Scan barcode
A review by lilyrooke
Cult of Personality by Cole McCade
4.0
A young woman is pushed off a bridge, and Sila haunts Seong-Jae's footsteps, as the heat ramps up in more ways than one for Detectives Khalaji and Yoon.
Definitely plunging straight into Romance territory at this point in the series, and I'm unsure exactly how I feel about this development. On the one hand the relationship development feels like such a slow burn it's like these guys have known each other for years, yet only two weeks have passed since the series even began, so it feels like an enormous amount of projection has been going on, in all this beautiful internal narration. I get the whole 'live in the moment' attitude, but I can't deny I find the swing between murder investigations/graphic smut a bit... out of place? is the best way I can describe it.
I've noticed there's quite a lot of repetition in the Romance scenes, which makes me feel a bit bored sometimes, like the scenes are lacking originality because they sometimes feel like slightly altered copies of previous scenes. I think I prefer an emphasis on emotional intimacy over body parts so perhaps I'll enjoy the instalments more when the sex scenes are from Seong-Jae's perspective. I do feel like this is appropriate for Mal, but it's just a reader preference thing. I feel like with the way the instalments work, so much is going on, yet there's also a small page count, meaning limited depth and development, and I think after 7 instalments this is starting to wear on me. I don't know if at this point in the series the author was still publishing one book a month but there is a sense of rushing, where I think slowing things down a little to maximise the potential of these characters and their development would be hugely worthwhile.
With all that said, it's still an immensely enjoyable read. At this point, I want more from Sila, and more exploration of his backstory with Seong-Jae. It's really nice seeing Seong-Jae gradually defrosting towards Mal, and Mal's supportiveness as a boyfriend. They're lovely together. I'm just being picky because I think it could be even better.
absolutely nothing *~*researchy*~* to see here; an ongoing reading list
1. A Study in Scarlet 2.5/5
2. The Hound of the Baskervilles 5/5
3. The Adventure of the Final Problem 4/5
4. Bath Haus 4.5/5
5. The Forest of Stolen Girls 4/5
6. The Red Palace 2/5
7. The Silence of Bones 1/5
8. Lay Your Sleeping Head 4/5
9. Carved in Bone 5/5
10. Lies with Man 3/5
11. Howtown 2/5
12. The Hidden Law 2/5
13. The Death of Friends 3/5
14. The Burning Plain 3.5/5
15. Rag and Bone 4/5
16. Pretty Pretty Boys 2/5
17. Three Nick Nowak Mysteries 5/5
18. Three More Nick Nowak Mysteries 3/5
19. Two Nick Nowak Novellas 4/5
20. A Time For Secrets 5/5
21. Murder Book 5/5
22. From the Ashes 4/5
23. Bloodlines 4/5
24. Lucky Days 4/5
25. Gifts Given 5/5
26. Heart's Desire 1/5
27. Broken Cord 4/5
28. The Cardigans 4/5
29. Junk Shop Blues 4/5
30. Changing Faces 5/5
31. It's Witchcraft 5/5
32. Where There's Smoke 5/5
33. Cult of Personality 4/5
Definitely plunging straight into Romance territory at this point in the series, and I'm unsure exactly how I feel about this development. On the one hand the relationship development feels like such a slow burn it's like these guys have known each other for years, yet only two weeks have passed since the series even began, so it feels like an enormous amount of projection has been going on, in all this beautiful internal narration. I get the whole 'live in the moment' attitude, but I can't deny I find the swing between murder investigations/graphic smut a bit... out of place? is the best way I can describe it.
I've noticed there's quite a lot of repetition in the Romance scenes, which makes me feel a bit bored sometimes, like the scenes are lacking originality because they sometimes feel like slightly altered copies of previous scenes. I think I prefer an emphasis on emotional intimacy over body parts so perhaps I'll enjoy the instalments more when the sex scenes are from Seong-Jae's perspective. I do feel like this is appropriate for Mal, but it's just a reader preference thing. I feel like with the way the instalments work, so much is going on, yet there's also a small page count, meaning limited depth and development, and I think after 7 instalments this is starting to wear on me. I don't know if at this point in the series the author was still publishing one book a month but there is a sense of rushing, where I think slowing things down a little to maximise the potential of these characters and their development would be hugely worthwhile.
With all that said, it's still an immensely enjoyable read. At this point, I want more from Sila, and more exploration of his backstory with Seong-Jae. It's really nice seeing Seong-Jae gradually defrosting towards Mal, and Mal's supportiveness as a boyfriend. They're lovely together. I'm just being picky because I think it could be even better.
absolutely nothing *~*researchy*~* to see here; an ongoing reading list
1. A Study in Scarlet 2.5/5
2. The Hound of the Baskervilles 5/5
3. The Adventure of the Final Problem 4/5
4. Bath Haus 4.5/5
5. The Forest of Stolen Girls 4/5
6. The Red Palace 2/5
7. The Silence of Bones 1/5
8. Lay Your Sleeping Head 4/5
9. Carved in Bone 5/5
10. Lies with Man 3/5
11. Howtown 2/5
12. The Hidden Law 2/5
13. The Death of Friends 3/5
14. The Burning Plain 3.5/5
15. Rag and Bone 4/5
16. Pretty Pretty Boys 2/5
17. Three Nick Nowak Mysteries 5/5
18. Three More Nick Nowak Mysteries 3/5
19. Two Nick Nowak Novellas 4/5
20. A Time For Secrets 5/5
21. Murder Book 5/5
22. From the Ashes 4/5
23. Bloodlines 4/5
24. Lucky Days 4/5
25. Gifts Given 5/5
26. Heart's Desire 1/5
27. Broken Cord 4/5
28. The Cardigans 4/5
29. Junk Shop Blues 4/5
30. Changing Faces 5/5
31. It's Witchcraft 5/5
32. Where There's Smoke 5/5
33. Cult of Personality 4/5