Miriam's Reviews > Aurelian Prisoner

I got this one recommended in one of my book groups… Really, I tried to like it. And in this case it's luck, that I have a principle for my ratings and that is, that my rating system starts from 3 to 5 stars, and therefore I never rate below that. Because most books are not that terrible, that they deserve a bad rating.

Case in Point here. It really is not complete trash or anything. I think, it's just not to my liking. I couldn't really get into the story or the characters. Especially Allie was a huge part why I skipped through most of the book. And the smut parts were not too my liking either. The language and all.

To say it in one sentence: I couldn't enjoy this book, and I'm glad it is over.

Allie was a terrible FMC. Sure, I could partly get her reasoning. I mean, bad experiences and all. She had trust issues. Which is a development caused by the surrounding universe. It's a desolate place mostly.

But did it have to come to this? No, because instead of stealing from the other triad and basically destroying their lives, she could have used words. She could have communicated. And as it was described, Aurelians are honorable men. I'm sure she would have found help and maybe her sister Lilac never had to suffer. She could have rescued earlier.

But no. She didn't talk. She just destroyed lives back and forth without much thought. And that alone didn't make her likable to me. Sure, I get it, that she was probably desperate and didn't follow logic back then. But later on, she did make calculated thoughts.

She seduced her triad and destroyed their career. She deceived them again. And I just sat there and thought, “did she learn nothing from it?”. Her ignorance was terrible.

In general, I'm not a fan of the miscommunication or no communication troupe. It's just a source of frustration for me, because it could have been so much better.

Otherwise, I hated all the repeated parts and information. Which made it hard to read everything and why I skipped so much.

About the guys… I kind of liked them. But generally, all the characters were superficial at best. There is not much on backgrounds or personalities. Only the necessities to make them discerning in some parts from each other. But it's really not much.

And the ending was rushed. So, why we get so many repeats of the same speech over and over in most of the chapters, movement, and change only came in the chapters close to the end. So, I was disappointed. The drama in general was predictable.

If it weren't for the collection and that extra scene… we would know nothing about their lives afterwards. Like that the guys have space station. Though, I still don't know what they do for a living or did all the years without her. I mean, we know Allie took care of her sister. But what did they do? For me, it's not optional. I want to know that.

So, yeah. That book was not my thing. And I will definitely not read the second or any other in that series.

But I wish everyone who reads this, a better experience and fun. Just because it wasn't for me, doesn't mean it can't be for you.