Tag Archives: fantasy

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Book Review: Escape of the Fae, by Taylor Spratt

I picked up a copy of Taylor Spratt‘s Escape of the Fae as an Amazon freebie.

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A thousand prisoners against one? Bring it on…

The name’s Jessy Gilchrest and I’m nobody’s fairy Princess. I’m a Cage fighter, pack leader and all around bad-ass alpha Fae. They say I’ve got a little impulse control problem and they’re right about that.

I robbed the Vampire King’s Castle and it got me thrown into Poison Penitentiary, home of the most blood-thirsty creatures in the Magical Sect. A dark secret haunts this place, clinging to the air like a disease and in here, everything goes bump in the night.

I’m not worried though. Because I may be crazy, but I’m not stupid. I got caught for a reason. They’ve got my younger brother locked up in here. He’s innocent and I’ll stop at nothing till he’s freed. There’s just one problem with my brilliant break-out plan. Remember that little impulse control issue I mentioned earlier?

I got in a fight with the warden on the first day and now she’s promised freedom to any prisoner who can finish me off.

Four of the prison’s deadliest inmates’ step in to help me. A Werewolf, Dragon shifter, Vampire and Demon. What do they want in exchange? Let’s just say they’ve got a taste for Alpha Fae. A big one.

my review

Honestly, this was just bad. I knew it was going to be a slap-stick sort of read. So, that wasn’t a surprise. I was hoping for something light-hearted and sexy-funny. But there is ridiculous and silly in a fun way, and there is ridiculous and silly in a stupid way. I was hoping for the former, but this book is the latter.

The characters are somehow both overblown and flatly underdeveloped. The villain is cliched. The dialogue is an embarrassing mess. There are plot holes galore. The book barely seems to have been edited at all, and then it all ends on a cliffhanger.

I am not interested in continuing the series.

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Book Review: Cruel Shadows, by Harper A. Brooks

I picked up a freebie copy of Harper A. BrooksCruel Shadows through Amazon.

cruel shadows coverI’m caught in the shadows…
…and the shadows want to play.

I thought I’d dreamed up the shadow realm and the place I called Dark Castle.

But it’s very real. And he’s still here.

My prince, my savior, my captor…

The monster in my bed.

But this time, he’s not alone.

I must escape, but first, my prince and his shadow men want me to fulfill their demands.

All of them.

The longer I stay, the harder it is to resist their dark promises, their insatiable hunger. Because, while these monsters’ smiles are cruel, their touches are the most delicious torture.

But they aren’t the only threat in this world. The darkness that wanted me before has found me again, and like my Shadow Prince, it’s ready to claim me as its own…forever.

my review

This was a pretty big “meh” for me. It held my attention for about half the book, and then it lost me to boredom. I only finished it to finish it. The writing is fine. There’s a little inconsistency to it, but it’s perfectly readable. The characters could be interesting if they weren’t just cardboard cut-outs. The world could be intriguing if it were actually developed. The plot might have been fun if it actually materialized before the ~85% mark.

Let me be clear here that I’m not actually complaining about the lack of plot. I know what kind of book I picked up. But, for a book this length, I needed something to make me care about the characters and all the sex they were having. I don’t even necessarily need to like them, but I need to care. And that’s where Cruel Shadows fails. I didn’t care. No one grabbed my attention. Nothing kept me interested. All in all, like I said, “Meh.” It’s a thing I read and will quickly forget.

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Book Review: Radiance, by Grace Draven

I purchased an e-copy of Grace Draven‘s Radiance.
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THE PRINCE OF NO VALUE

Brishen Khaskem, prince of the Kai, has lived content as the nonessential spare heir to a throne secured many times over. A trade and political alliance between the human kingdom of Gaur and the Kai kingdom of Bast-Haradis requires that he marry a Gauri woman to seal the treaty. Always a dutiful son, Brishen agrees to the marriage and discovers his bride is as ugly as he expected and more beautiful than he could have imagined.

THE NOBLEWOMAN OF NO IMPORTANCE

Ildiko, niece of the Gauri king, has always known her only worth to the royal family lay in a strategic marriage. Resigned to her fate, she is horrified to learn that her intended groom isn’t just a foreign aristocrat but the younger prince of a people neither familiar nor human. Bound to her new husband, Ildiko will leave behind all she’s known to embrace a man shrouded in darkness but with a soul forged by light.

Two people brought together by the trappings of duty and politics will discover they are destined for each other, even as the powers of a hostile kingdom scheme to tear them apart.

my review

This was a surprise winner for me. Granted, it wasn’t exactly what I was expecting. I thought it was going to be a dark read. But it’s actually super sweet and relatively low-angst. And normally, that’s not a combination that works for me. I like some grit in my fantasy. But I also appreciate a practical heroine, and Ildiko is a strong one. And Brishen is just so marvelously noble.  Watching them become friends and supports to one another before lovers was nice.

Tradiance photohere was also humor, interesting side characters (who are obviously the couple for a future book), an interesting world, and a slow-burn, low-spice romance. I enjoyed the heck out of it.

As much as I liked the above aspects of the book. I did feel a tad bored at times. There isn’t a lot of action, and most of what action there is is packed toward the end. And the villain is a little cliched. All in all, though, I look forward to reading book two.


Other Reviews:

Review: Radiance by Grace Draven

A Double Review of Radiance by Grace Draven