trice

great start. in the beginning, we are introduced to Dominic and Vinkettin. mates who stand at opposing sides of a war, they already have an existing relationship and incredibly strong chemistry. imo the romance is the most developed aspect of the novel, with lots of communication, an unusual dynamic, and high heat. Vinkettin is definitely my favorite character - the one who patiently waited for Dominic.

however, idt this really fits the description of an enemies-to-lovers because although they are technically enemies, there is ultimately little actual opposition to Dominic and Vinkettin's relationship, by Dominic's pack or otherwise(yes there was unrest, but it was barely mentioned and they weren't even attacked because of their relationship. even after Dominic announced who his mate was, the pack just went back to feasting...). also, more background information on the war, the New World, and magical species would be nice since they were just mentioned quite briefly.

the plot was pretty intriguing, and the plot twist kind of took me by surprise. still, the proportion of action is smaller than the romance portion in this book, and the storyline wasn't wrapped up too well. i am still a bit confused about the true identity and motive of the lead villain. the role of witches is also slightly questionable in the end (they were supposed to be assisting the vampires but they didn't stop Vinkettin and Dominic?).

plus a bit of spelling mistakes but eh that's okay. a solid 4 stars.??

i received a copy of this book from GRR and this is my honest review.

i love how i'm reading this after Christmas...this is a relatively short and sweet holiday story. honestly i'd say it's a pretty decent book. nice romance, character growth for the dad. there's a slight bit of miscommunication, but that was resolved fairly peacefully. romance isn't the focal point here, since there's also themes of friendship and family.

some nitpicky stuff - i'm pretty sure chapter 23 the POV is supposed to be Aleks? just a typo though that can be easily fixed. the book only mentioned what CTE was caused by and what it's impact was(i thought CTE caused dementia :/); i only just realised CTE is a degenerative disease and a type of dementia when i googled it.??

the book is interesting, but i'm not sure that it'll be super memorable.??

surprisingly humorous?? just looking at the cover it looks like a normal mm grim, dark fantasy novella but its definitely not. lyn is dramatic and funny and colorful(literally and figuratively) while jamie is pessimistic and slightly insecure. there's an interesting mixture of grumpy x sunshine and demon x human but the demon is the ‘sunshine' character and i love it :DD (plus the bonus surprise of fated mates!!)??

the plot is pretty good and wrapped up nicely as well for a novella (cos most novellas i've read just have a really simple storyline and focuses more on the romance).??

pretty good. the characters are distinct - Tony is flirty and bold and brave, Eric is caring and a bit lonely and worn down. love the found family trope; Eric's students are quite endearing. there's a decent storyline, even if the villains are (intentionally?) obvious from the start. the plot is definitely unfinished though, and there's a cliffhanger-ish ending.??

the Venator and Huntsmen setting is unique and interesting, although i'm still rather confused about the purpose/identity of the Huntsmen. are they people who know of the supernaturals? are they the supernaturals? and each action scene honestly feels a bit repetitive - vampires ambush Eric & Co., someone gets injured, passes out, Britt heals them.??

but honestly the vibes are there, i want to know more, and i will definitely read the next book when it comes out without hesitation.??

Interesting premise. Some parts could have been edited out as the novel really is quite long. The slavery-for-education system is so flawed.??

this is probably my fav book out of the trilogy. i'd wondered about how the author would wrap up the story and it's a pretty perfect ending for parker and adam and the other side characters. the plot isn't shocking or anything; the romance remains sweet and charming. there's plenty of action, and parker does resolve the issues he has with some other characters(character growth??).??

this trilogy is so amazing and fun; i never thought i'd be able to read a gay zombie apocalypse of all things lmao. i'll def be exploring the author's other books.??

this is pretty good for a debut definitely. ngl there was some second hand embarrassment at first, but it got better and as the story rolled along so did the characters. this book is more about dealing with trauma; there's definitely some heavy stuff in it. it was really nice to see the character developments with Gray standing up for himself and Kent (so proud ahaha), and Kent, who i felt acted a bit like a prick at first but became less prick-y and became brave enough to face the tormentors from his past. even the side characters had depth - i did not expect Sarah. and honestly those nicknames were so cute - ‘half-pint' and ‘two-liter' :DD

the characters were a bit OTT and unrealistic though. Kent's mom and her friends were constantly so bubbly and energetic and their humor does not fit the style of middle-aged women. Rhonda plays pranks on her new coworker although she's in her mid-fifties. Kent and Gray are 38 and speak like people younger than their age. i'm not sure how realistic Kent's trauma is.

but honestly the writing and everything is generally sound, i don't usually read second-chance romances but this one was so sweet and wholesome.

i didnt like it at first cos it was so fast paced and Elic told a virtual stranger about his entire traumatic past after like a day?? but the communication is incredible ngl??

found this on webtoon and trawled the internet to find the original!! its probably time i reacquaint myself with a chi book anyway...

dudeeee this was so good. it's so refreshing to read something sweet and innocent since i've been reading explicit dark stuff lately...i digress. the romance is kinda angsty cos they got together at like the 9x chappies but there's still a reasonable amount of fluff and the plot is still pretty realistic. there's a couple of side plots (ngl the pacing of the side plots are a bit strange and sometimes obscured the main plotline) but they're also really sweet and realistic (especially ??????&??????).??

def character development as well; im so happy ?????? faced his fears and ?????? realizing he needs to step up and be more responsible. even the side characters developed - i was legit blinking back tears with ??????'s parents and ?????????'s grandpa ToT. plus most of the cast was supportive (like the roommates were so accepting of ??????'s sexuality while he was so anxious about being accepted - true friendship right there).??

the manhua is pretty humorous, there were some puns with a character's name(for chi readers: ?????????- ??????????????????????????????????????????????????? ????????????) and the author left some funny notes at the end of some chapters.??

i could not get enough of this manhua like i binged that 139 chapters in 2 days and i am so sad it's over. but now i've uncovered this educational treasure trove (improving my chinese while enabling me to read more bl) i will not give up. so now i'm off to count down (!! happy new year !!) and find something similar...??

i don't think i liked this as much as the first book. in comparison, the plot here is less fun, less adventurous, less development. sure, i still like the characters - parker, after the events of the first book, has gotten some justifiable trust issues. the side characters are sweet and probably the sole reason for plot development.

even then, the plot was kind of stagnant. parker and adam and the side characters basically tread water, gather supplies, and get injured most of the book. and have lots of sex(side note: that fisting scene was uhh questionable). and i feel like the author could have written more gradual change of mind going to Salvation Island for parker. parker's suspicions and caution was rooted in so deeply; it felt less believable that he would feel safe going to and staying in Salvation Island that quickly.??

3.5 stars. still gonna read that last book, if only to see adam and parker's hea; they def deserve it.??

honestly this book is kinda too short for me to do a long review on. first off, a lot of things happen. right off the bat things get crazy; jack and his friend chrys escape from their boss, there's someone chasing them, there's arson, a rich guy, following said rich guy, lots of escaping, and a whirlwind romance involved.??

it's definitely a bit much for a book not even a hundred pages; i'd probably bump this up like 1 - 1.5 stars if everything is expanded upon. the explanations of the motive and plans are brief, with some plot holes (why did lark have to get involved like his boss literally has so many other people hired). lark and jack's romance have potential, but it does seem quick especially since the first stages of their relationship was skimmed over.??

i do like the characters: chrys, who is such a staunch ally; jack, who is so beaten down by life you can't help feeling sorry for him; lark, who is so sweet and optimistic. it's just that the plot is wayyy too wild to be contain within so little pages.??

the first thing i thought when i started this: wattpad vibes (the ones that feel like its written by a 15 yo)the reason i thought this was because, well, the traumatized but unique and overpowered MC, the dialogue that sounds like it fits a middle/high-schooler's persona more (“dweeb”), the constant biting of lips etc.the characters were okay, kind of bland(plus Micah and Zeke have so much trauma but it's so easily brushed off). the romance wasn't really that slow paced, it honestly started earlier than halfway through(for Micah/Zeke/Hyde). the action portion of the plot was okay as well, it's nothing too surprising and didn't take up a lot of the chapters since the romance was the main focus. also, do the LI's have to get a hard-on every time they see Micah?

i've missed this. the feeling of reading a good action-packed dystopian romance. i love this. i love adam and parker, each with their own insecurities and struggles. i haven't really read a zombie apocalypse novel before, but now's a good time as any. this is one of the few good mm action romance book i've found honestly. great characters, thrilling plot, decent romance.

i'm ashamed to say i did not see adam's plot twist coming (i thought he was a vamp), and the i-love-you's came quicker than i expected/liked. another(maybe unpopular) opinion is that there are too. many. sex scenes. from 40% to around 60% it's almost nonstop. it kind of took away the main focus of escaping the zombies for me there.

this is an amazing series starter though :D love this!??

okay but the author can't let the ending just hang like this I NEED MORE ToT

4.5 stars

this is pretty impressive for a debut. i love the characters - the insecure Ander, the fiercely protective Sytri, and even creepy-vibes Vega. each character is written in depth and i especially like Sytri, who loves the sunlight and is trying to be a better person demon. quite some character growth too- i love seeing Ander become more confident throughout the book.

the romance is okay, not especially outstanding. i do love their relationship though because they have communication!! and Sytri is such a gentleman. the plot is unexpectedly and amazingly complex, with a few twists and turns. the ending is not bad per se, but many of the plot lines are quite obviously and deliberately left unfinished, leaving it very open for interpretation, so uncertain-ending haters would hate the last few pages lol.

i'd also say the worldbuilding is slightly lacking, because we're thrown into the dystopian world right at the start and the introduction to the different demons and angel types is brief and doesn't really elaborate on the variety of powers or whatever the demons and angels possess.

i rlly hope there's a sequel plz

This book was honestly incredible. The writing was so metaphorical, compelling and vivid and hauntingly beautiful, it was what drew me in and made me continue reading. The romance was interesting - a vampire struggling to find meaning after living for thousands of years, and an artist, brilliant in his talent yet battling a sever mental illness. I almost gave a five star but bumped down a star because

• the instalove (and the lube-less sex)
• the killer was obvious from the start
• Grace's history with Seth could have been explored more to further amplify her importance to Seth
• the atmosphere switched from ‘dark and terrifying' to ‘sweet and romantic' very quickly in some scenes and it was rather jarring
• the MC's backstories were quite vague (and Seth's history was important to the development of his character especially but it wasn't mentioned much except to show how many years he lived more than other people)

Bruce falsely accused Seth of murder and Seth nearly killed him and Fransisco

dark, morally grey, with a healthy dose of hurt/comfort and murder-plotting. even though the premise is all about revenge, the book contains quite a lot of sweet, romantic moments as well, which works oddly well together.

Rowan and Saint are definitely not a typical couple - they're kinda psychopathic and very unapologetic about their profession, and that's what makes this book and its characters memorable and fun to read. there's a fair amount of spice as well. the one thing i wouldn't love is the instalove Saint got, and it felt a bit improbable that Rowan would get over finding Saint's true identity as a hitman and his home invaderthat quickly.

A super cute read. There's relatively high angst in this book compared to the other novels in the series(they get together at around halfway through). It's the first poly in the universe and it was pretty well executed with the mishap about the mate stuff. A fun plot too, balanced between the romance and the fantasy aspect. We get to look more into the Sousa clan and the lightning dragons. And Luka, Amaru and Vasily are in a sweet and wholesome relationship. Not too much spice, but enough.

It's just that the way the characters behave is kind of ooc? like I understand the authors may want to make the book lighthearted and humorous by creating a playful, funny personalities but characters now act like they're in their twenties instead of being a couple of centuries old. Also Amaru's personality and actions ended up being really quite similar to previous characters like Nikki and Ravi - chaotic, loves explosions and coffee, mischievous - to the point that if they don't have names I wouldn't be able to tell them apart.

I'd still say it's a good book though. The epilogue did get me hanging and I cannot wait for Soar!! It'd be fun to see Gregori and Salem figure their relationship out in the sequel(which is kind of second chance romance?).??

i've read the author's Mismatched Mates series, and while those books were pretty good, i wouldn't say the exact same for this. i think my main dislike was that sex scenes(like 65 - 70% :/) dominated the entire book, and didn't leave enough room for the romance and the plot to develop. with the focus shifted away from the relationship and storyline, the plot was poorly wrapped up (idk what happened to the journey, who Lord Cyril or the political traitor even is, and what's the deal with the curse now that Andreas is in the picture?), and the romance underdeveloped (8 sex scenes and a daring rescue later they're in love). for a fantasy novel you would expect the plot to be more complex i guess.??

the spicy scenes were good, but they do start to feel repetitive after the umpteenth time. the characters were okay, nice supportive side characters. the idea of ‘twilight', ‘dusk', and ‘dawn' mages is intriguing, and i'd be interested in seeing more of them in the sequel(s?). honestly, it's a great premise, the execution just fell somewhat flat/or is just not my taste.??

a relatively unconventional, character-centric thriller. the killer is revealed pretty early on but the plot was engaging enough to keep me going. interesting characters, each with their own motivation to pursue the case. the climax was a bit anticlimactic, and the ending is a bit scattered though.??

i read this bc of an aftg good omens au fic lol. ngl this had excellent humor (still the middle parts got kinda boring soo 4 stars ig).??

love the banter. honestly the main characters have wayy too high of an IQ their plotting is quite impressive. no explicit sex(mostly described figuratively) altho they are both pretty dirty minded (這還算清水嗎。。。)

The plot was way too complicated and overblown and confusing- there must have been better ways for the criminals to execute their evil masterplan. There were so many plot holes as well. The romance could have been done better since there wasn't really any chemistry. Plus Peter established that Katie hated him at the start of the book and suddenly Katie just had a 180 degree turn in her attitude pertaining to Peter.

The MC wasn't that relatable, he was kind of a surface level character. His talents weren't really displayed well, I don't think he even fought a villain and won on his own, his hacking skills were told not shown. Also there were just random side characters popping out and revealing slightly shocking information for no reason at all. Like what was happening?? e.g. there was no explanation whatsoever on why Jonesy was randomly undercover at the school

Finished this just today, and it totally fulfilled my wish for a low-angst, super sweet small-town romance. The sports aspect is really prominent which I like since so many sports romance are often only centered on the romance. There were some enjoyable side characters as well; I loved the interactions with Ollie (such a responsible and accepting big brother) and the scene where Finn was coming out to his parents was hilarious.

The reason I didn't give 5 stars though:

1. The book was very descriptive. Which is good, but there was too much description. There were lengthy details about each other's bodies, and Ty and Finn kept calling each other ???beautiful??? or ‘gorgeous', it became rather uninteresting. The extensive description took time away from character development; I would have liked to see more insight into Finn's personality and hobbies aside from talking to others and dating Ty.

2. I appreciated the rare Australia setting, as a nice change of pace and place. Nothing wrong with the setting, but I feel like the Aboriginal culture part could have been more deeply ingrained into the book. That native culture was really important for Ty as a part of his identity, however the narrative barely mentioned the Aboriginal history of Ty for the first half of the book.

....and this is basically why four stars.

Note: I wrote this review voluntarily after receiving an ARC- and it's honest!

I've recently finished reading this, and as my first Rex Dalton thriller, it's certainly an interesting read. This novel is 15 books deep into the series, so I definitely appreciate the character list given at the start of the copy. The characters were pretty diverse and fun to read about, plus there were a lot of statistics and information about the weaponry and the issue addressed. Also, the plot's second half was quite surprising - definitely didn't expect the Russian's part in the story. But for me there were a lot of problems which brought down the points.

Okay. I did like the statistics and information given, but as I read on the information seemed more and more excessive. At one point I saw a paragraph explaining Gen Z's - is that really relevant or necessary? It just made the narrative uninteresting. And on the topic of boredom, the first 60% was really just surveilling and catching the small fries, which made it rather repetitive.

Another problem was the plot holes/lack of elaboration. There were some parts that I thought required more explaining, like I remember there were supposed to be 3 siblings all raised to be Russian spies? The book only mentioned 2 and honestly the raising Russian kids as spies was such a long term investment there must be other better ways to go about this. Besides, Rex Dalton et al. made it look so easy defeating the enemy but as the enemy is a billionaire who is hosting a presidential candidate, there would definitely be more guards perhaps standing outside the doors and patrolling the grounds so the sneaking in should be much harder. There would definitely be a more advanced security system as well, and really Rex's raids were halved in difficulty level because his hackers could basically hack everything, which was so convenient and made the whole plot seem easy.

The premise was easy and had promise, but I feel like there were so many plot problems it was less fun to read, hence the three stars.

Note: I voluntarily wrote this honest review after receiving an ARC.

dnf

predictable plot, shallow characters, half of the side characters are pining over someone, typos, unnecessary POV's from multiple side characters