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jmontg18's review
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
3.25
ellelainey's review
3.0
Book – The Cobbler's Soleless Son
Author – Meredith Katz
Star rating - ★★★☆☆
Word Length – 15K
Cover – Nice.
POV – 3rd person, 1 character POV
Would I read it again – Yes.
Genre – LGBT, Demon, Supernatural, Paranormal, Fantasy
** COPY RECEIVED THROUGH NETGALLEY **
So, when I first read the blurb for this, I was super excited. Demons out in the open, making deals with humans, all to get close to the Demon Prince. It sounded fantastic.
In the end, there was something missing for me. The premise was great, the main character Renart and even Prince Hrahez were good characters, and the execution was fine. But, there was something I can't pinpoint missing from the story. Maybe it was because everything went so smoothly, from the minute they met. Maybe it was because the big plot twist at the end was predictable. It's hard to say. I also wasn't overly keen on the explicit MF sex slipped in there, either.
What I can say is that there's this lingering sense of disappointment, even though I enjoyed it, which is very confusing. I liked the journey, the Demon aspect and the deal that was made, but I think maybe if it had been a full novel – with proper exploration of the world, with some struggles, with some tension or angst somewhere – it might have been more exciting. Because, in the end, that's what I think was missing. That sense of unexpected thrill, the excitement of things happening that I didn't expect to happen. Even just for Renart to have to fight a little harder to get what he wanted.
For me, the 15K this story was just wasn't enough to explore this plot to its full potential.
Author – Meredith Katz
Star rating - ★★★☆☆
Word Length – 15K
Cover – Nice.
POV – 3rd person, 1 character POV
Would I read it again – Yes.
Genre – LGBT, Demon, Supernatural, Paranormal, Fantasy
** COPY RECEIVED THROUGH NETGALLEY **
So, when I first read the blurb for this, I was super excited. Demons out in the open, making deals with humans, all to get close to the Demon Prince. It sounded fantastic.
In the end, there was something missing for me. The premise was great, the main character Renart and even Prince Hrahez were good characters, and the execution was fine. But, there was something I can't pinpoint missing from the story. Maybe it was because everything went so smoothly, from the minute they met. Maybe it was because the big plot twist at the end was predictable. It's hard to say. I also wasn't overly keen on the explicit MF sex slipped in there, either.
What I can say is that there's this lingering sense of disappointment, even though I enjoyed it, which is very confusing. I liked the journey, the Demon aspect and the deal that was made, but I think maybe if it had been a full novel – with proper exploration of the world, with some struggles, with some tension or angst somewhere – it might have been more exciting. Because, in the end, that's what I think was missing. That sense of unexpected thrill, the excitement of things happening that I didn't expect to happen. Even just for Renart to have to fight a little harder to get what he wanted.
For me, the 15K this story was just wasn't enough to explore this plot to its full potential.
wellactjoally's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Demon fucking. Yearning. Light self-torture.
bennysbooks's review
This was fine, but didn't interest me. Demons might not be my thing.
kaa's review
3.0
I won an ebook of The Cobbler's Soleless Son in the Joyfully Jay Opposites Attract Week Giveaway.
This is an interesting concept and an entertaining, quick read, but I would have liked more character development for both of the central characters. Hrahez gets only a little time on-screen, so it's hard to know anything about him other than that he's attractive and playful. Even though Renart was the POV character, it seemed as though his only interest was hooking up with demons, making him pretty one-dimensional. On the other hand, that one dimension was really hot - there are a couple fantastic sex scenes to enjoy, and even outside of those scenes there's a lot of well-written sexual tension. The setting was attention-grabbing, although unfortunately it sometimes had to struggle against slightly tedious exposition. Overall, this is a sexy little fairy tale, and I'm looking forward to picking up the next book in the series!
This is an interesting concept and an entertaining, quick read, but I would have liked more character development for both of the central characters. Hrahez gets only a little time on-screen, so it's hard to know anything about him other than that he's attractive and playful. Even though Renart was the POV character, it seemed as though his only interest was hooking up with demons, making him pretty one-dimensional. On the other hand, that one dimension was really hot - there are a couple fantastic sex scenes to enjoy, and even outside of those scenes there's a lot of well-written sexual tension. The setting was attention-grabbing, although unfortunately it sometimes had to struggle against slightly tedious exposition. Overall, this is a sexy little fairy tale, and I'm looking forward to picking up the next book in the series!
solly's review
4.0
3.5 stars
This series is the last of the short works by Meredith Katz I haven't read. It is, also, one of the horniest short stories by this author I've read. Not that I'm complaining, this was a lot of fun. I liked the worldbuilding we get glimpses of, and what I'm really excited about is reading the other two books in the series. From what I understand, they're all set in different places which all have different global human/demons relationships and I'm really interested to see how Meredith Katz plays with this idea that demons aren't seen the same way depending on the people/the place.
*However*, do you see how aroace I am if this is what I'm the most excited about?
I liked Renart, but in this "oh god I do not understand the species that are allos" kind of way. So I didn't relate much to him but he was a lot of fun to follow, even if I kind of wanted to bang my head against a wall at his decisions. All because of lust? Can't relate, bro. Though at least it's lust for a demon and I marginally understand, which might make me an aroace sex-averse monsterfucker and what does that even say about me?
There's a good amount of foot fetish and it was actually pretty cool? I liked the sex scenes and the *plot twist* that I somehow didn't see coming. It was all super horny and a lot of fun and I liked it, even if it's far from my fave Meredith Katz work.
TW: explicit sex, foot fetish, voluntary injuries/blood (not self-harm tho), mentions of humans as food/meat.
This series is the last of the short works by Meredith Katz I haven't read. It is, also, one of the horniest short stories by this author I've read. Not that I'm complaining, this was a lot of fun. I liked the worldbuilding we get glimpses of, and what I'm really excited about is reading the other two books in the series. From what I understand, they're all set in different places which all have different global human/demons relationships and I'm really interested to see how Meredith Katz plays with this idea that demons aren't seen the same way depending on the people/the place.
*However*, do you see how aroace I am if this is what I'm the most excited about?
I liked Renart, but in this "oh god I do not understand the species that are allos" kind of way. So I didn't relate much to him but he was a lot of fun to follow, even if I kind of wanted to bang my head against a wall at his decisions. All because of lust? Can't relate, bro. Though at least it's lust for a demon and I marginally understand, which might make me an aroace sex-averse monsterfucker and what does that even say about me?
There's a good amount of foot fetish and it was actually pretty cool? I liked the sex scenes and the *plot twist* that I somehow didn't see coming. It was all super horny and a lot of fun and I liked it, even if it's far from my fave Meredith Katz work.
TW: explicit sex, foot fetish, voluntary injuries/blood (not self-harm tho), mentions of humans as food/meat.
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