trice
Generally pretty well-done. Cute romance, lovable main characters(and pixies!), cheekily supportive side characters. The romance happens quite slowly, and the bad guys appear pretty far along the book as well. The fantasy aspect is interesting with the living languages - would love to learn more honestly :D The book had a fairytale-like vibe reminiscent of Megan Derr's romances.
I don't think Tlory and Macati's romance was developed enough(they barely acted amiably toward each other until the end), and neither was the storyline with the Sullivans wrapped up properly(Guylian goes away for a week and the persistent Sullivans are mysteriously gone).
Overall a sweet charming, (small town?)romance though.
My first Lee Blair book. It is definitely part of a universe, and generally the book is wholesome, really low-angst. Aside from Arlo's dare to admit his identity to his dad's family, there's also a side plot on Lucas's struggles about being on stage. For the romance, there's hurt/comfort, and Arlo and Lucas's relationship is sweet and honestly quite communicative. The romance doesn't happen too fast either, it progresses in a fairly steady and realistic pace. The supportive family members, queer-friendly townspeople and the celebratory, Christmassy setting make for an overall comforting and cheery setting. The book isn't super steamy too.
But many parts of the book was composed of mundane daily back-and-forths, and ngl I got slightly bored and skimmed through some of the latter half of the book. A few scenes like dates(since Arlo and Lucas had like 3-4 dates in detail in the book) can really just be cut down in number.
I might check out the other books in the universe, idrk.
My thanks to GRR and the author for providing an ARC.
Really sweet and wholesome. Gay guy + pan deaf pudding chef meet at a cat cafe. It's very fluffy(both cats and relationship wise). The awkwardness when Zu finds out Kiitan is deaf is so real.
The sex scene felt a bit out of place because the vibe of the story is supposed to be an endearing meetcute and sex is definitely more of an intense, passionate thing. It was also kind of insta-love and insta-lust but it's a short story, how else would you fit in the romance?
Bonus points for the disability rep!
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?).??
4.5 stars!
It's been a few months since I've read a BrandoSando and this book is definitely a great way to reconnect with the cosmere. Lots of cosmere info here, I'm sooo curious about what the SA and MB characters are up to now. There's unexpected stuff about Threnody too. Fingers crossed that the Night Brigade is going to be dealt with sometime in the future to give Nomad some peace.
4.5 stars
okay this is the first Emmy Sanders book I've read(unconventional place to start, yes). i don't know much about demisexuality so i can't really judge on that accuracy of the representation but, overall this turned out to be a really sweet romance. pretty steamy. bonus points for the hilarious moments - the snake scene was one of the most memorable scenes i've ever read.
lots of character growth, the characters were in no way underdeveloped and were super loveable(brad, i'm looking at you). it was nice to see cas forging his own path and shedding his previous insecurities- and so glad the author went with the supportive family route with both mc's.
the only thing i'm even mildly disappointed about is that jason kept procrastinating telling cas about the disease and brad kinda ended up forced jason into spilling the beans, like, jason please communication is key.
4.5 stars
This was much, much better than book 1. There was action(so much!), romance, and some fluffy moments despite the darker premise. I read till 60% in one sitting before reluctantly putting it down. I definitely expected the romance to be between Jun and Jarek but it seems like it's going in a spoke-and-wheel direction, which is going to be interesting, and I'm so here for it. More info on zodiac shifters were added in this book, which I appreciate. Plus characters are more developed in this book imo. Bonus points that we get to look more closely at Jun's cunning mind.
Although there was some things that kind of didn't really add up, like so many zodiac shifters being in Jun's class despite them being so rare and Avro as a myth-like, strong warlock being so easily defeated. Also I didn't really understand why Jun didn't feel a mate pull towards Gavin since I thought mate pulls were almost irresistible. Nontheless, they were minor enough that it didn't really affect the flow of the story.
I definitely look forward to the next installment of the series, and to see how Jun and Levy and the others' relationships evolve!!
3.5 stars rounded up.
I've read a fair share of shifter books, and this has one of the most unique take on shifters I've seen. But I'm giving three stars because although this book has an unusual shifter system, I feel like there wasn't enough explanation about what exactly is special about zodiac shifters. Given that the series is centered about zodiac shifters, there should be more detail about their history and purpose aside from having special blood and fated mates.
Plot-wise the book was pretty well-done. Going in the first part was a bit boring but it picks up speed halfway through, and has lots of action and romantic tension. Plus the book definitely deals with the darker sides of things. I was definitely not enthusiastic reading about Levy with someone outside the main couple though, even if Eliot (grudgingly)agreed to Jun doing it.
I was really excited when I got my hands on a copy, since I'd just finished reading Lords of Discord earlier this year and absolutely loved it. I will definitely read Princes of Mayhem as Sky featured quite a lot in this book and I've probably already exposed myself to a fair number of spoilers.
Each character had a unique personality (it was startling when Moon started flirting so boldly with Chen when they first met), so while character development was not the greatest, the MC's personality were by no means flat or one-dimensional. It was also fun to see the Variks again.
The plot was a perfect blend of action and romance, but also sets the stage for the series' main plot about the fae. However, I don't think the ‘underworld' scene was particularly neccessary for the plot. The romance was okay. I didn't feel major chemistry between the MC's. Also the romance developed relatively quickly - around a week or so if I'm correct (but the book does span over a few months). But Chen and Moon's relationship is really sweet and Chen's protective side was chef's kiss.
And as a Chinese (Hong Kong!) person, my favourite MC is obviously Chen. I loved the little tidbits of Chinese/Cantonese culture; it was obvious the author did put heart into researching Chinese history and traditions, which I really appreciate. Although I would say Moon calling Chen ‘gege' felt weird since the word is best suited and used most often for family, and people rarely call their lovers ‘gege' anymore (‘Chen-ge' is probably a better term of endearment). Just personal preference, though.
I've read some really well-written slavefics recently so I wanted to give this a try. But the novel didn't really hit the mark. The characters themselves didn't have much depth to them, so it was hard to see why they liked each other since the chemistry wasn't great either. Besides, Hunter's change from hate to love was really sudden; Michael hadn't done anything special or memorable in particular except from stopping his escape attempt which Hunter shouldn't be happy about to make Hunter like him more imo. So the whole romance part fell flat for me.
Also, after finishing Sold I still have no clue about Michael or Hunter's family and friends except for some vague bits. Side characters could have been included for fresher content, instead of just having Michael and Hunter snipe and hold hands the whole book.
My last peeve is that Michael, at the latter part of the book, was reflecting on his reasons for wanting a slave, and he seemed to be doubting if his choice was right. But he never acted upon these thoughts and the matter was dropped entirely. The author probably wanted to show that Michael still had some morality there, but unfortunately it wasn't wrapped up well.
I received a copy of this book from Gay Romance Reviews, and this is my honest review.
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)
also personally I wanted an epilogue because I wanted to see how the dynamics changed in Seth's household (since after Bruce falsely accused Seth of murder and Seth nearly killed him and Fransisco), how they are helping Blondie (because Drew and Blondie's relationship was my favorite in the novel) and Drew's progress with his mental illness.
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
I was so excited to see that R Cooper had a book set in the same universe as A Suitable Consort, but this novel wasn't as good. A large proportion of the book was devoted to mutual obliviousness of each others' feelings, and it wasn't until the end that the main characters actually got together, which made the beginning a bit boring. The world building could do some work as well, maybe more introductions to the different noble families. The climax felt like it occurred way too late and ended way too quickly.
The plot was generally okay and I did love the tender moments between Zelli and Tahlen. The fae part of the book was interesting and it gave insight to the fae's favor for Arden.
2.5
It's incredibly maddening because the setting had promise - dragons and angels and reincarnation. But the execution was done poorly. Shallow characters, a rather unexciting plot, a shoddy romance and incomplete world building. We have our main characters, Trystan and Asagoroth, who basically spent three quarters of the book working out their (underdeveloped) romance and one quarter of anticlimactic showdowns. Everyone except for the main characters and Annalise(Trystan's sister) was portrayed as one-dimensional villains. And even the three characters mentioned above didn't have any character development either. It seemed odd that all opposition to Trystan and Asagoroth's relationship was automatically shut down simply because of the death of Trystan's father.
The extremely strong power of Asagoroth felt really convenient (as convenient as the sudden discovery of how angels and demons all have a complementary mate to make Trystan and Asagoroth's relationship seem more normal/progressive) as Asagoroth could simply appear and he would defeat any enemy(boring). Not to mention the normal demons were barely mentioned until the very end for the mate thing which made it feel like the existence of demons was just a tool to complete the ending. Finally, the idea of “unchosen” people of the angel world was half-baked. Trystan was originally an “unchosen” and a lot of his thoughts was about how he felt like he didn't belong, but once Asagoroth came along the “unchosen” were all forgotten. If the theme of outcasts was meant to be depicted in the book it wasn't done well.
Also, how random was the dream of meeting with Roland?? I get the reincarnation thing but the dream just felt cringey.
3.5 stars
Didn't love this as much as Prince and Assassin.
The worldbuilding and magic system could have been better. And you're telling me that Arthur left his order of seven years for a man he met some weeks ago...plus the showdown with Izen felt quite anticlimactic. I wasn't sure what Izen's death meant - I thought that meant Shae's magic would disappear but it seems that's not the case, so that could also be explained in more detail. More important side characters would have been appreciated, but that's just personal preference. The chemistry between the MCs wasn't very apparent imo.
The book was okay, the plot and romance feels kind of bland. Although I usually love Tavia Lark's novels, this just didn't hit the spot for me I suppose.
A continuation of Changes Coming Down. A murder mystery entwined with the media attention that comes with a celebrity's coming out. It was fun seeing how the trio dealt with the paparazzi and Casey going back to doing what he loves. The murder investigation was a bit drawn out yet the climax wasn't particularly thrlling; the whole murder mystery was resolved fairly quickly.??
A meaningful, hopeful novel set in World War Two. Ella was a strong and adept character, while most?? side characters were equally admirable in their ability to maintain their humanity and morals in such a desolate environment. The plot was fairly engaging, and I finished it in about a couple of hours. Although I was quite confused because there was partially nothing about Birchwood when I first searched it up, and then I realized it was another name for Auschwitz. Especially since I didn't read the blurb, I thought it sounded quite dystopian a couple of chapters in until the book explained the setting.