JJ
3.5 stars
Strong first half with great UST and relationship development, and very hot bondage scenes. Second half wasn't as strong, with too much air time given to Shane's parents, but I still enjoyed it. My favorite scene was when they reversed roles and Shane showed Derek just how evil he could be!
Disclaimer: I read this entire book while under the influence of prescription painkillers, so take this as you will.I was in the mood for a maturely written book with good humor and a slow burn romance; I did not want annoying banter, porn, or OTT characters/behavior. This book pretty much delivered in those respects, but I can't say I was blown away by the story. It progressed at a sedate pace, and in my opinion could have benefited from some trimming of the content. There seemed to be a fair amount of repetition of thoughts/ideas. The one that stood out most to me was Wesley's inner conflict over starting something with Travis, regardless of where he fell on the Kinsey scale:[...] wasn't what let Wesley to think the father of three was gay or at least something besides a zero on the Kinsey scale.Gay or not. A Kinsey one or six, or not.[...] it would be nothing but drama to think otherwise, no matter what Kinsey number Travis Bennett fell on.That probably wouldn't bother most people, and maybe it wouldn't have jumped out to me under other circumstances, but by the third time it was mentioned, I thought Okay!! I got it the first time! Like I said, that's just the one that I most easily remember and was searchable on my kindle, but there seemed to be several instances of this, as if the reader needed reminding of how the character felt or what type of person they were.Another issue for me was the lack of on page sex. I knew going in not to expect any, and I truly thought I'd be fine with that given the mood I was in, but when it comes down to it, I don't like everything building up only to leave me hanging with a case of metaphorical blue balls. It's not like I need sex in all my books. For instance, I just finished reading [b: Vanished 22922844 Vanished Carter Quinn https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1408170138s/22922844.jpg 42490801] by Carter Quinn, and it didn't need sex to make it amazing (5 stars, highly recommend). The difference is the plot. When the plot focuses on the development of a relationship, sex is an important part of that, because it allows the reader to see the passion and intimacy that grows between the couple. When it's left out, it feels like something's missing.My other annoyance involved the flashback to college with Travis and his future wife. I felt that this part of the story perpetuated the idea that bisexuals are somehow less capable of committing to one person simply because they are attracted to both genders. Even though Travis promised her that he'd be with no one but her from that day on and was faithful to her the rest of her life, the whole scenario gave the impression that he was overcoming a hurdle intrinsic to bisexuals rather than just being a normal person who decides to be monogamous.There was one other little thing that rubbed me the wrong way, but I feel like all I'm doing is complaining and giving the impression that I didn't like the book as a whole, so I'll only mention it in the comments if anyone is curious enough to ask. I really did enjoy reading the book, and all the glowing reviews explain its positive qualities, so I don't see a need to repeat them here. I just didn't enjoy it as much as I'd hoped.
This book had potential but I had difficulty enjoying it due to the mediocre writing. The biggest problem I noticed was pronoun confusion - it's the worst case I've ever come across. I also wasn't a fan of the way Jon's internal struggle was presented. Rather than showing dueling thoughts, it was him arguing out loud with internal thoughts. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but in my experience, internal arguments are just that - internal. If someone talks to themselves, I believe they just say what they're thinking rather than voicing half a conversation with their mind. Anyway, that just struck me as unrealistic.
The plot itself was somewhat interesting, but was ruined by too many cliché events. It felt very much like typical m/f romances where they keep being brought together by one being injured and the other nursing them back to health, someone needing to be rescued and nursed back to health, lather rinse repeat. There was even a completely inexperienced virgin with an inferiority complex.
This is the first in a trilogy, but I can't be arsed to read the rest.
The writing in this book is simply phenomenal. It's hard to believe I DNF and 1 starred one of Sunday's earlier works for being so poorly written (I still stand by that opinion). It just goes to show how far this author has come and how much she has improved her skill. I feel like anything I say in this review will be inadequate, as I just don't have the words to do it justice.
Sunday covered over a decade of time in rock without falling into the trap of telling rather than showing. I got little glimpses into the lives of these boys over the years that, taken together, gave me a full and beautiful picture of the gradual development of their relationship. I loved that while none of the book was written from Jace's perspective, his feelings for Cooper were still evident in the little things:
I poke at the pasta Jace served me, preparing to pull out all the capsicums before I dig any more into it.I frown at Jace twirling his pasta on his fork.You took out the capsicum for me, didn't you?
Reading their story was such an emotional experience for me, which is quite rare. It's been a while since I've had tears streaming down my face as I read.
There were a few times that I found myself thinking the dialogue or actions were a little unrealistic, but at the same time, I could easily imagine seeing those same things in a well-done indie film with gorgeous scenery and lovely music in the background. Speaking of which, this book really needs to be made into an indie film. Maybe someone with the right connections can make that happen.
Thank you, Ms. Sunday, for the incredible reading experience.
Wow. I just typed up a long review then hit some key that made me lose it all. I want to cry. I just know it's not as good as what I had, but here's my best effort at recalling what I wrote:
Sweetwater is written with the skill I've come to expect from Henry, the kind that transports you to the time and place of the story, makes you feel like you're experiencing the events right along with the characters. Most of the book was from Elijah's perspective, and I loved how well developed a character he was as a result. I particularly enjoyed some of the descriptions of how things sounded to his mostly deaf ears:
Song was water, tipped from a ewer into a hollow basin. Song swelled, reverberated, and he couldn't distinguish the words from the echo.
Getting to know Elijah so well allowed me to experience his emotions with him, and let's just say he was put through the wringer! Unfortunately, in getting such depth with Elijah, I feel like I had to give up that depth elsewhere, especially in the relationship development between him and Grady. I was only given a glimpse of Grady's background and personality, and the two men didn't even have a true conversation until halfway through the book. From that point, their relationship felt rushed and superficial.
My other issue was purely personal, in that historical fiction in general, and Westerns set in the 1800s in particular, are really not my thing (I had to read it despite that, since Lisa Henry is one of my favorite authors and so many others raved about it). Those in combination meant that while I liked the book and think it's very well written, I didn't love it and found it lacking in key areas.
I have to admit I was wary of reading this because I feared that the raving reviews would have my hopes too high, only to be dashed by the actual book. I'm very happy to say that I was not disappointed! It's by no means perfect, but I found it to be quite an enjoyable read.
The biggest flaw in this book was the headhopping that occurred on several occasions mid-scene. Most POV switches were done at chapter or scene breaks, but the times it switched from one paragraph to the next without any indication were very confusing. This is one weakness in writing I find impossible to ignore. Another niggle I had was the overuse of the word bloke (121 times according to my ereader). No word that isn't essential to the story should appear that frequently in a book. I'm guessing the author was playing up the British thing but it came off as trying too hard.
I loved the slow burn of the romance, and I'm impressed that I still felt sexual tension despite the fact that their relationship began as a purely sexual arrangement. While I'm not into humiliation/degradation, that aspect wasn't too extreme so it didn't bother me. Also, while I love D/s, I'm generally not a fan of formalized BDSM, but it was handled reasonably here without sacrificing the heat.
I saw that several others thought Jeff was a jerk, but I thought he was a total sweetheart to Eddie once they began the “lessons” (maybe it was the lack of sappy dialogue, which I greatly appreciated). I found most of his less appealing behavior to be attributable to his upbringing and the attitudes of his father and brother, so although that didn't excuse him, it was at least understandable. Vivian said it best: “he's just ignorant–not an ass.”
Anyway, if you love GFY, BDSM, and the slow development of a romance without having to wait for sexy times, this is the book for you.
I enjoyed this book about as much as I did the first in the series. The plot didn't really pull me in, but I wasn't bored either. It's been months since I read the previous books, and it was obvious that I had forgotten some stuff. I still don't remember the Remy storyline at all, but it's not bothering me enough to go back and refresh my memory.
Just like with the first two books, I still think Prophet and Tom are too similar. I was constantly having to double check who said what because their “voices” sound the same to me. One thing that confused me was Tom supposedly realizing that he and Mal are exactly alike, because I didn't get that impression at all. I think they are quite different in personality, but maybe I'm missing something.
Anyway, I mainly read this to keep myself updated on the overall plot in anticipation of the book I really want to read - Mal and Cillian's 2nd book, Dirty Lies.
Suffers a bit from the typical problem with short stories - not enough pages to really develop the characters and their relationship, so there are several instances of too much telling and not enough showing.
I am really glad, though, that Kyle's love didn't magically cure Dalton's drug addiction. Makes it much more believable and real.
2.5 stars
I think my ambivalence toward this book is partially due to my tastes. I'm not a huge fan of fantasy or historicals, so this book was already at a disadvantage with me.
I liked Kendras, but I had a lot of trouble feeling the connection between him and the other characters. I mean, the book told me he had these people he was close to, but I didn't believe it. The biggest problem for me, though, was that there was too much focus on politics, which I didn't care all that much about. It looks like that will be the main focus of the next book, so I can safely say I won't be continuing the series.
4.5 stars
This was so good, so much more than I was expecting. I loved the suspense and couldn't put the book down until I finished. At first I was skeptical that the prompt could be turned into something that would make sense, and continued to doubt it as I began reading, but the story turned out to be so creative and was actually believable (in a paranormal way). Obviously it was very convenient for the plot that Xavier was ridiculously wealthy, as it allowed him to do whatever necessary to help Roman, but it didn't bother me because I was so desperate for it to be resolved, I needed them to spare no expense and make it happen!
My only real complaint was that the unconventional cursing was jarring and frequently pulled me out of the story. I understand that it was meant to emphasize that it occurs in the future and that people would have a different way of speaking, as language evolves over time, but I highly doubt that people are going to start cursing like Ned Flanders in a few decades.
I'm somewhat amazed that we got this full length novel from the Love's Landscapes event. Since it's not a short story, the characters had time to develop their relationship, and because they were limited physically, they truly got to know each other rather than relying solely on sexual chemistry. I liked the awkwardness that kept surfacing between them, because it made it seem so much more genuine. When everything moves along too smoothly and perfectly for a couple, it feels a little too fake, so I was glad not to see that in this book.
Anyway, this is definitely among the few best LL stories, and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes futuristic suspense.
While I enjoyed reading about these guys, I don't think there's anything about the book that really sets it apart from others. It uses the popular trope of the nerd hooking up with the jock, which is a classic for a reason. That alone provides plenty of drama and conflict, especially when coupled with coming out. I was less than thrilled with the insta-love, and wish they'd gotten to know each other even a little bit before professing their feelings for one another. There was also a lot of telling regarding thoughts and feelings (is there a term for this? I'm finding myself complaining about overexplanation of characters' thoughts very often these days), during which I got bored waiting for something to happen.
I really liked Kyle, and found myself laughing and grinning at many of his witty retorts, though I found it slightly difficult to believe that someone so unused to social interaction would be able to come up with them on the fly. Brad, however, seemed like all he had going for him were his looks, so he has some growing to do before he can win me over. He seemed to be moving in the right direction in the third story, so we shall see.
I pretty much agree with everything Susan said in her review, and she loved the next book in the series, so I will definitely give it a go.
This book is not for everyone. It's probably not for most, but if you like dark books and want to have your boundaries pushed, Protection is a must-read. It's well written, the storyline shocked me, pulled me in, and left me in a bit of an emotional mess. I personally felt the Coda was unnecessary and detracted a bit from the book, so I'm just going to pretend it wasn't there.
Aww, that was super sweet, and not in a sappy cheesy way (ok maybe that last bit at the very end was a little sappy but I liked it anyway). I love how Drew's inability to speak was handled, and enjoyed seeing how they formed a strong relationship despite that handicap. I did feel that the rest of the time they spent together was rushed with too much telling, which is inevitable in a short book that covers about a year of time. I was also disappointed by what my friend likes to call Nora Roberts sex scenes, where it's pretty much mentioned in passing. I like to get a feel for the passion and love between couples when they finally get together, so it felt like a key element was missing. I thought the skinhead bully scene seemed a bit contrived and somewhat unnecessary to the story. I did, however, really enjoy the rest of it. I felt their sense of helplessness and loss when Travis left, and their joy when he finally gained some sense and came back. It began and ended well, so I'm glad I read it.
Words are failing me this morning, but I want to say that this author took a great prompt and turned it into a great story. It was dark, emotional, and interesting. I can't help but feel it could have been even better if turned into a full length novel that would allow the characters to be more fleshed out with more development of their relationship, but for a free short story, I really can't complain.
1.5 stars
I don't even know where to start. I suppose my first mistake was that I didn't expect this to be PWP. Nothing happens in this book except lots of sex with knotting, BDSM, and large amounts of cum, and 2 “incidents” that made no fucking sense. Why the hell shifters were practicing formalized BDSM, I'll never know. That didn't seem to fit at all. And then there were two of my biggest pet peeves: the overuse of boy and endearments, the most cringe-worthy being pretty baby.
The two incidents were so contrived that they were completely nonsensical. First, Cal's nephew approaches Gabriel and tells him Cal is mistreating him and will scare him away, then proceeds to mistreat him and scare the shit out of him. Then later when they go for a run in the woods, Jake mysteriously disappears, apparently having no idea that rival shifters are nearby even though his senses are better than Gabriel's, plus none of the entire pack that was sent to guard the perimeter came across these guys?? And why wouldn't Cal have concentrated more pack members around the area Jake and Gabriel would be running?
I'm going to be generous and give it an extra half star for managing to turn me on before proceeding to throw the metaphorical bucket of ice water over me with the terrible endearments.
Well, that one should have stayed on my maybe shelf. Poorly written, strange dialogue, no real explanation of WTF Matt is - avian shifter, but also an alien? From some other world? I dunno, but I was not aware this was a bird shifter story, or I would stopped right there. Squawking and clicking during sex? Err, no thank you!
I'm just glad it was short.