Author Archives: Sadie

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Book Review: The Power of Three, by Kate Pearce

Last winter, I laid out a huge winter-vibes reading challenge for myself. Then, I basically fucked off and forgot about it. So, instead of doing a new one this year, I have gone back and started trying to work on last year’s. Hey, it’s my own blog. I’m accountable to no one but myself. I can do that. LOL.

I picked up Kate Pearce‘s The Power of Three as an Amazon freebie in December of 2021. So, look at me, going back to work on an old reading challenge by reading an even older book. (Yeah, I’m easily amused.)

The Power of Three cover

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Soreya Lang has never met a male telepath before, let alone one who is willing to die for her on an interplanetary mission gone wrong. Risking everything, she acts on her instant telepathic and physical connection with Esca and encounters a level of psychic power she never knew existed.

Esca can’t believe he’s finally met the female who will complete his sexual and telepathic triad. He promises himself that if they survive, he’ll take her back home, introduce her to his enigmatic First Male, Ash and pray that biology will do the rest.

But nothing is ever that simple, and Soreya, Esca and Ash will have to find their own way through the ties of family and traditions to experience the full telepathic wonder of the power of three…

my review

I wanted to like this; I really did. It had an interesting premise, which could develop into an interesting world and characters that were likable enough. But it is just SO clumsily done that I couldn’t particularly enjoy it. There isn’t enough nuance; the plot isn’t developed enough (and it ends precipitously at an awkward point). The writing was pedestrian but functional, except for some clunky dialogue and any time the author had to discuss anything military. Then, it was shockingly amateurish. There were also some inconsistencies, and it needed another editing pass (which would also likely have caught some of the inconsistencies.) Mostly, the story it was trying to tell needed (and deserved) a defter hand.

Oh, and see how I said ‘fuck’ about. Yeah, I wish authors would just do that. This book did the annoying thing of using Frek instead of fuck and then littered it everywhere. Just curse, for god’s sake. It’s a polyamorous erotic novel. Anyone choosing to read such a thing should be able to handle a few dozen fucks in dialogue. (I hate when authors do this so much. So much.)

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Other Reviews:

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Book Review: Tentacles and Teeth, by Rowan Merrick

I picked up a freebie copy of Rowan Merrick’s Tentacles and Teeth on Amazon.

tentacles and teeth cover

Katarina was only looking for one night.

An evening of no-strings fun with someone who knew what they were doing and wasn’t afraid of getting a little wild. One look at the gorgeous bartender with the midnight skin and waving tentacles, and she knew she needed to feel all those…appendages wrapped around her before the night was out. Lucky for her, the bartender was a woman who went after what she wanted, and oh, did she want.

More wasn’t on the table.

But when Katarina wakes up the next morning not only still desperate to touch her, but also talk to her, she’s forced to reevaluate. Maybe a relationship wouldn’t be so bad?

Especially a naked werewolf before coffee.

Running into her maybe-more-than-a-one-night-stand’s roommate in the hall was yet another thing she wasn’t prepared for. It might have helped if she wasn’t still reeling from the night before. Or if he hadn’t been completely nude. Or so…sexy. She wasn’t in the market for one relationship, much less two. But they were both so tempting…

Can she finish her plate? Or did she bite off more than she can chew?

my review

This was porn with—
No, it’s not porn with plot. It’s just porn. I went in expecting porn with plot, but there’s no real plot to speak of. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not complaining; just want us all to be clear on what we’re dealing with. Porn. Tentacle and monster porn.

All in all, I enjoyed it. I appreciated the confident, business-savvy, successful, size 16 heroine. I’ve read far too few porny books with a lesbian in the poly group. That was a pleasant surprise. The writing is quite body and sex-positive, as well as careful about consent…for the most part. I honestly think Fenn’s behavior once he entered the mix undermined a lot of work the book did in this department. (Plus, it didn’t really match his character outside of sexy times.) But they did discuss consent, so it’s more a quibble than a criticism. Similarly, Fenn and Sid were respectful of Katarina throughout the book, only for Merrick to reduce her to the status of toy as soon as the trio interacted with even the first supernatural. Which, again, undermined a lot of the work Merrick had already put into establishing equality in the relationship.

Regardless, it’s spicey fun, and I don’t regret reading it. Plus, I love the cover.

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Other Reviews:

Wondra’s World: Book Review Tentacles and Teeth

 

 

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Book Review: A Demon’s Guide to the Afterlife, by Kel Carpenter & Aurelia Jane

I picked up Dark Horse, the first book in Kel Carpenter and Aurelia Jane‘s A Demon’s Guide to the Afterlife series, as an Amazon freebie. I then bought the compilation so that I could read White Raven and Black Swan.

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Don’t get me wrong, waking up to discover my ex-husband finally killed me wasn’t fun. Finding out I had to get a job and pay Afterlife taxes about ten minutes later?
Let’s just say, this wasn’t exactly the eternal reward I was hoping for. But beggars can’t be choosers, and being a demon sure as hell beats my last occupation.
I’m well on my way to retirement behind the pearly gates when the impossible happens. The Risk Witches have a vision.

A savage shifter that can’t control his wolf.
An ancient fae lord that’s forgotten what it means to feel.
A playboy vampire king with a secret.

Three alpha’s will inherit unspeakable power. Each of them scarred. Too broken to be tamed . . .
Upper Management sent their best to ‘fix’ them. Angels. Poltergeists. Nothing worked.

So now it’s my turn, whether I like it or not.
But unfortunately for me, failure is not an option with these guys.

Combined, they have enough power to end the world—and they will.
Unless I find a way to stop them first.

Breaking people is my job. But this time…my job might break me.

a demons guide to the afterlife covers

Review:

Meh, this was OK. I picked the first one up as an Amazon freebie and, on finishing it, bought the compilation in order to finish the series. The thing is, I bought the series because book one had potential, not necessarily because it was especially good. Unfortunately, the potential never developed.

The series isn’t bad; I never wanted to DNF it. But it never got good, either. I was never excited to pick it back up or missing it if I was away. It just coasts along at mediocre, always just barely good enough to keep you reading. But no better.

I liked that Fury had a backbone and a sense of justice. I liked a lot of the characters. However, from very early on, it was evident that Fury had a serious case of being too powerful and, demons_guide_to_the_afterlife_phototherefore, too arrogant, and nothing provided a believable challenge for her. That only got worse as the series progressed, and she got progressively more powerful.

I also felt like all of the men were just caricatures. I never felt that I got to know them beyond the surface and the villain even less. The whole thing was also just unbelievably predictable.

All in all, as I said, this was an OK read. I don’t regret it. But I’m glad to be finished, too.


Other Reviews:

Tracy’s Book Reviews: A Demon’s Guide to the Afterlife

Review of Dark Horse by Kel Carpenter and Aurelia Jane