Melanie

This is really light bdsm. Although it's supposed to play a big part in the characters sexual history, the bdsm aspect isn't really depicted all that much. I liked Roni Loren's overall narration but was a bit disappointed by the characters development in the story. I feel like it started really strong but things started to accelerate way too much to reach a progression in the last 20% that did not feel quite natural. The characters had a lot of history to nagivate through, the story started to unfold all of it and just rushed it all to reach its conclusion. I would have rather had 100 more pages to let everything evolve at a decent pace and give the characters the time needed to heal from past wounds. 

I'm still intrigued enough to read the next books but I do hope that the bdsm aspect will feature more prominently.

I really enjoyed the first book in the series and thought this one was a nice continuation but I'm also feeling some sense that things are going to start dragging. Already, situations are starting to feel a little too familiar, going around in circles. 

Fine, Suzanne Wright, you win. I'm really into this series, flaws and all and I just want more now. Either you've perfected your craft (which I really think you did) or I've grown accustomed to your style of writing, but I love your characters and world and while a part of me will always wish that everything was more developped I'll take what I can get!

I found this book delightful. The whole thing is well written and is really really sweet, perhaps too sweet when you take into consideration that it's a mafia omega book. This one tells you that violent things happen but they very rarely show them. The two alphas are as snowflake as can be for their omega so the book concentrates on that aspect. The age gap isn't weird or creepy. It's the basis for some jokes which I found refreshing. The heroine was sick and it's also a part of her story even if it's not the “whole” thing and thankfully, the book does not dissolve into dramatics and ‘woe is me' narration.

Honestly, it's not much story wise but the characters are really adorable, individually and together, and the writing really holds up well. 

It's hard to rate this higher than 3 stars, because the book is of uneven quality. It starts with a bang, dark and emotional and with promises of a read that's powerfu,l but as our heroes connect, it all turns so so sweet. And it's not like it's a bad thing or that the heroine doesn't deserve sweet, but considering the amount of trauma she endured, she's way too well adjusted and it gives the whole book a shallow finish. The male heroes feel superficial and it's hard to care much about them. This book deserved some more editing to bring the entire thing together better.

So I think I was a bit misled by the blurb I read. I have no qualms with mafia romance, but it was a bit jarring to get into the book expecting mythology and instead getting crime boss family! The whole thing was okay, I think I appreciated how traumatic the experience was for the heroine and that it had actual consequences in the present time. Two out of three of the male leads were interesting and endearing while the third one was an ass. I did not much care for how fast they fell for the heroine though. The book also has that massive flaw that I find too often in reverse harem books : it is not kind to most other female characters. I'm not saying that a book has to build female shrines left and right but still.... it'd be nice if, in order to build up the heroine, authors wouldn't work on making other female characters “bitches”. 
Overall, the writing held up since considering how uneven the story and characters are, I still managed to read it all.

I'm going to break from my annoying contrasted Dark in You feelings for a second to say that I marginally liked this one better. It still feels like a lot of wasted potential but I thought that the writing was slightly improving, creating a better space for the characters to interact.

You know what? I'm pleasantly surprised that my rating for the last two books have improved. Either I'm getting used to Suzanne Wright's writing or it has improved and sharpened. The books still aren't as dark as I'd like them to be considering the subject material (if you go for demons, go for it honestly), but I found Larkin to be delightfully dark and Teague enchantingly smitten with a psychotic demon. This hit all the right spots.

(Review repeat from Omens) - I have absolutely the same issue with this book as I had with my first three books so I'm just not going to rehash it for every book in this series since I'm sure I'll feel the same for every book in the series. In a nutshell, universe is fun, characters are fun, relationships are fun there's a bit of steam and darkness. BUT it's too consensual and mainstream to be actually gritty and steamy so it's a bit whitewashed and that's a shame and the writing is a bit subpar. 

I have absolutely the same issue with this book as I had with my first two so I'm just not going to rehash it for every book in this series since I'm sure I'll feel the same for every book in the series. In a nutshell, universe is fun, characters are fun, relationships are fun there's a bit of steam and darkness. BUT it's too consensual and mainstream to be actually gritty and steamy so it's a bit whitewashed and that's a shame and the writing is a bit subpar.

I often curse IRL and I totally would start the review of this book with a curse but I also don't want people to think I'm rude so I won't.  Why?

Because just like book one of this series, this one is a disappointment that keeps on going.

Let's get one thing out of the way : I've totally read this after book 1 and I'm not mad about it. I will get to book 2, 3 and 4 but honestly? I just wanted Devon and Tanner. So yeah, I don't think I missed anything that made reading this book confusing. Harper and Knox are fine, but the promise of Devon and Tanner was fire.

Now, like book 1, I LOVE the universe, I LOVE the characters, I LOVE the demons, I am just so underwhelmed by the writing and its lack of finesse and editing that I'm spitting mad. See, these books could totally be dark paranormal romance with grit and sex but what you get is someone trying to sell dark and heavy by mainstreaming so it won't offend the majority of readers. Which means that the sex, while trying to be edgy, feels like it was written by a fifteen year old who blushes at what she's writing and it means that the characters never really get to tap into their inner darkness. 

So if you want the promise of dark but none of the grit, this is for you. If you're expecting dark “dark”, move on.

Story and characters : 5/5
Execution : 2/5

Damn. Character wise, potential wise, universe wise, this is a 5 stars for me. I DIG IT. 

BUT.... the writing falls a little short in bringing the tension to its climax, it falls a little short in rounding up the story in a neat way that has a nice pace, it falls very short in creating the sort of emotional response you'd wish when reading about these characters. 

Meaning that the idea of the characters are amazing, there are some strong moments, some funny moments but the writing does not transcend this potential into realisation. The narration is a bit flat, the exchanges are a bit flat and the descriptions definitely lack some oomph bringing the whole thing back to a mere 3 stars. 

I cannot justify cutting in two and going for 4 stars because while storylines and potential and characters are important to me, the writing has a stronger impact overall on my feelings. Hence, why I”m going for 3.5 stars.

Vi Keeland is always hit or miss for me. I really enjoy her characters and some finer details of her stories but I'm not sold on her writing style. It lacks finesse and balance. The internal monologues are often weak compared to the banter she can dish out which takes away from the tension the characters create. 

It's still a very easy cute read, but as often with her work, I'm left with a sense that I was robbed of potentially more.

I was looking for an inmate romance book and when I saw Cara McKenna in the rec list, I had to go for it because I've seen her being recommended a lot lately. While there were definite areas of improvement, I thought this was a solid read.  The ending needed work and the overall flow of the book was off, especially considering this had a two acts story. 

Everything is very insta and I wish feelings and opportunities had developped over a longer span of time but the characters were endearing. I found their personalities, qualities and flaws, believable, the letter writing was poetic, romantic and hot (even if way too insta at first). That epistolary relationship, and the subsequent shift in the relationship as act II starts were the highlights of a book, which is solid if not a little underwhelming in its second part.

I actually really appreciated this book and I did not expect it. Are there things that just don't make sense? Of course but there are also points that I really crave in stories that I don't seem to find that much and I'm choosing to concentrate on those. Some small examples (very light spoilers) : I love that Shiloh trained/trains in defense combat after her attack. I never see that in stories and I just don't get it. I don't mean to tell people how to cope but I'm always surprised that there aren't more combat training for girls that get out of abusive relationships or were attacked. Another thing : the book is really slow and not much happens because it's all about coping (which isn't going really well) but that's also what I found really realistic about it. You don't get over it in a month or even a year and it generally involves unhealthiness hence the light smoking, drinking, and hardcore running in the book.

The boys are almost too good to be true but honestly, their adorable-ness counterbalances the sad depressing feeling of Shiloh's life. At least Knox is a hard ass and that was seriously needed, because the other three are cute as a button, pretty whipped and quite frankly useless. Also, there's barely anything sex/sexy in this book. While feelings develop pretty fast (though at different speeds), no one falls into bed with anyone easily, quickly and there's no “omg, I want to bone him so hard my brain shuts everything off and I'm suddenly so much better.”

All in all, the slow vibe, the fragile yet strong female lead, the useless adorable boys and their grumpy brother made the whole book worth it. I think the insertion of the traumatic events through the nightmares made the pacing of the book work. 

Overall, a strong and intriguing start. I will say that I'm a bit worried about the whole thing being four books because I'm not sure that things aren't going to go bonkers at one point but one book at a time and this one is definitely a-okay if you're in the mood for some sad yet hopeful story about a girl trying to learn to live again.

This is more a book about recovering from an eating disorder than it is a love story. I understand why people might feel peeved by the potential message of “a man can fix me” but I felt like in Lacey's case and with the added bdsm attempt, it sort of made sense? I think the author was threading a really dangerous line and could not push her exploration even further because Stian isn't a really pushy daddy (which again works because of Lacey's recovery). A pushier version of bdsm and daddy kink would have negated Lacey's struggles and then the book would definitely have fallen into “only a man can fix me”. As it is, both characters still have to work at their relationship in ways most other people don't so as to be mindful of the fuckery a mental illness can cause.

Overall, and considering the length of the book, I think the subject was treated with respect. I've never had an eating disorder so I can't vouch for the accurary, but I thought it was respectful and never judgmental.

The tone and style of writing felt subdued. I don't know if it's the author's style as this is my first book but I thought it worked for the story. No big lyrical description, fairly to the point dialogue. It lacked a little in the sexual/romantic department but again, considering the theme and the length, hard to do more.

I'm interested enough to give the rest of the series a shot but again, I'm starting to feel really slighted when books are this short. It does not give the time for the author to create that unnerving, all encompassing connection between characters that you crave. I wanted to see those two develop even more because as it is, everything went too fast. I'm mostly used to SSS BDSM books because that's what you find the most so I was intrigued by the premises of this one. The sexual bdsm non con aspect of their relationship did not disappoint and I was less weirded out than I thought I was going to be but again, the book fell too short in exploring the subsequent drama that naturally unfolded. 

I don't doubt the following books will probably share that same flaw but I guess the unusual exploration of sadism/masochism is enough to keep me going.

This was almost too sweet. This had a lot of things you've read before (single woman abused by an ex, hot neighbour single dad who works in security) which means that there's no surprise going in there. The basic conflict is of two people not willing to connect because of their past trauma, yet unable to stay away from each other. Things veer extremely rapidly in overly sweet romance and that's the real shame. In a strange twist of feeling, the book both moves slow and fast. I liked the slow burn but hated the quick burning after and wished the whole pace of the relationship had been better thought out. 

Honestly, this was both too long and necessary so I am torn. In a way, I do love that things progressed so slow over two books because I really do love my slow burn. But also at one point, it's about 700 pages of Lola and her men, and that's kind of a lot. Bonus point for all of Baby's appearances in those books. She's hilarious now that she's settled and I really wish we'd had another book for her. 

 I enjoyed this less than Baby's book but I honestly think it's mostly because I really enjoyed the whole biker gang in book 1 (and I normally don't like biker gangs much) and I cared a bit less about the boys in this one. It's an incredible slow burn, which is great, considering that the topic at end deals with the repercussions of abuse and there was no way to make this believable by burning bridges. K. Moon does a great job of taking her time (but probably a bit too much time? I know I have plenty of time for reading but it's definitely not the quickest read out there if you combine it with book 2 of Lola). Overall, the book is strong in some characters but not all : Lola, Leo, Rake, even Cyrus feels like they're someone and they have something to offer. Matthieu, who's supposed to be a big draw, feels almost too clean? And is very bland in the process. And Caleb and Wes are not present enough. 

 I honestly did not imagine enjoying this that much. Of course, it turns into smut territory but it doesn't happen that fast. There are a lot of pages to that book, which, on one hand is great, because there are so many characters involved. But on the other hand, it does drag at one point. It's a lot of time involved for smutty even if very hot omegaverse sex. Anyway, first of all, this is actually really well written, so much so that I will definitely check out other Kathryn Moon books. Second of all, the omegaverse universe in this one is actually quite sweet. From secondary storylines, you know it's not always the case, but the way the universe is built actually protects the omega (contrary to most universes). Thirdly, most guys, and that's the biggest drawback at first (because there are SO MANY of them), are endearing enough that you care for most of them. Fourthly, I really really liked that contrary to a lot of reverse harem stories, most other female characters are not whores or bitches or are deemed stupid. There's actual female friendship (I so want Chef and Emmy's story). Fifthly, I really enjoyed that Baby did not have to bond or have sex with all the alphas in the pack and that most of them were content with their betas. I'm sure another author would have gone bonkers over having her female character try to satisfy so many male characters.

 I didn't think I'd love Sebastian and Sara more than Cal and Stella and I don't because I love them as much but in different ways and that's because both stories are very different and both relationships move very very differently. Sara and Sebastian is like a storm of hatred that seriously gives kick to the line “there's a fine line between love and hate”. The truth is that Sebastian pushes Sara's control in a way no one does and he doesn't know how important that control is to her. In turn, Sara's explosive reactions to Sebastian pushes him into pushing even more because that's who Sebastian is. What you get is 340 pages of two people actually falling in love at a very decent pace. And it's all beautiful and perfect in how they come together despite or because of their flaws and their baggage. 

 I know some people will take issue with Cal, but dear me, I think I'm pretty much in love. Go for it if you're into awkward and shy around women grown men that are 1. not scared of making their feelings known, 2. are seriously dirty-minded, 3. totally respect a woman's boundaries and work. I know some people do not get Cal's personality and wonder how someone so incredibly incompetent at small talking women could be a beast in bed, but I get it. Oh I do get it, Cal. Also Stella, you're amazing and even your issues are amazing. I mean, not that her issues are awesome but they way she handles them and how things are not too dramatic but it's just all about the lemons that life throws at you that take you down... it's just amazing. You're badass, I love your ball busting (pun intended) ways with your clients and I love that you can both feel self confident in your life while acknowledging everything Cal brings to it. sigh . The chemistry between these two is out of this world. In one morning, it descends into marriage proposal but for real, read this. It's hilarious and perfect and definitely insta-love without being insta-love. I swear it all makes perfect sense.
 

I am a bit disappointed in this because I thought the premise of the storyline had a lot of potential. Characters had a lot of potential so did the relationships. However, as the story went on, it became clear the writing was going to be a bit of a let down. There were a lot of ideas to explore, a lot of emotional connections to make and it just all fell a bit flat. Things stayed too superficial, the characters not having the room to evolve in the way they needed. 

This is just more cuteness. It brings absolutely nothing to the table but to meet our favourite characters again and that's enough for me :)