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Book Review: Monster Inside, by River Starr

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River Starr‘s Monster Inside was featured over on Sadie’s Spotlight and I was lucky enough to win an e-copy of it.
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Sometimes the most enchanting monsters are the ones you can’t see, only feel…

I am a survivor. For the past ten years, I’ve been forced to give every part of me to sinister vampires in a feeding community. But when I touched an ancient book and recited a spell out of sheer desperation and zero arcane knowledge, a dark entity came to me. Rescued me. Mrak helped me escape.

I have no idea what I’ve gotten myself into. But Mrak has been at my side for the last year—well, inside me, anchored to my existence and lovingly tender with his ethereal touches. It’s not quite possession, not quite a haunting. But it’s real, it’s sexy as hell, and he’s mine. Or I’m his. Either way, we’re now in this life together.

Mrak is distracting, seductive, and powerful, but he’s also keeping a secret. One that’s now put me in immense danger despite his claims he’ll do anything to protect me. Because the cops have come calling. Bodies have turned up. And despite his reassurances, I’m starting to wonder if Mrak has a hidden agenda that he’s somehow kept secret from the inside.

My life might be in my monster’s debt. My body might be his for pleasure. But my future is mine no matter how much he wants and uses my body. I’m no longer the weak woman he saved from a vampire lord, and it’s time to take my body—and my life—back.

my review

Soooo, this was readable and had an interesting idea but honestly wasn’t very well executed. The beginning is hella repetitive. Like the author couldn’t figure out how to show us things so they just kept telling us. The heroine ran around and did things. However, it never felt anything but random, because the author didn’t really take the time to anchor the plot. The entirety of the relationship building was skipped in a full year jump in time. (And come on, learning to live with a demon INSIDE YOU should have been pivotal to the story!) So, I held absolutely no investment in it. There wasn’t any world-building to speak of. So, I didn’t really know what the limits of possibilities were, etc. All in all, I was initially interested but not impressed enough to bother continuing the series.monster inside photo

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Book Review: Kiss of Darkness, by Taylor Aston White

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I picked up a review copy of Taylor Aston White‘s Kiss of Darkness through Netgalley. It was also featured over on Sadie’s Spotlight. You can hop over for an excerpt.

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He despises her… almost as much as his beast craves her.

Kyra’s seen and survived the worst things imaginable, all because of the magic she was born with. Trapped by her secret, she has no choice but to serve Councilman Gallagher or risk everything she has tried so hard to build. Because despite black magic being banned, her very survival depends on it.

When she’s commanded to summon a Daemon, a Breed notorious for their corruption and brutality, she’s torn between keeping her secret and doing the right thing.

Xander’s hate for black witches was notorious, but nothing frustrated him more than the one witch that brings trouble with a capital T. With dark amber eyes, and a controlled strength that fascinated his beast – the monster he’s cursed to share a soul – Xander will do anything to push her away.

So when he’s forced into protecting her, he must put aside his prejudice and ignore his growing desire that’s an insult to his past.

Because he’s had an entire childhood to remember why you can’t trust black witches.

And he definitely can’t trust Kyra Farzan.

my review

This was fine—not exceptional in any way, but entertaining enough. Before I get into any specifics, I have one major gripe, and it’s one I feel like I’m making constantly.

This book is very clearly labeled Book 1 of the Curse of the Guardians series. That’s why I chose to read it. However, I made it about 20% in and put it aside, went over to Goodreads, and read the blurbs of the author’s other books to find out what Curse of the Guardians is a spin-off of. Because at that point, I was 100% sure that Kiss of Darkness is one. The characters had met previously, previous events are referenced, the world-building was sketchy (as if I was meant to already know it), there was a strong couple that was clearly from another storyline, there were even internal jokes between characters that the reader was obviously meant to understand.

Point blank, no argument; if I can tell a book is a spin-off because I can feel previous books are missing, the book does not stand alone well enough to be a new series. And in those scenarios I kiss of darkness photocall the ‘book 1’ label a lie. I am super tired of having this happen.

OK, that’s my big gripe. Outside of that, the book is fine. I liked that Kyra is strong, even as she’s put in impossible situations. I never really took to Xander, though. He was just kind of a bland, generic paranormal romance hero. But the writing is easily readable. And while there wasn’t anything that stood out as stellar in the plot, it wasn’t all out bad either.

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Archaeolibrarian: Kiss of Darkness

Book Him Danno: Kiss of Darkness

 

 

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Book Review: Dragged Under, by D.E. Chapman

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I picked up a Kindle copy of D.E. Chapman‘s Dragged Under on one of its Amazon freebie days.

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Send help… I’m going to need it.

I was normal… until I wasn’t. Dying does that to people, I guess.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. My name is Gabrielle, and I’m an omega. My life took an unexpected turn the moment I was dragged into an alley and murdered. When I woke up, I fully embodied lust and jumped three sexy-as-sin strangers—who just so happened to be Hell’s strongest demons.

Now the four of us are bonded for life. And as it turns out, this group of three is actually a group of six. Oh and there’s this huge plot to overthrow the current leader of Hell, and somehow I’ve found myself smack dab in the middle of it.

If I thought my life before was a challenge, it’s got nothing on this shit.

my review
When I picked up a copy of Dragged Under, a reverse harem in which a woman mates the Deadly Sins (one of which is Lucifer himself), I never would have imagined my primary descriptor on finishing it would be bland. I was simply bored the whole time.

Even the sex is mechanical and dull. I’m talking P enters V, equals O. Sometimes P doesn’t even enter V more than once before O. No foreplay, no getting to know the men, no variation, no emotion, no passion. Mechanics, that’s it, and not even many of those. It’s about as erotic as sitting on a chair and then immediately standing up, done.

The villain is a caricature that drops into monologue briefly on occasion and nothing more. The primary foil being ridiculous challenges that are overcome with comical ease.

Everyone had two names (both the 7 Sins and everyone else) that are used interchangeably throughout the book. So, I could never keep track of who was doing what. (Why would an author do this?) On top of not being able to keep names straight, none of the characters are well developed or differ enough to tell them apart anyway, not even the heroine.

dragged under photoBut then, how could she be? She spends literally half the book asleep or unconscious and the other half being carried or used as a flesh-lite. (The men negotiate with each other about who gets to stick it in next—and that’s about all they ever do. She’s never an active participant.) She might as well be an inanimate object. I’m not even exaggerating here.

And the whole thing ends with a deus ex machina that made no sense at all. I have no desire for more of this series.

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