Tag Archives: m/m romance

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Book Review: Mechanical Magic, by Lorraine UIrich

Here I am, at the end of another year, trying to finish up my author alphabet challenge. I set out to read a book by an author whose surname begins with every letter of the alphabet each year. Just as almost every previous year, we’ve reached mid-December, and I still hadn’t read an author whose name starts with a ‘U.’ I find these the hardest to find usually. So, I purchased a copy of Mechanical Magic by Lorraine Ulrich to fit the bill.

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When Aster Genisov, a creator of mechanical novelties, is asked to help a wounded elf, his special talents and painful past could be the key to the elf’s survival.

Y’rean was born to touch the sky, but when his wings are destroyed by a cruel master, not even the life he begins to build with Aster can assuage his despair. Aster has the means to help him—it’s written in his gypsy blood—but is love enough for Aster to face his past and embrace his talent for mechanical magic?

my review

It’s a good thing that I don’t bother with star ratings here on the blog because this would be a hard book for me to rate. I think if I had read it five years ago, I would have loved it; I probably rated it five stars. I was very into M/M romances at the time, and I think I would have appreciated the quietness of the story. But tastes change with time, and now the sedateness of the story left me wanting. I wouldn’t go so far as to say I was bored. But it definitely wasn’t hitting the notes I currently enjoy. However, if you are someone who enjoys a calm, soft romance, this is a good one to pick up.

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Other Reviews:

Mechanical Magic By Lorraine Ulrich

 

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Book Review: Soul Eater, by Lily Mayne

I received a copy of Lily Mayne‘s Soul Eater a Renegade Romance box.
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Twenty years ago, monsters rose on earth and began a new age of civilization.

One where humans live in military-controlled, cramped and dirty cities along the coasts, and the majority of the United States is known as the Wastes. A lawless, desolate and dangerous place, teeming with monsters that have claimed the land for their own.

Including Wyn the Soul Eater.

He appears every three years, making his way across the country and slaughtering humans randomly, sucking them dry until they’re nothing but husks.

I’ve only been in the military for six months, but now I’m part of a unit tasked with trying to stop and capture him. And when I’m the only soldier out of hundreds that the Soul Eater leaves alive, I realise that… something about me has intrigued him.

But what is it? What could a twenty-three year old guy from the south, with no one and nothing in the world, have possibly done to capture the attention of a death monster with horns, blackened fingertips and a face hidden in the dark depths of his hood?

my review

This was really sweet, and I enjoyed it. I liked all of the characters, even the side one. But there really isn’t anything to it except the romance, and that left me a tad bored. There is no particular mystery or challenge to the plot (other than survival). There isn’t a lot of world-building. There are no significant characters outside of the main heroes and a side character who stars in the next book in the series. So, ultimately, though I liked the book, I wasn’t lit on fire by it. I have the next one, and I plan to read it though.

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Other Review:

Niblioholic: Review Soul Eater

 

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Book Review: Bloodlaced, by Courtney Maguire

Blood Bound, book three of Courtney Maguire‘s Youkai Bloodlines, was over on Sadie‘s Spotlight earlier in the year. So, when I stumbled across a copy of book one Bloodlaced—which was later on Sadie’s Spotlight as a BBNYA finalist—I opted to start the series.

Kanjin hardly view their servants as human. Even less so when they are different.

Asagi is different. Both a man and a woman.

In the wake of his failure to protect a boy he saw as a son from their abusive master, Asagi is sold into the house of a young nobleman, Mahiro, who is the opposite of everything Asagi has ever known—gentle, kind, and generous.

Mahiro bonds with Asagi and their friendship blooms into a deep and profound love. But when Asagi is poisoned out of jealousy, Mahiro reveals himself to be youkai, a demon who feeds on blood, and he has no choice but to turn Asagi to save his life.

Asagi awakes reborn, strong, and eternally youthful. But the price for Asagi’s new life is high.

The blood of the innocent.

Just as Asagi’s trust in Mahiro falters, the boy he failed to protect, now a man, reappears.

New master, same threat.

With both a literal and proverbial monster at the door, Asagi must decide what it means to be human to protect what he loves most.

my review

Oh man, this book was a rollercoaster for me. I took one look at the cover and the fact that it’s about vampires in ancient Japan (to use a western for them) and thought, “I am in!” I expected to love it. Then, I hated the first 25%. It’s basically trauma porn. Granted, the abuse is off-page, but it’s very clear what is happening, and the main character martyred themself more than once. So, I thought, “Oh, this isn’t for me, after all.”

Then, things balanced out, and I got a little bored. Then, at the 50% mark, the plot shifted, and I was interested again. Then, the romance (and the whole plot, really) went off in a direction I didn’t expect, and I was uncertain but invested. And THEN, I cried at the end before being given a little ray of hope on the last page. Rollercoaster of emotion!

As I said, I’m not into victimized hero(ine) plotlines. I’m not saying it’s bad in any objective way; I just don’t enjoy reading it. I did get a bit bored in the middle; the pacing is a bit off. And I have to admit that I’ve never really understood why, when a book is supposed to be happening somewhere that speaks another language (Japanese in this case), authors sometimes still throw the occasional that-language word into the English narrative, usually as expletives. It always stands out to me, breaking the flow. But overall, I will be looking forward to continuing the series.

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Other Reviews:

Review: Bloodlaced (Youkai Bloodlines #1) by Courtney Maguire

Book Review: Bloodlaced (Youkai Bloodlines Book 1) by Courtney Maguire