyone who reads this know.

5 ⭐'s all the way.

I am writing just after I finished reading this book and I am floored. This book had pulled me in and flowed so well with Dot Hutchison's writing. There being no chapters only made it harder for me to put down since there was no distinct stops besides the three part sections.

I must say that this book was a good intro for me in the realm of darker mystery/thriller/horror types. Because it was told so calmly, when bad, troubling, or horrific things happened it made such an impact on me.

I honestly can't say much without being spoilery. But, I have gasped, guffawed, grasped for any straws of hope, and held back tears as best I could in part three. This is definitely one of the best books I have read this year.