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Book Review: Monsters of Midlife, by Melle Amade

I picked up a copy of Melle Amade‘s Monsters of Midlife as an Amazon freebie.

I’ve dreamt about dark, ravenous monsters my entire life. Last night I found out…all my darkest dreams are real.

At forty-five I didn’t think life had many surprises left, but I was so, so wrong. Monsters do exist and last night their demigod, Ryder, came to me asking for help.

I would have been more willing if Ryder wasn’t my younger, too-hot-to-handle ex-husband.

Apparently, he was hiding a few things during our marriage. I thought it was girlfriends when I divorced him. But according to him he’s been protecting the world by keeping his kind at bay. I wouldn’t have believed him except he turned into a creepy black monster with fangs, three glowing eyes, shiny black horns, and pointed ears right in front of me!

Having Ryder back in my life releases something inside me I didn’t realize existed. It’s overbearing, angry, and chaotic. And I realize I still have feelings for him, but this time, they’re unleashing the monster buried deep inside myself.

I’ll help him save the world, but the one thing I can’t afford to do is fall in love with him again.

Not now. Not ever.

I’ll lose more than my heart, I’ll lose my humanity.

Look, I fully expected this to be a silly, ridiculous read. I was not looking for great literature or anything serious. But the simple fact is that this book is poorly done. No one is likable. He shows no moments to appreciate, and she is consistently too-stupid-to-live. The emotions are all overwrought and over-amplified. You feel no chemistry between the characters. The world is not fleshed out. The dialogue is cringy. (So is the single-sex scene). The plot jumps around willy-nilly, and then the book just ends practically in the middle of a scene. So, the whole thing feels incomplete on top of everything else. I will not be continuing the series.

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Book Review: In Her Thrall, by Chloe Parker

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I picked up a copy of Chloe Parker‘s In her Thrall as an Amazon freebie, over the summer.

Rumor has it there’s a beautiful beast stalking the English countryside.

For hundreds of years, the Van Helsing family has searched for the creature Dracula, a demon of the night that stalks the shadows for hapless prey. Freshly returned from service in the Great War, Van Helsing heir Jonathan Edgewood finds himself in the English countryside on a hunch that the creature has taken a new form: the Lady of Harker Heights, Bianca Ivyshade.

Each year on All Hollow’s Eve, Bianca hosts an extravagant ball, and Jonathan has landed an invitation. He brings with him two other vampire hunters and his Great War compatriots: shy scientist Marcus Ryder and charming occultist Edward Shelley.

When a storm confines the guests to the manor for the night, Jonathan, Marcus, and Edward find themselves irresistibly drawn to the beautiful Bianca. And they soon learn that there are secrets hidden at Harker Heights—and perhaps even a greater evil than the vampiress herself.

Will the men escape with their lives? Or will they fall under the vampire’s thrall?

To begin with, the blurb is a little inaccurate about the setup of the plot of the book. While not devastatingly important, it is annoying. So, I figured I’d mention it.

More importantly, this is mostly smut, with just enough plot to string it all together in some sort of context. That’s not a criticism; just making sure we’re on the same page about what sort of book this is. It’s pretty good for what it is, too. The villain (and thus the challenge that gave the book what little plot it has) is pretty cliched; nothing new, original, or interesting there. The same could be said for Bianca. She challenges none of the norms for female characters of her ilk. But I liked her well enough.

I found Jon, Marcus, and Edward interesting. Perhaps not particularly well-developed since the book isn’t deep enough to allow for it. But I enjoyed them all the same. There is sword-crossing and a genuine pre-existing relationship between two of the men, and I liked that. However, by the end of the book, the relationship configuration felt like two couples who overlap rather than one polycule, which is perhaps a little disappointing. But, again, enjoyable enough.

I have book two of this series, which I intend to read. And honestly, the fact that I’m willing to continue the series says more about the book than any of the above.