Review: Triumph by Kate Pearce

Read on 9th April 2022.

Synopsis: 

Rehz Akran has had enough of the Tribute program and its sadistic overseer, Palk. When Palk captures Rehz’s mate, Anna Lee, and offers her and Aled Price to the Ungrich for further research, Rehz is ready for rebellion. But first, with the help of Kai Mexr—who wants Aled back just as much as Rehz wants Anna—he must break into the Ungrich world, rescue Anna, and discover why they want her so badly.

The chilling answer to that question lies in Anna’s forgotten origins—origins that Aled shares. To save their lovers, Rehz and Kai must take on Palk and a government that is more than willing to sacrifice Anna and Aled to keep the peace.

The two couples join forces—in more ways than one—and together they discover that they may be capable of defeating two civilizations and changing the course of Mitan history forever.

Reader discretion advised. This title contains the following sensitive themes: Dubious Consent, Non-Consent, Explicit Violence, Heavy Kink.

Review: No Guts, No Girl

Read from 12 April 2021 to 5 March 2022.

Synopsis: 

SHE IS HIS DREAM WOMAN AND THE START OF HIS WORST NIGHTMARE…
Multi-phobic Linus has never been big on courage. It’s why he loves his job in the library. No noise, no shouting, no stress. The only flaw: no chance he’ll ever catch the attention of his dream woman, art student and book lover Melba from Italy.

But what could possibly go wrong if he only pretends to be a hero? An awful lot. He could…
– attract the attention of the Mafia
– be framed for a crime he didn’t commit
– amass mortal enemies

And yet, what if she only pretends to be a good girl?

Can Linus find the courage to sort out the mess he’s in, unmask the real culprit, and get his happily-ever-after? Or will someone close the book on romance and him for good?

If you enjoy a perfect mix of humor, romance, and mystery, and if you like to see an underdog succeed, you will love this unique cozy romantic comedy mystery.
NO GRAPHIC VIOLENCE, SEX, OR STRONG LANGUAGE.

All the Positives with Negative Reviews

How do you handle negative reviews?

the orang-utan librarian

Ahh the topic that will never die. Recently on book twitter (because it’s always on twitter) there was a flaming row debate about how people that write negative end of year posts (ie worst of the year/most disappointing etc) were evil and should burn in hell wrong to do so. So here we are again. Even though I’ve discussed this before (more than once), I feel like there’s still more to say on the topic. Because I would go further than saying “negative reviews aren’t that bad”- I think there’s a lot of positive things to say about them too. 

Negative reviews make positive reviews more meaningful. The whole point of reviews is to get an honest reaction from a reader- otherwise it’s not a review at all. As Briana from Pages Unbound pointed out in her brilliant post on this topic, sticking to purely positive reviews…

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Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone who follows and reads my blog!

Here’s hoping 2021 is a much brighter and enjoyable year.

I’m hoping to reopen my reviews again in 2021, stay tuned for an updated post in the new year for more information.

Review: Drayton ~ The Taker

Read from 3 – 11 December, 2020.

Synopsis: 

Drayton once believed he was a vampire. He doesn’t know what he is. Or why he has lived for thousands of years. He takes not his victim’s blood but the silky essence of their soul during their last breath. Often mistaken for the Angel of Death, his victims sometimes ask for forgiveness. Sometimes he delivers. After all, he is not without sin.

Blake Barnes commits suicide by freezing on Mt. Hood. As his life fades, he assumes Death has come to him in the form of a young man. In his last moments, he asks Death to find his family, to tell them he’s sorry. Drayton honors this last request as he absorbs Blake Barnes’ waning essence. He travels to the Lowcountry of South Carolina to find his family. But saying sorry is not always as easy as the words imply. Drayton seeks to unravel the mess Blake Barnes has left behind and the predator he’s unleashed on his family.

Review: The Contract Bride

Read on 21 November 2020.

Synopsis: Nik Adersol harbors a dark belief after the death of his first wife, Lira. Having loved him from afar for years, Sirene Dulantz is thrilled when contracted to become his new bride.But Nik’s not at all pleased to be presented with her, and Sirene wonders if she’s up to the task of healing the wounds Lira left behind. (An erotic novellete)

Bookish Things: 26 pages. The cover is pretty basic.

Where to buy: Amazon on kindle for $3.11.

My Review: 

bookshelves: 3-star-review, a-lil-sexy, fantasy, novella, romance-ish, something-missing

The first of G.L Drummond’s (A.K.A Gayla Drummond) stories I’ve read, this was merely a teaser.

The story is light, the characterisations not much heavier, but the writing was pretty solid and as such the story read easily.

This could easily be fleshed out and given much more depth of character. Doing so would allow the reader to care about Sirene and Nik.

What didn’t sit so well with me was the language used during the sex scene with Sirene. Now don’t get me wrong, I have no issues with the c-bomb being used in erotica, but it didn’t fit the tone of the scene and really threw the whole thing off. Everything else about the scene was gentle and tender but throwing in the c-bomb says the complete opposite. Talk about a cold shower!

I noticed one typo:
71% – Sirene had vaguely becpme (become) aware that she…