Tag Archives: K.F. Breene

Fire and Ice covers

Book Review: Fire and Ice series, K.F. Breene

Before I get to the review, a quick housekeeping note. I’ve returned to university and am now working on a Ph.D. As such, the time I can give to reading fiction (my favorite thing) is sadly constricted. It will likely take me a little while to find my feet and my new normal. But at the moment, I’m experimenting with reading and reviewing series instead of individual books. (I even made a whole post asking for omnibus recommendations.) This makes for longer posts a lot of the time but also allows for more time between postings. But I also acknowledge that I don’t usually tend to be quite as detailed when I’m reviewing several books together.  So, I may not stick with it. But for now, expect series reviews more often than individual book reviews.

OK, on to the review.


I tend to pick up any of K.F. Breene‘s books that I see pop up as freebies. Some of the series are really big, though. So, I also have a tendency to pick the books up and then ignore them for a while, assuming I don’t have them all. I grabbed Born in Fire in 2018, then Raised in Fire, and Fused in Fire in 2021.

Fire and Ice covers

Supernatural Bounty Hunter isn’t the sort of thing you see on LinkedIn. But with a rare type of magic like mine, I don’t have many options.

So dangerous or not, the job is mine. And it was going fine, until an old as sin vampire stole my mark, and with it, my pay day.

Knowing I’m poor and desperate, he has offered me a job. I’ll have to work by his side to help solve a top secret case.

Everyone knows not to trust vampires. Especially a hot elder vampire. But without any other jobs coming up, I’m stuck. As I uncover a web of lies and treachery, revealing an enemy I didn’t know existed, the truth of my identity is threatened. I might make it out alive, only to end up in a gilded cage.

my review

I suppose this series was OK. It definitely wasn’t a favorite of the Breene series I’ve read so far. I thought the world was interesting enough. And I liked the main character well enough. But I was just kind of underwhelming on the whole. Honestly, the side characters were my favorite part of the whole thing, and when the heroine and hero can so easily be outshone, there’s a problem of some sort.

Fire and ice trilogyI initially liked Reagan’s snark. But eventually, it just became a shtick. I liked that she’s strong and resourceful. But eventually, she just became so overpowered that the deus ex machina saves became the norm rather than the exception. I liked the love interest, but I never really felt the romance develop. 

So, all in all, I’d call this a middling read. It’s not bad enough that I regret reading it. But it’s also not good enough that I continued into the next part of the series (focusing on Penny), even though I have it.


Other Reviews:

Dyslexic Reader – Fire and Ice Trilogy

Book Binge – Fire and Ice Trilogy

 

 

 

 

Deliciously Dark Fairytales banner

Book Reviews: Deliciously Dark Fairytales #1-4, by K.F. Breene

I purchased e-copies of K.F. Breene‘s A Ruin of Roses, A Throne of Ruin, A Kingdom of Ruin and A Queen of Ruin.


a ruin of roses coverAbout the book:

I could save him, but he would ruin me.

The beast.
The creature that stalks the forbidden wood.
The dragon prince.

He has suffered a fate worse than death. We all have. A curse put upon us by the mad king.

We are a kingdom locked in time. Shifters unable to feel our animals. Stuck here by a deal between the late king and a demon who seeks our destruction.

The only one keeping this kingdom alive is Nyfain, the golden prince to a stolen throne. The last dragon shifter.

He’s our hope.
He’s my nightmare.

When he catches me trespassing in the forbidden wood, he doesn’t punish me with death, as he’s entitled.

He takes me, instead. Forces me back to the castle as his prisoner. Seeks to use me.

Apparently, I can save him. I can save the whole forgotten kingdom, locked away by the demon king’s power.

But it would mean taming the monster beneath his skin. It would mean giving myself to him.

It would mean my ruin.

my review

I enjoyed this quite a lot, though the second half significantly more than the first. I thought a lot of the humor in the first half—before the main characters had much of a relationship—fell flat and the whole thing felt a little silly. However, once Finely and Nyfain met things took a turn for the better. Her humor worked a lot better when it had a foil, someone to bounce off and return.

The steam factor isn’t all that high in this first book, though it’s my understanding that it picks up in book two. There is quite a lot of sexual tension and ‘almosts’ though. So, if that’s your cupcake, you’ll be happy with this book.

What I like most though is the way Breene is playing with gender tropes. Nyfain is physically bigger and stronger, true, but Finley is the hero of this book, hands down. I mean the last a ruin of roses photosentences kind of make the point excellently: “If he wanted to play hero, I would. And I’d make him my damsel.”

And Breene manages to make Finley the hero(ine) without emasculating Nyfain or stripping Finley of any feminine traits. She’s butch, yes, but she’s not the dreaded ‘man with tits’ we see some authors sculpt when the only way they can think to make a female character strong is to write her as a man, even as they describe them as a woman. No, Finley is going to save the day and she is going to do it as a woman. The question is just what the journey there will look like.

All in all, I’m looking forward to book two.


a throne of ruin cover

About the book:

The only thing protecting me from the demons…is the beast.

Nyfain, the golden dragon prince, tried to set me free. But there is no freedom in this kingdom. Not for anyone.

The demons have sought me out. They want to trap me. To use me against Nyfain.

It’s only a matter of time before they call in the demon king.

Nyfain thinks I should save myself. That I should barter with the demon king to escape this place.

But can I give myself to the creature responsible for torturing the people I love?

In order to save them, though, I might not have a choice.

my review

I liked this even more than the first one. Finely continues to be a super badass heroine who is clearly going to save the day and I’m completely here for it. Nyfain showing his softer side and being ready and willing to submit to and support her authority was endearing. And the two of them exploring fantasy and kink together was great. For me it wasn’t even about the sex—though there is plenty of it—but seeing them open up and talk about things that, outside of their singular situation, would be awkward and embarrassing was a a lot of fun.

a throne of ruin photoI did think there were some inconsistencies. For example, the first time the two came together sexually he was so ‘big’ they really had to work for him to fit. But this was never an issue again, not even when they did anal. And I thought Finely became just a tad too competent and confident. At one point she took on seven powerful demons at once, without being a life-time warrior, and defeated them with ease.

But all in all, I’m still all in to see how the series continues.


a kingdom of ruin cover

About the book:

Never sell your soul to the Demon King.

Too late.

In an effort to save all that I love, I have to finish the job Nyfain started… and ruin myself.

I’ve made a trade with the most cunning creature alive.

Me for them.

The dungeons will be my new home. Dolion’s destruction will be my new goal.

I just have to get out of here and back to my golden dragon. Preferably alive.

my review

While I’m still enjoying the characters and the series. This particular book wasn’t a comparative winner for me. It felt very much like a middle book, which (in a sense) it is. What’s more, what I’m enjoying about this series is Finely and Nyfain together. And they are apart for most of this book. In fact, Nyfain is barely in it at all.

In a way, this is still Breene playing with expected gender roles. Finely goes off to save the day and Nyfain is left waiting and worrying at home. I recognize and appreciate the fact. But I still a kingdom of ruin photomissed their banter and the progression of their relationship.

What I got instead was quite a lot of legitimate humor in the book. Especially in the form of Hadriel and Leala, and the new dragons (Vemar was my favorite.) I laughed a lot. And I enjoyed the heck out of that.

I’ve pre-ordered book 4 and I’m hoping it’s the last of the series. Not because I’m not still liking it, but because I fear it will jump the shark before too long if it doesn’t wrap up.


About the Book:

a queen of ruinI thought once we released the curse, I’d only have one enemy to contend with.

Wrong.

The queen lives. Not only that, but she knowingly hid herself from me and the rest of this kingdom until the moment the curse was broken. Now she is back, and her desires aren’t clear. Neither are her motives.

Will she try to take the throne for herself?

We can stop her…unless she had a hand in that curse. In which case, will we need to battle her and the demon king before we can finally live in peace? Or has this all been for naught?

Regardless, we have very little time before the demon king returns to wipe us out.

my review

There’s a spoiler below.

Well, this series wrapped up well. I’ll admit that this last book was not my favorite. I didn’t feel like it had as much of it’s own plot as some of the other books. It felt very much like it was just wrapping up the threads of past books. (Though one thread never snipped was the blacksmith’s sword. I really wanted to see him give the sword over.)

a queen of ruin photoMostly though, I thought the whole baby and happy family was a pat and unimaginative way to provide a happily ever after. I’m not opposed to it being a plot point, but when it IS the happy ending I lean toward bored.

Despite that, I enjoyed spending time with the characters (Hadriel and Vemar especially) and am happy to have continued the story until the end.


Other Reviews:

A Queen of Ruin (ARC review) – Massive finale (literally and figuratively)

Feeling Fictional: Deliciously Dark Fairytales Series

 

 

 

fate of perfection breene

Book Review: Fate of Perfection, by K.F. Breene

I borrowed a copy of K.F. Breene‘s Fate of Perfection through Amazon Prime Reading.

fate of perfection kf breene

In a corporate-controlled future where the ruling conglomerates genetically engineer their employees, Millicent Foster is the best of the best.

Physically perfect and exceptionally intelligent, Millicent is granted the uncommon privilege of breeding. But her daughter inherits more than superior genetics…little Marie has a rare ability that the world has never seen, and her conglomerate, Moxidone, will stop at nothing to have sole possession of the child.

Teamed with Ryker, the formidable master of security, Millicent must risk everything in a life-and-death struggle to tear her daughter away from the ruling force who wants to own them all. The odds are stacked against them, but Moxidone will learn that the pursuit of perfection comes at a perilous cost—and that love can’t be bought at any price.

my review

I enjoyed this. It’s pulpy sci-fi romance, so no one would call it great literature. But I still enjoyed it, even as I see flaws in it.

Ryker was an alpha a-hole, which I didn’t appreciate. But he also decided to protect ‘his family’ and went about doing just that, which I did appreciate. I also liked that for a lot of the book he, Millicent, and Marie are a family by virtue of a baby between them. That means they are a family unit because they decided so, not because of any romantic connection or a legally binding marriage, etc (that comes later and is a super weak—though not insignificant—part of the plot-line). Ryker and Millicent are two adults who decide to function as a pair because they have a child to protect. It ticked a lot of emotional boxes for me.

Trent’s sarcasm cracked me up and, though not all of Ryker and Millicent’s banter was a bullseye for me, I generally thought it amusing. The science was super hand-wavey, but the book didn’t really need much more. All in all, a winner. I’ll happily read another.

fate of perfection photo


Other Reviews:

https://lj-holmes.com/2017/01/23/review-fate-of-perfection/

Fate of Perfection (Finding Paradise #1) By: K.F. Breene