effy's reviews
1396 reviews

 

Eugh! I disliked this book so intensely! This book comes with a content warning that it is a dark romance however I don’t think the author truly understands what that means because I would not place this book into the category of dark romance. There are multiple problematic elements to the story for me; the fact that the relationship begins by Ellery, our vampire, stalking Wren is questionable however I will accept it as being part of a “dark romance” however the way that he acts in the bedroom in a way that amounts to sexual assault was very much not cool. For the bedroom aspect, what was necessary was a clear establishment of enthusiastic consent for Ellery to behave the way that he did, particularly as it seems that Wren is very much not into this behaviour. There is one scene in particular where Ellery sees Wren with another man and there is no consistency to his thought patterns as he goes back and forth from saying it wasn’t her fault because she was drunk to how dare she be with another man. It just didn’t work. Additionally, in that scene there seems to be a really unselfaware element that Wren was drunk when she was literally just with the other man but because the author wanted Ellery and Wren to bonk, suddenly Wren magically isn’t drunk.

The sex scenes in this book are so bad that I was shocked to discover that the writer of this book was a woman.

My biggest grievance with this book was the fact that there is a graphic on-page depiction of Wren being raped with an implication that this wasn’t the first time that it had happened to her as she was missing for three days and it is stated that hypnotism had been used upon her. The rape scene was really fucking intense and not a pleasant read at all. It also in no way moves the story forward so it is just a fully gratuitous scene. Yuk. Wren then doesn’t really seem to struggle with the emotional impact of what happened to her with her very briefly being touch averse (as in maybe an hour or two) but then immediately wanting to jump straight back into bed with Ellery. She also never acknowledge the lasting psychological damage caused by being hypnotised to have no memory of the previous couple of days. Don’t get me wrong, I am not criticising Wren for being open to have sex on her own terms after what happened to her, recovery and gaining a sense of your body being your own is really important for survivors. The issue is that this is all handled without any kind of due care.

In the acknowledgements, the author says that she wrote this book without any kind of plan and… it shows 😬 Novellas can and do tell a complete story with rich worlds established however there was a sense of things being very rushed and the story being all over the shop. The supernaturals of this world seem to have some intriguing lore to them because this is never fully explored leading to the reader wondering what even was the point. I suspect that the dropping of wider world information is intended to be sequel bait but can we maybe just not?

Overall, the characters of this story didn’t feel fully-realised and it was often difficult to distinguish between the voices of our two characters. This book was just not good.

 

 

A short, sweet, spicy, and seasonal erotica between a trans man human and a wild fae. I enjoyed the trans rep in this book and despite being such a short tale, Lothaire did an incredible job of really establishing this gorgeous relationship of mutual respect between the characters.

 

 

The books in this series are the textbook definition of a junk food book: they really aren’t very good but they are so addictive!

I feel as though we finally, FINALLY got some of the things that have been obvious / hinted from near enough the start of the series with confirmation that Caspian is one of Rosalie’s mates as well as it finally clicking that she’s the Queen’s daughter. It took way too long to get to this point and it just feels like a symptom of not the best writing that as a reader we know these things but the characters just don’t seem to have two braincells to rub together. I do think that fantasy plotline is pretty intriguing and compelling but the romance is feeling pretty tedious at this point because why are we dragging-out the mate bonds?

I liked that we got a reveal right at the end that I didn’t see coming with a POV character from the Queen where we discover that she is alive and a prisoner of the below. I enjoyed seeing her connection with Caspian who is by far the best of the MMCs. The reveal that Wren is Rosalie’s sister was a nice touch but I imagine it is going to take a few books before the rest of the main characters get the memo. I am not sure how I feel about Dayton and Wren being mates; I thought it might be a trick on her part but with the final reveal and the fact that the books are advertised as Rosalie having 4 mates, I am not so sure. I like the idea of Wren getting some happiness as she does seem to be a complicated character and it adds an interesting element for only 3 of the 4 High Princes to be Rosalie’s mate. I don’t like the possibility that Dayton is Rosalie’s mate whether that’s a case of instead of or as well as Wren. Rosalie and Wren being sisters creates a messiness to that scenario. The problem I see is Farron because he really loves Dayton but shagging his mate’s sister’s mate is just a little close to ick for me. I wish I had more faith in this writing duo to untangle this knot elegantly but…

I kinda hate myself that I immediately want to dive into Book 4 but apparently I can’t get enough and I am a glutton for punishment.

 

 

As an absolute grinch when it comes to Christmas, I respected Aurora’s dislike for it whilst also being incredible at her job and just being an absolute ball of sunshine.

Snow’s books are always a hit for me so it wasn’t a surprise that I ended-up absolutely falling in love with this book. There is a real magic in this story and there are multiple moments that had me on the verge of tears. I love how all of Snow’s characters are queer in a very casual way and feel fully-realised in who they are.

I look forward to returning to Wintermore with Noelle and Shay’s story.

 

 

Dante has a beautiful writing style that is evocative and poetic but their books read quite slowly so it took me a while to get through this book despite it being one of my most anticipated releases of the year. 

The Saint of Heartbreak is a delightfully blasphemous romance between Judas Iscariot and The Devil after Judas ends-up in Hell. Their story spans almost two millennia as Judas struggles with the role he had in Yeshua’s death despite being in love with him. The Devil is immediately drawn to Judas and deeply protective of him but he is also a sad boi because who could love him?

Something that I really love about this book was the way that angel biology is so unlike human biology and The Devil spends a lot of the book coming to terms with the pain of losing the children that he had with Lilith, half of whom he carried.

I had such a good time reading this book and I look forward to reading the Raphael / Cain romance set in the same world in the near future.

 

 

I think that I just don’t get along with this format of stories as I had a really hard time connecting with this story or even caring. It is a visceral and painful story and something that really needs to be talked about more and destigmatised but the sparse words and infrequent punctuation as well as some creative formatting choices meant that it was quite hard for me to follow the story. The format was particularly effective when Jay’s thoughts were scattered and he was trying to come to terms with what happened to him but it didn’t work as a whole book.

I find it hard to tell people to not read this book as it is a story that is worth telling but I just didn’t engage with this book in a meaningful way.

 

 

This book really took me by surprise. As big of a vampire fan as I am, I find that contemporary romances featuring vampires can be a bit hit and miss for me. This book fell very squarely in the hit camp; I don’t know if it was the fact that it takes place in a secondary world, that Croft is just a spectacular author, or likely both. The banter is absolutely off the charts and this book doesn’t take itself too seriously in the absolute best way possible.

I really appreciated the level of thought that Croft has put into the vampire lore and quite enjoyed the idea that all vampires’ hair turned black and their eyes red as well as losing their human memories. Whilst vampires are often depicted in this way, it was fun to see this kind of uniformity being something that is thrust upon them. There is also attention taken to the fact that vampires don’t need to breathe and also they traditionally can’t eat or drink things that aren’t blood.

Dima and Casey worked really well together and their dynamic was really fun to read.

I just can’t get enough and will definitely be going back and reading the other flatmates’ romances.

 

 

Fenn has such a delightful writing style that immediately draws the reader into the story and keeps hold throughout. I really enjoyed following Orpheus and Fenrir and their gentle building romance. Orpheus goes on such a journey throughout this book and it was really beautiful to see him come into his own.

Sprinkled throughout the story we get flashbacks to the early years of Orpheus and Lore’s life. I loved the way that this slowly built backstory to the character and also played alongside the discoveries that Orpheus was making about himself in the present.

Overall I had a fantastic time reading this book and can’t wait for more from Fenn in the future.

 

 

This was such a compulsive read and I loved uncovering all of the secrets that Davina and Blaze had to tell. Andrady writes with real skill as there are continuous hints to there being more to the story and discover throughout but the timing of the reveals is gradual and delicious. The romance between the characters is really believable and the alternating POVs works well as the reader is never left in the dark about a character’s thoughts and feelings for long.

I would happily read more in this world or just more from Andrady in general in the future.

 

 

Brooke Goodwin’s school year is coming to a close and then she will be able to put the past year behind her. All she’s waiting for is an acceptance to Yale and she can leave Dallas, Oregon and the harassment of No Caller ID in her rearview mirror. Her stalker has different ideas and things are taken into overdrive when a vehicle begins tailgating her on a dark, deserted road and they tell her it’s time to play Truth or Die.

This book has a really good sense of nostalgia for a very specific era of slasher films that I just know is going to really appeal to readers. There is something so fun about the trope of a stalker knowing a secret that could destroy you and Lally does a great job playing with this idea. This book is so full of twists and turns that it feels like just when you think you are getting a grip on what’s truth and what is lie, it rams into you just like the white Bronco in this story. The duel timelines work really effectively to build a sense of suspense as the reader feels time ticking down in the present whilst there is a building anxiety to learn the truth of “the incident” in the past.

At this point, I would recommend turning away from this review if you intend to read as this book is most effective when you know as little as possible…

I was completely drawn into Brooke’s version of events and love, love, LOVE that she was an unreliable narrator because it really took me by surprise when the truth was revealed as you realise that she is completely delulu. I did think that the book was a little bit insistent that Brandon was the one harassing her which made it obvious that it wouldn’t be him. And then the final unveiling of everything was just absolutely delicious.

This book is a wild ride and thoroughly enjoyable.