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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I really wanted to like this book. I was drawn to it because the cover is BEAUTIFUL, and the premise of the book seemed interesting, but I was very disappointed. My first disappointment was realizing there were no krakens. I really thought there would be kraken shifters, but it’s just the name of the MC. The guys are actually mermen.
The writing in the first half felt aggressive (?) and a bit repetitive (see how often she started sentences with “see” in the first chapter). I think this book had a lot of potential but the execution of it did not work for me. Once I realized that there would not be a lot of actual world building, I though we would get a lot of character development and really get to know these characters, but we did not get that at all. I am all for no plot, all vibes, but we have to get good vibes! By the end of the book, I still don’t know the real names of most of the men or their actual background, or what illegal/legal activities the gang is involved in. What was the point of getting the men’s POV if we were not going to actually get to know them? I am still unsure of most of the guys’ races/ethnicities. Even for Queenie, all we know is her dad has a Hispanic name and she has dark skin, so we have to assume she is Afrolatina, I guess. The only guys we get to know a bit more are Slug and Box, and even then I was very put off by the scene where Slug is telling her about his traumatic childhood while Box is going down on her, LIKE WHAT?! And then we have Delfin, who has two “conversations” with Quennie and decides he is in love. There was no reason why he was a love interest at all, and should have been cut out completely in edits.
As I said there was a lot of potential with this story, particularly with the idea of an MC trying to rescue a woman who doesn’t really need rescuing, but this did not translate well in the book. Instead we get weird dub con scenes where we see zero consent, just for the Queenie to then say it was all consensual and she could’ve stopped it, but like how exactly? Could she really? And did he know that? I think not on both counts. Plus we also get a lot of implied “not like other girls” vibes from her, both on how she sees herself but also how she sees other women. It made me wonder why such a smart badass woman kept making such dumb decision that are inconsistent with how smart and capable she is (like not thinking she could be easily found). Then again, she was often inconsistent. One second she is calling women bitches/females and curses every other word, but then also objects to a man saying bitches and saying “vulgarities” (I am surprised I don’t have an eye injury from that eye roll). And while she objects to someone in another gang speaking like this, “her men” speak about women exactly the same. I also don’t understand how she can say that the men in the other gang are bad men because they are criminals who kill and torture people, but how is that any different from the kraken, who are also criminals who kill and torture people?? I mean Box is a psychopath who enjoys gruesome torture… And this leads me to the ending being unsatisfactory because we don’t get to see how their relationship is going to work out unless she is now completely ok with being part of a criminal organization.
Lastly, I was also disappointed by the fact that this was billed as set in the Caribbean, but this might as well had been set in a small beach town in New Jersey. There was zero indication this was the Caribbean in the actual book with the exception of her friend saying “coño” twice and them mentioning they were in the Caribbean a couple of times. No one ever spoke Spanish even thought this is supposed to be the Dominican Republic (?), and the one food that was mention was paella (another eye roll). Where were the tostones?! If the author was not going to give this book any Caribbean flavor then I would have preferred if it was set in Florida, especially considering most of the guys seemed to be American since some were in the US Army (again I am assuming because they just said “Army” and spoke of what sounded like the being in a war in the Middle East).
I will say that one of the highlights of the book was Sugar, and I hope she gets a book because I would be interested in getting to know her better. And yes, I know I have said a lot of bad things about the book, but I planning on giving this author another chance because there were aspects of the book that I did enjoy, like when Queenie was bantering with the Lourdes or hanging out with the honeys, plus the writing did improve in the second half. Overall I liked most of the characters, but we just don’t get to know the men well enough for a book that’s over 400 pages long.
CW: dub con, CSA/rape (past), torture, murder, kidnapping, stalking, violence, magical roofing, PTSD, panic attacks, absentee/neglectful parent, restraints, impact play, fluids play, humiliation kink
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Torture, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Child abuse, Rape
omg
This book gave me everything I love about why choose romances with an amazing FMC. I want to be Queenie. I loved how all the men had very different personalities and it just worked great together.
This book gave me everything I love about why choose romances with an amazing FMC. I want to be Queenie. I loved how all the men had very different personalities and it just worked great together.
dark
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
fast-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
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Okayyyyy I have never read a reverse harem before but Queenie & the Krakens was a great introduction to the trope!! Queenie is a merwoman who witnesses a murder that is tied to the Kraken Motor Club and let's just says theres an action, passionate adventure that awaits her and five men ready to go along an do anything to keep her safe!!
omg
This book gave me everything I love about why choose romances with an amazing FMC. I want to be Queenie. I loved how all the men had very different personalities and it just worked great together.
This book gave me everything I love about why choose romances with an amazing FMC. I want to be Queenie. I loved how all the men had very different personalities and it just worked great together.
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Trigger warnings: EXTREMELY dubious consent, murder, blood, kidnapping, explosions, discussions of child sexual abuse, misogyny, gun violence, PTSD, drugging
Oh boy. Look, this is very clearly not my kind of book at all. But I needed a motorcycle club book for a readathon prompt and I thought that a paranormal one might work better for me, purely because it's easier to convince myself that people and organisations like this are entirely fictional.
And, like, YES. It was definitely easier to do that when the bikers are mermen who can ride their motorbikes on water. But also the casual misogyny was a LOT to deal with.
That being said, I did like Naomi as a character. She's extremely sassy and doesn't sit around waiting to be rescued. And the way sheescapes from the rival club whose name I have completely forgotten and then BLOWS THE WHOLE PLACE UP? Spectacular. I mean, there should have been SOME kind of ramifications for her legally, given that she committed mass murder. But whatever .
But the smut was.............not it for my poor lil ace brain. There was a LOT of extremely dubious consent. There were a LOT of fluids all over the damned place. Every single dude had a baseball bat sized penis. There's a lot of sex at weirdly inappropriate times. And I'm legitimately shocked that Naomi doesn't spend half the book with a UTI, a yeast infection or both because there is a LOT of bacteria ending up inside of her. I'm also amazed she doesn't end up pregnant fifty three times over because there's not a condom to be seen, and the full extent of a safe sex conversation is one of the dudes asking if she's on the pill but then telling the reader that he doesn't really need an answer because their tech guy hacked into her medical records to check.
So, uh, yeah. This was not at all for me. But YMMV.
Also, I'm salty because this is set in the Caribbean but it never says where so I can't use it for my Read Around the World challenge >.<
Oh boy. Look, this is very clearly not my kind of book at all. But I needed a motorcycle club book for a readathon prompt and I thought that a paranormal one might work better for me, purely because it's easier to convince myself that people and organisations like this are entirely fictional.
And, like, YES. It was definitely easier to do that when the bikers are mermen who can ride their motorbikes on water. But also the casual misogyny was a LOT to deal with.
That being said, I did like Naomi as a character. She's extremely sassy and doesn't sit around waiting to be rescued. And the way she
But the smut was.............not it for my poor lil ace brain. There was a LOT of extremely dubious consent. There were a LOT of fluids all over the damned place. Every single dude had a baseball bat sized penis. There's a lot of sex at weirdly inappropriate times. And I'm legitimately shocked that Naomi doesn't spend half the book with a UTI, a yeast infection or both because there is a LOT of bacteria ending up inside of her. I'm also amazed she doesn't end up pregnant fifty three times over because there's not a condom to be seen, and the full extent of a safe sex conversation is one of the dudes asking if she's on the pill but then telling the reader that he doesn't really need an answer because their tech guy hacked into her medical records to check.
So, uh, yeah. This was not at all for me. But YMMV.
Also, I'm salty because this is set in the Caribbean but it never says where so I can't use it for my Read Around the World challenge >.<
This one was a 2.5 for me. I think I just don’t much care for MC romance and that isn’t the authors fault. I’m certain people will absolutely love this- it was well executed, just not my cup of tea. There’s dark, and then there’s *dark* and this one just crossed a lot of lines for me. I think it def needs some TW, and I really did not care for the portrayal of the veteran population….I would steer well clear if you’ve served- especially if you’ve deployed. Beyond that I do believe another type of book by this author I would really enjoy. Looking forward to trying another of her series soon!
Honestly, I wish there were more books in Queenie's story! I enjoyed this book so much! Each of the MMC's was distinct. I could tell who was who without constantly double checking, which is something I often have to do with Why Choose books.
OMG, there are so many little details in this book that I truly love.
If you're looking for a meaty, spicy, why choose standalone, then I recommend Queenie & The Krackens!
OMG, there are so many little details in this book that I truly love.
If you're looking for a meaty, spicy, why choose standalone, then I recommend Queenie & The Krackens!
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes