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Book Review of Shifted Under Construction, by C. E. Black

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I snagged a copy of C. E. Black‘s Shifted Under Construction on Amazon when it was free.

Description from Goodreads:
Bedroom eyes and rock hard abs make for yummy eye candy, but Harper Mattox knows a bad boy when she sees him. She’s been there, done that, and refuses to buy the T-shirt. The scar was enough of a souvenir.

When Harper agrees to be the temporary secretary at H&V Construction as a favor to her best friends’ husband, Adam Hughes, she thought her days would be spent behind the desk, organizing until her heart was content. She had no idea she’d have to put up with the walking sex-on-a-stick Christian Viera. AKA, her other boss. No matter how many times she turns him down, he just oozes more charm in her direction, weakening her knees, as well as her resolve. And it’s only her first day!

When Harper’s life is threatened, Chris is ready and willing to protect her, showing off an animalistic side she never knew existed. She’s known violence in her past and has no room for it in her life now. Is the fiery passion between them enough to stick it out? Can she accept him? Fur, claws, fangs, and all?

Review:
This was entertaining enough for an evening read, but it’s one we’ve all read a couple dozen times by now. Abused woman meets shifter in the morning, insta-love, explosive sex before lunch, a little unnecessary drama to fill out the pages, more sex, and in love by dinner. Meh. Nothing special there, no world-building, character development, or base for the love.

I did like how Harper stood up for herself and how Chris was often described as looking panicked or confused. It was cute. But I disliked how he came on so strong from the moment he met Harper and wouldn’t back off, even when she clearly told him to. He felt like a player, which he’s supposed to have been, but the sort that pressures women into sex they don’t want to get him to go away. It did not make him endearing.

Further, everyone kept saying, “Yeah, he’s a player, but he’s really a nice guy” or “He doesn’t treat women well, but he’s a good person.” Um, how exactly can you take that aspect of his character out, exclude it and say he’s good. They are one and the same, there is no BUT. If he’s a dick to women, he’s a dick, period. He sure felt like one to me and never redeemed himself. He got what he wanted from Harper, pusher her away, got possessive, told her didn’t want a relationship but still wanted sex, then claimed her again. And she just went along with his every whim on this issue. Meh. I never came to like him.

For a quick read that you can go into knowing what to expect, get a couple chuckles out of this is worth picking up. Just don’t expect anything deep or well-developed.

Blood Shackles

Book Review of Blood Shackles (Rebel Vampires #2), by Rosemary A. Johns

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I won a signed copy of Blood Shackles, by Rosemary A. Johns through Goodreads.

Description:
What happens when SPARTACUS meets VAMPIRES? Except the vampires are the slaves… In a divided paranormal London, Light is the rebel vampire of the Blood Lifer world, with a talent for remembering things. And a Triton motorbike. Since Victorian times he’s hidden in the shadows. But not now. Not since someone hunted and enslaved him. When he’s bought by his alluring Mistress, Light fights to escape. Even if he can’t escape their love. But if he doesn’t, he’ll never solve the conspiracy behind the Blood Club…

WELCOME TO THE BLOOD CLUB

Who are these ruthless humans? Who’s their brutal leader? And who betrayed the secret of the Blood Lifer world?

WHERE THE PREDATORS

London, Primrose Hill. Grayse is the commanding slaver’s daughter. The enemy. She buys Light, like he’s a pair of designer shoes. So why does Light feel so drawn to her? Ashamed, he battles with his desire, even as he burns for her. Can a slave truly love his Mistress? Especially when his family is still in chains. Will he risk everything – even his new love – to save them?

BECOME THE PREY

Does a chilling conspiracy lie behind it all? A stunning revelation leads Light to an inconceivable truth. To the dark heart of the Blood Club. If he can face his worst terrors, he can save his family and his whole species from slavery.

Maybe he can even save himself.

Review:
Honestly better than I expected. I always approach anything involving slavery, especially romance, very warily. So many ways to go wrong. But this managed not to glorify it or the abuse the slaves endure, physically, mentally and sexually. It was a little glossed over, still uncomfortable though, but not made out to be anything but horrible. This is not something I enjoy and I struggled getting through the book since a decent amount of it is dedicated to man talking about what it’s like to be broken.

I even eventually got used to the journaling format it is written it. But I could not stand the cant the characters spoke. Nut for head, neb for nose, lobehole for ear, mush for mouth, etc, etc, etc, etc. OMG it was endless and annoying. Plus, despite being set in modern London and one of the characters growing up in Boston, they all spoke it. Even the rich people you’d have expected to be well educated.

I also found it a little odd how many opportunities vampires had to kill their captors, even when they weren’t mentally broken, but instead just fought them. They pushed them or broke a bone or talked when they were perfectly capable of killing them and moving on. Especially when Light is made out to be an exceptional fighter.

The writing is very good and the editing fine, maybe not perfect but fine. I don’t know that I’d be interested in more of this series, but I’d be perfectly willing to read more of Johns’ writing. I found a lot of it thought provoking, even if disconcerting.

 

Book Review of Hard Wired (Cyberlove #3), by Megan Erickson & Santino Hassell

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I was sent an ARC of Hard Wired, but Megan Erickson and Santino Hassell.

Description from Goodreads:
My FallenCon agenda is simple: sit on a couple of panels and let people meet the real me. Jesse Garvy—mod of a famous Twitch channel and, if I ever come out of my shell, future vlogger. I definitely didn’t plan to sleep with a moody tattooed fan-artist, but he’s gorgeous and can’t keep his hands off me. There’s a first time for everything, and my first time with a guy turns out to be the hottest experience of my life.

But the next day, I find out my moody fan-artist is Ian Larsen AKA Cherry—someone I’ve known online for years. And he’d known exactly who I was while shoving me up against that wall. Before I figure out whether to be pissed or flattered, the con ends.

Now we’re back online, and he’s acting like nothing happened. But despite the distance between us, and the way he clings to the safety of his online persona, we made a real connection that night. I don’t plan to let him forget.

Review:
I love the Hassell and Erickson team and I’ve enjoyed the Cyberlove series. But I have to admit this wasn’t my favorite. I liked the characters and the story, but aspects of it made me uncomfortable.

Let me start with the good. The writing is stellar as always, the editing good (even for an ARC), the characters distinct, the sex hot, it’s funny and I personally liked the easter eggs. Yep, all good. And honestly, the one big thing that bothered me might be me making a mountain out of a molehill, but it annoyed me. A lot.

(This might be a little spoilery, but it doesn’t give the end away or anything.) One of the main characters’ goals is to become an animator so that he can create his own art that brings attention to and increases the diversity in media. Yeah? It’s a good goal. And I might have been able to look over how didactic some of it came across with the use of what I call hashtag terms (the ones you generally only see online or in book reviews talking about how authors have failed to include X or are guilty of shaming Y). Except that, well, both main characters are white. So are the parents, presumably the cousin/best friend, as it isn’t stated otherwise, the adversary and both people who will obviously be the couple for the next book. Off hand, I can think of one person Ian spoke to that was described as having a bow in her afro and Garvy’s co-worker was Filipino. That’s it.

Of course, race isn’t the only form of diversity and both characters are gay, they acknowledge the existence of bi-sexuality and one is neuro-atypical. But it still felt like an uncomfortable oversight. Perhaps someone will tell me I’m wrong or that it was actually meant to be illustrative, I don’t know. But once I noticed it I couldn’t not. The book was advocating diversity without including much obvious diversity itself.

And I almost didn’t mention it here, because I know these authors (know being a loose term for follow them online and have exchanged a comment here or there, but it’s enough that I have a general idea what to expect in their books) and I’m certain this is something that’s important to them. But I have to admit that here I don’t think they lived up to their best intentions. (And yes, I do see the irony of stating that I ‘know’ them, given that some of the drama in the book is based on fans thinking they know a whole person when all they really know is an online persona.)

Other than that one big issue, that kind of overshadowed the whole story for me, I generally liked the book. Yes, it was very angsty, I thought Garvy was a little too patient to be believed, the happy ending came a little too easily, and Ian’s trauma and protective measures sometimes came across as disingenuous simply because he seemed a little too introspective about his own psychoses. It made it feel almost clinical, instead of devastatingly emotional. But these last critiques are small niggles that are almost meaningless in the face of other aspects I enjoyed. I’ll definitely still be picking up the next book they write together and any books they write separately.