Tag Archives: PNR

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Book Review: A Devious Descent, by A.A. Powers

I purchased a copy of A Devious Descent from the author, A.A. Powers.

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When light fades and shadows play, the realm eater comes to take you away.

Frankie Hart thought she was as human as they come—until her brother vanishes, and she unravels a truth that shatters her world. Not only is she half-demon, but she is also the key to a prophecy that could either save or obliterate the human realm.

Zarreth, a demon from the Dark Realm, takes it upon himself to hunt Frankie and prevent the prophecy from unfolding. However, the longer he watches her, the more he becomes drawn to her in ways he can’t understand. His obsession grows when Frankie’s search comes to a dead-end, and she turns to Zarreth for help. Could she be his fated mate?

Together, Frankie and Zarreth must navigate a world where allegiances shift, and enemies lurk at every corner. Will Frankie succumb to the darkness inside her and become the instrument of destruction foretold? Or will their bond be enough to keep the darkness at bay?

my review

This was pretty lackluster. I mean it was fine, just kinda milquetoast. Despite my copy being over 350 pages, not very much actually happened. (I say my copy because it’s double-spaced—who does that—and I’m assuming not all are.) I liked the characters well enough. The world seems like it could be interesting. There’s some humor in there and some easy LGBT representation. I appreciate the cross-gender platonic friendships, even if the author seemed to feel obligated to make the friend gay in order to see it as a possibility. But the story itself? Meh. It’s inconsistent. There are plot holes. The emotional elements are conveyed with the subtlety of a hammer. I didn’t feel the love (or even the lust) develop, so it felt unsupported. Characters do stupid things for plot progression when perfectly logical alternatives that make a lot more sense are available to them. The end is predictable, etc. I’ve certainly read a lot worse. But…yeah, meh.

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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: The Poisoner, by I.V. Ophelia

I purchased an e-copy of The Poisoner, by I.V. Ophelia.

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Amidst the gaslit alleys and cobblestone streets of Victorian London, two killers find themselves entangled in a waltz they cannot escape.

Alina Lis, a botanist and hobbyist poisoner, has a pastime of killing unsavory men in her twisted sense of poetic justice. When she targets the conceited playboy, Silas Forbes, only to find him in her apothecary the following week, she discovers human men are the least of her problems.

The pair’s unlikely association sparks gossip among affluent society. As their mysterious bond deepens, a chilling truth emerges—concealed identities, lurking foes, and questions as plentiful as the hydra’s head brew within this haunting Gothic tale of violent passion.

Will Silas and Alina find themselves in each other’s arms, or will the shadows of their past keep them apart?

my review

I really enjoyed the sheer chaos of the first 2/3 of this. I liked the characters and the world. Plus, the writing was easily readable. But I feel like the plot diverted too far in the last third. Plus, I feel like Silas’ character lost a lot of his previously established strength. He just felt useless in the face of the challenges at the end. I realize the situation was part of that, but those are the poisoner photocircumstances the author chose, and she undermined him as a character, IMO. (There better be significant groveling in book 2!)

I still liked the book. It’s like the author read The Lost Apothecary and then said, “Now add vampires.” If the second were out, I would have jumped right in. (Though I was disappointed by the cliffhanger, since I didn’t know it was part of an unfinished series.) But I didn’t love it as much as I could have (and expected to).


Other Reviews:

Books, Burgers, and Backpacks: The Poisoner

Somebody to Open: The Poisoner