D
I rarely feel such kinship with fictional characters as I felt with Kit in this book. I certainly didn't feel that much in the previous two ones although that might change upon a reread.
The Boy with the Painful Tattoo is special for me and not to be easily forgotten for several reasons:
1. kinship with Kit
2. I waited for it for so long (a year and two months, at least, I read All She Wrote last August and have been waiting ever since. There was also some bother with pushed back release date, which... bummer) and it still didn't disappoint. Kit was Kit and J.X. was J.X., both perfectly imperfect and painfully in love.
3. The sexy times. Reading about Kit bottomming works for me - almost as much as it works for him. Scorching hot. I still hope he gets to top sometimes, not on the schedule he was planning but because of his own peace of mind.
4. This book is the first m/m I've read for months, fanfics nothwistanding, so it's responsible for breaking my non-m-m trend. Not that I am diving back into m/m - that would require time, and time is a luxury I do not have :( - but it's nice to come back to the genre and not be disappointed.
5. “All that you have to say has already crossed my mind.” J.X. replied tersely, but right on cue, “And possibly your answer has already crossed mine.”
What I didn't like.
- The cameo. I don't really remember the significance of the mushroom pie and I don't want to care. It was good to see Adrien and Jake, regardless. IDK. I don't pretend to make sense.
- how obviously creepy Jerry The Creeper was.
- ugh... I'm too lazy to think of other points. :D
That means... I enjoyed it quite a lot, and I'm going to reread it. It was worth the wait. I might even go back and reread the first two as well.
Read: 2 times
Listened to the podfic: 5+ times.
It's really really good.
Stiles Stilinski suddenly looks like someone it is not wise to mess with. Not that it was ever wise to mess with him, because he always did fight back like a berserker, and strength doesn't count for much against the willingness to do absolutely anything to win. It's more than that now, though. Now it's like...he might wait, if you made him mad. He might wait until you were alone, kill you, and make it look like an accident. And then he'd forget you ever existed.Danny starts reading the Beacon Hills crime blotter with religious attention. Other than the animal attacks, though, nothing seems too weird.Unless those are more, say, “animal attacks.”In less frightening but more upsetting news, if the ridiculously gorgeous Derek Hale pins Stiles to his car one more time, Danny is going to pop an artery in whatever part of the brain it is that controls lust. It's just unfair. Today, for example, Stiles is leaning back against his car with Derek practically between his legs, and there's not a flail or an awkward laugh in sight. Like he thinks that's where Derek belongs. Among other distressing things, that kind of confidence looks appallingly good on Stiles, and Danny isn't used to thinking anything looks good on Stiles.(Okay, that may be a lie, but the point is, it used to be a convincing lie, and now Danny can't even pretend to believe it.)And the way Stiles smirks at Danny like he can read his mind from across the parking lot? That's not okay, either. The bastard used to fake being straight; he shouldn't be allowed to pull someone like Derek Hale.“Derek again,” Peter murmurs happily. “Derek, Derek, Derek.”“Shut up, he was my alpha.”“Of course.” Peter smirks at him.
I liked the magic reveal.For a more detailed opinion look somewhere else. I'm clearly not your person.Oh. I hadn't realised it was written by the author of [b:Wager of Battle 20637464 Wager of Battle Destina https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-673c574e721a5d4c3fd6e25b74d42bf2.png 39926912]. I should have. It gave me the same feeling, honestly. There's nothing wrong with it, it's just the author's writing and me are not quite compatible. I don't dislike it, but I don't really like it either. It happens quite rarely, for which I'm grateful.
3.5 stars, rounded up (T&G is still the bar I compare my 3.5 stars ratings to and yes, I liked The King better).I enjoyed this book. I enjoyed it. I don't know why this sounds like a miracle in my own head but there it is.The King has a lot of misgivings and issues, that is certainly true. What I really liked about it is that reading it wasn't a chore. It wasn't exactly the urgent i-need-to-know-NOW I've experienced with previous books but it was levels above the total disinterest I was expecting to feel.Apart from Beth in the beginning and the Little Wrath (ugh) naming, too little Qhuinn and Blay (barely any) and Assail and Sola's storyline, I liked it. Well, I didn't enjoy the ton of labels and pop culture references thrown in. Not sure if there were fewer of them in the past or I just failed to notice them.Me and this book: we're okay. Passing aquaintances, might not see each other again, but part ways in good spirits.Me and Ward's next books: We're okay, I guess. I didn't read Possession but I'm curious about the enging of the Fallen Angels series so I'll give [b:Immortal 18492859 Immortal (Fallen Angels, #6) J.R. Ward https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1396638043s/18492859.jpg 26177807] a try. I'm interested in the Shadows too so I'll probably be reading that too. Further than that, who knows. Depends if she can hook me with a Saxton story line.Me and Ward's BS: So done. As with Abigail Roux, I'll be keeping my distance.
1/27 is a brilliant set of stories. Instead of answering questions and saying fond goodbye to favourite characters, it asks even more questions and makes me long for more from these characters, whose story is far from over.
Because it becomes clear, change is coming, it is underway and the future is exciting and scary.
1/27 made me care for characters I've never cared about - Bree and Archer, even Doug and Harriet, by showing sides of them I hadn't seen before. It was magnificent.
Every word in this anthology is a delight.
I have no words to review Checkmate. Just a playlist of more or less sappy songs to comfort myself with, an amazing reading experience and some quotes that will stay with me for a long time:
She stood now in another country, whose sun burned and whose air was too rare for her breathing. And she stood there alone, with the words of a warning for company:Tant que je vive ...Long as I live, my heart will never varyFor no one else, however fair or goodBrave, resolute or rich, of gentle blood.My choice is made, and I will have no other
(“Tant que je vive, mon cueur ne changera
Pour nulle vivante, tant soit elle bonne ou saige
Forte et puissante, riche de hault lignage
Mon chois est fait, aultre ne se fera.”)
‘Kate is my friend. That is true. But the songs were for her daughter. And the passion, for ever.' ‘We have reached the open sea, with some charts; and the firmament.'
Under the spoiler tag - some relevant pictures:
My idea of Lymond:
No ordered thoughts or anything even resembling a proper review.
The Russia parts turned out the most boring ones in the book. Although I did find some of Phillipa's page time in the first part not so intriguing as well.
I can't see Lymond surviving a few more blows to the head, both physical and emotional. He's tough, but really, is that necessary? The poor sod.
Favourite moments:
- Phillipa reading Lymond's books
- Diccon and Lymond's friendship
- Phillipa tapping all Lymond's quotes
- The “L” play, Languish Locked in L!!!
- And deep within him, missing its accustomed tread, his heart paused, and gave one single stroke, as if on an anvil. ‘We're there, sir,' Nicholas said.The air hurt his skin. His nerves, unsheathed, left him over-sensitized and defenceless, as sometimes happened: exposed raw to the touch of his clothes, as if his flesh had been stripped off with acid. He remained perfectly still.
- Lymond's “duel” with Austin Gray. Hilarious.
- Every word out of Danny Hislop's mouth.
I don't have a shelf for dnf and I won't make one just for this book but this was so wrong on so many levels. EVERYONE was out of character which means these were not the characters I know and love. Sorry, it did not work for me.
Dnf at ~16%
FTR, I wouldn't let my best friend tell me my relationship was over and just accept, like “Okay, if you say so, you must be right. I hadn't made up my mind yet anyway.”
NO.
The best thing I could say about this book is that I enjoyed it more than I expected. It was fun in a light, don't-think-too-hard, forget-about-it-the-next-week way.
I didn't struggle with reading it but I wasn't totally happy about it either. If I got a lev [$, pound, euro] (pound actually, it's got the highest value) for every time I had the urge to roll my eyes, I'd be rich enough to buy a new laptop (or three) by now.
It's been said before, and better, but Ball & Chain didn't feel like Ty and Zane's book, it felt like Nick's book. If I was as invested in the series as I used to be, this would be a disappointment. Now it's all the same for me.
Also, that island set up, with cut off communications when they are expecting to be attacked is palinly stupid. If the idea was to show that the Stantons wanted to draw out their enemies, they went so wrong about it.
I was going to make a status update about Burns being Chekhov's gun. He appeared so he must go off some way. And then he did before I got the chance to update. :D
For strong, capable men with serious issues they all quite successfully behave like school girls: chuckling, snorting, sniggering, snickering, chortling, All. The. Time.
The set up for N&K's book felt also less exciting than it was probably meant to be but oh well, it featured Liam Bell so it's forgiven.
The end result is: I din't love it but I didn't hate it either. The drinking-bingo game might have helped with that.
The sad thing is, I'm no longer moved by Ty and Zane. This series has run its course and I'm ready to see it finished and put it behind me. I will probably read the final book (no promises, though!) but I sure don't feel like squeeing and fangirling about it.
