Tag Archives: romance

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Book Review: Waking the Dragon, by Juliette Cross

I am not 100% sure, but I believe I bought my copy of Juliette CrossWaking the Dragon during an online author signing event.

waking the dragon cover

The Gladium Province is on the verge of civil unrest as humans and Morgons, the dragon-hybrid race, clash once more. But amid disorder can also arise passion.

When the bodies of three human women are discovered in Morgon territory—with the DNA of several Morgon men on the victims—it’s just a matter of time before civil unrest hits the Province. But for ambitious reporter Moira Cade, it’s more than just a story, and it may mean risking her own life.

Descending into the dark underworld of Morgon society, Moira is paired with Kol Moonring, Captain of the Morgon Guard, for her protection. Fiercely independent, Moira bristles at his dominance, and defies his will at every turn. Yet resistance proves futile when passion flares between them, awakening powerful emotions within both, body and soul. But as the killings continue, can their fiery newfound bond survive an even greater evil-one that threatens all of humanity, Morgonkind, and Moira’s very soul?…

my review

Honestly, I wanted to like this a lot more than I did. I liked the idea of it, but there were just so many ways the author took an idea I liked in a direction that I didn’t like, that in the end, I finished the book feeling dissatisfied. But before I get into a litany of things I did not like, I’ll say the writing is fine. The book is perfectly readable. Most of this comes down to personal preference.

First, the female main character is an early twenties university student. She’s the editor of the SCHOOL NEWSPAPER, and for this newspaper, she is investigating a triple (plus) murder. Nothing in that works for me. The gravitas of basically going undercover to catch a murderer “for the story” does not match the abilities or expectations of a university journalism student. Honestly, everything about this would have worked better if Moira had been older and had been working a real job in which she was experienced and vested.

Second, this book is steeped in rape. There is no actual rape on-page, thank goodness. But the whole plot is about rape in a way that permieates every page. It just wasn’t necessary. I’m not talking trigger warnings or anything, because, again, no on-page rape. But I call such use of rape as a plot device the lowest of low hanging plot fruit. Which, to my mind, makes it LAZY PLOTTING. There are a million more interesting ways to put a female character in a position to depend on her male romantic lead.

Third, I don’t think the book would pass the Bechtel test. And if it does, it’s slimly. But more importantly, every woman who isn’t being set up to be a dragon mate eventually is vapid and unpleasant in all the ways women are so often poorly represented. There is no depth to them. This is the patriarchy’s version of women and borders on misogyny in its repetition (especially in books written for and by women).

Fourth, I don’t know Cross’s religious position, but I’d guess she is either a fundamentalist Christian, has internalized their worldview, or is writing to that market. Because this book is everything fundamentalists want represented in a relationship. You’ve got all the male headship (fathers, brothers, bosses, husbands, brother-in-laws) but no women in authority. These men have all the power in every situation in the book, especially in the home, and all the women give deference to them. (Gracious submission, anyone?) Just about the most important decision a woman makes is the dinner menu (and she gets it wrong). The romance here is pretty much just Moira accepting Kol’s headship.

Now, I don’t read paranormal romance for the feminist takes, and can usually turn off my tendency to look at things through the critical lens of feminism. But this book is especially explicit in its anti-feminist leanings. Cross literally constructs Moira’s “feminist ideals”, “female stubbornness”, career dreams, etc, as a foil and impediment to a relationship. She has to choose. The reader is literally asked to consider (as Moira asks herself) if she hasn’t used her feminism to build a wall between herself and the possibility of love. Then, Moira states she doesn’t want her dream (career, independence, feminism, etc) anymore; Kol is the dream now. This is not a book that happens to fail a critical feminist critique. (So much of the romance genre does, and I still manage to enjoy it, even if I acknowledge it.) This is an anti-feminist book disguised as romance…or using romance to perpetuate its anti-feminist (maybe fundamentalist) agenda. That’s a big difference. And if the author didn’t do it on purpose, there are definite questions to be asked.

Fifth, the fact that the super-advanced human and Morgan law enforcement agencies (two of waking the dragon photothem) had to depend on an early 20s journalism student to solve the case is ridiculous in general. But I’d go along with it for the plot, except that they literally had all the information to solve the case without her involvement. Literally, the only way they could have not solved the case with the information they already had was to have not opened a case at all.

I could go on, but I don’t want to get more nit-picky than I am already being. This didn’t work for me for a myriad of reasons. But I’ll acknowledge that most of them are personal preferences, so experiences may vary.


Other Reviews:

Review: Waking the Dragon by Juliette Cross

ARC Review: Waking the Dragon (Vale of Stars #1) by Juliette Cross

 

Book Review – Wolfish: Moonborne, by G.K. DeRosa

I believe I purchased a copy of G.K. DeRosa‘s Wolfish: Moonborne during a Facebook author signing event. wolfish cover

FATE HAS A WICKED SENSE OF HUMOR

When I was sixteen, I met the love of my life in magic school. He’d appear exactly once a year at the annual masquerade ball, then vanish…

Fast forward to the present: to the night I’m attacked and my hidden wolf emerges. As it turns out, I’m a freakin’ hairy, tail-wagging, shape-shifting werewolf so instead of returning to the human world after graduating, I’m dragged to Moon Valley to control my inner beast. Only problem is, I’m not just a wolf.

And someone wants me dead because of it.

When I meet the alpha heir, sparks fly, And bombshell– he’s my supposedly wolfy fated mate, but he’s nothing like the boy I loved. He’s cold, sullen, a total jerk but impossibly gorgeous. Of course. And he’s got secrets too. Despite hating him most days, I can’t deny the irresistible attraction… and neither can he. Even after he rejects me.

Little does he known, I’m more than capable of taking care of myself– maybe even capable of taking his claim as alpha.

my review

This is labeled YA/NA, but the character won’t even curse: “Chill the eff out,” for example. So, I’ll let you figure out where it falls between YA and NA. No, I won’t. It’s YA. Now you know.

It’s an OK story. I liked Sierra well enough. She’s a strong protagonist outside of being a mate-bound doormat when it comes to Hunter. But that’s the problem. You see almost no pleasant interludes between them, but she is still slavishly dedicated to him. In the end, I couldn’t root for the romance and didn’t even particularly like him. The side characters are fairly stock, but the world is interesting.

If I had the next one in the series, I would probably read it. But I don’t think I’ll bother buying it.

wolfish photo


Other Reviews:

Wolfish Series by G.K. DeRosa

 

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Book Review: The Last Dragon of the East, by Katrina Kwan

I believe I probably won a copy of Katrina Kwan‘s The Last Dragon of the East.

The Last Dragon of the East cover

At the spry young age of twenty-five, Sai has led a quiet life, keeping the family teahouse up and running—even if that means ignoring the past-due notices—and taking care of his ailing mother. But he has a not-so-secret gift that he’s parlayed into a side career: he was born with the ability to see the red threads of fate between soulmates, which lends itself nicely to matchmaking. Sai has thus far been content not to follow his own thread, the only one he’s ever seen that’s gray and fraying.

But Sai’s ordinary existence is about to be turned upside-down by a pair of shining dragon scales. When his mother’s doctor sells them to him, claiming them as a miracle cure, Sai is pretty sure he’s being scammed. When the medicine actually works—and the terrifying, ruthless emperor catches wind—Sai is thrust into the search for a dragon long thought extinct that will lead him into the throes of a brewing war and deep into foreign lands, facing down challenges both magical and mortal on an unexpected adventure. And for the very first time, as his own thread of fate begins to move, he may be able to solve the mystery of his Fated One on the other end of the line.

I didn’t love this. I wanted to. I mean, look at that cover! And I liked aspects of it. But that is the most I can muster to give it. I liked that it does flip some of the tropes. It’s her who survives through the ages while he is reborn. It’s her who is the supernaturally strong one. He’s the sunshine, and she’s the grump. I appreciate these things.

Unfortunately, I was bored with a lot of the book, and the writing is stilted in some places. Also, Kwan back-peddles some of their flipped scrips before the end. This left me with the impression that rather than being truly and thoughtfully transgressive, the author was instead just setting up an unsettled dynamic so that she could eventually set things right. This negated most of the meaningful impact for me. All in all, my most eloquent comment on The Last Dragon of the East is “Meh.”
the last dragon of the east phoro


Other Reviews:

Book Review | The Last Dragon of the East