taylorhathcock's reviews
443 reviews

I feel like the dual timelines did this book a huge disservice because the historical fiction/fantasy portion of this book was amazing. It was full of fear, the patriarchy, female rage, witch hunts and survival. However, the modern timeline just doesn't hold the same level of interest. It's harder to stay invested in the story once the timeline shifts. In both timelines Nellie is ruled by her fear in different ways and we really see that her strength comes from bonding with other women. However, Nellie doesn't really seem to find her voice or even herself until the very end of the book and for me it just seemed like such a dramatic shift. 

The book has a little of everything to be honest. We see women in both timelines fighting the patriarchy in the best ways that they can. Jean and Nellie are both great depictions of the different forms this can take. I think the decision to show such distinct timelines was done because the issues are ultimately the same they just take slightly different forms. I just wish that the modern timeline was more interesting and that Nellie had felt more matured. I love that the central theme was about finding your voice and your community to support you. 

I really fell in love with this series. I've loved how diverse all the characters have been and I have to say this one did not disappoint. I honestly think that Azazel might be my favorite of the bunch. Eve is a very sex positive character which I loved. The dynamic between these two is perfect. I think I enjoyed it a bit more because it was easier to feel like the romance portion wasn't rushed given the fact the two of them already had a history. The spice as usual is of course amazing. I honestly am sad that it's over. I need more of Azazel and Eve in my life. 

I want to start by saying that I think this is a cute and sweet story. I loved that it focused on the lengths a sibling would go for the other. I feel like it was very fitting with Greek mythology in the whole noble sacrifice arena. The romance element of this one is very slow burn and even back burner of the story, again not something I minded. I just think that the book took an awful long time to get started and it at times would lose/confuse. It has a really good premise for sure but sometimes it felt like we couldn't decide what direction to go. Do we focus on the romance? Do we focus on the villain? Do we focus on the love for our sibling? Or do we focus on the monster... who is only a side plot? I also have to say that to me it didn't feel like a retelling. It was just a story that used the same tasks as could be found in the Eros and Psyche story. It's a YA novel so it should come as no surprise when I say that it is very YA at times. I do think this would be one of those books that would be great to start a love of Greek myth retellings for a YA reader and I think that for a lot of people that enjoyed Song of Achilles they could find things to enjoy in this one. I just don't think it manages to grab the emotions in the same way. 

"I love you with everything I am, everything I've been, and everything I hope to be.”

I'm still slowly making my way through the series and I swear I'm trying. I have to say though that this one has been my favorite of the bunch so far. I really enjoy Penelope's character and I feel like she is the most relatable of all the one's that I've read about so far. I loved that in all the other books we got this mild wallflower version of her, which really shows how everyone perceived her, but in this one we really get to see that there is more to her. Penelope hides on the outskirts of society but she is such a strong and vibrant character when given the chance. I love Lady Danbury and the way she encourages Penelope to come out of her shell. I think this one might have been the most scandalous of the bunch considering it's a regency romance. The carriage scene was completely unexpected and I loved the book for it. Colin and Penelope have an interesting dynamic that I enjoyed and it's full of all kinds of tension. I loved the focus on revealing Lady Whistledown and how the reveal was handled it made things even more interesting. I just wish things moved a little faster in these books I think... sometimes it feels like forever before we get to the plot. 

I feel weird saying that I loved this book, perhaps even more than the first book, simply because the subject material and focus is so dark in this one. I had to take a lot of breaks while reading this one because at times it was just so intense. I think you really need to check your trigger warnings on this one. Addie's experience is terrifying and painful to read for the first part of the book. I think she showcases an amazing amount of resilence that is well written considering the situations she finds herself in. Zade is just even more intense and ready to eliminate everything in his path and he's also consumed by guilt which colors a lot of his actions. The second part of the book has a slightly different vibe, one that is still incredibly intense and even bloody. Addie has some severe PTSD and watching it unfold is heartbreaking. However, watching Zade try to offer her ways to reclaim her power was endearing. I think given the difficult subject matter covered in this one the book was beautifully written. It wasn't hard to feel for the characters or to understand their pain. I adored the way that Addie was written because she morphs herself into this person who is strong even if she's a bit broken and scarred by what happened to her. I think the revenge element was done beautifully. I also loved that we had characters that we absolutely hated, characters we loved and then characters who we weren't sure how to feel about. I just really loved how complex this book was. 

Where do I even begin. I really loved this book and the fact that it was hard to put down because I was so engaged in the story. Adeline might be one of my new favorite characters because she is just so real and snarky even when she knows she shouldn't be. The book definitely has some dark moments and topics which are tough with the focus on trafficking. However, it really amps up the anti-hero vibe for Zade. Ironically, I didn't think I would be intrigued by the political corruption conspiracy theory element, but it really sucked me in. I also loved that while we had that dynamic we also have Addie basically working to solve a personal cold case. I think these two story lines really added to the engrossing nature of the story. 

The romance of course was great. I mean it was dark... the hands... was an interesting way to start things out. I mean not to mention Addie is having this moral dilemma for most of the book about being attracted to her stalker. It provides for some amazing back and forth... and some really intense and spicy scenes... I really enjoyed the dynamic between these two, despite the fact that you know he stalked her. It really does border the line on non/dub consent a bit so I think that's one of those things that you have to be aware of going in. Although I feel like for the most part it's more dub con. The way this book gave me such an intense cliffhanger was uncool and now I'm going to have to disappear to consume book two. I hate that I waited so long to read these. 

I have to say that maybe I'm being a little nice with 4 stars and that some might would give it 3 at least when it comes to the omegaverse dynamic. I will admit that I'm still new to that dynamic and so I don't know how much this follows the typical dynamic. However, it really kept my interest and made me want to see what was happening next... despite the fact that I felt like some things could have been explained a little better. It had some moments when I think it would have been better to slow down and explain the lore a bit. Yet, at the same time it does a good job of blending the world building into the story so that you don't get bored. I don't think we played up the Mafia vibe enough more just the feared crime lords element. 

 I don't usually enjoy the virgin FMC vibe especially when it's mentioned so much. However, I was able to look past that in this one because each of the three MMC's had such dramatic differences when it came to the spicy moments. I wouldn't necessarily say this is one of the spiciest books I've read, but it does deliver on the spice. It almost has a hint of Den of Vipers going on. Overall, I think the writing was engaging but did have moments that could have been better. It might would have benefitted to cut the novel down just a bit, but it does keep you engaged in the story... it's just the excess storylines that don't feel needed when the book is standalone. For the most part thought I really enjoyed it and would be interested in reading more by this author. 

I feel like historical romance only lightly applies to this book. It was more of like a historical fiction/mystery kind of thing. Harry becomes enchanted with Mary, but mostly because he wants to save her/help her claim her fortune. However, Harry is pretty fickle and it doesn't take much for him to forget about Mary throughout the entire novel. Honestly, Harry spends more time talking about his aunt, Lois, who is only a year older than him. They have this super weird dynamic and it's almost like the romance portion applies to them. I mean to the point that Mary and John, Lois's husband, are jealous of the dynamic between the two. 

 So we have that weird dynamic playing out with Harry and Lois and we also have this mystery surrounding Mary's fortune. Of course the mystery is a lot of why doesn't she seem eager to claim said fortune. We then have Harry involved in a case that becomes connected to Mary. We figure out that a lot of the characters are hiding secrets that are about to come to light. We also have a weird section with a ghost story. It felt like so much was thrown into this and none of it made any sense. I don't think truly anything happened until the end of the story and even that was weird. I feel like three stars is a bit generous for this one... 

I really enjoyed this book for the most part. If I'm being completely honest I had some moments where I was completely confused about what was happening. I really enjoyed the snarky tone the narrator (Death) had throughout the telling of the story. It was perfection and often added some humor to serious moments. I enjoyed the way the author chose to tell the story with brief little snippets from the past as like a break in the actual story. Death was probably one of my favorites because of how sarcastic he is throughout the entire novel. I will say that the characters in this book are all incredibly funny and have a tinge of sarcasm written into them. Vi and Tom have snark that mostly plays off of each other and is hilarious. Fox has just adopted this whole persona that allows for snark. 

 I loved that this was three different romance stories in one and that each of them was so different. It was amazing to watch the way these dynamics played out. We had a lot of enemies to lovers vibes going. We have a jilted lover... a forbidden romance... I mean really all the things you could want. I have to admit that once the book started to focus a lot on the game I found myself completely drawn in. I mean who doesn't love a band of misfits who are now tasked with saving humanity? But, it felt like it took forever to get to that point and like I said earlier left me feeling confused a lot. I really enjoyed when we started to see some of the pieces fall together. However, I felt like when the book ended I still had some unresolved questions. 

The good news is this can be read as a stand alone and you don't really miss any huge plot points. I just really struggled with this book, I feel like it took me forever to read. The plot didn't really move very quickly, and the book is incredibly long. I mean like about 300 pages too long. Avery ends up a hostage through a case of mistaken identity and then we get this insanely long time of her as a captive when it feels like not much happens at all. Avery and Cam develop a back and forth that has a lot of tension and banter, which was nice. I felt like so many times the story could have sped up or it would start to feel like something was happening and then we went back to the slower speed. I just feel like this book would have been so much better if it had been shorter and forced to get to the action points of the story faster.