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I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Trigger warnings - heroin addiction, alcoholism, past child abuse, possible past sexual abuse, threatened sexual assault, dissociation and mental illness
This book sounded like it would have been right up my alley so I was super excited to get into it. Unfortunately this story just wasn’t for me and currently I don’t know if I will be continuing on with the series - even with the crazy cliffhanger.
This book is a M/M romance where we follow Quentin (an Earl) and Laurence (a recovering heroin addict and psychic). Both characters were interesting with pretty good back stories and the slow burn romance was great.
Quentin’s dialogue and naivety definitely left something to be desired. I have never come across a fully grown character to speak like Quentin and to have reached adulthood and not understand blatantly obvious flirting and come-ons really did irk me.
I thought the concepts were great and it could have been a fantastic book. It dealt with numerous difficult subjects but just not in a way I found enjoyable. The ideas themselves were super interesting but the execution just wasn’t up there.
Trigger warnings - heroin addiction, alcoholism, past child abuse, possible past sexual abuse, threatened sexual assault, dissociation and mental illness
This book sounded like it would have been right up my alley so I was super excited to get into it. Unfortunately this story just wasn’t for me and currently I don’t know if I will be continuing on with the series - even with the crazy cliffhanger.
This book is a M/M romance where we follow Quentin (an Earl) and Laurence (a recovering heroin addict and psychic). Both characters were interesting with pretty good back stories and the slow burn romance was great.
Quentin’s dialogue and naivety definitely left something to be desired. I have never come across a fully grown character to speak like Quentin and to have reached adulthood and not understand blatantly obvious flirting and come-ons really did irk me.
I thought the concepts were great and it could have been a fantastic book. It dealt with numerous difficult subjects but just not in a way I found enjoyable. The ideas themselves were super interesting but the execution just wasn’t up there.
Psychics
Laurence is a troubled young man, bogged down by visions failures, and a nasty drug addiction. Quentin has come to San Diego in an attempt to outrun his past, his family, and himself. When their paths cross, the men are immediately drawn to each. Add in a stalker ex-lover, 2 uncontrolled powers, and the dubious attention of a vengeful god, and Laurence and Quentin must make some difficult decisions about their lives and each other.
Laurence is a troubled young man, bogged down by visions failures, and a nasty drug addiction. Quentin has come to San Diego in an attempt to outrun his past, his family, and himself. When their paths cross, the men are immediately drawn to each. Add in a stalker ex-lover, 2 uncontrolled powers, and the dubious attention of a vengeful god, and Laurence and Quentin must make some difficult decisions about their lives and each other.
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
What a great story! I love the slow building of the plot and the way in which we are discovering most of the facts at the same time that the characters are doing it.
And the characters! OMG! They are fabulous! I love how the author uses language to signal the otherness of Quentin, and how quaint and old-fashioned he is. He is so... I want to say innocent, but that's not exactly how he is, although there is a sense of purity coming from him. And he IS proper! *laughs*
The plotline is truly well-done, the way in which the paranormal slowly began to fill the story, how Laurence and Quentin connect at a level that even they perceive as weird and different.
And yes, I know a lot of people didn't like this story, and yes, as the two MCs are addicts there are people that can find it triggering. And, the worst sin for a lot of readers: there is no sex... THE HORROR!
But I loved it. I adore the slow-building of the plot, I love that the characters might end in a relationship, but they aren't ready for it, yet. And I love that, at the end of the book, even as the main arc is satisfactorily closed, there are still a lot of questions, particularly about Laurence's family history and Quentin's past.
I am already listening to the second book because I simply couldn't stop at the end of this one.
And the narrator is... Joel Leslie *laughs, because OF COURSE is Joel Leslie*
And the characters! OMG! They are fabulous! I love how the author uses language to signal the otherness of Quentin, and how quaint and old-fashioned he is. He is so... I want to say innocent, but that's not exactly how he is, although there is a sense of purity coming from him. And he IS proper! *laughs*
The plotline is truly well-done, the way in which the paranormal slowly began to fill the story, how Laurence and Quentin connect at a level that even they perceive as weird and different.
And yes, I know a lot of people didn't like this story, and yes, as the two MCs are addicts there are people that can find it triggering. And, the worst sin for a lot of readers: there is no sex... THE HORROR!
But I loved it. I adore the slow-building of the plot, I love that the characters might end in a relationship, but they aren't ready for it, yet. And I love that, at the end of the book, even as the main arc is satisfactorily closed, there are still a lot of questions, particularly about Laurence's family history and Quentin's past.
I am already listening to the second book because I simply couldn't stop at the end of this one.
And the narrator is... Joel Leslie *laughs, because OF COURSE is Joel Leslie*
When I started this book, I thought it was going to be a typical romance novel, with lots of sex and drama, and I think so did most of the people who rated this novel so poorly. However, it instead reads like a gay version of a late 80s / early 90s paranormal series, which I enjoy immensely.
Definitely recommend to anyone who enjoys Mercedes Lackey or Jane Yolen or the like. A bit more references to boners, but what do you expect?
Definitely recommend to anyone who enjoys Mercedes Lackey or Jane Yolen or the like. A bit more references to boners, but what do you expect?
Score: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Disclaimer: I want to disclose I received a copy of Jack of Thorns due to being part of this Book Tour, but that this hasn’t affected either the score or the review
Definitely, this book was not what I was expecting from it, but honestly, once I got rid of my early expectations, it became a really enjoyable lecture. More than a big thriller, we could call this book a slow-cooked paranormal romance where the plot is used as the catalyzer to make it advance.
Once we establish this book is more about the relationships between characters and how they evolve after traumatic things, it becomes a much more enjoyable read.
The balance that is established between the main characters, Laurence much more extroverted and a sex lover, meanwhile Quentin practically has aversion to physical contact, helps to also bring the focus over some of the problems that are treated in the narrative.
Both having supernatural powers also gives another interesting layer to the book, which makes me remember the Magicians to a certain extent, despite I’m not a fan of systems without clear laws.
In definitive, this is a really slow book, centered around the relationship between Laurence and Quentin, and which treats several difficult topics (see content warnings before reading it); but which acts as a good point of entry to the Inheritance saga.
Disclaimer: I want to disclose I received a copy of Jack of Thorns due to being part of this Book Tour, but that this hasn’t affected either the score or the review
Definitely, this book was not what I was expecting from it, but honestly, once I got rid of my early expectations, it became a really enjoyable lecture. More than a big thriller, we could call this book a slow-cooked paranormal romance where the plot is used as the catalyzer to make it advance.
Once we establish this book is more about the relationships between characters and how they evolve after traumatic things, it becomes a much more enjoyable read.
The balance that is established between the main characters, Laurence much more extroverted and a sex lover, meanwhile Quentin practically has aversion to physical contact, helps to also bring the focus over some of the problems that are treated in the narrative.
Both having supernatural powers also gives another interesting layer to the book, which makes me remember the Magicians to a certain extent, despite I’m not a fan of systems without clear laws.
In definitive, this is a really slow book, centered around the relationship between Laurence and Quentin, and which treats several difficult topics (see content warnings before reading it); but which acts as a good point of entry to the Inheritance saga.
Read as part of my EuroPrideCon reading challenge: to read new-to-me-authors before the convention (https://europridecon.jimdo.com/).
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Score: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Disclaimer: I want to disclose I received a copy of Jack of Thorns due to being part of this Book Tour, but that this hasn’t affected either the score or the review
Definitely, this book was not what I was expecting from it, but honestly, once I got rid of my early expectations, it became a really enjoyable lecture. More than a big thriller, we could call this book a slow-cooked paranormal romance where the plot is used as the catalyzer to make it advance.
Once we establish this book is more about the relationships between characters and how they evolve after traumatic things, it becomes a much more enjoyable read.
The balance that is established between the main characters, Laurence much more extroverted and a sex lover, meanwhile Quentin practically has aversion to physical contact, helps to also bring the focus over some of the problems that are treated in the narrative.
Both having supernatural powers also gives another interesting layer to the book, which makes me remember the Magicians to a certain extent, despite I’m not a fan of systems without clear laws.
In definitive, this is a really slow book, centered around the relationship between Laurence and Quentin, and which treats several difficult topics (see content warnings before reading it); but which acts as a good point of entry to the Inheritance saga.