Tag Archives: romance

doves and demons

Book Review: Doves & Demons, by Clio Evans

I purchased a copy of Clio EvansDoves & Demons as part of my Mothman Challenge.
doves and demons cover

Welcome to London, where the roaring twenties are filled with fangs and freaks.

When Irene is kidnapped by a gang of monsters, she is shoved straight into a world of magic and murder.

A Mothman. An Unseelie. A Demonic Plague Doctor.

The Freaks are a terrifying group ready to wreak havoc on the world that destroyed their humanity. But as these creatures drag Irene into the dark— they crave her soul, mind, and body.

The longer these four are together, the faster they fall into a terrifying type of love.

Will the demons take the wings from their caged dove, or will they set her free before their world devours her?

my review

I enjoyed the author’s commitment to going all out on this one. The love interests are bad guys, remain bad guys throughout, and all indications suggest will be bad guys in the future. Their love is obsessive, all-encompassing, and murderous. The heroine is perfectly willing to welcome them as they are and accept the changes within herself. No one’s love makes them become better people. They all remain villains, but now they are villains together. I enjoyed that. I also liked that people tried to protect one another and failed. No aspect of the plot twisted around to give success where it shouldn’t have been.

I was always a little uncertain if what the men were attracted to was actually Irene or the entity/element that Irene housed, and that was a bit of a niggle for me. Maybe this will be further explored in the second book of the duet; I don’t know. I also thought some of the spicy scenes got a little redundant (though I enjoyed most of them). But that’s a smaller matter of taste.

All in all, I enjoyed this and look forward to book two.

doves and demons photo


Other Reviews:

monsters and miseries banner

Book Review: The Monsters & Miseries series, by A.K. Koonce

I picked up a freebie copy of A.K. Koonce‘s the Monsters & Miseries series omnibus (Hellish Fae, Sinless Demons, and Spiteful Creatures) from Amazon.

monsters and miseries covers

There’s a dark secret inside of me. A monster clawing to get out.

I was thrown out of the fae world because of it. But I’m back now. Three brooding demons and a sinful incubus returned me to my sweet little homeland. And I’ll finish what I started all those years ago.

Sure, maybe my delicate fae features are twisting into spiraling horns and demonic eyes, but that won’t stop me from righting my wrongs.

The Queen of Hell might possess my body but the deadly vengeance in my blood is my own. The Prince will die by my hand for what he’s done.

All I have to do is make sure the creature at the back of my mind doesn’t kill me first.

my review

This was a bit of a whimpering fizzle for me; so much potential utterly wasted. The series started out well enough but then seemed to start spinning its wheels and repeating itself. It felt very unfocused.  Whole elements of the plot disappeared and then reappeared with no explanation (I’m thinking Catherine); the characters were caricatures rather than characters; the editing needs another pass; the ending was a cop-out, and all the “fuckings” drove me nuts.

Let me address this last one first, before anyone mistakes me for a pearl-clutcher. I curse like a sailor. I have no problem with foul language in books. But the use of fucking in this book is overwhelming. It barrelled right the fuck into redundant territory and kept fucking going. I got monsters and miseries photoso tired of reading it. It just became a stutter in the narrative. But worse, every fucking character used it in exactly the same fucking way, which meant it did nothing to differentiate characters. They all sounded exactly the fucking same.

Lastly, and most importantly, there isn’t enough story here to carry 500+ pages and nowhere near enough sex to be called porn-without-plot. So, I was bored. Others’ experiences may vary.


Other Review:

Book Review: A Lady of Rooksgrave Manor, by Kathryn Moon

I’d seen Kathryn Moon‘s A Lady of Rooksgrave Manor recommended several times. So, when I saw it as an Amazon freebie, I snagged a copy.

a lady of rooksgrave manor cover

On the brink of losing her position as a maid and with no prospects to go on, the offer of a place at Rooksgrave Manor—a house of ill and unusual repute—sounds like a perfect fit for a young woman with Esther’s inclinations. Even better, the invitation comes by the hand of the handsome Dr. Underwood, a delicate gentleman with a ferocious alter ego who knows exactly what he wants from Esther.

Upon arrival, the men and the daily decadence of the manor feel too good to be true for a girl of Esther’s station. There are rules to be followed, expectations to meet, and Esther is afraid she might be too wicked even for a place like Rooksgrave.

Temptations lurk around every shadowy corner and Esther has never been a girl able to resist. But the risk of disappointing her new gentlemen isn’t all that’s threatening Esther’s new position. Rooksgrave Manor’s protections for its unusual patrons are failing, the wards are crumbling, and Esther’s new and exquisitely pleasurable life may all come tumbling down.

my review

I have no general problem with Porn Without Plot…or without much plot. It can be a lot of fun, and I knew what kind of book I picked up. But I think I can officially now say that almost 400 pages of it is just too much. As much as I liked Ester and her men, I got booooored. Especially once everyone had made nice and become a happy family. After that, what little tension of interest there was evaporated.

a lady of rooksgrave manor photoI did appreciate that Esther was a woman who gleefully enjoyed sex. I mean, sure, if you want to be critical, it plays into the women can’t control their urges and are slaves to their desires narrative that has been so bad for women throughout so much of history. But I also think Moon was trying to subvert it a little bit. And honestly, I’m just not interested in delving into it. Mostly, this was a sweet kinkfest worth taking at face value.

I liked the characters. What little world there is, is interesting. The writing is perfectly readable. All in all, I enjoyed it. 400ish pages was just too much to keep me interested in with as little plot as there is.


Other Reviews:

Review of A Lady of Rooksgrave Manor by Kathryn Moon

Reading After Dark: A Lady of Rooksgrave Manor [Tempting Monsters Series #1]