Tag Archives: Supernatural Book Crate

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Book Review: Bite Marks, by Jenika Snow

I received a copy of Jenika Snow‘s Bite Marks in a monthly Supernatural Book Crate.
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Adryan

I was ruthless, brutal. A sociopath by all accounts. The leader of the American Vampire Clan, a male who all feared because I was merciless.

And then I found my mate. Kayla. So fragile. Breakable. So human.

I’d make her mine, and she’d hate me for it. I wanted to give her pain with pleasure, wanted to break her skin and lick up the blood I spilled… take Kayla into me like she’d take me into her.

I’d have her surrendering to my needs. I’d give her my body but wouldn’t be able to give her my heart.

How could I when it wasn’t something I had to offer, when I was nothing but a coldhearted killer?

So when the threats come to my front door, it’s time to show my female she’s mated to the most dangerous vampire in the world.

my review

Everyone seems to like Jenika Snow’s books. To each their own. But I bought several of them at some point and have yet to find a single one I particularly enjoyed. This was just drivel, as far as I’m concerned. You know how people say a nice guy won’t need to tell you he’s nice, a wealthy man won’t need to flash his cash, and a true hero doesn’t need to tell you he’s a hero? There are any number of such phrases. This is all I could think of as Adryan told everyone over and over and over again how merciless, strong, psycho, vicious, deadly, etc., he is. The lady doth protest too much, methinks. Or that’s how it felt. It was as if he had to keep insisting on the fact rather than just showing himself to be scary. It felt inflated and desperate. Meanwhile, Kayla had no personality at all.

The plot was a single predictable blip, and the writing itself is unimpressive. Plus, the villain turns out to be the only LGBTQ+ character, which is hella problematic, IMO. I think I still have one Snow book on my shelf somewhere. But I also think it’s time to just accept that her writing is not for me. bite marks photo


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Book Review: Queenie & the Krakens, by Aleera Anaya Ceres

I received a copy of Aleera Anaya CeresQueenie & the Krakens in my November Supernatural Book Crate this month. While I don’t dislike this cover, I really do wish they would just leave the original covers on the monthly book selection. I almost always like them better. I don’t know if it’s a cost thing or a ‘special edition’ thing, but I think I say this every time I post a Supernatural Book Crate book, and I probably will continue to.

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Naomi Queen swore to herself she’d never get involved with criminals. She didn’t want any part of the world that raised her because she knew the trouble the malicious underground could bring. But all that changes when she witnesses a murder between a gang of mermen shifters.

Swept into the maelstrom of the paranormal criminal underbelly wasn’t exactly high on her to-do list. Neither was being hunted by the murderous gang that called themselves the Rogue Waves.

With her life in danger, Naomi has no other choice but to accept protection from the deadly MC’s rivals. But hiding at the Kraken Motorcycle Club’s compound was the last thing she wanted. These mermen are dangerous, violent, and sexy. Everything she’s tried to avoid. They’ll chew her up and spit her out like the vicious sharks that they are… or they’ll try to.

Naomi has a few tricks of her own up her sleeve, and if the Krakens thought she’d be a meek little witness, they have another thing coming. She can be as ruthless as the monster whose name they carry, and by the time she wreaks havoc upon their lives—and their hearts—they won’t even know what hit them.

my review

This has absolute chaos gremlin energy to it, and I’m here for it. Now, I didn’t like every aspect of it. It hit on some of my personal icks. But for the most part, I thought this was a lot of crazy, absurd fun.

Let’s just talk language for a minute. I curse like a sailor. So, the fact that these mermen motorcycle gang members do, too, didn’t bother me at all. However, I just can’t with the way women are always referred to so derogatorily. (This is in a lot of MC books, not just this one. But it really seemed to stand out here.) Bitch, for example, is used as an insult, a neutral description or identifier (i.e. not a man), and endearment in this book. And Old Lady is something to aspire to (separating you from the club whores). And I just can’t with it. I’m not saying anything general. It’s just one of my personal icks when women are talked about this way by the love interest(s), and it kept me from liking the book more than I did.

I loved the idea of the mermen motorcycle gang. But, honestly, the shifter aspect of the book was minimal, which was disappointing. Also, the book needs an editor. The prefix “pre–” means before (as in prefix). Just learning this one piece of grammar would correct about half a dozen misuses of the word precedes alone, for example. The book isn’t bad about typo-type editing mistakes. But there are a lot of misused words.

queenie and hte krakens photoHaving said all of that, while the reader doesn’t get to know the men well (it’s erotica, after all), they are a lot of fun. Box and Slug, especially. And I love that there weren’t immovable gender dynamics. Swords cross. Dominant men flex unexpectedly. Queenie tops, etc. And I appreciate that she had a backbone of steel and saves herself over and over again.

All in all. I didn’t love-love this. But I enjoyed the ride enough to want to check out more of Ceres’ books.


Other Reviews:

@authoralynichole Queenie and the Krakens by Aleera Anaya Ceres #whychooseromance #whychose #kindleromance #bookrecommendations #review ♬ original sound – Aly Nichole

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Book Review: Hell Gate, by Veronica Eden

I received a copy of Hell Gate, by Veronica Eden in last month’s Supernatural Book Crate.

hell gate cover

Open the gate…if you dare.

The first thing I’m warned about when I arrive at the girls’ home is to stay away from the abandoned graveyard. Local urban legend claims it’s host to a gate to Hell.

Then I was dared…

The legend is as real as the monsters I’ve summoned by activating the gate. Demons guard it, waiting for skeptical idiots like me to do the ritual. Three sinfully hot, dangerously powerful demons.

Valerian.
Matthias.
Alder.

Ruthless.
Deadly.
Terrifying.

The gate’s three wicked protectors won’t let me get away without paying their price.
I’m at their mercy, fighting to survive them and the supernatural world they drag me into.
But none of us are prepared for what is awakening within me.

A long buried secret and hidden ancient magic will change everything.
The match is lit and together we’re all going up in flames.

my review

I gotta be honest. This was a big ol’ meh for me. It was competently written, and I imagine it’ll find its audience. But I was bored with it. I just felt like Lily spent too much of the book whinging about her rough childhood, and then the rest of the book was just the men telling her how amazing she was, over and over again. So, yes, I get it, she’s a special special snowflake and not like the other girls. Can we move on now?

Further, I was a bit weirded out by her barely legal-ness. She’s 17 (there’s an 18th birthday in there somewhere, but it’s unclear where). The sex starts as just sex but very quickly progresses to things like double penetration to accommodate three mates. Maybe it’s a symptom of getting old and having teen daughters, but I was just a tad squinked out by a new-to-sex woman so quickly hell gate photoprogressing to kink-queen. Plus, the men where forever telling EACH OTHER what to do with her—move her this way, make her beg, etc.—but never speaking to her at such moments. I felt like she was just a doll for them to act upon with one another.

Lastly, the plot is weak. Sure, I get that porn-with-plot exists. But I didn’t sense that this 400+ book was aiming for plot-less erotica status. It had a plot. It was just a paper-thin one.

All in all, it’s probably a taste thing. I liked the characters well enough and the world was interesting, but I was meh about this book. It’s probably fine, just not for me.


Other Reviews:

Review – Hell Gate by Veronica Eden

Hell Gate by Veronica Eden