Tag Archives: Riptide Publishing

Sightlines

Book Review of Sightlines (The Community #3), by Santino Hassell

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I received a copy of Santino Hassell‘s Sightlines through Netgalley. I reviewed the first two book in the series, Insight and Oversight, earlier in the year.

Description from Goodreads:
Chase Payne is a walking contradiction. He’s the most powerful psychic in the Community, but the least respected. He’s the son of the Community’s founder, but with his tattoo sleeves and abrasive attitude, he’s nothing like his charismatic family. No one knows what to make of him, which is how he wound up locked in a cell on the Farm yet again. But this time, the only man he’s ever loved is there too.

Elijah Estrella was used to being the sassy sidekick who fooled around with Chase for fun. But that was before he realized the Community wasn’t the haven he’d believed in and Chase was the only person who’d ever truly tried to protect him. Now they’re surrounded by people who want to turn them against their friends, and the only way out is to pretend the brainwashing works.

With Chase playing the role of a tyrant’s second-in-command, and Elijah acting like Chase’s mindless sex toy, they risk everything by plotting a daring escape. In the end, it’s only their psychic abilities, fueled by their growing love for each other, that will allow them to take the Community down once and for all.

Review:
I hate to say this, but I think my love affair with Santino Hassell’s books is over. On the sites I’m forced to use a numerical start rating, I almost gave it 2 stars. The end dragged it up to a third, but it was a close call. I simply didn’t like it. I didn’t like the characters. I didn’t like the narrative style. I didn’t like the pacing. I. did. no. like. it. And if I’m honest, the last several books by Hassell that I’ve read have skirted this same edge. And it makes me so sad, I lovedhis early works. But all his characters feel the same now and here I felt Chase was taken to such a grumpy extreme that I couldn’t overcome it enough to enjoy his character. And Elijah was a shadow, barely there. As always, the mechanical writing is good but this book was a bust for me.

In his majesty's service

Review of In His Majesty’s Service, by Elizabeth Silver & Jenny Urban

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I received a copy of In His Majesty’s Service, by Elizabeth Silver & Jenny Urban through Netgalley.

Description from Goodreads:
Everyone in the Drion Collective knows that finding your match—the one person in existence with the same soul mark as yours—is the best thing that could ever happen. But the last thing Lord Anders Hawthorne is thinking about when he boards a ship to Drion for the king’s funeral is finding his soul mate.

Captain Zachary O’Connell has the perfect life—his ship, the stars, and no emotional entanglements. When heat sparks between him and Lord Hawthorne, Zach gleefully dives into a no-strings arrangement. He doesn’t expect it to last beyond arrival at Drion, any more than he expects trouble along the way.

Trouble quickly finds them, however, and it soon becomes clear that Lord Hawthorne is not only not who he says he is, but also that he’s the target of a deadly plot. With danger all around them, Zach and Anders must work together to save the Collective. Meanwhile, Zach must come to grips with losing everything he always thought he wanted, to have the one thing he never dreamed he needed.

Review:
Sooooo, this was not very good. There was WAY too much sex, given the length and amount of plot. It seriously suffered from lack of subtlety or buildup. As an example, the first time the two men met was over a dinner at the captain’s table. The only conversation was about the steak, and it’s barely a conversation. There was no indication that these two men had any interest in each other. Then on the next page, they were jumping into bed and the pet names and ‘this is special’ starts. The whole book was like that. The authors don’t give anything time to develop, just lobbing stuff at the reader out of no where.

Mechanically, the writing is fine, except for some repetition. They seemed to do nothing but rub noses and fall into bed. But the book is just too long. Half of the petty squabbles could have been cut and we’d still understand they were struggling to get to know one another. As could half the sex scenes. They were fairly repetitive anyway, always doing the same things. I just didn’t enjoy it and have no interest in continuing the series.

The Glamour Thieves

Book Review of The Glamour Thieves (Blue Unicorn Book 1), by Don Allmon

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I received a copy of Don Allmon’s Glamour Thieves from Netgalley.

Description from Goodreads:
JT is an orc on the way up. He’s got his own boutique robotics shop, high-end clientele, and deep-pocketed investors. He’s even mentoring an orc teen who reminds him a bit too much of himself back in the day. 

Then Austin shows up, and the elf’s got the same hard body and silver tongue as he did two years ago when they used to be friends and might have been more. He’s also got a stolen car to bribe JT to saying yes to one last scheme: stealing the virtual intelligence called Blue Unicorn. 

Soon JT’s up to his tusks in trouble, and it ain’t just zombies and Chinese triads threatening to tear his new life apart. Austin wants a second chance with JT — this time as more than just a friend—and even the Blue Unicorn is trying to play matchmaker.

Review:
This I truly enjoyed. My only complaint was that there is a lot of history and I felt like I was reading a second book, instead of a first. It left some important information too vague. Like, why have there only been orcs for a generation and a half? What, exactly, was the Awakening? But beyond that, which admittedly is a big complaint, I loved the characters and the world. I liked the writing style and the author’s voice. And the epilogue tempted me into wanting book 2 right now. So, it’s an all around winner for me.