Oh god, what a ride! The twists and turns, the shocking reveals, the persistent suspense… It all had me in a constant chokehold! I don’|| 4.5 stars ||
Oh god, what a ride! The twists and turns, the shocking reveals, the persistent suspense… It all had me in a constant chokehold! I don’t want to go into the specifics of the plot since I feel like it would give too much away, but I can honestly say I was insanely engrossed with this entire book! The narration flowed so easily while the story itself was mind-blowing enough to keep me on my toes throughout! This book definitely had me in its grip from beginning to end.
I was hired by the publisher to work as a corrector/proofreader for this book, so I don’t think I should post any rating or review online, as it simplI was hired by the publisher to work as a corrector/proofreader for this book, so I don’t think I should post any rating or review online, as it simply wouldn’t be objective. I want to remain entirely honest and neutral on this platform, so that’s why I’m choosing to put this disclaimer here instead of anything else. ...more
This is an anti-slavery novel written in the 17th-Century by the very first professional female author; for that reason alone I would a|| 4.0 stars ||
This is an anti-slavery novel written in the 17th-Century by the very first professional female author; for that reason alone I would already consider this to be a historically interesting and admirable piece of writing. However, it is not for that reason alone that I am glad to have read this, as it also turned out to be a surprisingly well-written, easy to follow, thoroughly compelling and emotionally engaging story! I truly felt my heart break and my anger rise during so many moments in this novel: it was so brutal and so tragic!
In the first part of the novel we get to see the beauty and honour as well as the hardships and barbaric customs of the African culture of which Oroonoko is a Prince. Then, after he is tricked into slavery, we get to see how disingenuous Europeans can be in how they betray their promises to Oroonoko time and time again. Yet, the Europeans also show him a tremendous amount of kindness and care that they do not show any of the other slaves. They claim this is because he is “different” and “better” than all the others, but it was clearly just because Oroonoko resembled their own features and customs more than the other slaves; his beauty and haughtiness somehow commanded their respect and admiration…
So as it was in vain to make any resistance, he only beheld the captain with a look all fierce and disdainful, upbraiding him with eyes that forced blushes on his guilty cheeks, he only cried in passing over the side of the ship, “Farewell, Sir, 'tis worth my sufferings to gain so true a knowledge both of you and of your gods by whom you swear.” And desiring those that held him to forbear their pains, and telling 'em he would make no resistance, he cried, “Come, my fellow-slaves, let us descend, and see if we can meet with more honor and honesty in the next world we shall touch upon.”
As I said before, this was a very gripping novel, and I especially felt myself near tears when it came to Imionda’s, even more so than Oroonoko’s, fate… Whereas Oroonoko had a very powerful and self-assured aura around him, Imionda was shy and defenseless and so entirely innocent. Considering Oroonoko himself had sold slaves when he was still an African Prince, I found it more difficult to feel true sympathy for him. I had no such problems with Imionda, and could only deeply admire her for her bravery and loyalty, and thus, my heart genuinely shattered into a million pieces for her from the moment she received the Royal Veil to the moment of her death…
“And why,” said he, “my dear friends and fellow-sufferers, should we be slaves to an unknown people? Have they vanquished us nobly in fight? Have they won us in honorable battle? And are we by the chance of war become their slaves? This would not anger a noble heart; this would not animate a soldiers soul: no, but we are bought and sold like apes or monkeys, to be the sport of women, fools, and cowards; and the support of rogues and runagates, that have abandoned their own countries for rapine, murders, theft, and villainies. Do you not hear every day how they upbraid each other with infamy of life, below the wildest savages? And shall we render obedience to such a degenerate race, who have no one human virtue left, to distinguish them from the vilest creatures? Will you, I say, suffer the lash from such hands?” They all replied with one accord, “No, no, no.”
Personally, I thought this novel showed a very interesting duality in how there were both Africans and Europeans who could either be pure and nobel and worthy of great respect as well as those who could be filled with deceit, dishonour and cruelty. This might not sound like much to today’s standards of racial equality, but for a novel written in the 17th-Century, which was during the very height of the slave trade, I found this to be extremely surprising and perhaps even inspiring to read!...more
Well, I officially can’t stand Adrian anymore. He’s a weak, pathetic excuse for a boyfriend. Sydney was being tortured for months and t|| 3.5 stars ||
Well, I officially can’t stand Adrian anymore. He’s a weak, pathetic excuse for a boyfriend. Sydney was being tortured for months and this dude never actually did anything to save her; he was partying, laughing, flirting, drinking, and even kissing other girls. In what world is this supposed to be someone I like, let alone someone I’d swoon over? He’s a self-pitying, petulant, selfish loser and I don’t respect him at all. Sydney deserves a million times better than that sad excuse of a man. It genuinely broke my heart to see Adrian’s chapters of partying be alternated with Sydney’s chapters of bravely fighting through pure agony and torture, while constantly believing Adrian would come for her. I got angry every single time I saw how much pain and sorrow she was going through, only for her boyfriend to be a sad waste of space, with no genuine plan to save her. He disgusted me, and I don’t think the last book could do anything to change my opinion of him after what he did here.
Sydney, of course, was still as admirable as always. Her cleverness, compassion, and bravery never fail to inspire admiration in me, and my respect only flew higher at seeing her character continue to stay strong in that torture camp. She was a true hero, for herself and others, unlike her pathetic boyfriend, or anyone else for that matter. After the amount of times she saved everyone around her, it physically hurt me to see how idle and useless everyone else was when she was in danger. The only person who ever did anything substantial was Magnus, and not any of her so-called friends.
Oh… This was actually quite sad. Depressing even. Definitely tragic.
Amberly was clearly such an insecure, naive, desperate and dumb gi|| 3.0 stars ||
Oh… This was actually quite sad. Depressing even. Definitely tragic.
Amberly was clearly such an insecure, naive, desperate and dumb girl, but the most awful thing about that was that Clarkson chose her exactly because of this. He wanted someone he could control and would blindly adore him no matter what, so that’s the only reason why he decided Amberly, as the biggest doormat imaginable, was perfect for him.
It was truly heartbreaking to see Clarkson propose to her with words that only portrayed calculation and manipulation from his side, yet having Amberly receive it with nothing but heart-eyes and love.
I really just witnessed the beginning of an abusive relationship, and the most painful part about it is that Amberly was so incredibly happy and grateful to be in one.
This was just another superficial romance with a ridiculous premise and two unlikable main characters. There’s nothing new here and ins|| 2.0 stars ||
This was just another superficial romance with a ridiculous premise and two unlikable main characters. There’s nothing new here and instead, it only rehashes silly cliches (with poor execution) I’ve never liked in the first place, let alone enjoy reading the billionth replica of. In short, this book brought me nothing but boredom, eye-rolls, and a whole lot of skimming.
'Dreamland Billionaires' series: 1. The Fine Print - 2.0 stars 2. Terms and Conditions - 2.0 stars...more
This was a story about a woman who never learned to stand up for herself in an abusive home environment, who never learned to accept he|| 3.0 stars ||
This was a story about a woman who never learned to stand up for herself in an abusive home environment, who never learned to accept herself for who she really was, but also about a woman who was forced into a role of caregiver when she was wholly unprepared and unsuited for it. I think that last part is the one that I found the most intriguing here; the portrayal of being a caregiver was very raw and bold in this book, showing the ugly and dark sides, while also not shying away from the reality of not wanting to dictate your entire life to someone else’s needs, not even when it’s for a person you love. Eventually, someone might simply burn out after having to spend each day that way for months, and I think that’s understandable.
Anyway, I think it’s obvious that, in a way, I did like this book as it dealt with some very interesting themes, but most of it got overshadowed by how much I despised the heroine, Anna. She was very selfish, egotistical, naive, passive and weak. I know she was autistic and had her struggles because of that, but that wasn’t an excuse for every single thing. Some of it simply showed bad character.
For example, the fact that she let her dad brutally suffer for months and months, knowing he didn’t want to live that way, only because she didn’t dare open her mouth to her mother and sister was honestly disgusting and cruel. If it had been because she couldn’t say goodbye or face the truth of her father’s hopelessness I could have understood, but no. She never opened her mouth only because she didn’t want her mother or sister being disappointed in her or thinking bad of her. That’s why she let her father be tortured for months. It genuinely made me a little sick.
I want to tell them to stop, that he’s moaning because he doesn’t want to live this way, and all their ministrations are torturing him. But I don’t. I know it won’t do any good. I’m not here to talk
I also feel like she didn’t appreciate Quan enough. She took him for granted and didn’t give him the same care, support, interest and consideration as he did her. She let her family treat him like trash without ever correcting them. Even more, she never actually broke up with her other boyfriend, even after months of dating Quan, which was just insanely disrespectful. He really deserved better, and I could never quite figure out why he was so in love with her. She truly wasn’t all that great to him (or anyone else), so it didn’t make sense to me. I almost felt like she was using him a little bit, and he just accepted it for no reason. He gave her everything, while she gave him basically nothing.
“Anna, I’m in love with you.” “I love… being with you. You’re the one person I can really be myself with. But I don’t know if I’m in love with you yet.”
Long story short, I think this book had an interesting story to tell but I sometimes struggled to get over my dislike for the heroine.
Well, shite. What a big disappointment. Especially after I had such high hopes…
This book really started out promising; it was gentle an|| 2.0 stars ||
Well, shite. What a big disappointment. Especially after I had such high hopes…
This book really started out promising; it was gentle and sweet and delicate. Archer was such a broken but heartbreakingly kind man, and Bree was the sunshiney goodness he needed in his life. They were both so pure and warm, I instantly loved them. I adored seeing their quiet but strong connection grow over time; it was so endearing to see Archer find a safe place and a person he could talk to. It was sad, but also really beautiful.
However, the minute these two decided to get intimate in a romantic way was the same moment the whole book went downhill. Gone went all of their sweet and meaningful interactions, and in its place came nothing but horniness, smut and the occasional love-bombing. Sex was all these two seemed to do with each other anymore and their love declarations felt a little over-the-top and underserved; the book just lost all depth and beauty for me, and it simply became boring and repetitive. Super disappointing.
Also, I got really frustrated with their relationship near the end. At first, Archer seemed to think Bree hung the moon and stars and adored her with a fiery passion. This woman was his whole world and you’d think he could never live without her. But then, randomly, and without reason, this man decides to leave her for months because he loves her too much and needs to learn how to live on his own…?? EXCUSE ME!? He literally just left her. With a dumb, weak note. For months. Bree had no idea if he’d be back, or when that would be, and he even said he didn’t expect her to wait (so apparently he was fine with her moving on??? What the hell??). But obviously she does wait, and when he comes back she doesn’t even get mad. Nope, she welcomes him back with open arms like nothing happened and they live happily ever after. And I guess their happy ending was that Archer now learned to love her less, so he won’t be afraid of losing her, and that’s… good somehow? I dunno. I thought it sucked. And honestly just kind of ruined their whole relationship dynamic for me.
Lastly, the plot of this whole book was insane. You’re telling me Archer’s dad and uncle shot each other, but nobody ever thought to ask the only witness, Archer, what the hell even happened? Even if he couldn’t speak, they could ask him to write it down! Jeez. How incompetent is the police department in that town??...more
Oh my god, this was so good! I liked the first two books a lot, but this was truly a million times better!
We’ve left the silly romance|| 4.5 stars ||
Oh my god, this was so good! I liked the first two books a lot, but this was truly a million times better!
We’ve left the silly romance plot behind entirely, and instead, this book only focused on giving us an intricate, well thought-out, and intriguing murder mystery that gets solved in the most tension-filled way! I love that each little piece gets revealed slowly and surprisingly, but that every single reveal still made so much sense afterwards. I was shocked by a lot of them, but nothing felt random or forced; there were always clues that could be pointed at, even if you didn’t see them at first!
P.S. When it comes to Sloane, I feel like a mother hen protecting her chick. I want to wrap her up in a warm blanket, tell her everything will be okay, and snarl at anyone who dares to come too close.
This was very trashy and it definitely wasn’t good. That said, it also wasn’t boring, so it kept me entertained for the most part.
Of co|| 2.5 stars ||
This was very trashy and it definitely wasn’t good. That said, it also wasn’t boring, so it kept me entertained for the most part.
Of course, the hero is about as morally dark as it can get, but that wasn’t really my problem. My problem was the awful writing and complete lack of depth or build-up within the relationship. If you write a hero who has supposedly never cared about another girl before, then you have to give him a reason as to why he’s suddenly obsessed with the heroine. Why does someone who usually doesn’t have feelings, suddenly overflow with them? What makes these two so compatible (aside from sharing sexual kinks)? Where are the bonding moments?? It was just very superficial, so I didn’t really care. Besides, he never became very soft or affectionate with her; he remained rather rough and bossy with her until the end, which I personally just don’t like. He was obviously obsessed with her, but he never treated her with respect. I prefer my morally dark heroes to treat their love interest like a princess, not like their property. And unfortunately, the heroine just accepts the bad behaviour from him since she has no backbone whatsoever.
All in all, this was not well-written whatsoever, but I can see why it would attract certain readers. I personally don’t like smut and I read romance for the emotional connection, so this book clearly wasn’t a great fit for me since their relationship was pretty much completely based on their sexual compatibility and nothing else.
I’m absolutely flabbergasted that anyone could call this a romance book. It’s a horror story, from start to f|| 1.0 star ||
Um… What. The. Fuck.
!??!?????
I’m absolutely flabbergasted that anyone could call this a romance book. It’s a horror story, from start to finish. I honestly don’t even want to believe that this book actually exists in this genre.
The hero literally rapes the heroine when they first meet and then he continues to rape her for almost the whole book until she finally gives into him completely and becomes his permanent fuck-toy without fighting back anymore. The heroine has a lot of self-esteem issues and doesn’t have the energy to fight against this monster in the end, so she just gives up. He tells her what to do at all times, and eventually she just does it without even bothering to say no or voice her opinion, because she knows she has no say anyway. He continues to slap, choke and rape her, but somehow that’s okay, because now she sort of wants it…?
How can this sound like a happy ending to anyone!?? This story is a goddamn tragedy, and it’s making me loose all faith in humanity that some people are actually SIMPING for this abusive rapist while calling the victim “boring”. There’s just no way.
Nope. This was so bad. I’m starting to feel like I should just give up on this author. Whatever charm and spark her writing used to have|| 1.0 star ||
Nope. This was so bad. I’m starting to feel like I should just give up on this author. Whatever charm and spark her writing used to have, her books no longer got it. She’s had a lot of misses lately, a few mediocre ones, and literally no gems at all.
Anyway, back to the book at hand. First of all, the relationship was very uncomfortable and extremely superficial; Callie literally did nothing but objectify Zeus and seemed to only be obsessed with how good-looking the guy was (even when he literally thought Zeus was there to KILL him). Meanwhile, Zeus just seemed to see Callie as a project for him to fix. Like Callie was a way for him to redeem his past mistakes. There was nothing romantic about it. It was sort of like trauma-bonding but without any real feelings. These two had less than zero chemistry and they had no connection between them whatsoever. It was all completely meaningless and without any emotion or depth.
Furthermore, I know this book desperately tried to make me feel sorry for Callie and think he’s innocent in everything he’s done, but I don’t believe that at all. Callie is awful for what he did, and there are no excuses. I honestly got so sick and tired of his self-pity.
This book genuinely gave me the biggest headache. It was so slow and so repetitive and so long. Not to mention, the non-stop drama and a|| 1.0 star ||
This book genuinely gave me the biggest headache. It was so slow and so repetitive and so long. Not to mention, the non-stop drama and angst was really getting on my nerves, especially since it never actually led anywhere. Nothing actually ever happened; every relationship, every character, every situation, they all pretty much stayed the exact same from beginning to end.
This whole book honestly felt like a big trauma dump without anything else happening. These characters are literally nothing more than the heroine HAVING trauma and the hero OBSESSING over her trauma. It got old very quickly. Johnny no longer seemed to care about any of his own future plans or passions and only spent his time worrying about Shannon, while she did nothing other than shiver at the big, bad world and needing constant reassurance about the most basic things. Which, admittedly, makes sense for a girl who went through as much trauma as she did, but she never grew from it. She stayed the same fragile and scared girl with no personality and no brain from start to finish.
Furthermore, how is it possible that there have been so many pages about this couple, and I still felt like there was NO DEPTH to their relationship?? There was no development whatsoever and all of their interactions were beyond dramatic or just about sex. There was no lightness, no romance, no true feelings. It was just non-stop intensity about her being a fragile mess and him wanting to bulldozer all over everything to save her. It was cute the first few times, but almost 2000 pages into their relationship, and I can safely say it became boring and annoying as hell. I just got the ick over her acting like a child 24/7 and him treating her like she was made out of glass all the time. It was definitely not a normal relationship dynamic; it was trauma bonding for Shannon and a savior complex for Johnny. Also, their dialogue was literally the exact same every single time; all of their scenes together were pretty much identical. I kid you not. It was insufferable and so badly written.
I’m actually convinced every other relationship in this book was better written and developed than the main couple. I actually especially liked Gibsie. His friendship with Johnny was probably the best, and his potential romance with Claire was also full of life and banter. Shannon’s brothers had a few heartbreaking scenes with Johnny’s family as well. Ollie was a sweetheart, but Sean? Oh my, that sweet little baby broke my heart. The way Johnny took care of him was the sweetest thing.
I also just want to say one last quick thing: The whole Bella storyline never made sense to me and just pissed me off beyond compare. The fact that nobody ever put this horrible girl in her place was just insane. You’re telling me the most popular guys in school can’t ruin a slutty, jealous girl who’s behaving like a deranged stalker? No way. I’m not buying it. She should have been at the bottom of the food chain at that school in minutes, but somehow it never happened? Insane.
Anyway, long story short, this was just a very very bad book. The whole thing literally read like Wattpad to me and this author desperately needed an editor to skim the hell out of these million pages about absolutely nothing.
I’m not entirely sure how I feel about this. I was totally ready to fall completely in love with this book, but there were a few things|| 3.5 stars ||
I’m not entirely sure how I feel about this. I was totally ready to fall completely in love with this book, but there were a few things that just didn’t quite work for me. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy this book, because I did. It had a very addictive quality to it that made me want to keep reading and reading (despite it having about a million pages) until I literally fell asleep from pure and utter exhaustion. However, like I said, it was a very long book, and despite not ever wanting to put it down, it did feel pretty drawn out at times, and perhaps even repetitive. There was nothing happening in this story that warranted the excessive page count, and I do think the book could have been a lot better with a fewer amount of pages.
Now, when it comes the main characters I have to say I am also a little conflicted. Don’t get me wrong, I really liked Shannon and Johnny; they were struggling a lot, but definitely had their hearts in the right place. I felt a lot of sympathy for these two, especially Shannon. However, they also played into their stereotypes a little too much. I understand Shannon was a broken little girl with heaps and heaps of trauma, but sometimes I felt like that’s all she was. We never got to see much personality of her other than being shy, scared, timid, insecure, fragile and quiet. I wanted to see the girl on the inside, the girl outside of all the trauma. But that girl never really showed herself. Same thing with Johnny; I understand he was a jock under a lot of stress with an obsessive amount of dedication, but I also wanted to see who he was outside of rugby. Granted, we did get to see hints of a sarcastic, funny personality when he was with his best friend, Gibsie, and I really enjoyed seeing their banter, but I would have appreciated to see more of that.
Similarly, I also have mixed feelings about the romance. I loved seeing Johnny’s obsessive and possessive streak when it came to Shannon, but I have to admit that I didn’t really understand why he felt that way. What made him fall in love with her so badly, and so suddenly? Was it her scared, frigid attitude? Because that’s pretty much all he got to see from her. And if that’s it, then that’s a little weird to me. I understand wanting to protect the people you love, but I kind of felt like he only loved her because he felt like she was someone he could protect. Does that make sense? Anyway, as previously stated, this book is super long, and this can definitely qualify as a slow burn. They take forever to admit their feelings to each other, and don’t even get together for the entirety of the book. We will have to wait until the sequel for that. And really, I love a good slow burn. The weird part about this one, however, was that it was also a little bit like insta-love. Johnny was obsessed with her from the very first moment, so it felt a little silly for him to take ages upon ages to finally give in to his feelings. That said, I did appreciate all the tension between them and all his insane pining, because I’ll always be a big sucker for those things. All in all, I feel like this romance certainly had all the right ingredients, but also had a little bit of a wonky execution that made some things feel slightly uncomfortable or ridiculous to me. Still, I liked them together and I was definitely rooting for them to find happiness with each other. They could be very sweet and tender, and Johnny’s protectiveness of Shannon never really got old.
Overall, this was a very entertaining book with a gentle slow-burn and a protective love interest, and it even managed to pull on a few of my heartstrings due to Shannon's heartbreaking home life, but I do believe a big part of this book could have been a lot better.
In all honesty, this book felt very dragged out to me. It was written in a way like ther|| 3.0 stars ||
Warning: There will be spoilers in this review!
In all honesty, this book felt very dragged out to me. It was written in a way like there was a lot to be told, but… there wasn’t. The plot never really moved forward, and most chapters were pretty much the same as the one before that. There was no sense of urgency or suspense, and neither did anything really happen.
Thus, considering these wasn’t much plot here, I would have at least appreciated some more characterization in this book. And we do get that a little with the main character, but not with the side characters. Feyre hardly ever had any conversations with anyone, and when she did, it was almost always with Rhys about some plan they were working on or about training or about some place they were going to visit. It was hardly ever anything meaningful. And seriously, I don’t think we saw Feyre exchange more than a few sentences with any of the other people (not Lucien, not Azriel, not Cassian, not Mor, not Amren, not even Tamlin). So obviously it’s very hard to actually get to know any of the other characters that way, and I eventually started to loose interest in them. Which was a shame, because their personalities could have been super interesting. I just really needed to see more of them to grow a connection to them, which sadly didn’t happen. I truly wanted to see Feyre develop close relationships with the people around her, but alas, it all remained rather surface-level. We don’t really get to know or understand anyone else in depth. I was told the Inner Circle became her family, but I was never really shown. Not the why, not the how, not anything.
Like I said, we do get some characterization when it comes to the main character though and I have to say I really appreciated the way Feyre’s healing journey was written. It was written with a lot of detail and consideration as we could truly see how broken she was at the beginning and eventually found the comfort and support she needed to regain salvation. Her character arc showed how a stifling environment like the Spring Court broke her spirit and her will to live, but that she could find it again in a place where she would be free like Velaris.
Now, when it comes to Rhysand I am a little conflicted. I genuinely really liked him as a person, but I wasn’t as sold on him as a love interest. I mean, it was impossible not to appreciate, respect and adore him for the person he was; he was just genuinely such a good guy. Which surprised me a bit, because I thought he would be more morally gray, but he was genuinely just good. A self-sacrificing hero who would do absolutely anything to protect the people he loves. Someone who sees the pain in other people and tries to help and comfort in any way he can. I could do nothing but admire him for his quiet strength and his ability to still show so much kindness and care when he had gone through so much. However, his romance with Feyre disappointed me. It felt more like lust than love to me. I needed more meaningful conversations between them. Every scene between them always ended really abruptly and thus failed to go very deep under the surface. Rhys clearly cared about Feyre, but there were only very few times I could actually see he was in love with her. They flirted a lot with plenty of sexual innuendos, but I needed more than that. I needed to see that deeper connection, I needed to see the true love, I needed to see how they fitted together perfectly. I wanted to be shown, not told. I simply needed more romantic interactions between them, or at least, more open and honest and meaningful interactions.
Lastly, when it comes to Tamlin I have to say I am disappointed. And not for the obvious reasons I assume a lot of people hated his character arc. I didn’t mind that Tamlin turned out to be a narcissistic, abusive arsehole. I actually think that could have been a very interesting, shocking and emotional plotline. However, it was badly written. Like I said, he hardly has any interactions with Feyre and we don’t get to understand his intentions at all. His character was bland and simply turned evil for no reason. I honestly struggled to understand the things he did, since they didn’t make sense. I even started to question if he ever even cared about Feyre, or did he just use her to break the curse? But then why did he betray everyone at the end to get her back? His character was inconsistent and weird. He was just randomly made to be an evil character with no reasoning behind anything he did, which I thought was sloppy writing. I feel like the author really just ignored his existence; he was there at the beginning of the book (but not really), then he was ignored for the bulk of the chapters that followed, only for him to return again at the very end as the random villain. Like, okayyy.
Anyway, in conclusion I just want to say one thing; if I were Feyre or Rhys or any of the other Inner Circle members, I genuinely would have just stayed in Velaris, hidden from the rest of the world, and let them all fight amongst themselves. Everyone was just so freaking terrible; who are they even trying to save? And if Feyre really wanted to at least save her sisters (although, in all honesty, I don’t really understand her loyalty towards the people who mentally abused her, treated her like their lap dog, and who never lifted a finger to help her) then she could have just taken them to Velaris too, and lived happily ever after. Speaking of, why did they act like it was such a terrible thing that Elain and Nesta were turned into Fae? Wasn’t that literally a good thing…? I must be missing something, because I don’t get that whatsoever. Sure, they had prejudices about Fae, but so did Feyre. It’s pretty easy to get over them, I’d say. And at least now they’d have a better chance at surviving the upcoming war.
Long story short, this wasn’t a bad book but it wasn’t great either. I think I liked the idea behind everything and everyone more than the actual execution of them.
The idea behind this was good, the premise had a lot of potential and the characters had the kind of dynamic that I normally love, but,|| 2.0 stars ||
The idea behind this was good, the premise had a lot of potential and the characters had the kind of dynamic that I normally love, but, unfortunately, the right execution was just not there. It’s supposed to be a hurt/comfort romance, but everything was just based on lust. There was no emotional depth and no true comfort.
Lucas never really showed empathy or sympathy towards Sage’s pitiful situation, and he was only ever focused on how horny Sage made him. Whenever Sage cried, which was a lot of times, Lucas didn’t even feel that bad or really tried to make him feel better; no, it only ever turned him on. So, all he ever thought about in every situation and all he ever suggested as help was sex, sex, sex, sex. Meanwhile, Sage remained an absolute mess throughout the entire story, and Lucas didn’t really care.
This relationship was just very smutty and even a bit dirty; it was definitely not sweet. The only thing that connected these two was their lust for each other. Which is honestly just not what I’m looking for, especially not in a hurt/comfort romance....more
Nah, I’m so completely over the way everyone treats Seth. I just can’t stand the constant disrespect and condescending behaviour he rec|| 1.5 stars ||
Nah, I’m so completely over the way everyone treats Seth. I just can’t stand the constant disrespect and condescending behaviour he receives. He is such a sweet ball of sunshine by nature but Mark and Dom keep turning him into a broody, moody, and depressed person with all their harsh words and inconsiderate treatment.
Domenico is honestly just the worst partner to have as he’s emotionally, financially and physically abusive: he doesn’t listen to Seth, he doesn’t let him leave the house, he refuses for Seth to have any money of is own or to access the internet, Dom basically does not let him live any kind of life, but worst of all; he is literally physically violent to him time and time again! He will never learn… He says he’s sorry each time at the end of the book, but then he just does it all again in the next one. Of course, Mark is terrible as an adoptive son too: He looks down on Seth for being loving and sweet, and he isn’t grateful at all for everything Seth has done for him. They’re both completely underserving of Seth’s love, and I honestly just want Seth to leave their abusive asses behind and never look back.
Also, this whole series is insanely repetitive and it’s getting beyond boring.
I actually really like a well-developed “enemies to lovers” trope, but I definitely do not like the “I hate you but I’m going to lust af|| 1.0 star ||
I actually really like a well-developed “enemies to lovers” trope, but I definitely do not like the “I hate you but I’m going to lust after you anyway” trope. It’s so shallow and annoying. This trope also makes every character seem beyond stupid and like their brains are just completely lust-addled. Besides, the protagonists here just had absolutely awful personalities and were just flat-out impossible to like. Jazz was even worse than Ant though; he was literally just the worst and most self-absorbed arsehole alive. Lastly, this was simply not a love story; it was lust. Truly nothing more than lust. They had no connection whatsoever and were somehow sexually drawn to each other for no reason, while still hating each other. I’m really not interested in that. It was so boring, I eventually just couldn’t help but start skimming.
This pretty much had a lust-at-first sight thing going on and surely cannot be praised for its depth or anything remotely like that, bu|| 3.0 stars ||
This pretty much had a lust-at-first sight thing going on and surely cannot be praised for its depth or anything remotely like that, but it was still fun with a hint of angst and I really loved the relationship dynamic here.
This was an age-gap romance with a big size difference between Mike (a big handsome biker who very much enjoys his status as a ‘ladies man’) and Arden (a fiery, feminine boy who’s afraid to commit his heart again after being burned before). Mike is pretty much instantly obsessed with how cute and pretty Arden is, and he tries very hard to get the boy to give him a chance. Mike doesn’t want a relationship though and Arden wants more than a friends with benefits situation, so they dance around each other for a while. Yet, it’s clear they both care for each other a lot: They want to be around each other all the time, and Mike has a very nurturing vibe towards Arden. It was all pretty sweet.
This story takes place in a world where there are two types of people; those who are normal and ordinary in every way, and those who ar|| 3.0 stars ||
This story takes place in a world where there are two types of people; those who are normal and ordinary in every way, and those who are Graced with a particular skill. These skills vary from being able to swim faster than the fastest fish, to being able to climb trees better than a monkey, to being faster or stronger than anyone else, to being able to read other people’s minds, and so on. Considering the extraordinary power Gracelings have, they are feared and avoided by other people as they are seen as dangerous or strange.
Katsa, our main character, is feared and avoided most of all as she has been Graced with the skill of killing; she is capable of defeating anyone without even breaking a sweat. She is seen as a wild and vicious creature by those around her, and nobody really talks to her or dares to look her in the eye. Her status of being someone who brings death and pain is enhanced by her power-hungry uncle who uses Katsa to threaten and torture those who owe him money or disobey any of his orders. Katsa does not want to do any of these things, but she doesn’t have much of a choice; her uncle is king, and she is not. His word is law. But what if Katsa no longer accepts that? Who is going to stop her? After all, she is unbeatable. Thus, Katsa starts a secret rebellion in which she tries to bring good to a world where there is a lot of evil. She tries to help those who are vulnerable and unable to help themselves, especially women who are controlled by men and forced to do things they do not want to do.
Katsa is clearly a very feminist character. One of her defining characteristics is that she will not belong to anyone else and she will live her life in the way she wants to. This is why she refuses to marry or ever have children. She never doubts this decision and no matter how many men tell her she will change her mind, she pays their words no heed. She has an impossibly strong and stubborn will, and nobody will tell her how to feel or think about something; she’s 100% sure of her own decisions. She’s extremely confident and set in her ways. Even though she is willing to learn, she accepts herself for the way she is, and doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with that. There is surely no denying that Katsa is incredibly bad-ass. That said, she also has a lot of scars from the emotional abuse and neglect she’s suffered from since she was a child, which definitely shows in a lot of her actions and thoughts.
Even though Katsa is very much her own person and doesn’t want to tie herself to anyone, she does find love. It was a surprisingly sweet and tender romance, with a very soft dynamic. Her and Po were the embodiment of the black cat/golden retriever duo, and Po is patient with her to no end. Po is a Graceling who can read other people’s minds (to a certain degree) and who can sense their feelings/presence, so where other people might be fooled by Katsa’s hostile outward appearance and seemingly lack of emotional depth, he sees beyond that, and gives her the support and encouragement she needs. Po teaches her how to open her heart up to him, but he never wants her to be someone she’s not. Po loves her for her strength, cockiness, endurance, perseverance and daredevil nature, while Katsa loves him for his emotional intelligence, kindness and ability to keep up with her. They were definitely incredibly well-suited together and were, overall, just super cute as a couple.
Now, all in all, this sounds like it was a really good book, right? Which, I suppose, it was. At first, at least. I truly loved the beginning of this story; the writing was super easy and engaging to read, and I was pretty much hooked from the start. The building romance had great tension and progression, I loved getting to understand Katsa better and better, and the plot was great! Somewhere in the middle of the story, though, probably around the time Po and Katsa left the castle, the book lost its momentum and started to drag. I kind of lost interest for a while. Eventually, it became a little more engaging again, but the ending bummed me out once more. It definitely wasn’t the ending I was hoping for and put a bit of damper on Po and Katsa’s romance for me; it wasn’t really a happy ending, which I found disappointing....more
Loading...
