Tag Archives: romance

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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.
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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.
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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). ⭐️⭐️⭐️

 

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Book Review: Fractured Stars, by Lindsay Buroker

I purchased a copy of Lindsay Buroker‘s Fractured Stars.
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McCall Richter finds criminals, con men, and deadbeats better than anyone else in the empire.

She’s proud of her success and that she owns her own spaceship, especially since she struggles to understand human motivations, can’t tell when people are lying to her, and is horrible at recognizing faces. Being autistic in the empire is frowned upon—and there’s a handy normalization surgery to correct it—but she’s managed to prove her worth and avoid irking the tyrannical regime.

Except for one thing.

Two years ago, she liberated the android, Scipio, from an imperial research facility where he was treated worse than a slave. He’s become her business partner and best friend, but if the empire finds out she has him, a “normalization” surgery will be the least of her worries.

When her ship is confiscated by a cyborg law enforcer needing to transport prisoners, McCall knows she and Scipio are in trouble. Worse, the enforcer’s pilot is a former bounty hunter and business competitor she beat to the prize many times in the past.

Soon, he’s snooping all over her ship and questioning her about her past.

And there’s something strange about him. He knows far more about what she’s thinking than any human should.

It’ll only be a matter of time before he discovers her secret. And then what?

my review

This was fine, I suppose. I’m really torn. I’ve liked everything I’ve read by Buroker a lot more than I liked this. On paper, I should have loved this. Late 30s/early 40s, autistic hero and heroine in space… heck yeah. Fashionista android…I’m on board. Rescue dog…yes! I should have loved this. Instead, it kind of fizzled for me. I didn’t hate it. I don’t think it was bad. But it didn’t light me up as I expected, either.

Part of the reason is that I bought and read this after reading the prequel short story Junkyard, where the heroine and her trusty android solve a mystery and save a pooch. I wanted more of the heroine/android (and dog) antics. Instead, the android and dog are basically not in the book. They make cameos, but that is all. So, the very thing I read the book for wasn’t there. Instead, we were given a pretty bland escape-the-prison-planet plot. Meh.

The writing and editing are perfectly readable. I just didn’t love it.

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