Tag Archives: audiobook

prince of never

Book Review: Prince of Never, by Juno Heart

Prince of Never

I won an Audio copy of Juno Heart‘s Prince of Never from the author.

about the book

A fae prince with a poisoned heart. A mortal girl with a magical voice. Neither one believes in fairy tales.

City waitress Lara has the voice of an angel and no idea she’s marked as the fated mate of a silver-eyed royal from another realm. When she falls into Faery and meets an obnoxious huntsman who mistakes her for a troll, she’s amazed to discover he’s the cursed Prince of Air in disguise. Ever’s mother, the queen, is less than impressed. The opposing court of techno-loving Unseelie wants her as their very own pet. And an evil air mage wishes her dead.

Held captive by Elemental fae in the Land of Five, she’s certainly hit rock bottom.

But songs wield power, and Lara happens to be a true diva. Now if only she can use her newfound magical skill to make the Prince of Never a little less attractive. The first thing she wants is to find a way back home, and the last is to fall in love.

Ever and Lara think they know what they want, but destiny and an age-old curse have other ideas.

Book 1, a standalone with a HEA in the Y.A. interconnected series, each one starring a different cruel prince and his human fated mate.

For lovers of Faery. Above all else, romance rules.

my review

Not bad at all, but also not anything too new and exciting. I liked Laura. I liked that the author showed her thought processes. Rather than having her just talk endlessly, for example, we know she’s made a conscious decision to make a point to irritate someone by talking. I liked Ever and enjoyed that the author did a good job showing his feelings change and his own confusion with them. The writing is clean and easy to listen to, and the narrators both did a good job.

However, I’m bummed that the villain and the plot hinge on the cliched spurned woman. *yawn* Laura’s personality mirrors so many other female YA character—kind and giving above all else—so, seen a hundred times before. And Laura seemed able to mouth off to authority without consequence, an irritating trait in YA heroines. Or rather, not in the heroines themselves, but of the authors and writings of such heroines. I always notice when heroines are allowed behaviors no one else is and want to know why. Especially when the hero then loves that same trait in them. Chicken and egg, anyone?

All in all, I enjoyed it and I’d be willing to read another of Heart’s books.

prince of never

 

A Cougar Among Wolves

Book Review: A Cougar Among Wolves, by Kali Willows

A Cougar Among WolvesI picked up an Audible code for A Cougar Among Wolves (by Kali Willows) bouncing around the internet somewhere, probably Free Audiobook Codes. It was narrated by Ruby Rivers.

A sadistic attack leaves Klaya, a Puma Clan Cougar, critically injured and the last of her family ferociously slain. She stumbles into Black Hills wolf territory and collapses. Now under the protection of the pack, she finds herself whisked away to hide out in a cave until her old friend the alpha returns. Potentially the last of her shifter kind, she has nothing left to lose, but her life and a chance to avenge her brother.

After a dangerous rescue, on the edge of pack territory, Seth and Rogue take a woman on the brink of death back to the pack. Her identity and why she was brutalized is a mystery. The pieces soon fit together proving this assault was no coincidence. The Black Hills wolf pack faces a bigger threat than they could even imagine. The trio soon find themselves on a tumultuous journey of life and death and relentless lust.

my reviewMeh, not horrible (if you like this particular subset of erotic fantasy) but not great either. Honestly, I found a lot of it cheesy, ESPECIALLY THE VERY LONG SEX SCENE. I literally rolled my eyes and made gagging sounds. I was just so super cheesed out! But the brother-mates are sweet (which is a pleasant change from the alpha-asshole norm) and I appreciated the heroine’s independent streak. Just don’t go into this one expecting any depth or a complex plot and you’ll probably enjoy it well enough.

 

Level Up: Level One: Headshot

Book Review: Level Up: Level One: Headshot, by Alexa Sommers

Level up Alexa SommersI managed to grab an Audible code for Alexa SommersLevel Up when the author was handing them out on Twitter. It’s narrated by Sharmila Devar.

about the book

“You have the hands of a rogue, the mouth of a bard and I’m pretty sure you’re at least half cleric because you have me ready to scream… Oh God.”

Dillon Strands is not your typical college co-ed. While other’s are chasing down parties and partners, living out their dreams of debauchery, Dillon and his friends are studying, gaming and stuck in a rut, their social lives hanging by a thread. After a semester of continued promises to step out of their comfort zone, the five friends find themselves exactly where they started.

Enter Suzanne Andrews, a gamer girl with a plan.

He may be at the top of his class but when it comes to the art of pleasure, Suzie Andrews is an A+ student.

my review

Meh, it was OK. I actually really liked all the main characters and thought the geekery was really well done. I admit I don’t have quite enough geek-cred to get all the references, but I certainly snickered and smiled more than once. I appreciate that the guys got the girls, so to speak, while managing not to be at all sleazy. Dillian’s confusion in the face of bliss were my favorite parts. But I thought the villain (for lack of a better description) exceedingly cliched. Similarly, the introduction of female characters only to have them become sex kittens that throw themselves at the main character on meeting him was disappointingly cliched, dare I say boring in it’s predictability. I get that this is more erotica than romance, but it was still worth an eye roll.

The writing was pretty sharp, though even in audio I caught a couple probable editing errors “gouge her response,” instead of gauge, for example. Hard to tell where to lay blame for that in an audio book though. And lastly, I thought there was some inconsistency in the POVs. All in all, not a bad read (or listen) but a better NA humorous romance than a erotic romp. I rather wish the author had stayed the course, though it’s my understanding that she is known as an erotic writer so…