JJ
I was really unimpressed with Smoke's supposed skills. The book kept saying he was a professional and was the best at what he does, but he was pretty fucking bad at it tbh. He literally got no helpful info out of torturing Dom, and didn't even really try that hard to question him, or even stick around long enough to ask much. There were several careless issues with the writing, like removing a t-shirt and replacing it with a new one all while Dom's hands were bound together, anatomically impossible positions during sex, and open wounds suddenly just not mentioned anymore or cared about in any way. And then there's the dreaded instalove. It was all quite ridiculous, but at least it was short.
Skylar was supposed to be annoying yet endearing, but I was only annoyed. I have a low tolerance for that type of personality anyway, and he was an extreme version. Also, the stuff with Morgan was pretty over the top and eye roll worthy. Lastly, the suspenseful part was entirely too predictable yet also nonsensical. I much prefer this author's incest books!
3.5 stars
Better than book 2 but not as good as book 1. The insane unbelievable plots made a comeback, but now I'm just coming to expect that from this series and just enjoy the ridiculousness of it all. The best part of these books is the banter between Ben and Nik. I love them, and I love how much they love each other.
I was so bored with this one, it took me forever to finish. I didn't find the MCs to be the least bit interesting, and the plot heavy scenes weren't any better. The only reason I trudged through this one is because I've been wanting to read Pandora's story for a while now. I'm really hoping that one doesn't turn out to be a disappointment!
It's actually amazing how fucked up this book was. It wasn't particularly well written, but I didn't even care because it was so insane that it kept me riveted. I can honestly say I've never read another book like this one, and I love when that happens. This one definitely kept me from getting bored.
“We don't know who the monsters are anymore,” Cavalo said.Are we monsters? Bad Dog asked.“You're not,” Cavalo said. “You're a good guy.”Bad Dog was not fooled. And you? He bumped his head into Cavalo's knee.“I don't know.”
This one was almost too dark and intense for me, and I usually have the opposite problem! I honestly think it has more to do with current events with the recent attack on the Capitol and more threats of violence looming as Inauguration Day approaches. It's too depressing to think about how easily our society can break down, especially when we are suffering from a global pandemic. I feel like it won't take much to lead to complete catastrophe.
So it's difficult to read about the type of world that this breakdown could lead to, where the violence continues in the aftermath, and it's hard to tell the good guys from the monsters, or even if anyone can be a good guy in that kind of environment. But we have to try, and we have to have hope, even if it's a dangerous feeling.
Hard to give this one a rating since it seems like the story has only just begun! I am intrigued though, and think that there is a lot of potential based on what has happened so far. Klune did such an excellent job describing the scenery and environment that it pretty effortlessly came to life in my mind. However, this is one reason I feel the illustrations detracted from the book – not only because they didn't look the same as how I pictured it, but more that they didn't even accurately show what was described in the text (positioning of characters, how they were dressed, what type of weapon they were holding, which hand was holding the weapon, etc). It made me wonder how much information was given to the illustrator.
This book demonstrates several things about us humans: our individual need for human connection – that without it, we lose our minds, but that with it, we make ourselves vulnerable to indescribable heartache; on a larger scale, we are our own worst enemies – groups of people are susceptible to mob mentality, willing to harm others in ways we would not if we were acting alone, and when we have even further emotional distance through a government, we are capable of even more widespread evil and destruction, as we have always done and will continue to do, over and over again. Such is the human condition. Pretty fucking bleak. Why do we do this to ourselves? Is there any hope to be found?
Anyway, I quite like the characters and how insane they all are, including SIRS. I didn't expect to like the robot! I'm dying to know more about “Psycho.” You just know he's been through some serious shit, and despite his murdery exterior, I sense something pure in him.
The talk about genetics got tedious (I had the same issue with her NoX book) and I'm getting really tired of the use of “boy” - another of my pet peeves. Also, Kaleb's dialogue with Sonny seems a bit nonsensical to me most of the time and I can't really explain why. The rest of it still hits a lot of my kink buttons though so I really can't complain too much.
This book started off as enjoyable as the first, but somewhere along the way, the plotline just went off the rails. Nik has a pretty crazy backstory, which was expected, but that was nothing compared to what happened in the present. It didn't make much sense and definitely wasn't believable; it was just overkill in multiple ways. Despite all this, I still love these characters and their relationship dynamic. Their banter makes me happy. I'm hoping book 3 is a little more put together.
I really enjoyed this one! It was well written, and I found myself smiling and laughing several times while reading. I felt such fondness for both characters by the second half of the book that reading their story just made me happy, while I was also intrigued to find out just what the hell the truth was.
This one was more up my alley than any of the others in the series so far. My dark heart loves a tortured soul. It also helped that the subject matter was not conducive to chuckling, but incredibly, the author still managed to squeeze in several (19!) wherever she could. I don't know why that word is a pet peeve of mine, but at this point, I would gladly go the rest of my life without coming across it in a book again.
2.5 stars
Some things have remained constant in this series:
- Riley will cry at the drop of a hat
- blushing here, pinking of cheeks there
- chuckles and chortles all around
- angels acting like children (maybe since they're never actually children, they are just perpetually immature)
All this shit annoys me, but I'm still reading, so I guess that says something about the author's ability to create compelling characters. This was another book without a lot of plot progression, so I'm hoping things will move along in the next one.
Not very well written - it seemed like someone was constantly chuckling or chortling, so I decided to find out exactly how many times it happened. 45 times. That's entirely too much. Also, it's a bit creepy knowing the guardians are getting horny over Riley, given how ridiculously innocent and childlike he is. I was hoping for more of a story with this book, but maybe that will come in book 2.
