Reread on July 30, 2024: Oooh, I love the narrator! Great choice. Read via audio (narrated by Chris Brinkley).
First read on July 2, 2024: Note: I did Reread on July 30, 2024: Oooh, I love the narrator! Great choice. Read via audio (narrated by Chris Brinkley).
First read on July 2, 2024: Note: I did not read the blog serial other than the first chapter way back when. This review is solely about my arc read.
This was a very interesting read because I never believed this novella would exist. I mean, I've always loved Roman as a side character but never actively *wanted* his own story either. Usually a comedic relief-type character ends up hollow if an author delves too deeply into their psyche.
The smartest thing this novella could've done is immediately break any preconception the reader held from other books. Roman is depressed and bitter, wanting no company during the winter holiday. He's very careful not to present this side to the public or friends. While I was aware that Roman held inklings of darkness, I didn't know that he hid *this* degree of misery either. It's a LOT. At first I wasn't completely on-board (selfishly, I really loved Roman's interplay with his meddling family in the main Kate Daniels series and we hardly get those funny interactions here). But as the novella went on, I was sucked into Roman's weird, deliciously twisted adventures with his witchy pets. There's a line in MAGIC BINDS where Curran says (paraphrasing), "Kate, you're like a cat lady but instead of collecting fluffy cats, you collect killers." This quote perfectly describes Roman collecting his hoard of demonic beasties. I completely lost it when [redacted animal] joined the collection after defecting from the other side. Roman may feel lonely and ostracized from his family (for very good reasons!), but he isn't without (villainous) companionship. He also gains a pretty cool pair of magical siblings tied to Slavic gods.
And whatever we missed from meddling family antics, we made up for it with the meddling Slavic gods. I am *obsessed* with the two main gods centered in this story. They are *so* petty and selfish (the tree! I could not believe the root cause of the dream request, lol). The concept of balance in Slavic traditions is really fascinating, with darkness not necessarily being "evil" as folks traditionally view it.
Excluding Sweep With Me, this is probably the closest thing IA has ever written to a holiday novella. Plus, you know, gore and man-eating scorpions and child-hunting mercenaries. It's very wintry and desolate — some might say untimely for summer, but it was a welcome respite from the heat wave.
My one note is that SANCTUARY feels like a prequel setup novella. I personally don't have a problem with this, but [redacted storyline] is unresolved and that's going to bother some people. Like, we get the Big Villain dangled in front of us and we still don't know what their deal is by the end of the novella. We also get a bunch of setup with the teenager, new friend, future love interest, and backstory explanation of Roman's family nightmare. But nothing is resolved because, well, it's clearly setting up a future book and it's too much plot for one novella. And who knows when the sequel will come out because it could be five months or five years? Just be warned. But from what I read, I really liked Roman's new found family and am looking forward to the sequel.
Disclaimer: I received a free e-ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review....more
Things I loved: - The worldbuilding. I love reading Regency novels and magical fantasy, and seeing them combined here made me so excited. Basi3.5 stars
Things I loved: - The worldbuilding. I love reading Regency novels and magical fantasy, and seeing them combined here made me so excited. Basically, it's Regency "Angland" where women are politicians and men are magicians, and the world has a variety of magical creatures. - The diverse (LGBTQ+ and racially) characters. The heroine is black. For some reason, many historical fantasy authors insist that they can only have straight white people in order to be "historically accurate," which is total bs considering that the word "fantasy" is the most important part of "historical fantasy."
Things I wished the story had: - I hate this complaint because it makes readers sound whiny, but I wish it was longer. The protagonists are so lovely and delightful that I feel like the short novella didn't fully make use of their potential. Still, I really enjoyed the story.
Disclaimer: I received a free e-ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Merged review:
3.5 stars
Things I loved: - The worldbuilding. I love reading Regency novels and magical fantasy, and seeing them combined here made me so excited. Basically, it's Regency "Angland" where women are politicians and men are magicians, and the world has a variety of magical creatures. - The diverse (LGBTQ+ and racially) characters. The heroine is black. For some reason, many historical fantasy authors insist that they can only have straight white people in order to be "historically accurate," which is total bs considering that the word "fantasy" is the most important part of "historical fantasy."
Things I wished the story had: - I hate this complaint because it makes readers sound whiny, but I wish it was longer. The protagonists are so lovely and delightful that I feel like the short novella didn't fully make use of their potential. Still, I really enjoyed the story.
Disclaimer: I received a free e-ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review....more
2023 Winter Bingo (#SnowInLoveBingo❄️): First Fall of Snow
You know, I thought about 3-starring because the writing was serviceable and worldbuildi2023 Winter Bingo (#SnowInLoveBingo❄️): First Fall of Snow
You know, I thought about 3-starring because the writing was serviceable and worldbuilding was competent... but no. I'm not going to 3-star books I slogged through, sorry. Boring plot, characters, ship, everything. The hero was only interesting for a page when he punched the heroine's useless brother.
Disappointing from an author I've previously enjoyed (and unfortunately more evidence that self-pub authors lose their juice in trad pub). Read via audio (narrated by Nina Yndis).
Disclaimer: I listened to a free audiobook from the publisher (PRH Audio App) in exchange for an honest review....more
This series is a hidden gem. I was afraid that THE FUTURE KING would suffer from Sequel Syndrome — slowly paced, dragging out the plot for no reason eThis series is a hidden gem. I was afraid that THE FUTURE KING would suffer from Sequel Syndrome — slowly paced, dragging out the plot for no reason except to set up Book Three, creating unnecessary character conflict to destroy any growth from Book One, etc. I worried for nothing; this is super fun and the heart of the book centers the found family. It IS setting up the plot for the final book, but nothing felt forced or unfaithful to the characters.
Unlike the first book — where all the main characters are mostly in the same space with overlapping journeys — the sequel has more physical separation and distinct character arcs. Arthur struggles with his father's poor health and an upcoming forced marriage, Emry works on a magical problem, Guin grapples with the consequences of (view spoiler)[not using contraception (hide spoiler)], Arthur's friends form a secret alliance to protect the castle, and even Morgana deals with imprisonment in a magical realm. There's no plot twist that ever surprised me, but tbh I don't need to be shocked or awestruck by a fantasy novel. I just need to have a good time, and THE FUTURE KING delivered that in spades. I breezed through the audiobook through an afternoon of chores, and I can't wait for the next book.
For fans of Galavant, A Knight's Tale, and people who don't give a damn about retelling/historical accuracy. This series is deliberately anachronistic and it's my very favorite aspect of the worldbuilding.
Read via audio (narrated by Rosie Jones).
Disclaimer: I listened to a free audiobook from the publisher (PRH Audio App) in exchange for an honest review....more
Holy fuck, this is terrifying?!? I was not expecting a gothic horror installment of the Singing Hills Cycle. Fantastic series; I would read a million Holy fuck, this is terrifying?!? I was not expecting a gothic horror installment of the Singing Hills Cycle. Fantastic series; I would read a million more novellas. Not going to bother explaining the premise because frankly you should not know anything before reading.
Disclaimer: I received a free e-ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review....more
I am sad. Went from assuming it'd be a 4 star read, to hesitantly choosing a 3 star after the last pag2023 Winter Bingo (#SnowInLoveBingo❄️): Gift
I am sad. Went from assuming it'd be a 4 star read, to hesitantly choosing a 3 star after the last page, and then finalizing on a 2 star after a headache-inducing week. Gah. The lesson here is to never have expectations or think about books critically. A few notes:
***
What I love about Bastone's writing is that she portrays deep emotional nuance and interiority of characters so carefully. I said as much in my review for FLIRTING WITH FOREVER. Which makes what I'm about to say next so puzzling. Here is approximately a timeline of the first 10% of the book.
1) Eve (heroine) discovers her accidental pregnancy in doctor's office (she already knew from a test, but gets official confirmation). She knows who the father is (a one-night stand with a bartender. They used a condom, which isn't 100% effective).
2) Eve has an internal monologue about her backstory and past relationships. She has *never* even considered parenthood or having kids. Her best friend Willa (who is struggling to conceive) has wanted kids forever. Eve was never the type of person to name her imaginary kids. She's never been in a serious relationship long enough to contemplate the possibility of having children.
3) Eve nervously informs Willa about her pregnancy (who is taken back and understandably struggling with the news). Willa is like (paraphrasing), "What/when are you going to tell the biological father? And maybe you don't have to tell him?" Eve is like "what do you mean" and Willa says "well, why tell him if you're not going to keep the baby?" Eve then nervously says that she's keeping the baby. Willa (and the reader!!) is shocked but congratulates her.
Okay, WHAT!? I legit thought my audiobook skipped a chapter. Eve went Zero-to-Baby!!!!! in 0.1 seconds. I love accidental pregnancy. I love the angst and the self-doubt and the panic. I know that most romance novels have gross anti-abortion rhetoric, but I still really like the trope. I felt robbed from the decision-making moment. Eve is a) not rich, b) in a low-paying admin job that she's not happy with, c) not in a committed relationship, d) orphaned with siblings far away, and e) living in New York City, one of the most expensive areas in the world. One chapter ago, she had an entire monologue about how she's never even CONSIDERED the possibility of children!! This omission never gets remedied later in the book.
The thing is, there are actually a number of reasonable reasons that can be extrapolated from her backstory: 1) Eve herself was a surprise baby to her older parents and might want to keep a surprise baby of her own, 2) Eve feels lonely as her parents are dead and her older siblings aren't close, 3) Eve comes from a religious background even though she does not subscribe to those beliefs (this is very vaguely hinted at during the Christmas chapter), or 4) Eve considers the possibility of children and decides that she wants to keep the baby. Literally none of these options were spelled out. I mean, I can assume they're all true, but it needs to be ON PAGE. This is such a baffling misstep from an author who I once described as having "the rare ability to create fully realized characters without relying on a one-page bio sheet".
The only explanation I can come up with is that the editor wanted less decisionmaking to not offend pro-life readers. Like, the book or character is not anti-abortion. The book is progressive in other ways; Eve talks about wanting the child to decide its own gender. I can't decide if the decisionmaking omission is better or worse than anti-abortion rhetoric.
I don't have these expectations from all accidental pregnancy books. If I'm reading a kinda problematic Harlequin Presents, I do not expect any nuance or hesitation (those heroines are always 100% pro-baby and horrified at any other option). But I expect nuance from this author and a non-category romance in 2024. I don't think I'm being unreasonable, and this frankly ruined the entire book for me.
***
There's a really weird scene after she tells Ethan (bio dad) about the accidental pregnancy. A couple days later, Ethan says his girlfriend wanted him to ask Eve about her sexual history. Eve thinks that he's asking whether she's a liar and is like (paraphrasing) "You are the only person I've slept with recently. But we can get a DNA test after the baby is born." Then she gets unexpectedly emotional and starts crying, and Ethan is like "I'm sorry!! My girlfriend made me ask you!!" Then they look at the ultrasound and the topic is dropped.
Okay. You don't have to wait until birth for a DNA paternity test. It can be tested safely a couple months in. Furthermore, Ethan doesn't know Eve from, well, Eve (pun intended). Of fucking course it's reasonable for Ethan to ask for a DNA test (frankly, he should've also asked for an STI report). To be fair to the book, there is a scene later when Eve is like (paraphrasing) "DNA testing gets a bad rap and is actually important for child support to help single moms." I 100% agree with you, Eve! So why the heck is there *no* DNA test taken in the book? It literally never comes up again.
This is actually my main irritation with the book. Eve *thinks* about all the important logistics to consider (budgeting for a child, etc) but the consideration doesn't play out meaningfully in the narrative. It's there as window dressing. The entire book feels like this. I am not expecting a spreadsheet of expenses. But what was present is inadequate.
***
Unlike other readers, I actually am not bothered by the fact that this straddles the romance/women's fiction line (probably landing on the latter side). I knew what I was getting into from other reviews and I like WF. So the relatively lower amount of Shep (endgame love interest) pagetime did not bother me.
What bothered me was that every other secondary character goes through an interesting conflict/development. Willa and her conception troubles (her difficulty in being thrilled for Eve while needing some distance to deal with her own mental shit). Ethan's struggle in deciding his involvement level and his deteriorating relationship with his girlfriend. Heck, even Eve's boss reveals a surprising facet of her personality late in the book.
Shep remains... Shep. He's been in love with Eve forever but recently got out of a decadelong relationship. He's grieving his mom's death last year. He is a good caretaker to Eve and is her one constant in a time of turbulence. He has an interesting backstory, but all that emotional development occurred off-page and before the events of the book. As a character, he is fairly static on page. I normally wouldn't mind this in a WF-leaning romance, but it's glaring when *two* other secondary characters have more interesting journeys in the book. I don't know... I liked him, but I wasn't feeling the ship at all.
***
I could write more, but I'm tired and cranky and want to move on. I still love Bastone's writing (and there are some genuinely moving scenes), but this is a rare miss. Read via audio (narrated by Alex Finke).
Disclaimer: I listened to a free audiobook from the publisher (PRH Audio App) in exchange for an honest review....more
I had fun, but... I kinda regret reading BRIDE after LOVE, THEORETICALLY and CHECK & 2023 Winter Bingo (#SnowInLoveBingo❄️): 2024 Release
3.5 stars
I had fun, but... I kinda regret reading BRIDE after LOVE, THEORETICALLY and CHECK & MATE, both of which were career highlights for AH. For reasons I can't ascertain, the romance in BRIDE is... hollow. I wasn't bothered by the ridiculous hand-waving worldbuilding because that's amusing. But I honestly felt more invested in the Misery-Serena friendship/mystery compared to the main couple dynamics. I will give the author points for attempting interesting wolf/vampire characteristics, as opposed to writing a thinly-veiled all-human omegaverse (*cough* THE FAKE MATE *cough*).
Ali is still fantastic at writing dialogue so I easily flew through the audiobook. But am I going to remember any of this? Nope. I will read the sequel (I really, really liked the next heroine's setup for the sequel bait). Read via audio (narrated by Thérèse Plummer and Will Damron).
Disclaimer: I listened to a free audiobook from the publisher (PRH Audio App) in exchange for an honest review....more
For the first 80%, the heroine’s mom and sisters treat her like crap. Then for a couple chapters, non-family members treat the heroine like crap. ThenFor the first 80%, the heroine’s mom and sisters treat her like crap. Then for a couple chapters, non-family members treat the heroine like crap. Then our intrepid heroine runs home into the loving embrace of her family, where no apologies or meaningful promises for changes are made. A complete waste of time. I wanted to break something by the time I reached the “happy” epilogue.
I enjoyed Sellet’s debut, but only read this if you want your blood pressure raised. I’m not writing a full-fledged review because I’m pretty sure that process will cause me to knock down another star.
Disclaimer: I received a free e-ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review....more
I made the mistake of sampling the first chapter at 11 pm. Well, it's six hours later, my eyes are strained from staring at a screen, and my sleep schI made the mistake of sampling the first chapter at 11 pm. Well, it's six hours later, my eyes are strained from staring at a screen, and my sleep schedule is absolutely wrecked this weekend.
I. Am. VIBRATING. This book is so freaking smart. If you loved the first one, you will definitely not be disappointed. Like how did Heather Fawcett take all the lingering threads from the first book and resolve them so perfectly?! The romantic courtship, the mysterious faerie door, Wendell's bloodthirsty family... it was everything that I imagined and more. I'm sorry that this review is pretty useless, but I just want to throw these books at people because I cannot coherently articulate my awe. I need to plan a vacation at some snowy lodge so I can curl up by the fireplace, sip hot chocolate, and listen to the audiobooks in a reread.
Disclaimer: I received a free e-ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Merged review:
I made the mistake of sampling the first chapter at 11 pm. Well, it's six hours later, my eyes are strained from staring at a screen, and my sleep schedule is absolutely wrecked this weekend.
I. Am. VIBRATING. This book is so freaking smart. If you loved the first one, you will definitely not be disappointed. Like how did Heather Fawcett take all the lingering threads from the first book and resolve them so perfectly?! The romantic courtship, the mysterious faerie door, Wendell's bloodthirsty family... it was everything that I imagined and more. I'm sorry that this review is pretty useless, but I just want to throw these books at people because I cannot coherently articulate my awe. I need to plan a vacation at some snowy lodge so I can curl up by the fireplace, sip hot chocolate, and listen to the audiobooks in a reread.
Disclaimer: I received a free e-ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review....more
2023 Winter Bingo (#SnowInLoveBingo❄️): Book You're Excited About
1) Super hot, but whyyyyy do you have wolf shifters with ZERO worldbuilding. WHY.2023 Winter Bingo (#SnowInLoveBingo❄️): Book You're Excited About
1) Super hot, but whyyyyy do you have wolf shifters with ZERO worldbuilding. WHY. This reads like an all-human omegaverse commonly found in AO3, but the publisher/author decided that they needed a PNR element to justify the ABO dynamics to a mainstream audience. Solution: let’s make them wolves to explain knotting and heat cycles! WHYYYYYYYY. I won’t stop sulking over the wasted potential. They don’t shift into wolves even once! ...more
2023 Winter Bingo (#SnowInLoveBingo❄️): A Big Family
This has interesting things to say on memory and perception, specifically how people living in2023 Winter Bingo (#SnowInLoveBingo❄️): A Big Family
This has interesting things to say on memory and perception, specifically how people living in the same environment can have drastically different takeaways. Read via audio (narrated by Mara Wilson and Emil Benjamin).
Disclaimer: I received a free audiobook from the publisher in exchange for an honest review....more
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