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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
I was lucky enough to win a copy of this book from Goodreads.
In the beginning, I thought this book had a lot of promise. The story and the characters were laid out nicely and you knew exactly what kind of story to expect. However, as we progressed through the story, things seemed to move faster and faster. Things moved so fast at one point it was like a blinked and things had progressed to where I had no idea how we even got there.
I am glad there is another book in these series though because there are still a lot of answers that are needed. However, I don't think I will be continuing the series.
In the beginning, I thought this book had a lot of promise. The story and the characters were laid out nicely and you knew exactly what kind of story to expect. However, as we progressed through the story, things seemed to move faster and faster. Things moved so fast at one point it was like a blinked and things had progressed to where I had no idea how we even got there.
I am glad there is another book in these series though because there are still a lot of answers that are needed. However, I don't think I will be continuing the series.
DNF @ pg126
i can't rate this
i can't read this
i really don't like this
i don't like the writing
i don't like the characters
i don't like anything about this book
i didn't even get up to the smut and i felt uncomfy
i give up on life
the thing is: i am okay with smutty books - it's just the WRITING that made this one SO bad - i need to search for more smutty books without cringy writing and dialogue.
cookie is a dumb name
kaysar is a rip-off of rhysand.
i just can't do it anymore
i'm sorry if i stopped before i could get to the smut
i just couldn't do it on this one
aynways i need to read something else now
i can't rate this
i can't read this
i really don't like this
i don't like the writing
i don't like the characters
i don't like anything about this book
i didn't even get up to the smut and i felt uncomfy
i give up on life
the thing is: i am okay with smutty books - it's just the WRITING that made this one SO bad - i need to search for more smutty books without cringy writing and dialogue.
cookie is a dumb name
kaysar is a rip-off of rhysand.
i just can't do it anymore
i'm sorry if i stopped before i could get to the smut
i just couldn't do it on this one
aynways i need to read something else now
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
"Someone is enjoying her new powers, I see. As she should." A husky chuckle fanned her lips, and she wanted to tell him to shut up and never stop talking. To be still and move against her. To let her go and hold on forever.
This was the second book that I've read by Gena Showalter, and I'm obsessed with her writing style. Heartless was emotional, action-packed, spicy, and had hilarious and witty banter. I was a little skeptical upon reading the synopsis for this book, but once I started reading, I had trouble putting this down. Cookie and Kaysar's backstories were interesting, and the world building surrounding them added another layer to an already great story.
A vessel of vengeance and woe. He had no defenses against her. Desire burned him. Scorched him - branded him. He wanted her more than he'd ever wanted anything.
I really enjoyed the trajectory of Cookie and Kaysar's relationship. What begins as a ploy for vengeance turns into red-hot yearning, pining, palpable chemistry between these two, with a heart wrenching twist. These two characters are greatly matched, going toe-to-toe with each other at every turn while trying to fight their undeniable connection. The ending wrapped everything up nicely, while still leaving room for more. I'm excited to see what's next in this series, and if they'll make a reappearance at some point. 5/5 star read for me!
This was the second book that I've read by Gena Showalter, and I'm obsessed with her writing style. Heartless was emotional, action-packed, spicy, and had hilarious and witty banter. I was a little skeptical upon reading the synopsis for this book, but once I started reading, I had trouble putting this down. Cookie and Kaysar's backstories were interesting, and the world building surrounding them added another layer to an already great story.
A vessel of vengeance and woe. He had no defenses against her. Desire burned him. Scorched him - branded him. He wanted her more than he'd ever wanted anything.
I really enjoyed the trajectory of Cookie and Kaysar's relationship. What begins as a ploy for vengeance turns into red-hot yearning, pining, palpable chemistry between these two, with a heart wrenching twist. These two characters are greatly matched, going toe-to-toe with each other at every turn while trying to fight their undeniable connection. The ending wrapped everything up nicely, while still leaving room for more. I'm excited to see what's next in this series, and if they'll make a reappearance at some point. 5/5 star read for me!
Kaysar, The Unhinged one. Lordy if he wasn’t a complex villain you can’t help but love.
Show don't tell was completely ignored, no real plot
Había perdido el contacto con los libros de Gena Showalter y esta ha sido la perfecta reintroducción. Extremadamente divertido y con sorpresas en cada esquina, una historia para nada predecible, muy original.
This review was originally posted on Addicted To Romance
This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.
I wish that I could say that I loved this book but unfortunately, this book was not that great and I had so many high expectations. I had thought that one would be a kick-ass read but unfortunately, it was so lackluster and didn’t have the normal pizazz that I have come to expect from this author. I will be honest and say that the heroine In this book is completely batty. Like I thought she would be a good one at first, but the more she got involved in the world with Kaysar, the more unhinged and crazy she became and I just couldn’t relate with her because she was all over the place and there was no sense of consistency with her at all. Her character just didn’t make that much sense to me and she ruined the story for me. It might have been a solid four-star if the heroine was a bit more stable. And yeah I guess I can see why the author decided to write her like this but when the hero who is kinda crazy becomes the sane one at the end, it really showcases the heroine, and it’s not favorable. I am completely understanding why there are so many mixed reviews of this one on Goodreads, because while a review I trusted, just about everyone else just didn’t care for it. I have come to really respect this author’s writing, but this is the biggest disappointment that I have read from her so far and to be honest, it just makes me sad because I bought this in print expecting to love it that much but yeah I regret that now (and this is why I normally will wait and read the digital copy before buying physical books). This isn’t an awful read or anything. The plot is solid, the world-building is superb and I thought the hero was crazy but badass, I really enjoyed the fantastical world that we see. I would call this a fantasy romance with a mix of mythological fantasy (as it has a world similar to what you would see in video games and didn’t have an epic fantasy feel to me) and the plot was pretty solid but I will be honest the heroine is not going to make the story better at least for me. I am sure it will work for some, but I would read reviews before reading this one to see if these aspects will work for you or not.
Trigger Warnings:
This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.
I wish that I could say that I loved this book but unfortunately, this book was not that great and I had so many high expectations. I had thought that one would be a kick-ass read but unfortunately, it was so lackluster and didn’t have the normal pizazz that I have come to expect from this author. I will be honest and say that the heroine In this book is completely batty. Like I thought she would be a good one at first, but the more she got involved in the world with Kaysar, the more unhinged and crazy she became and I just couldn’t relate with her because she was all over the place and there was no sense of consistency with her at all. Her character just didn’t make that much sense to me and she ruined the story for me. It might have been a solid four-star if the heroine was a bit more stable. And yeah I guess I can see why the author decided to write her like this but when the hero who is kinda crazy becomes the sane one at the end, it really showcases the heroine, and it’s not favorable. I am completely understanding why there are so many mixed reviews of this one on Goodreads, because while a review I trusted, just about everyone else just didn’t care for it. I have come to really respect this author’s writing, but this is the biggest disappointment that I have read from her so far and to be honest, it just makes me sad because I bought this in print expecting to love it that much but yeah I regret that now (and this is why I normally will wait and read the digital copy before buying physical books). This isn’t an awful read or anything. The plot is solid, the world-building is superb and I thought the hero was crazy but badass, I really enjoyed the fantastical world that we see. I would call this a fantasy romance with a mix of mythological fantasy (as it has a world similar to what you would see in video games and didn’t have an epic fantasy feel to me) and the plot was pretty solid but I will be honest the heroine is not going to make the story better at least for me. I am sure it will work for some, but I would read reviews before reading this one to see if these aspects will work for you or not.
Trigger Warnings:
Oh, this was so good. That prologue was just so heart-wrenching and sad, I needed to see what happened next. The story started out with the hero, Kaysar, as a twelve-year-old boy doing his best to help him and his sister survive. Eventually, he was captured and lost his sister in the process, then was tortured in awful ways for a year. That turned him into a cold and ruthless man, driven by revenge and grief. He was uncaring and unfeeling, and when Cookie, the heroine, with her vibrant and strong personality, crashed into his life, he'd never be the same again. I loved that Cookie was just as brutal as he was. Growing up with a heart condition and knowing she was going to die, she spent her life gaming, both as a hobby and a job. When she received a heart transplant from a fae donor(who also happened to be the bride of a prince in the family who'd tortured Kaysar), things really took off.
I loved learning about this world. There were all kinds of creatures, plants that ate things, and interesting politics. There was action as Kaysar plotted revenge and fought monsters with Cookie, angst as the two of them fell in love and dealt with their various pasts, and humor in the most unexpected of places. The characters did some dumb things at times, but I found the timing in which everything happened pretty perfectly. I actually kind of liked Jareth, the prince who'd been betrothed to Lulundria, the woman whose heart Cookie had been given.
This was just a great story. I loved the world, felt awful for Kaysar, and couldn't wait to see how he and Cookie dealt with everything. There was betrayal, brutality, and love. In short, this was an amazing paranormal romance. If any type of abuse bothers you, you may want to stay away. But otherwise? Hurry up and read it!
I loved learning about this world. There were all kinds of creatures, plants that ate things, and interesting politics. There was action as Kaysar plotted revenge and fought monsters with Cookie, angst as the two of them fell in love and dealt with their various pasts, and humor in the most unexpected of places. The characters did some dumb things at times, but I found the timing in which everything happened pretty perfectly. I actually kind of liked Jareth, the prince who'd been betrothed to Lulundria, the woman whose heart Cookie had been given.
This was just a great story. I loved the world, felt awful for Kaysar, and couldn't wait to see how he and Cookie dealt with everything. There was betrayal, brutality, and love. In short, this was an amazing paranormal romance. If any type of abuse bothers you, you may want to stay away. But otherwise? Hurry up and read it!
3.5 stars
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Kaysar realized he had a choice. Save the girl and his conscience, perhaps condemning himself and Viori in the process, or walk away and condemn the girl and his conscience.
With his parents having died of the plague, teenager Kaysar is responsible for his stopped speaking traumatized five year sister Viori. When he comes upon the Frostlines, the royal family of the Winter Court, in the woods, they capture him and he spends a year of torture at the hands of King Hador and his brother Lark. When he finally comes into his own power, using his healing song and glamara power of compulsion, he is able to escape his chains. He kills Lark but feels that wasn't punishment enough, so he decides to routinely make war on the Frostlines because of how Hador and Lark tortured and raped him and how he is still searching for his beloved sister Viori and what happened to her after he was captured.
In the aftermath, he'd discovered only the hatred remained.
After Kaysar escapes, the story then jumps centuries and we find out that Kaysar is now King of the Dusklands and his own created Midnight Court. He's earned the nickname The Unhinged One and he has jars of the Frostlines' tongues as his war trophies. Everyone in the land fears him but he still doesn't know what happened to Viori. When he is exacting a new plan of revenge on King Hador's son, Jareth, which involves kidnapping Jareth's new wife Lulundria, getting her to desire him, and then sending her back to Jareth pregnant and forced to have a child of Kaysar's in the Frostline royal court, a mortally injured Lulundria escapes to the human realm. Kaysar can't follow her because he isn't a doormaker but he did manage to sing a song of compulsion and order her to return to him.
“Return to me, princess. Return to me by any means necessary.”
Chantel “Cookie” Bardot is twenty-six years old but with a heavily damaged heart, if she doesn't get a heart transplant, she doesn't have long to live. She makes her living being paid to stream and play an enchanted forest video game and lives with a hypochondriac geriatric and an extremely picky cat. When she receives a call that a heart is ready for her, she can't believe it and a few months later when her hair starts to turn pink, she's seeing pixies buzzing around her, and vines are growing from her finger tips, she really can't believe it. As her and her roommate are finally confronting these changes in her, Chantel's vines create a doorway and she is pulled through.
An angel merged with a devil, both haunting and haunted.
The start to a new series, Heartless was amazing on the world building. The fae realm called Astaria and it's five royal courts, Summer, Winter, Autumn, Spring, Dusklands, and Kaysar's created Midnight court and the mysterious Forgotten court were engaging and fascinating. The creatures, magic, and land described by the author really placed me in this land and had me excited for the series on a whole. The author's choice to have Chantel be a professional gamer who just so happens to play a game that very closely resembled and copied the fae realm, allowing her to more readily accept her changed circumstances, felt a little too easy in the beginning but as the story went on, I thought it fit perfectly, especially since I think it was a clue to what happened to Viori.
Use her. Protect her. Use. Protect.
In order to be more accepting of Kaysar's consuming mindset of revenge, with a little feeling of childishness swings of emotions, you'll have to remember his young age when he suffered his horrific abuse; he's stuck in that age, time and place. His map making on himself, slicing his arms with the metal claws he wears on his hands, is obviously a coping mechanism to release the emotions and pain he never has learned to deal to with. This made it a little hard to fully come on board when he has insta-attraction and lust for Chantel, he felt too emotionally young for me to enjoy that dynamic he instantly had with her. As the story went on, he does grow and change as Chantel explains and is patient with him and I was able to go along with their sexual connection more.
Kaysar de Aoibheall did not beg for anything. Ever. But he had promised to be better for her, and he always kept his word.
The constant battle between these two is all about Kaysar choosing Chantel over his vengeance. Chantel is the child of divorce and with her two parents starting other families they forgot about her, she wants to be number one is someone's life for once, making Kaysar's one true love of constantly battling the Frostlines a problem for them. Along with that emotional battle, there was also physical battles that didn't skimp on some gory details. Towards the latter half, when Chantel and Kaysar hit the sheets, you could just call this the fighting and the fucking book because both are singeing the pages.
Why was she holding on to her hurt, letting fear rule her life?
Overall, this story was entertaining in it's, at times, wilding out elements and components. I thought both Chantel and Kaysar stayed too stubborn at moments towards the end that hurt the pace of the story and kept it longer than it needed to be and I'm not sure the whole thread of whatever outfit or costume Chantel wears changes her personality was needed, there was already a lot of magical components to keep track of and absorb in this story. Kaysar's slow growing might take too long for some readers but I thought his gesture at the end was good for a traumatized man learning to change a centuries long learned behavior and coping mechanism. As I mentioned, I'm into this world Showalter has created because it was at turns entertaining, wilding, gory, emotional, and sexy. I can't wait to see if I did catch a clue about Viori, if our redeemed Prince Jareth will find a new love, what King Micah of the Forgottenlands is going to get up too, and if Pearl Jean's sciatica will go away enough for her to bag a fae realm hottie. Immortal Enemies has the world building to be entertaining for awhile.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Kaysar realized he had a choice. Save the girl and his conscience, perhaps condemning himself and Viori in the process, or walk away and condemn the girl and his conscience.
With his parents having died of the plague, teenager Kaysar is responsible for his stopped speaking traumatized five year sister Viori. When he comes upon the Frostlines, the royal family of the Winter Court, in the woods, they capture him and he spends a year of torture at the hands of King Hador and his brother Lark. When he finally comes into his own power, using his healing song and glamara power of compulsion, he is able to escape his chains. He kills Lark but feels that wasn't punishment enough, so he decides to routinely make war on the Frostlines because of how Hador and Lark tortured and raped him and how he is still searching for his beloved sister Viori and what happened to her after he was captured.
In the aftermath, he'd discovered only the hatred remained.
After Kaysar escapes, the story then jumps centuries and we find out that Kaysar is now King of the Dusklands and his own created Midnight Court. He's earned the nickname The Unhinged One and he has jars of the Frostlines' tongues as his war trophies. Everyone in the land fears him but he still doesn't know what happened to Viori. When he is exacting a new plan of revenge on King Hador's son, Jareth, which involves kidnapping Jareth's new wife Lulundria, getting her to desire him, and then sending her back to Jareth pregnant and forced to have a child of Kaysar's in the Frostline royal court, a mortally injured Lulundria escapes to the human realm. Kaysar can't follow her because he isn't a doormaker but he did manage to sing a song of compulsion and order her to return to him.
“Return to me, princess. Return to me by any means necessary.”
Chantel “Cookie” Bardot is twenty-six years old but with a heavily damaged heart, if she doesn't get a heart transplant, she doesn't have long to live. She makes her living being paid to stream and play an enchanted forest video game and lives with a hypochondriac geriatric and an extremely picky cat. When she receives a call that a heart is ready for her, she can't believe it and a few months later when her hair starts to turn pink, she's seeing pixies buzzing around her, and vines are growing from her finger tips, she really can't believe it. As her and her roommate are finally confronting these changes in her, Chantel's vines create a doorway and she is pulled through.
An angel merged with a devil, both haunting and haunted.
The start to a new series, Heartless was amazing on the world building. The fae realm called Astaria and it's five royal courts, Summer, Winter, Autumn, Spring, Dusklands, and Kaysar's created Midnight court and the mysterious Forgotten court were engaging and fascinating. The creatures, magic, and land described by the author really placed me in this land and had me excited for the series on a whole. The author's choice to have Chantel be a professional gamer who just so happens to play a game that very closely resembled and copied the fae realm, allowing her to more readily accept her changed circumstances, felt a little too easy in the beginning but as the story went on, I thought it fit perfectly, especially since I think it was a clue to what happened to Viori.
Use her. Protect her. Use. Protect.
In order to be more accepting of Kaysar's consuming mindset of revenge, with a little feeling of childishness swings of emotions, you'll have to remember his young age when he suffered his horrific abuse; he's stuck in that age, time and place. His map making on himself, slicing his arms with the metal claws he wears on his hands, is obviously a coping mechanism to release the emotions and pain he never has learned to deal to with. This made it a little hard to fully come on board when he has insta-attraction and lust for Chantel, he felt too emotionally young for me to enjoy that dynamic he instantly had with her. As the story went on, he does grow and change as Chantel explains and is patient with him and I was able to go along with their sexual connection more.
Kaysar de Aoibheall did not beg for anything. Ever. But he had promised to be better for her, and he always kept his word.
The constant battle between these two is all about Kaysar choosing Chantel over his vengeance. Chantel is the child of divorce and with her two parents starting other families they forgot about her, she wants to be number one is someone's life for once, making Kaysar's one true love of constantly battling the Frostlines a problem for them. Along with that emotional battle, there was also physical battles that didn't skimp on some gory details. Towards the latter half, when Chantel and Kaysar hit the sheets, you could just call this the fighting and the fucking book because both are singeing the pages.
Why was she holding on to her hurt, letting fear rule her life?
Overall, this story was entertaining in it's, at times, wilding out elements and components. I thought both Chantel and Kaysar stayed too stubborn at moments towards the end that hurt the pace of the story and kept it longer than it needed to be and I'm not sure the whole thread of whatever outfit or costume Chantel wears changes her personality was needed, there was already a lot of magical components to keep track of and absorb in this story. Kaysar's slow growing might take too long for some readers but I thought his gesture at the end was good for a traumatized man learning to change a centuries long learned behavior and coping mechanism. As I mentioned, I'm into this world Showalter has created because it was at turns entertaining, wilding, gory, emotional, and sexy. I can't wait to see if I did catch a clue about Viori, if our redeemed Prince Jareth will find a new love, what King Micah of the Forgottenlands is going to get up too, and if Pearl Jean's sciatica will go away enough for her to bag a fae realm hottie. Immortal Enemies has the world building to be entertaining for awhile.