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Book Review: Kiss of Smoke, by Amy Pennza

I purchased a copy of Amy Pennza‘s Kiss of Smoke from the TikTok shop.

Kiss of Smoke Cover

What was supposed to be a dream vacation just turned into a nightmare. It’s not every day you board a private jet for an all-expenses-paid trip to Scotland with your two gorgeous bosses. And it’s not every day you spot your fiancé kissing another woman across the terminal.

The man I was ready to marry has been cheating on me for a year. Dumped and humiliated, the best I can do is get on the plane and lick my wounds. Fortunately, my bosses are more than willing to help…and in more ways than I ever imagined.

But Lachlan and Alec can’t possibly be interested in me. They’re in love with each other…right? Scotland is cold this time of year, but these Scots are bringing the heat in ways I’m not sure I can handle.

And as they continue fanning the flames, it’s clear they’ve been hiding more than their attraction to me. Where there’s smoke there’s fire. Now I have to hope I don’t get burned.

my review

Oh, what a disappointment. I really wanted to love this, but I just didn’t. Some of the issues are first-book-in-a-series syndrome, setting the world, introducing the magic system, etc. However, it’s mainly that the book felt poorly balanced in two ways.

First, it’s about 85% sex, which is fine. Except that the author didn’t seem to recognize that it’s an erotic novel and kept trying to insert plot points. Unfortunately, they felt random and ill-supported, since it’s otherwise an erotic fantasy novel. The end result is that the book neither excelled in plot nor erotica, as it could have if it had chosen one or the other.

Second, this is a polyamorous relationship in which the two men are an established couple trying to find a female mate to bring into their bed. You feel this a lot. From start to finish, this was Lachlan and Alec, plus Chloe. At no point did I feel like she was equally as important in the relationship as the two of them. This comes out in the sex scenes, especially. There are a lot more of just the two of them than the three of them, and none with just her and one of them. They are a couple outside of her; she is not a couple with either of them outside of the other, and they never form a balanced trio, in my opinion.

Lastly, though not a matter of balance (and this is a spoiler), I really disliked the solution to the sticking point over her humanity. One of the men does not think a human is good enough to be a dragon mate. Meanwhile, she is experiencing significant issues with self-worth. Instead of writing a solution in which her self-confidence is improved and he comes to appreciate humans, kiss of smoke photothe author instead threw in a sudden and random “Oh, she’s not human after all,” which did nothing to solve the underlying problems.

All in all, this was a flop for me. I appreciate that some of the author’s random attempts as plot made obvious attempts to normalize some contentious real-world issues of contemporary America. But that wasn’t enough to save this for me. I was hoping for a new series to dive into. But I will be stopping here instead.


Other Reviews:

Review: Kiss of Smoke by Amy Pennza

 

What a Wolf Dares

Book Review of What a Wolf Dares (Lux Catena #2), by Amy Pennza

I received an audible credit for a copy of Amy Pennza‘s What a Wolf Dares.

Description from Goodreads:

What happens when the species’ most notorious womanizer meets the woman of his dreams?

As a werewolf Alpha’s daughter, Sophie Gregory was raised to understand she has two important purposes in life–to be wed and bred. When she fails at the first, she wants nothing to do with the second, even if it means spending the rest of her life alone. After fleeing a disastrous arranged marriage, she seeks shelter with a neighboring pack. There’s just one problem. Her new pack is home to the handsome, roguish Remy Arsenault: serial dater and notorious womanizer. Remy makes her laugh…and her heart pound. She’s not looking for commitment, but she might just be up for a fling. That’s all Remy is offering, anyway, right?

Remy has a reputation for being a player, but in truth, he’s ready to settle down. Too bad that’s the very last thing Sophie is interested in. He will do anything to win the heart of the woman who makes his head spin with lust–including seducing her with the most delicious sex imaginable. Sophie wants a fling. But what if he’s ready for so much more? To convince her he’s serious this time, he might just have to pull off a small miracle. 

Review:

I thought this was a perfectly adequate shifter-finds-his mate story. I didn’t think there was anything to make it stand out and shine, but nor was there anything that made me grit my teeth and hate it. 

I thought the writing was perfectly readable (or listenable, in my case) and I liked both of the main characters. I did think the villains were cartoonish in how vile they were and the person who came to the rescue in the end, wasn’t really redeemed in my eyes for waiting 20+ years to step in. I don’t believe they could have been oblivious. So, I didn’t really find their sudden backbone and moral compass believable. 

All in all, a good middle of the road book. Sophie James did a good job with it too. It was easy to listen to. And the fact that I hadn’t read book one didn’t prevent me from enjoying this one.