I’m making a real effort this year to clear out any book clutter. I’m focusing on quantity, which means knocking out some of the shorter books on my shelves in order to reduce the actual number of books I scroll through, etc. So, here I’m focusing on short novellas, books that are over 100 pages, but not by much. Technically, by my own blog rules, I could give them their own post. (100 pages is my unofficial minimum page count for a blog post.) However, for the sake of expediency, I’m combining several into one post, and I may return later to add to the list.
So, here we go. I read:
Reviews:
Black Briar, by Sophie Avett
Honestly, just florid and confusing. Half the time, I didn’t know if whatever was happening (if I could figure out what was happening at all) was happening in real life or some dream realm. I’m generally pretty tolerant of purple prose, so long as it doesn’t get in the way of the story. But the prose here isn’t just purple, it’s luridly so. To say I was confused is an understatement.
There is no character development or worldbuilding to speak of. Plus, there isn’t much of a plot, which would be fine if this were erotica, where the sex was the point. But despite starting the story with a sex swing, there is one singular sex scene in the book. And it’s overly long and full of purple descriptions of a whole lot of not-sex. Somewhere in the middle of it, the FMC had a personality shift that made all of the resistance and fight of the previous pages pointless.
Essentially, the reader is dropped into the middle of a scene with no context. The story continues from there, before the FMC undergoes a personality transformation, and we’re told they lived happily ever after. (I still know nothing about the MMC, least of all why he was so interested in the FMC.)I may be being too generous in giving this two stars.
Leather and Lace, by Rebel Carter
Very sweet. It’s clearly part of a series, all but instalove, the town is so accepting as to be fantastical, and the narcissistically cruel mother is pretty cliched. But Minnie and Alex are sweet characters who make an endearing pair. If you’re looking for a light and fluffy quick read, you could do a lot worse than this one.
To Run with the Wild Hunt, by Mallory Dunlin
Meh. I’ve read several of the Monsters of Faery books, and I can confidently say that this was my least favorite. Which is a shame because I liked Lexi, and Key is just adorable. Their fem-dommy relationship was wonderful and sweet. I wish we had gotten an equivalent for Hunt. Obviously, there’d be little sweetness there, but there could have been a little something of relationship growth before the sex. And don’t get me wrong. I picked up a spicy book for the sex. But by the time we got to it here, I just didn’t particularly care. I’ll continue the series. I liked the other books a lot more. I suppose this was just a dud for me.
Shared Veins, by Emily Elder
Not horrible, but pretty mediocre. The FMC is a doormat, though she does have a pretty drastic attitude shift at some point and grows the beginning of a spine. The men are not given equal attention, and I don’t feel I really know them as anything more than caricatures (the sunny one, the brooding one, the brainy one, the leader, etc). Also, it is heavily in need of further editing. There are several super obvious errors that a basic spellcheck should have caught.
The Good Body, by Eve Ensler (V)
This was an interesting read. I think a lot of women will find something to relate to in it. However, I also think that others will find it fails to say anything new or noteworthy on an old and well-trodden path. I suppose both can be true.
Entangled with an Elf Prince, by Amanda Ferreira
This was really sweet. Honestly, I often didn’t know exactly what was happening outside of the very tight focus on the two characters (and there are only the two characters). But watching them discover one another was lovely.
Treasure, by Marleigh Kassidy
Meh, I mean, it is what it is, right? It’s an erotic short; sex pretty much is the point. The sex is fine; a little rushed in the v to dp journey, but ok, whatever. I mean, it’s not great, but again, it is what it is. My only real complaint is that it’s lopsided. Too much time passes as she tries to escape, and what remains after she is finished being scared isn’t enough to balance it out. Oh, and it ends on a cliffhanger, FYI.
A Monster In The Dark, by R.K. Pierce
Erotic horror(ish) that isn’t particularly spicy. There’s a whole lot more talk of what he wants to do to her than them actually doing anything. He is appropriately obsessive for a demon (though he has a relatively sudden personality shift toward the end). She is understandably panicked and scared, although she got over it remarkably quickly. All in all, it’s an amusing enough read for what it is.
Finding Her Minotaur, by Evangeline Priest
Meh. This was an entertaining enough read for the evening. But I read it last night before bed, and this morning, writing a review, it’s already fading from memory. Nothing of note stood out as worth remembering. Despite its cover and Minotaur MMC, it’s not particularly spicy. And while I realize, of course, that it is a novella, it’s exceptionally shallow. (Plus, it could use an editing pass to shore up the past/present tenses.)
It feels very, very much like it is part of something bigger. People are given titles, honorifics, or social standing, while world and galactic politics are referenced, and a mystery surrounding the FMC’s origins is hinted at; however, none of these elements are explained or contextualized.
The MMC seems sweet, noble, and loyal, but you don’t get to know him at all. You get even less of a read on the FFC. Priest gives you her circumstances, but basically nothing of her as a person.
All in all, I don’t regret reading it. But I honestly won’t remember I did by tomorrow. So, it’s not a winner either.
Thrum, by Meg Smitherman
Perhaps I misunderstood the brief, or the marketing of this book is off the mark. But I expected a monstery romance involving a deep space edlrich horror. This has a light sex scene or two, but sex scenes do not a romance make. This is horror, maybe gothic horror if you’re willing to stretch it far enough to encompass space. That’s not to say I didn’t like it. It’s atmospheric, and the reader truly feels the main character’s crumbling reality and fear. But it’s not what I was led to believe it would be. I was left with questions, and the sudden reveal and wrap-up at the end felt rushed. But generally, I enjoyed this.
Matched to the Mafia, by Jenika Snow
I’ve tried several of Snow’s books now. (I bought several all at one time, at some point.) And I think she just isn’t for me. I thought this was pretty trash. We get ‘he’s a bad guy and wants her’ in 15 variations, and that’s honestly about it. I know it’s a novella. But it’s not a very good one, IMO.
Starbinder, by Mark Timmony
Very clearly just a small taste of something larger, Starbinder is an intriguing teaser to the series as a whole. The writing is clear, and the world seems interesting. But I do think it was a bit too big to squeeze into a novella.
more than the main characters), and the FMC showed a surprising backbone. Admittedly, the MMC is somewhat of a cardboard cutout, the relationship is quite shallow, and the FMC’s sudden mastery of her power feels a bit deus ex machina. Plus, the story and language are a little dated. (I think it was first published in 2008.) Describing women of color as “exotic” is generally understood as a microaggression now, for example. But, all in all, I’ll likely read the second book at some point.
