Tag Archives: PNR

eat you up

Book Review of Eat You Up, by Lucy Leroux

Leave a reply

I received an Audible code for a copy of Lucy Leroux‘s Eat You Up.

Description from Goodreads:

Dmitri, a high-end thief, is flying cross-country for a lucrative job when the woman destined to be his mate is seated next to him. Her scent drives him to the edge, but he manages to control himself on the flight by the skin on his teeth and fate—by way of the flight being diverted because of a terrible storm.

Nina isn’t sure why she’s trying so hard to get home in time for her sister’s wedding, given that the groom is her ex. But indulging in an affair with the aggressive and attractive man who has come to her rescue brings worse problems to her table. It’s just supposed to be a fling, but Dmitri clearly has no intention of leaving—ever.

When Dmitri’s new employer turns out to be Nina’s ex’s father, the line he spent a lifetime blurring becomes crystal clear. Unfortunately, by the time he realizes this, it may be too late to save his mate.

Review:

This wasn’t very good. I had the audio version and the narrator (Addison Barnes) did a fine job. That, and the fact that the grammar seemed fine, are about the only nice things I have to say about it. I thought the hero was an insufferably arrogant jackass. I didn’t like him. There is one scene toward the end after he’s been injured that he shows a little humility. I liked him for that paragraph and that’s it. For the entirety of the rest of the book, he’s pushy and self-absorbed. He walks all over the heroine and her expressed wishes.

Sadly, my dislike for the hero isn’t balanced for any like of the heroine. It’s not that I thought she was a doormat, she wasn’t. But the book if full of things she should be angry about (her sister stole her wedding, for example, by which I mean she seduced her fiance, accepted the same ring and actually got married in the hall they’d book for the original wedding) and the heroine is sad for a little while and then just shrugged it off. No bitch, you’re allowed to be angry about that and hold that grudge for a while. The author’s total unwillingness to allow her heroine the natural emotion of anger angered me. If I’m supposed to relate to this character don’t constrain her to the ‘feminine’ ideal of a pleasant milksop. Let her rage. She deserved it and I deserved to see it.

This is apparently book two of a series. I didn’t realize that initially. But I had no problem following the plot. I just didn’t like it very much.

shifted fate

Review of Shifted Fate (The Wolves of Forest Grove #1), by Elena Lawson

Leave a reply

I’m still working on the giant task of thinning my digital bookshelves. I’ve made it almost to the end of the Ms now. But, as I had chores to do today, I did manage to listen to an audiobook. I received an Audible code for a copy of Elena Lawson‘s Shifted Fate. It’s narrated by Heather Costa.

Description from Goodreads:

Jared Stone is a freaking wolf. And I don’t mean that metaphorically, either…

I thought I had it bad—living in my dead Dad’s old hunting blind in the woods, barely staying alive on apples and ramen…that was before the storm hit and destroyed the only form of shelter I had left.

Enter, Jared. The hottest—and most unavailable—guy at school. Except he wasn’t Jared when he pulled me out of the mud. He wasn’t even human.

As if that wasn’t unsettling enough, when he brought me back to his cabin, I found he wasn’t alone. Another guy, one I’d only ever heard about in whispers beneath the bleachers, was there too. Clayton Armstrong: bad boy extraordinaire. And it turned out, he wasn’t human either.

Mindf*ck, right?

At first, all I want to do is run away. But I have nowhere to go, and for whatever messed up reason, Jared is insistent that I stay. Despite Clay’s loud protests.

So, now I’m stuck in a cabin in the woods with two hot as hell wolf shifters. One who wants to protect me. And another who wants to eat me for lunch…

What could go wrong?

Review:

I’d say this was OK. I’m pretty burned out on YA, but I still liked this enough to tentatively be interested in a sequel. The main character is self-sufficient and makes good decisions. The heroes are adorable and patient in their own ways.

But I do have complaints. One, the main character has a serious case of ‘not like other girls.’ I have to ask, what’s wrong with being like a girl? What does it say about internalized misogyny that young heroines always have to be “unlike other girls.” Second, (going along with the not-like-other-girlness) large parts of her personality aren’t explained. She’s willing to live in a hunting blind in the forest because she doesn’t want to be a burden on anyone. That’s a pretty drastic choice. Her father taught her to hunt and fix motors, etc. This all felt very extreme, like they were Preppers or something. But none of this behavior is ever even addressed.

Third, this is labeled a reverse harem. However, throughout the book, there is only the one guy she is interested in and showing interest in her. Nothing else comes into play until literally the last page. I suspect it will become a reverse harem, but it sure wasn’t here.

Fourth, I thought the whole kidnapping scene broke the pace of the plot and felt out of place. Similarly, the fact that she didn’t guess the twist is pretty unbelievable. It was fairly obvious.

Lastly, the book literally ends when the most interesting thing happens. What felt like it should be midway into a longer, more complete story. As such, I suspect this is more of a serial than a series. I prefer to be warned of this going into a book.

All in all, I didn’t hate it. As I said, I’d read more. But it’s not flawless.

Review of Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing (Big Bad Wolf #4) by Charlie Adhara

Leave a reply

I received a copy of Charlie Adhara‘s Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing through Netgalley. I reviewed book one here: Wolf at the Door. Books two and three (Wolf at Bay and Thrown to the Wolves) I read by only commented on, didn’t actually review. Honestly, as a fourth book, I don’t have a lot to say about this one. But I’m posting all the same.

Description from Goodreads:

Agent Cooper Dayton is almost relieved to get a phone call from his former boss at the Bureau of Special Investigations. It means a temporary reprieve from tensions created by house hunting with Oliver Park, his partner both in work and in life. Living together in a forever home is exactly what Cooper wants. He’s just not keen on working out the details.

With a former alpha werewolf missing, Cooper and Park are loaned to the BSI to conduct the search at a secluded mountain retreat. The agents will travel to the resort undercover…as a couple in need of counseling.

The resort is picturesque, the grounds are stunning and the staff members are all suspicious as hell.

With a long list of suspects and danger lurking around every cabin, Cooper should be focusing on the case. But he’s always been anxious about the power dynamics in his relationship with Park, and participating in the couples’ activities at the retreat brings it all to the surface. A storm is brewing, though, and Cooper and Park must rush to solve the case before the weather turns. Or before any more guests—or the agents themselves—end up dead.

Review:

I think this has been my favorite of the series so far. I have always loved Cooper and Park. But here we finally see them be sweet and loving. They are so wonderfully supportive of one another, without ever being saccharine. I look forward to reading the next one NEXT YEAR.