Shy
Felt like the drama really overwhelmed the characters to the point where I didn't really feel like they could stand on their own. I couldn't really tell who they were beyond their playful banter, what their morals were or, how they would react in certain situations. I didn't feel like I really knew them well enough to like them (or even dislike them) very strongly. Which was pretty sad because I thought the chemistry/ plot was really cute.
The drama just kept on coming, and I felt like the situations defined the characters and their actions rather than the other way around.
Sooooo cute!
Perfect pacing and character development! This was such an easy, “fluid” read! It reminds me a lot of Luxuria which was my favorite Colette Rhodes book, but now it might be a tie.
This is a breath of fresh air in the omegaverse genre. As a lover of the genre, when looking for a new read one tends to face an abundance of shotty writing, one dimensional characters, and Pack Darling rip-offs.
This one felt so different than anything I had read before, but still hit the omegaverse spot just right!
So....you know that feeling you get when you watch a live action adaptation of an anime that you know really well and just adore, and well it's just...well... kinda weird?
Like seeing a giant CGI Ryuk floating behind a super normal looking guy at the supermarket or a dude wearing an outrageously styled wig doing fight scenes in modern day Tokyo? Or dialogue that seemed absolutely perfect in the context of an anime, but then feels awkward with scenes that feel overacted as real people desperately try to translate an animated world into a live setting?
That's kinda what Marie Mackay's writing feels like to me sometimes. Both this and Havoc Killed Her Alpha suffer from this, for lack of a better term context-content mix match which is, again for lack of a better phrase, more than slightly cringe inducing at times.
Like the description of the heroes is a bit fantastical and they feel like characters you might see in an anime, and the alphas fight with auras, again feeling kinda like something that would be in an anime, but the setting and social dynamics of the society kinda feel like something analogous to modern day LA.
Then why am I giving this 5 stars?
Because, damn can she write a compelling story with a super intricate plot line. It's been a while since I've been so excited to read something that made me want to pause real life to finish it, but this certainly got me there. The cliffy has me absolutely salivating to get my hands on the next book.
The fact that I absolutely loved this book, despite it's awkwardness, actually has me wondering if Marie Mackay's writing style is a bug or maybe it's just a feature?
(As an aside: I also loved the honoring of the perfection that is Pack Darling. I know now that Marie has excellent taste, and giving respect to the giant in this way was very cute)
So the last Sam Hall book I read was her Omegaverse Good Girl, and I thought it was great! Really cute, satisfying, sweet. But Miss Hall has been quite busy since then, and let me just say it really shows!
I'm going to have to go re-read Good Girl for a more accurate comparison, but even though I remember really enjoying it, More Than I Can Bear feels leagues ahead in terms of the depth of story telling and character development!
The writing is so fluid, Sam seamlessly transitions between perspectives and scenes, and it's so easy to just get lost in the Ursa Shifters world that Sam has created! This book might fall on the side of too sweet/too good to be true for some, but for me it was just right! A perfect palate cleanser with lovable characters, not too much drama but just enough push pull/angst to keep the plot line moving at the perfect pace.
I really loved this one and I'm definitely going to have to go back and catch up on all the other Sam Hall books I've missed!!
I absolutely devoured this book. Elizabeth Dear did everything “the right way”. This series feels both familiar and like it hits the spot as an enemies to lovers/bully/secret heiress book, but it also felt nothing like a book that I've read from those genres before. The plot was quite intricate, and the world building was phenomenal. Written by someone else, this book could have easily become something that felt too juvenile or overly corny/cliche, and that just shows off how talented the writer is. Heroine is kickass in a way that reminds me of Lips from J.Bree's Hannaford Prep series. Pacing was incredible, writing sucked me in, I'm salivating for book 3.
I would give this a 5 for groveling, 5 for addictiveness and plot line but a 1 or 2 for subtlety, consistency and Alessandro's depth as a character.
This last point might be my fault because I'm now very spoilt by dual, first person pov books or even excellent male only pov books like Surviving Raine In my eyes the more egregious (or even just obnoxious really) the male character's actions the more I want to hear their side of the story.
Or else it ends up feeling like I'm just being battered along side the heroine with little reprieve (which this one kinda suffered from for me).
I think that the writing was very engaging and the heroine was very easy to empathize with. But, to be frank, I'm of the opinion that a male pov is more fun and interesting to read in a romance novel. I like being told from the inside how much the hero cares, not watching it from the outside, and then having his actions possibly be misconstrued so that I'm left untrusting of the hero and his motivations alongside the heroine I have little patience for this kinda thing, emotionally. If you can't trust the man, I say jump ship and be done with it.
Sooo January...I really didn't know what to think about her for a while.
The whole thing with her was slightly campy, a bit silly, just a tad over the top... but then I remembered (after reading 90% of it) that January is supposed to be the analogue of a Disney princess and then it all fell into place for me.
She was just so simple minded, so innocent, so “I'm kidnapped so I'm gonna sing in my prison cell”. Like, Eve Dangerfield really succeed in injecting a Disney princess into a dark romance. At first it bugged me cause it just felt like, ridiculous, but then I understood where Dangerfield was coming from, decided to hop on board, and it was smooth sailing ever since!
But let me tell you! Even when I was feeling kinda Meh about January as a main character this book still sucked me in. The Darkness in this dark romance, and the nasty in these men is the closest I feel like I've come to getting the lords or princes from the Forsyth royals series. Especially Doc?? Whoo buddy that man... he's got so many good lines I would quote him here, but I'm still lying to myself and pretending like I'm a modest girl who doesn't read mostly smut
Yeah idk... this book made me feel 90 years old in a million different ways.
Quite frankly I could barely read Demi's chapters, I was just in a perpetual state of confusion. I couldn't tell who was talking a lot of the time. It really did read like “stereotypical teenage girls” just babbling over one another. The entire time I was like: “is this one of those gen-z things i just don't understand? Do they just talk like this?” And then they would reference obscure movies from the 2010's and then I just felt stupid lol...
Then I got even more confused because the sentences constantly left out a reference to a subject, or made references to things that just didn't work. They weren't even important sentence, which made it worse. I felt like I couldn't read a single line with out being like “who/what tf are we talking about??”
For example:
Long, dirty blonde but not quite brown hair, almond-shaped eyes the same shade of green, a deep, ripe lime-like color.
Tbh I probably should've been able to get this one, but I'm still mad about it cause I spent too long thinking about it. Like eyes the same shade of green as what..as each other? Like her eyes match? Thats cool I guess...
And
“is she saying he's out of my league or I'm far from his?”
Aren't these the same thing?? He's out of your league, or better than you, in other words you're far from his league??? Hello?? This ones not my fault.
All in alI, turned 26 and apparently I'm ready to be put in a home cause i just couldn't with this one.
No. Why? For what reason?
I hard Dnfed this out of anger. Unsolicited advice from your local POC, don't use black/mixed characters, and black stereotypes as a plot device to make your white heroes/heroines look like good people. (I.e. The father of Tristy's son is an absentee black father who beats his girlfriend?? Gonna be honest I skim read the rest, and is he the only black character in the book???)
Quite frankly, I have a very low bar when it comes to things like this. I mostly don't notice, and I generally take no issue reading a book where every character is white. ESPECIALLY so long as I don't have to read bullsh*t like this.
Also, don't describe half black babies as looking like “hulking gorillas” next to white babies, even if your heroine meant it in a “nice”(?) way cause shes just a tiny blonde tinker bell angel.
Thanks.
I'm pretty disappointed. I really wanted to like this book and I liked the male characters but I found Lyric so so so unlikeable. Detestable really. I don't mind a Mary Sue, (in fact I enjoy this type of character more than I would like to admit) but Lyric was just really really not it for me.
I liked the first chapter hearing about her experience teaching kids music. Like another reviewer said, she comes off as neurodivergent, and as someone who is as well, I thought her perspective seemed thoughtfully written and well developed. After that chapter though I started to really find her distasteful.
In fact, I noticed that this part of her, seemed to get less and less attention throughout the rest of this book and the second book. So then it comes off across like she was just a shallow “autistic savant” cardboard cutout. She quickly became one dimensional, whiny, and annoying. She was never allowed to grow as a character, while all the male characters matured and became more human, because no one was ever allowed to hold her accountable for anything! Her faults were either ignored, deemed unimportant, or they didn't want to hurt her sensitive omega feelings.
I mean, I'm honestly debating with myself whether that is a valid excuse? If the author was trying to really emphasize up that this is what it means to be an omega, then sure, I guess. But I've read a lot of the genre and this definitely doesn't have to be it.
On that note, I also saw a review mentioning Lilah from Pack Darling, and Lyric is certainly no Lilah. Period. Like I feel bad even putting their names in the same sentence. If you like Lilah, that certainly does not mean you will like Lyric, and this is coming from someone who re-reads pack darling religiously. It's one of my favorite books, and I adore Lilah
So I guess what I'm saying is, I'm fine with Mary Sues being worshipped so long as I find their characteristics worth worshiping. Other than her musical abilities, nothing about Lyric seemed worthy of the utter rapture of all of the male characters, and her musical ability wasn't central enough to the plot line for me to also find it worthy of excusing her irrational, self centered, and general poor behavior. She also didn't seem to “morally struggle” ever. She just made poor choices and then hated herself for making poor choices. We didn't really see her debate with herself over whether or not she was making the right/wrong choice. I feel like that would've helped with this problem, and helped to humanize her at least a little.
I think I'm being kinda harsh now because I was so damn disappointed. I'll try reading this again in the future when I've forgotten about it lol.
This was even better than I thought it was after I first read it. I immediately liked it after reading, and quite a lot. Probably like 4.6 stars? I thought it was great, but I didn't expect that I would want to re-read it.
I was wrong, lol. I've re read it about 4 times? Every so often I get a random craving for this book like a good chocolate chip cookie and I just can't resist it. I've bumped it up to a true 5 for its sticking power. This book has really dug under my skin and I keep chasing the feeling of it and going back for more.
This series is wholly and entirely responsible for my decent into degeneracy. This was the first Dark Romance book I had ever read, and boy was I having a moral crisis THE ENTIRE TIME, but I could not put the damn book down. I've read all 6 books that are out now, so I've clearly gotten over it :).
These books are, download and prepare for an all nighter type reads. In my opinion the character development in this series far superior to most books, regardless of genre. The books have a hint of mystery, details are laid out in the book that you don't pick up on until your second or third read. Pretty much everything means something. Sam and Angel have the magic to make you fall in love seemingly irredeemable monsters. Every character is so messed up, but they complement eachother perfectly. The romance inevitable, like fate or destiny. Like they are so flawed, they could only ever belong together
Idk this is the second Sam Mariano book I've tried, and so far I can't really get into her heroes. Funny thing is I think I've seen most reviewers complain about the heroines being naive/dumb? I guess my tolerance for that is pretty high, and I even kinda enjoy this trope most of the time.
My problem is when a hero's entire personality is being so cocky and confident that he is just completely unbothered by everything the heroine does. Like I get that's part of the gig right, the male hero has all the power and is able to manipulate the heroine into doing whatever he wants, but my problem is even when the main couple seem to get close, and this doesn't really change. And throughout the book, there is no real sense that the hero is emotionally effected by the heroine. I'm not even asking for the heroine to get a win or get one over on the hero, just some indication to let us know that this whole endeavor of ruining her life actually means something to him. If he already gets everything he wants, and this is just one more thing, then this isn't be fun for him nor the reader?
I think the whole point is this is supposed to be implied. Like when he says “I've never thought about a girl like this, no one else has ever kept my attention for this long” yada yada yada. But I want both. I want the hero to say this, and then also seem somewhat emotionally distressed by this fact?? Like if its true that this is the first time it's happened shouldn't the hero kinda be fucked up over it? Idk.
I'm gonna go ahead and blame Sam & Angel for their Royals of Forsythe Series. I think they've just made me have unreasonably high standards for bully trope books lol. Killian Payne is the perfect example of what this type of hero should be, in my opinion. He can get anything he wants, he really wants the girl, he can't have her and trying harder pushes her away. He does some messed up shit, but its almost like he is as emotionally distraught, frustrated and introspective over the whole interaction as she is. Like he wants it to be as easy as everything else in his life (or maybe he doesn't?), but it can't be. He also realizes that he doesn't want her to just say she belongs to him, but he really wants her really and entirely.
I don't know, after writing all of this, I think I'm realizing I just want character growth for the hero? I don't think a “Killian Payne” is the only way to achieve this, but Mariano's heros definitely miss this mark for me...
I really, really liked it until about 75% of the way through. The resolution if the conflict felt very deus ex machina, and very rushed.
I loved how the author wrote our disabled heroine, the world building was solid, and most importantly for me I really liked how scenes “felt.” The traumatic incidents the heroine went through were so well described I really felt for her, and felt like I was experiencing it alongside her.
I thought the ending was rushed, the couple needed more time to develop their chemistry. It really didn't ever feel like the heroine came close to forgiving the hero, until all of the sudden she just did. It felt very jarring and the depth of emotion wasn't up to the same level as was shown by the author in the first half. I think ill try something else by this author, because she really had me by the heart for a minute.
Holy hell I can't believe this is the first thing I've read all the way through in months... but at the same time I really can lol.
Like others I was pretty unsatisfied with the groveling, buttttt the plot was solidly interesting, the way the heroes hurt Evie also felt pretty unique (the unhealed bite scars and holding out for an ex lover), and the prose and imagery were really immersive and lovely. I was actually pleasantly surprised by how well Evie and Damien were fleshed out as characters and the quality of writing within each chapter. The world building felt nice and comfortable, not overwhelming like it can with some omegaverse. All in all it was a nice, unassuming novel with a strong heroine and that delicious (and somehow comforting??) hurt comfort drama that is now classic of the genre.
The cons:
-Like I said before the grovel was really, reeeeeeeaaaally not cutting it. All though it still somehow felt less offensive than in other books I've read.
-My biggest complaint actually is that the transitions were pretty rough. I'm pretty sure the “Evie checks her scars in the mirror” transition happened at least 3 times, and a similar thing happened with a chapter starting with Damien's super bratty inner monologue.
- Also the other three Heroes kinda were non-descript at times. Like they had different character traits, and were distinguishable from one another, but they kinda just acted as a single foil to Damien rather than actual characters themselves.
I'm like 1/12 of the way in and this is already a winner for me.
I fucking love Wells, the end.
Update: Just finished, and I said what I said!
I'm now off to obsess over Tessa Bailey for a bit.
For me, Tessa Bailey and Charlotte Stein do completely obsessed dirty talking hero better than anyone else <3
I really need to re-read this book.
I read it in high school and it was, by far, my favorite book that I read in English class. I honestly can't remember much of the plot, I only remember more the feeling of being so intensely moved by the book that I finished the whole thing weeks before we were supposed to, and then talked about incessantly to my family trying to seduce them into reading it.
The fact that just thinking of the book evokes these feelings of energetic youthfulness make this a very special book to me.
I feel pretty much every emotion you could possibly feel about this book. To me Shirley Jackson is the queen of minor anxieties, and so this book was exhausting, unnerving, thrilling, confusing. Some of the stories hit too close to home, and made me angry, others made me laugh, or gasp in shock and horror. After every short story I wanted this book to be over I could be released from it's grip, but I also wanted it never to end.
I'm still feeling a bit dazed and confused about this book. Can I say I really enjoyed it? I'm not sure. I have this deep feeling that it is one of the most important books I've ever read, and I almost feel a compulsion to read it over and over and over again. But I also feel like I might need a break from it for sometime.
Dnf about 30%
I've tried to read this book on two separate occasions. I am just floored that this book is so popular. The characters inner monologue is really juvenile as some others have said, and ok thats fine their in high school, so I was just perpetually cringing, but I didn't let it stop me from reading on.
My main problem is that the writing is really frustrating, and THE MAIN CHARACTERS ACTIONS DIDN'T MAKE ANY SENSE!
(Ok here's where I tell you I'm a heathen who skips around in books while reading, I do this even in books I absolutely adore, and I can not be stopped)
For the writing aspect, almost every time we learn an integral part of Shiloh's story its by her going on a two page monologue with, maybe one, one sentence response from one of the male main characters. Beyond this feeling like lazy writing, it makes me incredibly uncomfortable as the reader. It just feels like this is not how a serious conversation goes, no nuance, no real breaks of shiloh reading the room to see how people are responding to her. It comes of as incredibly narcissistic/ self important for some reason, and just, icky for lack of a better word.
As for the main character making no sense part:
One example, Shiloh in the beginning talks about how gross it is that guys thought her and her twin were a “package deal” romantically. Later on she says “don't make me choose” when talking to her twin love interests??? I love reverse harem its one of my favorite genres, but this made me feel weird about the whole thing because SHILOH made it weird first!
Ok also pretty much everything she does at school draws attention to her, but like, she's hiding from her stalker?? Dude at one point she's making out with one of the male main characters in gym Outside!!! where you know, stalker could very well be lurking, and everyone is staring at her catcalling and she's causing a commotion?? GIRL YOU'RE IN WITNESS PROTECTION, NOT HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL. WHAT. Not to mention she's supposed to be “shy”???
Also she never really seems to consider like “Hmmm what if Mr. X, the stalker who is in love with me, comes and doesn't like the fact that I'm constantly hanging out with 4 dudes who I have obvious romantic interest in?” Theres no significant moral conflict really about whether or not she should hang around the guys as she is actively putting them in danger just by being around them. This could have made for a very interesting and believable point of conflict in the story. (She tries to distance themselves they get mad/sad/something?)
Like idk maybe some of this is addressed later and I didn't read far enough or skipped it but these weird character flaws combined with the juvenile tone of her inner monologue make shiloh seem so inconsistent with how other characters describe her (and she describes herself). Her selective amnesia about Mr. X from like the middle of the book on also makes her seem either criminally thoughtless/negligent at best or completely self absorbed and uncaring at worst.
Never, not once in my entire life, have I ever heard someone IRL be called, or describe themselves as, a “coder”...
Programmer? Sure.
Software Engineer? Yup.
Computer Scientist? If you're feeling fancy.
Hacker? If you wanna get kinda quirky with it.
Coder? Never lol, no one says this.
