cluckieduck's reviews
298 reviews

The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun

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emotional reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5


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Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid

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emotional lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Well, this certainly lived up to the hype (possibly surpassed) for me! I found Game Changer just OK but had heard so many good reviews about Book 2 and the absolute hotness that is Ilya & Shane...I am in love.

After reading the two books, I find her writing definitely tilts smut > story, but Shane & Ilya hooked me in right from the prologue. The fact that this book spans YEARS is absolutely captivating (unlike the 1/2 season of instalove we got with Scott & Kip - not that their story wasn't cute!), and getting to see Shane & Ilya's growing "rivaly" from their first foray in Juniors through their current NHL career was a really smart narrative. It really sells the uneasy infatuation they have with each other and we get to peel back the onion alongside both of them as they grow more and more in love with one another.

While it is a standalone, I liked how it tied into Game Changer with the little tidbits that popped up, like the playoffs, awards night, and Book 1 spoiler
the impact of Scott coming out
. It's not a typical romantic HEA ending, but I'm so excited that Shane & Ilya's relationship gets a second entry with The Long Game. 

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The Arcade by Harley Laroux

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dark fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

2.0

Nothing screams a sexy good time like
first time anal
on the ground of a dark alleyway behind an arcade.

This was fine for a free read.

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Little Slice of Hell by Clio Evans

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dark fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No

1.75

This was such an odd, little quick read - and I do mean quick, it's like...80 pages. It covers maybe 36 hours from Dante & Peter's first date and goes from zero to instalove real fast. 

The writing wasn't great. It's bordering on simple & juvenile which ain't good considering the content. Lots of CWs
past SA recounted, poor D/s relations
that really get brushed aside because of the length limitations, and some questionable decisions are made by each MC.

There's better smut out there.

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A Lady of Rooksgrave Manor by Kathryn Moon

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lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

1.5

Long story short, if you’re looking for some mindless monster action - this is the book for you. But don’t expect anything beyond that. 

After reading the Sweetverse books, I was really looking forward to this one, but it was a bit of a letdown, to be honest. Lola & Baby’s RH stories had such thorough, well-rounded plots & characterization. This one is pretty much straight up erotica each & every chapter and, oddly enough, the best descriptor I can use is boring. I don’t understand how a monster RH could be boring, but this one showed me it’s possible!

Our MFC Esther’s only character trait is that she’s a gal who likes, no craves, sex. At one time, she even declares that “she’s just a girl who loves fucking.” More power to her, but that shouldn’t be the be-all & end-all of characterization, and I didn’t find anything else about Esther beyond this. Some of the fellas were sort of interesting (Booker, mainly), but overall, there just wasn’t much for me to engage with. 

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Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

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adventurous emotional mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5


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Burn for Me by Ilona Andrews

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Rogan, Rogan, Rogan. They don't call him Mad Rogan for nothing - I'm really going to enjoy getting to know this psychopath further. And Nevada? What a fantastically headstrong female lead - I want to be her when I grow up.

Now, I must say - this cover is truly awful. I thought I'd read that this was supposed to be PNR, but it's much more in line with Urban Fantasy, fraught with sexual tension but very little spice. There are some parallels & similar tropes to the Kate Daniels  series but, dare I say I think I may enjoy Nevada more?? Only time will tell. It's everything I want to kick off a new series.

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Infernal Sin by Ariana Nash

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adventurous dark emotional slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? Yes

3.25

Weakest of the series - Severn & Mikhail have been put through the ringer time and time again but it all ended rather anticlimactically. I’m happy for their hard fought HEA, but it’s a bit of a dud, tbh. 

And that epilogue?!? Solomon deserves better than that, honestly. He and his cats was the highlight of book 3. 

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Eternal Sin by Ariana Nash

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challenging dark tense medium-paced

4.0

Such an addictive series, which seems hard to do when the main couple isn’t together for the first 40%, includes the MCs cheating (but is actually understandable in the context of the story), there isn’t an HEA (though sort of HFN, but I can see that quickly changing in book 3 based on the ending), and ends in a cliffhanger. Inject more of this in my veins!

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Primal Sin by Ariana Nash

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dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Well this was a dark, twisty, angst-filled roller coaster of fun!

It was a little confusing in the beginning while the world building was being set up but once it got settled, boy was it intriguing web of betrayals, deception, & love. 

Major, major cliffhanger ending
without HEA or even HFN
. Proceed with caution.  Can’t wait to see where it goes!!

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