Brittanie
I seem to be a bit of an outlier in that I didn't absolutely love this. I do agree that it's even better than the first book but I think that's more down to the characters already being developed so we can jump right into the action-packed plot. Michaelson is good with his character and plot development though I still find some of these characters are just being given powers without much explanation or reason and it leaves me with questions. The climax of this book was pretty powerful though and it'll be interesting to see how the author meets or tops that in the last installment of the series.
I enjoyed this one even more than the previous two. Jae and Junichi are much more realistic characters with a more organic relationship. While I do like Haru and Nino a lot, Haru's weird hang-ups got a bit repetitive. I think this is down to the fact that Jun is not the leader of anything so there was only a little bit of the weird hierarchy that this series has established in Japanese Vampires. The biology in this book is interesting but not something you can really think too much about. Jae's “repressed aura” or whatever doesn't make a lick of sense especially how he's also purebred - but with a repressed vampire maternal lineage and a very distance paternal lineage. It's just not something you can really explain, we'll just have to take Nikole's word for it. It's her world, anyway.
I also found it was interesting that Nikole completely skipped over Cellina and Giovani's story besides what was in the last (2nd) book. At the end of that book, I was sure they were going to be the main couple in the next book. I'm glad because I thought it would have been missing the mark to shift to a MF couple after two books of MM.
Overall, a nice enjoyable read with two very likeable characters. Nikole has a refreshing take on MM relationships where these characters actually try to communicate openly, not be super repressed like you see in too many other MMs (especially historical), without it coming across as sappy or ridiculous.
My main issue with this book is that the plot focuses too much on what's going on around these characters instead of actually developing their relationship. I understand that they first come together as a means to an end, as would have been common in an era when “buggery” was a serious crime, but they basically fall in love dick first and it doesn't make sense the lengths they go to to be together when there isn't much else there. Pages of William trying to figure out how to transport money or picking out a coat for his employer, or Edwin dealing with William's brother and also doing service things for his employer... it just got a bit boring. I know what a valet does, that's not what I'm here for. If you really enjoy that ins and outs of daily life and a really slow burn romance, you'll be less disappointed, but I just found it a bit to much.
Mr. Klune has again made me weep over one of his books. The last few chapters of this are rough but it ultimately has a happy ending so don't be deterred. This is an interesting take on death and the afterlife with some romance and a lot of mysticism/magical realism. It reminded me a lot of [b:Elsewhere 359410 Elsewhere Gabrielle Zevin https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1442686280l/359410.SX50.jpg 349532] with a bit of Dead Like Me thrown in; both of which are favourite things so I was hooked in easily. Warren Price, our main character, is an asshole lawyer who has everything and nothing and meets his ultimate end rather unexpectedly. What's even more unexpected is what happens next, and how a bit of purgatory and the people he meets there was the best thing to ever happen to him. It's just too bad he's already dead.
Again completely ignore the pitch line because it has very little to do with either Red White & Royal Blue or Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell besides the fact that it has gays and magic in Britain. It seems that more and more people are starting to read mm romance for the first time and publishers are struggling with comparisons. If Red White & Royal Blue was your first foray into mm, welcome and let me tell you about the 100 plus other books you need to read.
Anyway. This book is delicious and if you're into the aforementioned gays, magic, and Britain, you'll definitely enjoy this. It does start a bit slow and the romance is also a slow burn but I think it's worth it.
Sir Robin Blythe is, thanks to typical Edwardian bureaucracy and nepotism, shoved into a civil service (government) job that he has no qualifications for by someone who knows someone he knows when his predecessor vanishes without a trace. On his first day, a pompous and insufferable Edwin Courcey waltzes into his office and open's Robin's eyes to a world beyond the one he's known his whole life - one of magic. Unfortunately, this also opens up Robin to the dangers of that world and the reason the position was open in the first place.
I enjoyed the unique fact of how the mages in this book summon their powers (including Courcey's little handicap) and how it's a little more believable than, say, elemental magic. Marske also includes the historical prejudices of the era like how women aren't taught to harness their powers and/or are simply not expected to be as powerful as their male counterparts. There's also a bit of racism and classism as well as Harry Potter's magic vs. muggle bias showing their ugly faces here. Though, interestingly, no mention of The War that I can remember. Maybe in book 2.
Murder, mystery, mayhem, and magic bubble together into what's quite a fun ride. Throw in some spicy romance with a hint of enemies-to-lovers and it's just perfect.
I didn't enjoy this quite as much as Greene' Society of Beasts series but this does take place in the same world - Sherborne Clarke mentions “a society” that he's become a member of in London for “men like us.”
I think the child aspect is what ultimately turned me off. I don't like reading mm involving children, especially in historical context and when it's the major plot point. This book is ultimately a story of redemption with a HEA but is a little bloated with characters and sub-plots that its short length didn't need and couldn't contain.
While I ultimately really enjoyed this book, it was a little over-stuffed with Lord of the Rings-esque lore (that seemingly ends up being completely pointless) and some very trope-y insta-friendships (love?) that didn't really work for me. The last 100 or so pages of this is what really makes it, with twists and punches one after another.
Aside from the obvious LOtR influence, it's interesting that it takes place in late 1800's London but where reincarnation is key to unlocking ancient magics. Will has been on the run his whole life and watched his entire family murdered one after the other. His only way to survive is to keep the promise he made his dying mother and to keep running. Unfortunately, he's captured anyway but learns his true purpose during an unexpected rescue. He, along with his new friend and sidekick Violet, are taken to another world where ancient lore is the way of life and collecting artifacts the key to survival. Will, at only 16, seems to be the smartest in the room and figures a few things out throughout the book that leads to an ultimate betrayal and a world-ending awakening.
If you can get past the majority of the book, I think it's a good payoff and will make a hell of a series, especially if you secretly rooted for Saruman's armies.
This felt like some sort of marathon. It was just so long - only Outlander and Harry Potter books I've read are longer - and I definitely felt like the editors could have chopped it up a bit more.
The vampire traits stick to the most common tropes (silver, sunlight, how to make more, etc.) but it's made unique with terminology, ancestry, and the half-blood (what become Silversaints) race. These are badass creatures.
I really liked Gabriel's snark and that he was a pretty multi-dimensional character, but that can't be said for the rest of this very swollen cast. You don't learn Gabe's real motivations for the latter events of the story until 700 pages in and then it becomes a bit of a sob fest with it ending abruptly when the sun comes up and a good chunk of the story left untold. There's some graphic sex but nothing I'd clutch pearls over but a lot of gore, swearing, and chockablock with religious idealization (it's technically a fictional religion but obviously Christianity of the most zealous kind).
While I did really enjoy this, I'm not sure if I'll continue or if I'll just let someone else read it and get the Cliffnotes version.
This was a nice tie-in between the two series though it's basically all dialogue. I actually didn't realise DS in the Darling series was Daniel de Silva from the England series so that kind of blew my mind and it was fun to see the two couples meet. Definitely don't read this until you're done with both series or it won't make a lick of sense.
This is set in the same world as [b:The Botanist's Apprentice 58132756 The Botanist's Apprentice Arden Powell https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1621818731l/58132756.SY75.jpg 91117725] but otherwise there's no tie between the books. It's hard to pinpoint an era it's set in but there are telephones and automobiles but they also use magic to do more modern things that would now be done by machines. It's about double the length of the previous book in the series as well but felt like less happened - I just didn't care about these characters or feel the relationship made sense. There's literally no reason Jacobi would be in love with Alphonse other than the constant proximity and lack of other options. Alphonse is quite literally the “lovable idiot” and it got a little grating. I'm interested in reading more in this AU but this has been my least favourite Powell read so far.
DNF at 30%. The Bright Sessions series is so character driven that if you don't like the character, it's impossible to get through the narrative. This is definitely my own bias at play but Rose was hard to relate to and when reading her journal entries/blogs here, I just didn't care what would happen to her. I didn't like her in the podcast either because she's written like some whimsical fae girl but makes really dumb decisions so it comes off more naive and childish.
Damien is by far the most interesting character in this world (which is saying something, see my review of TBS #2) and putting him in the book was maybe a mistake because it highlights how boring and underdeveloped the other characters are.
This felt like a few hundred pages and took me a while to get through because it's pretty dense.
The reader is thrown into a world that's basically Lord of the Rings but maybe a few hundred years into the future so society is closer to Tudor England - but there's still orcs and elves and magic. There's also gods or demi-gods that are born men but somehow level-up when people start worshipping them.
I can't decide if I'm impressed all of this was crammed into a novella or if I'm just confused as to what this world actually entails and what happened in the plot. I did enjoy the characters and my curiosity is piqued enough to read more from the author though, so that's probably a win.
If you like your books with a palpable feeling to it, this should definitely be on your list. This is an original gothic romance with bank robbers, ghosts, and pedophile priests deep in the Southern swamplands.
It starts normal enough with 1930s photo journalist Eugene being on scene for a bank robbery that ends in a murder, but the two criminals aren't what they seem and Eugene gets swept up into their web that tangles with his past, present, and what's left of his future. The ending should definitely take you by surprise but in the best way.
This story is very multi-layered and it's another example of the impressive skill Powell has at world building in such short stories. It's a definite recommend.
This short book pulled quite the punch emotionally. It's very lyrical and jumps around in time but you're following the lives of two high school boys trying to figure out their lives, identities, and each other. Some parts are a little hard to follow and you want to yell at Johnny or Connor or both more than a few times but that shows how well Sydney draws in the reader with their writing.
It takes place in the 1980s in a small town so the open-mindedness of some of their friends seems a little unrealistic but as I've never had to come out, I couldn't say. Johnny's home life is heartbreaking though we don't really see the whole breadth of it here, but it definitely affects his choices and therefore affects Connor as well. This is an enemies-to-lovers story but is infinitely more complicated and there isn't really a happy ending, or one at all. It's like a series of glimpses into these boys' lives.
This is a pretty consistent series and it's just a bit of fun not to be taken too seriously.
I was glad to see a lot more magic use in this book from Sage as he gains confidence but his ghost seeing ability seems to have completely been forgotten by the author as it wasn't mentioned outside of his now-exorcised father in the bookstore. I'd like to see that used more in future as I think it's something really interesting to explore, rather than this sentient baby-like convergence/lay lines that seem to be the only reason Sage has any magical abilities.
In terms of Sage and Gideons relationship, this book was also a lot more tame which I thought was a good choice as it focuses more on the plot at hand and not them just feeling each other up constantly.
Overall, a fun series to follow.
I read this without reading the reviews so was surprised that both characters in this book are transmen in a post-war 1940s setting. While this is probably exciting to a lot of readers as it's a very unique premise, it gives me a lot of history questions about the realism of the plot. Richard Morton being able to hold a long-term position as the manager of a high class downtown hotel without the staff and owners noticing his differences and without medical transitioning seems a little suspicious. If you get past that point, it is a sweet story of found romance between two people with a common life.
There were a ton of errors in the copy I was reading including weird sentence structure that made it very difficult to get through. Additionally, trans stories are not something I'm interested in or can relate to so if it wasn't so short, I definitely would have tapped out pretty fast.
I love Powell's writing. They can fit so much into such short stories without it reading as rushed or crammed.
This taked place in a kind of Harry Potter world where people go to school for magic with different types and subjects. The main character is a college graduate who specialises in botany but wants to focus on “dangerous” plants - like carnivorous, poisonous, or noxious plants - and turns up at a renowned collector's door for an apprenticeship. The collector wasn't expecting him however and had a bad experience with an apprentice in the past. He's charmed by the student though so they start a trial period. One of the plants in his collection is a carnivorous plant that gives off pheromones to lure people in. Halfway through the story, this takes on the popular fanfiction trope of Sex Pollen and gets steamy but it read as inevitable rather than unexpected or unnecessary. It also leads both characters to have a breakthrough in their research with a bonus relationship so not a bad result.
All that and more in under 100 pages. I look forward to see more of this world in the next book in the series.
I was immediately intrigued to read a queer romance set in late medieval England. Besides the romance aspect, there is a lot of insight into knighthood and tournaments, royal lineage, and farming tenements. I'm not a historian by any means but it read like de Campi really did their research and brought this small part of the world to life for me. However, readers should be aware that Ian and Harry's relationship is the main point of the book. While the book does take place during Edward II's continued war with Scotland, that's just the setting, not the plot, so if one goes in expecting a lot of real world historical references or to learn something about the time, they'll be disappointed.
While I really enjoyed this book, there was a few issues as always. The formatting of the writing when Harry is internally grappling with his sexuality and its consequences in a Christian-ruled nation goes into weird poetry formatting with short stops and things which are obviously meant to create impact but it doesn't really flow with the rest of the book. There also is hardly any character development with Harry as he doesn't seem to really learn anything from his time with Ian besides that he likes anal. This would have been a good opportunity for Harry (and thus the reader) to learn more about medieval Scotland or perhaps why Ian was so important to Edward I and his house in the first place but he's too occupied with running his farm, fighting off his childhood friend turned enemy from taking his farm, and also touching Ian's bits whenever he could without someone catching them. Past reviewers complained about the amount of sex in this book - while that wasn't a problem for me, an avid reader of historical MM romance, it's definitely something readers should be aware of ahead of time. The cover shouldn't have to be plastered with two ripped models in each other's arms for people to realise this is first and foremost a romance novel.
I'd recommend this to more mature and seasoned MM historical fiction readers.
This is such a cute, wholesome short story about finding what you need at the right time. I feel like an entire story was told here even with such few pages and that's a mark of a good writer. Each character felt developed and realistic and the writing transports you to the Welsh countryside so fluidly. I look forward to the rest of the series and future stories from the author.
This didn't make sense. I think maybe Rowell was trying her hand at whimsical and instead it was just weird. The repetition and the constant name-dropping of Starbucks and the mention of crows spying for a wizard and then the “troll” (mermaid? bog monster? mentally-unstable homeless woman?) being coy about her name and what she is just didn't add up to a comprehensive short story. It was obviously some kind of underhanded commentary on maybe consumerism but that just makes it worse. It was free and short so read it if you want but it's not one I'd recommend.
I really enjoyed this collection of creepy short stories. They all have some sort of otherworldly creature or “monster” but feels more in the world of faerie than any kind of supernatural being. No ghosts or vampires here but instead creatures based on regional folklore. While I did have issues with the first book [b:Lesser Known Monsters 55374322 Lesser Known Monsters Rory Michaelson https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1600510978l/55374322.SY75.jpg 86362822], this shows that Michaelson does have strong storytelling skills as well as a grasp on the world they've created for this series of books. A few of these stories are a little too short as we don't get any real development other then showing off the monsters but as a collection, it's strong. The main story that's dispersed among the rest of the one-shots is very heartwarming as well, rather than being a creepy horror story, and I thought that was a good call for the editor and author so it's not just a cute story and then a bunch of scary ones after or before.It definitely made me look forward to the next book in the series than I was before reading this.
This took me about 30% of the book to actually get into and, reading the other reviews, I couldn't see what I was missing. I almost DNF'd it because it seemed really boring and I didn't care about Oscar and his woe-is-me attitude, but once he and his friends broke into Dmitri's house and we were shown some actual action, I was a little more invested, if only to see where it was going.The world Michaelson builds here does remind me a lot of Gaiman or Froud and has a distinct British feel to it. If you liked [b:Neverwhere 14497 Neverwhere (London Below, #1) Neil Gaiman https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348747943l/14497.SX50.jpg 16534] but wish there was a little more ripping flesh, this should be in your wheelhouse.Besides its really slow start, I did have a few other issues with the plot. Oscar is a wishy-washy character but he becomes a little more endearing when we see more of him than just being mildly incompetent at his nursing job. I felt that Zara getting her vague powers was a little out of left field and, while I'm sure we'll learn more about it in future books, it should have been Oscar. If you wanted Zara to be more interesting than Oscar, write the book from her POV instead. It also didn't make sense that her whole family was aware of the supernatural world - even her cop cousin that dated Oscar - but she had no idea, and yet still seems to recover from that bombshell and is able to use her powers way too quickly. Marcus is pretty much a nothing character. Being black and trans doesn't a character make. He does help save Oscar in the end but otherwise doesn't need to be here. Dmitri is very much in the “gentle giant” trope in that he's this horrific supernatural assassin and yet, in human form, seems almost like a wet towel - all wet, sad eyes. The insta-attraction between him and Oscar is a little nonsensical, unless we find that Oscar has a little more to him than we saw in this book. Another reason him suddenly inheriting super powers would make more sense than a side-character. The (only) sex scene between Dmitri and Oscar happening while he knows his friends are being held captive in Dmitri's basement with some sandwiches and no bathroom is insane. It's also not shown - we go from some heavy petting and then to him waking up the next morning in a new chapter, and his friends are still in the spider-infested piss basement below and heard everything. It was just very strange.I mostly enjoyed this book because of the dark supernatural world these characters are in rather than any of them. There needs to be some growth or an important twist for Oscar to keep the story worth reading because, as of now, he's in Bella Swan territory.
DNF @ 40%.
The writing was ok but Liam was just such an angry, arrogant character. Using a very strict and abusive dad and newfound PTSD as an excuse didn't make me care any more. At the point I started to want to stop reading, Liam did get a little better, trying to help his old (ex?) friend Finch, but I was just kind of bored and fed up. I'm just not the right audience.
This was a different take on ghosts but it was a little heavy on the cheese and very light on any kind of realism. It reads very episodic so there's a lot of time missing between chapters and therefore a lot of information is also missing about the rules of this “ghost” and the paranormal in this world. Somehow, Adam is powerful enough to cook and clean and basically exist like a living person that can disappear at will. And, because Danny can't afford to move and is too stubborn anyway, they're forced to interact every day, so Danny falls in love with him. It's all very Stockholm Syndrome.
Halfway through the book, Danny uses some heavy black magic (using a tome bought on eBay of course) to bring Adam back from the “in between” and into a completely living person - supposedly all with the power of love and some Latin. While I understand this is paranormal fiction and therefore the author can do whatever they want, it just seems a little too implausible. I feel like maybe they got this conjuring idea from Beetlejuice but there ultimately were no stakes like in that movie, except that Adam apparently only gets to live for a single year. Don't worry, all they have to do is re-do the ritual with some blood every year for the rest of their lives. No big deal, right?
I initially felt like I really liked the story because it was unique and the love story is very sweet, especially the last chapter about the afterlife, but in hindsight I just have too many questions and it goes down in rating the more I think about it. This is definitely for people that care more about a sappy romance rather than the paranormal aspects or any kind of discernable plot.