Lili V
willnevergiveuponRH
This was actually one of the better handled RH stories. I liked the main character a lot, mostly because she wasn't afraid of embracing her crazy personality. The boys were pretty sweet to read about, although the boys themselves were anything but to the main character. The main intrigue is trying to figure out how the main character landed in the situation she's currently in – being a spirit that's ‘haunting' these four boys who are some flavor of underworld.
This was a classic feel-good sci-fi space opera with two prisoners who befriend each other; one of them happens to be an AI. Loved the parallels I saw to the AI from Anne Leckie's Radch trilogy since it's one of my favorite series of all time. Really enjoyed the reverence the Gidth people have for music and singing.
3.5
1) I just realized I've been thinking of this book as the “The Cassette Girls.” Why? I blame work.
2) I didn't especially like the ending of this but the plot is pretty thrilling and the pacing is very nicely laid out.
3) The storyline and history of the French Quarter and New Orleans was by far the best in execution. The author grew up in New Orleans and she weaved her knowledge and experience effortlessly throughout the book.
4) The characters were unique (as only New Orleans can be). However, the supernatural aspect isn't as fleshed out in this first book as it could have been. I did enjoy the main character. She was strong, independent and charismatic. I didn't love her so much around boys because she dismissed a lot of her judgements of them as soon as they were around.
5) The writing is very easy to follow and I loved the storytelling aspect that's woven throughout the entire book with the past narrative diary entries.
I always forget that the writing in this series is some of the best I've come across in UF until I come back to it. The writing was four stars but the plot was three stars. There were a lot going on in this one and the writing deserves major kudos for providing enough backstory to keep me interested but not overloaded, especially since there were so many side characters. (I mean, is this the first book that came with a glossary??)
I will continue on with this series because I do want to see how more of the loose threads are tied together but I can see this continuing on for quite a while with all the world-building. The author's creativity only expanded in this book and the world has become so grand that it was difficult to keep track of the sub-plots.
Really liked this one. I empathized with a lot of Eliza's struggles, anxieties and depression. This book came at a perfect time for me. I've been stressed about work and have really no solid reason to be stressed by it because it is going well. Mental health is really something you have to work at, like physical and emotional health, they're all tied together.
I loved the incorporation of letters in this book because they served as a way for characters to reveal themselves, expose themselves in a way that's rare and difficult to do in person. It was a common theme throughout the whole book, expressing yourself in a medium that's deliberate and thoughtful.
Overall a great read and would highly recommend to those familiar with fandom but also to those in need of a little validation that being stressed, keeping others at bay, and being quiet can be a part of who you are. Even if you're doing well and your life is stable, that doesn't necessarily mean that you are or have to be. The biggest thing I learned from this book is that you have to be willing to open yourself to others when you feel like you're the only person in the world that's feeling what you're feeling. It will always be that others have felt the same, or can at least understand and possibly even shed light on what you're going through.
Re-read Dec 20, 2024
Almost 7 years since I read this for the first time and I didn't even remember one bit of it. Considering the FMC's main dilemma, that seems fitting. Enjoyed it - I imagine just as much as the first time, but I genuinely cannot recall, I thought this was an unread book from my TBR. XD
Read Dec 23, 2017
Read this entire book out loud to myself. Gave me a taste of what it would be like to narrate an audiobook and I have to say that if I ever had the opportunity for it, I'd love it.
On to the actual book, I enjoyed the story and the main character especially. The symbolism was straight-forward and I liked her dry wise-cracks as well as her strength to forge ahead. This was a no-frills type of read and I relished the easy pacing and faultless writing.
Obviously as soon as I finished the previous book, I had to continue because things were finally starting to spice up–we all saw this coming from a mile away once we knew Dylan was out of the picture.
Speaking of Dylan, I wish the author would just let him go, there's literally no reason for him in this book other than to be another boy who's interested in Lexie but doesn't know how to get a clue. There were already too many of those boys (most of which were pointless anyway).
When I found out who the stalker was I was kind of surprised it was who it was. Mostly because I didn't really think he was a significant enough to have such a big role in the story to begin with. I really don't like reading stalker plots because they just frustrate me IRL and on the page. I hated how prolonged his abuse was, it only caused Lexie to feel harassed and helpless at times. It also feels like a copout because it gives the author the opportunity to suspend progression of the plot and potential relationships that the readers really care about and replace it with a formulaic recovery process. I understand the necessity since the author had chosen to add the stalker plot, it figured things would escalate and nothing would be the same between Lexie and the guys. It just felt like such a copout. I honestly would have been perfectly fine with learning more about Lexie and her abilities than about some stupid fuck who would hurt her for a day and fuck with her emotionally for the rest of her life.
I actually did like this book. I originally thought this would be more of a “sexually-active” book but it actually had a plot. Now that being said I did not care about the plot obviously and only wanted to really read about the character development. It was interesting to see what the author did with “Melissa Fucking Alexander” and how she behaved after losing her memory. It was a refreshing twist to the typical amnesia trope.
Overall a great second book to a series. We mostly saw the dynamics of all the relationships in the book and the plot progressed a bit with the main ghost-related storyline. I really came to like Lexie's character even more in this book because the author made it clear to see that she's such a genuine person and blunt about what she means and doesn't try to sugarcoat anything. It's refreshing to say the least. I wasn't in complete agreement with how the handled the relationships in this book but ultimately, I'm glad Lexie–with a little help–stood up for herself. She wanted the boys to be happy but obviously if she's not happy, they're not going to be happy.
There was one relationship that I knew was going to fall apart before I read the book because I read spoilery reviews. I'm honestly sad that it ended because the set up for it was executed very well, and I could see this couple staying together for a while. With all the exposure we got in this book of the male character–won't say who–I didn't really believe his reasoning for breaking things off. The break-up I could see coming from a mile away once a specific event occurred. It all seemed very pre-staged and predictable.
However, that one break up didn't detract from my enjoyment of this book at all. Lexie and the guys were great, their respect and love for one another is beautiful and supportive.
Really steamy romance about a dancer and her recovery over a lost love. I don't think Danni and Trace made as good of a match as Cole and Danni. The glimpses we see of Danni and Cole in the past were really sweet and the love between the two was jumping off the pages. I wish the summary didn't spoil what was going to happen in the book because it doesn't happen until the very end of the book, so fair warning now. It was a fast read and very hot. Not sure if I'm going to continue the series in the future since the ending seemed a little forced. I feel like the cliffhanger that happened should have occurred a bit sooner in the book.
I've come to find a few similarities in the two of Jewel E. Ann's books I've read. The biggest one being that after the second half of her books there's a major twist in the storyline. Things get a tad bit more dramatic than the easy-going first half. I'm not a fan of this change of pace because there's a very obvious break between the first and second half. And another similarity that between the two books I've read is that they have the same trigger for when the split takes place in the books. (There's a physical split between the main two characters of the book.)
This has to be my least favorite book by one of my favorite authors. It had more to do with the letter writing and Ruby's character than anything else. I wouldn't have minded the email/letter writing format if it was less friendly and more romantic. I know that friendship can lead to falling in love with someone but I didn't see any gradual increase in romantic interest between Aaron and Ruby. They seemed for the most part just really supportive friends. It was obvious when Aaron started falling for Ruby but it was only because the obvious pauses here and there in his texting hinted that he was feeling some type of way.
Ruby's character was a lot more immature than I thought she would be because she has had more experience with men than I have but her anxiety around them was a lot more pronounced than I would expect. Granted I can definitely empathize with her when it comes to being anxious about being in a new environment and social situation but I guess I was expecting her to be more level-headed like other characters the author has written about. My problem with Ruby is more subjective and if you see it coming then I don't think you'll share my opinion so I just wanted to post about it here for anyone who wants to go in with their eyes open.
Finally!! We get the sweetness!
Obviously, there's still a darkness that tinges even this book–because how could the series continue to be badass if there wasn't? However, we finally get some sweetness when it comes to the development of the bonds between the five of the main characters, thank Jesus!
Once again, I really enjoyed the writing, the author does a great job in drawing you in and making you read until the very end. Like Seph, I'm slowly falling more and more in love with the boys and with the series as a whole. After the first book I didn't think I'd come back to the series, and admittedly, it took me a while to revisit it. But I couldn't stay away forever because even the first book had that captivating writing style.
This book specifically captured my heart because Seph finally realizes that she needs to give support and strength in order to get support and strength in return. Overall she was able to reconcile that the bond between the boys and herself came from a dark place but it didn't have to stay there.
It is ridiculous how fast I finished this series, this book specifically. To reiterate, freaking amazing writing, absolutely beautiful. Great ending to the series, nothing was excessively drown out without resolving some major plot lines. We got closure for pretty everything that was left unresolved and I couldn't get enough of the perfect love that threaded through all the people that surrounded Seraph. Seraph and her two pairs got even sweeter in this book because when most characters are faced with adversity, it tests their relationships and gives them room to either flourish or crumble. The boys especially bloomed in this book. They still had the baggage they always carried around–as did Seraph–but they were able to beat down not only their own barriers but hers as well by accepting who they were to each other.
Overall had a great time with this series.
This one was a lot darker than I expected but overall the execution and writing delivered it very well. The boys that are Seph's pairs are different from other boys RH books that I've read because they've still not completely revealed their characters to the reader, or Seph, and they aren't as strong of a support system when shit goes down. It's a new and weird dynamic for me because in a lot of the RH books out there, the boys usually provide a backbone of strength for the main character but in this case, you can clearly see that all five of them–including Seph–have been thrown into this arrangement without a complete willingness to be in it.
A lot of the background history of the Zevgheri and Klovoda is revealed to the reader as it's being revealed to Seph, another interesting dynamic because we are as much in the dark as she is; this, however, is more common in RH books.
I am going to continue this series for now because I did admire the writing as well as Seph's overall strength, especially as we get more of a picture of her early childhood. (Trigger warning: child molestation) She is a deeper character than we initially get the impression of in the beginning of the book, and the writing has a way of truly giving depth to her character.
I think I enjoyed the relationship that Callie and Des had when she was younger than after he came back. I wish there had been more of a bang when they finally–FINALLY–got together since it was so inevitable. I didn't really care about the mystery, and once the two got together, I lost interest and skimmed the last 10% of the book.