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Book Review: Wilde City, by Evie Marceau

I won a copy of Evie Marceau‘s Wilde City…on Instagram, I think.

Wilde City cover

One job application turns into me falling for my wickedly hot *fae* boss…

When Willow answers a mysterious nanny ad, she’s shocked to learn the employer is the handsome and reclusive billionaire Severn Wilde—and even more surprised when he reveals himself to be a fae prince in disguise.

Willow never dreamed that the fae bedtime stories her mother told her as a child were real. Now, Severn grants Willow the fae sight, allowing her to see the hidden magical world of the Gifted Ones. But as wondrous as his realm is, rival fae courts, witches, and shifters make it fiercely dangerous. Willow and the children she’s been hired to care for are targeted by Severn’s Los Angeles-based rivals and their merciless leader, who will stop at nothing to strike Severn where it hurts most—those closest to him.

Swept up in a dangerous new world, Willow discovers that the greatest risk of all might be falling for her arrogant, cold, achingly handsome employer—the one person she can’t have.

Review (with spoilers)

I’m not going to go so far as to say this book is bad. The writing is perfectly fine. But I will say there’s absolutely nothing new or interesting here.

Young, innocent virgin is hired by hundreds-of-years-old, powerful paranormal. By virtue of (literally) nothing more than her ability to say no to him when no one else in his life can, he becomes enamored with her. And, despite never previously choosing love or a relationship, he does so for her. (Because she’s special.) Based on seemingly nothing but his beauty and toxicity, she falls in love with the walking red flag. She is then kidnapped by his enemy, who she also Wilde City coverfeels drawn to for reasons. There the book ends.

See, there’s nothing new, which makes it predictable. And since it was originally written for Vella, it is full of filler and thus far longer than need be, on top of it.

The interests of a reader who hasn’t read as widely in the genre might have been held more than mine. But I was just kind of bored by it. So, I’m calling this a ‘Meh.’


Other Reviews:

Mothman Reading Challenge

For someone who has very little time to read, I keep constructing reading challenges for myself. But I like to get them down on paper when they occur to me. So, with that in mind, let me introduce you to my newest reading goal, the Romantic Mothman Challenge.

Yep, it’s totally random. And I’ll tell you how it came to be. But first, let me preface this with the fact that I’ve been very into Monster Romances lately. So, I was a little predisposed toward a cryptid challenge in the first place.

mothman challenge

Ok, it started when I innocently downloaded a copy of Emory Moon‘s Canary and the Mothman from a Bookfunnel event. Then I got an email saying I’d won a copy of Paige Lavoie‘s I’m in Love With Mothman. (I don’t even remember entering the giveaway. So, that was a complete bonus.)

Two books featuring the Mothman within a day or two of one another got my attention. So, I searched my considerable TBR to see if I had any more. Turns out I did have one—C.M Nascota‘s Sweet Berries. Three Mothman books; now I was well and truly invested.

Then, I picked up Vera Valintine‘s Carnal Cryptids: East Coast in a Stuff Your Kindle freebie event and, finally, I had a few dollars of Amazon cash. So, I bought a copy of Clio EvansDoves & Demons. Though, I bet if I’d been a little more strategic, I could find that one at Hoopla and bought an additional one for the challenge. Too bad I’m thinking of that now.

Speaking of Hoopla, there are two more there that I could borrow. There is Peter Passenger and the Mothman, by Rafe Jadison, and Gateway Mothman, by Jay Noel, which also happens to be set in my city. (I’ve been meaning to do a Saint Louis reading challenge. But picking out all the books set in STL will take a lot more time than I have available.)

There’s also Run & Hide by Beatrix Hollow, which I’m told has Mothman in it but I don’t own, and the Mothman Mysteries. But I meant to go by book titles, not series titles. So, I’m not counting it.

I’m sure that there are quite a few more out there; these are just the ones I currently know about. But I generally form challenges as an incentive to read the books already on my shelves. I’m already stretching a little to include Hoopla books. So, I’m going to limit myself to these seven and only add to the list if the universe tosses another free Mothman book in my path. (Feel free to facilitate that if you know of one. LOL.)

Edit: Well after I’d posted this, Like Mothman to a Flame came up on the freebie list. So, I grabbed it, too.


skulls-Image by minh huynh tan from Pixabay

I decided to bring my reviews back here as updates rather than do a separate challenge wrap-up. so…
Reviews:
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Book Review: Radiance, by Grace Draven

I purchased an e-copy of Grace Draven‘s Radiance.
radiance cover

THE PRINCE OF NO VALUE

Brishen Khaskem, prince of the Kai, has lived content as the nonessential spare heir to a throne secured many times over. A trade and political alliance between the human kingdom of Gaur and the Kai kingdom of Bast-Haradis requires that he marry a Gauri woman to seal the treaty. Always a dutiful son, Brishen agrees to the marriage and discovers his bride is as ugly as he expected and more beautiful than he could have imagined.

THE NOBLEWOMAN OF NO IMPORTANCE

Ildiko, niece of the Gauri king, has always known her only worth to the royal family lay in a strategic marriage. Resigned to her fate, she is horrified to learn that her intended groom isn’t just a foreign aristocrat but the younger prince of a people neither familiar nor human. Bound to her new husband, Ildiko will leave behind all she’s known to embrace a man shrouded in darkness but with a soul forged by light.

Two people brought together by the trappings of duty and politics will discover they are destined for each other, even as the powers of a hostile kingdom scheme to tear them apart.

my review

This was a surprise winner for me. Granted, it wasn’t exactly what I was expecting. I thought it was going to be a dark read. But it’s actually super sweet and relatively low-angst. And normally, that’s not a combination that works for me. I like some grit in my fantasy. But I also appreciate a practical heroine, and Ildiko is a strong one. And Brishen is just so marvelously noble.  Watching them become friends and supports to one another before lovers was nice.

Tradiance photohere was also humor, interesting side characters (who are obviously the couple for a future book), an interesting world, and a slow-burn, low-spice romance. I enjoyed the heck out of it.

As much as I liked the above aspects of the book. I did feel a tad bored at times. There isn’t a lot of action, and most of what action there is is packed toward the end. And the villain is a little cliched. All in all, though, I look forward to reading book two.


Other Reviews:

Review: Radiance by Grace Draven

A Double Review of Radiance by Grace Draven