Tag Archives: romance

Book Review of Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet, by Charlie N. Holmberg

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I’m on vacation this week, so posts will likely be few and far between. But I did read a book and a half on the drive from home to here and I happen to have internet access at the moment, so, I’m taking advantage of it with a quick post or two. Starting with Charlie N. Holmberg‘s Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet, which I bought.

Description from Goodreads:
Maire is a baker with an extraordinary gift: she can infuse her treats with emotions and abilities, which are then passed on to those who eat them. She doesn’t know why she can do this and remembers nothing of who she is or where she came from.

When marauders raid her town, Maire is captured and sold to the eccentric Allemas, who enslaves her and demands that she produce sinister confections, including a witch’s gingerbread cottage, a living cookie boy, and size-altering cakes.

During her captivity, Maire is visited by Fyel, a ghostly being who is reluctant to reveal his connection to her. The more often they meet, the more her memories return, and she begins to piece together who and what she really is—as well as past mistakes that yield cosmic consequences.

Review:
This is one of those books that is difficult for me to review because I disliked it for a lot of the time, but the end brought it all together and I finished happy. The simple fact of the matter is that at least half of this book is just the main character, Maire, being enslaved and abused. (Though it’s inferred to have happened to other captives, rape isn’t one of the abuses Maire suffers, but she is severely physically abused, as well as starved.) And while hints are dripped in here and there, it takes a long time for further plot to appear (so long I wondered that there could be one, as there didn’t seem time left to develop one). Luckily, there is one. It just loops back a bit. It’s a bit hadn’t-wavey on mechanics, but thought-provoking. Plus, though I wouldn’t call this a romance novel, there is a wonderful example of a strong relationship. All in all, it passed the time of a tedious car trip quite effectively and I’m glad to have read it.

Book Review of The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue, by Mackenzi Lee

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I borrowed a copy of Mackenzi Lee‘s The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue through Hoopla.

Description from Goodreads:
Henry “Monty” Montague was born and bred to be a gentleman, but he was never one to be tamed. The finest boarding schools in England and the constant disapproval of his father haven’t been able to curb any of his roguish passions—not for gambling halls, late nights spent with a bottle of spirits, or waking up in the arms of women or men.

But as Monty embarks on his Grand Tour of Europe, his quest for a life filled with pleasure and vice is in danger of coming to an end. Not only does his father expect him to take over the family’s estate upon his return, but Monty is also nursing an impossible crush on his best friend and traveling companion, Percy.

Still it isn’t in Monty’s nature to give up. Even with his younger sister, Felicity, in tow, he vows to make this yearlong escapade one last hedonistic hurrah and flirt with Percy from Paris to Rome. But when one of Monty’s reckless decisions turns their trip abroad into a harrowing manhunt that spans across Europe, it calls into question everything he knows, including his relationship with the boy he adores.

Review:
I went back and forwards with this one, sometimes really loving it and other times distinctly disliking the main character and/or rolling my eyes over too-stupid-to-live stunts that make no sense, other than being obvious bids to move the plot in certain directions. While I loved the narrative style and Monty’s sense of self-depricating humor, I thought the whole thing got too ridiculous to believe by the end. The narrator, Christian Coulson however did a MARVELOUS job with the story.

Review of On Point (Out of Uniform #3), by Annabeth Albert

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I received a copy of Annabeth Albert‘s On Point through Netgalley. You can find my reviews for the first two books in the series here and here.

Description from Goodreads:
Pushing thirty, with his reenlistment looming, decorated navy sniper Maddox Horvat is taking a long look at what he really wants in life. And what he wants is Ben Tovey. It isn’t smart, falling for his best friend and fellow SEAL, but ten years with Ben has forged a bond so intimate Maddox can’t ignore it. He needs Ben by his side forever—heart and soul.

Ben admits he likes what he’s seen—his friend’s full lower lip and the perfect muscles of his ass have proved distracting more than once. But Ben’s still reeling from a relationship gone to hell, and he’s not about to screw up his friendship with Maddox, too.

Until their next mission throws Ben and Maddox closer together than ever before, with only each other to depend on.

Now, in the lonely, desperate hours awaiting rescue, the real challenge—confronting themselves, their future and their desires—begins. Man to man, friend to friend, lover to lover.

Review:
I liked this ok, about as much as any of the others in the series. Alberts writing is very readable, though there was one writing device used here that annoyed me. (The dropping of pronouns, making short—”Want you.” “Need You so much.”—sentences. Once or twice would have been fine, but it cropping up every time things got heated started to feel gimmicky.) I liked both of the characters and thought their personal hang-ups believable, Maddox’s more than Ben’s, though Ben’s fears of Maddox leaving the team were especially well done. All in all, I’m still interested enough to continue the series, even if I’m not quit gagging for more.