This series has captivated me. The betrayal took me by surprise and I cannot wait to find out more. That being said, it has been a month since I read This series has captivated me. The betrayal took me by surprise and I cannot wait to find out more. That being said, it has been a month since I read this and I remember less than I care to admit which might indicate that this is less memorable than other books by this author.
Writing wise this felt quite rushed and at times felt overly dragged out. This may seem contradictory but at first, the series felt like it was clinging to too many characters and now it seems that the men are being chopped out of the story faster than ever. I am not the biggest Bachelor fan so this could be a feature of the show? But this is completely understandable based on Katie’s afterword and how this is a kind of side project around her other works and thus has been on the back burner. Considering I had been waiting anxiously for the continuation of the Prodigium Academy and Dark Temptations series that is totally fine with me.
Some of my faves that remain are Leon , Ren , and Lincoln . Please cut down this harem to a more manageable number, Ridley can manage a lot but this is a tad much. This keeps proving that even when Katie May writes about trends I don’t love, I’ll still probably love it. ...more
I am so happy that I did not give up on this series. Moving to college has left me without access to cable TV including shows like t 3.5 out 5 stars
I am so happy that I did not give up on this series. Moving to college has left me without access to cable TV including shows like the Bachelorette so this just felt fresher than when I last picked up the series. I was sure I wasn’t continuing. I still feel this is one of Katie May’s weaker series but I’ll read anything that woman writes, one of my fave authors on KU.
This book did well to begin to go beyond being simply a formulaic supernatural version of the Bachelorette. I am enjoying the development of the plot with its new mysteries and reveals.
This is book #7 so I hope y’all have already read to the point of getting to know the characters. So all I’ll say is… Ren that character arc is going to hit the fan soon and I hope it’s in the next book. I have so many questions.
WARNING this book ends in a cliffhanger. I may have over-delayed reading this book but it enabled me to continue on without getting hit with the feels.
My review for Reveals (#8) is in progress but it was a 4-star! <3<3<3...more
Not enough demon vibes. Pure erotica. --- all of which can be a good thing but I am not into daddy kink and that just took me out of the st dnf @27%
Not enough demon vibes. Pure erotica. --- all of which can be a good thing but I am not into daddy kink and that just took me out of the story. I love a good Dom/sub dynamic but calling someone daddy just makes it weird for me.
BUT I think this book could definitely appeal to other people and I am not looking to write off Onley James as an author I still want to try....more
I’m gonna keep this brief. I hated it. When I saw Villains Do It Better review/DNF I knew I was treading up a hill with this one so if you like stuff I’m gonna keep this brief. I hated it. When I saw Villains Do It Better review/DNF I knew I was treading up a hill with this one so if you like stuff like this sure as heck give it a try don't make my words stop you. The setting was the one bright spot with it being atmospheric and clearly a fun house. I cannot really cover this without major spoilers so be warned. This was quite dark and very explicit even for me.
(view spoiler)[ How was it possible that the entire plot and cast of characters was written off as a delusion? While in the psych hospital, Sibby finds out that her henchmen were all delusions and her sexual encounters were her imagining it or f*cking manakins with sex toys. This is not okay. The representation of schizophrenia was beyond horrendous and I know it was not the purpose of this book as most people wanted a raunchy crazy, girl romance but it pissed me off. Further, she experienced all forms of hallucinations - auditory, visual, tactile, olfactory and gustatory which is not impossible but all 5 is not likely. I like some plausibility in my books even if it is a crazy fantasy. Also, her father’s cult aka the entire source of her trauma was not explained fully. Her origins are not clear. I had a bad feeling from the start that Sibby was not actually hunting demons but just a serial killer and I was right. And damn I wish I wasn’t. (hide spoiler)]
I read this because it was labelled as encouraged to read before Haunting Adeline I assume Zane is gonna have his moment. I pray that it doesn't go down like this....more
Review (9/15/2022): I read this months ago and remain enchanted by the story. With only one more book left I fear I put off writing this review beca Review (9/15/2022): I read this months ago and remain enchanted by the story. With only one more book left I fear I put off writing this review because I didn’t want the series ride to be over. With this written, I have no more justification to not finally pick up -Hell on Earth and the unexpected to me bonus book Snowball's Chance in Hell.
Into the story. Aria has a lot going on and honestly I feel a little overwhelmed on her behalf. Sayah’s not one to remain leashed and hellhounds (not her hellhound boyfriend) are going after her.
Cain ohh sin of Pride has a really interesting dynamic with Maverick his brother and perhaps yet another to win a piece of Aria’s heart. I’m being a little dramatic but I am excited to see how Maverick fits into the final dynamic. He’s kind of a wild card.
Elias just can’t catch a break. When you read it, you’ll get it. At the time I was SOOO angry but I have sinced calmed down and can acknowledge the man needed closure. But what a b*tch?
Dorian is Dorian. Sexy incubus. If he was your cuppa tea, the first time around, I can guarantee you’ll still like him in the fifth book.
This was such a multifront book with so many plots that really excited me but it wasn’t perfect in a book with 4.5 stars. I really want to get to book 6 but uni has been a situation so I’m tempering my hope to read it during Thanksgiving break in November. Expect my reviews to be library audiobooks or books I read for class. ...more
It's been about a month since I read this. I initially gave this 3.5 stars rounding down like a jerk. But I'll bump it to a 4 star. This was a solid, It's been about a month since I read this. I initially gave this 3.5 stars rounding down like a jerk. But I'll bump it to a 4 star. This was a solid, thrilling conclusion of the romance between Veronica a vampire hunter (kinda a general monster hunter) and the 3 men that turned out to be hers. A demon, a fallen angel and a vampire. Not what she was looking for originally. Normally, I fucking hate when someone's ex comes back in the picture especially if he was literally dead. I also dislike adding harem members after an established relationship because it feels emotionally unfaithful to me. Mila Young and Jordan Crow did a great job of toeing the addition line which raised tension without ultimately making me pissed. I would recommend binging the series because I totally went to long in between books especially since this one takes off immediately from he conclusion of the other one. Totally recommend especially if your a sucker for RH and vampires/demons/angels/etc....more
This was fun but I have realized that this serial format does not work for me at all. I just want a 200 page book or something. They keep getting shorThis was fun but I have realized that this serial format does not work for me at all. I just want a 200 page book or something. They keep getting shorter which is not great but I still am enjoying the concept. I am way behind in reading to be able to vote so I was disappointed to see one of my faves from last time, Dino had been axed. I did not like how Ren’s psycho ex was brought up in “Group Outing” then ignored for this book. I guess I want there to be more continuity between installments while still exploring the others. Lincoln’s story just felt kind of forced like he’s a Cupid of course he had a sordid past. I would have been more happy if this was treated as a kind of Eros and Psyche story… Eros/Cupid finds his one but his mom Aphrodite ain’t happy about it. Still jamming with the tidbits about Rion from Leon’s perspective but I need more about HIM personally. I don’t want him to function as what happened to his cousin after the novel “Blindly Indicted” vessel....more
Great ending to this series. I freakin adored the reference to “Demon’s Joy” the Christmas book by the authors in the same universe. Honestly, I did nGreat ending to this series. I freakin adored the reference to “Demon’s Joy” the Christmas book by the authors in the same universe. Honestly, I did not put together Raz’s connection between both narratives. I loved see Joy and her murder again. It was great to see her happily ever after. Would definitely recommend it!
The interpretation of heaven and hell is very original but honestly I want more exploration of that. Hell or Heaven barely made an appearance in this book.
Adam is adorable. What 4 year old isn’t?... wait I’ve met plenty of terrors. I love his bond with the guys and how seamless it is.
Speaking of the guys. I know Reverse Harem is a why choose scenario and that’s all good but I did have a favorite beau in this one. AKOR… we get more information about his background in this book. His instability makes sense and I love his utter devotion to Katrina.
Parting Remarks: I will be waiting with bated breath for Lucy’s story to drop… It said it would be released around December 31 of this year. So a long time but I gotta have a book list, right? ...more
I don’t feel like this book is suffering from middle book syndrome. I’d say it’s a 3.25 to “The Fallen” rating of 3.0, maybe even 2.5. It was really fI don’t feel like this book is suffering from middle book syndrome. I’d say it’s a 3.25 to “The Fallen” rating of 3.0, maybe even 2.5. It was really fun. I have read many of C.N. Crawford’s books some I adored like the Court of the Sea Fae series and the Night Elves trilogy others have been a total flop for me ie Shadow & Flame series. The development of Lila was well done in the first book. I truly did not understand her justifications for doing what she did. Here she is coming into her own. I saw the “twist” coming but still it was fun. This is obviously not an epic fantasy with fantastic world building but it builds enough for me to enjoy the romantic plot line without my mind questioning all the places and things because of lack of development. Also the claim to a Hades/Persephone retelling finally kind of shows up in the plot though I don’t see enough Greek Mythology to justify the series title being Hades Castle. It never really made sense to me why it was called that because they are in a completely fantastical world not just a magickified version of our world....more
This book somehow takes a wonderful concept to a forgettable book so forgettable that I forgot to copy and paste this review from my Google Drive intoThis book somehow takes a wonderful concept to a forgettable book so forgettable that I forgot to copy and paste this review from my Google Drive into Goodreads. I did not notice for two months. The forgetfulness stems not from a lack of originality in the concepts but the repetitive nature of the writing - we get it dick jokes especially superhuman ones are funny?? and Professor Krauss is a legendary badass, making this read a slog. I love literature references and have since the beginning but my love of Oscar Wilde and mythology can only take me so far in liking a book. 2 out of 5 stars. J.B. Trepagnier can and has done so much better writing and narrative wise. I think I'm going to have to give her the My Beautiful Monsters series a reread so it can remind me of why I read her books and to overcome the discouragement to continue this has left me with. Nonetheless I am going to finish whatever comes out in the series because I mentally need conclusions and my mama ain't raise no quitter.
Oh… in the first book review of the series I left out one of the men from the list accidentally. Bram. The hellhound. Has a demon master and is functionally a slave / literal dog. It deeply disturbed me how hellhounds’ human sides are virtually ignored and are studded out with other hellhounds like breeders do with dogs on earth. I know it was the point to criticize how we view others but this was a step too far especially since in Trepagnier’s other novels involving Hell there have been changes to the political structure of hell . My understanding is that most of her works fall in this universe and for some reason Serafina, Sauron and River haven’t done jack for the hell hounds? Well… either they are terribly ingenuine in the prior books or this was a literary oversight by Trepagnier.
This synopsis made me think this was going to be a strong novel but it was weaker than the author’s others. Library+mythology = my type of book. It stThis synopsis made me think this was going to be a strong novel but it was weaker than the author’s others. Library+mythology = my type of book. It started off pretty great. The resurrection of the chaos god was cool. I adored Felix (the cat) Ripley’s familiar. They frame Ripley a kind of badass librarian that if you fuck with her library she’ll kick your ass but she doesn’t. Either the library does it literally by itself or the men in her life do it for her. Random crude jokes aren’t my cup of tea. Sex scenes are fine but don’t be a teen boy in how you talk and narrate your book.
The guys.
Reyson. God of Chaos. Way over the top… obsessed with oreos and spontaneously declares Ripley his bride.
Felix. Cat turned into a warlock. He was the only love interest that I liked. Very best friend turned lover's vibes. I am not going to overthink the sketch relationship between witch and familiar. I like characters being from different places but dude was a walking (or should I say tea drinking/fish and chips devouring) British stereotype.
Gabriel. A descendant of Lucifer so he is shunned by the Witch/Warlock community. That I have no community became his entire angsty personality. He needed to step up and prove what he was capable of but instead he faded into the background of the narrative in favor of other love interests.
Balthazar. The vampire. The techy/Hacker one because every book series needs a tech savvy bestfriend or f*ck buddy who knows his way around the internet. Tracking perps and crushing organizations from the dark web. Tech plus wanting a threesome with Reyson and Ripley became his entire personality so… yeah not great.
The plot just wasn't built for the story, it was simply harem building. Simultaneously this feels like a no burn reverse harem because one guy gets in her pants but the others just hug a lot and eat popcorn. Stagnant but I will continue to see if Trepagnier can turn this b*tch around. Out of respect for my love for her other books. 2.5 stars can round to 3 on Goodreads....more
I want more time with Dino. Maybe I just like the idea of a T-Rex shifter. Yeah no that’s it but this was really cute. Nice serial that keeps one comiI want more time with Dino. Maybe I just like the idea of a T-Rex shifter. Yeah no that’s it but this was really cute. Nice serial that keeps one coming back. I seriously need to get caught up so I can maybe participate in the Facebook voting because right now I have no control and I’m depending on others. I also think Ren is a sweetie even if he has a psycho ex. Everyone has baggage, Ridley’s literally followed her to the show. I am looking at you, Grant. I also adored that in the last book an easter egg was hidden that Leon was Rion’s from another of Katie May’s books “Blindly Indicted” cousin. Which had me transfer some of my favoritism to him because of the connection. I loved the paint balling group date. It brought me fun memories of my baby bros paintball birthday and shooting up the competition....more
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