Tag Archives: romance

Book Review of Wolf in King’s Clothing, by Parker Foye

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I received a copy of Wolf in King’s Clothing, by Parker Foye, through Netgalley.

Description form Goodreads:
An exiled shifter. His alpha mate. And a desire so intense it could be the death of them…  

York, England, 1912  

Kent was a pack outcast. His shifter instincts cruelly muted, he was collared and kept as a stray. Until he was offered his freedom—for something in return. He must rescue Hadrian, an alpha held hostage in the wolf highlands. It’s a pleasure for Kent to follow the captive’s scent, one so wild and virile it gives him a rush. Though he despises being treated like a mutt called to heel, he’ll gladly fall to his knees for an alpha like Hadrian. 

Hadrian has never met anyone like this damaged wolf warrior. His savior who licks the blood from his wounds and who arouses in him feelings he doesn’t understand or want to control. But Hadrian suspects that more than desire binds them. It’s betrayal. Pawns in an elaborate and feral deceit, they’re now caught in the deepening maze of a vengeful shifter world, where navigating the mysteries of the heart could prove just as unpredictable and dangerous as the enemies they face. 

Review:
Here’s the thing, I liked this book. I thought the pairing was cute and was all for their happily every after. But liking a book isn’t enough to ignore the fact that it basically doesn’t make sense. I’ve finished it and still have no idea what exactly was happening. Was it a power grab? And if so, was it against Hadrian or Kent’s boss? Was Kent actually an outcast, as the blurb suggests? If so, when and why? What exactly happened at the end? How did Hadrian heal Kent? What of Hadrian’s pack? Friend or foe? The plot was so full of holes that I couldn’t follow the story. I liked the mechanical writing. I liked the characters. But the rest o the book was a mess.

Vagabond Circus Series Boxed Set

Book Review of Vagabond Circus Boxed Set, by Sarah Noffke

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Sarah Noffke was giving away Audible credits for the Vagabond Circus box set, including Suspended, Paralyzed and Released, and I ended up with one of them.

Description from Goodreads:
When a stranger joins the cast of Vagabond Circus—a circus that is run by Dream Travelers and features real magic—mysterious events start happening. The once orderly grounds of the circus become riddled with hidden threats. And the ringmaster realizes not only are his circus and its magic at risk, but also his very life. 

Vagabond Circus caters to the skeptics. Without skeptics, it would close its doors. This is because Vagabond Circus runs for two reasons and only two reasons: first and foremost to provide the lost and lonely Dream Travelers a place to be illustrious. And secondly, to show the nonbelievers that there’s still magic in the world. If they believe, then they care, and if they care, then they don’t destroy. They stop the small abuse that day-by-day breaks down humanity’s spirit. If Vagabond Circus makes one skeptic believe in magic, then they halt the cycle, just a little bit. They allow a little more love into this world. That’s Dr. Dave Raydon’s mission. And that’s why this ringmaster recruits. That’s why he directs. That’s why he puts on a show that makes people question their beliefs. He wants the world to believe in magic once again. 

Review:
Overall, I enjoyed this series and thought that the narrator, Steve Barnes did a good job on the audio version. I liked some of his voices better than others. I loved Finley’s, for example, but hated Charles’. But it all averaged out. Here are my brief thoughts on the story, written as I completing each book.

Suspended
Pretty good so far, I say ‘so far’ because it’s obviously just part one of the trilogy. It ends on a cliffhanger. But so far I like the plot, the magic system, and the characters. (Though I spent a lot of the book thinking Finley was a total jerk-face.) There is a bit of insta-love, which is annoying. But I kind of see opportunities for it to be explained in the future. We’ll see. I’ll hold of final judgment until I finish the series; all of which I have, since I’m actually listening to the Vagabond Circus Boxed Set.

I do have to admit though that I’ve been really annoyed by the short chapters. Maybe that wouldn’t bother me so much if I wasn’t listening to an audio instead of reading it, but it feels like the narrator is always having to interrupt the story to note, “Chapter 64,” etc.

Paralyzed
Very much a middle book in a trilogy where the books don’t stand alone. But, taking the series as a whole, it’s still fairly enjoyable. The villain has finally been revealed and the primary couple is finally admitting to loving one another.

Released
I generally enjoyed it. I was seriously disappointed that the author seemed to go back on all the diversity she’d included in the series by having the sole queer character (as well as only black main character) die and the only other woman of color that I recall be horrid and also dying. I don’t think you get accolades for including diverse characters (which I was all geared up to give) if you just kill them off.

I also thought that, given that the circus was full of powerful, skilled people, the ending was overly drawn out. But it was still pretty good.

Overall, I enjoyed this series and thought that the narrator (Steve Barnes) did a good job on the audio version. I liked some of his voices better than others. I loved Finley’s but hated Charles’. But it all averaged out. Here are my brief thoughts on completing each book.

 

Book Review of 12 Hours of Daylight, by Tameka Mullins

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I won a copy of Tameka Mullins‘ 12 Hours of Daylight through Goodreads:

Description:
He pops like nobody’s business… 

Jason’s got it all: beautiful women, fast cars and piles of cash. With a job that literally keeps him up all night, this Channing Tatum lookalike is living the X-rated Hollywood dream. Any twenty-two-year-old guy would jump at the chance to star in Jason’s life…except Jason. 

…when he’s not playing Pops in real life. 

All in one night, Jason became a father and lost the love of his life. Vickie, his chocolate princess, isn’t looking down from heaven with pride, though. What started as an unconventional way to pay the bills has devolved into an obsession and an escape from crippling guilt. 

Raising twins alone is a full-time job, but with no other options, Jason doesn’t have a lot of time to look for a way out. Yet it all comes crashing down one night when the sometimes dangerous, addictive world of porn collides with the pressures of fatherhood. As Jason’s dreams spin out of control, he’ll have to make some changes in his life or risk losing everything he’s already sold his body to hold onto. 

Review:
Awesome cover, interesting idea, but not well executed. I generally hate the dictum to show not tell. I think it’s overused as a critique. But there is no getting around the fact that stories that are predominantly written in ‘tell’ are harder to connect to. Sometimes there are enough other elements to overcome this, usually there isn’t. Here, in 12 Hours of Daylight, being a novella, there is almost nothing. Which means I never felt connected to Jason and we’re not given any other characters to even try getting to know. Even at the point where Jason needs advice, he calls in an old friend that the reader doesn’t know, who then basically disappears again.

All this combined with the stiff dialogue (names are used far too often) creates a story that feels like it’s being blandly recited, with Jason’s porn gigs functioning as an excuse for some menage type sex scenes that contribute little to the already thin plot, spicing things up. There is a minor upheaval and then everything miraculously fixes itself off-page and the reader is told about it after the fact.

All in all, I think this really could have been something special.  As is, it’s not bad.  I liked the inter-racial aspect of the relationships. I liked the narrative voice. But I think it needs a lot more to really catch a readers attention.

What I’m drinking: Regular old Bigelow Chinese Oolong Tea. It’s my go-to cuppa. But honestly, not long after I took that picture, I realized I was wasting a beautiful day and took myself outside to read in a lawn-chair with a ginormous bowl of buttered popcorn. Ahh, spring!