Danielle
It takes great talent to have me looking like this while reading the first chapter. I kid you not, I sobbed for young Tempest. It started of so well. I was willing to rally up the troops and go to war for her. It had all the makings for a 5 star book. I was bouncing in my seat with excitement, when it started to make a turn for the worse. The author, writing in the third person, kept using Tempest's name too often, instead of replacing it with ‘she' or rephrasing the sentence to help with the flow of the story. I kept tripping over “Tempest this,” “Tempest that” and “but Tempest.” Soon I was all fed up with poor Tempest. Other reasons that influenced my low rating: 1) Tempest was rather slow. I get it she's young, barely 18. If you give me a character who does not listen to ANYONE (even her mentors) and who makes reckless decisions out of ignorance and arrogance, AT LEAST have her be quick on the up take. In other words, realise that the King (a forty year old) who tries to force her into a sexual relationship (after he failed to kill her) might be a manipulative liar, and the people who are treating her well and nursing her wounds, honest. I know it seems far fetched, bizarre even.It takes Tempest the WHOLE BOOK to even consider this. There were some scenes were I cringed, her unwavering belief in her king made her unsympathetic to the pain and suffering of her ‘so called' enemies. 2) Nothing really happens I was expecting a quest, danger, awesome fighting scenes and a bad ass heroine who reminds me of Yelena in [b:Poison Study 60510 Poison Study (Study, #1) Maria V. Snyder https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388519019l/60510.SY75.jpg 1180409]. What I got was a heroine who acts before she thinks, who is slightly over confident in her fighting skills and who is consumed with judgmental prejudice. She's also under house arrest for a long period of the book. So we have a few scenes that goes like this:In terms of plot, the main focus is not evil schemes and action driven scenes, but Tempest's actions and self realisation (of the latter, I am not entirely convinced). 3) Little to no ‘enemies-to-lovers' Mostly cuz the heroine lives in her own ignorant world and cannot see WHAT IS RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER. Moving on.This book has a lot of potential and I am sad that it did not live up to the expectations I had.
Really liked the book until the ending :/ the last chapter was way too rushed to do the heroine and her feelings justice. I would have appreciated if the author added a few more chapters in the end to make the ending more gradual. The book rating went from a 4 to a 2.7 stars.
Plot wise it kept me on my toes and relationship between the different characters was wonderful to read.
Utterly disappointing.
This book left me with a bad taste and serious trust issues. The Ethan in book 1 is completely different from book 3. He was badass in book 1, and here he's just plain psycho. He went from dark hero (evil, but love able) to villain - I want him DEAD!!. The only way to redeem this series: Ivy never died, but comes back to destroys him and C. Dona can be the new mob boss.
I just want Ethan dead and cremated, while C rot in hell. The End.
The book was interesting till I came to the part where the hero (who is a professor) casually admits to having slept with HIS students.
“I have no idea why, but I decided to embellish the last rumor to satisfy my own curiosity. “You're married and you almost got fired for sleeping with your students.”
The look on his face told me I'd hit a sore spot. Caine's jaw clenched, and his full lips thinned as they drew into a line. “Not married and stopped sleeping with my students after the first year.”
I crinkled my nose. “So you used to sleep with your students?”
“I was young and stupid. The first year I taught, I spent almost all of my time on campus. It was the only place I met people.”
“Ever hear of match.com?”
“Of course, wiseass. But people are rarely what they seem online.”
I scoffed. “Tell me about it.”
Caine raised an eyebrow. “Sounds like you know from experience.”
“Just last night in fact.”
“And...”
“And he only had one thing on his mind.”
“Sex?”
I nodded. “Men can be such assholes. No offense.”
I am sorry, WHAT?! Even after he confessed to sleeping with his students the conversation went on as if nothing happened. How is this okay ...
Me when I read a book by [a:Grace Draven 2759153 Grace Draven https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1318912237p2/2759153.jpg]:
The book was ruined for me when Blaire turned into a judgmental self righteous bitch. I hate her for how she spoke to and treated Ty when she found out about his past. She never once thought of Ty's pain or how he might have been the victim. Instead of feeling sorry for him - for what he had to endure - her pride was hurt and she set out to hurt him back. If he was still busy with the “side business” after they got together her anger would have been justified, but it was in his past!!
Her sister and bff's selfish and selfcentred behaviour also annoyed the crap out of me.
To say I was unprepared for Savage Urges would be an understatement. Having just finished [b:Phoenix Unbound 34817019 Phoenix Unbound (Fallen Empire, #1) Grace Draven https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1517466848l/34817019.SY75.jpg 56036570], I was prancing in a world where love is something that grows alongside trust and friendship . Passion is something that follows the feeling of companionship . Grace Draven is famous for her slow burn romances, where love interests are asked to look deeper than outward appearances. In one of her books, the two main characters enter into an arranged marriage where they are from two different species : human and kai. They find each other's appearances repulsive and dreadful. In short, something out of a horror movie. The two gems below are taken from [b:Radiance 24473763 Radiance (Wraith Kings, #1) Grace Draven https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1422721500l/24473763.SX50.jpg 40780371]: “You find me ugly, don't you?” “Hideous,” he said. “A hag of a woman.” and “You might have a face to turn my hair white, but your honesty is handsome.” Going from Draven to Wright was therefore a mistake on my part. [b:Savage Urges 28075868 Savage Urges (The Phoenix Pack, #5) Suzanne Wright https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1455668131l/28075868.SY75.jpg 48077660] started of strong in the first chapter where Makenna (our heroine) meets young Zac (the hero's distant family member). It was a sweet scene that immediately draws the reader in and testify of Wright amazing writing mojo. Where it went downhill for me, was the insta lust between Makenna and Ryan. A hot mouth was then at her ear. “Why are you following me?” It was a menacing rumble. And just like that, at the feel of his breath against her ear and the sound of his gravelly voice, lust slammed into her. The reaction was instant, elemental, and totally unwanted... Ruan still said nothing. “Are you going to let go of me now?” “No.” He circled his thumb over her throat again, increasing the buzz of arousal between her skin. As Ryan Conner released her and took a single step back, she turned to face him. Big black-flecked cognac eyes that held a hint of something wild met his steadily; they acted as a punch to his gut and heightened the oppressive, sexual need that struck him the moment he'd inhaled her scent. She was a pretty little thing ... The fact that she was a lone shifter should have dulled his arousal. They weren't to be trusted - it was a well-known fact. His cock didn't seem to care about that. Nor did the instinct to possess her that was whispering over Ryan like a sensual touch. The same need for her also rode his wolf. she was speaking to him as if their statuses were reversed. No, she was speaking to him as though their statuses meant nothing. He inhaled deeply, seeking patience. And instead filled his lungs with her scent. God, that fucking scent ... wildflowers, black cherries, and innately sensuality layered with a tint of arousal. He could almost taste it on his tongue. So she wasn't quite as unaffected to him as she seemed. “I'll be seeing you soon, Makenna.” Makena almost shivered. His words sounded more like a sensual threat than a good-bye. All of the above quotes were from the scene where they meet each other. I wish I could say the lust toned down in the next chapters, but it continued with great enthusiasm. Seemingly of their own accord, Ryan's eyes dropped to the sway of Makenna's hips as she led them up the path to the shelter. Her pert little ass made his wolf growl with need. I am an emotional reader. I can both love or hate one book depending on when I read it. Part of the misunderstanding came from the genres under which the book currently fall. Before starting with it, I checked to make sure it does not fall under erotica (mind you, I only checked the top 5 classifications).A big part of my reaction to the book is influenced by the fact that I read it at the wrong time. I was not prepared for the lustful daze of the main characters. Would I recommend it? Sure, if you like insta lust, alpha male, romances where the characters are constantly turned on. Then this book is for you.