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alisonhori's review
3.0
I found this book really disturbing...interesting sociologically but not smut-ily.
wonder_of_paradise's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
octopusgarden's review
5.0
So before, I stated that I didn't know if I was I ever going to write a proper review for this book, for I was such a hot mess. It was literally 4AM and I was running on sleep deprivation and lots of green tea. I realized this book, WOW btw deserved a real review because rarely do books put me in my place and show me that there is more to a story than just the shallow synopsis that is given. I will not deny that I probably would have never read this book, for many, many stupid, shallow reasons. Even though I'd have read amazing reviews about this book. It's just that one thing that makes you think.. wow I don't think I'd find anything about this book remotely fascinating or interesting and then BAM, you're reading past 3AM, drinking so much caffeine to stay awake JUST so you could find out what happens in the end and then you uncontrollably cry for 20 minutes and you don't even truly know why... THAT is what happened to me reading this book and god damn, if I regret it for one second. So for ANYONE that doesn't want to give this book a shot because it seems boring, uninteresting, uneventful, or not your cup of tea? Honey. If it's on your feed or in your suggestions, you're gonna love it. I can't guarantee that you'll love it as much as I did or as much as the other readers did but you will fucking love it.
Now throughout this book, I found it was easier to relate it to a movie with different character POV's. Movies like "She's just not that into you" or "The Holiday", a movie where all the characters have separate issues but affect the main plot and the other characters in it. Now that may have just helped you or confused you more.
Nora Sutherlin is an outgoing, wild, and free souled erotica writer. She's published 5 books so far, but she wants the real thing, she wants to be published by Royal House publishing and in order for her to do that, she needs Zachary Easton to get her there. Zachary Easton is an editor for Royal House publishing but don't let this boring title fool you into thinking he's anything but dull. Zachary has been through one of life's hardest matters, his heart is broken and he doesn't know if it will ever get mended. The two eventually find a bliss in each other, they never would have expected they needed. Both individuals try to exorcist their past demons together, and find somewhat of a friendship. Now there is so much more to this story but anything else would give it away so just trust me when I say..
Now I found myself very attached to Wesley. I'm not sure if I'm #teamWes or if I just want him to live a long and happy life with someone he loves because he's my favorite character. That last chapter, ripped out my heart. I was uncontrollably crying, for that last chapter is the reason I will read on. I can't, for the life of me tell you why I don't feel a connection with the other characters but it's Wes for me. There was a part of me that was kind of #teamZach but I don't think there will ever be a part of me that will be #teamSoren. I just think.. out of everyone, I don't think he deserves love. It's hard to describe but I'm not really a fan of him. Maybe these feelings will change later on but for now, I'm going to be indifferent and wait for my Wesley show up in these pages because he deserves a happy ending. This may say it's not a love story, but it's always a love story in some.. odd way. This book was more than just a shock to me, it was surprisingly emotional and it really.. got me. So I salute Tiffany Reisz, for she has proven me wrong. This book in fact was not boring, uninteresting, or uneventful.
"5 UNEXPECTED, WONDERFUL, WOW I CANT STOP CRYING STARS"
Now throughout this book, I found it was easier to relate it to a movie with different character POV's. Movies like "She's just not that into you" or "The Holiday", a movie where all the characters have separate issues but affect the main plot and the other characters in it. Now that may have just helped you or confused you more.
Nora Sutherlin is an outgoing, wild, and free souled erotica writer. She's published 5 books so far, but she wants the real thing, she wants to be published by Royal House publishing and in order for her to do that, she needs Zachary Easton to get her there. Zachary Easton is an editor for Royal House publishing but don't let this boring title fool you into thinking he's anything but dull. Zachary has been through one of life's hardest matters, his heart is broken and he doesn't know if it will ever get mended. The two eventually find a bliss in each other, they never would have expected they needed. Both individuals try to exorcist their past demons together, and find somewhat of a friendship. Now there is so much more to this story but anything else would give it away so just trust me when I say..
Now I found myself very attached to Wesley. I'm not sure if I'm #teamWes or if I just want him to live a long and happy life with someone he loves because he's my favorite character. That last chapter, ripped out my heart. I was uncontrollably crying, for that last chapter is the reason I will read on. I can't, for the life of me tell you why I don't feel a connection with the other characters but it's Wes for me. There was a part of me that was kind of #teamZach but I don't think there will ever be a part of me that will be #teamSoren. I just think.. out of everyone, I don't think he deserves love. It's hard to describe but I'm not really a fan of him. Maybe these feelings will change later on but for now, I'm going to be indifferent and wait for my Wesley show up in these pages because he deserves a happy ending. This may say it's not a love story, but it's always a love story in some.. odd way. This book was more than just a shock to me, it was surprisingly emotional and it really.. got me. So I salute Tiffany Reisz, for she has proven me wrong. This book in fact was not boring, uninteresting, or uneventful.
"5 UNEXPECTED, WONDERFUL, WOW I CANT STOP CRYING STARS"
afestivalaparade's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
autumn's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
charms1976's review
4.0
This is one of those books where you want to read it so bad, but you also don't want to start it because of fear. I have heard amazing things about this series and was told on numerous occasions to read it. I have also heard that it delves deep into the BDSM world with heavy emphasis on the S&M. While I am huge fan of erotica books, I now realize that everything before was tame compared to this book.
The first half of this book was hard for me. I couldn't get a real connection with Nora formed and my feelings for her were just ho-hum. It is hard to explain in words my exact feelings for her because she was so far off the map of my comfort zone. I loved her banter with Wes and Zack, but I was actually scared of her character just as much as Zack was.
Soren was also a character I wasn't sure about. Was he a bad guy or a good guy? While I am still not sure which side of the camp to place him in, I can honestly say that the camp is starting to blend together into one. There really isn't a good side or a bad side. For now I am going to hold him in the neutral zone even with the revelations that came throughout this story.
Wesley. Oh sweet Wesley. I think he was one of my favorite characters in this book. My heart hurt for him so much. I seriously hope the next book in this series will give me some peace with his heartache. I really want him to be happy.
Then we have Zack. Brooding and British. The London Fog. Those two sentences are Zach, but he is also so much more. He is a man who is hurting, who is looking for freedom from his guilt, and a man who is trying to understand how Nora can live the way she does. This man has been through a hard time with his wife and you desperately want him to have happiness again.
This book really pushed me to the end of my comfort zone. If you think you can handle BDSM in your erotic reads, then just consider them tame and vanilla compared to what you will read in this book. There were even spots I had to stop reading and reassure myself that it was just a book and continue on. It might not have started out great for me as a read, but it definitely converted me into a fan of this author and the characters by the last half of the book.
The first half of this book was hard for me. I couldn't get a real connection with Nora formed and my feelings for her were just ho-hum. It is hard to explain in words my exact feelings for her because she was so far off the map of my comfort zone. I loved her banter with Wes and Zack, but I was actually scared of her character just as much as Zack was.
Soren was also a character I wasn't sure about. Was he a bad guy or a good guy? While I am still not sure which side of the camp to place him in, I can honestly say that the camp is starting to blend together into one. There really isn't a good side or a bad side. For now I am going to hold him in the neutral zone even with the revelations that came throughout this story.
Wesley. Oh sweet Wesley. I think he was one of my favorite characters in this book. My heart hurt for him so much. I seriously hope the next book in this series will give me some peace with his heartache. I really want him to be happy.
Then we have Zack. Brooding and British. The London Fog. Those two sentences are Zach, but he is also so much more. He is a man who is hurting, who is looking for freedom from his guilt, and a man who is trying to understand how Nora can live the way she does. This man has been through a hard time with his wife and you desperately want him to have happiness again.
This book really pushed me to the end of my comfort zone. If you think you can handle BDSM in your erotic reads, then just consider them tame and vanilla compared to what you will read in this book. There were even spots I had to stop reading and reassure myself that it was just a book and continue on. It might not have started out great for me as a read, but it definitely converted me into a fan of this author and the characters by the last half of the book.
squirrelsohno's review
5.0
THE SIREN came suggested to me by Ashelynn of Gypsy’s Book Reviews, and I took her suggestion on a whim and downloaded it. I didn’t know what to expect other than BDSM, erotica, and an editor/writer relationship. I’ve already told Ashelynn this, but I must thank her for turning me onto this book. Turning me on… Okay, the pun wasn’t intended, but I’ll take it. Anyway, I played some music and dove into this with no clue what I would find, and turns out I enjoyed every second of the dark world Reisz portrays in this deep, sensual story that is not a romance novel at all.
After the fiasco that was FIFTY SHADES OF GREY, I wondered, “Should I even try to read erotica?” My forays into the genre haven’t been great. After the Anita Blake series became erotica, I gave up on it, and then FIFTY SHADES rolled around and I found myself cringing. I mean, I’ve seen better porn than FIFTY SHADES. But THE SIREN was everything that FIFTY SHADES wasn’t – it was compelling, it was dark, it actually had a real D/s (Dominant/submissive) relationship, and it had characters I rooted for versus rooting for an alien to come and eat them.
THE SIREN is a story about an erotica writer named Nora Sutherland who is more than she seems. With a new publisher comes a new editor, a man named Zachary Easton who it is made known from the acknowledgements was inspired by Jason Isaacs (although probably not Jason Isaacs playing Captain Hook, but I liked this picture). When Zach throws Nora’s book out and tells her to rewrite the entire thing in six weeks, we have a story that delves into the dark parts of relationships. This is not a love story. Don’t go in expecting a happy ending, because quite frankly I wanted to strangle someone at the ending. It’s not happy. At all. For me at least.
Our side characters are colorful and well-constructed, from Nora’s live-in intern Wesley to the cast of characters at the publishing house. And there were characters I genuinely hated – not because they were poorly constructed, but because Reisz wrote them to be hated, or if she didn’t mean it she accidentally did a good job doing it.
And the sex! I’m fanning myself just thinking about it. We explore sensuality from the vanilla to the dark, with chains and pain and nipple clamps that double as clip on earrings. There is pain in this, real pain that causes euphoria and hospital trips. But the conundrums Nora faces in deciding between which lives to live, which people to love, which world to accept is what drew me in, along with Zach’s entry into this world and his own realizations about his love and life and the people he wanted to be with. There is rejoicing and heartbreak and slaps abounding.
After this book, I promptly had to go take a shower and do some Tobias Funke-style crying.
I cannot recommend this book highly enough. This book picked me up and slammed me against the pavement and slapped me around and I enjoyed it. I enjoyed every page of this book, every well-constructed sentence, every word that drew me in and held me tight. This book was the erotica I needed. And avert your prudish eyes for this sentence. This book got me all hot and bothered before that damn ending dried me up. Damn you, Tiffany Reisz. You made me cry.
VERDICT: This is the book that FIFTY SHADES OF GREY fans should be reading. It’s sad, dramatic, confusing, and sexy all at one time. A must read.
After the fiasco that was FIFTY SHADES OF GREY, I wondered, “Should I even try to read erotica?” My forays into the genre haven’t been great. After the Anita Blake series became erotica, I gave up on it, and then FIFTY SHADES rolled around and I found myself cringing. I mean, I’ve seen better porn than FIFTY SHADES. But THE SIREN was everything that FIFTY SHADES wasn’t – it was compelling, it was dark, it actually had a real D/s (Dominant/submissive) relationship, and it had characters I rooted for versus rooting for an alien to come and eat them.
THE SIREN is a story about an erotica writer named Nora Sutherland who is more than she seems. With a new publisher comes a new editor, a man named Zachary Easton who it is made known from the acknowledgements was inspired by Jason Isaacs (although probably not Jason Isaacs playing Captain Hook, but I liked this picture). When Zach throws Nora’s book out and tells her to rewrite the entire thing in six weeks, we have a story that delves into the dark parts of relationships. This is not a love story. Don’t go in expecting a happy ending, because quite frankly I wanted to strangle someone at the ending. It’s not happy. At all. For me at least.
Our side characters are colorful and well-constructed, from Nora’s live-in intern Wesley to the cast of characters at the publishing house. And there were characters I genuinely hated – not because they were poorly constructed, but because Reisz wrote them to be hated, or if she didn’t mean it she accidentally did a good job doing it.
And the sex! I’m fanning myself just thinking about it. We explore sensuality from the vanilla to the dark, with chains and pain and nipple clamps that double as clip on earrings. There is pain in this, real pain that causes euphoria and hospital trips. But the conundrums Nora faces in deciding between which lives to live, which people to love, which world to accept is what drew me in, along with Zach’s entry into this world and his own realizations about his love and life and the people he wanted to be with. There is rejoicing and heartbreak and slaps abounding.
After this book, I promptly had to go take a shower and do some Tobias Funke-style crying.
I cannot recommend this book highly enough. This book picked me up and slammed me against the pavement and slapped me around and I enjoyed it. I enjoyed every page of this book, every well-constructed sentence, every word that drew me in and held me tight. This book was the erotica I needed. And avert your prudish eyes for this sentence. This book got me all hot and bothered before that damn ending dried me up. Damn you, Tiffany Reisz. You made me cry.
VERDICT: This is the book that FIFTY SHADES OF GREY fans should be reading. It’s sad, dramatic, confusing, and sexy all at one time. A must read.