Wayward

Oh gosh... I have always enjoyed all kinds of erotica, but my tastes have sometimes leaned towards the darker side, which is why I wanted to give this a try. I still went into it with trepidation, and even while I was reading it, there were times that I was uncomfortable with what was happening. However, more often, I was feverish with reading it.

Julian's bottomless desire for Nora and obsessive possessiveness from the very beginning to the very end was achingly, painfully delicious, and I couldn't get enough. Everything I learned about Julian made him that much more fascinating and painfully beautiful to me. About halfway through, I started devouring every page and didn't want to put it down. I will ABSOLUTELY be reading the sequel. I'm already desperate for it. Be aware of your TWs, but if stories like this interest you, Twist Me will not disappoint.

3.5 rounded up

With loveable characters and an easily-read story, Treble Maker is a sweet, angst-light read that's great for the mornings when you're just waking up with a cup of warm coffee or tea.

I'm a bit late writing this review so I won't go into as much detail as I usually do. But to put it simply, while at times it moves a bit slowly, Treble Maker is an incredibly sweet story of opposites attracting. And for Lucas, overcoming those familial binds and expectations we all can relate to at least a little bit to become his own person and be who he wants to be and with whom he wants to be.

I especially loved Cody who was a really strong character overall. With a very defined and layered personality, his sweetness and protectiveness beneath it all came out for Lucas, and my heart melted every time it did.

Wholly an enjoyable and well-written story, I will read the other books in this series at some point. I recommend this to anyone looking for something easy to read and light.

Oh my gosh... Where to even begin?? This book is incredibly well-written. The author has an AMAZING, rare, and desperately valuable talent for creating vibrant 3d characters with histories and relationships, quirks and tastes and kinks. Characters who are LIVING and BREATHING to me now. And she weaves in little traits as well as physical characteristics so seamlessly they're shaped in your head and your heart before you've even realized it's happened.

I'm not exaggerating - it's SO GOOD. There's a RARE day and a RARE book I can find that sprouts characters like these from the earth and implants them in my soul.

I kid you not I have yelled at my friends more than once while reading this novella that Adam is THE LOVE OF MY LIFE, and I can only let Grant have him because I LOVE HIM TOO ! They're so WHOLE and sweet and LOVELY, and I love them so desperately much, and I don't even know how Lily Michaels could work something so profound in my heart in such a short amount of time, but if I could live in this sweet Christmas story the rest of my life, I happily would.

With heart-swooping imagery, murderously adorable smirks and pet names, neck kisses, perfect little analogies, breathless, heart-stopping love, unexpected twists, and the most Christmassy feels I've ever gotten from a book, A Granted Wish is my own little masterpiece. My own little slice of the season that's going to keep me warm all month, and that I'm a million percent going to read again and again every year (if I can wait that long).

If it isn't obvious already, I CANNOT recommend this book to you MORE. There's so much in here I can't EVEN squeal about because you have to read it yourself and go breathless yourself and melt yourself and realize for yourself what an amazing little story this is. Get it. It's worth every freaking penny.

This was a surprisingly sweet story, the development of which surprised me. While I wished some parts had been nurtured and grown a little more, I couldn't deny how much I enjoyed Eldon and Cameron's gentle characters or the obvious skill in the weave of the plot. I recommend giving this one a shot. In the end, you won't be disappointed.

Book content trigger warnings:

Past and present drug use; character briefly under knife point

I've been struggling to write a review for this book because it's really difficult to describe my take on it.

Okay, so... The Perils of Intimacy is a book unlike others. It quashes a lot of cliches and even has some totally unexpected twists in there. I could tell the author did his research for both the setting and the plotty content. In addition to those things, there were well-developed and interesting side characters, and the writing style was generally easy to read and absorbing. I enjoyed it. I cared about what was happening with these men and their friends.

I was impressed by the realistically written issues the main characters have and their personal growth and increasingly healthy thought processes. It was GOOD to see lifelike characters doing their best to love themselves.

For all of these reasons, I liked the book.

However, there were a few qualms I had about the rest of it.

For starters, there seemed to be these small contradictions throughout. For instance, at one point a character was remembering getting off in 30 minutes. Later, it was remembered as 10 minutes. Stuff like that, strewn throughout, that was odd and felt... forgetful.

Additionally, I really wanted to feel the romance between Marc and Jimmy, and support it, but I cared more about them as people and their growths separately than together.

For one thing, both the few kisses shared and the sex was fade-to-black. No present details. You get a little information by a character thinking back on it, but nothing up and close. No senses drawn.

For another... listen, I read all kinds of romance, including long and short fanfictions with magical soulmates. Yet this takes insta-love to a whole new level. If it had been intense feelings only ("why can't I get enough of you?"), I would absolutely have been THERE for it. But "I love yous"?? Realistically, even if people FEEL that early on, like, way too early on, as they do in this book, hardly anyone is ready to admit that to themselves, let alone their partner. It was just too much, too fast. I couldn't suspend my belief and therefore was taken out of the story. Which was a bummer because I really wanted to care about these two getting a happy ending, but it was hard to believe.

Still, while this book needed some work, I could and can tell that Rick R. Reed has talent, dedication, and loads of potential. If he improves in a few areas, he will excel, and I look forward to seeing what it looks like when he does.

**I received an ARC of this book free courtesy of NetGalley/NineStar Press in exchange for an honest review, which did not affect my opinion

Perfect Kiss was a very cute story without much angst that's not bad for a light read but has some clunky grammar, moves very quickly, and doesn't hold a whole lot of depth.

I didn't really pay attention to the page number, but based on the synopsis I was expecting to see much more of David and Travis's working together to bring down this arsonist in present time. Perhaps I misinterpreted the synopsis, but I was expecting more details. You know, tense silences and bitter arguments mixed in with begrudging admiration, slowly building respect, and sparking chemistry... The best elements of a slow-burn. Unfortunately, the story begins after the case is over and the last four months are already history. While we get a few flashbacks, there's nothing in depth that would have built my anticipation. In fact, at the point the story begins, David is already tired and nearly ready to put the past behind him.

It could also have been longer on the other end. There was a side story that had room for more development, and without giving away any spoilers, I would have liked to see how things progressed for David.

In addition to those wonky aspects of the storyline, there was occasionally some clunky writing as well that came across awkward and distracted me from time to time. Too many simple sentences all in a row, for instance. A little diversity would have been beneficial.

However, in spite of those problems, Perfect Kiss was a very easy story to read, with a hunky cop and an even hunkier firefighter for your mind's eye candy, a couple of cute side characters, and even a growl of possessiveness in there that had me warm all over. Perhaps it wouldn't be the first story I'd recommend to someone, but if I know they're in the market for something light and sweet, this would be a great read for them.

**I received this book free courtesy of NetGalley and Riptide in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion.

Sweet Salvation is a true love story about a nun and a gardener, with an entire cast of lifelike and enriching side characters that sweeps you away to this convent that can, at times, be lovely and, at others, cloistered and suffocating. It's a romance, very much so, but it's also a story of friendship and a story of people and the things that drive them.

I gotta be honest, based off the cover and synopsis, I went into Sweet Salvation expecting a (yummy) trashy read with a seductive ex-criminal and an innocent nun with frequent ravishing under the moonlight. While that wasn't what I got, the character-rich romance I read instead was sweet and fun and sexy and, at times, intense, and I enjoyed it just as much!

I was quickly astonished by the development of so many characters. There are no cardboard cutouts here, no person undefined, from our protagonists, Maggie and Trevor, to our antagonists, Mother Superior Antonia and Sister Eva, to a host of others including nuns and groundskeepers and even the yummy tattooed Chef Erik. The book shifts character perspectives often, and while sometimes that made for a drawn out story, it was a fun way to see the inner workings of so many people and how what they think and do inevitably affects Maggie and Trevor. It also allowed me to form opinions and binds to several characters here, rather than the much smaller cast many books showcase, and partially because of this, I'm already eager to read the sequel, which features another nun from this book.

Aside from all of these other characters, Maggie and Trevor were very likable (gotta be honest - especially Trevor *salivates*). Maggie was confused about many things at first and, I felt, very unhappy, but even she couldn't deny her attraction to the gorgeous gardener (neither could I) and eventually figured some important things out. Watching her break free was one of the most liberating things I've ever read.

And Trevor... ooh Trevor. There was no way I couldn't love Trevor, he was SUCH a sweetheart... A sweetheart with the most delicious lustful thoughts I had the pleasure of reading. And while I wished he were a bit MORE of a trouble maker as the synopsis suggested, his gentle sweetness took point zero zero one seconds to win me over.

And can I just be shallow for a second here and say picturing him had my blood pressure rising as much as it did Maggie's every time he was in the room?? Because phew... The first time he was introduced, I highlighted the paragraph and wrote (and I quote): "*fans self* Hell, he's gorgeous."

Mm, mm, mmm....

Okay, okay, I'm concentrating (maybe).

Through instant, blood-warming attraction, lust, and hijinks we get to see through various eyes under the nearly tyrannical rule of the self-righteous Mother Antonia, we watch Maggie pursue this dizzying feeling she gets when she's near Trevor and learn more and more about her body and life and what it is to love. The more she spends time with him, the more she likes him, can't stop thinking about him. And while I wish we would have gotten a little more time between these characters spent achingly close but unable to touch, the magnetic yearning they have for each other somehow doesn't feel rushed. They were meant to be, and my heart ached for them to find each other from the very first pages.

With a great deal of help from her friends, especially her dearest friend mischievous Cat, Maggie gets to answer the question of what love means in her own heart.

Overall, there were a few things I felt could have been improved, like the cliche of the antagonist Eva being the only unattractive nun. However, it also had kudos moments, such as the fact that Maggie (and one or two others) was subtextually hinted at as being bi. I think this was important and very cool for a book about nuns.

In the end, Sweet Salvation was sweeping and emotional and vivid, well-written, steamy, and full of love. As I said before, I am definitely interested in the sequel! I'm eager to read more of these characters I've grown attached to, and I will be looking for it.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes sexual characters and is looking for a sweet, tender romance!

Book content trigger warnings: verbal, emotional, and brief physical abuse (via Mother Superior)

**I received this book free courtesy of NetGalley/Written Warrior Press in exchange for an honest review which did not affect my opinion

Honestly I wish I could give this 6 stars.

The Unauthorized Field Guide to the Hunt was a *wildly* enjoyable read that sucked me in from the very start and didn't let go until the very last page. I devoured this book in a DAY and desperately wished there was more immediately after.

While the synopsis is a bit mis-leading, and the story is more about Shane and his cat, it is so well-written and pulse-poundingly thrilling I didn't want to let it go for even an hour. It doesn't let up from the get-go. Endless twists that keep you flipping page after page after page. Keeping you on the edge of your seat is an understatement. And the smut - wow!! So delicious. Some of the most delicious writing outside of fanfiction I have ever read, and I have read *plenty*. You'll squirm in the best ways, I promise you.

Read this. It's soooo worth the time.

I honestly don't know where to start...

Understatement of the Year is a story that connects you so deeply with its characters that I haven't yet let them go. I really... don't want to.

Since reading it, I have heard "Moves Like Jagger" by Maroon 5 on my playlist three times. Each time the first notes struck the chord of recognition in my mind, I felt a rush of too many things to name, images of Rik and G on that guerilla night in that bar in Vermont flashing through my mind, a mix of feelings that belonged to /them/ along with all the eagerness of a woman desperately flipping pages to find what might happen next filling up my chest.

I can't tell you what it's like being so connected to a book and its characters that you're instantly thrown back inside it every time you hear a song. Maybe it's a cliche, but the best word I can think of is... Magical. All of this is to say that the story and the journey Rik and G take was simply beautiful, and if you're considering taking this book up, do so.

My only, small, disappointment was that the sex between them, particularly the penetrative sex, was skipped over, moving from hot and stripped to post-cuddling. As I am thirsty for /every/ detail, I missed getting to read each second of these intimate moments for myself. However, the story was so desperately good, so extremely well-written, the characters so shatteringly vivid, that in the end, I hardly missed it. In the end, Understatement of the Year is a FAVORITE.

5/5 stars from me 100% recommend. If you're looking for a good book to sink into, you've found it.

I read this in a day and a half, but it would have been a day if adulting hadn't been required because I literally HATED to put this down it was so good.

Can I include a quote? Can I do that? Is that allowed? I really want to include just one of the quotes that had me gasping for air from the laughing. Ok, ok, imma do it:

“I’m sure he said to your mother something like this: ‘Dear, our Henry likes to fuck men, so let’s surround him with men, preferably fit ones used to a march. Make sure they’re dressed in tight trousers and sharp uniforms. Let’s make him an officer. It will be his DUTY to watch them march. Let’s surround him with men ALL the time.’”

Like... This isn't even close to the funniest parts of this story, and yet I DIED here. So, so, so good!

The characters. Oh my gosh, the characters!!! John and Henry each had a GREAT personality, totally different and yet sympatico. Two individual souls you'd never expect to see jive and yet FIT, understood each other, and in such a brilliant way, you can't help but fall in love with them yourself on their journey. You literally have no chance against them. You're going to be absorbed and fall in love, and you're not even going to be mad that an entire piece of your heart is now reserved for these two.

In addition to that, the way the story was told, the journey, the writing style, the CHEESE, omg, the cheese, was SO WELL DONE that, as a writer, I was both terribly impressed and terribly inspired to write my own quirky characters. The humor mixed in with the real and obviously well-researched and accurately depicted POC issues, taken seriously, and the growing affection between these two set for an abundantly realistic, heart-warming story of LOVE that will endure inside of me as much as it endures for my John and my Henry.

I am TOTALLY won over by this masterpiece in every way. I could not recommend it more. Basically, stop what you're doing and READ. IT. NOW.

Wow, Breathe Out Slow is a beautiful story of love and loss and love again that I soaked up like an Oreo in warm milk.

And okay, that analogy was weird, but really it made me so soft and melty and fall apart I just…

The story begins with Ryan suffering the loss of the love of his life, Chris. Through flashbacks we see just some of the best moments of their friends-to-lovers relationship, and I felt almost as much ache as Ryan.

But then someone comes into Ryan’s life, rescuing him from a bad situation. Once Ryan’s feeling better, however, Liam is reluctant to say goodbye, wanting to see that he’s okay. He offers him both a ride, which Ryan accepts, and his phone number, which Liam hopes Ryan will use if he ever needs help again…

Breathe out slow is full of hurt and comfort and so much love. It’s full of want and longing and fear. It makes you feel EVERYTHING. Cry and laugh and cry a different kind of tears.

I loved the way this story was told. Seamlessly, streamlined. Information and description sewn in so beautifully I hardly even saw the words. Only the story, the vivid, beautiful, deep characters.

And I will ship the hell out of “Lyan” to my dying day.

If it wasn’t clear, I *loved* Breathe Out Slow. 5/5, 100% recommend

Oh my gosh A Shot of Cupid was so cute and so good I could hardly put it down!!

The story is about tired man named Connor with the ability to put soulmates together with a smack of his hand and a surge of energy who feels cursed by his powers. Unable to ignore the glow of a soul meant to be with another, he’s forced to date the gorgeous man he meets in a bar named Simon as a means to track down the person Simon is supposed to be with. Only… it’s not hard to date Simon. In fact… against his cranky will, he likes it, likes HIM, a lot. But Simon has a soulmate somewhere out there, which means they can’t be together. Can they?

This story grabs you from page one, I’m not even kidding. With writing that entrances you and characters you can’t help but love, with a supernatural twist and a love story you ache to see fulfilled, A Shot of Cupid was a crazy good novelette that I will read again and again. Seriously, this is so friggin’ cute. You have to give it a try

I went into this tentatively and came out craving more, more of these two, which I probably won't be able to get, but lacking that, more of TJ Nichols because this was so good.

With writing that draws you in from the start and characters who have actual personality and histories and lives and a dangerous, seductive - dare I call it romance? - evening, I was enthralled.

Although I've read just about every other kind of human/non-human romance and erotica, this was only my second foray into vampires. My first attempt wasn't very satisfying, but this... This. If can find more like this, it is extremely like I will become a vamp girl as much as I am a were and tentacles girl. Everything I could have wished for and then some.

A Vampire's Dinner was, in a word, Satisfying. Whether you're an avid Vamp fan or only dipping your toes in, this short story with actual plot mixed in with the lust is WORTH the read.

I bought this for Rik and G's story only, and it was so worth it. T_T My feelings... I don't even know how to tell you. I love these two so very much, and I just soaked up this continuation of their story like a sponge. If you haven't read Understatement of the Year and you're looking for a good book, you've found it. Read that, and then come back here and melt with me over Rik and G and their beautiful story. They're going to have a place in my heart forever.

As always, Quince writes charming characters in a transporting environment in this sweet tale full of culture and cats. This one gets a slightly lower rating from me because I felt like, at times, the plot devices were a little weak, and there were a couple of holes. That being said, this was a darling little, light-hearted romance full of color in every sense of the word.

I really enjoyed how much description went into the wardrobes and the architecture in this story. In a reality that's going ever grayer, this story fights back with pops of vivid, vibrant color, texture, shapes, and clever infrastructure. I feel like Quince expertly captured the atmosphere and locale they were going for here, not only through sight, but feel, taste, and smell too. It was hot, it was smoky with incense, it was full of tasty cuisine, and it was kaleidoscopic. Culture was alive in this story, and I felt transported.

I also enjoyed the characters here which have distinct personalities both lively and fun. I especially enjoyed the peeks we got at some of the side characters, even the entourages or servers who clearly knew a little more of what was going on than our main character Francis, and were charmed and delighted to see the romance unfold before their eyes. It was obvious throughout this that both royals at the focal in this tale were beloved by those around them.

Overall, this is an easy, enchanting read that's perfect for when you just want something adorable and sense-rich that will take you away, something you don't have to think about too hard as you're carried along with it. I'm enchanted, and I also wish I had a palace garden full of a thousand cats. If that's something that interests you also, then this read might just should be your next one.

I love a novella that has a little bit of everything as this book does! For instance, besides a reunion of ex-boyfriends with a GREAT DEAL of yearning, there’s also a thrilling plot with intrigue, betrayal, and surprises. And for microtropes? This book has snappy dialogue, Christmas themes, secret organizations, spy gadgets, and slutty little glasses. Not to mention, once again, excellent diversity across the characters here from C. Quince.

As I mentioned, I could FEEL the yearning between Arthur and Harun from the moment they set eyes on each other, flashbacks filling in some of the gaps of their history. It was easy to see how much they missed each other, and I so enjoyed watching that fire re-kindle between brushes with danger AND jealousy, giving them a second chance. These two managed to FIND each other again, and it was satisfying to watch.

Meanwhile, the overriding plot was full of intrigue, keeping the characters on their toes and me on the edge of my seat. Old acquaintances, secret organizations, and a crazy, deadly plot set for the Christmas Eve party kept Arthur and Harun busy while trying to figure out whom they could trust. This all created so many unknowns that I felt just as eager as our main characters did to find the answers, and what I loved about it all is that despite the unknowns, Arthur and Harun never doubted EACH OTHER. They knew from the beginning the other was the only one they could 100% trust and doubt never crossed their minds.

Overall, this is an epic novella not only with romance but with PLOT, which I love, SET around Christmas! Give me a Christmas-themed book that has action, suspense, wit, diversity, and queer characters, and I’m a happy reader. I very much enjoyed this. If you’re looking for a spy book, an M/M romance, or Christmas novella, this one will check all of those boxes.

I’d heard a lot about this book and almost signed up for the ARC when it was going around. Unfortunately, First Oaths was a pretty disappointing read for me for a variety of reasons from character development to worldbuilding to rampant misogyny to writing style.

For starters, the main characters fell flat, their past traumas not affecting their current personalities ENOUGH. Kit is stoic and dull 85% of the novel while Penny is childish, naive, and stupid. They feel like caricatures of the boring kind I could find in many contemporary MM romances.

Which brings me to another point: THIS DID NOT FEEL LIKE FANTASY.

It seems like the author did a grand total of zero research on what a setting such as this would feel like. Everyone has houses and couches and dishes and furniture and ovens and sinks. They’re hand-pumped sinks, apparently? But, sure, let’s give everyone plumbing and modern conveniences without describing how that’s possible in this setting. Aside from no one having phones or cars, this story could have almost just as easily been supplanted to modern day. No one even rides a horse in this book. It’s like nothing that would require research was delved into. Unfortunately, that left the setting shallow and with a painful dearth of “worldbuilding.”

And then there’s, importantly, the fact that not a single female character in this book had agency. Most of them are relegated to cooking and baking for the men. Frankly, First Oaths felt extremely misogynistic to me. The percentage of male characters to female characters was dramatically skewed to the men. Off the top of my head, I can think of twelve named male characters and five named female characters. One of the women has no lines. Three of them cook and bake for the men. And the last one was extremely gullible and ignorantly trusting, so. She wasn’t a shining example of feminism either. Whereas the men are the main characters, the ones in charge, or the ones with respectable jobs and some level of power outside of “baking.” I kept hoping one of the women would turn out to have more depth than she at first appeared, but none of them portrayed anything much beyond surface level “feminine” positivity. Which was just bad character building on top of the misogyny.

There are other matters, like the plot being painfully slow and dull or the alternating POV style falling into the hole of re-describing everything that happened from the previous chapter at each POV swap, meaning I could have basically skipped the first couple of “summary” paragraphs every chapter about two-thirds way through the book onwards. But with all of this I’ve described, more I haven’t, and the painfully simplistic, boring writing style to top it off, two stars is generous from me. I honestly hate being harsh to indies, but this feels like the bare bones of a story. In my opinion, First Oaths needed a few re-writes to reach a level of solid storytelling.

I'm glad that this book exists, as there's a lot of representation that's important to see in media, including sapphics; asexual romance, love, and relationship; a cherished, curvy body in Homily and an amorphous lump that usually takes the shape of a woman and goes by she/her in Shesheshen; powerful women characters; enby characters; and honestly, a lot more not only in queer rep but mental health rep that I can't go into too much detail of without spoiling story arcs and character histories. All of these things are good things, and I'm glad they're present in such a popular book as this. However, there was so much representation sewn through every aspect of the characters that it almost caused this book to feel like an allegory to me. Allegories can be amazing expressions of belief—ideas worked into relatable caricatures—and it's good that they exist; it's good that THIS book exists. But for me, it wasn't quite what I wanted out of the experience. My personal enjoyment sank from high in first chapters to middling or low throughout most of the book.

Aside from the allegorical nature of the tale, there were a few other things that pulled my rating down. A couple of plot "twists" were predictable for starters. For another, I felt Shesheshen's understanding and deduction of human behavior to vary wildly. Sometimes she completely brushed off something human as being utterly foreign and nonsensical to her, while other times she made leaps of understanding about human nature, manipulations, and mental health that, for a creature who almost entirely spent her life in the companionship of nothing but a bear and the only snippets of humanity she saw were the ones she got while disguising herself as human long enough to consume somebody for lunch, were oddly perspicacious. Then there was the romance, which moved too quickly to me, especially from Homily when she found out Shesheshen was the monster her family had been hunting for generations.

While I consider these things to have weakened the story as a whole, I found the writing itself to be pretty good. I enjoyed Shesheshen's voice and much of her personality. I really liked the monstrous aspects of the story, and while I think some of this fed into the allegorical character-building I described, I DID like both how she described and thought of Homily, and how Homily so overtly loved and accepted Shesheshen, even when she was a half-formed blob with no hair and a mouth shaped only enough to get words out. That kind of love that is based squarely in personhood rather than physical appearance is the best kind, yet something I unfortunately find rarely in any media, especially romance novels. It's one of my favorite themes of much monster romance, and I appreciated how it was done in this one.

In summary, Someone You Can Build a Nest In isn't a perfect novel, but it's a decent one with a lot of important themes delivered in a somewhat dark but fun and interesting package. I'm not sure I'll recommend it often, but I'm not sorry I read it, and I am glad that it exists.

Ehh, Nettle & Bone a book with a lot of cool ideas, and you can see the creativity of the author, but just because there are cool ideas here, that doesn't make the book GOOD, if that makes sense. To make a stronger story, a stronger plot, and stronger characters, there was a lot that could have been cut entirely, cut down, or re-written, yet it wasn't. It's an entertaining enough story, and I thought the climax was clever. But there was a lot of self-indulgent world building that didn't at all or barely fed into character growth or plot. And the characters weren't as shaped by their histories as I would have liked to see. It's not a bad story, but I wouldn't, personally, go out of my way to recommend it.

I DID like how interesting the world was while still being relatable—gods and nuns and princesses, and politics, and widwives, but also magic, fae, toothdancers, bonedogs, and blistered lands. My favorite parts of the story were some of the most distinctive elements that were, as I mentioned, unfortunately irrelevant to the plot, such as the puppet toy "god" controlling a woman, or the blistered lands with barely touched on horrors and wanderers with disabilities and hallucinations, welcoming to dinner the wayward almost-nun MC. I wish these elements had been explored further and played more of a part in character growth at least. Since they didn't, I feel like they, as well as a lot of other, similar components should have been trimmed down.

I loved the idea of bonedog and a cloak made of nettles, but I was disappointed they had so little bearing on the story or even the main character's growth. I felt, that while the characters in general were fun and quirky enough, they lacked any deep development that went beyond one or two layers. As I mentioned, they had histories, but those histories didn't affect ENOUGH who these characters were today. Even the trauma of the trials that, especially the MC, had to go through to get there could have and should have affected her so much more than they did, in my opinion.

I don't know. The story itself felt slip-shod in certain ways and certain parts, especially one instance when the MC was rescued by a being for no explicable reason. Had she not been rescued, she probably wouldn't have gotten out of that situation alive, and that instantly looks like lazy writing to me. This book feels like the author threw a bunch of ideas from her idea pot at a wall and then taped them together. She used good tape, but it was held together with tape nonetheless. This really isn't BAD, and it's a fun, casual read, but for a famous trad author with a team of workers behind her I expect more.

EDIT:

As this author has begun using generative AI covers across many of her books, I'm updating my rating to 1* star and will be removing any books by this author that were on my TBR. I'll also be blacklisting R.A. Steffan in perpetuity. There's no excuse to use genAI slop for your covers, and I won't support authors who do so.

EDIT:

As this author has begun using generative AI covers across many of her books, I'm updating my rating to 1* star and will be removing any books by this author that were on my TBR. I'll also be blacklisting R.A. Steffan in perpetuity. There's no excuse to use genAI slop for your covers, and I won't support authors who do so.

EDIT:

As this author has begun using generative AI covers across many of her books, I'm updating my rating to 1* star and will be removing any books by this author that were on my TBR. I'll also be blacklisting R.A. Steffan in perpetuity. There's no excuse to use genAI slop for your covers, and I won't support authors who do so.

EDIT:

As this author has begun using generative AI covers across many of her books, I'm updating my rating to 1* star and will be removing any books by this author that were on my TBR. I'll also be blacklisting R.A. Steffan in perpetuity. There's no excuse to use genAI slop for your covers, and I won't support authors who do so.

70% of this book was buildup that was extremely slow and dull with repetitive writing and monotonous thoughts and actions from the characters, intermingled with obnoxious, rebellious teen angst. The remaining 30% was rushed, skipped over most of what could have been interesting parts, and clarified the top goodreads review of this book to me, which merely states, "Well that was pointless."

I can't elaborate without spoiling, but let's just say that from the first three quarters, this experience went from a boring book that focused on its weaknesses instead of its strengths, that wasn't remotely scary, and that was carried along by uninteresting, annoying characters and was hovering around a two-star read for me, to a disappointing, highly implausible, and ridiculous one in the last quarter that rewarded stupidity and left me rolling my eyes while feeling like I'd wasted my time and dropped my rating to a rare-for-me abysmal one star.

Bird Box? Great, tense, paranoia-filled apocalypse horror survival story. Malorie? Coming of age teen drama. Do not pass Go, do not collect $200. Do not recommend.

The experience of reading Bird Box was like watching a thrilling, post-apocalypse tv show. It was punchy, intense, emotional, and suspenseful with a cast of characters stuck in a house together to survive and not always reaching a unanimous consensus on how to do that. It EMBRACED the horrifying idea of not knowing whether there was something in the room with you, maybe right in front of you silent, watching, something AWFUL right there - maybe? - but not knowing for sure one way or another no matter how carefully you check, not being able to see it and knowing if you're wrong, opening your eyes is the worst decision you could ever make. I felt the chills of this horror CONSTANTLY through the book, and I was hooked so fast. I love the whole CONCEPT of some unknown thing that makes you insane. This really feels like it feeds from the myth of Cthulhu but rather than one enormous entity seen by the few, this makes that danger more everyday, everyWHERE which is honestly brilliant. There's a LOT I like about this book and only a couple of things that could have been improved upon.

Malorie... was an okay character, which is my biggest critique. She has jusssst enough gumption to do what she has to do, but she was very much an everyday woman, with no particular skills or hobbies or abilities. We didn't see a lot of her history or what shaped her into who she was pre-apocalypse either, so she felt lacking to me. Gray. Little personality. Even boring if the story hadn't been forcing her to survive. She did some admirable things because she HAD to, yes, but otherwise wasn't an innovative or radical thinker. A decent character but one that I didn't have strong feelings about in either direction.

My second big critique is that there was no diversity, and two of the three women in the house (while there were five men) were pregnant. I really wish the author had developed at least the other woman, Cheryl, more. Perhaps had her be more of an innovator or one of the two who left the house for supplies, rather than it being two of the men. Instead, she's mostly a background character that doesn't have a lot of screentime. This book could have been improved instantly by making the cast a little more diverse and even.

Where this book excelled was the story and horror. It's edge-of-your-seat intense that focuses on its strengths with bingeable plotting. I looked forward to reading this when I knew I would later that day, and if I were a faster reader, I may very well have binged the whole thing the day I started it, I was so captivated. It did an amazing job of making a generally realistic house full of strangers with varying levels of morality that work together because there's little other choice but who don't always agree and only trust each other so far. Again, it FELT like I was watching a tv series, and with post-apocalypse being one of my favorite themes for shows and movies, I loved that feeling and how well this author and book built it.

In summary–was this book perfect? No, but it was incredibly entertaining. If you're a fan of this type of setting and atmosphere for horror, you probably won't be disappointed by Bird Box. I enjoyed it so much I intend to pick up the sequel from CloudLibrary as my next read, and I'm definitely going to keep this author on my radar for future reads.