Tag Archives: Riptide Publishing

The Druid Next Door

Book Review of The Druid Next Door (Fae Out of Water #2), by E.J. Russell

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I received a copy of E. J. Russell‘s The Druid Next Door through Netgalley. I read and reviewed the first book in the series, Cutie and the Beast, last month.

Description from Goodreads:
Professor Bryce MacLeod has devoted his entire life to environmentalism. But how effective can he be in saving the planet when he can’t even get his surly neighbor to separate his recycling? 

Former Queen’s Enforcer Mal Kendrick doesn’t think his life could get any worse: he’s been exiled from Faerie with a cursed and useless right hand. When he’s not dodging random fae assassins in the Outer World, he’s going toe-to-toe with his tree-hugging neighbor. And when he discovers that the tree hugger is really a druid, he’s certain the gods have it in for him—after all, there’s always a catch with druids. Then he’s magically shackled to the man and expected to instruct him in Supernatural 101. 

All right, now things couldn’t possibly get worse. 

Until a mysterious stranger offers a drunken Mal the chance to gain back all he’s lost—for a price. After Mal accepts, he discovers the real catch: an ancient secret that will change his and Bryce’s life forever. 

Ah, what the hells. Odds are they won’t survive the week anyway. 

Review:
This was cute in much the same way as book one of the series, but this one I had a hard time liking. In fact, I didn’t. There is a real dominance and submission theme in it that I never got comfortable with. I considered it coerced. Period. Russell tried to dress it up as something else, but I couldn’t get comfortable with the power dynamic. I considered it essentially slavery and was basically disgusted with it. I totally see that Russell was going for something else, but I never got there. Plus, it required about a 180 degree shift in one character’s personality that I didn’t at all feel believable and the second character I didn’t feel I got to know well enough to judge, but it didn’t feel right for him either. So, fail for me.

Outside of that issue, there is no romance (just coerced lust, IMO). The quest/mystery was amusing and I enjoyed that aspect of the book. But it was the smaller portion, to be sure. The writing and editing were fine, as far as I was concerned. I’m sure others will like it. I just couldn’t.

Cutie and the Beast

Book Review of Cutie and the Beast (Fae Out of Water #1), by E.J. Russell

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I received a copy of E. J. Russell‘s Cutie and the Beast through netgalley.

Description from Goodreads:
Temp worker David Evans has been dreaming of Dr. Alun Kendrick ever since that one transcription job for him, because holy cats, that voice. Swoon. So when his agency offers him a position as Dr. Kendrick’s temporary office manager, David neglects to mention that he’s been permanently banished from offices. Because, forgiveness? Way easier than permission.

Alun Kendrick, former Queen’s Champion of Faerie’s Seelie Court, takes his job as a psychologist for Portland’s supernatural population extremely seriously. Secrecy is paramount: no non-supe can know of their existence. So when a gods-bedamned human shows up to replace his office manager, he intends to send the man packing. It shouldn’t be difficult—in the two hundred years since he was cursed, no human has ever failed to run screaming from his hideous face.

But cheeky David isn’t intimidated, and despite himself, Alun is drawn to David in a way that can only spell disaster: when fae consort with humans, it never ends well. And if the human has secrets of his own? The disaster might be greater than either of them could ever imagine.

Review:
Cute. Nothing wrong with it, but nothing particularly standout and stellar about it either. Both characters are likable and there are some cute side characters. The plot moves along, though it’s 100% predictable. There is very little on page sex and it ends with a happily ever after. I’ll happily read the next one, but I’m not chomping at the bit to get it.

Oversight

Book Review of Oversight (The Community #2), by Santino Hassell

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I received an ARC of Oversight, by Santino Hassell. I read it while traveling from Florida to South Carolina, during my summer vacation.

Description from Goodreads:
Holden Payne has it all . . . or so he thinks. As heir to the founder of the Community—an organization that finds, protects, and manages psychics—he’s rich, powerful, and treated like royalty. But after a series of disappearances and murders rock the Community, he’s branded the fall guy for the scandal and saddled with a babysitter.

Sixtus Rossi is a broad-shouldered, tattooed lumbersexual with a man-bun and a steely gaze. He’s also an Invulnerable—supposedly impervious to both psychic abilities and Holden’s charms. It’s a claim Holden takes as a challenge. Especially if sleeping with Six may help him learn whether the Community had more to do with the disappearances than they claimed.

As Holden uncovers the truth, he also finds himself getting in deep with the man sent to watch him. His plan to seduce Six for information leads to a connection so intense that some of Six’s shields come crashing down. And with that comes a frightening realization: Holden has to either stand by the Community that has given him everything, or abandon his old life to protect the people he loves.

Review:
This will be a brief review, as I’m on vacation and my internet connection is sketchy, at best. I enjoyed this new Hassell book, as usual. The magic system (for lack of a more accurate, but equally concise description) is interesting. I liked the characters, both old and new, and the writing is engaging. Admittedly, I never felt especially I connected with Sixtus and I don’t know that I would have with Holden if it weren’t for book one, and it was a bit too much of an insta-lust/insta-love for my taste. Plus, the darned thing ended on a cliffhanger. But overall, I liked the book and will look forward to book three in The Community series.