_isabel_'s reviews
1025 reviews

Oh god, what a ride. What a ride!
This final installment had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish: it did not disappoint. My heart's still beating out of my chest, and I'm pretty sure I'll be thinking about that ending, that bittersweet, epic ending, for a long, long time.
Also, I think I need a whole month to get over everything that has happened; my heart won't recover, I fear. Betrayals, death, war, magic; heart-stopping romance, emotional upheavals, found family, and gut-wrenching angst; and, also, a boatload of heart-clenching close calls from start to finish.
I swear, I need at least twenty palate cleansers to get over the sheer amount of nail-biting angst I've just gone through. Gah.

I'm going to miss these characters a whole lot; and I'll miss this whole magical, deadly, complicated, messy world they all live it, where poisonous spores, revenants, backstabbing politicians and morally gray nobles are a daily occurrence. I love epic fantasies, and I love them even more so when everything is delightfully queer and delightfully packed with romance.

Hailey Turner's Infernal War Saga as a whole, but this final installment in particular, is yet another confirmation of how damned great she is at creating such wonderful worlds and such wonderful (and wonderfully complicated and nuanced) characters. Even though Soren is, and will remain, my favourite, I won't be forgetting Caris and Blaine and Honovi and Vanya any time soon. They all have a special place in my book-loving heart.

"The Queen's Starfire Throne" is packed, absolutely teeming, with action from start to finish, and the desperate, fierce rush towards that bitter, deadly, violent end, against Eimarille's madness, had me simultaneously clutching my heart, tearing my hair out, and screaming at the top of my lungs. It's also, like I said, packed with love: familial love, platonic love, romantic love. Hailey Turner is a masterful writer of the found family trope, and all the bonds that emerge from the death and violence and poison afflicting Maricol had me in tears more than once.
Also, that ending had me in tears. I knew not everyone was going to get their happily ever after at the end, and I guess there was only one way for all that mess to be resolved, but it still made me unbelievably sad too. Thankfully there are enough HEAs for my romance loving heart to be satisfied, but god, what a bittersweet, albeit epic, ending.
Hailey manged to weave together every single plotline, every single story arc, in a crescendo that made my heart soar: she was already one of my favourite writers, but this series is a testament to her skills. Epic fantasies with a complicated world-building and an even more complicated political landscape (or hellscape; I wouldn't want to live in Maricol; except, maybe, in E'ridia: they seem to be the least crazy and power hungry of the lot), packed with a huge cast of morally grey, ambiguous, messy, flawed characters, that, despite the sheer number of them, still manage to make a lasting impression, isn't an easy feat. I knew she'd be up to it, and I'm so, so happy we have this trilogy in our hands.

Or I will be, as soon as I get over that ending and all the damn angst: I'm still crying.

I can't wait to have my heart broken by Hailey with whichever book she gifts us next. <3

Thank you GRR for the ARC. This is my honest review 

What a lovely, sweet novella. "The Husband Experience" was exactly what I needed after the angsty reads I've just gotten through: the perfect palate cleanser, with a whole lot of sweetness and delicious, kinky steam. I devoured it in a sitting and it left me with a huge smile on my face.

Fake dating has got to be one of my favourite tropes: its just packed with so much potential for emotional angst *chef's kiss* and this novella totally delivered on that front!
Although "The Husband Experience" is much more light-hearted and easy on the angst than Maya Jean's previous book ("Just a Footnote", which I absolutely adored, but isn't unfortunately available anymore), it still packed a punch at times. There's an underlying current of bittersweet angst, emotional upheveals and that sweet, sweet "I'm falling for you when I'm not supposed to, and I don't know what to do" trope that makes me want to squeal in my pillow, kicking my feet and twirling my hair. Yep, it totally delivered on that front.
This book is packed with some of my favourite things: a fake dating slash pretty woman kind of scenario, where one of our protagonists, the grieving Colby, hires Eli for a week to get his feet back into the romance game after losing his husband a few years before; a set of wonderful protagonists (both of them so sweet you won't stop grinning) with a delicious age gap between them; and spanking hot steam, with a smidge of D/s dynamic and some of my favourite kinks (I was swooning and blushing at the same damn time).

I adored them both, and I adored the side characters too, although we only get a few glimpses of them. I'm especially intrigued by Eli's friends, and I can't wait to see what Maya has in store next!
I totally recommend this novella if you're looking for something sweet and spicy, with an absolutely heartwarming, satisfying ending.


TWs/CWs: death of a partner, grief, cancer.

I received an ARC from the author, and this is my honest review. 

Where do I start?
I've read "The Sunshine Court" twice in a row, and I'm still not sure what to say or where to begin.
I tried to keep the spoilers hidden, but just in case: some spoilers ahead.
My brain has been completely taken over by this book, and by this whole series (and to be fair, that isn't new, since it happens at least once or twice year; I swear it's like crack in book form), and it's been on a constant loop of giddy (and sometimes anguished; sometimes frustrated; sometimes unbelievably, ridiculously happy) squeals/screeches/screams since Monday.
I don't know how am I ever supposed to recover; maybe I should re-read it a third time? Or wait, maybe I should re-read the previous three books for the umpteenth time, and for the second time in *counts weeks* a month. Yep, a new record for me.
One thing I know I want to say is: thank you, Nora. Thank you for gifting us Jean's story. Thank you for not giving up on this series, this world, despite how ridiculous and obsessive, and sometimes mean and toxic, the fandom is. Thank you.
I still can't believe this story is in our hands, and not only that, we have A SECOND BOOK COMING? Special editions of AftG with shorts stories on the way?! I feel like these two things, the anticipation of them being in my grabby little hands in just a few months, have made my life infinitely more brighter.

Back to "The Sunshine Court" though. Where do I start?
This story was exactly what I was hoping for, but it also absolutely exceeded my already high expectations.
It's Jean's story, but it's also the Trojans' story.
It's a story of healing, of a boy who's finally able to start picking up the pieces of a tortured, unhappy life, who's starting to see, one small miracle at a time (thank you Renee, my queen), finally, slowly, torturously, that happiness and health and friendship and safety, and yes, even love, might be something that's not earned or snatched away at a whim, but given freely, kindly, wholeheartedly.
It's also, mainly, a story about broken bonds, healing bonds, creating bonds; a story about friendships, and I absolutely would not want it any other way.
Jean's perfect for the Trojans, and the Trojans are perfect for Jean. I seriously wanted to start sobbing more than once, because oh god, found family as a trope will be the absolute death of me one day. My heart can't take it; and the way Nora writes found family? Absolutely crushing, absolutely masterful, absolutely brilliant.

I had high expectations for this book, and I was also worried that maybe after loving that feral, unhinged, complex, beautiful man that Neil Josten is, and his beatiful, complicated Foxes, for counts years eight, nine years now, I wouldn't be able to love a new AftG protagonist, and his new team, as much.
Oh boy, how glad I was to be wrong.
I'd literally die for Jean, but I'd also literally die for the other protagonist Nora has gifted us, Jeremy (my precious angel), and I'd also literally die for the whole Trojan team too, no exceptions (no okay, maybe one, but I'm okay with redemption arcs!).

Jean's head, his thoughts, his personality, his whole character was everything I expected it to be, and then some: awful, lonely, brutally unfair, traumatized and traumatizing; but also snarky and resilient, and so damned brave and unexpectedly sweet, I wanted to tear my heart out. I also wanted to jump into the book, resuscite Riko, and get somebody (maybe Neil?) to murder him again. And also the whole of the Raven lineup; also that despicable, monstrous coach of theirs.
My precious son Jean, I loved him so damned much. Seeing the Trojans through his eyes was a treat, and seeing the Foxes and especially Kevin and Neil through his eyes even more so. I had everything on my bingo card, but not <spoilers> him having a soul-wrenching crush on Kevin for years, and also absolutely not this quote about Neil: "He was Jean’s misplaced forever partner, an unfulfilled promise Jean had stopped believing in years ago." I cried. A whole lot.

Also, I know this has been said a lot, but Jean's POV finally shows us (for real this time, fandom lore aside) what an unreliable narrator Neil was. Jean's not normal, by any standards, but his head is screwed on very differently from Neil's, and it definitely shows. My feral sons, my gangster sons, my traumatized baby girls, I love you so much <3

And this also shows how absolutely brilliant Nora was and is at character building, and writing it general. Absolutely brilliant, no notes, chef kissing all around. And here, all of the Trojans, even the ones that appear briefly, make a lasting impression: I loved them all to bits.
And one Trojan in particular. Jeremy Knox, where do I start?
I haven't read much Jerejean fanfiction these past few years, because I try to steer clear of non-canon pairings to save my sanity. That Nora made Jeremy our other protagonist was already a dream come true. The fact that they're set up as love interests makes me want to pinch myself just to check it's true.
The thought of what (I'm assuming/hoping/crossing all my fingers and toes/praying/ready to sacrifice a few organs praying) will happen with them in the next book, them finally becoming canon, has my heart palpitating and in general, me wanting to jump on a roof to squeal from happiness. The signs are all there, the chemistry is DEFINITELY there, as is the attraction, the leaning on each other, the slow build-up to friendship, trust, happiness: Jean trusting Jeremy with his health, his safety, his words (and then, to come, his body and his heart) made me so, so, so happy, and I still cannot believe it is happening. I need Nora to confirm it though, because I fear this could be a mass hallucination.

Anyway, Jerejean aside.
Jeremy Knox, the man you are. The beautiful, silly, golden retriever, kind, gentle, generous man you are. He's the literal best. He's also, still, a bit of a mystery. Our Captain here has a lot of hidden issues: I've just read a post on Tumblr where somebody said that Jeremy might have "I'm fine" Neil Josten, the king of deflection and avoidance, beat here. Something's going on with Jeremy, but he'll lie to himself and he absolutely won't shows us WHAT IS HAPPENING. Nope.
I fear the second book will crush us.
Anyway, I adored that man, I'd walk under a bus for him. He's silly and serious, funny and wacky and absolutely wonderful. He and Jean are a pairing of the ages, and I can't wait to get more of their interactions, of the bond slowly building between them.

< “If you say you deserved it, I’ll trip you,” Jeremy warned him. “You wouldn’t,” Jean returned. “Maybe not,” Jeremy allowed. “But I’ll think about it really hard.” >

And the other Trojans? The sunshine court indeed.
Laila and Cat: you're everything I hoped you'd be. Iconic, hilarious, absolutely wonderful. The way they were with Jean, fiercely protective, indignant and furious on his behalf, the easy way both Jeremy and them included him in their group, reminded me of how Dan was with Neil. Both Laila and Cat were unforgettable side characters, and I seriously cannot wait to have more time with them on page. I think I might have underlined half of the group interactions, but a few of these scenes will remain with my for months. Also, how I cackled. This book is definitely trauma packed, but the Trojans and their easy, just, kind, silly (THE FLOOZY LINE) demeanor gave the story a much needed lighter tones at times.

< “Sorry, sorry! His English is a little hit and miss still. That’s why you never see him talking to the press, you know?” She waggled her fingers at Jean to get his attention and said in as serious a tone as she could muster, “Voulez-vous coucher avec moi?” >

I loved this book, and I also loved how packed it is with parallels. The original AftG trilogy was absolutely teeming with them already, and god, this one just made everything even better. The Neil/Jean parallels (also @Nora, give us the Neil/Jean friendship we deserve!!!!!), the conversations between Jeremy and Jean giving me all the Andrew/Neil feels (including the "I'll have your back" conversation and the consent one too sniffles) (minus all the Neil cluelessness, and plus all the bisexual panic from Jean and the reluctant horniness/attraction) (

both Jean and Jeremy startling because of shirts, low hanging shorts, shower-plastered hair and skin? YES PLEASE, gimme more of that

)

< “Will you help me?” he asked. “Anything you need.” “A blank check is a dangerous thing to offer.” “Try me,” Jeremy said. “I can afford it.” >

I have so many more thoughts, and since I refuse to engage in fandom shenanigans just yet, I think I'll be adding to this review in the upcoming days and weeks (and years).
Anyway, I loved this, and I need the second book LIKE AIR. I can't wait, I can't wait, I'm so excited I might cry.
Sorry for the rambling review friends, but this series is seriously my favourite thing.

TWs/CWs:

violence, child abuse, sexual assault and rape (past, but there's a violent encounter with the rapist on page), waterboarding (flashbacks), suicide and suicide attempt, hospitalisation, hazing, death of family members.

What a freaking gorgeous book. I'm seriously in awe. Fearne Hill is one of the best MM contemporary romance authors out there, and I've loved many of her books before, and "Salt" is absolutely no exception. I loved it so damned much.

This book is magical: it sucked me right inside its pages from the very first paragraph, and I'm pretty sure it will stay with me for the next few months, at least. This one isn't an easy romance: it's magical for sure, and sweet and lovely and heartfelt and dreamy, but it's also dark and tough and angsty and gut-wrenching. Hill is one of the few authors out there who excels at balancing out the lighthearted with the angst, the steam with the emotional, the sweetness with the "oh god I'm about to start sobbing out loud". And she also excels at backing all of this up with wonderfully real, relatable protagonists and absolutely believable, tangible, unforgettable character and relationship arcs. I seriously felt like I was there with Charles, battling his demons, his colours and his soul-wrenching grief, and with Florian, facing his own demons, an aging grandfather and struggling business; I was with them through the thick and thin, and I can't say how happy, and how satisfied, their story made me feel.

Charles is one of the most fascinating protagonists I've read about in quite a while: he's full of contradictions, and even more real because of it. He's a business shark and genius; he's an artist; he's funny and sincere and gentle; he's also grief-stricken and suicidal, so fragile you just want to jump into the book and hug him to bits and protect him from the whole world (and his landmine of a mind). Needless to say I loved him; I felt what he was going through at a deep personal level, and I related to him so damned much.
I think I've said this a dozen times in my reviews before, but the romance genre NEEDS more mental health rep. And it needs authors like Fearne Hill, ones who manage to tackle deep, important topics without cheapening them, without disrespecting them, and without losing a touch of lightheartedness and sweetness.
Florian was as unforgettable as Charles, and as real. He's a flirt, open-hearted and gentle and charming, but he also isn't afraid of showing his vulnerabilities and his insecurities.
I loved their relationship so damned much. Their romance made me want hurl myself from the nearest building, sob in a corner and squeal like a little girl, simultaneously. I laughed and swooned and cried alongside them, and their hard-won HEA was the most satisfying, perfect HEA you could wish for.

The setting was absolutely magical, so vividly depicted; it made me want to move to French, salt-harvesting island myself. The side characters, from Jerome to the mysterious (and seriously hot) Nico, from Papi to all the colourful, hard-working people of the island.
And the writing! God, like I said, Fearne Hill is one of a kind, and I can't believe I still haven't devoured all of her backlist.

I'm sooooooooo excited for the next book. I'm sure it will be as unforgettable as this one; I'm also seriously hoping it will have some mental health rep too. Nico's such a fascinating character, and I can't wait to get to know him properly and to finally meet his love interest.

TWs/CWs: suicide (described), suicidal thoughts, mental health crisis, depression, death of a parent and of other family members (mentioned), grief, character with dementia.

Thank you GRR and the author for the ARC. This is my honest review. 

Well, this was absolutely lovely!
It lost my interest a smidge in the second half (but it was probably my brain's fault; and my very busy life at the moment), so I ended up skimming a bit, but in all in all I really enjoyed it.
Hot and lighthearted, sweet and fun, with an underlying current of tension and emotional angst; it ended ip tackling some important topics (heed the trigger warnings people!), and all in all, it left me feeling very satisfied.
I loved Reuben and Vo'ak to bits! They're both idiots, and they're both impulsive and reckless and share one braincell between them, but oh god, I loved those horny, disastrous wrecks to bits. I loved their chemistry, and I loved all the side characters too!

The world-building was so vivid and magical, and I also adored the dry humour, especially in Roo's POV (such a cute nickname!): I laughed out loud many times at his antics.
Like I said, I got a smidge bored in the second half, but I'm pretty sure it was my fault. I loved it until life started getting in the middle of my reading time, so I'm sure if I'd read it at any other time, I would have kept loving it.
Maybe it was a smidge too long, but yeah, I still adored it!
I'm sooooo excited to read the next book in this series! I'm hoping it will be about a certain lovely, reticent human and his stoic, patient alien, and I can already see myself going feral over them.
I'm also excited about Fae Quin's book too! The covers of both these books are GORGEOUS, and I'd totally buy them based solely on the art. Beautiful!

TWs/CWs: kidnapping, domestic abuse and sexual assault (past), rape (on page, minor character), violence and injury.

Thank you GRR for the ARC. This is my honest review.

 I've no words. "Death in the Spires" was freaking amazing. Absolutely, wholly, ridiculously good. I'm still not sure what I'm supposed to say in this review other than: KJ Charles, the writer you are.

Full desclaimer, this book is not a romance. It's a mystery, with a queer protagonist, but it's not a romance, although there IS love. Unrequited love, obsessive love, pining love, familial love, platonic love; it has all the spectrum of the emotions you can expect from a cast of seven brilliant, and brilliantly doomed, Oxford students who end inseperable friends thanks to the charisma of their leading man, the uniting force behind their group, one Toby Feynsham, who, like in all mysteries of the dark academia genre, ends murdered in dark, mysterious circumstances on a fateful night their final year at Oxford.
Ten years later, Jeremy Kite, OUR leading man, with his prospects and ambitions ruined, once again adrift because of the repercussions of that fateful night, finally embarks on a journey to discover what went down with Toby, and who's to blame for everything that went wrong after that.

"Death in the Spires" is a quitessential dark academia mystery, and with the added early 20th century setting, it instantly becomes an unforgettable work, maybe even a classic, of the genre: it's clever and brilliant, and KJ Charles writing, with her dry snark, her magical way with words, the sheer beauty of it, makes it even more so.
The Seven Wonders' story is unforgettable: I was literally sucked into their world, and I was so wholly immersed in what was going I managed to reach that end, that painful, bittersweet, yet hopeful (and immensely satisfying) end, without even realising it.
Seeing their life, slowly but surely, splinter and shatter around them from the brilliant first few years together, all of them kings and queens of their little kingdom, to that doomed last year, was like watching a trainwreck in slow motion: the build-up to the disaster, although told through flashbacks and brief timelines shifts, had me on the edge of my seat the whole damned time. Seeing how they went from being inseperable, loyal companions, this gang of seven ready to take on the whole world, to brutal murder and violence, backstabbing vileness and obsessive, possessive love turned sour, had me my heart it overdrive from start to finish.
I won't spoil anything else, but god. I don't think I've ever encountered a character quite like Toby: his character arc was literally the thing of dreams; the way KJ Charles built him, the way she showed the cracks inside him? You can feel the end of the Seven Wonders' golden age coming, yet you're powerless to stop anything; the only thing you can do is read with the same dread and the same bitter, powerless disillusionment Jem and the others go through. I think I mourned alongside them, Jem especially, and it left me feeling both hollowed out and absolutely in awe with what KJ Charles is capable of doing, of writing, in just under 300 pages.
I feel like I've lived through a whole lifetime with Jem.

Obviously, I adored our steadfast, righteous protagonist: quiet, stubborn, bitter, broken, but still wonderful and wonderfully relatable. I was rooting for him from the start, even when he took needlessly stupid risks, even when he was being so pig-headed I wanted to jump into the book and shake him (quitessential amateur sleth behaviour eh?). I kinda guessed where the mystery was leading to, but I think it added to the whole experience: I just sat there with my mounting dread and the slow realisation of what had really happended that fateful, horrible year. Some things still took me by surprise though. So, I sat there both in dread and in awe. I had the time of my life, okay?

Anyway, I won't forget this book anytime soon; I think I might end up re-reading it as soon as my heart settles and I can stop feeling so many feelings. I loved that ending: like I said, it's hopeful but also, immesely bittersweet. Satisfyingly bittersweet though; an end of a painful, horrible era, and the start of something new, something better, something true.

Go and read this book: PLEASE. I need someone to shout and scream at, because wow. Dark academia, a stubborn queer man as a lead, a gripping mystery, an unforgettable cast of characters that will stay with you for a long time: what more can you ask for?


Thank you Netgalley and the Publisher for the ARC. This is my honest review. 

 What a gem. WHAT A GEM.
I think I say this every time I write a review for any of Lanyon's titles, but she's truly one of a kind in the mystery genre. I've loved every single one of her mysteries since I first discovered her "Adrien English" series, and I can honestly say I'll probably love her writing till the day my eyes stop working (and even then, there's still audiobooks right?). She's brilliant, her mysteries are brilliant, her characters are messy AND brilliant, and her romances are just *chef's kiss* brilliantly done.

"The Lemon Drop Kid" is a short, gripping mystery with a dash of second-chance romance (a really complicated, really messy one at that) and a whole lot of betrayal/forgiveness vibes going on that really made me want to simultaneously jump out of the nearest window and jump INTO the book to strangle a certain cop and wrap up Caz in blankets for the horrific hand he's been dealt, and yeah, I was obsessed. I would have totally loved it if the romance has been developed a smidge more, but Josh isn't that kind of writer: the mystery and the MC (usually horrifically unlucky, amateur sleuth-ish, snarky messes a light breeze away from a nervous breakdown; MY kind of protagonist *heart eyes*) are at the front and centre of her books, and I wouldn't want it any other way.

Anyway, I loved the mystery to bits. It's gripping and unfair and dark and brillant; and I loved Casper to absolute bits. He's been through a whole lot of pain and trauma, but he still manages to find it in himself to be forgiving and good and, just, absolutely wonderful.
Raleigh on the other hand, is the quintessential Lanyon detective love interest, who has a lot to make up for, with a lot of groveling and a lot of sweet, sweet declarations (will I ever tire of this kind of pairing and love interest? I think not; it scratches my romance brain juuuust right), and again, I even managed to love him by the end. Plus, it's set in a small-town, it's Christmas, and there are dogs: what more could I wish for?

I loved the writing so damn much, and I loved that this novel, despite its Christmas setting and the cute cover and title, was really quite angsty and tough. It gave the story, despite it being quite short, a hefty, complex atmosphere, it gave the characters and their relationship more substance, and it made it seem longer that it actually was. I was completely absorbed.
Again, I loved it.

I can't wait to read what comes next from this author, but in the meantime, I think I might, MIGHT need to do a re-read of a few of her books.

TWS/CWs: suicide/suicidal ideation (mentioned), death, incarceration.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC. This is my honest review. 

Where do I start?! I'm really not sure.
This series is one of my absolute favourites. Rain and Danny are one of my most cherished couples, and Rain, especially, he's one of the most iconic protagonists I've ever had the pleasure of meeting.
I'm so so devastated this will be the last of their adventures, but on the other hand, I was not expecting S.E. Harmon to bless us with it, so I think I'm mainly just so damned happy we got another ride with them.

"A Spooky Legacy" did not disappoint, at all. It's entertaining and gripping, packed with mysteries, murders (and ghosts!), but it's also sweet and romantic and so damned heartfelt that I thought I was going to end up sobbing once or twice (no, I'm kidding; at least a dozen times).
Rain was the same Rain I remembered, snarky and neurotic and full of contradictions, a walking, talking murder magnet, but he's also slowly becoming the better version of himself. I love a good 'ol character arc, and his in particular was absolutely unforgettable. He's one of the best characters out there, and I'm already looking forward to re-reading these books from the start.

I also love a romance that manages to still feel as thrilling, as toe-curling, as when the love interests first get together; but I especially love it when said romance also manages to grow and flourish and become even better, even sweeter, even more satisfying. Rain and Danny have both been put through the wringer in this series, but their love has always come out stronger and better; and in this one, they're more in love than ever. They fight and grapple with insecurities and misunderstandings, but they know they can count on one another, and that theirs is a soulmate kind of love. I'm so damned happy with how thier second-chance romance turned out: it's been a rollercoaster ride of emotions, steam and love, and I'm so satisfied with their HEA.

The mystery here was absolutely gripping: it's dark and painful and complex and haunting, and those last few chapters had me on the edge of my seat the whole damn time. I love this series because while there's a paranormal edge to it, the mystery and the romance are both pretty much the heart of all the stories the author has weaved together here. The ghosts were pretty much entertaining though; and that final twist? Talk about fate.
I loved the mystery, and I adored all the side characters: from Rain's parents to Dakota and all of Rain and Danny's co-workers.
I loved the writing; S.E. Harmon is SUCH a gifted writer, and the way humour is perfectly blended in with the angst and the heartfelt? Absolutely wonderful.

I'm so not ready to say goodbye to Rain; but I'm already excited to start a re-read as soon as I can manage. I read those first books quite a few years back (and another thing I appreciate about S.E. Harmon, is the fact that she's a master at not making a reader feel lost, even when they've forgotten quite a few plot elements and characters), and I'm so looking forward to re-discovering these books again.

In the meantime: if you love mysteries with a smidge of paranormal, second-chance romances that take the bitter animosity and transform it into soulmate love, wonderful character arcs and a MCs who's as snarky as he is unlucky, go and read this series. It's a MUST for all fans of the genre.

TWs/CWs: domestic abuse (secondary characters), death, kidnapping, violence.

Thank you GRR and the author for the ARC. This is my honest review. 

What a lovely book!
"How to Train Your Human Omega" is Arden Fox's debut, and what a debut.
I absolutely adored this alien-packed, chemestry-fueled romance, from start to finish. It's entertating and fairly bonkers at times, steamy and light-hearted and sweet, but it also manages to fool you into thinking it's all fun and games, and then it delivers a gut-punch, or twenty, and leaves you clutching your heart because of The Feels™.

I loved Clay and Arcay as protagonists so much! Both of them are oblivious, himbo fools, they literally share one braincell, and I absolutely loved it for them. Talk about a match made in heaven eh? Jokes aside, they're also well-developed characters, with flaws and fears and all the pesky emotions that make them both wholly relatable.
Both of them are ridiculously stubborn, but while Clay lashes out in anger and then runs, Arcay's the master truth-omitter. Like I said, a match made in heaven; not only do they both make mistakes, but they also learn from them. Seeing Arcay change his behaviour, by understanding human traditions and slowly learning that Clay's no helpless damsel, was everything; and seeing Clay slowly learning to trust Arcay, by curbing his automatic flight-or-fight, no-commitments, MO, was everything too.
I loved their character development, and I loved their romance. It's packed with chemistry from the start, and it's also tinged with a delicious non-con, slightly Stockholm Syndrome-ish (or sugar baby-ish? LOL) vibe, and their relationship absolutely flourishes throughout the entire novel. I love watching a relationship tinged with animosity and misunderstandings bloom through trust and care, and this one was no exception. I never wanted to leave this novel.

The writing was fabulous: witty, lovely and it flowed like a dream. I loved the world-building, but I'm sooooo hoping we will have a better understanding of it in the next novel. The Aldar society is fascinating and intriguing, and I also really hope we'll get a bit more omegaverse aspects in the next one.
I'm so looking forward to it!

TWs/CWs: attempted rape (on page, not between MCs), kidnapping, injury, vague suicide ideation.

Thank you GRR and the author for the ARC. This is my honest opinion. 

< He’s got good hands. Because, frankly, he’s got good everything. They’re strong and blunt and very, very steady. Except, sometimes, when they’re really not. And that’s a wild thrill all by itself. I know so little about this man, but I know he unravels hands first. >

What a quote eh? Alexis Hall has a way with words.
This was the quote that made me think "yep, I'm going to adore this book."
I spoke too soon.

I am genuinely shocked I didn't love this as much as I hoped.
I'm also absolutely devastated too.
I can't believe I didn't love this: I don't know what went wrong, but I didn't.
I was so certain this book was going to be my favourite out of the Spires novels: BDSM, older, jaded sub finding himself again at the hands of a younger, unexperienced, Dom, age gap, a bit of an opposites attract, AND the Spires's universe brand of angst and emotional gut-punches? I was so certain I was going to adore it.

I'm still not sure what I'm supposed to say in this review. I keep thinking about how to word this, but it seems like I'm one of the few readers that couldn't manage to connect with this novel.
Mind you, I did enjoy it, and I even loved bits of it.
For one, I adored Laurie: give me all the jaded, afraid, lost men who hide their vulnerable hearts behind a cold façade. ALSO, subs at that? I love that kind of juxtaposition: I swear I could read hundreds of BDSM novels with this premise and I'd never tire. I adored bits of Laurie and Toby's dynamic too: most (most!) of their BDSM scenes together were wonderful, and I enjoyed the hell out of slowly witnissing their kinky relationship flourish. Those last few chapters, where everything comes to a heed? I loved that.
I also loved all the side characters to bits: from Grace and the mysterious Jasper (is there a novel about him?) to Dom-the-Dom; the small glimpses we get of the previous MCs gave me so much joy.

Apart from that, I wasn't feeling much of anything. I skimmed quite a lot, mainly Toby's POVs (@Toby enthusiasts, please don't hate me!!!!); the writing in those left me feeling lukewarm.
I really liked the kink dynamic between Laurie and Toby (like I said, younger Dom/older sub is my jam), but I wasn't feeling their romance, like at all? Outside the kink, I didn't buy the affection and love between them, I think. I'm so sad to be saying this, because I know LOTS of people adore this novel, but there was something not credible about their relationship that made me quite suddenly "leave" the novel, and I just could not, for the life of me, get back inside it. Maybe it was the fact that Toby isn't very Dom-like most of the time, and on the one hand, it's refreshing to see (you can be a Dom, and you can cry and be insecure, and whatnot) but on the other, it just added to the "I don't buy this" factor. I kind of feel cheated on that aspect? I don't know. Like I said, I loved most of the kink scenes, but even there, there was something at times that kept pulling me out of the novel. Plus, I wasn't the biggest Toby fan.

I think maybe I was expecting something different, or maybe it was the fact that "For Real" didn't feel like a Spires novel to me. It didn't make me feel much of anything, unlike "Glitterland" and "Waiting for the Flood" (two of my favourite novels of the past few months, and my favourite Alexis Hall romances to date). Something was off. Maybe it was me, who knows? But I'm still so damned devastated. I jumped into this book with giddy enthusiasm, and now I don't know what to do with this disappointment.
But oh well, better luck next time?

I still enjoyed bits of this, and I'm still looking forward to the rest of the Spires novels.
Long time fans of "For Real" will absolutely ADORE Alexis Hall's footnotes at the end of the book, I'm sure. It offered special insight into this book, its characters, and the whole of the Spires universe, so I'd totally recommend getting your hands on it.
As for the rest, I'd still recommend this book because it's part of a wonderful series (seriously, "Glitterland" and "Waiting for the Flood" OWN my heart), and who knows, you might, hopefully, love it more than me.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.