This book is much closer to a mystery with suspenseful and psychological aspects than a thriller, and that is an important distinction to me, because This book is much closer to a mystery with suspenseful and psychological aspects than a thriller, and that is an important distinction to me, because it wasn’t what I was expecting and I was let down.
The pacing of this book was incredibly uneven. It caused me, as a reader, to be extremely bored for the first half of this book. By the time I got to the second half and things started to ramp up I was already pretty much done with this book. I had pretty much lost interest in this tale of toxic friendships and not-quite-plausible secrets and lies.
The story may be entertaining enough to another reader for a better review, but I just couldn’t get totally on board.
Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for early access to this title in exchange for a fair and honest review. As per personal policy this review will not be posted on any bookseller or social media site due to its 3 star or lower rating. ...more
This book is as much screwball comedy as it is a romantic comedy. To me, it’s as much “What’s Up, Doc?” as it is “My Girl Friday”. It’s zany, kooky, aThis book is as much screwball comedy as it is a romantic comedy. To me, it’s as much “What’s Up, Doc?” as it is “My Girl Friday”. It’s zany, kooky, and whimsical in all the best ways. It’s like someone merged the show “Bewitched” with the movie “Bringing Up Baby” and just waited to see what chaos Katherine Hepburn, Cary Grant, and the rest of the cast would get up to when they combined witchy powers with screwball comedy plot.
It was so good. Pages kept turning. My Kindle stayed in my hand. I kept smiling. I was completely diverted, smiling endlessly from ear to ear. I ignored everything around me in favor of my fixation on what happens to the three titular witches (Gwen, Trudy, and Milo) after their “cousin” Tannith drops a mysterious letter on each of their doorsteps one night and then disappears without a trace. Once those letters are dropped, events start to unspool that upend the lives of everyone in the family. Their days go from mundane and inane to insane and enlightening. Everything changes in a rapid order when these people are used to everything moving slower than molasses in winter.
I was fully invested in all three of these witches who are suddenly caught in cagey Tannith’s game: scared Milo, bored Trudy, and insecure Gwen. Each of them utterly stuck in a rut, only to be shoved out of that rut when Tannith’s forces their hands. Only things don’t exactly work out exactly as Tannith planned.
This book is charming, funny, witty, and quick. It’s light on its feet and will make you smile. There’s really nothing better than a book like that when you’re feeling a bit down or when you are looking for something sweet and cute. Plus: bunnies, toads, and a cute black cat that probably needs a therapist. You can’t go wrong....more
First off, I’d like to say I enjoyed this book a great deal more than “First Comes Blood”. In “First Comes Blood” I didn’t like or connect 3.5/5 stars
First off, I’d like to say I enjoyed this book a great deal more than “First Comes Blood”. In “First Comes Blood” I didn’t like or connect with Chiara (our FMC) and definitely didn’t like or appreciate Salvatore, Lorenzo, Cassius, or Vinicius. I found it strange, because, in theory, I should. I love dark mafia reverse harems. But it was the naivety and ignorance of Chiara that kept me from liking her or connecting with her, and it was the traditional Italian mobster vibe that kept me from liking or appreciating any of the Coldlake Syndicate men. The only two reasons I kept reading “First Comes Blood” is because the plot got interesting and because Lorenzo was worth reading for (honestly, he’s still the one most worth reading for).
Having said all that, this book makes up a whole lot for “First Comes Blood”. I still don’t like Chiara, but I’ve grown to tolerate her. But, I have grown to like and appreciate the Coldlake Syndicate men a whole lot more than in the first book. The plot has only grown more complicated (which is good) and it’s made the whole book more suspenseful (which is even better). Each man has grown in personality and individual motivation since the first book, which has been probably the best revelation possible, in my opinion.
Unsurprisingly, Lorenzo is still my favorite (darn those psychopathic, tragic torturer types!).
I really wish I could give this book a higher rating, but because I don’t like Chiara and I found so much of the book to be predictable, I can’t. But the Coldlake Syndicate boys really carried this book and made it so good, so thank you to Lilith Vincent for developing these mobster men into distinct individuals with such diverse pasts....more
I can’t decide if this book is a cautionary tale, a revenge story, or a superhero origin tale. I don’t really think the bookReal Rating: 3.5 / 5 Stars
I can’t decide if this book is a cautionary tale, a revenge story, or a superhero origin tale. I don’t really think the book itself knows either. Maybe we’re not meant to really know at this point, because it’s the first book in a series, but I don’t think that’s a good thing, considering the author had a whole book to lay down a path and just chose to muddy waters for almost 300 pages.
Don’t get me wrong: it’s an entertaining book. It just takes too long getting to the point and only two of the characters are in any way close to fully-developed, and those two characters are the ones in which the plot pivots around. Maybe that’s the problem: in the end we will either find this series was far too long and should’ve been condensed into fewer books, or we will feel like each book should’ve been longer so the characters could’ve been developed further and allowed their on time and space on the page and have more of the story devoted to them. As the book stands, some of the characters feel like they’re there only for their respective superpowers and demographic representation than anything else. Arguably, you could almost remove them from the story entirely and with a few story tweaks and the addition of more angst and maybe violence you would end up with the same outcome. It sucks to say, but there it is.
But if you look at the book from the viewpoint of the demographic group it’s marketed toward, it’s sure to be a book they’d like to read. It’s definitely a YA book for YA readers. This isn’t a YA book for adults who enjoy YA books, in my opinion. The narrative, plot, and prose are just a bit too immature and underdeveloped for that. But pre-adolescents and younger adolescents will eat up the main plot and the superpowers.
The second book in this series, “Travelers”, comes out in August, and I already have the ARC. I’ll have that review for you this summer. Thanks to NetGalley and Imbrifex Books for early access to this title in exchange for a fair and honest review. ...more
Being a woman with a science degree myself (I mention this often in my reviews of books that include geography as a component of the plot, since that Being a woman with a science degree myself (I mention this often in my reviews of books that include geography as a component of the plot, since that was my field of study), I love books of the STEMinist persuasion, and this book is no exception. Part historical crime fiction and part closed loop mystery, this novel has a curious charm about it even as it reminds us of just how bad discrimination is academia was toward women in the 1920s (it’s still bad today, of course).
I’ve become a bit wary of novels taking place in the 1920s as of late, as they seem to be full of cliches and stereotypes of the decade without taking into account not everyone spoke the same, imbibed or partook of the same drinks or substances, or dressed the same. I was pleased Khvavari chose to forge a different path than a lot of authors and not indulge in the same tired cliches. It made for refreshing dialogue and thoughtful prose.
Seeing as the novel is set in 1923 London, there was no doubt Khavari was going to have characters in her novel that had either seen battle in WWI or had relatives that had been killed there. After all, between soldier deaths and civilian deaths, the UK and Northern Ireland lost nearly 1.4 million people in the war (this is, of course, nothing compared to the Russian losses or the untold number lost in the Armenian Genocide). Brothers, fathers, and sons were all lost. Estates, inheritances, and titles were all thrown into disarray. The 1920s were a time of upheaval all over the world. Khavari is sensitive to the topic without tiptoeing around it, respective without kowtowing. It was appreciated.
Lastly, I appreciated the great amount of attention paid to the importance of empirical research, even if it’s gained through less-than-ideal means. Science is nothing without methodology, people!
Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for granting me early access to this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. ...more
This book wasn’t as fun as its predecessor, “Afterlife of the Party”, but it did give us readers some answers we were looking for that the previous boThis book wasn’t as fun as its predecessor, “Afterlife of the Party”, but it did give us readers some answers we were looking for that the previous book was sorely lacking, and introduced more questions that will keep us interested enough to want to read the next book just to see who these people who are mentioned (but not seen) are, where certain other people disappeared to, and what is going to happen to certain interpersonal dynamics after the significant amount and severity of events that happened during this book.
And there was a lot that went on in this book. Whereas “Afterlife of the Party” pretty much centered on a singular plotline: follow the friend, try and save the friend, try to not die in the process, “I’m With the Banned” has quite a few balls up in the air, and it doesn’t juggle all of them easily. Some balls are hovering in the air and about the come down that were left over from the first book, some are tossed up at the beginning of this book and get tossed up and down throughout the book, and some get tossed up late in the game so they are left hovering in the air as the book closes out. That accounts for why this second book in the series is longer than the first, to be sure.
For the positive, I did like that the book was longer. It seemed the right length for a second book in a YA series. I liked that Ms. Perez actually paid attention to her plot threads and wound some of them up or at least tended to them and didn’t let them hang loose or just dangle there without being addressed in some way. The book was edited well, and I have no complaints about the pacing. It moved at exactly the speed it was supposed to, in my opinion.
For the negative, I could’ve gone without seeing vampires and werewolves going toe-to-toe yet again, even if they’re being as political and civil about it as possible. Also, the “turn” and the villain reveal were so predictable to me I called it before I was 30% of the way through the book. From that point, I was just reading to get to that point. I’m not saying that the reading from that point wasn’t wholly unenjoyable, but I just knew exactly where we were driving the car to. It was just a matter of getting there.
There were new creatures, new spells, and new characters. Some were good ideas and some weren’t. That’s just how it goes. Am I upset or disappointed with the book? No. It’s the second book in a YA series. Sometimes this happens. Just go along for the ride and relax. ...more
Even when just reading the first few pages of this book I knew I had been absolutely correct in how interesting, moving, and excellent it would be. ItEven when just reading the first few pages of this book I knew I had been absolutely correct in how interesting, moving, and excellent it would be. It sucked me right in and I was swept away by the compelling stories of the diverse characters and what not only happened to them on the day humans became incapable of physically harming one another, but also how each responded to those events and how they came out on the other side.
This book is labeled as dystopian when it’s anything but. It’s also listed as thriller and/or mystery, and it’s neither of those either. This is pure speculative fiction with a hefty side dose of philosophy and terrific prose. It proposes a thought experiment and then lets stories unfold, almost as if the author had started out with these different characters and their origins and then let the chips fall where they may. Will the two immigrant children make it to America? Will dictator-led countries fall apart? What will happen to the brother of the last known victim of gun violence?
But it also asks us, in the spirit of the book’s title: what about the damage already done? How does it feel to all of a sudden be free of a domestic abuser’s fists? How does a domestic terrorist come to terms with not being able to terrorize anymore? Who is already so broken down by violence worldwide that this new world seems not only confusing, but almost horrifying? Can we even still harm our fellow man anymore? Will those intent on doing harm find a way, somehow?
The book is a page-turner with lovely writing and compelling scenarios, which keeps you wanting to read and read because there’s just another victim or perpetrator on the next page willing you to read their story. You just can’t help but read on and on, waiting to see how it all turns out at the end.
Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for early access to this title in exchange for a fair and honest review. ...more
“Escaping Eleven”, the first book in The Eleven Trilogy, ended in the ever-dreaded cliffhanger, but a hopeful one. This book, “Unraveling Eleven”, pic“Escaping Eleven”, the first book in The Eleven Trilogy, ended in the ever-dreaded cliffhanger, but a hopeful one. This book, “Unraveling Eleven”, picks up immediately after the events of “Escaping Eleven”. For spoilers sake, I’ll leave the opening of this book at that.
But if you think our protagonists, Eve and Wren, stay aboveground--for whatever reason--they don’t. They do end up going back underground to Compound Eleven for their own reasons. Again… spoilers.
This novel isn’t as fraught with tension or as tightly wound as “Escaping Eleven”, mainly because there are less fight scenes and more espionage and sneaking around, along with a lot of down time for our main characters for various reasons. We get to know some supporting characters a bit better, get to know the compound a bit better, and get to meet some new characters in new surroundings, too.
What’s nice is we get to see and learn about new sides of both Wren and Eve that we weren’t wholly privy to in “Escaping Eleven”. And we get to see these characters discover different sides of themselves they didn’t know existed before, either.
All in all, it was a worthy second book in a trilogy. Some middle books have a slump. This one didn’t.
Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Teen for the opportunity to read and review this book. ...more
This is a fair and honest review given after reading an eARC for this book.
Full disclosure: I went into this book blind. I mistakenly thought these weThis is a fair and honest review given after reading an eARC for this book.
Full disclosure: I went into this book blind. I mistakenly thought these were standalone books about "men of the world", not that it was an interconnected series of novels all following along with a gay reality TV show called "Tainted Love" and centering on one primary love interest, Deacon Brady, as he moves between twelve countries and twelve men with $12 million dollars in it for him at the end.
It didn't take but a couple of pages for me to acclimate to the storyline, though.
We're in Salzburg, Austria for this book; but Deacon, his charismatic producer Dante, and Fynn (the Austrian contestant referred to in the book's title), are in more than a little spot of trouble. They're in the midst of a global pandemic (sounds familiar) and the Austrian government has put everyone on lockdown (also... familiar). So, somehow, Dante has to find a way to make a show that's supposed to be about chemistry work while Deacon and Fynn can't even be in the same room as each other.
I found this aspect of the book to be the most entertaining, because it allowed Mantel to highlight exactly how hard it is to NOT use the full depth and breadth of your body language and proximity to connect to another person when you meet them to establish rapport. Deacon and Fynn are forced, for the majority of the book, to communicate almost solely via video chats, and although Deacon tries to do his job it's clear Fynn doesn't care for him one bit and knows next to nothing about him. The ways in which Fynn goads Deacon and takes the wind out of his sails had me snorting more than once. But it also had me feeling sorry for Deacon, who kept trying to put in an effort for the sake of the show and for Dante, who probably felt like he was babysitting children he didn't ask for while simultaneously working another full-time job the whole book.
Once the lockdown was broken down enough for Fynn and Deacon to come close to one another the animosity was still there for a bit, but that communication barrier that exists when there's a screen between two people didn't stay erected for too long, and the two of them became closer. But the chemistry Deacon has with Dante was outshining whatever Deacon had with Fynn by miles and miles.
And that was my favorite part of the book, really: that unresolved sexual tension between Deacon and Dante. It's an inexorable pull.
It was an entertaining read. I wouldn't call it spicy. More steamy. It was also a shorter book, too, so it moved light and fast. And if you are a fan of this chemistry between Dante and Deacon? Well......more
This is going to sound so, so, so cliche, but one of the primary thoughts I had while reading this book was that infamous quote from “The Dark Knight”This is going to sound so, so, so cliche, but one of the primary thoughts I had while reading this book was that infamous quote from “The Dark Knight”. You know the one: “You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”
“A Mirror Mended”, as if you weren’t aware, is the follow-up novella to the absolutely brilliant “A Spindle Splintered”, which introduces us to Zinnia, a young woman just about to turn 21 and who is quickly on her way to dying of a terminal disorder/syndrome/malady she developed in the womb from pollution in her hometown. Basically, she’s got only weeks to live. But her lifelong obsession with the tale of Sleeping Beauty and her degree in folklore leads to her bestie throwing her a themed 21st birthday party, complete with a spinning wheel she found at a flea market. And what do you know? Prick your finger on a spindle for funsies and all of a sudden she’s hurtled across space and time like a fairy tale version of Doctor Who (yes, I am repeating a joke from this book) and discovers that there is, essentially, a Sleeping Beauty multiverse. (Insert the rest of the plot of that book here.)
Well, here in “A Mirror Mended”, I guess you can kind of tell right away that Zinnia isn’t in Sleeping Beauty multiverse land anymore, right? You’d be correct! She’s in a bathroom at a wedding, looks in a mirror in the bathroom, and there’s a woman asking her for help. Before she knows it, she’s being pulled through the mirror and–lo and behold–there’s a multiverse full of Snow Whites too! Only Harrow doesn’t focus on the princess in this installment. Zinnia was pulled through the mirror by who we usually identify as the “Evil Queen”.
There’s a whole lot going on in this fast and clever read, but it never feels like Harrow is cramming in too much for us readers to be expected to extrapolate on our own or to keep up. She doesn’t just throw information and plot at us and expect it to stick as she hurries on her way to the next scene. It’s simply that these books don’t take place over a long period of time. It’s maybe a day or two. Most of that is spent traveling with Zinnia’s inner narrative to provide exposition, entertain us, and to keep us thinking about what Harrow is trying to convey. Some of it is spent on emotional and sometimes witty dialogue scenes that serve as social and cultural commentary, and maybe a glop of it is spent on action scenes.
Both of the books in this series spend a lot of time with the idea of agency and crafting your own narrative, and that brings me back to “The Dark Knight” quote. Zinnia comes to the realization early on that the Evil Queen was once just a girl whose father made her decisions for her and she obeyed like she should. Then she became a queen who obeyed a king she didn’t love and then became the object of his anger when she could not produce that which he required of her. She had lived so long doing the things everyone told her were the right things to do that when she had the chance to do something for herself she found she couldn’t give that independence up… making her the villain of her own story. Zinnia herself finds out that even though she has been traveling throughout the multiverse trying to save as many Sleeping Beauties as possible from their terrible fates (if they wished to be saved) while simultaneously outrunning her own disease that will eventually kill her if she stays in her own timeline for too long, there are serious repercussions to her actions that are going to make her into a villain before she knows it if she doesn’t stop playing the hero. She has to write herself a new narrative for a new life in her own timeline and let her story end where it may. It may not end happily ever after, but may it end happily.
Overall, I liked “A Mirror Mended” slightly less than “A Spindle Splintered”, but that could be my Sleeping Beauty bias (yes, Princess Aurora is my favorite and she always belongs in the blue dress). But both books read back-to-back (I read the first one yesterday) is a really stunning read altogether. If you haven’t read these yet because they look like children’s books, I can assure you they are not. I highly, highly recommend them.
Thanks to NetGalley, Macmillan-Tor/Forge, and Tordotcom for granting me early access to this title in exchange for a fair and honest review. ...more
This is the first of the Master Class novellas from Malcolm/Master’s POV, and it was a good one. I’ve read all of these novellas and have reviewed theThis is the first of the Master Class novellas from Malcolm/Master’s POV, and it was a good one. I’ve read all of these novellas and have reviewed the last few, and I’ve loved watching the relationship between Malcolm and Juliette shift and grow and morph into something different than we started with. Not only that, but Malcolm and Juliette are both entirely different people than we started out with. And this entry into the series gives us a delightful peek into Malcolm’s mind and his alone.
And, I have to say, I loved it. I loved seeing the contrast between Malcolm and his brother and I loved seeing Malcolm’s inner torment over Juliette and his own self-worth.
**spoiler alert** I feel like the time has come to explain why, even though I'm a HUGE Rachel Leigh fan who has yet to encounter a book of hers I DIDN**spoiler alert** I feel like the time has come to explain why, even though I'm a HUGE Rachel Leigh fan who has yet to encounter a book of hers I DIDN'T like, I DNFd "His Hollow Heart" when I was granted a chance to review the ARC copy by her PR team (which is always an honor).
What no one tends to think about are those triggers that aren't major but are very niche. Arachnophobia. Fear of heights. Fear of water. Fear of antique furniture.
To be fair, they shouldn't have to think about every trigger in the world. It's unrealistic. Heck, I'm one of those readers who--bar mentions of abuse or SA--thinks triggers warnings shouldn't be the author's responsibility. You hit a wall with a book? Don't keep reading.
That's EXACTLY what happened to me with "His Hollow Heart". I was vining with this book. I was DIGGING it. Until around chapter 19... and then there were one of my hugest triggers: DANGER NOODLES (aka snakes). By chapter 21 (as I tried to work past it for the sake of the book), I was trembling and nauseated. I ended up NOPING, tossing my Kindle across the bed and nearly urping.
I just want anyone who follows my reviews of ARCs and new releases to know that this DNF is AAAAALLLLLLLLLLL me and a fear I've had all my life. I can't even think about it without my tummy turning over just a little.
And that's my responsibility as a reader to deal with--not Rachel's to warn against. ...more
I’m a sucker for a steamy prologue. Nothing snags my attention more in a romance novel than one that kicks off with an utterly sinful opening, and thiI’m a sucker for a steamy prologue. Nothing snags my attention more in a romance novel than one that kicks off with an utterly sinful opening, and this book has one of the best I’ve ever read.
I read “Tease Me Once” all in one go, devouring page after page. If it were a physical copy, I could say, “I couldn’t put it down!”, but since I was reading my edition on my Kindle, I’ll simply have to say my screen didn’t go to sleep until I was done with the whole enchilada.
Okay, it’s not like this book offers up a new premise, or even a spin on a familiar premise; but, then again, it doesn’t need to. Why fix something that isn’t broken? Willow Winters writes excellent organized crime romance. She writes excellent BDSM romance. She writes excellent combos of the two. She’s done it before. She’s done it again. And I always love when clubs like The Club are used as fronts for organized crime operations in books. It’s a trope, but tropes are tropes for a reason: they work, and readers like me eat it up.
The Cross Family owns The Club, and Declan Cross runs it. He’s the baby of the family, and the only one left with enough free time to be the kind of night owl that works all night to run and maintain it and the business that comes through it.
Braelynn Lennox is starting her life over and her friend Scarlett has just helped her out by getting her a job at The Club. What Scarlett may not have known, however, is that Braelynn and Declan have met before… when they were just children and before the Cross Family became infamous for crime and money.
So, yeah. I enjoyed the heck out of this book. The spicy was spicy indeed, and the writing was top-notch. The thing was: it was predictable. I knew what was going on almost all the time, even though I could tell there was supposed to be suspense and intrigue. I called the ending early. So I enjoyed the book, and I loved the vibe, but some of the life got sucked out by knowing too much about it as I read.
Doesn’t mean I don’t want the next installment right this second, though. ...more
I received an ARC of this novella in exchange for an honest and fair review.
This novella is a cute, quick-burn, enemies-to-lovers contemporary workplaI received an ARC of this novella in exchange for an honest and fair review.
This novella is a cute, quick-burn, enemies-to-lovers contemporary workplace romance with a dash of forced proximity and miscommunication thrown into the mix.
Rachel Quinn and Finn Weston are the epitome of two people who really seem to take to heart that you never get a second chance to make a first impression. After a pretty disastrous first meeting due to the fact that their respective best friends are seeing one another, the course seems set on these two just trying to be civil on the rare chances they're put in the same room with one another.
Some years later, after their best friends are married and Rachel's PR company goes under, she finds herself now in Los Angeles and in need of a job... like now. She applies for an executive assistant job at a coffee company, not knowing the CEO is... Finn Weston.
To both of their surprises, they work well together. But Finn Weston is a control freak and Rachel Quinn has trust issues. Neither one of them can deny the chemistry that just won't stop sparking between them, though. And, well, traveling with the boss and staying late in the office with him is part of Rachel's job description...
Finn Weston is cunning, manipulative, and ambitious, but that's not all of who he is or who he wants to be. Ms. King writes of his drive and manipulations as a means to an end and not as a way he wants to live out his entire life. Some of the ways in which he handles matters aren't exactly the most flattering to his character, but they're not irredeemable flaws. I actually did like him as a character.
Rachel Quinn is a character I wish could have been given a little more dimension, but I also thought she was interesting and I liked how she tried to push Finn outside his comfort zone again and again, challenging him to break out of his routines.
The book does have that enemies-to-lovers hook that you know and love if you're a fan of the trope, and it's a bitter hook. Ms. King did well to let that hook sink in and simmer for a bit, even if this is a novella and a quicker burn than most enemies-to-lovers stories. And the back half of the story does become very sweet and almost fluffy toward the end.
I'd say that if you're looking for a cute, fast read with some mild spice and a bitter feud with a sprinkling of forced proximity, then this just might be the book for you!...more
I received an eARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.
There's a lot to like about Beena Khan's "A Kiss of Venom": the premise is iI received an eARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.
There's a lot to like about Beena Khan's "A Kiss of Venom": the premise is intriguing, the storyline is interesting and engaging, the characters are diverse and complex in their natures, and there are secrets and plot twists to keep you on your toes.
Our two main characters, Ghislaine and Alexander, are both complicated, fascinating, and tragic in their own ways. Ghislaine's seemingly perfect life has been knocked completely off-course from the very beginning of the book, and Alexander has definitely worked his way from the bottom of the heap to the top since his early childhood days in Russia. They both have enough emotional baggage to fill the cargo bay on a 747.
As engaging as the dark mafia romance side of this book is, the Sleeping Beauty retelling aspect of this book is where I find it to be lacking. Three aunts ("fairy godmothers")? Check. But they're hardly around, and they all pretty much felt like they had the same personality to me. All of the main aspects of what I would consider to be a Sleeping Beauty retelling seem to only take up maybe the first 20% of the book, if that. If anything, it serves as simply a plot device for what would, if any other book, be the "meet-cute". It also gives Ghislaine a backstop of where to leave her daughter, Noura, while she is experiencing the events of the book, since her three aunts largely care for her daughter in her place.
I did enjoy Alexander's relationship with Noura, though his interactions with women outside of Noura and Ghislaine did not endear me to him at all. As a Pakhan, his characterization is spot-on, but the contrast between who he is when he is in his Pakhan role and when he is with Ghislaine is very startling.
Ghislaine is the character I had the most issues understanding and sympathizing with, but those issues would be a laundry list of spoilers.
The spice scenes can get nice and spicy, the espionage scenes are nice and tense, and the action scenes are nicely written, but it seems to be the scenes in between where I had issues.
I'm sure if you're a fan of Khan's previous works (this is my first time reading one of her books), you'll be delighted. I simply felt the book was inconsistent in tone and the characterizations were imbalanced. But I do encourage you to read it, if only to delight in little Noura and her interactions with Alexander....more
This book was one of the books I was looking forward to reading most this year. I was waiting practically on tenterhooks for over 6 months because I lThis book was one of the books I was looking forward to reading most this year. I was waiting practically on tenterhooks for over 6 months because I love ballet, I love ballerinas, and I love books and movies about them. I had read Meg Abbott’s “The Turnout” earlier in the year and I had adored it, so I was hoping I would love this book just as much.
But I ended up being so disappointed when this book didn’t even come close to meeting any of my expectations. Despite the buzz and hype surrounding it, it wasn’t anything like Black Swan or reminiscent of Meg Abbott’s writing. There was so much potential in this book and I feel it was wasted.
The biggest issue I had with this book was the pacing. The frequent switching between past and present until the past caught up to present caused the pacing of the book to stutter and stop. It slowed down the pacing so much I kept looking at how far into the book I was and going, “Really? I’m only that far in?” Flashbacks are a sloppy storytelling device in the first place, and if you’re going to use them you need to use them as a condiment, not as almost 50% of the food on your plate.
And for all the bravado of how us readers won’t see the twists coming, I saw it telegraphed a mile away. I just waited for the characters in the book to get there.
It was an okay book, but not great. I just wish it had lived up to what it could have been. ...more
I have a small, tiny confession to make: I pre-ordered this book as soon as I found out I could. I don't even know when that w(True Rating: 4.5 stars)
I have a small, tiny confession to make: I pre-ordered this book as soon as I found out I could. I don't even know when that was, but I was so excited to read the third book in this trilogy after loving "Dare Me" and "Dare You" so much that I thought I was going to explode with anticipation before "Truth or Dare" came out... and then I got the wonderful opportunity to review it in ARC format. So that meant I was getting the extreme privilege of reading and reviewing this book days before it would end up on my Kindle for me to own, honor, and cherish.
I was delayed somewhat in reading the ARC because of difficulties in getting it to me (a miscommunication and nothing anyone is ever going to hear about) or else you guys would've been seeing this review a few days ago, for sure. I truly would've liked to have gotten it out there sooner because if there was a mm romantic trilogy that has ever stolen my heart and swept me away, it's the Dare to Try trilogy.
Now, onto the brass tax: I expected to like this book a touch more than I did. That's why I rated it 4.5 stars instead of the 5 stars the two previous books merited from me. It had nothing to do with any of the characters, or with the plot. It had everything to do with the pacing of the book and the ending. The pacing of the book felt uneven to me. It didn't make the book wholly unenjoyable, but it was enough to jar me a little as we moved back and forth between Chicago and South Haven throughout the book. And I have to say... the ending disappointed me. It felt rushed and so anticlimactic I just kind of sat there and stared out into the distance for a moment after the book ended, going, "That's it? That's all we get?" I don't know what I expected, but it wasn't something so... placid.
Now, as for the spice: Holy schmoly, Miss Razzle Dazzle! I was definitely not disappointed on that score! With Kieran and Bash both fully on board in this book, navigating each other and testing the waters of each other's home bases as they try to figure out how they're going to make their lives work together, neither of our boys are holding back on what makes the other feel good or look good and I AM HERE FOR IT. Let's just say that Bash sure knows how to pick perfect couple's costumes. *fans self*
All in all, it was a sexy, sweet, and sincere ending to one of the best mm romance trilogies I've ever read. I've read them all on my Kindle, but you can be sure when I get some more money in my pocket these puppies will be physically present on my bookshelves as well....more
This book, sequel to “Ember of Night” and the second book in the Ember of Night series, was entertaining, but not quite as engTrue Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
This book, sequel to “Ember of Night” and the second book in the Ember of Night series, was entertaining, but not quite as engaging as its predecessor. If I had to pinpoint what I thought this book was missing, I’d say it was the snark and morbidity from the first book. That sense of humor is what kept me so hooked in the first book, but in this book the humor has lightened up some, and so it felt like something was missing for me.
I understand that this is due to character and plot development, but that doesn’t make it easy to swallow. Harley is still Harley: brash, confident, sassy… but she’s lost that sharp edge that made me relate to her character so well. And, as such, I kind of lost my ability to engage completely with the book.
The book itself is good. It’s well-plotted, interesting, takes us to new places, introduces us to new characters and lets us get to know supporting characters from the first book better, and allows us to get deeper into Draven and Harley’s relationship. We also get to know more about where Harley came from, which is pivotal. And then there’s celestial politics! OI! Bureaucracy.
If you liked the first one, I’m sure you’ll appreciate this book. I did, because I want to see how this series finishes out. I love Molly’s writing and I love her sense of style. We’ll see what the next book brings. ...more
This review is for Sara Cate’s contribution to this anthology, “A Boy of Fire and Ash”, made possible by Sara and by being a member of her street teamThis review is for Sara Cate’s contribution to this anthology, “A Boy of Fire and Ash”, made possible by Sara and by being a member of her street team. Thanks, Sara!
Whooooo! She does it again! This short-story, a spin-off from her full-length novel “Burn For Me”, takes the same tropes from that book and flip-turns it into a sexy, sinful male-on-male story. We have a young, traumatized, sexy mechanic/college student/rugby player and an older English professor who are drawn together with sizzling chemistry and a solid plot, which is always a bonus when you’re working on a shorter number of pages.
It was nice to see Everly and Cullen again, and to see them after their relationship has settled after “Burn For Me”, especially since it puts Everly in a position to be a foil for Thomas. She’s unapologetic and unashamed of her love for Cullen and how he treats her, which both lends what Thomas and Everly are doing an impish air about it (look what we’re getting away with!), while somewhat lessening the forbidden aspect of it (the administration seems not to care too much about it, so who’s going to say anything about it?).
I was thrilled to read this, because reverse age-gap? Professor/student? Versatile? Mechanic? An SS Impala? Yes. Yes to all of this. Ticking my boxes. Some of my favorite things. And they are done well, the Sara Cate way. ...more
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