Tag Archives: self published

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Book Review: Captured by the Dark Commander, by Ellie Pond

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I picked up a freebie copy of Ellie Pond‘s Captured by the Dark Commander. It was pretty hyped on Tiktok. So, I gave it a chance.
captured by the dark commander cover

As a merman commander, my responsibilities are protect my people and follow the council’s orders. Despite my rank, I’ve never been good at following orders. When we discover Annabelle Portsmouth has the gene we’re looking for, I know we need her. It’s a rare trait that gives her the potential to become a mermaid. But after one look at her, I’d want her even without it. And I’m willing to take down my own men who touch her without permission.

I do what I have to do – I take her from her apartment and bring her under the sea to the domed Veiled City. A world of magic and secrets, where the females have the freedom to choose as many mates as they wish.

I understood my actions would have consequences. My government, like me, doesn’t give second chances. I did it for my nation, and for Annabelle, to let her become her true self.

But now she’s mine.

And I’ll do anything to keep this human. Anything. And I’m keeping this human.

my review

I’m afraid I just didn’t like this very much. It was basically ok, quality-wise. There were some inconsistency issues that annoyed me, and maybe some instances of wrong character names being used. (I’m not 100% sure about this one, but there were a couple of moments in scenes where I was like, did Pond mean for one of the male characters to be doing that when the other would make a lot more sense?) And several instances (especially in sex scenes) when I just didn’t know what was actually happening. But mostly, the issue is that I did not like it.

I understand that it is a dark romance. I understand that the “dark commander” is supposed to be dark. But dark romance is also…you know…a romance. But I neverever feel the spark between Nico and Annabelle. There is one sex scene that is so incredibly unpleasant I honestly thought it was rape. (I mean, the other male stepped in to remind the main male hero that he is supposed to be pleasuring his mate, and he is not.) And none of the other sex scenes felt authentic in any fashion. So, I never liked Nico. In the beginning, I gave him grace, room for character growth, etc. But he had not grown by the end. He remained unchained and captured by the dark commander photounpleasant, and everyone just let him.

I did like Holter and Caster, but they are not the focus here. This book was very much about Nico at the exclusion of the other two men, and it felt wonky and off-kilter because of it. And I liked Annabelle well enough. Her character is inconsistent, but mostly I liked her, and the world seems interesting.

All in all, however, I do not feel the need to continue the series.

Other Reviews:

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Book Review: When Darkness Falls, by Marian Pattechat

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I picked up a copy of When Darkness Falls, by Marian Pattechat as an Amazon freebie.

When Darkness Falls cover

Miya plans a break from work, but first she has to survive her latest piloting job. Which is sure to kill her… unless she breaks the hot alien prisoner out of the cargo hold.

Miya was supposed to be enjoying a well-deserved holiday on a sunny resort planet. But instead of sipping alien cocktails in her new bikini, she is stuck in her pilot seat transporting some edgy soldiers and their mysterious cargo to a backwater system.

The fact that said cargo is a guy with looks that set her heart racing and a voice that gives her tingles in all the right places is no consolation. Maybe because the sexy alien is a prisoner so dangerous they keep him caged, cuffed, and under guard. Or perhaps because he keeps claiming everyone is going to die unless Miya sets him free.

Yeah, sure. Like she would fall for that. This is going to be one boring, uneventful space trip on her perfectly safe ship… Right?

my review

First off, that cover is a travesty. Just saying.
This was cute. It’s kind of alien insta-love meets Riddick. The H and h run around surviving whatever randomness pops up, finally have an evening together to consummate their love, then a happily ever after in the form of an epilogue. It’s not overly spicy. There’s some humor here and there. And the writing is pretty good. I’d read another Pattechat book.

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Book Review: War Queen & War Mistress, by Jordyn Alexander

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I picked up a copy of Jordyn Alexander‘s War Queen as an Amazon freebie, then purchased a copy of War Mistress. (I also preordered book three, War Maiden.)

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About War Bride:

Cursed at birth with fairy-like beauty, Queen Adalind has only ever known pain and death at the hands of men.

Always a prize to be coveted, she doesn’t know that she can trust any male. When Adalind must save her kingdom after the death of her cruel husband during a war he started with the nearby orc kingdom, the jaded queen offers herself up as a sacrifice. The orc king will receive a bride with magical beauty and she will save her subjects from more slaughter. What she doesn’t expect is to be attracted to her future husband or find him to an honorable orc.

King Rognar is merely seeking to end the war started by the humans, take his pound of flesh and go home.

What he is not expecting is to be challenged by a beautiful, politically savvy queen, who seems to offer him everything he could ever want. But as he gets to see the real woman beneath her icy exterior, he finds that what he truly wants is Adalind’s heart. As passion ignites between war queen photothem, can they trust each other and rule two kingdoms?

Or will all the forces that conspire against them tear them and their kingdoms, apart?

Review:

Honestly, this was a pleasant surprise. I picked the book up as an Amazon freebie, and the cover is doing it no favors. But I thought this to be one of the better orc romances I’ve read. Often, I want to like them more than I turn out to. But Alexander walks a thin line here with her hero. He’s the ‘great king,’ alpha of alphas among the orcs, etc. But he’s no alpha-hole. In fact, he’s the opposite, a man confident enough in himself, his power, and his position to be willing to bend and follow his mate’s lead. He is so amazingly careful of Adalind and I adored him.

Adalind, in turn, is a strong, resilient character. There are some trigger warnings on this one. But even I, who is generally very critical of rape’s use in fiction (I generally think it is far too often used as cheap, lazy plotting), have no issue with its use here. There is none on-page; it is integral to the plot, tactfully dealt with, and the resulting trauma wasn’t magiced away.

I did feel like the last quarter was somehow just not as tight and well-written as the first 3/4, though I don’t know that I could articulate why. (The villain’s POV probably has something to do with it.) But I’ve already bought book 2 and pre-ordered book three, which should tell you more about how I felt than anything else.

About War Mistress:

Pellia Santir has always had her choices taken from her, since she was a child.

Finally free from the abusive king she was forced to serve as mistress, Pellia is looking for a fresh start. A new path. And a new lover. When she is installed as Regent of Adrik alongside the quiet and brooding Verrick, she believes she has found that lover. If only she can convince him of that fact.

Verrick ka Roknir is an orc who has been burned by human women before.

Haunted by the memory of a treacherous past-mate, Verrick is determined to never be blinded by beauty again. Even if the flirtatious human regent is oh, so tempting. He resolves for his heart to be as stone, but the pretty human has a way of getting behind his defenses.

When fires break out in the south of the country, caused by an insidious force, Pellia and Verrick are put to the test.

war mistress photoCan they come together to save the country from those that threaten it and ignite the passion growing between them? Or will the enemy destroy them and the land they swore to protect?

Review:

War Mistress is fine, which is itself fine. But it is also disappointing because when I read book one, War Bride, I thought it something special. War Mistress is fine, but it didn’t have anything that struck me as particularly excellent or unusual. It is a fine orc romance. I mean, I liked the characters fine. The villian is super obvious with underwhelming and cliched motivation. But we’ve all read such a thousand times before. So, there’s no reason to complain about it more than elsewhere. So, it is fine. The romance borders on fated mates and, therefore, doesn’t particularly grow so much as just burgen with the characters’ proximity to one another. But again, that’s nothing new. So, it’s fine. The third-act breakup is predictable and too easily resolved. But third-act breakups are super common plot points. So, again, fine. All in all, this is a fine romantasy. If I hadn’t liked book one so much more than this one, I don’t think my enjoyment of this one would feel so tarnished in comparison. But I did. So this one just feels like a less polished, less interesting book.

Other Reviews:

Do You Dogear: War Queen, by Jordyn Alexander