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3.15 AVERAGE
3.15 AVERAGE
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
So help me, I liked this one. I'm not saying it was objectively GOOD, but it started out kind of making me cringe, and then it really sucked me in and had me turning the pages.
I liked this book more than I disliked it. I love the concept of a historical paranormal romance. I thought the world the author built was well thought out and compelling. What I didn’t like was the overly complex language. I like my prose flowery, but having to look up words every other page took away from the flow of the story and got annoying. I hope future books will ease up a little on the obscure words. Based on her Goodreads page, she looks like a newer author and think she has a lot of potential to bring this niche to the next level.
3.5 stars. Recommended by Julia Quinn. And Susanna Quinn actually pulled off this crazy story.
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
DNF @ 50%
The book was going okay until about 40% and then the writing just threw me off the story.
The book was going okay until about 40% and then the writing just threw me off the story.
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“Kidnapped for your own good” is my least favorite trope, so I knew as soon as the author had the hero chuckle softly at the heroine for being mad about being held prisoner (and she’s not actually mad… she’s horny and into the luxury surrounding her with a spice of annoyed) that this book was not the book for me, but I kept reading in case that was handled better as the story progressed. Nope! The heroine doesn’t even ever try to escape. She is allowed no agency and is told “you’re the love of the hero’s life” by all the hero’s servants (who he magically psychically abuses constantly, but the book thinks that’s ok) until she ??? believes it? Falls in love? Gives in? As if the overall violation of her consent isn’t enough, at one point the hero tries to use his alpha powers to make her have sex with him after she says to stop, and he is so proud of her that she’s “strong enough to resist.” This is never addressed as rape. Weirdly pro-eugenics implications of the world building and a pretty old-fashioned obsession with the heroine’s virginity didn’t help either. Plus the end 20% of the book was mostly the hero proposing to the heroine in more and more extravagant ways until she was satisfied he was being romantic enough, which was both confusing and boring. Too bad, sounded like a fun premise. Second book in the series (which I read first) is much more fun, though looking back has milder versions of the same problems.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Fun premise, not great execution. It was a little slow, and if I had to hear it called her "honeypot" one more time...
I listened to the audio and I'm not sure this narrator was the right match.
I listened to the audio and I'm not sure this narrator was the right match.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The details and choices made in this book confuse me. I don't DNFed in the first chapter because it was a lot of strange words being info dumped, which is even harder (for me) when it's an audiobook.
There were tons of threads through the book that I assumed were setup for future books, but they ended up just being left loose. Why are the following books not having a lead of Jemima or Bates? Or one with his sister?
There was this back and forth between Bates and the Omega (no idea how to spell her name from what the narrator said) about him having ignoring or rejecting his fated mate, never addressed again. There was all this mystery of Jemma on why she left home suddenly and hints towards something being off with the aunt, never addressed again. The Omega also has some unknown backstory, showed up on their doorstep kind of out of nowhere, also never addressed again. Even within this story, they couldn't find her stud horse and no one knew where he was...and it was never addressed again.
There were confusing and clunky bits of the book that made it rather meh, but I thought it might be suffering from setting up the series and trying to fit in all the setup and would have continued if the next book covered one of the above mentioned characters. Instead it includes a guy that was in two minutes of the story towards the end, in one of the more confusing scenes.
Why all the build up of things for what will at best be side stories? Also epilogues don't take place a week after the main story when you've had time jumps like that before. If you're going to talk about baby making and how important it is for the pack, then why the hell isn't the epilogue far enough along that we'll know if she got pregnant or not?
It feels like a debut novel that needed a heavier handed editor, because it has potential in there but it's drowning.
Also please come up with a better euphemism than honey pot. 😒
There were tons of threads through the book that I assumed were setup for future books, but they ended up just being left loose. Why are the following books not having a lead of Jemima or Bates? Or one with his sister?
There was this back and forth between Bates and the Omega (no idea how to spell her name from what the narrator said) about him having ignoring or rejecting his fated mate, never addressed again. There was all this mystery of Jemma on why she left home suddenly and hints towards something being off with the aunt, never addressed again. The Omega also has some unknown backstory, showed up on their doorstep kind of out of nowhere, also never addressed again. Even within this story, they couldn't find her stud horse and no one knew where he was...and it was never addressed again.
There were confusing and clunky bits of the book that made it rather meh, but I thought it might be suffering from setting up the series and trying to fit in all the setup and would have continued if the next book covered one of the above mentioned characters. Instead it includes a guy that was in two minutes of the story towards the end, in one of the more confusing scenes.
Why all the build up of things for what will at best be side stories? Also epilogues don't take place a week after the main story when you've had time jumps like that before. If you're going to talk about baby making and how important it is for the pack, then why the hell isn't the epilogue far enough along that we'll know if she got pregnant or not?
It feels like a debut novel that needed a heavier handed editor, because it has potential in there but it's drowning.
Also please come up with a better euphemism than honey pot. 😒
Content Warnings
Moderate: Kidnapping
Minor: Infertility, Grief, Death of parent