Tag Archives: romance

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Book Review: Monsters of Midlife, by Melle Amade

I picked up a copy of Melle Amade‘s Monsters of Midlife as an Amazon freebie.
monsters of midlife

I’ve dreamt about dark, ravenous monsters my entire life. Last night I found out…all my darkest dreams are real.

At forty-five I didn’t think life had many surprises left, but I was so, so wrong. Monsters do exist and last night their demigod, Ryder, came to me asking for help.

I would have been more willing if Ryder wasn’t my younger, too-hot-to-handle ex-husband.

Apparently, he was hiding a few things during our marriage. I thought it was girlfriends when I divorced him. But according to him he’s been protecting the world by keeping his kind at bay. I wouldn’t have believed him except he turned into a creepy black monster with fangs, three glowing eyes, shiny black horns, and pointed ears right in front of me!

Having Ryder back in my life releases something inside me I didn’t realize existed. It’s overbearing, angry, and chaotic. And I realize I still have feelings for him, but this time, they’re unleashing the monster buried deep inside myself.

I’ll help him save the world, but the one thing I can’t afford to do is fall in love with him again.

Not now. Not ever.

I’ll lose more than my heart, I’ll lose my humanity.

my review

Look, I fully expected this to be a silly, ridiculous read. I was not looking for great literature or anything serious. But the simple fact is that this book is poorly done. No one is likable. He shows no moments to appreciate, and she is consistently too-stupid-to-live. The emotions are all overwrought and over-amplified. You feel no chemistry between the characters. The world is not fleshed out. The dialogue is cringy. (So is the single-sex scene). The plot jumps around willy-nilly, and then the book just ends practically in the middle of a scene. So, the whole thing feels incomplete on top of everything else. I will not be continuing the series.  


Other Reviews:

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Book Review: Threads of Fate, by Lexi Esme

I picked up a copy of Lexi Esme‘s Threads of Fate as an Amazon freebie.
threads of fate cover

A woman hunted. A monster broken. A desire that may just consume them both.

RHIANNE

With my car dead, and no way home, an inconvenient night quickly takes a turn for the worse.

I’m pursued deep into the woods, my heart pounding with unbridled fear, and I’m certain this is it. I’m going to die out here, in the cold and dark. Just when I think all hope is lost I’m saved by the most unexpected rescuer.

My savior is a monster.

I don’t know whether I should be terrified or enchanted. Hidden in the shadows, his bright red eyes lure me, drawing me in until I can no longer resist him.

SEPHTIS

Until that fateful night, I’d fought my desires for so long. I would have stayed away from her if that were possible, but I needed her…

Dark and smooth, captivating and delectable, she is gorgeous, a feast for my senses. My desire for her burns in every fiber of my being, my lust undeniable. She is my every fantasy made real, temptation embodied… The very thought of being her lover is devastating torture.

I’m a monster. She is a human.
I’m dangerous. She is untainted.
But I want her.
My feelings for her are consuming me.

I should stay away from her but the temptation is too great, the need too deep. Rhianne has captured my heart, and now the threads of our fates are tied, she is bound to me as I am to her.

my review

threads of fate photoDespite the gorgeous cover, I’m afraid this just wasn’t very good. I think that the author had an interesting idea, but it was not well executed. While I liked the characters, they were not well-developed. It’s more tell than show. The plotting is inconsistent and herky-jerky; scenes and plot progressions do not flow well from one to the next, etc. It’s plenty spicy, especially if you are into light bondage kind of scenes, and I liked the ending. But, all in all, this was a flop for me.


Other Reviews:

Threads of Fate by Lexi Esme

 

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Audio Book Review: Ruwen, by Kate Rudolph

I picked up a freebie copy of Ruwen, by Kate Rudolph.
ruwen audio cover

Running out of time…

Ruwen NaNaran knows he’s a goner. The curse of his alien species has put a countdown on his life, and he’ll be dead before the month is out. Unless he finds his denya, the only woman in the universe who can save him.

Down on her luck and lost in space…

Lis Jaynx just wants to go home. Kidnapped from Earth by unknown foes, she’s dropped on a inhospitable planet with little food and no hope. She’ll do anything to find a ship to take her back to Earth, but Polai is hostile to all alien life, and Lis finds herself on the run.

An unexpected chance…

From the moment he sees her, Ru knows Lis is his denya. But she’s already wounded and distrustful of all aliens, even those who claim they want to help.

Will the explosive chemistry between them be enough to topple Lis’s fears? Or will their bond break before it even forms — leaving Ru a dead alien walking — and Lis all alone in the black of space…

my review

I listened to an audio version of this book and came to two realizations, both of which I’ll address here. First, this is not a very good book. It’s shallow and underdeveloped. But it also isn’t erotica; smut isn’t the point. So, there should be a plot to keep readers interested. Failing that, at least well-drawn characters or an intriguing world. This book has none of that. The whole thing is just sketched out, predictable, and too linear to be interesting.

I’ll form the second point with a question. Why, if the primary readers of romance are women and the female character is central, would anyone choose a male narrator? I’ll grant that this is a dual POV, but it is still a book for and primarily about a woman (formed for and of female fantasies). I had a hard time even deciding how I felt about the book because I so very much disliked it being narrated by a man.

If you consider that I was reading (what I hoped would be a) sexy sci-fi romance, it begins to resemble engaging in a sexual fantasy of sorts. Having a male narrator felt, to me, very much like having an uninvited man intrude. The argument could be made that by virtue of purchasing the book, he had been invited. And I’ll accept that. But it was done unwittingly, and I will endeavor not to make the same mistake again.

On top of that, I don’t actually think the narrator did a very good job. Years ago, I read an autobiography of some second-rate Hollywood actor who talked about the things he did to pay the bills before making it. Apparently, narrating a romance novel was one of those things. He ruwen photospoke about the book and author in a very condescending and disparaging way, basically making fun of both (as men do).

I feel like I could sense a similar undercurrent in Michael’s narration. This only added to the feeling of male intrusion. Not only was he there where he wasn’t wanted, but he was also there with his judgment (as men so often are). Of course, I could be projecting. But it all had a real effect on my ability (or lack thereof) to enjoy the book.


Other Reviews:

Scary Mary the Hamster Lady: Book Review Ruwen

Audiobook Review: Ruwen (Mated to the Alien, #1). ⭐️⭐️⭐️