Tag Archives: PNR

sinless

Book Review of Sinless (Deadly Omen #1), by Jenica Saren

I received an audible code for a copy of Sinless, by Janice Saren.

Description from Goodreads:

So, introduction time and all that fun stuff. Yay. 
My name is Ria. Don’t ask about the last name, I don’t wanna talk about it. I am twenty-three years old and living a pretty glamorous life, what with the fiancé (he’s amazing, by the way), the nice car, the gorgeous house, and the job I love. Huh? The job?

Okay, so yeah. I’m a stripper. How’s that for an opening line? 

Well, I had all of those things before shit hit the fan and I found myself in this tiny town in a not-so-tiny house. Speaking of the house, I have roommates. Six, actually. Let me clarify: I have six insanely hot, insanely weird, and insanely insane roommates. Gory details and all that be spared, shit’s getting real in this innocent-looking town and, let’s face it, I’m not qualified to handle bizarre crap. Not my thing; I’m a stripper for fuck’s sake. 

However, Eliam, Gatlin, Kellan, Gray, Beck, and Rafe seem to think that I am just the gal for the job. The Severin brothers are getting me all involved and in danger, and I’m truthfully terrified – not of the danger stuff, but these guys. There’s something different about them that I can’t quite put my finger on, but I swear I’m going to figure it out.

Review (with spoilers):

Not great. I like what the author was trying to do here. Ria is determined to be her own person. She shows backbone when she finds her boyfriend cheating. She has a meaningful friendship with another woman (i.e. not all other women are the enemy). She’s not afraid or ashamed of her own sexuality and doesn’t agonize over it. 

However, I think Saren failed in a lot of the execution. The inner-self was so overused that Ria simply felt mentally unhinged. It became a little more bearable when it was hinted toward the end that she might actually have a split personality. But as it was, I cringed (often literally) whenever Ria started describing her inner-self, complete with what she was wearing, how she was walking, what expression she had on her face, the tone of her voice, etc. I wanted Inner-Self to die and go away. 

Secondly, the six heroes. This was majorly problematic for me for two reasons. The first being that I couldn’t keep them all straight and tell them apart. Saren gave them accents and habits, but six men filling the same role is just too many. Secondly, this book is referred to as a reverse harem. Ria only actually has sex with two of them (I think, definitely not more). But it felt super icky to me because she seemed a lot more like a little sister that they all got to fondle and fuck. (Or maybe she got to fuck her big brothers, as she was perfectly willing to initiate the act, which I did appreciate.) What’s more, Ria is a serious case of fawned over by all the males for being special, while not really doing anything particularly special beyond existing. 

Lastly (and this is a big one for me), the mystery/villian. It’s secondary to the plot, not even being addressed until the halfway mark. Then, one red herring villain is dispatched off-page and super anticlimactically. Cue Ria’s too-stupid-to-live tantrum because the men won’t listen to her about another villain still being at large (and they act surprised when this turns out to be true). But come one, the man stabbed her with a magical athame and by all description looked like a freakin’ zombie. This did not fly as something centuries-old, experienced people would miss. I 100% think the author forgot she’d included the stabbing in her plot. (I’m only half joking here.)

All in all, readable, but not a real winner for me. The narrator (Melissa Schwairy) did a great job though. 

The HOT Wolf

Book Review of The Hot Wolf (Werewolves On Heat Series #1), by Ellie Valentina

I received an Audible code for this book (Hot Wolf, by Ellie Valentina), or rather for the compilation, narrated by Meghan Kelly, of the first three books in the Werewolves on Heat series. It was my plan to save the reviews for a single blog post, once I had listened to them all. However, I’m traveling for the holidays and don’t anticipate actually finishing the series in 2019. My sense of order just won’t let me a review a book I read in 2019 in 2020. So, I’m posting this one now and will post again when I finish the series next year….decade. Crazy.

Description from Goodreads:

Ava Sparks was a paranormal assassin tasked with eradicating werewolves from existence. 

Her latest target was gorgeous billionaire Chase Elliot. Intelligence suggested he was hiding a secret life as a werewolf and because of that he was to be erased from existence. 

However, once Ava became close to the charming Chase she made a stunning realization that changed everything. 

Now, instead of killing the werewolf, she was to find herself making love to him and life as everyone knew it would never be the same again… 

Review:

First, I think both the title and the cover of this book are misleading. The title makes you think it’s erotica, but it’s not at all. There is VERY LITTLE heat in it. What’s more, the werewolf in question is very cool and collected. He may be attractive, but hot isn’t an adequate description of him as a whole. He’s a politician, not a soldier or anything else that would have him hulking ripped on the cover either. All in all, you are simply given there wrong first impression of this book (and probably series). 

This is exacerbated by the fact that werewolves are basically extraneous to the plot. The characters could be from opposing political factions, or ninja clans or corporate spies. None of it would change the plot one iota. I was disappointed by this fact.

Getting past all that, I though it was still only so-so (not bad, but not good either). The ‘parents’ seem to make decisions based on who knows what that make the heroine go off and make ill-thought plans and take poorly executed actions. (She’s awfully inept for an experienced assassin.) She seems to have several personality shifts throughout the book. And the happily-ever-after is just too pat to stomach easily.

The Dragons Psychic

Book Review of The Dragon’s Psychic (Immortal Dragon #1), by Linzi Baxter

I received a free audible code for a copy of Linzi Baxter‘s The Dragon’s Psychic.

Description from Goodreads:

She was supposed to be just a job. A paycheck. Now she’s his destiny.

Talia hadn’t planned on dying today. Accidentally defying the supernatural council wasn’t exactly her plan either. But when she did her duty and touched a bloody knife to determine guilt or innocence, her vision seemed… off. So was Councilman Gideon’s rush to declare a shivering child guilty of murder. Now Talia’s trying to lose herself in the West Virginia mountains with the child in tow, and the mercenary on their tail has an uncanny ability to find them, no matter how far they run. 

Kirin’s dragon-shifter senses make him the most sought-after mercenary in these parts. But something about this job smells wrong. And when he finally lays his hands on the fugitive, he gets the surprise of his three-hundred-year life. The fragile, determined woman in his arms is his mate, who he’d given up all hope of finding. 

His mercenary target has become his chosen partner, and instead of breathing down her neck, he’s bound to protect her at all costs. But if Kirin and Talia can’t figure out who wants this child dead—and why—they could all wind up sharing the same grave. 

Review:

This was what it was. I didn’t find anything especially impressive about it, but I also didn’t think it a bad version of a basic dragon shifter-find-his-mate story. I liked the characters and thought the inclusion of a child interesting. However, I also thought the child got over losing her parents too easily and the conclusion was too swift (rushed). The narrators (Heather Costa and Jeffrey Kafer) did a fine job and I’d be willing to both read another Baxter book and listen to another of Costa and Kafer’s readings.