Tag Archives: PNR

something wicked

Book Review: Something Wicked, by Emery Nicolson

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Emery Nicolson‘s Something Wicked was promoed on Sadie’s Spotlight. And while I didn’t agree to review it for the tour, everyone who participated was given a free copy of the book.

something wicked cover

Something wicked this way comes…

You’d think being the descendant of powerful witches would grant me the power to sort out my life, right? But you’d be wrong. I’m stuck in a rut, disdained by my family, and my romantic life is a disaster. Oh, and did I forget to mention that I have no magic?

When a cursed heirloom is stolen, I should stay out of it and leave the retrieval to those better equipped but everything seems to lead back to me…

With the help of an enigmatic bounty hunter, I may be able to clear my name and retrieve the artefact before death and chaos are unleashed upon my beloved city but doing so could cost me everything — including my life.

my review

I generally enjoyed this. I liked Millie, liked that she stood up for herself, knew when to accept help and when to fight on her own. I liked the hero (he was suitably sexy) and the BFF who was loyal to the core. The writing was readable, with one exception (which I’ll address), and the world seems an interesting one.

I did think Millie made a few Too Stupid To Live decisions, which I could feel were just to move the plot along (which is making the architecture of the story a little too obvious). I really liked that it’s hinted at that the hero had been secretly in love with Millie for a long time. But I was super disappointed that this was never actually discussed. The sassy half-succubus BFF was actually kind of cliched, even if I liked her. All the BFFs in such books seem to be a little slutty and pushing the heroine to go have more sex (which is fine, but also super common). I thought the whole situation with Millie’s family was left unattended and that felt left out in the abrupt ending. And the reasoning for the villain’s obsession with Millie was pretty thin.

Last, the writing has a few formal quirks. I read an ARC, so it’s possible this will change. But I sensed it was part of the writing style, rather than editing errors to be caught in the pre-publication final edit. Things like this: “I already know there is no point in climbing back into bed for my brain is wide awake and buzzing. Thank the Gods it is Saturday and that I do not need to be anywhere…” The ‘for’ is anachronistic and the lack of contractions makes the sentence clunky. This runs throughout the book and irritated me. But that is, no doubt, a matter of preference.

For the most part I had fun with the story and would be happy to pick up another.

something wicked

peacekeepers

Book Review: Peacekeepers, by Kat Sinclair

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 Authot Kat Sinclair messaged me on Goodreads and asked me to review her book Peacekeepers. She then sent me a copy of for review through Book Siren.
Peacekeepers kat sinclair

In a desperate attempt to escape his arduous past, Arno, a gifted daemon hunter from Italy, moves to the bright city of San Francisco. At the new and progressive Peacekeeper HQ, he plunges himself into this dangerous and controversial line of work. Fighting pesky Shades, malicious Tricksters, and tempting Tenures is his normal 9 to 5.

However, Arno soon finds that old fears and habits still dog his steps, even from a whole continent away. A larger threat is also brewing within The Golden City, one that jeopardizes the organization, his friends—and even humanity. He’ll have to turn to the unlikeliest of allies to help them, starting with the curious daemon haunting his apartment.

Just about the time I started Peacekeepers, I saw a Johannes T. Evans tweet about monster romances.

It caught my attention because Monster Romance is exactly what I thought Peacekeepers was going to be (is, of sorts) and I don’t know if I’d have recognized Monster Romance as an actual (if unofficial) sub-genre if I’d not seen the tweet at such an opportune moment.

Sure, there are romances that have monsters in them, but had we readers separated them out from other PNRs and named them Monster Romances? Makes sense, honestly, but I don’t know that I’d seen the actual name (or maybe just not recently enough to remember). If I’d not seen the tweet and the whole accompanying Monster May Challenge, I wouldn’t have had a metaphorical shelf to put Peacekeepers on. But I think I’d have still enjoyed it.

Yes, the book is on the slow side, maybe a little longer than needed to tell it’s story. I noticed the odd editing hiccup. There is one out of place non-Arno POV that I found notably jarring, since it’s the only one in the book and shows up at 76%. And there is the occasional turn of phrase that makes me think English might not be the author’s first language. But these were pretty few and far between. For the most part, this is a slick, easily readable, interesting book.

The romance is a subplot (and I mean SUBplot). It is only a very small part of the larger story and it’s mostly based on instinctual attraction. So, it’s not overly developed. But it does touch on some heavy subjects and is very sweet. I certainly liked Lurke and Arno.

I thought the alcoholism and addiction aspect of the book was especially well done and I absolutely appreciated how much diversity the cast represents. Plus, look at that cover! All in all, a winner for me.

peace keeperes

 

fatal illusion

Book Review: Fatal Illusion, by Tameri Etherton

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I grabbed a copy of Tameri Etherton‘s Fatal Illusion when it had a freebie day on Amazon.

fatal illusion, by tameri etherton

Don’t believe what you can see.

Fae are disappearing at an alarming rate and Rori MacNair must find out why before civil war ignites between the Seelie and Unseelie queens. When she wakes up alone in a strange forest, she must rely solely on her own wits to prevail against the dark forces rising against her people.

Assassins are taught to trust none but themselves, but Rori rarely plays by the rules. Dare she trust the mysterious stranger Therron when illusions cloud reality and nothing is as it seems? Her life, and those of Faerie might depend upon it.

Therron Mistwalker is hiding a secret. Having forsaken his kingdom, he lives as a thief among the fae, but when Rori enters his life he fears his days of autonomy are at an end. It’s a day he’s been dreading since he was born.

Relations between Faerie and the human realm are about to turn from respectful to hostile, and it’s up to Rori and Therron to find the enchantress responsible. . . if they can get over their differences long enough to do so.

my review

I thought this was amusing, but shallow. There were too many elements plopped into the plot but not elaborated on. There’s a curse to be broken and maybe a fated mate scenario, plus a potential war (that you never really feel the threat of since the queens get along well), evil sorceresses, and a mysterious threat from the human realm. But none of that is delved deeply enough into to grab the readers attention. Honestly, the fact that some of it is mentioned and not integrated into the plot is a big reason I won’t rate this higher. The whole ‘Rori could break Terron’s curse’ thing especially. What’s the curse? How might she break it, etc? It felt VERY left out. Mentioned, but nothing more.

Also, Rori has to be the worst spy ever. And she’s supposed to be a SPY in the book, even though the blurb says assassin. Maybe those two are one and the same and the words can be used interchangeably, but I’d expect to understand that to be the fact, having finished the book if it was the case. But, again, Rori has to be the worst spy ever. Everyone seems to openly know she is one and though Therron (not a spy) knows who she is (a spy), she doesn’t know him or his name despite being the heir to a neighboring kingdom.

All in all, the writing is easily readable. I don’t remember any editing mishaps and I liked the characters well enough. But I felt like I was reading an outline to a book, rather than a wholly developed one.

fatal illusion