Tag Archives: self published

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Book Review: The Melier, by Poppy Rhys

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I received a copy of Poppy Rhys‘ The Melier in a recent Renegade Romance book box.
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Running for her life…

Lucia hijacks a stolen cargo ship only to find she’s not alone. A giant, beastly alien slave with no memory of his past is now her newest acquisition, and she has no idea what to do with him.

Stuck together for the foreseeable future on the journey back to her home planet, Lucia struggles with the decision to keep him close or risk letting him fall back into enemy hands.

Outrunning the pirates in pursuit, and her own desires, is shaping up to be an impossible task.

my review

Entertaining, but honestly, a structural mess in which the first third doesn’t match the last two thirds. I was frequently thrown for a loop when characters were suddenly setting off to do this or that with no explanation. Like, ‘Time to get ready for the party,’ and I, the reader, was like, ‘What party?’ The story wanders and feels plotless. At no point did I really feel Rhys had a plan for the story; everything feels random. By the end, I was still unsure if Lucia is meant to have one or two mates, for example.

the melier photoThere is an entirely pointless SA scene. It’s comparatively mild but absolutely extraneous. Leaving it out would have no effect on the outcome of the story. But even the consensual sex is disappointing. None (NONE) of the sex scenes have even a paragraph worth of foreplay. Sex is 100% just P-n-V. Boring.

I liked the characters, especially Soren and his brothers, and the family made for interesting side characters. But this was a pretty ‘meh’ read for me.

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Review: The Melier & The Melier: Homeworld by Poppy Rhys

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Book Review: Lord of Population, by Elizabeth Stephens

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A copy of Elizabeth Stephens‘ Lord of Population came in my most recent Renegade Romance book box.
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She thinks she can steal from me, the little human. Adorable. I can’t decide what will be more fun – the hunt, or what I will do to her when I catch her. And I will catch her. There is nowhere she can run.

Abel was of perfectly sound body and mind when she looted the Other’s corpse. He looked dead. Wait. Did he just smirk up at her? No. Definitely not…

Hiding out in an abandoned townhouse, Abel doesn’t expect to hear that same bloodsucking alien come knocking on her door or that, when trouble finds them, he might stand at her back, rather than stab her through it.

But when he offers to help her cross the ruined world of Population, Abel knows better than to believe him. Because when he looks at her, it’s with a hunger that seems to go beyond the taste of her blood and, when he asks for payment, he requires the one thing she can’t give up.

Her trust.

Run all you like, little human. The sword you carry won’t be enough to stop me from coming for you. You’re mine. Blood. Body. Heart.

my review

Goodreads tells me that “Lord of Population is a relaunched and combined edition of Population and Saltlands.” That it is two books combined into one is not surprising. You feel it as a reader. In fact, it feels like three. Arc one is Abel meeting and falling for Kane. Book two would be Abel and Mikael’s rescue plot. The third is dealing with Elise. (I hope I made those vague enough that those who’ve read it recognize what I mean, and it isn’t spoiled for those who haven’t.) So, yeah, the book is a little clunky in that regard. But at no point was I like, “OMG, when will this end?!”

I had other complaints. The book starts out giving you a rough, tough, alpha bad-ass alien. Then, he pretty quickly turns into a mild-mannered feudal lord, loved by his subjects, one and all. *Whiplash…and disappointment* The plot pretty predictable. I can’t think of a single twist that caught me off-guard, not even the last one. And the editing starts to fall apart toward the end (both copy edits and content edits). For example, we’re told someone is clean-shaven, and then, on the same page, Abel touches the person’s beard.

Complaints or not, however, I generally enjoyed this. I liked the characters. There are a few heavy topics dealt with. While rape in the dystopian world is inferred, it never happens on-page to the main character (so I didn’t have to read it). And I liked the story in general, better than I liked Taken to Voraxia (which I didn’t hate), for sure.

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Other Reviews:

The Tattered Page: Lord of Population

 

I fell through a portal and into a gargoyles arms

Book Review: I Fell Through A Portal And Into A Gargoyles Arms, by Dana Isaly

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Always on the lookout for authors whose surnames start with ‘I’ for my yearly Author Alphabet Challenge, I picked up a freebie copy of Dana Isaly‘s I Fell Through A Portal And Into A Gargoyles Arms from Amazon.

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After getting laid off from my job, all I want to do is go home, put on a Halloween movie, and take a hot bath to soak away my troubles.

But things take a turn as soon as my head sinks below the water.

When I come back up for air and open my eyes, I’m not in my bathtub anymore—I’m in the arms of a very large, very gray, very masculine man.

Turns out, he’s a gargoyle, and I’m no longer in my world.

Thoren says I’m his mate, that he’s waited for me for his entire life. And there’s no denying this pull between us. But I’m determined to figure out a way to get back home.

There’s just one problem, the bond is growing stronger every day. When he’s away, there’s a heaviness in my chest. And when he’s near, my body aches for him.

Leaving him may be harder than I originally thought.

my review

I Fell Through A Portal And Into A Gargoyles Arms Dana IsalyI have read one other book by this author, which was a dark romance that I did not like at all. I chose not to continue the series, even though I owned all of it. (That’s not an easy thing for me to do.) However, I decided to give her another try with something completely different. This is a largely plotless, fluffy fantasy romance. I thought it was sweet and entertaining. There’s not a lot to it. The title tells you all of it, really. But he is a giant cinnamon roll that falls first, and she has enough backbone not to feel limp in the circumstances. If you want to read something mildly spicy just for the feels, this one will fit the bill.

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