No surprise this was wonderful, and a great follow-up to the first book. I loved getting to see everybody from this 'verse again, but it4.5 rounded up
No surprise this was wonderful, and a great follow-up to the first book. I loved getting to see everybody from this 'verse again, but it never felt like the familiar characters were overshadowing the main storyline.
The connection here between Jude and Faron was fantastic and I just loved the build and evolution of their feelings. The smut was fantastic hot, and despite dealing with some pretty heavy issues, the book never felt overwrought or overly angsty. Just the right amount of tension to keep me engaged! I'm not sure if the author is planning more in this series, but there was a character in the epilogue that it seemed like maybe she was setting up for a future book, which would be fan because this series is great!
Merged review:
4.5 rounded up
No surprise this was wonderful, and a great follow-up to the first book. I loved getting to see everybody from this 'verse again, but it never felt like the familiar characters were overshadowing the main storyline.
The connection here between Jude and Faron was fantastic and I just loved the build and evolution of their feelings. The smut was fantastic hot, and despite dealing with some pretty heavy issues, the book never felt overwrought or overly angsty. Just the right amount of tension to keep me engaged! I'm not sure if the author is planning more in this series, but there was a character in the epilogue that it seemed like maybe she was setting up for a future book, which would be fan because this series is great!...more
I went into this one not really knowing what to expect, which I think was a good thing. There were parts I really enjoyed a lot, and parts that I feltI went into this one not really knowing what to expect, which I think was a good thing. There were parts I really enjoyed a lot, and parts that I felt didn't quite work.
What worked: - The tone/atmosphere/vibe was fabulous. I could totally picture everything perfectly. -I thought the creeping, supernatural, horror aspect was perfect. It wasn't in your face, but the sense of wrongness was pervasive and felt very realistic -Loved Hunter, and I liked most of the characters. All of them were pretty fucked up, but in believable ways.
What didn't work: -The romantic relationships. I wanted to like them, but none of the romantic pairings really struck home for me. Kennedy was a dick and though Jeremy kept explaining why he was in love with him, I never felt like I actually got to see that. -The non-romantic relationships. Okay, totally personal preference, and I get that some of this is due to Jeremy being a somewhat unreliable narrator who was maniupulated, but all of the bitching and fighting really got to be too much. Again, I felt like I kept being told that their friendships were worth it or whatever, without really feeling it. Mostly, I get the purpose, but I think it felt a little overdone at times. -The ending. For a second there, I thought I was reading Josh Lanyon with the abrupt ending that had me scrolling through the book to see if I'd missed something. Honestly, the book felt unfinished, and there were so many loose ends. I'm sure that is supposed to be intentional as part of the mystique or whatever, but mostly if felt like the author was just done with writing or wasn't sure how to properly end it, so he just stopped writing. It felt abrupt, even if there was a planned sequel, but it's even more so since it's TBD on if Hassell will continue in this 'verse.
Despite the flaws, I did enjoy my read, and the writing was fabulous, of course. I really do hope the author continues to write more in this series, because I'd love to know what happens to Quince, how Watts deals with everything, how Kennedy & Jeremy handle a real relationship, and if Hunter makes a reappearance. I actually quite liked him, fucked up as I'm sure that is. ;)
Merged review:
I went into this one not really knowing what to expect, which I think was a good thing. There were parts I really enjoyed a lot, and parts that I felt didn't quite work.
What worked: - The tone/atmosphere/vibe was fabulous. I could totally picture everything perfectly. -I thought the creeping, supernatural, horror aspect was perfect. It wasn't in your face, but the sense of wrongness was pervasive and felt very realistic -Loved Hunter, and I liked most of the characters. All of them were pretty fucked up, but in believable ways.
What didn't work: -The romantic relationships. I wanted to like them, but none of the romantic pairings really struck home for me. Kennedy was a dick and though Jeremy kept explaining why he was in love with him, I never felt like I actually got to see that. -The non-romantic relationships. Okay, totally personal preference, and I get that some of this is due to Jeremy being a somewhat unreliable narrator who was maniupulated, but all of the bitching and fighting really got to be too much. Again, I felt like I kept being told that their friendships were worth it or whatever, without really feeling it. Mostly, I get the purpose, but I think it felt a little overdone at times. -The ending. For a second there, I thought I was reading Josh Lanyon with the abrupt ending that had me scrolling through the book to see if I'd missed something. Honestly, the book felt unfinished, and there were so many loose ends. I'm sure that is supposed to be intentional as part of the mystique or whatever, but mostly if felt like the author was just done with writing or wasn't sure how to properly end it, so he just stopped writing. It felt abrupt, even if there was a planned sequel, but it's even more so since it's TBD on if Hassell will continue in this 'verse.
Despite the flaws, I did enjoy my read, and the writing was fabulous, of course. I really do hope the author continues to write more in this series, because I'd love to know what happens to Quince, how Watts deals with everything, how Kennedy & Jeremy handle a real relationship, and if Hunter makes a reappearance. I actually quite liked him, fucked up as I'm sure that is. ;)...more
Not rating, because the writing was good, but this just is not the story for me. Which I really knew going into it, but I like this author's wDNF ~34%
Not rating, because the writing was good, but this just is not the story for me. Which I really knew going into it, but I like this author's writing, so I thought I'd give it a go. But then it became clear that the MC being in an abusive relationship was going to persist well into the book (they were still together when I stopped reading) which is just not even a little bit what I want from an MM romance. That, paired with the fact that the abusive "bf" also abused the other MC a decade earlier, the fact that this is a music/rockstar book which is a trope I rarely enjoy, and the amount of belief I had to suspend for the "famous rockstar also secretely a drag queen who performs randomly in cities they're touring in" was just too many strike for my personal tastes!...more
I really tried with this one but it is too. damn. long. Jesus, the chapters are monstrous (3 chapters roughly equaled 141 pages, which is absoDNF ~41%
I really tried with this one but it is too. damn. long. Jesus, the chapters are monstrous (3 chapters roughly equaled 141 pages, which is absolutely bananas, especially for a romance) and the pacing is just horrendous. I like the characters, and even the concept/plot, but basically the entire summary has already been revealed by the end of chapter 2, and I'm not even sure what the hell we're supposed to be doing for the rest of the book other than read 200 more pages of excruciatingly drawn-out pining. This read to me like a really indulgent fanfic, the kind where the author just wallows in their story for way too fucking long, but you stick around because the writing is decent, and so is the plot, and you love these characters. Except, I don't have the connection to these characters that I do to the ones in fanfic, so it's just not sustainable for me. This is a problem I've seen in a few of her other books, but not all of them, so I know she's capable of reigning herself in and tightening thing up. It's a shame, because I've absolutely LOVED some of Noone's books, and this had the potential, but I was just exhausted by how drawn out and repetitive everything was....more
Pacing was off, didn't care about the characters nor did I buy their connection, and the handling of grief and then attraction just felt badlyDNF ~23%
Pacing was off, didn't care about the characters nor did I buy their connection, and the handling of grief and then attraction just felt badly done....more
Sweet romance between military vets. I appreciated the disabled rep, and I enjoyed the character and their connection, but the whole t2.5 rounded down
Sweet romance between military vets. I appreciated the disabled rep, and I enjoyed the character and their connection, but the whole thing felt underdeveloped. The sexuality discovery part was quite choppy and didn't totally flow organically for me and it felt like the author wasn't totally clear on her vision for the central thrust of the story, because I kept getting whiplash by the characters' decisions and thoughts around them. There were some good bones, but I didn't get the depth I wanted, and I was underwhelmed by the low steam. The author tried to do too much here in too short of a book and didn't quite deliver. And there were a lot of references to other couples that must be in another series from this author, in a way that I found annoying and distracting....more
Not my favorite by this author. I really enjoyed the writing, as I always do, and the blend of kink and emotiFree on Amazon 3/31/2023 === 2.5 rounded up
Not my favorite by this author. I really enjoyed the writing, as I always do, and the blend of kink and emotions was great, but the plot was a bit sparse. It was also a single POV book, and I have no issues with that in general, but here I found Brett to be a little opaque and I found myself really wishing we had his perspective. Personally, the approach to the kink here wasn't quite my favorite flavor--Brett's pushiness and refusal to take no for an answer felt a little squicky for me at times. I also found Landon's stubbornness to be quite frustrating. Both of these issues might have been alleviated with dual POV so that we could see Brett's perspective, and have a break from Landon's. There are better books by this author, though I admit many of my issues with this one are just personal preference things so YMMV....more
I hadn't planned on reading any more of this series after a poor showing in the first book and generally just not super connecting with Sunday's recenI hadn't planned on reading any more of this series after a poor showing in the first book and generally just not super connecting with Sunday's recent releases. But this one was on sale, and I'm a sucker for a free book...
It was perfectly fine, I even enjoyed it, but I definitely didn't absolutely love it. The banter got a bit exhausting and all the talking about something random in detail as a metaphor for their relationship was a little annoying with how frequently it happened. I found the pacing a bit odd here--and this was also an issue I remember having in the first book, how it would seem like the characters are CLEARLY flirting/on the same page, but then in the next chapter Elliot's convinced Wentworth's in love with somebody else, which just... didn't quite make sense. Sunday loves her oblivious characters, but it gets to a point way past credulity. I also found Wentworth's ~teenage~ self in particular to be a bit odd. The whole high school love story was super insta-love, which was sort of a theme throughout the book, which just isn't my jam.
I *did* like the characters and the story itself was enjoyable overall, but it did remind me why Sunday's no longer an auto-buy for me....more
I generally really enjoy Harper's books, so even though I'm not a massive fan of music-related romance, I was curious to give it a go,4.5 rounded down
I generally really enjoy Harper's books, so even though I'm not a massive fan of music-related romance, I was curious to give it a go, and luckily it all really worked for me!
I thought it was a super unique twist on the rockstar trope, and the characters were really lovely. The connection was great, and I thought all of the more sensitive issues were handled both realistically and with care. One of the MCs has quite a lot of money, and while I thought the reasons for that were well explained and certainly more interesting then generational wealth, it did feel a *bit* convenient in the way that rich MCs often can, particularly given the need for money at certain plot points. But that really was a minor quibble overall, and on the whole I thought this was a lovely and quite enjoyable read!...more
Thanks to NetGalley and Carina Press for providing a free digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. === I really enjoyed the first book in this seriThanks to NetGalley and Carina Press for providing a free digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. === I really enjoyed the first book in this series and was really looking forward to this one, but unfortunately, I can't say that I enjoyed it.
The writing, technically speaking, was solid, but I just could not get into the characters or relationship here. The entire book is incredibly frustrating, and partially that's because I do think the author does a good job writing both Brody and Sea's various issues and anxieties. They both have difficulty communicating with one another, and Sea in particular, is very self-conscious about his lack of experience, and gives off a lot of mixed messages. Brody is understandable confused, but I was confused, because I felt like the entire narrative kept trying to paint Brody as this amazing, understand, perfect guy, and I actually found his actions to be often pretty inconsiderate, and how I saw him just didn't match with what I kept being told. To be perfectly honest, by the end of the book, I legitimately did not think they should be together--I felt the author did a better job showing why they weren't a good fit than making me believe in them. They spend almost the entire book in a constant state of various miscommunication, and while it might actually be realistic/believable, it just didn't make for an enjoyable reading experience.
It's also relatively low steam--they essentially have sex at the beginning, then there's an entire book of frustrating miscommunication, and then they have sex at the end. It made sense for the story, but since I didn't particularly enjoy the story being told... Personally, I'm not a big fan of music books, either, and despite this being slanted as a sport book, the music focus was far more present IMO, with very little hockey. I don't want detailed hockey play info, but I had gone into this expecting more of a sports romance and I got more of a music romance.
So yeah, this one really didn't work for me, which is a bummer, because I really enjoyed book one! I'll certainly still be keeping my eye out for other books by this author, as I'm hopeful this is just an instance of a particular story really not working for me and not an overall mismatch of vibe....more
Honestly, something about this author's writing really works for me, and I thought the characterizations and voice here--paI really enjoyed this one!!
Honestly, something about this author's writing really works for me, and I thought the characterizations and voice here--particularly for Austin--were both really great. Slow build with some excellent chemistry and super hot smut! It's on the long side, and while I didn't mind it at all and personally thought the pacing was fine, I did find myself a little unsatisfied with where the book ended. It was fine, but we get such a great start to their relationship, that I really wanted a chance to see them outside of this snowed-in weekend and how they made things work. This is an instance where I'd actually LOVE a sequel showing how this relationship can survive outside of the very unique situation it was fostered in.
The kink dynamics were okay, though I would have personally loved if they'd explored more beyond just spanking. I was also a little unclear throughout just what, if any, age difference there was between them, and at times it seemed the author didn't even know, or that maybe it had changed at some point, because there are parts where it seemed like it was maybe just a couple of years, and parts where it seemed larger. Overall though I very much enjoyed and had a lot of fun reading. :D...more
There's a story here, and maybe even a good one, but it doesn't work great as a short story. There's not nearly enough development IMO toDisappointing
There's a story here, and maybe even a good one, but it doesn't work great as a short story. There's not nearly enough development IMO to make the emotional beats actually resonate, and the whole thing felt rushed and unsatisfying....more
I went into this a bit skeptical, because based on the reviews I wasn't sure it'd be my thing, but honestly those things I was concerned aboutDNF ~20%
I went into this a bit skeptical, because based on the reviews I wasn't sure it'd be my thing, but honestly those things I was concerned about never even really factored in, because the writing and plotting was just not great. I felt like I was being set down in the middle of a story, without the context the author seemed to think I had--maybe this is a spin off or something? I wasn't really sure what was going on, which to a certain extent makes sense because of the supernatural element, but it was all so random and unfocused with new characters popping up out of nowhere. Also, just some phrasing sprinkled throughout that felt a bit off/made me a little uncomfortable. Not for me, and I don't think I'll be looking out for this author anytime soon....more
This was a sweet and enjoyable read. I liked the characters and their connection, and I did like this one, but it felt like it was mis3.5 rounded down
This was a sweet and enjoyable read. I liked the characters and their connection, and I did like this one, but it felt like it was missing something. The plot should have provided plenty of tension, but I never really felt it--something about it all felt quite low stakes and their relationship always felt really quite solid even when it was "fake" or when they were going through their climactic ~moments~. It wasn't bad, but I just never really felt super invested. Suuuper curious about the blurb for the next book though......more
Honestly, I enjoyed this one way more than I thought I would! I tend to not enjoy the "everybody is gay" trope when taken out of the context of queer Honestly, I enjoyed this one way more than I thought I would! I tend to not enjoy the "everybody is gay" trope when taken out of the context of queer community, so all five members of this boy band ending up in same-sex partnerships (regardless of sexual identity/orientation) strains credulity for me, but I liked this story and these characters enough that I was mostly able to ignore that. I did enjoy the cameos of other characters, but my biggest gripe would probably be all of the betting on other people's sex lives and romantic relationships--it felt quite callous and insensitive, particularly given one of the characters had just been publicly cheated on and was struggling with that, and the other had previously identified as straight and though they didn't struggle with their newfound attraction to men, it seems like maybe it'd be a good idea to not make bets/pull pranks on these two characters while they're going through shit. It's played as quite light and nobody seems to mind, but I found the idea of it all quite distasteful.
But other than that, I was very much into Blake and Jordan, and their dynamic was suuuuper hot. It was pretty much exactly what I wanted (and honestly what I was expecting not to get) and I thought their relationship was lovely and the development worked well. Jordan's evil ex was a bit OTT, but eh, it's Hollywood. I also thought it felt quite satisfying as a series conclusion as well, and the balance between ending the story for everybody and not overwhelming *this* story was well done. ...more
This book was fighting an uphill battle from the start. While I've read/enjoyed romances focusing on musicians, it's not generally my favoriteDNF ~33%
This book was fighting an uphill battle from the start. While I've read/enjoyed romances focusing on musicians, it's not generally my favorite trope, and based on the reviews I saw, I wasn't feeling super hopeful. It also doesn't help that the last... five? books of Walker's that have come out have been misses for me, and I've not truly enjoyed one of her new releases in well over a year... she might be joining the (sadly ever growing) ranks of authors who no longer seem to be doing it for me.
So, I was already nervous, but the concept did seem up my alley, so I gave it the old college try, but I couldn't proceed. It didn't start off great--the writing here felt quite choppy and repetitive. We were immediately treated to quite a lot of exposition detailing every single thing the characters did. I was unimpressed, but soldiered on. I wasn't wild about only getting one POV--I suspect if I'd read on this would have become more of an issue, which isn't always the case, but here it seemed a detriment to not have Maddox's POV--nor being thrust into the story well after feelings had developed, as the build-up of feels is sort of my favorite part of a romance; I think it detracted from my sense of investment, but again, not a deal-breaker.
I thought I might be able to at least get through the book, but ultimately I found the dynamic was a little troubling. It's made clear that Roscoe could very well lose his job if he gets involved with Maddox, and then he basically disregards this entirely in a way that strained credulity. I love power dynamics, but here they felt super uncomfortable. Maddox doesn't really seem to understand or respect the fact that Roscoe could lose his job, and also that, as part of his job/somebody who cares about Maddox, he has to consider things like exposure/safety that Maddox might not like--get the fuck over it and act like a fucking adult! Maddox came off as quite immature, but also with some very clear mental issues that he wasn't getting help for, and Roscoe knowing this and deciding that, instead of insisting he get help, the best idea is to get into a relationship with Maddox, who has said that he feels Roscoe is the ONLY person getting him through the day. It was selfish to the point of recklessness and it felt unbelievable coming from a character we're clearly supposed to view positively--to me, it was skeevy. And maybe this is all addressed and it's actually not that bad, as I ended up stopping before they actually had sex because I was so uncomfortable with everything, and frankly, I just didn't trust it would be handled well enough to overcome my reservations. ...more
**spoiler alert** I had high hopes for this one based on the summary and the teases of the characters from previous books, but it'd definitely my leas**spoiler alert** I had high hopes for this one based on the summary and the teases of the characters from previous books, but it'd definitely my least favorite so far. I mean, it was fine but I really didn't connect to the characters and their story. It starts out promising with all that past angst, but then Mason gets over it super quickly in a way that didn't totally feel authentic, and I really had a hard time accepting Denver's "poor me I ghosted you because you broke my heart even though I did zero communicating to you about any of this, but actually it's all your fault I was a dick". I'm sorry, what?? Then Mason feels guilty about something he didn't do wrong and it's all good? Something about the way the relationship between them progresses throughout the entire book just didn't feel believable or organic, and I found myself far more interested in Blake's story line which I am assuming will be next (though seriously, all five members of the band like dudes?). And then, despite the fact that neither Denver nor Mason have ever been attracted to any other men and have live their lives thinking their straight, neither of them seems to actually have any struggles accepting their feelings and then coming out in a super public way. IDK, I just didn't buy a lot of what was happening in the book, so even though I did generally enjoy it, I expect more from this author and felt a bit let down....more
This author is hit or miss for me but I've generally enjoyed this series and this was no exception! Had a number of things I'm generally into so I hadThis author is hit or miss for me but I've generally enjoyed this series and this was no exception! Had a number of things I'm generally into so I had high hopes, and overall I quite liked the characters and their relationship progression. The kids weren't annoying (for the most part) and though some aspects of the plot were a bit odd/confusing (still no idea what the point of the Grey subplot was??) I enjoyed these two together and the smut was exactly what I wanted. :D I will say, the previous characters/pairings do crop up a bunch, which mostly feels quite natural, but given that it's been 2 years since I started reading this series and I don't really remember the intricacies of all of the friendships and relationships that have been imparted in earlier books, I was occasionally frustrated--this is something I recall from the last books as well, and you'll def get more out of the series if you read them all back to back while everything is fresh....more
Pretty torn on this one. On the one hand we get smut (yay!) and actual relationship development between Johnny and Frankie, but on the o2.5 rounded up
Pretty torn on this one. On the one hand we get smut (yay!) and actual relationship development between Johnny and Frankie, but on the other, we have Johnny blowing so hot and cold it was a bit frustrating that Frankie didn't really call him on it. It's very obvious that he's not putting all his shit on the line, and given Frankie explicitly states that a partner being honest and letting him fully in is one of his biggest needs in a relationship, it didn't really make sense to me that Frankie would just be like "hey, I need you to tell me what's up or this won't work". Which eventually does happen, but only after it was forced to. IDK, I generally enjoyed this one, enough that I'd be open to reading more from this author, but not enough that I'd go out of my way to seek it out....more
I went into this veeeeery skeptical, as the setup does not at all sound like my bag, but I was curious after all the positive reviews an3.5 rounded up
I went into this veeeeery skeptical, as the setup does not at all sound like my bag, but I was curious after all the positive reviews and ended up being pleasantly surprised. The concept was written in a way that didn't feel squicky or absolutely unrealistic (these camps actually do exist...) and I generally enjoyed the characters. I thought the deep feelings development felt a little rushed, something about the writing in the sex scenes didn't totally work for me, and the endings could have been finessed a bit more, but overall I enjoyed for a bit of light reading, and I'll definitely keep an eye out for book two!...more
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