I recently (as in this week) read two Darkness novellas - this one and this one...which is supposedly considered a "full length" who2 Lackluster Stars
I recently (as in this week) read two Darkness novellas - this one and this one...which is supposedly considered a "full length" whole number installment, but at 99 overpriced pages, well...
[image]
In fact, I've come to two conclusions after finishing this last one:
1) Said novellas are not worth the price I paid for them. ($2.99 for each)
2) Katie Reus can't write good novella.
With both books, everything felt...half-assed and rushed, quite frankly.
And before people get their panties jammed and cry, "But they are novellas!"
I say,
[image]
I have read a TON of fucking novellas in my time. And I KNOW they can be done right and done well.
Characters can still be fully fleshed out. Plots can still be solid. Scenes can feel smooth and finished.
But, alas, such was not the case with this one.
Scenes I had looked forward to, scenes which should have packed some major feels-punch, felt harried and without finesse...like their writing was a check mark on the to-do list of a proverbial book outline and not given their true diligence.
In fact, these last two series installments make me question whether or not I will continue with the series after this...although I really want to read Cynara's book (which I am hoping is next).
Something to ponder...
Still love Katie Reus...just not impressed by her short game.
I recently (as in this week) read two Darkness novellas - this one and this one...which is supposedly considered a "full length" whole number installment, but at 99 overpriced pages, well...
[image]
In fact, I've come to two conclusions after finishing this last one:
1) Said novellas are not worth the price I paid for them. ($2.99 for each)
2) Katie Reus can't write good novella.
With both books, everything felt...half-assed and rushed, quite frankly.
And before people get their panties jammed and cry, "But they are novellas!"
I say,
[image]
I have read a TON of fucking novellas in my time. And I KNOW they can be done right and done well.
Characters can still be fully fleshed out. Plots can still be solid. Scenes can feel smooth and finished.
But, alas, such was not the case with this one.
Scenes I had looked forward to, scenes which should have packed some major feels-punch, felt harried and without finesse...like their writing was a check mark on the to-do list of a proverbial book outline and not given their true diligence.
In fact, these last two series installments make me question whether or not I will continue with the series after this...although I really want to read Cynara's book (which I am hoping is next).
Something to ponder...
Still love Katie Reus...just not impressed by her short game.
This was a...different read. There was a whole lot going on - MC Club, mafia assassins, survivalist cults, bdsm...I mean, my God, practically every hot romance trope of the moment, for fucks sake- and at times I rolled my eyes a bit, for sure.
Plus, there were a LOT of sex scenes. Almost too many - yeah, I can't believe I just said that either - but seriously, a lot.
Not I saying I didn't enjoy them *ahem* just saying it might be a bit overkill in the sex department for some people.
Aside from that, there was some unevenness at times and the plot seemed occasionally disjointed but, in the end, I was able to buy in and enjoy this more than I expected when I was at the halfway point.
Swan - despite being a golden clam - was a very interesting character and I really started to like her as the story went on. Smoke was a hottie, of course, and so was Beach.
Regardless, I'm knee deep in this ish now, so I'm off to read the next one now, which I hear is better than this one. So...woohoo.
This was a...different read. There was a whole lot going on - MC Club, mafia assassins, survivalist cults, bdsm...I mean, my God, practically every hot romance trope of the moment, for fucks sake- and at times I rolled my eyes a bit, for sure.
Plus, there were a LOT of sex scenes. Almost too many - yeah, I can't believe I just said that either - but seriously, a lot.
Not I saying I didn't enjoy them *ahem* just saying it might be a bit overkill in the sex department for some people.
Aside from that, there was some unevenness at times and the plot seemed occasionally disjointed but, in the end, I was able to buy in and enjoy this more than I expected when I was at the halfway point.
Swan - despite being a golden clam - was a very interesting character and I really started to like her as the story went on. Smoke was a hottie, of course, and so was Beach.
Regardless, I'm knee deep in this ish now, so I'm off to read the next one now, which I hear is better than this one. So...woohoo.
12/19/15: Series RE-READ in preparation for newest book, coming December 21, woot woot!
Original Review
4 Stars
So, I'm completely obsessed with this ser12/19/15: Series RE-READ in preparation for newest book, coming December 21, woot woot!
Original Review
4 Stars
So, I'm completely obsessed with this series right now.
Seriously.
Obsessed.
Like as in the Tom Cruise style "I'm so obsessed with Scientology I shall laugh maniacally" kind of obsessed.
[image]
[image]
[image]
* * * * *
[image]
I know this series kind of...different...
...in what some might say is a "weird" M/M on steroids genre...
...But whatevs!
I freakin' DIG it.
[image]
See Mer-Man says it's cool, so it's aight.
So see, totally reasonable.
[image]
But I digress.
Book One is still my favorite, of course.
Nothing and no one can compare to Rohyr and Lassen in my opinion.
And while I at least liked Naeth and Reijir more as people than I did Riordan from book two, I didn't necessarily feel their connection as strongly as I did with the couples from books one and two.
Still, a really good story against a backdrop of outstanding world building.
Something else I think the author does that is really cool is tell each story in a timeline that interweaves itself into the timelines of the previous books - thereby making the time frame make sense and giving us even more details from those previous book relationships - but without being repetitive in any way.
Pretty neat trick if you ask me.
Well I would actually put some true effort into this and make this review an actual review, but like I said:
#OBSESSED
So I need to get back to reading book 4...which I am already 80% into...
Whoops!
[image]
Merged review:
12/19/15: Series RE-READ in preparation for newest book, coming December 21, woot woot!
Original Review
4 Stars
So, I'm completely obsessed with this series right now.
Seriously.
Obsessed.
Like as in the Tom Cruise style "I'm so obsessed with Scientology I shall laugh maniacally" kind of obsessed.
[image]
[image]
[image]
* * * * *
[image]
I know this series kind of...different...
...in what some might say is a "weird" M/M on steroids genre...
...But whatevs!
I freakin' DIG it.
[image]
See Mer-Man says it's cool, so it's aight.
So see, totally reasonable.
[image]
But I digress.
Book One is still my favorite, of course.
Nothing and no one can compare to Rohyr and Lassen in my opinion.
And while I at least liked Naeth and Reijir more as people than I did Riordan from book two, I didn't necessarily feel their connection as strongly as I did with the couples from books one and two.
Still, a really good story against a backdrop of outstanding world building.
Something else I think the author does that is really cool is tell each story in a timeline that interweaves itself into the timelines of the previous books - thereby making the time frame make sense and giving us even more details from those previous book relationships - but without being repetitive in any way.
Pretty neat trick if you ask me.
Well I would actually put some true effort into this and make this review an actual review, but like I said:
#OBSESSED
So I need to get back to reading book 4...which I am already 80% into...
This was super decent but, not gonna lie, I felt a little lost.
The amazon blurb said, and I quote, "Although this is book #4 in the Werelock E3 Stars
This was super decent but, not gonna lie, I felt a little lost.
The amazon blurb said, and I quote, "Although this is book #4 in the Werelock Evolution series timeline, it was written as a STANDALONE, so it is not necessary to have read the trilogy that precedes No Light."
Pfffffft.
Lies.
Lies, I tell you.
Sure, sure, I was able to amble along a little bit.
But, have you ever been to a party which - while fun - you are surrounded by people who seem to have endless inside jokes you just KNOW are going over your head?
Well, enter me at this partay.
[image]
Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed it well enough.
It WAS about fated mate werewolves FFS sake, AKA Val's kryptonite (see what I did there? *wink*), but I definitely think I would have enjoyed it more had I listened to my gut and usual SOP (that's Standard Operating Procedure for those who are down with the 411 (that's info for those who aren't ancient enough to remember that little fun landline phone fact)) and read 1-3 first.
Dude, check OUT that^^^ level of Kristen Ashley parentheses.
Anybabble, I didn't adore the H. Something about him, I don't know.
Might still go back and try book one.
Toodles.
Merged review:
3 Stars
This was super decent but, not gonna lie, I felt a little lost.
The amazon blurb said, and I quote, "Although this is book #4 in the Werelock Evolution series timeline, it was written as a STANDALONE, so it is not necessary to have read the trilogy that precedes No Light."
Pfffffft.
Lies.
Lies, I tell you.
Sure, sure, I was able to amble along a little bit.
But, have you ever been to a party which - while fun - you are surrounded by people who seem to have endless inside jokes you just KNOW are going over your head?
Well, enter me at this partay.
[image]
Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed it well enough.
It WAS about fated mate werewolves FFS sake, AKA Val's kryptonite (see what I did there? *wink*), but I definitely think I would have enjoyed it more had I listened to my gut and usual SOP (that's Standard Operating Procedure for those who are down with the 411 (that's info for those who aren't ancient enough to remember that little fun landline phone fact)) and read 1-3 first.
Dude, check OUT that^^^ level of Kristen Ashley parentheses.
Anybabble, I didn't adore the H. Something about him, I don't know.
So this is probably my least favorite of the series so far, because, whelp... * * * * * CHEATING.
[ima3.5-3.75 Stars
***Spoilers Abound - Enter at Own Risk***
So this is probably my least favorite of the series so far, because, whelp... * * * * * CHEATING.
[image]
And not only cheating, but Ash-banging-someone-Eiren-can't-fucking-stand cheating.
[image]
Holy effin' burn, peeps.
There, there, Val. There, there.
Now, normally this is a deal breaker for me - of epic proportions; however, in this case:
1) I was so invested in the series and the characters that I just had to continue.
2) For whatever reason, cheating doesn't bother me AS MUCH in m/m as it does in m/f. I am not sure why this is the case. It doesn't make sense to me either. But whatevs, it is what it is.
So there's that.
Then, AFTER said cheating, Eiren leaves for a while and comes back.
MARRIED.
To someone ELSE.
[image]
And as though that isn't enough, the new guy is a righteous dude and everyone loves him. Even Ash.
So you can't even have the satisfaction of hating the guy.
[image]
Some other righteously annoying shenanigans ensue - think death and STDs.
[image]
But hey, at least I got some really good groveling and an HEA.
And I still love the series.
Merged review:
3.5-3.75 Stars
***Spoilers Abound - Enter at Own Risk***
So this is probably my least favorite of the series so far, because, whelp... * * * * * CHEATING.
[image]
And not only cheating, but Ash-banging-someone-Eiren-can't-fucking-stand cheating.
[image]
Holy effin' burn, peeps.
There, there, Val. There, there.
Now, normally this is a deal breaker for me - of epic proportions; however, in this case:
1) I was so invested in the series and the characters that I just had to continue.
2) For whatever reason, cheating doesn't bother me AS MUCH in m/m as it does in m/f. I am not sure why this is the case. It doesn't make sense to me either. But whatevs, it is what it is.
So there's that.
Then, AFTER said cheating, Eiren leaves for a while and comes back.
MARRIED.
To someone ELSE.
[image]
And as though that isn't enough, the new guy is a righteous dude and everyone loves him. Even Ash.
So you can't even have the satisfaction of hating the guy.
[image]
Some other righteously annoying shenanigans ensue - think death and STDs.
[image]
But hey, at least I got some really good groveling and an HEA.
Likes: The overall tone of the story. It had that haunting quality that I love and it kept the ex3 Stars
I thought this was good, but I didn't love it.
Likes: The overall tone of the story. It had that haunting quality that I love and it kept the expectation pedal down on the impending answers to come. I also loved the time period and the setting.
Mehs: The writing was a little more over the place then I prefer. A lot of filler and pages/descriptions that did nothing to move a scene, character, or the story itself forward. There were also POVs seemingly out of the blue that felt unnecessary. And I felt connected to exactly zero of them. And don't even get me started on Jacob. His whole character and arc felt gratuitous. What he brought to the ending could have been accomplished in a much more realistic, nuanced way through another character or method that didn't feel so out of place.
Dislikes: The ending. So many loose ends. I love a good open ending, but this left me unsatisfied all around. So much could have been done with it. So much detail and pages of character arcs and efforts that went exactly nowhere.
Oh well, as I said. I think I'm an outlier on this one....more
Before I get started, I have a confession to make...
When requesting this book from NetGalley, I did not realize that Milla Vane is r3 Conflicted Stars
Before I get started, I have a confession to make...
When requesting this book from NetGalley, I did not realize that Milla Vane is really Meljean Brook. All I saw were several glittering reviews from some trusted GR friends, the word "Dragons" in the title (more on that later), a hot barbarian on the cover, and the mention of a marriage of convenience in the blurb.
And so this was me:
[image]
Now, I have nothing against Meljean Brook. She is a wildly popular author who has written some much-beloved series...
It's just that I have DNF'd book one for two of those series.
[image]
After that, I never picked her stuff up again as I figured she just wasn't for me.
But enter NetGalley. And Dragons. And Barbarians. And an arranged marriage. And I have no self-control.
[image]
Plus, it wasn't until after I had already gotten the book from NetGalley that I learned it was authored by Meljean Brook. And, since I've already fucked up my "feedback" average with those fine folks enough already, I figured I should at least give this a shot.
My long-winded point in explaining all this?
Take this review with a grain of salt. Because it's probably just me. And I probably shouldn't have read this being that I already know this author just isn't for me.
But, let's do this anyway. On to my "review."
The first - and perhaps most important, dammit! - thing I want anyone to know is that there are NO actual dragons in this book with Dragons in the title.
[image]
Instead, the "dragon" being referred to here is really a squad of barbarian warriors acting as the personal guard of someone royal or important. Or something. And they ride in a formation and "fly" AKA ride. And each warrior is referred to as a part of the "dragon." So-and-so is the wings and so-and-so is the tail. Or something.
But anyway, I digress.
There are no fucking dragons, people. Moving on.
Secondly, the whole time I was reading this book, I found it equal parts enjoyable and yet tedious.
I enjoyed the story line and I enjoyed the characters. And, despite my disappoint that there were no actual dragons to be had here, I really liked Maddek and his metaphorical "Dragon" (AKA his band of warriors). I am always a sucker for the band of brothers/sisters shtick. Because #squadgoals. And the world-building?
Excellent. Truly excellent.
I remember from my attempts at reading Brook's other books that she really does excel at world-building. The magic system and mythology got a little hazy at times, but overall, she does a really great job of building the world without the heavy info-dumping from which a lot of first-in-series books suffer. So bravo. That takes a lot of skill and I truly believe Brook is a talented author.
However.
As great as the world-building was and as much as I enjoyed the characters, I also felt like I never truly got to know them as well as I would have liked. I also never had any problems putting the book down or felt any urgency to pick it back up.
I attribute a lot of that to the aforementioned tediousness, which I feel stemmed from both the writing style and the fact that the romance between Maddek and Yvenne would go one step forward and three steps back all throughout the book.
But before I get into the square dance that was the relationship build here, let's go back to the writing.
Honest to God, I sometimes felt like I was in an episode of Star Wars with Yoda as the narrator.
I mean, read some excerpts with me here, folks:
"So hot and hard he was, Maddek barely trusted himself to touch her."
"Hard Maddek must have slept. He knew not when Yvenne left their bed or their quarters."
"Rough he was, rougher than he'd ever been, his grip tight upon her arms and legs as he held her wrists..."
"So quiet the tent was, only filled with the sound of their breaths."
"How long Yvenne cried, she knew not."
"Patience you must have, my young padawan."
[image]
Okay, so obviously that last one was me fucking with you, but still. You get the idea.
Not only did said style make the writing feel stilted to me, but having Yoda-speak so often occur during the (super delayed) sex scenes?
[image]
The biggest annoyance to me in the book though, and what is probably my main reason for not rating it higher, is the aforementioned romance square dance.
I felt like Maddek and Yvenne took FOREVER to get anywhere. They kept hashing and rehashing the same shit - Maddek's inability to see past Yvenne's supposed "sly-tongued" nature. Now, I get that this was very important to Maddek's character. His people take lying and the truth VERY seriously. But I feel like they go back and forth about the same conversation for pretty much the entirety of the book.
And despite the fact that Yvenne's sole goal in this whole thing is to get knocked up with an heir, these two don't get really get busy until upwards of 80%. Eighty percent, people.
Now, I am all for a good slow burn every now and then. One of my favorite authors is Mariana Zapata - the QUEEN of the slow burn. But the situation in this book just left me super frustrated.
First it was that they wanted to make sure she wasn't already pregnant. Then they had to wait for her "moon night." Then there was a fight scenario. And then there was me:
[image]
Now, I'm not trying to tear this book apart by any means. I DID rate it three stars - which means I "liked it" - I just didn't love it like I was hoping to. As solid as the world building was, it just didn't keep me captivated. As I mentioned earlier, I had no problem putting this book down and had to actually remind myself to pick it back up.
All that said, despite having have mad respect for this author, I truly think it just boils down to something about her writing style and construction just not being for me. But I know a lot of people for whom this book totally worked. And I think anyone interested in this blurb should give it a shot.
***ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review***
Merged review:
3 Conflicted Stars
Before I get started, I have a confession to make...
When requesting this book from NetGalley, I did not realize that Milla Vane is really Meljean Brook. All I saw were several glittering reviews from some trusted GR friends, the word "Dragons" in the title (more on that later), a hot barbarian on the cover, and the mention of a marriage of convenience in the blurb.
And so this was me:
[image]
Now, I have nothing against Meljean Brook. She is a wildly popular author who has written some much-beloved series...
It's just that I have DNF'd book one for two of those series.
[image]
After that, I never picked her stuff up again as I figured she just wasn't for me.
But enter NetGalley. And Dragons. And Barbarians. And an arranged marriage. And I have no self-control.
[image]
Plus, it wasn't until after I had already gotten the book from NetGalley that I learned it was authored by Meljean Brook. And, since I've already fucked up my "feedback" average with those fine folks enough already, I figured I should at least give this a shot.
My long-winded point in explaining all this?
Take this review with a grain of salt. Because it's probably just me. And I probably shouldn't have read this being that I already know this author just isn't for me.
But, let's do this anyway. On to my "review."
The first - and perhaps most important, dammit! - thing I want anyone to know is that there are NO actual dragons in this book with Dragons in the title.
[image]
Instead, the "dragon" being referred to here is really a squad of barbarian warriors acting as the personal guard of someone royal or important. Or something. And they ride in a formation and "fly" AKA ride. And each warrior is referred to as a part of the "dragon." So-and-so is the wings and so-and-so is the tail. Or something.
But anyway, I digress.
There are no fucking dragons, people. Moving on.
Secondly, the whole time I was reading this book, I found it equal parts enjoyable and yet tedious.
I enjoyed the story line and I enjoyed the characters. And, despite my disappoint that there were no actual dragons to be had here, I really liked Maddek and his metaphorical "Dragon" (AKA his band of warriors). I am always a sucker for the band of brothers/sisters shtick. Because #squadgoals. And the world-building?
Excellent. Truly excellent.
I remember from my attempts at reading Brook's other books that she really does excel at world-building. The magic system and mythology got a little hazy at times, but overall, she does a really great job of building the world without the heavy info-dumping from which a lot of first-in-series books suffer. So bravo. That takes a lot of skill and I truly believe Brook is a talented author.
However.
As great as the world-building was and as much as I enjoyed the characters, I also felt like I never truly got to know them as well as I would have liked. I also never had any problems putting the book down or felt any urgency to pick it back up.
I attribute a lot of that to the aforementioned tediousness, which I feel stemmed from both the writing style and the fact that the romance between Maddek and Yvenne would go one step forward and three steps back all throughout the book.
But before I get into the square dance that was the relationship build here, let's go back to the writing.
Honest to God, I sometimes felt like I was in an episode of Star Wars with Yoda as the narrator.
I mean, read some excerpts with me here, folks:
"So hot and hard he was, Maddek barely trusted himself to touch her."
"Hard Maddek must have slept. He knew not when Yvenne left their bed or their quarters."
"Rough he was, rougher than he'd ever been, his grip tight upon her arms and legs as he held her wrists..."
"So quiet the tent was, only filled with the sound of their breaths."
"How long Yvenne cried, she knew not."
"Patience you must have, my young padawan."
[image]
Okay, so obviously that last one was me fucking with you, but still. You get the idea.
Not only did said style make the writing feel stilted to me, but having Yoda-speak so often occur during the (super delayed) sex scenes?
[image]
The biggest annoyance to me in the book though, and what is probably my main reason for not rating it higher, is the aforementioned romance square dance.
I felt like Maddek and Yvenne took FOREVER to get anywhere. They kept hashing and rehashing the same shit - Maddek's inability to see past Yvenne's supposed "sly-tongued" nature. Now, I get that this was very important to Maddek's character. His people take lying and the truth VERY seriously. But I feel like they go back and forth about the same conversation for pretty much the entirety of the book.
And despite the fact that Yvenne's sole goal in this whole thing is to get knocked up with an heir, these two don't get really get busy until upwards of 80%. Eighty percent, people.
Now, I am all for a good slow burn every now and then. One of my favorite authors is Mariana Zapata - the QUEEN of the slow burn. But the situation in this book just left me super frustrated.
First it was that they wanted to make sure she wasn't already pregnant. Then they had to wait for her "moon night." Then there was a fight scenario. And then there was me:
[image]
Now, I'm not trying to tear this book apart by any means. I DID rate it three stars - which means I "liked it" - I just didn't love it like I was hoping to. As solid as the world building was, it just didn't keep me captivated. As I mentioned earlier, I had no problem putting this book down and had to actually remind myself to pick it back up.
All that said, despite having have mad respect for this author, I truly think it just boils down to something about her writing style and construction just not being for me. But I know a lot of people for whom this book totally worked. And I think anyone interested in this blurb should give it a shot.
***ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review***...more
I really loved a lot of elements...and yet found some others very off-putting. This left me not wholly satisf3 Stars
I'm of two minds about this book.
I really loved a lot of elements...and yet found some others very off-putting. This left me not wholly satisfied with the book as a whole, sadly. I still liked it; however, if I could remove those aforementioned off-putting portions (all of which I felt were unnecessary and did nothing to drive the story forward), this would have been a solid 4-5 star read for me. ...more
This decently (albeit temporarily, as always) satisfied the endless black hole that is my mafia romance craving. Super solid and I will defin3.5 Stars
This decently (albeit temporarily, as always) satisfied the endless black hole that is my mafia romance craving. Super solid and I will definitely be reading book two when it comes out. ...more
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