3 stars, for a super quick novella this was fine. Novellas are hard to get right because you have to squeeze a fully developed story into a shorter pa3 stars, for a super quick novella this was fine. Novellas are hard to get right because you have to squeeze a fully developed story into a shorter page count and this one didn't totally work for me.
I found the set up weird because we're dropped into the story after the characters have been broken up for 2 months and they had only been dating for 3 months before that. *Spoilers* Pre-break up they were essentially living together, he was planning to propose and already bought a ring, but when she broke up with him he didn't go to extreme lengths to really figure out why and she didn't tell him the real reason which she acknowledges later was dumb. So it was very insta-love which I can be on board with, but I didn't believe in their love because we didn't see the build up we were just told how they felt about each other.
I spent the beginning of this book just confused about why they broke up, what the hell was going on, etc. The plot was trying to be very mysterious with hidden enemies, but it was pretty obvious to me who the big bad was.
Idk like I said this was fine for a quick read, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it. I just picked it up to because a novella was the perfect length to read today before a new release I'd been waiting for came out at midnight
Merged review:
3 stars, for a super quick novella this was fine. Novellas are hard to get right because you have to squeeze a fully developed story into a shorter page count and this one didn't totally work for me.
I found the set up weird because we're dropped into the story after the characters have been broken up for 2 months and they had only been dating for 3 months before that. *Spoilers* Pre-break up they were essentially living together, he was planning to propose and already bought a ring, but when she broke up with him he didn't go to extreme lengths to really figure out why and she didn't tell him the real reason which she acknowledges later was dumb. So it was very insta-love which I can be on board with, but I didn't believe in their love because we didn't see the build up we were just told how they felt about each other.
I spent the beginning of this book just confused about why they broke up, what the hell was going on, etc. The plot was trying to be very mysterious with hidden enemies, but it was pretty obvious to me who the big bad was.
Idk like I said this was fine for a quick read, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it. I just picked it up to because a novella was the perfect length to read today before a new release I'd been waiting for came out at midnight...more
Not as entertaining as the first book. The ‘romance’ is pretty stale mostly because the rh aspect is nowhere near equal and it’s awkward at t2.5 stars
Not as entertaining as the first book. The ‘romance’ is pretty stale mostly because the rh aspect is nowhere near equal and it’s awkward at times. The twins especially just read as one person and their main characteristics are dumb and sweet ...more
This was such a fun read. It features a mafia + motorcycle club arranged marriage, a runaway bride (but not for the reason you’d assume) who returns yThis was such a fun read. It features a mafia + motorcycle club arranged marriage, a runaway bride (but not for the reason you’d assume) who returns years later with two toddlers in tow who aren’t her own. If you know me you know I looove a single parent romance and I especially love single parents that aren’t the biological parents so this was a treat. When she returns her marriage plans are back on with grumpy Bear O’Malley who finally gets the girl he’s been pining for plus an instant family. I loved seeing them all bond.
I will say the characters feel almost like rough drafts of real people, but not in a bad way, imo. They’re just odd, strange, and not quite real seeming. The humor in Bijou’s books is very dry and silly. Not laugh out loud funny, just amusing and odd. I don’t know, it really works for me though. In general Bijou Hunter is an interesting author. Her writing style is unique and probably not for everyone. She’s written a ton though and I’m surprised she doesn’t have more readers. I first came across her work in 2020 when I picked up a free book and I’ve liked everything of hers I’ve tried since then, admittedly not very many but after this book I think I’ll tackle some of hers that are on my TBR soon.
I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump and this kept my attention really well so I’m happy I came across it. It was a quick and easy read. There were also about 10,000 side characters that could have their own story so I’m curious to see which ones get books and I’ll definitely be back to check out the future books in this series. ...more
I was going to round up to 3 stars, but honestly this wasn’t great and I’m not feeling it.
The idea of a human crash landing on an unwelcoming2.5 stars
I was going to round up to 3 stars, but honestly this wasn’t great and I’m not feeling it.
The idea of a human crash landing on an unwelcoming alien planet and owing a debt to an alien whose hates humans for good reason was a fun premise, but it was poorly executed. I always kind of bemoan this author for ending her books before we reach the alien planets, but maybe that was a blessing in disguise because based off this one she doesn’t have the world building skills to make it interesting…sorry. A whole planet with various alien races, politics, leaders, cities, a way of life, etc seemed to be too big a scope for her and she just did the bare minimum and nothing felt fleshed out or real. There were also just some bad writing things and stuff that didn’t make sense that I’m not used to from her. As usual, the alien hero was very alien and I’m cool with that, but I didn’t super believe in their attraction and eventual love for each other as I have in her other books. Sigh. This was short and somewhat entertaining, but not memorable and I definitely could’ve skipped it.
I liked the first half of this book better than the second. As usual Olivia Riley’s aliens are very alien, but I like that. The build up was3.25 stars
I liked the first half of this book better than the second. As usual Olivia Riley’s aliens are very alien, but I like that. The build up was more fun for me than the aftermath. I found Ria’s reluctance to trust Draka exhausting especially since he’d never given her one reason not to trust him and actually had shown time and time again he had her best interests in mind. Also I found the blurb misleading with the whole “hunting her across the mountain” thing…that kind of happens at 80% for like one second but the first time she runs from him it’s successful lol and not like the blurb… anyway I was just expecting something a little darker and this ain’t dark at.all. The way she evades his capture was cute, but I would’ve preferred a more standard forced proximity captured by an alien situation. Draka is sensitive and sweet and had barely any “king of the mountain” on an ice prison planet vibes...he kills one dude and not even in a violent way so ...more
This book had a lot of issues, but it’s Suzanne Wright so I still liked it. Anything she writes I read (except for some of her early stuff I can’t staThis book had a lot of issues, but it’s Suzanne Wright so I still liked it. Anything she writes I read (except for some of her early stuff I can’t stand lol) it’s just the rules.
First things first this was way too long. 581 pages is insane, could’ve easily been hundreds of pages shorter. Nothing really happens between the Dax and Addison the entire first half of the book. I get it’s a marriage of convenience, but my god there was no tension or build up, just random sex scenes (that like kind of wanted to be BDSM, but didn’t commit?) and pretty boring day to day life. This was extremely over descriptive ala Kristen Ashley (another favorite author of mine), room descriptions, daily activities, repeating information it was just too much and could’ve done with a good edit so it didn’t end up being so fucking long lol (in addition to just entire unnecessary scenes and plot points being cut).
Dax was touted as this mysterious business man no one fucks with because he’s not entirely on the legal side of things, but aside from beating up a few people off page, (one of which was a teenager) we don’t see or know anything about his illegal dalliances and it just felt pretty lame and lackluster. Also both Dax and Addison have dead exes ...more
I almost DNF’d this, but GR has me wanting credit for my efforts so I powered through lol. I feel like there were three main characters in this book: I almost DNF’d this, but GR has me wanting credit for my efforts so I powered through lol. I feel like there were three main characters in this book: Lenix, Connor and Connor’s mustache. It feels like his mustache was brought up a million times, but somehow it was only 24, with the first introduction referring to it as a “porn stache” so safe to say I wasn’t a fan. Eventually after the n-th time he ran his fingers over his mustache I had to Google ‘mustache’ to see if images could help me out cause at this point all I was picturing was Connor as a giant mustache lol first result was Henry Cavill and I was like “Oh, okay”.
I know at this point it seems like I gave this book 2 stars for the mustache, but I can honestly say that had nothing to do with it, it’s just honestly the only somewhat interesting thing I have to say about this book. It was not well written and the plot was random as hell with a weird never really explained paranormal/past life element to it?? Something that really annoyed me was that the damsel in distress runs to the bad guy for protection and even though she was approached multiple times by the people meaning her harm and they knew where she lived, worked and her phone number no one even once thought
Merged review:
I almost DNF’d this, but GR has me wanting credit for my efforts so I powered through lol. I feel like there were three main characters in this book: Lenix, Connor and Connor’s mustache. It feels like his mustache was brought up a million times, but somehow it was only 24, with the first introduction referring to it as a “porn stache” so safe to say I wasn’t a fan. Eventually after the n-th time he ran his fingers over his mustache I had to Google ‘mustache’ to see if images could help me out cause at this point all I was picturing was Connor as a giant mustache lol first result was Henry Cavill and I was like “Oh, okay”.
I know at this point it seems like I gave this book 2 stars for the mustache, but I can honestly say that had nothing to do with it, it’s just honestly the only somewhat interesting thing I have to say about this book. It was not well written and the plot was random as hell with a weird never really explained paranormal/past life element to it?? Something that really annoyed me was that the damsel in distress runs to the bad guy for protection and even though she was approached multiple times by the people meaning her harm and they knew where she lived, worked and her phone number no one even once thought...more
Not sure why I’ve never tried this series of Ruby’s before, but wow that was such a quick and easy novella especially when read as an audiobook. This Not sure why I’ve never tried this series of Ruby’s before, but wow that was such a quick and easy novella especially when read as an audiobook. This was cute, but I am confused about the pairing thing for all the other MC brothers so I’m guessing there will be a lot of ménage’s in this series? We’ll see, but I’m intrigued by Ruby doing an MC series lol...more
I liked this a lot more than book 1 in this series (which is ‘Possession’ btw, annoying when authors don’t group the books as a series, but I3.5 stars
I liked this a lot more than book 1 in this series (which is ‘Possession’ btw, annoying when authors don’t group the books as a series, but I get that stand-alones sell better so can’t fault her) so I’m going to round it up to 4 stars. It did take me 10 days to read so like idek how people rate things or remember exactly how they feel about a book when they take so long to get through it. In this case it’s not the book’s fault, life has been kicking my ass recently and I haven’t felt like reading ...more
This was a wild ride. I was so confused starting this book because this was nothing like Brynne Asher’s normal setup, it made more sense ev2.75 stars?
This was a wild ride. I was so confused starting this book because this was nothing like Brynne Asher’s normal setup, it made more sense eventually, but phew I was thrown for a loop there at first. Also I seriously thought I’d already read this book reading the first page, but it turns out I’ve just read enough forced marriage mafia books that the opening page with the wedding dress they didn’t pick out, the stylists working on them that they don’t know and being locked away is all just very familiar and can only be written so many ways ...more
Read as an audiobook. Still enjoying this series, it’s an easy thing to listen to while working or doing chores. The ending was intriguing because it Read as an audiobook. Still enjoying this series, it’s an easy thing to listen to while working or doing chores. The ending was intriguing because it entwines more with her other series and was a very Annette Marie way to end on a non urgent cliffhanger, but I’m excited to see how that unfolds in the next book. I am endlessly pissed off that Zak and Saber still haven’t explained to each other what happened when they were teenagers. Saber refuses to ask because it will confirm(?) that he’s heartless and make her re-live his betrayal and I’m just like stfu and talk about it already!! So here’s hoping that happens any time soon, but I wouldn’t be surprised if AM drags it out for a whole nother book ...more
I liked this one quite a bit. One of my favorite fictional setups is a man being inconceivably and inexcusably cruel to a woman based on assumptions tI liked this one quite a bit. One of my favorite fictional setups is a man being inconceivably and inexcusably cruel to a woman based on assumptions that turn out to be untrue because she’s actually the sweetest, kindest person in the world and that’s exactly what went down in this book. Ideally I’d get a lot more groveling, but I’ll take what I can get. This was almost like a dark romance for Kristen Ashley, her Unfinished Hero series comes to mind with a similarly morally grey hero, but I don’t think I’ve ever read a KA book where the hero makes the heroine his paid whore ...more
I was craving a PNR series to get lost in so I gave this series another chance because even though I didn't like book 1 everyone says it get3.25 stars
I was craving a PNR series to get lost in so I gave this series another chance because even though I didn't like book 1 everyone says it gets better as you go on and I was really hoping I would love this one, but although it was definitely better than book 1 I still have issues with it and I just think this author/series is probably not for me. That said I did give it 3 stars so I did enjoy it somewhat, I was really hoping the single dad/cute kid angle would do it for me, but I have issues with that too. I don't even a little bit understand his relationship or fascination with his 'wife', Olivia. Right off the bat I was like what man is hopelessly devoted to this woman he's 'in love' with/obsessed with and she's never reciprocated at all like they've never been intimate, but he marries her, raises her child as his own, spends all of his money on her medical bills, etc etc it was like tragic and so fucking weird. But then the authors like oh btw this sad sack of a man is also an impeccable fighter and I'm like oh okay so now he's gone from pushover loser to like powerful hyper masculine fighter no one can beat? Okay, random, but sure. And then in light of like his true past/connection to Inanna his obsession with Olivia made even less sense to me and Olivia was forgotten pretty quick anyways so that whole back story with the wife was random af.
A big reason I can't fully get into these books aside from issues with plot and characters is that I don't like the writing. I can't believe this book came out in 2018 because it reads like one of those really old school bodice rippers and I just can't get behind it. I kind of understand some choices because the heroine is 4,000 years old, but it still didn't fit a lot of the time. I found the third person writing that constantly switched between so many POVs and different storylines a bit impersonal and detached. But back to the old school romance thing, basically the author was constantly writing things like this: "The rush of his seed from his scrotum to his staff, to gush through the mouth at the tumescent crown, brought delayed but satisfying relief to them both." ...like be so fucking for real right now lol The word choices are just mind blowing to me, and let me tell you this woman loves a thesaurus because if you think of any cliche, cringe old school erotica romance word to refer to or describe a sex organ she used it at least once,"turgid" "engorged" "member" "manhood" "glans" "pleasure spot" I don't even know there were too many to remember and I'm like lady just call it a cock and move on. And so their sex scenes are a bit eh to me, but then it really heats up when she starts chewing on this mans cock. Like I'm all for vampire sex fun, but he would be like 'my member is so sore, but she loves it so much so I just keep letting her bite and drink my blood and cum' or something like that and I'm just over here like ...more
I love this series and I’m always excited for a new installment. That said the past few books haven’t gone in the direction I thought they’d take. LikI love this series and I’m always excited for a new installment. That said the past few books haven’t gone in the direction I thought they’d take. Like where are the Blacksea changelings? I get that the net has a lot going on, but so did they and now it’s been like idk how many books and how much time passed with no word on them ...more
As a Nalini Singh stan I feel like the comparisons to the Guild Hunter series were glaringly obvious just with demons instead of angels and u2.5 stars
As a Nalini Singh stan I feel like the comparisons to the Guild Hunter series were glaringly obvious just with demons instead of angels and ultimately Danica was a cheap knock off of Elena and same for Samael…he’s no Raphael. My problems with this book stemmed from the world building being pretty weak, the writing/plot needing a good editor and a lot of telling vs showing. The reason Danica and Samael didn’t compare to other PNR characters I love is because we’re told she’s a great bounty hunter, but she doesn’t really do anything all that impressive nor does she have some impressive reputation with examples to make me think she’s any good. Samael is supposedly the most powerful demon earth side, but that’s never really exhibited until the very end and that was pretty boring. This is very clearly being set up as a series so not a ton happens in this book and it needed something. So I guess I just wanted more from them as characters separately and then together as well because I don’t feel like the tension between them was built all that well. All that said as I was reading I wanted to give this 3 stars because it did keep me interested, I love demons and magic, but as the book progressed I just couldn’t rate it that high ...more
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