💬: “You don’t look that threatening. Just … very different.”
“Different is threatening to most species,” Nikanj answered. “Different is dangerous. It might kill you. That was true to your animal ancestors and your nearest animal relatives. And it’s true for you.”
Butler, Octavia E.. Dawn (The Xenogenesis Trilogy Book 1) (p. 211). Open Road Media. Kindle Edition.
📖Genres: sci-fi, dystopia, post-apocalyptic, aliens, horror, speculative fiction
📚Page Count: 248
🎧Audiobook Length: 09h 20min
👩🏾🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 - 4.5/5
----
Dawn by Octavia E. Butler is my first finished read of 2023! It was my first time reading this piece of work, and I really enjoyed it.
I have a phobia of aliens, which I've mentioned in the past. I was very creeped out going into this book, but I couldn't put the book down once I started (I finished it in two days!)
This book explores themes of gender, society, humanity - and what that means, sexuality, and I'm sure I'm missing some.
I enjoyed the world building. <spoiler>The aliens and the ship were all so creatively designed.</spoiler> This story just had so many great working parts, and it all came together to make a creepy but wonderfully written story.
I knocked off .5 stars because of how heteronormative the story was, with all the males trying to find a female within their groups to "hook up" with. Someone pointed out that was a unrealistic that everyone was so heteronormative, and I agree
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.5/5 Stars
💬: “You don’t look that threatening. Just … very different.”
“Different is threatening to most species,” Nikanj answered. “Different is dangerous. It might kill you. That was true to your animal ancestors and your nearest animal relatives. And it’s true for you.”
Butler, Octavia E.. Dawn (The Xenogenesis Trilogy Book 1) (p. 211). Open Road Media. Kindle Edition.
📖Genres: sci-fi, dystopia, post-apocalyptic, aliens, horror, speculative fiction
📚Page Count: 248
🎧Audiobook Length: 09h 20min
👩🏾🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 - 4.5/5
----
Dawn by Octavia E. Butler is my first finished read of 2023! It was my first time reading this piece of work, and I really enjoyed it.
I have a phobia of aliens, which I've mentioned in the past. I was very creeped out going into this book, but I couldn't put the book down once I started (I finished it in two days!)
This book explores themes of gender, society, humanity - and what that means, sexuality, and I'm sure I'm missing some.
I enjoyed the world building. <spoiler>The aliens and the ship were all so creatively designed.</spoiler> This story just had so many great working parts, and it all came together to make a creepy but wonderfully written story.
I knocked off .5 stars because of how heteronormative the story was, with all the males trying to find a female within their groups to "hook up" with. Someone pointed out that was a unrealistic that everyone was so heteronormative, and I agree
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.5/5 Stars
💬: “You don’t look that threatening. Just … very different.”
“Different is threatening to most species,” Nikanj answered. “Different is dangerous. It might kill you. That was true to your animal ancestors and your nearest animal relatives. And it’s true for you.”
Butler, Octavia E.. Dawn (The Xenogenesis Trilogy Book 1) (p. 211). Open Road Media. Kindle Edition.
📖Genres: sci-fi, dystopia, post-apocalyptic, aliens, horror, speculative fiction
📚Page Count: 248
🎧Audiobook Length: 09h 20min
👩🏾🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 - 4.5/5
----
Dawn by Octavia E. Butler is my first finished read of 2023! It was my first time reading this piece of work, and I really enjoyed it.
I have a phobia of aliens, which I've mentioned in the past. I was very creeped out going into this book, but I couldn't put the book down once I started (I finished it in two days!)
This book explores themes of gender, society, humanity - and what that means, sexuality, and I'm sure I'm missing some.
I enjoyed the world building. <spoiler>The aliens and the ship were all so creatively designed.</spoiler> This story just had so many great working parts, and it all came together to make a creepy but wonderfully written story.
I knocked off .5 stars because of how heteronormative the story was, with all the males trying to find a female within their groups to "hook up" with. Someone pointed out that was a unrealistic that everyone was so heteronormative, and I agree
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.5/5 Stars
💬: “You don’t look that threatening. Just … very different.”
“Different is threatening to most species,” Nikanj answered. “Different is dangerous. It might kill you. That was true to your animal ancestors and your nearest animal relatives. And it’s true for you.”
Butler, Octavia E.. Dawn (The Xenogenesis Trilogy Book 1) (p. 211). Open Road Media. Kindle Edition.
📖Genres: sci-fi, dystopia, post-apocalyptic, aliens, horror, speculative fiction
📚Page Count: 248
🎧Audiobook Length: 09h 20min
👩🏾🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 - 4.5/5
----
Dawn by Octavia E. Butler is my first finished read of 2023! It was my first time reading this piece of work, and I really enjoyed it.
I have a phobia of aliens, which I've mentioned in the past. I was very creeped out going into this book, but I couldn't put the book down once I started (I finished it in two days!)
This book explores themes of gender, society, humanity - and what that means, sexuality, and I'm sure I'm missing some.
I enjoyed the world building. <spoiler>The aliens and the ship were all so creatively designed.</spoiler> This story just had so many great working parts, and it all came together to make a creepy but wonderfully written story.
I knocked off .5 stars because of how heteronormative the story was, with all the males trying to find a female within their groups to "hook up" with. Someone pointed out that was a unrealistic that everyone was so heteronormative, and I agree
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.5/5 Stars
💬: "The thought has the corners of my mouth twitching in the makings of a carefully repressed smile and just like that, hate slips so easily away. Love weighs so much less. Nothing at all. It is pure buoyancy."
Stephens, Elizabeth. Taken to Nobu: A SciFi Alien Romance (Xiveri Mates Book 2) (p. 294). Kindle Edition.
📖Genres: romance, sci-fi, sci-fi romance, aliens, fantasy romance
📚Page Count: 358
🎧Audiobook Length: 09h 15min
👩🏾🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 - 4.5/5
----
TW - <spoiler>Body horror, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail</spoiler>
*I read this story because it was recommended by romance author, Katee Roberts*
Taken to Nobu by Elizabeth Stephens is the second book in the Xiveri Mates series. Kiki is on Nobu, a snow consumed planet, where she's stuck with no escape. The leader of the colony that she's on is Va'Raku and he claims that she is his Xiveri mate. She isn't sure what that is but she wants no part in mating with an alien and she definitely doesn't want to participate in "The Hunt", an event where she will be tracked and hunted with little to no options to save herself from the mating event. She knows one thing for sure, she's going to fight anyone who tries to touch her. Va'Raku knows that Kiki hates him but he also knows that she is without a doubt, his Xiveri mate, he's determined to win her over during "The Hunt" so she'll finally be his mate and rule the colony beside him. He's never met a warrior woman like her and while impressed, he suddenly realizes that Kiki is fighting him out of fear and not out of honor. Kiki has been hurt by an alien before and Va'Raku is willing to do anything to make that man pay, will Kiki trust Va'Raku enough to help get her revenge?
(TW - mention of sexual assault, rape, grey sexual consent lines)
I enjoyed this book as much, if not more than the first book in the series. The main character, Kiki, is a character we followed at the beginning of book one briefly, in this book we finally get to read about what happened to her after the events of book one. Kiki is a sexual assault survivor (the events are not shown on page, as they happened before the events of the first book, they are just referred to) and so at the beginning of the book when she gets the news that she'll be participating in "The Hunt" (where alien men chase and pursue woman so they can find their mates and produce children while fostering a relationship.) She goes into defense mode, she doesn't want to be forced to mate an alien against her will so she decides to fight. After defeating a few of these alien men, eventually, Kiki meets Va'Raku and Kiki's body and soul decide that they want Va'Raku (like fated mates, sort of). Kiki then changes her "No, I don't want to be touched" to a "Yes, touch me now Va'Raku".
I really enjoyed the narrators of this audiobook, just like I enjoyed the narrators of the first book in the Xiveri Mates series. Blaire Leblanc returns to voice Kiki and some of the other characters and she does a fantastic job, just like she did with the first book. Marquis De Sade voices Va'Raku and he does a really good job as well. This audiobook was published by Vitruvian Sound and overall, they did a nice job.
All but one of the spicy scenes were nice and enjoyable to read/listen to on audiobook. The first scene where the couple are together intimately for the first time is hard to judge because there is a misunderstanding between the Kiki and Va'Raku because of cultural differences. <spoiler>At first Kiki is determined to not be physically intimate with anyone, even though she is being perused by several alien men in "The Hunt". That changes when she meets Va'Raku. </spoiler> The rest of the spicy scenes were wonderful. I'm giving the spicy scenes three point five chilies 🌶️🌶️🌶️.5 out of five chilies
Overall, I think this story was really enjoyable. I did have issues with the one part in the book that depicted "grey or blurred consent lines", but other than that issue, it was mostly good. I enjoyed most of the characters, in fact, there were only two characters (out of a cast of about 10 main and background characters) that I didn't like. I also enjoyed the growing romance between Kiki and Va'Raku. I'm giving this 4.5 out of 5 stars.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4.5/5 Stars
I listened to this audiobook for free on [Libbyapp.com]
💬: "The thought has the corners of my mouth twitching in the makings of a carefully repressed smile and just like that, hate slips so easily away. Love weighs so much less. Nothing at all. It is pure buoyancy."
Stephens, Elizabeth. Taken to Nobu: A SciFi Alien Romance (Xiveri Mates Book 2) (p. 294). Kindle Edition.
📖Genres: romance, sci-fi, sci-fi romance, aliens, fantasy romance
📚Page Count: 358
🎧Audiobook Length: 09h 15min
👩🏾🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 - 4.5/5
----
TW - <spoiler>Body horror, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail</spoiler>
*I read this story because it was recommended by romance author, Katee Roberts*
Taken to Nobu by Elizabeth Stephens is the second book in the Xiveri Mates series. Kiki is on Nobu, a snow consumed planet, where she's stuck with no escape. The leader of the colony that she's on is Va'Raku and he claims that she is his Xiveri mate. She isn't sure what that is but she wants no part in mating with an alien and she definitely doesn't want to participate in "The Hunt", an event where she will be tracked and hunted with little to no options to save herself from the mating event. She knows one thing for sure, she's going to fight anyone who tries to touch her. Va'Raku knows that Kiki hates him but he also knows that she is without a doubt, his Xiveri mate, he's determined to win her over during "The Hunt" so she'll finally be his mate and rule the colony beside him. He's never met a warrior woman like her and while impressed, he suddenly realizes that Kiki is fighting him out of fear and not out of honor. Kiki has been hurt by an alien before and Va'Raku is willing to do anything to make that man pay, will Kiki trust Va'Raku enough to help get her revenge?
(TW - mention of sexual assault, rape, grey sexual consent lines)
I enjoyed this book as much, if not more than the first book in the series. The main character, Kiki, is a character we followed at the beginning of book one briefly, in this book we finally get to read about what happened to her after the events of book one. Kiki is a sexual assault survivor (the events are not shown on page, as they happened before the events of the first book, they are just referred to) and so at the beginning of the book when she gets the news that she'll be participating in "The Hunt" (where alien men chase and pursue woman so they can find their mates and produce children while fostering a relationship.) She goes into defense mode, she doesn't want to be forced to mate an alien against her will so she decides to fight. After defeating a few of these alien men, eventually, Kiki meets Va'Raku and Kiki's body and soul decide that they want Va'Raku (like fated mates, sort of). Kiki then changes her "No, I don't want to be touched" to a "Yes, touch me now Va'Raku".
I really enjoyed the narrators of this audiobook, just like I enjoyed the narrators of the first book in the Xiveri Mates series. Blaire Leblanc returns to voice Kiki and some of the other characters and she does a fantastic job, just like she did with the first book. Marquis De Sade voices Va'Raku and he does a really good job as well. This audiobook was published by Vitruvian Sound and overall, they did a nice job.
All but one of the spicy scenes were nice and enjoyable to read/listen to on audiobook. The first scene where the couple are together intimately for the first time is hard to judge because there is a misunderstanding between the Kiki and Va'Raku because of cultural differences. <spoiler>At first Kiki is determined to not be physically intimate with anyone, even though she is being perused by several alien men in "The Hunt". That changes when she meets Va'Raku. </spoiler> The rest of the spicy scenes were wonderful. I'm giving the spicy scenes three point five chilies 🌶️🌶️🌶️.5 out of five chilies
Overall, I think this story was really enjoyable. I did have issues with the one part in the book that depicted "grey or blurred consent lines", but other than that issue, it was mostly good. I enjoyed most of the characters, in fact, there were only two characters (out of a cast of about 10 main and background characters) that I didn't like. I also enjoyed the growing romance between Kiki and Va'Raku. I'm giving this 4.5 out of 5 stars.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4.5/5 Stars
I listened to this audiobook for free on [Libbyapp.com]
💬: "“I would take anything she chose to give me—the tiniest fraction or her entire world. I would take her for a single night knowing that I’ll lose her by morning, and I would hold on to her and never let go. I would take her healthy, or sick, or tired, or angry, or strong, and it would be my fucking privilege. I would take her problems, her gifts, her moods, her passions, her jokes, her body—I would take every last thing, if she chose to give it to me.”
Hazelwood, Ali. Bride (pp. 201-202). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
📖Genres: adult, spicy, romance, paranormal, paranormal romance, urban fantasy
📚Page Count: 402
🎧Audiobook Length: 12h 47min
👩🏾🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 - 4.5/5
----
TW - <spoiler>Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail</spoiler>
Bride by Ali Hazelwood is a paranormal romance about a Vampyre named Misery who is sent to be in an arranged marriage to an Alpha wolf named Lowe. Misery doesn't just agree to the arranged marriage only to ensure continued peace between the Vampyres and Weres, she also does it because she's determined to get back what's been taken from her. Even if that means being the only Vampyre in Were territory.
I've never read anything by Ali Hazelwood until now and I'm pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book! I think it started a little slow and the world building felt a bit jarring at first because the setting is not exactly explained until around 25% of the way through the book (if I remember correctly). I was feeling very impatient during the first 25% of the way through and the main reason why I continued the book is because it was a buddy read between myself and a best friend. I'm so happy I convinced myself to finish it. I'm not big on political romance stories but this hooked me in once I hit that 25% mark. I think it also helps that this book unfolds into somewhat of a mystery on top of all the politics, romance, and the "enemies to lovers" themes.
I want give this book five stars but there were two things I didn't like. I only liked the first half of the last spicy scene, I didn't like what happened after the stuff I liked (LOL 😂😂). Another thing I didn't like was how the "enemies to lovers" trope was really based on a continual misunderstanding. I honestly don't think this book is "enemies to lovers" at all.
I don't want to spoil anything so I'll just say that the spicy scenes were enjoyable in some parts and then they became "interesting" in other parts. I'll say that I've never read an intimate scene like the last scene, but I'm very hopeful that it'll be the last I read of it's kind. I'm giving it three chilies 🌶️🌶️🌶️ out of five chilies.
"Bride" is my first Ali Hazelwood book and I was not disappointed, I really enjoyed this book and it was honestly so fun to read. I'm giving this book 4.5 stars out of 5.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 - 4.5/5 Stars
I listened to this for free on the library app [Libbyapp.com]
💬: "“I would take anything she chose to give me—the tiniest fraction or her entire world. I would take her for a single night knowing that I’ll lose her by morning, and I would hold on to her and never let go. I would take her healthy, or sick, or tired, or angry, or strong, and it would be my fucking privilege. I would take her problems, her gifts, her moods, her passions, her jokes, her body—I would take every last thing, if she chose to give it to me.”
Hazelwood, Ali. Bride (pp. 201-202). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
📖Genres: adult, spicy, romance, paranormal, paranormal romance, urban fantasy
📚Page Count: 402
🎧Audiobook Length: 12h 47min
👩🏾🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 - 4.5/5
----
TW - <spoiler>Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail</spoiler>
Bride by Ali Hazelwood is a paranormal romance about a Vampyre named Misery who is sent to be in an arranged marriage to an Alpha wolf named Lowe. Misery doesn't just agree to the arranged marriage only to ensure continued peace between the Vampyres and Weres, she also does it because she's determined to get back what's been taken from her. Even if that means being the only Vampyre in Were territory.
I've never read anything by Ali Hazelwood until now and I'm pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book! I think it started a little slow and the world building felt a bit jarring at first because the setting is not exactly explained until around 25% of the way through the book (if I remember correctly). I was feeling very impatient during the first 25% of the way through and the main reason why I continued the book is because it was a buddy read between myself and a best friend. I'm so happy I convinced myself to finish it. I'm not big on political romance stories but this hooked me in once I hit that 25% mark. I think it also helps that this book unfolds into somewhat of a mystery on top of all the politics, romance, and the "enemies to lovers" themes.
I want give this book five stars but there were two things I didn't like. I only liked the first half of the last spicy scene, I didn't like what happened after the stuff I liked (LOL 😂😂). Another thing I didn't like was how the "enemies to lovers" trope was really based on a continual misunderstanding. I honestly don't think this book is "enemies to lovers" at all.
I don't want to spoil anything so I'll just say that the spicy scenes were enjoyable in some parts and then they became "interesting" in other parts. I'll say that I've never read an intimate scene like the last scene, but I'm very hopeful that it'll be the last I read of it's kind. I'm giving it three chilies 🌶️🌶️🌶️ out of five chilies.
"Bride" is my first Ali Hazelwood book and I was not disappointed, I really enjoyed this book and it was honestly so fun to read. I'm giving this book 4.5 stars out of 5.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 - 4.5/5 Stars
I listened to this for free on the library app [Libbyapp.com]
💬: ““Fruitless obsession will lead you to your grave, Canto,” he muttered, repeating words his grandmother had said to him. Ena had also added: “Mercants have a gift for obsession. It’s led to prison sentences, epic heroism, great works of art, and madhouses. Choose your path.”
Singh, Nalini. Last Guard (Psy-Changeling Trinity Book 5) (p. 14). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
📖Genres: paranormal romance, romance, urban fantasy, adult
📚Page Count: 371
🎧Audiobook Length: 10h 52min
👩🏾🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5
----
TW - <spoiler>Ableism, Cancer, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Physical abuse, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail</spoiler>
Last Guard is the 20th book in the Psy/Changeling series and 5th in the Psy/Changeling Trinity series both by Nalini Singh. Payal Rao is the CEO of a major company as well as a cardinal telekinetic and an Anchor (a Psy designation of people working together to stop the PsyNet from collapsing) . She's calm, collected, and mostly emotionless. Canto Merchant is the head of intel for the influential Merchant family, he's an Anchor who's been deemed "damaged" because of a spinal injury he endured as a child. Payal and Canto need to work together, to save the Psy/Net but this isn't the first time they've had to work together. Both of them are still hurting from their intertwined dark past. Will they be able to save the PsyNet and possibly the love that they develop for each other?
This was an okay read, I didn't hate it and I didn't love it. I will say that this is one of the most boring Psy/Changeling novels I've read. I enjoyed Canto and Payal's romance towards the end but the journey of getting there felt long. There wasn't much that was memorable about this book to be honest.
The spice in this was okay, it wasn't really memorable, though I did like the depiction of a physically disabled person being intimate with their partner because we don't see that a lot in media. I'm giving it two point five chilies 🌶️🌶️.5 out of five chilies
Overall, I think Last Guard was just okay. The book felt like it was a little longer than it needed to be, I actually found this to be one of the most boring Psy/Changeling novels. Though I did appreciate the fact that we finally got a romance or relationship between two Psys, the book was just not as exciting as the previous one that came before it (Alpha Night). I'm giving this 3 stars out of 5 stars.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5 Stars
I listened to this for free on the library app [HooplaDigital.com]
💬: ““Fruitless obsession will lead you to your grave, Canto,” he muttered, repeating words his grandmother had said to him. Ena had also added: “Mercants have a gift for obsession. It’s led to prison sentences, epic heroism, great works of art, and madhouses. Choose your path.”
Singh, Nalini. Last Guard (Psy-Changeling Trinity Book 5) (p. 14). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
📖Genres: paranormal romance, romance, urban fantasy, adult
📚Page Count: 371
🎧Audiobook Length: 10h 52min
👩🏾🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5
----
TW - <spoiler>Ableism, Cancer, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Physical abuse, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail</spoiler>
Last Guard is the 20th book in the Psy/Changeling series and 5th in the Psy/Changeling Trinity series both by Nalini Singh. Payal Rao is the CEO of a major company as well as a cardinal telekinetic and an Anchor (a Psy designation of people working together to stop the PsyNet from collapsing) . She's calm, collected, and mostly emotionless. Canto Merchant is the head of intel for the influential Merchant family, he's an Anchor who's been deemed "damaged" because of a spinal injury he endured as a child. Payal and Canto need to work together, to save the Psy/Net but this isn't the first time they've had to work together. Both of them are still hurting from their intertwined dark past. Will they be able to save the PsyNet and possibly the love that they develop for each other?
This was an okay read, I didn't hate it and I didn't love it. I will say that this is one of the most boring Psy/Changeling novels I've read. I enjoyed Canto and Payal's romance towards the end but the journey of getting there felt long. There wasn't much that was memorable about this book to be honest.
The spice in this was okay, it wasn't really memorable, though I did like the depiction of a physically disabled person being intimate with their partner because we don't see that a lot in media. I'm giving it two point five chilies 🌶️🌶️.5 out of five chilies
Overall, I think Last Guard was just okay. The book felt like it was a little longer than it needed to be, I actually found this to be one of the most boring Psy/Changeling novels. Though I did appreciate the fact that we finally got a romance or relationship between two Psys, the book was just not as exciting as the previous one that came before it (Alpha Night). I'm giving this 3 stars out of 5 stars.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5 Stars
I listened to this for free on the library app [HooplaDigital.com]
💬: "Perhaps the moths knew what he didn’t, that the joy of the flame was worth the price of destruction. He intended to find out.
Frost, Jeaniene. Eternal Kiss of Darkness (Night Huntress World Book 2) (p. 199). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.
📖Genres: romance, paranormal romance, paranormal, supernatural, urban fantasy
📚Page Count: 375
🎧Audiobook Length: 10h 24min
👩🏾🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 - 4.5/5
----
TW - <spoiler>Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Sexual assault, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail</spoiler>
Eternal Kiss of Darkness is the second book in the "Night Huntress" spin-off series, "Night Huntress World" both by Jeaniene Frost. Kira Graceling, a private investigator, hears sounds of pain coming from around the corner while she was walking home from work. Kira does what any upstanding citizen would do and she checks on the person who's been hurt. Mencheres is a master vampire and he isn't sure what to do about the human who just risked her life to save him. He finds himself drawn to her. In the end, Mencheres must choose the woman he's fascinated by or the darkest magic that he needs to defeat an enemy that threatens to eternally damn him.
At first I was apprehensive because I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy a book about Mencheres but this book only disappointed me once (more on that below). Mencheres' and Kira's relationship really worked for me. There was a little miscommunication and that usually bothers me in books but the book was so good that I just let it play out and I ended up liking the book overall.
I really don't like the constant threat of sexual assault that the female characters have to endure every book, it seems. For some reason Frost keeps adding elements of sexual assault and misogyny in her stories and that really ruins parts of the book for me. To further explain this specific example,<spoiler>in this instance there is a young 16 year old girl and a vampire "pimp" has forced her to do sex work and start stripping. </spoiler> This could have been left out or changed to something else, we don't need to see female characters threated with sexual assault by the people who are supposed to be the bad guys. We get it, they're bad guys.
I really enjoyed the spicy scenes in this book, they were so good. I think I just really enjoy the way Frost writes intimate scenes. I'm giving the spicy scenes four chilies 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ out of five chilies
Overall, "Eternal Kiss of Darkness" was really entertaining just like the first book in the "Night Huntress World" series, "First Drop of Crimson". I liked this book's female protagonist way more than I liked the female protagonist in the first book so this was even more fun to read than the first book in the series. Mencheres and Kira really worked together as a couple for me and reading about them was thrilling, heart wrenching, and just amazing. I'm giving this 4.5 out of 5 stars.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 - 4.5/5 Stars
I listened to this audiobook for free on [Libbyapp.com]
💬: "Perhaps the moths knew what he didn’t, that the joy of the flame was worth the price of destruction. He intended to find out.
Frost, Jeaniene. Eternal Kiss of Darkness (Night Huntress World Book 2) (p. 199). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.
📖Genres: romance, paranormal romance, paranormal, supernatural, urban fantasy
📚Page Count: 375
🎧Audiobook Length: 10h 24min
👩🏾🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 - 4.5/5
----
TW - <spoiler>Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Sexual assault, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail</spoiler>
Eternal Kiss of Darkness is the second book in the "Night Huntress" spin-off series, "Night Huntress World" both by Jeaniene Frost. Kira Graceling, a private investigator, hears sounds of pain coming from around the corner while she was walking home from work. Kira does what any upstanding citizen would do and she checks on the person who's been hurt. Mencheres is a master vampire and he isn't sure what to do about the human who just risked her life to save him. He finds himself drawn to her. In the end, Mencheres must choose the woman he's fascinated by or the darkest magic that he needs to defeat an enemy that threatens to eternally damn him.
At first I was apprehensive because I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy a book about Mencheres but this book only disappointed me once (more on that below). Mencheres' and Kira's relationship really worked for me. There was a little miscommunication and that usually bothers me in books but the book was so good that I just let it play out and I ended up liking the book overall.
I really don't like the constant threat of sexual assault that the female characters have to endure every book, it seems. For some reason Frost keeps adding elements of sexual assault and misogyny in her stories and that really ruins parts of the book for me. To further explain this specific example,<spoiler>in this instance there is a young 16 year old girl and a vampire "pimp" has forced her to do sex work and start stripping. </spoiler> This could have been left out or changed to something else, we don't need to see female characters threated with sexual assault by the people who are supposed to be the bad guys. We get it, they're bad guys.
I really enjoyed the spicy scenes in this book, they were so good. I think I just really enjoy the way Frost writes intimate scenes. I'm giving the spicy scenes four chilies 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ out of five chilies
Overall, "Eternal Kiss of Darkness" was really entertaining just like the first book in the "Night Huntress World" series, "First Drop of Crimson". I liked this book's female protagonist way more than I liked the female protagonist in the first book so this was even more fun to read than the first book in the series. Mencheres and Kira really worked together as a couple for me and reading about them was thrilling, heart wrenching, and just amazing. I'm giving this 4.5 out of 5 stars.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 - 4.5/5 Stars
I listened to this audiobook for free on [Libbyapp.com]
💬: "Perhaps the moths knew what he didn’t, that the joy of the flame was worth the price of destruction. He intended to find out.
Frost, Jeaniene. Eternal Kiss of Darkness (Night Huntress World Book 2) (p. 199). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.
📖Genres: romance, paranormal romance, paranormal, supernatural, urban fantasy
📚Page Count: 375
🎧Audiobook Length: 10h 24min
👩🏾🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 - 4.5/5
----
TW - <spoiler>Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Sexual assault, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail</spoiler>
Eternal Kiss of Darkness is the second book in the "Night Huntress" spin-off series, "Night Huntress World" both by Jeaniene Frost. Kira Graceling, a private investigator, hears sounds of pain coming from around the corner while she was walking home from work. Kira does what any upstanding citizen would do and she checks on the person who's been hurt. Mencheres is a master vampire and he isn't sure what to do about the human who just risked her life to save him. He finds himself drawn to her. In the end, Mencheres must choose the woman he's fascinated by or the darkest magic that he needs to defeat an enemy that threatens to eternally damn him.
At first I was apprehensive because I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy a book about Mencheres but this book only disappointed me once (more on that below). Mencheres' and Kira's relationship really worked for me. There was a little miscommunication and that usually bothers me in books but the book was so good that I just let it play out and I ended up liking the book overall.
I really don't like the constant threat of sexual assault that the female characters have to endure every book, it seems. For some reason Frost keeps adding elements of sexual assault and misogyny in her stories and that really ruins parts of the book for me. To further explain this specific example,<spoiler>in this instance there is a young 16 year old girl and a vampire "pimp" has forced her to do sex work and start stripping. </spoiler> This could have been left out or changed to something else, we don't need to see female characters threated with sexual assault by the people who are supposed to be the bad guys. We get it, they're bad guys.
I really enjoyed the spicy scenes in this book, they were so good. I think I just really enjoy the way Frost writes intimate scenes. I'm giving the spicy scenes four chilies 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ out of five chilies
Overall, "Eternal Kiss of Darkness" was really entertaining just like the first book in the "Night Huntress World" series, "First Drop of Crimson". I liked this book's female protagonist way more than I liked the female protagonist in the first book so this was even more fun to read than the first book in the series. Mencheres and Kira really worked together as a couple for me and reading about them was thrilling, heart wrenching, and just amazing. I'm giving this 4.5 out of 5 stars.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 - 4.5/5 Stars
I listened to this audiobook for free on [Libbyapp.com]
💬: "Perhaps the moths knew what he didn’t, that the joy of the flame was worth the price of destruction. He intended to find out.
Frost, Jeaniene. Eternal Kiss of Darkness (Night Huntress World Book 2) (p. 199). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.
📖Genres: romance, paranormal romance, paranormal, supernatural, urban fantasy
📚Page Count: 375
🎧Audiobook Length: 10h 24min
👩🏾🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 - 4.5/5
----
TW - <spoiler>Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Sexual assault, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail</spoiler>
Eternal Kiss of Darkness is the second book in the "Night Huntress" spin-off series, "Night Huntress World" both by Jeaniene Frost. Kira Graceling, a private investigator, hears sounds of pain coming from around the corner while she was walking home from work. Kira does what any upstanding citizen would do and she checks on the person who's been hurt. Mencheres is a master vampire and he isn't sure what to do about the human who just risked her life to save him. He finds himself drawn to her. In the end, Mencheres must choose the woman he's fascinated by or the darkest magic that he needs to defeat an enemy that threatens to eternally damn him.
At first I was apprehensive because I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy a book about Mencheres but this book only disappointed me once (more on that below). Mencheres' and Kira's relationship really worked for me. There was a little miscommunication and that usually bothers me in books but the book was so good that I just let it play out and I ended up liking the book overall.
I really don't like the constant threat of sexual assault that the female characters have to endure every book, it seems. For some reason Frost keeps adding elements of sexual assault and misogyny in her stories and that really ruins parts of the book for me. To further explain this specific example,<spoiler>in this instance there is a young 16 year old girl and a vampire "pimp" has forced her to do sex work and start stripping. </spoiler> This could have been left out or changed to something else, we don't need to see female characters threated with sexual assault by the people who are supposed to be the bad guys. We get it, they're bad guys.
I really enjoyed the spicy scenes in this book, they were so good. I think I just really enjoy the way Frost writes intimate scenes. I'm giving the spicy scenes four chilies 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ out of five chilies
Overall, "Eternal Kiss of Darkness" was really entertaining just like the first book in the "Night Huntress World" series, "First Drop of Crimson". I liked this book's female protagonist way more than I liked the female protagonist in the first book so this was even more fun to read than the first book in the series. Mencheres and Kira really worked together as a couple for me and reading about them was thrilling, heart wrenching, and just amazing. I'm giving this 4.5 out of 5 stars.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 - 4.5/5 Stars
I listened to this audiobook for free on [Libbyapp.com]
💬: ““Fruitless obsession will lead you to your grave, Canto,” he muttered, repeating words his grandmother had said to him. Ena had also added: “Mercants have a gift for obsession. It’s led to prison sentences, epic heroism, great works of art, and madhouses. Choose your path.”
Singh, Nalini. Last Guard (Psy-Changeling Trinity Book 5) (p. 14). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
📖Genres: paranormal romance, romance, urban fantasy, adult
📚Page Count: 371
🎧Audiobook Length: 10h 52min
👩🏾🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5
----
TW - <spoiler>Ableism, Cancer, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Physical abuse, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail</spoiler>
Last Guard is the 20th book in the Psy/Changeling series and 5th in the Psy/Changeling Trinity series both by Nalini Singh. Payal Rao is the CEO of a major company as well as a cardinal telekinetic and an Anchor (a Psy designation of people working together to stop the PsyNet from collapsing) . She's calm, collected, and mostly emotionless. Canto Merchant is the head of intel for the influential Merchant family, he's an Anchor who's been deemed "damaged" because of a spinal injury he endured as a child. Payal and Canto need to work together, to save the Psy/Net but this isn't the first time they've had to work together. Both of them are still hurting from their intertwined dark past. Will they be able to save the PsyNet and possibly the love that they develop for each other?
This was an okay read, I didn't hate it and I didn't love it. I will say that this is one of the most boring Psy/Changeling novels I've read. I enjoyed Canto and Payal's romance towards the end but the journey of getting there felt long. There wasn't much that was memorable about this book to be honest.
The spice in this was okay, it wasn't really memorable, though I did like the depiction of a physically disabled person being intimate with their partner because we don't see that a lot in media. I'm giving it two point five chilies 🌶️🌶️.5 out of five chilies
Overall, I think Last Guard was just okay. The book felt like it was a little longer than it needed to be, I actually found this to be one of the most boring Psy/Changeling novels. Though I did appreciate the fact that we finally got a romance or relationship between two Psys, the book was just not as exciting as the previous one that came before it (Alpha Night). I'm giving this 3 stars out of 5 stars.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5 Stars
I listened to this for free on the library app [HooplaDigital.com]
💬: ““Fruitless obsession will lead you to your grave, Canto,” he muttered, repeating words his grandmother had said to him. Ena had also added: “Mercants have a gift for obsession. It’s led to prison sentences, epic heroism, great works of art, and madhouses. Choose your path.”
Singh, Nalini. Last Guard (Psy-Changeling Trinity Book 5) (p. 14). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
📖Genres: paranormal romance, romance, urban fantasy, adult
📚Page Count: 371
🎧Audiobook Length: 10h 52min
👩🏾🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5
----
TW - <spoiler>Ableism, Cancer, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Physical abuse, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail</spoiler>
Last Guard is the 20th book in the Psy/Changeling series and 5th in the Psy/Changeling Trinity series both by Nalini Singh. Payal Rao is the CEO of a major company as well as a cardinal telekinetic and an Anchor (a Psy designation of people working together to stop the PsyNet from collapsing) . She's calm, collected, and mostly emotionless. Canto Merchant is the head of intel for the influential Merchant family, he's an Anchor who's been deemed "damaged" because of a spinal injury he endured as a child. Payal and Canto need to work together, to save the Psy/Net but this isn't the first time they've had to work together. Both of them are still hurting from their intertwined dark past. Will they be able to save the PsyNet and possibly the love that they develop for each other?
This was an okay read, I didn't hate it and I didn't love it. I will say that this is one of the most boring Psy/Changeling novels I've read. I enjoyed Canto and Payal's romance towards the end but the journey of getting there felt long. There wasn't much that was memorable about this book to be honest.
The spice in this was okay, it wasn't really memorable, though I did like the depiction of a physically disabled person being intimate with their partner because we don't see that a lot in media. I'm giving it two point five chilies 🌶️🌶️.5 out of five chilies
Overall, I think Last Guard was just okay. The book felt like it was a little longer than it needed to be, I actually found this to be one of the most boring Psy/Changeling novels. Though I did appreciate the fact that we finally got a romance or relationship between two Psys, the book was just not as exciting as the previous one that came before it (Alpha Night). I'm giving this 3 stars out of 5 stars.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5 Stars
I listened to this for free on the library app [HooplaDigital.com]