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cluckieduck's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
I feel like this series is almost there. It's really fun and easy to read, but there's something just outside the mark that makes it an amazing read for me. I wish it were longer because there are elements that could benefit from some fleshing out. Supposedly Book 3 will wrap up the series and I don't see how that's feasible after what occurred in Book 2 without really adding some extra length!
On that note - it was fun to start Book 2 with the alternate POVs of Alistair & Rian during the night of the party from Of Moons and Monsters. The first 5 chapters (approx 20%) offer an interesting slice of life of - what I'll call - the 'other harem' with the men on Earth. Like I mentioned, I wish more time could have been spent with them because the brief taste we get was too much of a tease! Alistair is a trauma-filled cinnamon roll perfectly set up to be care for by Rian & Matthieu, who are equally delightful the more we get to know them. They got 9 of the 24 chapters and it just wasn't enough!
Our main harem with Isla & the Guardians is continuing to grow nicely and, again, I love the element of the language barrier and how they work around it to cement their bonds further. There's much more Briyan (aka Czech) included this go around and it was fun to translate it as I went along. They're all experiencing some element of growth with this new relationship and it's expanding nicely. Again, too much smexy time off-page, but if it's to expand more character & plot development, I won't complain ;)
Weirdly, I didn't find the cliffhanger ending all that dramatic but I guess that's just a matter of taste. I can't stand a cliffhanger that's full of angst and tension but here I felt an element of hope and excitement, so didn't feel as hit over the head, haha. I can't wait to see where Book 3 takes us!
On that note - it was fun to start Book 2 with the alternate POVs of Alistair & Rian during the night of the party from Of Moons and Monsters. The first 5 chapters (approx 20%) offer an interesting slice of life of - what I'll call - the 'other harem' with the men on Earth. Like I mentioned, I wish more time could have been spent with them because the brief taste we get was too much of a tease! Alistair is a trauma-filled cinnamon roll perfectly set up to be care for by Rian & Matthieu, who are equally delightful the more we get to know them. They got 9 of the 24 chapters and it just wasn't enough!
Our main harem with Isla & the Guardians is continuing to grow nicely and, again, I love the element of the language barrier and how they work around it to cement their bonds further. There's much more Briyan (aka Czech) included this go around and it was fun to translate it as I went along. They're all experiencing some element of growth with this new relationship and it's expanding nicely. Again, too much smexy time off-page, but if it's to expand more character & plot development, I won't complain ;)
Weirdly, I didn't find the cliffhanger ending all that dramatic but I guess that's just a matter of taste. I can't stand a cliffhanger that's full of angst and tension but here I felt an element of hope and excitement, so didn't feel as hit over the head, haha. I can't wait to see where Book 3 takes us!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Drug use, Cursing, Death, Self harm, Violence, Physical abuse, and Sexual content
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Torture, Gun violence, and Murder
Minor: Body shaming
amywarnes's review against another edition
5.0
Ahhhh that ending was so mean!! But the book was so good!!
I usually struggle a bit with POV changes that follow a totally different storyline but I really loved that we got to see Alistair, Rian and Matthieu's storyline in this book! I think it helped that the chapters were grouped together so it was easy to get into the flow of the different stories, though that did make the timeline feel a bit awkward. I was starting to lose investment in Rian and Matthieu's characters a bit by the end of the first book so it was great to see them front and centre again to remind myself why I was so intrigued by them to begin with.
I'm really looking forward to the characters all coming together, I can't wait to see the dynamics and how they handle all of the drama surrounding their bonds. It might not be the most exciting part to other people but I'm really curious to see how the relationships work around Isla and Alistair's friendship. It seems pretty solid that they are just friends and I hope it stays that way, it'll be cool to see how everyone interacts when there's 2 guys mated to both Alistair and Isla while Isla also has these 4 other mates. It's gonna be so fun π
The sex scenes again just felt a little bit lacklustre for some reason, I can't really put my finger on why. I think it's because they felt a bit clinical? Like the group scene pretty much ends with "I came and then he came and then they came" sort of thing. I think it could do with describing more of the physical responses or emotional feelings or something? Idk. I think this is just personal preference though so I don't necessarily think it's bad writing and it doesn't affect my rating.
Matthieu makes my little ace heart so happy. I don't even experience ace-ness the same way as him but it's still really, really cool to see an ace person in a romance book. Not even just as a character but a romantic interest as well! It honestly made me tear up. I can't wait to see him, Isla and Alistair have a conversation about his lack of interest in physical stuff and getting to keep seeing them be all hand holdy and forehead kissy and feeling safe with him π₯Ίπ₯°
Wow this series is just so good, I can't wait for more!
I usually struggle a bit with POV changes that follow a totally different storyline but I really loved that we got to see Alistair, Rian and Matthieu's storyline in this book! I think it helped that the chapters were grouped together so it was easy to get into the flow of the different stories, though that did make the timeline feel a bit awkward. I was starting to lose investment in Rian and Matthieu's characters a bit by the end of the first book so it was great to see them front and centre again to remind myself why I was so intrigued by them to begin with.
I'm really looking forward to the characters all coming together, I can't wait to see the dynamics and how they handle all of the drama surrounding their bonds. It might not be the most exciting part to other people but I'm really curious to see how the relationships work around Isla and Alistair's friendship. It seems pretty solid that they are just friends and I hope it stays that way, it'll be cool to see how everyone interacts when there's 2 guys mated to both Alistair and Isla while Isla also has these 4 other mates. It's gonna be so fun π
The sex scenes again just felt a little bit lacklustre for some reason, I can't really put my finger on why. I think it's because they felt a bit clinical? Like the group scene pretty much ends with "I came and then he came and then they came" sort of thing. I think it could do with describing more of the physical responses or emotional feelings or something? Idk. I think this is just personal preference though so I don't necessarily think it's bad writing and it doesn't affect my rating.
Matthieu makes my little ace heart so happy. I don't even experience ace-ness the same way as him but it's still really, really cool to see an ace person in a romance book. Not even just as a character but a romantic interest as well! It honestly made me tear up. I can't wait to see him, Isla and Alistair have a conversation about his lack of interest in physical stuff and getting to keep seeing them be all hand holdy and forehead kissy and feeling safe with him π₯Ίπ₯°
Wow this series is just so good, I can't wait for more!
liv4theday's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
calligator's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
jillreadsabook's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
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