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4.2 AVERAGE
4.2 AVERAGE
Thank you netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
While this novel is well written and the author well known for her fantasy/romance novels, I was not impressed by this story. Lots of world building and action but I felt no connection to the heroine who has the power to seduce. I felt like I was jumping into the middle of a series rather than the beginning. the plot was fast paced and little interaction between the main characters. Could just be me but I drive on the depth of character building and genuine relationships even in paranormal romances.
While this novel is well written and the author well known for her fantasy/romance novels, I was not impressed by this story. Lots of world building and action but I felt no connection to the heroine who has the power to seduce. I felt like I was jumping into the middle of a series rather than the beginning. the plot was fast paced and little interaction between the main characters. Could just be me but I drive on the depth of character building and genuine relationships even in paranormal romances.
I love all the characters. I love how emotionally strong and ready to sacrifice our heroine is. I love the angst and the drama of the romance.
Regrettably this one is not up to standard. It felt a bit odd.
Catalina is not as decisive and strong as Nevada, so it looks like a kid playing dress up. Fake it till you make it and I wasn’t buying it.
Also relationships with Alessandro felt forced. It didn’t click for me. Alessandro was madly infatuated with Catalina from the first few pages after meeting her for 15 minutes years ago, man that’s just too much too fast. Unbelievably love story and I am not buying it. Also Catalina declaring love form Alessandro at the end of the book, girl just chill.
Catalina is not as decisive and strong as Nevada, so it looks like a kid playing dress up. Fake it till you make it and I wasn’t buying it.
Also relationships with Alessandro felt forced. It didn’t click for me. Alessandro was madly infatuated with Catalina from the first few pages after meeting her for 15 minutes years ago, man that’s just too much too fast. Unbelievably love story and I am not buying it. Also Catalina declaring love form Alessandro at the end of the book, girl just chill.
J’ai adoré relire la trilogie de Nevada Baylor et de son cher Mad Rogan ! De fait, j’étais plus qu’impatiente de découvrir l’histoire de l’une de ses petites sœurs, Catalina.
C’est avec une certaine surprise que l’on découvre Catalina à la tête de l’agence et de la maison Baylor. On ne verra pas Nevada même si elle est régulièrement mentionnée ou qu’elle appelle souvent sa sœur pour savoir si tout va bien. J’avoue que j’ai été un peu déçue de ce côté, car Nevada nous apparait comme une sœur lointaine à qui il faut dire que tout va bien même si ce n’est pas vrai. Et puis, il y a une scène assez surréaliste qui vient comme le bon vieux cheveu qui tombe sur la soupe… Bref, j’ai eu l’impression que pour légitimer Catalina, il fallait rabaisser Nevada. C’est l’impression que j’ai eue.
Bon, cela ne m’a pas empêché de dévorer ce roman, qui est vraiment très bon et palpitant ! Catalina va devoir faire ses preuves et on la retrouve donc dans la peau de la sœur aînée. Ce qu’elle est depuis le départ de Nevada. Et comme pour sa sœur bien-aimée, notre chère Catalina peut compter sur son propre chevalier ténébreux, l’Italien, Alessandro Sagredo que nous avons déjà rencontré dans le tome précédent. Alessandro se fait un devoir d’interférer dans les affaires de Catalina soi-disant pour la protéger. J’aime beaucoup leur dynamique.
Entre eux, il y a beaucoup de non-dit et de tension autant sexuelle qu’amoureuse. Catalina aime Alessandro depuis des années et ne s’en est jamais caché. Quant à lui s’il ne dit rien sur ce qu’il ressent pour elle, il est toujours là dans son ombre à la protéger du moindre danger. On ne va pas se mentir, leur relation est un miroir de celle entre Nevada et Rogan sans pour autant être une copie conforme.
Pour ce qui est de l’intrigue et de l’enquête, une nouvelle fois, on sent que le duo Ilona Andrews maitrise très bien leur sujet. C’était palpitant et ce, jusqu’à la toute fin.
Et que dire de l’épilogue ? Juste que je suis ultra frustrée de ne pas avoir la suite entre les mains.
Très franchement, ce quatrième tome tant attendu a su être à la hauteur de mes attentes. C’était très bon et j’en redemande encore.
C’est avec une certaine surprise que l’on découvre Catalina à la tête de l’agence et de la maison Baylor. On ne verra pas Nevada même si elle est régulièrement mentionnée ou qu’elle appelle souvent sa sœur pour savoir si tout va bien. J’avoue que j’ai été un peu déçue de ce côté, car Nevada nous apparait comme une sœur lointaine à qui il faut dire que tout va bien même si ce n’est pas vrai. Et puis, il y a une scène assez surréaliste qui vient comme le bon vieux cheveu qui tombe sur la soupe… Bref, j’ai eu l’impression que pour légitimer Catalina, il fallait rabaisser Nevada. C’est l’impression que j’ai eue.
Bon, cela ne m’a pas empêché de dévorer ce roman, qui est vraiment très bon et palpitant ! Catalina va devoir faire ses preuves et on la retrouve donc dans la peau de la sœur aînée. Ce qu’elle est depuis le départ de Nevada. Et comme pour sa sœur bien-aimée, notre chère Catalina peut compter sur son propre chevalier ténébreux, l’Italien, Alessandro Sagredo que nous avons déjà rencontré dans le tome précédent. Alessandro se fait un devoir d’interférer dans les affaires de Catalina soi-disant pour la protéger. J’aime beaucoup leur dynamique.
Entre eux, il y a beaucoup de non-dit et de tension autant sexuelle qu’amoureuse. Catalina aime Alessandro depuis des années et ne s’en est jamais caché. Quant à lui s’il ne dit rien sur ce qu’il ressent pour elle, il est toujours là dans son ombre à la protéger du moindre danger. On ne va pas se mentir, leur relation est un miroir de celle entre Nevada et Rogan sans pour autant être une copie conforme.
Pour ce qui est de l’intrigue et de l’enquête, une nouvelle fois, on sent que le duo Ilona Andrews maitrise très bien leur sujet. C’était palpitant et ce, jusqu’à la toute fin.
Et que dire de l’épilogue ? Juste que je suis ultra frustrée de ne pas avoir la suite entre les mains.
Très franchement, ce quatrième tome tant attendu a su être à la hauteur de mes attentes. C’était très bon et j’en redemande encore.
Ouvi em audiobook, que é muito bom!
Amei demais, eu amo a Catalina apesar dela ser BURRA ref: inteligência emocional e o Alessandro é apenas perfeito. Enfim, o mundo é bem interessante e gostei de tudo, indo direto para o próximo.
Ah: eu ouvi esse sem ler nenhum dos anteriores e também não tenho interesse. Para mim, achei que tudo que precisava saber foi explicado no livro sem nenhum prejuízo.
Amei demais, eu amo a Catalina apesar dela ser BURRA ref: inteligência emocional e o Alessandro é apenas perfeito. Enfim, o mundo é bem interessante e gostei de tudo, indo direto para o próximo.
Ah: eu ouvi esse sem ler nenhum dos anteriores e também não tenho interesse. Para mim, achei que tudo que precisava saber foi explicado no livro sem nenhum prejuízo.
9/23/19: This book just about killed me. I am an absolute wreck. The amount that things have escalated!! This is insane. I can't wait to see what comes next.
Honestly Illona Andrews can do no wrong in my book. Now I have to make myself wait to read Emerald Blaze for the release of Ruby Fever and then I will be truly fucked as there will be no more books to read from them.
Hmmm...this was good and I did enjoy it but I also have some issues with it, hence the 3 star rating.
First the good...
I really do love the Baylor family...they are fun and loving and smart and they are sincerely devoted to one another. The dynamic of the family makes me smile and the humor keeps me smiling.
I also enjoyed the storyline within the book...I found it to be engaging and suspenseful. I also really enjoyed the return of Runa and the possibility of an actual friend for one of the sisters...as much as I love the family its also nice to see the possibility of a friend for Catalina.
I also like Catalina - she has really come into her own and she is a strong, powerful and smart women.
The issues...
I don't get Alessandro. As much as the characters make fun of the fangirls on the Herald Alessandro is essentially a romantic hero cardboard cutout - rich, too handsome to be believed, titled, powerful, playboy, loves fast cars, yadda, yadda, yadda. Oh and also...a secret assassin (eye roll). He is a bit too perfect for me and I found his behavior toward Catalina to be more smarmy than charming and way too dismissive of her, especially in the beginning. I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and hope that he improves in future books but he is going to have to start by digging himself out of a hole.
I also found the absence of Nevada and Rogan to be mind-boggling. I don't mean that I wanted them to play some big role in this book or that I missed them so much that I couldn't enjoy the book. No...what I find hard to believe is that both of them would have completely checked out of the family right before their immunity from the other Houses in about to end. They know very well what House politics are like and they can't even pretend to be worried? I get that they had to be out of the picture in order for the next trilogy to get started but their complete abolition of family responsibility is completely out of character for both Nevada and Rogan.
Finally...while the explosions were mildly entertaining the whole macro plot was making me feel like I was reading an episode of Agents of Shield or something, with Linus as a more favorite-uncle version on Nick Fury. It was all so over the top that it was a little difficult to take it seriously. I'm not sure how the macro plot is going to play out over the next few books but I'm not sure I'm interested in reading some super-powered secret agency spy caper....
First the good...
I really do love the Baylor family...they are fun and loving and smart and they are sincerely devoted to one another. The dynamic of the family makes me smile and the humor keeps me smiling.
I also enjoyed the storyline within the book...I found it to be engaging and suspenseful. I also really enjoyed the return of Runa and the possibility of an actual friend for one of the sisters...as much as I love the family its also nice to see the possibility of a friend for Catalina.
I also like Catalina - she has really come into her own and she is a strong, powerful and smart women.
The issues...
I don't get Alessandro. As much as the characters make fun of the fangirls on the Herald Alessandro is essentially a romantic hero cardboard cutout - rich, too handsome to be believed, titled, powerful, playboy, loves fast cars, yadda, yadda, yadda. Oh and also...a secret assassin (eye roll). He is a bit too perfect for me and I found his behavior toward Catalina to be more smarmy than charming and way too dismissive of her, especially in the beginning. I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and hope that he improves in future books but he is going to have to start by digging himself out of a hole.
I also found the absence of Nevada and Rogan to be mind-boggling. I don't mean that I wanted them to play some big role in this book or that I missed them so much that I couldn't enjoy the book. No...what I find hard to believe is that both of them would have completely checked out of the family right before their immunity from the other Houses in about to end. They know very well what House politics are like and they can't even pretend to be worried? I get that they had to be out of the picture in order for the next trilogy to get started but their complete abolition of family responsibility is completely out of character for both Nevada and Rogan.
Finally...while the explosions were mildly entertaining the whole macro plot was making me feel like I was reading an episode of Agents of Shield or something, with Linus as a more favorite-uncle version on Nick Fury. It was all so over the top that it was a little difficult to take it seriously. I'm not sure how the macro plot is going to play out over the next few books but I'm not sure I'm interested in reading some super-powered secret agency spy caper....
3.5 ⭐️
האמת, ציפיתי שהספר הזה ימשיך עם נאבדה, אבל הוא על דמות אחרת.
שוב אגיד שהסיפור מאוד קצר, בעל 15 פרקים. הספר זורם בהתחלה, אבל עם הזמן העלילה והטוויסטים חוזרים על עצמם, עם דמויות שונות.
מקווה שהספר החמישי יהיה טוב יותר מהספר הזה!
האמת, ציפיתי שהספר הזה ימשיך עם נאבדה, אבל הוא על דמות אחרת.
שוב אגיד שהסיפור מאוד קצר, בעל 15 פרקים. הספר זורם בהתחלה, אבל עם הזמן העלילה והטוויסטים חוזרים על עצמם, עם דמויות שונות.
מקווה שהספר החמישי יהיה טוב יותר מהספר הזה!
These books are so enjoyable. It’s funny, I was reading a chapter where a bunch of people died and I was weirdly still like “I’m having a great time.” Catalina/Alessandro does feel a little out of nowhere (big “I talked to you once and became obsessed with you forever” energy) but I’m still into it.