Tag Archives: paranormal

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Book Review: Kiss of Smoke, by Amy Pennza

I purchased a copy of Amy Pennza‘s Kiss of Smoke from the TikTok shop.

Kiss of Smoke Cover

What was supposed to be a dream vacation just turned into a nightmare. It’s not every day you board a private jet for an all-expenses-paid trip to Scotland with your two gorgeous bosses. And it’s not every day you spot your fiancé kissing another woman across the terminal.

The man I was ready to marry has been cheating on me for a year. Dumped and humiliated, the best I can do is get on the plane and lick my wounds. Fortunately, my bosses are more than willing to help…and in more ways than I ever imagined.

But Lachlan and Alec can’t possibly be interested in me. They’re in love with each other…right? Scotland is cold this time of year, but these Scots are bringing the heat in ways I’m not sure I can handle.

And as they continue fanning the flames, it’s clear they’ve been hiding more than their attraction to me. Where there’s smoke there’s fire. Now I have to hope I don’t get burned.

my review

Oh, what a disappointment. I really wanted to love this, but I just didn’t. Some of the issues are first-book-in-a-series syndrome, setting the world, introducing the magic system, etc. However, it’s mainly that the book felt poorly balanced in two ways.

First, it’s about 85% sex, which is fine. Except that the author didn’t seem to recognize that it’s an erotic novel and kept trying to insert plot points. Unfortunately, they felt random and ill-supported, since it’s otherwise an erotic fantasy novel. The end result is that the book neither excelled in plot nor erotica, as it could have if it had chosen one or the other.

Second, this is a polyamorous relationship in which the two men are an established couple trying to find a female mate to bring into their bed. You feel this a lot. From start to finish, this was Lachlan and Alec, plus Chloe. At no point did I feel like she was equally as important in the relationship as the two of them. This comes out in the sex scenes, especially. There are a lot more of just the two of them than the three of them, and none with just her and one of them. They are a couple outside of her; she is not a couple with either of them outside of the other, and they never form a balanced trio, in my opinion.

Lastly, though not a matter of balance (and this is a spoiler), I really disliked the solution to the sticking point over her humanity. One of the men does not think a human is good enough to be a dragon mate. Meanwhile, she is experiencing significant issues with self-worth. Instead of writing a solution in which her self-confidence is improved and he comes to appreciate humans, kiss of smoke photothe author instead threw in a sudden and random “Oh, she’s not human after all,” which did nothing to solve the underlying problems.

All in all, this was a flop for me. I appreciate that some of the author’s random attempts as plot made obvious attempts to normalize some contentious real-world issues of contemporary America. But that wasn’t enough to save this for me. I was hoping for a new series to dive into. But I will be stopping here instead.


Other Reviews:

Review: Kiss of Smoke by Amy Pennza

 

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Book Review: My Funny Demon Valentine, by Aurora Ascher

I borrowed a copy of Aurora Ascher’s My Funny Demon Valentine.

my funny demon valentine

Asmodeus, Prince of Hell, just wants to play music. Jazz, specifically.

Unfortunately, he’s a demon, and he’s supposed to be evil. A career as a musician isn’t exactly an option.
And he’s cursed, to top it all off.

Sick of playing by the rules, Ash and his brothers escape Hell in search of freedom on Earth, only to discover it’s harder than they thought to keep their enemies off their tail. The four rogues quickly become the Underworld’s Most Wanted, and if they’re caught…
The consequences will be dire.

Everything changes for Ash when he meets a beautiful violinist who can see through his curse. It must be too good to be true, but he can’t resist the temptation.
No matter the risk, he has to have her.

Evangeline Gregory is just your average human. She works at a jazz bar, plays gigs on weekends…
And, apparently, hallucinates demons.

At least, that’s what she tells herself happens when, moments after she meets the man of her dreams, she sees him shift into a seven-foot-tall, red-skinned monster.

Not believing her own eyes, Eva decides to investigate and soon finds herself caught in the middle of a supernatural clusterf**k of epic proportions. But Ash isn’t the only one keeping secrets, and the search for answers reveals a shocking truth that will change the course of her life forever.

Or maybe just doom it.

my review

I hated the first half of this book. Honestly, I’m surprised I stuck with it to get to the second half, which I liked well enough. Look, I understand sometimes characters have to be unpleasant in the beginning to give them room to grow as a character. But, man, I am so freakin’ tired of reading male romantic leads (and their friends who will likily be romantic leads in future books) who basically hate women, just see them as pieces of ass.

This book is particularly bad about it. In fact, if you really think about some of the things they say to one another, they’re probably rapists on top of everything else. Yeah, yeah, their demons, whatever. That’s not why the characters are misogynists…or, rather, why the author chose to emphasize the men’s disregard and dislike of women as their primary character trait, instead of literally anything else. This appears to be just clichéd writing on the part of the author. It’s not plot or character-dependent. So, I really disliked the first half of this book. The casual and constant disregard for women was sandpaper my funny demon valentineon my skin.

The author largely drops this in the second half of the book, as the reader is supposed to develop some attachment to the characters. I appreciate that Ascher didn’t bother with artificial miscommunication or a third-act breakup. Ash is sweet, the brothers’ banter is endearing, and I liked Eva. I might be willing to continue the series, but I’m not in any hurry about it.


Other Reviews:

Amanda’s Book Corner: My Funny Demon Valentine

 

 

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Book Review: Waking the Dragon, by Juliette Cross

I am not 100% sure, but I believe I bought my copy of Juliette CrossWaking the Dragon during an online author signing event.

waking the dragon cover

The Gladium Province is on the verge of civil unrest as humans and Morgons, the dragon-hybrid race, clash once more. But amid disorder can also arise passion.

When the bodies of three human women are discovered in Morgon territory—with the DNA of several Morgon men on the victims—it’s just a matter of time before civil unrest hits the Province. But for ambitious reporter Moira Cade, it’s more than just a story, and it may mean risking her own life.

Descending into the dark underworld of Morgon society, Moira is paired with Kol Moonring, Captain of the Morgon Guard, for her protection. Fiercely independent, Moira bristles at his dominance, and defies his will at every turn. Yet resistance proves futile when passion flares between them, awakening powerful emotions within both, body and soul. But as the killings continue, can their fiery newfound bond survive an even greater evil-one that threatens all of humanity, Morgonkind, and Moira’s very soul?…

my review

Honestly, I wanted to like this a lot more than I did. I liked the idea of it, but there were just so many ways the author took an idea I liked in a direction that I didn’t like, that in the end, I finished the book feeling dissatisfied. But before I get into a litany of things I did not like, I’ll say the writing is fine. The book is perfectly readable. Most of this comes down to personal preference.

First, the female main character is an early twenties university student. She’s the editor of the SCHOOL NEWSPAPER, and for this newspaper, she is investigating a triple (plus) murder. Nothing in that works for me. The gravitas of basically going undercover to catch a murderer “for the story” does not match the abilities or expectations of a university journalism student. Honestly, everything about this would have worked better if Moira had been older and had been working a real job in which she was experienced and vested.

Second, this book is steeped in rape. There is no actual rape on-page, thank goodness. But the whole plot is about rape in a way that permieates every page. It just wasn’t necessary. I’m not talking trigger warnings or anything, because, again, no on-page rape. But I call such use of rape as a plot device the lowest of low hanging plot fruit. Which, to my mind, makes it LAZY PLOTTING. There are a million more interesting ways to put a female character in a position to depend on her male romantic lead.

Third, I don’t think the book would pass the Bechtel test. And if it does, it’s slimly. But more importantly, every woman who isn’t being set up to be a dragon mate eventually is vapid and unpleasant in all the ways women are so often poorly represented. There is no depth to them. This is the patriarchy’s version of women and borders on misogyny in its repetition (especially in books written for and by women).

Fourth, I don’t know Cross’s religious position, but I’d guess she is either a fundamentalist Christian, has internalized their worldview, or is writing to that market. Because this book is everything fundamentalists want represented in a relationship. You’ve got all the male headship (fathers, brothers, bosses, husbands, brother-in-laws) but no women in authority. These men have all the power in every situation in the book, especially in the home, and all the women give deference to them. (Gracious submission, anyone?) Just about the most important decision a woman makes is the dinner menu (and she gets it wrong). The romance here is pretty much just Moira accepting Kol’s headship.

Now, I don’t read paranormal romance for the feminist takes, and can usually turn off my tendency to look at things through the critical lens of feminism. But this book is especially explicit in its anti-feminist leanings. Cross literally constructs Moira’s “feminist ideals”, “female stubbornness”, career dreams, etc, as a foil and impediment to a relationship. She has to choose. The reader is literally asked to consider (as Moira asks herself) if she hasn’t used her feminism to build a wall between herself and the possibility of love. Then, Moira states she doesn’t want her dream (career, independence, feminism, etc) anymore; Kol is the dream now. This is not a book that happens to fail a critical feminist critique. (So much of the romance genre does, and I still manage to enjoy it, even if I acknowledge it.) This is an anti-feminist book disguised as romance…or using romance to perpetuate its anti-feminist (maybe fundamentalist) agenda. That’s a big difference. And if the author didn’t do it on purpose, there are definite questions to be asked.

Fifth, the fact that the super-advanced human and Morgan law enforcement agencies (two of waking the dragon photothem) had to depend on an early 20s journalism student to solve the case is ridiculous in general. But I’d go along with it for the plot, except that they literally had all the information to solve the case without her involvement. Literally, the only way they could have not solved the case with the information they already had was to have not opened a case at all.

I could go on, but I don’t want to get more nit-picky than I am already being. This didn’t work for me for a myriad of reasons. But I’ll acknowledge that most of them are personal preferences, so experiences may vary.


Other Reviews:

Review: Waking the Dragon by Juliette Cross

ARC Review: Waking the Dragon (Vale of Stars #1) by Juliette Cross