Nate
Edie Skye knows how to write one hell of a mech book. The magic system is really interesting, and the way it's incorporated into how the mechs function is really cool! The battle scenes feel well paced and keep you rooting as the big hits happen!
The spicier parts of the book caught me off guard, though the full title of the book should have been obvious about what I was getting myself into.
Four stars, I'm going to try and keep this as spoiler free as possible. As a first “dark romance” book there was some intense scenes here with some very descriptive words used. I can understand why people get pulled into the genre. The question though is if you took out the X-rated elements do you get a story that can stand on its own? To a degree yes.
The author tries so hard to explain why the stalking is “romantic” and Aly had no reason to feel unsafe, and all honesty in any real world situation I don't think you could ever convince me this type of relationship could happen. Setting aside my realistic expectations, the banter and jokes with each other where fun. There where times I laughed out loud with what was happening, and others I cringed. The story becomes predictable, and then overstays its welcome.
In all honesty the story could have ended at Chapter 20, and been used as setup for the next book, but hey I'm not a writer so what do I know. What I do know is that the chapters following until the epilogue felt really just there as filler to expand the story and familiar relationship. The epilogue was cute.
The audiobook was actually a very fun listen and I think why I'm giving it 4 stars all together.
Would I read a dark romance again? Maybe. I could leave the X-rated stuff on the floor and still enjoy a romance novel I imagine, but the draw for me wasn't the x-rated stuff. It was my curiosity as to why the genre was so appealing and I can understand how it serves as an escape from reality.
3.75
A.P. Beswick returns with the second Lavanthia novel which was rather interesting. With a pirate theme we get more character introductions and a bit more of a peak into the world.
It's at a 3.75 because I feel there was a bit of a left turn that the book turn from really interesting and original story to a less interesting hunt for the mythical object.
4.5
Zoey is back and the future looks like it needs a swift punch in the dick! Picking up months after the first book, David Wong places us right back into the world we left. Characters feel more fleshed out, conflicts and stakes seem higher even with Zoey in control of some powerful tools.
Ultimately David Wong manages to write a fantastic sequel that will keep you turning the pages trying to guess what happens next.
4.75
I have to give it to my amazing friend for another out of this world recommendation .
What an amazing introduction to the writings of David Wong. From an action packed story that took twists I did not see coming, to fun dialogue, and a terrifying always live world that we are heading to I was in awe the entire way through.
Christy Carlson Romano does an amazing job narrating this book too! The violence was over the top at times for sure and quite graphically described, but the overall story was just so well done I cannot wait to read more from David Wong!
4.25
After coming off Dungeon Crawler Carl, He Who Fights with Monsters was highly recommended. I can understand why. From a LitRPG perspective it is beautifully executed with a blend of systems, stats, abilities, and progression.
For me though I felt like there was enough content here for maybe a prequel novella and a novel. There were a few story lines that felt like they were rushed to get to an end. Things became a little difficult to keep track of in the last 15% of the book.
4.5 I wasn't sure going into this how much I was going to love it. What I walked away with was an amazing continuation of a short story that Sanderson expertly reworked into the first part and built even more on the Cosmere! From returning characters from different novels to an expansion on events that have occurred this was an enjoyable standalone novel!
Carl gets saved yet again by some bizarre rule going in his favor. The end.
The main plot is starting to become predictable where we know that Carl is going to be saved by the rules being bent or moved in his favor, but what Matt adds to the world with his world building, expanding of characters and their motives helps makes up for it.
At this point I think it would be a welcomed surprise to see Carl fail honestly just to change up the formula.
So we're really building out a more complex story now. What started off as funny man and his exciting girlfriend cat is now has political intrigue and drama happening that your invested in.
Each move on the board now feels like it has actual consequences, and we hold our breath as we wait to see what happens.
Dinniman successfully expands our cast of characters, without loosing focus on our main dynamic duo, and keeps us wanting more from them.
A 4.5 it raises the bar again, and sets up for some intense drama going forward.
4.75
Carls back baby and he's found his mojo! No seriously what happened between book 1 and 2 to make 2 feel like it lost its comedy and focus that made DCC special!
I'm happy Matt was able to find that edge again and really bring this book back to the quality of the first! Between the action, the jokes, and even adding his style to the RPG elements Matt shows why he is so good at what he does.