JJ

I enjoyed parts of this story, but lost interest in the second half with the excessive smut and OTT emotional/sappy content. I love a good redemption arc; just wish this one had more plot and less infantilization of Gavin.

I signed up for emotional damage and this book delivered! It broke my heart then pieced it back together.

It kinda kills me that we never find out what Abel's wish was the night of his first date with Landon 😭 He was so sad he never got to tell him and now I'm sad I'll never know either!

One weird thing that kept throwing me off was that Nicky James never wanted to use a contraction with the verb "are" so whenever they said "you are" or "they are" instead of "you're" or "they're" it felt unnatural and awkward.

Mainly read this one to make myself really sad in order to adequately feel the hurt in the hurt/comfort sequel.

Years of angst and toxicity, tortured souls, complex, deeply flawed characters, enduring love tempered by hate? Yes, please!

I'm left with a burning question though:

What the hell was the deal with Gideon implying Cas looked just like the man who broke his heart? I was convinced Caspien's father cheated on his mom with Gideon and stole their money, but then we find out his dad is some used car salesman? I'm so confused.

These guys survive by pure dumb luck. I refuse to believe an assassin and an emperor who has had to be clever to make it this far are both so bad at planning. I suspended my disbelief enough to enjoy the book, but I do wish the plot were more complex.

A promising start, though I'm not super impressed by Airón's strategy and subterfuge skills, but maybe that's intentional since his sister was trained for that aspect, not him. I'm withholding judgement on Tallu until I know more.

Slowest of slow burns, loaded with hurt/comfort, with probably the purest characters I've ever come across. Which is why I didn't enjoy it as much as I hoped, I think. No one is as perfect as Jake was in this book, and even Rye, who struggled through his trauma the entire time, never did anything wrong. I like flawed characters because it makes them more real, and Jake and Rye were so good and perfect for each other that it just didn't feel realistic. The sweetness was also off the charts, which for many readers is a great thing! But alas, I can only tolerate so much.

This was well written, and I really liked the hurt/comfort early on. The slow build of trust and their relationship was just right. This is the perfect book for someone who loves trauma recovery with LOTS of sweetness and fluff, with only trauma-related relationship struggles, which are promptly addressed and dealt with in a healthy way.

This was good, but I didn't like it as much as the first book. They're hot together, but I guess I just didn't feel the angst as strongly as with Nate and Xavi.

Just like with the first book, I should've loved it based on the plot and tropes, but for some reason, it just didn't hit right. I did enjoy the plot, but all the parts where they were working through their issues felt more like I was reading a therapy session, and the sex scenes (other than the first one) really did not work for me, possibly because of the dialogue, but I think it was more than that. Lots of hurt/comfort in this one, though more verbal than expressed through actions.

This one had me hooked the entire way through! I loved the slow progression of their relationship. I typically don't like mpreg and only read it because my bestie makes me (though I do enjoy omegaverse), but I really liked this one! I did not like that despite the bucking of their slavery-centered society's strict roles in many ways, they all clearly still felt that baby girls held no value. 😐

Very much enjoyed this forced marriage enemies-to-lovers fantasy! The end was quite a ride (part of it I predicted but not all), and I look forward to the next one.

Good smut that ticked a lot of my boxes.

I probably would've enjoyed this one more if it hadn't been so long since I read book 3, because I'd forgotten so many details about the previous cases. Loved the progression of their relationship, though the romantic lines were a little over the top in parts. I was biting my nails from the suspense near the end! I hope we don't have to wait so long for book 5 so I don't forget so much next time.

The plot was good, and I really liked how the first book was wrapped up, but I have to say that a couple things about Casey bothered me.

Firstly, he's described as "having a temper," so he flies off the handle frequently, then his feelings are hurt when his mom is nervous to enter his house after he blew up at his parents during an argument. I've dealt with enough men with "short tempers" that I give no fucks about their feelings after they've been verbally/emotionally abusive and are trying to twist things around to make themselves the victim.

On top of that, his favorite insult is an anti-Arab slur (he had served as a Marine in Afghanistan), but he weirdly uses it against white Americans. Regardless, pick an insult that isn't racist, asshole.

I actually prefer deeply flawed characters, because I like watching them grow into better people (though I also like evil characters that are unapologetically so in certain types of books 😈), but I'm not sure these issues will be addressed in future books. We'll see. I do plan to read the next one.

I liked the plot and the writing, but it seemed like it was trying too hard to be emotional, so instead of empathizing with the MCs, I kept wondering how they could cry so much and when they would stop. In other words, the emotions didn't hit hard because it was trying to hit hard the entire time.

I was also disappointed by the fade to black, yet it was explicit enough that I wouldn't recommend it to a young teen. I'd prefer it to be one or the other. Nothing worse than a bunch of build up leading to a sudden F2B.

Still an enjoyable read overall.

2025 Review:

I decided to reread this in memory of the author, an old friend on Goodreads back when I first discovered the m/m genre in the early 2010s, when it was still niche, not yet mainstream. That was really a special time on the site that I remember so fondly for the community we had, lasting friendships that were formed, and SO many interesting and entertaining conversations we all had in the comments of reviews and in groups. Most of those people are no longer active on Goodreads, and the ones I am still friends with communicate with me through other apps. I had noticed that Emma was no longer reviewing m/m books, and wished she were, because she was one of the few who very closely matched my dark tastes. I always valued her reviews for that reason. I only found out the other day that she had been battling cancer, and passed away very recently.

It's a painful reminder of how short life is, and how important it is to value our time with loved ones. I wanted to read this story again so that Emma's words could live on in my mind. Reading the author bio at the end broke my heart.

This novella was even better the second time around. It has been nearly 11 years since I read it the first time, so I'd forgotten most of it. After reading mainstream m/m these past few years, it really makes me appreciate the unique, boundary-pushing, skilled writing that was easier to find back then, before it was drowned out by truck loads of cliched fluffy romances, or "dark" romances that are just silly and over the top instead of truly gripping tales like The Arroyo. I did not realize at the time how spoiled I was.

My old review is accurate. I'm definitely still evil 😈 I loved this story. So dark, also with my favorite kink, great world building; I felt their despair and rage and hope, loved their resilience and their connection to one another. It felt fitting, given the hellscape my country is becoming. I saved so many quotes. Certain parts were VERY cathartic, considering my own helpless rage about the dehumanization of so many people that I've witnessed the past few years. Thank you, Emma. 💔

Original 2014 Review:

This story reminded me that I am slightly evil, because my response to the scene with Isaac and Miller at the end was YESSSSS.

DNF @64%

Far too sweet and sappy for me, and it has become so repetitive that I can't read anymore. It's just constant declarations of love and devotion, along with a sex scene every chapter, with short little bursts of danger that are quickly resolved, then back to declarations of love and more sex, ad infinitum. I think they're exchanging their third set of rings now?? The "plot" is so lacking in details, it's like reading a summary of a book rather than the book itself.

Despite the very slow pace, Lucifer's transition from innocence and naivety to pride, embrace of debauchery, and the belief he could defeat God still felt too rushed to me. I really enjoyed parts of it, but the rest felt like a slog. It didn't help that I'm personally not a fan of flowery language, although I admit it was appropriate, given the subject matter.

I enjoyed this one, though there's one plot point that seems to have been abandoned, which left me with an unanswered question: What was the altercation between Mac and George about? Did Mac kill George with the knife? Or was it Jimmy? And why?

Enjoyable and hot, but the relationships were pretty shallow and not well developed. Interesting enough plot, and I look forward to reading the next one.

Porn without plot usually bores me, but this one was hot and kept my interest. I loved both main characters, and their personal and relationship development was well done. I was not surprised to learn that the author has written fanfic - those writers excel at this shit.

This is a good start to the trilogy, and I look forward to reading more. It reminds me of Hailey Turner's Soulbound series. Good world building and plot, but the romance needed more relationship development. It was insta-lovey while pretending not to be. I'm actually most looking forward to book 3 because enemies-to-lovers is crack to me.

Main novel ending: 5 stars

Extras: 3 stars

Meatbun masterfully weaves together intricate plots in a way that few authors can accomplish. This in combination with characters whose story rips my heart to shreds and pieces it back together is like my holy grail.

After that emotional ordeal, the AU short story couldn't compare!

😭😭😭😭😭

Meatbun never fails to rip me to pieces, and I keep coming back for more!