NJ
This wasn't as good as [b:The Wicked King 26032887 The Wicked King (The Folk of the Air, #2) Holly Black https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1520620414l/26032887.SY75.jpg 45959180], but that's okay. It would have been very difficult to beat the standard set by that book. The ending felt a bit rushed and several plot points could have been better developed. Taryn deserved to have been slow-cooked in a vat of oil, barring that she needed to do some pretty serious grovelling/ character development but we didn't get that here. I kept expecting her to betray everybody
This book was much longer than it needed to be. It could have been 20 pages shorter and the story would have been much better for it.
I liked both Taryn and Billy but I felt that at times Taryn was completely irrational. she was upset that Billy didn't propose on their first reconciliation date, but about 30 seconds later she was telling him that she wasn't ready to be back in a fully committed relationship. Which one is it? Are you ready for serious commitment or not?
The main reason this gets 2 stars instead of the 3 I was originally going to give it, is that it had one of my top 3 romance novel pet peeves. I absolutely hate it when the heroine has to sacrifice some career advancement for her relationship. I'm not here for it at all. The irritating thing is romance writers keep writing heroines who make these choices over and over and over again. Now, I know that real-life women often make sacrifices to balance career development and love for a myriad of complex, often difficult reasons. And, I don't seek to invalidate any of those reasons. However, in romance novels there is often very little reciprocity in terms of the sacrifices the heroines and heroes are expected to make. I've read at least two office romances this year where the heroine was the one who quit her job so their relationship could continue . Additionally, in this story, the two of them never even discuss the possibility of him moving to Germany for the duration of her career. She turns down the job offer despite finally getting the respect (and lack of harassment) she has always wanted.
I like slow-burn romances, they may in fact be my favourite trope. This book, however, was not a very good slow-burn romance (in my opinion). I love slow-burn romances because I love to see a relationship develop slowly between two characters who were otherwise not expecting it. Unfortunately, slow-burn isn't just about the slow development of the romance for me, it's also about the copious amounts of sexual tension and chemistry between the two main characters. This is what I felt was missing in this book.
Carter is an injured baseball player who temporarily returns to his hometown and in the meantime rents a house next to his former chem lab partner, Olive. He is initially returning home to rekindle a romance with his recently divorced ex Felicity, in an attempt to recapture the good old days before his fame got out of control. Carter spends a good portion of the book still pining after a not-yet present Felicity while developing a relationship with Olive. While Carter and Olive had great banter, they struck me as very good friends. I did not feel they had much chemistry and there seemed to be very few moments of tension between them. Thus, by the time the romance finally developed (about 75% into the book), I felt they would have been better off as platonic best friends, rather than romantic partners.
3.5 stars rounded down
I really liked the heroine and her sister. I was less sold on the hero. About 70% into the book he had managed to hurt the heroine, her sister and the heroine's sister's love interest (very Pride & Prejudice). However, unlike Pride & Prejudice, it seems like things were wrapped up too quickly and the big drama wasn't resolved satisfactorily. I think this critique could be more generally applied to the whole book; it felt too short. The romance felt rushed, the drama felt rushed and the resolution felt rushed. There seemed to be too many things going on at once. At my count there were 4 conflicts: her father's alcoholism and the shame it had brought, his father's second and third families, their respective secret personas and her sister's relationship with his best friend. If perhaps one or more of the conflicts were removed, the remaining aspects could have been better developed.
3.5 stars
I should have enjoyed this more than I did, primarily because I usually can't get enough of fake-dating romances. Additionally, the characters were likeable and their romance was sweet but I just couldn't get emotionally invested.
It sometimes felt like the book was trying to mark all these important scenes of an imaginary checklist. Their first date, for example, felt like too much. They went bowling, then to the fair (where he got her a huge stuffed animal), before finally ending up in a restaurant where they engaged in, and won a cake eating competition. Usually one of these first date cliches is enough for one book and it almost felt like a sensory overload here. Although in theory all these cute and swoony moments were happening, they didn't feel cute and swoony.
That said, the book was easy to read and I could see myself reading more of Mimi Grace's books.
This is probably my least favourite book of the series.
Firstly, it's a bit boring, nothing really seems to be happening and even when it does, I'm not terribly interested in it. The political machinations and twists that I usually enjoy in this series were really minimal in this book and I honestly felt cheated.
But perhaps more distressing than the books mundanity was how uncomfortable some of the messaging was. As other reviews have mentioned, the final point of this book seemed to be that it was good to enforce things by violence if you were sure you were right. While I think that this could be an important critique of war in general, and how it can warp people's mindsets and decisions, the book didn't seem critical of its own message.
Another thing that truly bothered me was that by the end of the book Eugenides was considered sovereign of both Attolia and Eddis, countries that were ruled by women. The book is still unapologetically feminist in other ways but I couldn't help being irritated by the fact that the women in this book had yielded a bit of their sovereignty to a younger, arguably more inexperienced ruler (however much I and they may personally love him). I know I'm nitpicking and probably overreaching here but I wished Eddis did not have to swear fealty to Eugenides.
The lack of communication was truly mind-boggling. Although this was written over two decades ago, so it is probably more of a testament to how far the romance genre has come since then.
I did enjoy the progressive portrayal of consent in this book though. Even is some more modern books, the hero is less worried about enthusiastic consent than this one was. The 4-star rating is for this reason alone.
4.5 starsThis book restored my faith in Megan Whalen Turner. After [b:A Conspiracy of Kings 6527841 A Conspiracy of Kings (The Queen's Thief, #4) Megan Whalen Turner https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1295475418l/6527841.SY75.jpg 6719799], I was unsure of her ability to recapture the magic of Books 2 & 3, but she successfully did so here. It's still not quite as good but it very nearly is. Kamet is as complex and compelling a character as Eugenides and Attolia. Unlike Sophos, I wasn't bothered by his narrative.TL;DR: Megan Whalen Turner restored my faith in these characters. In Book4 it was hard to tell the difference between them and their enemies but in this book, it once again became clear why they were the ones I was rooting for and not the Medeans. I was also reminded of why I didn't mind Eugenides' more cruel actions in Book 2 & 3, while being disturbed by Sophos'. While Gen is often manipulative, he is never overtly violent. He also always tempers his more cruel actions with kindness and the acknowledgement of his own wrong. In [b:The King of Attolia 40159 The King of Attolia (The Queen's Thief, #3) Megan Whalen Turner https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1293505327l/40159.SY75.jpg 847545], when he arrests Sejanus and exiles Dite in the fall of Erondites, he feels remorseful for their personal destruction but acknowledges that it was a necessary evil. “I'm sorry, Dite.” Dite shrugged away the apology. “You have spared my brother when you could have killed him and you have offered me an escape from the cesspit of my family and this court. You know what it means to me, to make music in the court of Ferria. You've put a purse and an impossible dream in my hand. I don't know why you should apologize.” “Because I am exiling you, Dite. I intend to raze your patrimony and salt its earth. You emphatically do not need to thank me.”“It isn't revenge, Sejanus,” said this new incarnation of the king. “I wouldn't destroy an entire house to destroy one man. But I would destroy a man to destroy a house. Your brother will be exiled, your house will fall, not because I happen to hate you, but because Erondites controls more land, and more men, than any four other barons, stacked together and has proved to be dangerous over and over. Its very existence is a threat to the throne. It will not survive,” he said again. Also, we never see him execute anyone on-page, we are vaguely aware that he will have to as king ( he says so over and over again), but we never see it happen. In fact, we see him pardon people who likely should according to the traditions of that time, have been executed.In the same way, when Kamet arrives he apologises to him for taking away his dream of wielding immense power as the emperor's head slave. He said, “I've taken something from you that I had no right to take. As Laela did. I hope you will forgive us both.” .As Relius said “He's very tenderhearted,” said Relius. “He'll feel quite bad about it as he cuts you up into little pieces and feeds you to wolves.” . Perhaps as a reader, it made it easier to swallow Gen's occasional cruelty because it was so often tempered with kindness. But I also like to think that until Book 4, it had always seemed neither unnecessarily violent nor cruel. In this book, I returned to feeling like in a cruel and often barbaric world, our characters were doing the best they could to cause as little harm as possible.
It's really hard for me to decide which one I prefer, this book or [b:The King of Attolia 40159 The King of Attolia (The Queen's Thief, #3) Megan Whalen Turner https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1293505327l/40159.SY75.jpg 847545]. I loved everything about this book. I loved the characterisation of Eugenides, I hurt when he hurt and grinned when did. I enjoyed his relationships with Eddis, his father, Galen, the Magus and Attolia. I could go on listing all the things I enjoyed but at this point, I feel like my point is obvious, this is still without a doubt one of my favourite books.
In order to be ready for the October release of [b:Return of the Thief 40650301 Return of the Thief (The Queen's Thief, #6) Megan Whalen Turner https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1531866321l/40650301.SY75.jpg 16439607], I have been rereading this entire series.The Thief starts off slowly and definitely picks up towards the end. However, it is nowhere near as good as its sequels and that's ok. It doesn't necessarily need to be. It does, however, serve as a wonderful introduction to Eugenides and to the lands of Eddis, Attolia and Sounis.
This was such a good debut. Ivy and David were likeable well-written characters and the book was easy to read. There were a few things that irritated me, for instance, I did not understand the emphasis on the robot-like behaviour of all the blonde women the hero had dated before. It seemed petty and unnecessary (but honestly I might be reaching). Despite having a few gripes, however, I enjoyed this book and I look forward to reading more from this author.
I like this a lot. So much of what I enjoy about the newer [a:Caroline Linden 115012 Caroline Linden https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1398778890p2/115012.jpg] books are present here; this book is just a bit less polished.I would have liked to see them interact as a couple more. Quite a bit of this book was dedicated to the more outlandish parts of the plot (which I admit were fun), but it did detract from the romance storyline a bit.
TW: sexual abuse of a minor
2.5 stars.
Dare writes well but a lot of issues that could have been delved into were sort of given a passing treatment. It was my first time reading a historical that attempted to address child sexual abuse in the Regency era and I felt like the execution left a lot to be desired.
In some ways this book was unabashedly feminist. The heroine's comments on ageing and on society's relationship with female sexuality were a joy to read. The characters were two flawed but sweet individuals who made some mistakes but who were also ultimately trying their best. I'm sad that Victoria Dahl is no longer writing romance.
Leaving this unrated because I'm not sure how I feel.
There's stuff to like here. Dare writes well, and this is evident even in her debut. However, the romance was a bit melodramatic at times there was a love quadrangle at one point . For the first half of the book, the heroine behaves in a very spoiled manner with no regard for anyone else. Then in the latter half of the book, the hero wants to wrap the heroine in gossamer silk for her own good . In this particular story, there was some childhood trauma that led to the hero's actions, but even with this background, I didn't enjoy the trope any more than I have in the past. I think if this trope were employed less, then in instances like this where it is explained by the hero's history (although not excused, I still think the hero needs to realise during the course of the book that such behaviour is harmful and in the end not very loving), I would find it a bit more palatable. However, every other alpha romance hero feels the need to protect the heroine for her own good. I don't know why love has to be equated with excessive protection to the point of being suffocating.
I was really looking forward to this book but have decided to give it a miss after reading this extremely thorough and well-written review.
The reviewer highlights the same reason that I give most HRs where the hero/heroine was exploring in either Africa or Asia a miss. There is hardly any complex, critical outlook on colonialism. I've heard people make the argument that such anti-colonialist views would be anachronistic for that time period, but I find it hard to believe that there was absolutely no one in England who questioned colonialism, but perhaps even more importantly, let's not pretend that the authors of HR don't pick and choose which period conventions they want to use in their books. There are far more dukes and feisty heroines in romancelandia than there were in that era.
I preferred this to the first book. I liked that Dani wasn't sanitised, that she still remained a sex-positive, adventure-seeking woman even as the main character. In fact, she was actively seeking a partner who would party through the night with her but still manage a successful career during the day. In that sense, she and Dylan were a very good fit.
It was also good to have the gender dynamics flipped so that in the friends with benefits situation, it was the woman who kept seeing other people in the beginning; usually, it is the other way round. I, however, wish we didn't get that stereotypical moment of I may be seeing other people but how dare you also date other partners? . Luckily it was resolved pretty quickly.
The main reason this did not get a higher rating despite the aforementioned positives, is because Dani and Dylan's final reconciliation scene was a bit concerning. As her original date pointed out he could very well have been a stalker ex-boyfriend who was about to kidnap her. Dani's date finally let Dylan replace him because he (Dani's date) had a phone conversation with Cat who then vouched for Dylan; however, the date had presumably never met Cat before so how did he know that Dylan wasn't just asking some random woman to pretend to be Dani's friend? The whole situation seemed a bit off to me. I don't know why romance authors insist on making their heroes do such creepy things in the name of love. There must be a million other ways to make the leads resolve their issues without making the hero seem like a stalker
The very beginning and the middle of this book were cute. There were a few things I enjoyed:1. [a:Lauren H. Mae 19785872 Lauren H. Mae https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1579835032p2/19785872.jpg] is a good writer; it was very easy to get through the book.2. Over the course of the book, the 2 leads were together for about 5 months. Oftentimes in romances, the two main characters fall in love after 2 days and yet the readers are supposed to buy that they have a deep everlasting connection. I really liked that that wasn't done here.3. I liked reading about their established relationship. That was cute.That's really it. There wasn't much to like aside from these three things. There were, however, a few things I didn't like.1. Catia's behaviour in the first 25% of the book is a good argument for why you shouldn't jump into a relationship if you haven't put time and effort into healing after your last disastrous relationship. She was often manipulative and calculating towards Josh who at the time was being open and honest. It really wasn't a good look.2. In one of the first few scenes, both characters seemed fixated on the height of the guy who was creeping on Dani and Catia (he was short). Was he a douche? Yes! Should his height have been such a sticking point for both of them? No. Short men don't get enough love in romancelandia as is (but we're not ready for that conversation), we don't need to heap any more hate upon them.3. Catia had some very valid reasons for being skeptical to move in with Josh that had nothing to do with her fear of commitment. As she had previously mentioned to Josh, she had had to give up her dreams for somebody who wasn't willing to do the same for her. Yet, when he wanted them to move in together he never mentioned possibly moving in with her. That she eventually moved in with him wasn't a problem, what is a problem was that his moving in with her wasn't even discussed . Contrary to what all the characters in the book were telling her she wasn't being ridiculous. They could have explored both possibilities together. They should have communicated better. I personally don't think it is outrageous to expect your partner to be willing to make the same compromises they want you to make.4. As referenced above, all of Catia's friends treated her reluctance to move in with Josh after 5 months as a problem. They referenced her inability to trust anybody after Micah's betrayal. They rightfully pointed out that she could have both her career and a committed relationship. However, this was done against the backdrop of some very valid concerns she had about his ability to reciprocate the sacrifices she was expected to make (see the above point). In addition, Catia's dad called her out for judging her sisters and I hope that off-page he also called Maria out for trying to make Catia's life resemble her own when Catia had made it clear that that wasn't what she desired.5. The two leads never really seemed to communicate effectively. Maria said somethings that upset Catia but when Josh asked why she seemed tense, she brushed his question aside. Josh asked her to move in and though she had legitimate reasons to be skeptical, she neglected to discuss all of her reservations with him (even after their reconciliation). The moment their relationship hit any sort of roadblock, Josh just hightailed it out of there as quickly as possible. Honestly, I don't fully believe that their relationship will last, given their inability to disagree constructively. 6. They had one fight too many. Their relationship didn't need to implode every time they had a disagreement. Despite all these issues, I still enjoyed Mae's writing and will at least try reading one more book to see if I dislike her character's choices a bit less
