JJ
Holy hell this one was good! I shivered when Toreth said
āI can't chain you up and listen to you beg me to hurt you, and then hurt you and listen to you beg me to fuck you, and then fuck you and listen to you scream, if you don't stand in the fucking frame.ā
And as another reviewer said, Dilly can just fuck off. If she can't put aside her own discomfort and just be happy that her brother is happy, then she needs to STFU and mind her own business (preferably on Mars).
So very disturbing, but it explains so much. Didn't enjoy reading it per-say, but it's an important glimpse into what shaped Toreth into the person he is, and you just know there's so much more that has only been hinted at. It made me sad that he genuinely thought Sara would laugh, like something like that would be funny!
I have mixed feelings about this book. While I was intrigued by Toreth and Warrick's personalities and very much enjoyed their interactions with one another, I found most of the rest of the content a chore to read. There was too much overly detailed explanation of the background that drowned out the real story. The mystery was too easy for the reader to figure out, and just made it frustrating that Toreth and Warrick didn't catch on as quickly. However, from what I've seen in other reviews and comments on the book, the series does get better, and I can see the potential for these two characters, so I will continue reading!
This series is one of my favorites but this book was a bit of a disappointment. It didn't hold my interest, and apparently Merit has gone from bad-ass fighter who could hold her own against nearly 400 yr old master vamp Ethan to completely incompetent weakling who repeatedly gets taken down by humans who haven't even been trained to fight. I also feel like there could have been much more to this story, but it was just written halfheartedly. Seems to be a common problem with long-running series unfortunately.
I didn't write a review the first time I read this in 2013, probably because I was just too overwhelmed. As I started rereading it, I was relieved and elated to find that I love it just as much, if not more, now than I did back then. I love the writing style - present tense, sort of stream of consciousness, which feels fast paced and like it's taking you for a crazy ride and all you can do is strap in and enjoy it. These characters are fucking nuts, and I love them. They have a completely twisted relationship, and I had (fortunately I think) forgotten just how insane things get. I love being surprised, which is why I generally avoid rereads, but on the other hand, I have a terrible memory so it worked out this time! Truly unputdownable and staying on my favorites shelf.
Read this years ago, but found my old review:
I simply don't understand how anyone could think this book was well written. If it weren't for the adult content, I honestly would have believed it was written by a 14 year old. Even if you disregard the poor grammar and misspellings, it is still almost painful to read because of the simple, disjointed sentences and unrealistic dialogue. Also, several times throughout the book, there would be two or more sentences in a row that said the exact same thing in different words. I noticed that Simmons LOVES to make the characters āchuckleā in conversation, which would be okay if what they were saying was actually funny....
There was no plot or character development in the book; I did not feel like I got to know any of the characters, nor did I feel any sort of attachment to them. The women were unbelievably immature, and not particularly intelligent, which I don't think was intentional on the author's part. It had potential, but it did not live up to it in any way, shape, or form.
My thoughts now:
This was the most poorly written book I've ever read. Everything about it was juvenile, and the dialogue was fucking AWFUL - literally painful to read. I had to force myself to finish the book, hoping it would get better, but it turned out to be a complete waste of effort. Fortunately, I was able to send this book and the rest of the series back for a refund. You know how you shouldn't judge a book by its cover? It's especially relevant in this case. I loved the covers for this series and ordered it based on that alone. Needless to say, I learned my lesson.
I couldn't actually finish this one. I made it to just over 60% before I completely lost interest and gave up. The biggest problem was that Doug is written to be so dumb that it isn't believable. His idiocy is supposed to be funny but 95% of the time, it was just too overdone. It reminded me of stoner comedy films, which I never find funny.
The writing was rambling and all over the place, which I first thought was a way to illustrate the incoherent thoughts of a pothead, but it continued during Stephen's POV.
I didn't like either of the characters, and couldn't relate to them at all.
I maybe could have looked past all that if there had been some steamy sex scenes, but no, it completely skipped over the sex! Blah.
Review of Published Version:
It hurts to say this, but I very much prefer the original unpublished version of this book. I wish I could say the changes were an improvement, but unfortunately they āfixedā something that wasn't broken. This went from being a unique, lovely story about two young adults figuring out their kinky relationship to one of the same old BDSM books that are a dime a dozen. It's kind of crazy how the addition of a few words and sentences here and there can change the dynamic so much.
The first thing I noticed was the ridiculous number of times Rylan called Niles baby. I was sure I would have noticed this the first time around, as excessive use of endearments are a pet peeve of mine. I compared to the original, and found that it went from four instances to sixteen, and at one point he called him sweetness, which didn't happen in the original. I don't understand why this was done, and it was just a major turn-off for me. At least this didn't happen until Part II, so Part I was still incredibly hot!
The next difference I found was Rylan calling Niles good boy, dirty boy and cringebaby boy. It was just too much and didn't fit with the Rylan and Niles that I knew. Niles also underwent a personality change by becoming desperate for approval, worried about doing his best to ābe goodā for Rylan. He was edging dangerously close to the type of begging puppy dog sub I cannot stand. Here's an example of how a couple sentences could change him so much:
Original: āPlease. Rylan. Please. Fuck me.ā
Published: āPlease, Rylan. Please fuck me, please. I'll be so good for you, I'll make you feel so good. Please just fuck me.ā
Lastly, in regards to the D/s stuff, I think the author must have felt pressured to tame it down and introduce formalized BDSM concepts so as not to offend people. It felt less raw and real to me, and changed the nature of their relationship. This demonstrates what I consider the advantage of freefic, because the authors aren't constrained by the boundaries of what is deemed acceptable. Maybe most people would prefer the published version, but in my eyes, it lost something special.
Overall, I'd have to give this edition 3 stars, but I'm leaving the 5 star rating because it was well deserved for the original. Most of my issues with it were in Part II, so at least Part I was still amazingly good. I'm glad I spent the money on the published book because the author earned it with the first story I read and loved. However, I'm just going to remove the new version from my kindle and pretend I never read it!
Original Review of Unpublished Story:
I just love this story. Niles is so endearingly unsure of everything, and Rylan is the perfect blend of sweet and sexy! I LOVE the writing style, and the sex is amazing. I was constantly smiling and laughing throughout the story. It was such a fun read, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Highly recommend.
I won't rate since I was a beta for this fic, but I will give my honest opinion after a bit of background.I have never watched the show, and Sterek/Steter fanfics are the only ones I really have any interest in reading. I read [b:Shark Tank 25056671 Shark Tank xzombiexkittenx https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1425329574s/25056671.jpg 44738297] when Tinka recommended it to me, and I never wrote a review because I just thought it was alright. The pairing didn't click with me the way Sterek/Steter had, and it wasn't hard to put down. I've been having that problem with everything new I read lately, which is why I haven't been active on GR for so long. I haven't been able to finish most of what I start, and the ones I finish don't make me feel strongly enough one way or the other to bother writing a review. Another problem is that (and I'm sorry Tinka, but I can't help it, please don't hate me) I don't find Hannibal attractive in the least. I hate his hair, and his face just...doesn't do it for me.Also, food fics are not my thing, and neither is blood play. Basically, I shouldn't like An Unorthodox Dinner.But I did. I really and truly enjoyed reading this fic. It is superbly written, and you'd never guess that English is not her native language. From what I could tell, she stayed true to the characters and really captured their mannerisms. There is a bit of humor mixed with more serious internal struggles, and some excitement that builds up to (who knew she had it in her) very hot sex. And the feels...some of those lines were like a punch to the chest. She made me care about Will and Hannibal; where Shark Tank failed, she succeeded.So thank you, Tinka, for writing an exceptional fic! I'm so glad I don't have to lie when I say I loved it!
First 70% was as boring and tedious as the first book, but the last 30% was good and now has hooked my interest. On to book 3!
