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3.25 AVERAGE
3.25 AVERAGE
I'm very happy for the people who enjoyed this book, and by no means do I intend to insult anyone, I understand we all have different perceptions and I usually try to be kinder in my reviews below a 4 stars...However I truly truly hated this book, so if you have read it and enjoyed it, please don't read my review. If you haven't read it and are wondering if the other 1 star to 3 star reviews are right....Well, read on.
First of, I adored book 1, it was fun, a little cringe but just the right amount, smutty and...FUN.
I don't want to repeat what a lot of other reviews have already said, but I'll organise my thoughts in a few bullet points:
- There is a glaring lack of plot, I still don't get what the plot was, it felt like the author was making it up as she went. It has decent bones for a good story, but it was very clear that this was rushed. The author herself admits to writing it in 4 weeks and girl...we absolutely can tell.
- The feminist narrative was done so poorly it made me angry. I love a good feminist protagonist, but Isolde wasn't it. There are random moments of "girl power quotes" that fall flat due to how forced and random they are. Isolde is presented as a savior, for example when she frees a woman from a dungeon....except she is the one who agreed to her being thrown in the dungeon and FORGOT about her for MONTHS, only conveniently remembering because she hears her crying and finds the dungeon. THAT'S INSANELY DUMB.
- The use of SA for shock value disgusted me. For a book that is very much meant to be feminist, again, this is gross. The inclusion of a character mentioning g@ng r@pe, only for that character to be immediately killed and then the whole thing (coupled with a random decision to include child trafficking) is completely forgotten and never mentioned again.
- There is no consistency: Isolde has lost her father, yet spends so little time actually thinking about it that I can tell you exactly which scene she actually mentions it. Other character's reactions to his death are actually more emotional than Isolde ever is, despite mentions that she is TORN about it but CHOOSES not to think about it.
- Wtf is Adrian in this book? Why do they keep fighting, fucking, fighting, fucking...there's nothing to develop their relationship. As others have said, the author relies so heavily on them having had a previous connection, it's laughable. The smut was incredibly stupid as well, I loved Book 1 for the good smut and the decent but flimsy plot, and now this book has thrown out any good smut in favor of randomly dropping quick smut scenes every chapter that feel kind of bland.
- Speaking of plot, the whole flashbacks thing is handled insanely badly. I was listening to it as audiobook, but would have to pick up my paperback constantly to understand how we were switching to flashbacks, and even the paperback shows very little transition, the amount of whiplash this gave me...But also, Isolde doesn't remember everything from her previous life, makes sense, right? Except that we only get random flashbacks for plot convenience, and it feels like the author couldn't come up with a better way to give information than like this.
- The WHIPLASH: within 70 pages, we get two fights and fucking, executions, a battle, Isolde getting bit and Isolde turning into an animal. Which btw is treated like no big deal, everyone acts like no one could have possible found out despite seeing their queen run into the snow with the king following her (NAKED). REALLY? NO ONE NOTICED?
The sheer plot convenience of everything, the way we switched from one scene to the other, felt like such a rough draft, it was a "woop, gotta drop a flashback here to advance the plot" "woop, this villain turns out to be a good guy, woop his hands are cut, woop, he sacrifices himself for the people who maimed him" (this plotline was also dumb af, someone being introduced just to cause a little more conflict, only to then become vanilla boy, only then to be killed off because he has time freezing powers)
There's no way I'll give the next book a chance, and I'm incredibly disappointed. This was obviously rushed, a filler book, and the author wanted to do too much while not giving herself the time to properly introduce and connect all of it. Not only should this have been a duology, but I feel like it's hard for me to know where to stand with Scarlet St Clair. I legit loved her YA book way more than this because at least her YA book had a rounded plot that didn't try to do too much. It feels like I always adore book 1 of her series and get violent whiplash from how drastic the changes are in book 2.
I waited impatiently for this book to come out, only to find reviews that made me wait for a whole other year before giving it a go...and the reviews were right.
First of, I adored book 1, it was fun, a little cringe but just the right amount, smutty and...FUN.
I don't want to repeat what a lot of other reviews have already said, but I'll organise my thoughts in a few bullet points:
- There is a glaring lack of plot, I still don't get what the plot was, it felt like the author was making it up as she went. It has decent bones for a good story, but it was very clear that this was rushed. The author herself admits to writing it in 4 weeks and girl...we absolutely can tell.
- The feminist narrative was done so poorly it made me angry. I love a good feminist protagonist, but Isolde wasn't it. There are random moments of "girl power quotes" that fall flat due to how forced and random they are. Isolde is presented as a savior, for example when she frees a woman from a dungeon....except she is the one who agreed to her being thrown in the dungeon and FORGOT about her for MONTHS, only conveniently remembering because she hears her crying and finds the dungeon. THAT'S INSANELY DUMB.
- The use of SA for shock value disgusted me. For a book that is very much meant to be feminist, again, this is gross. The inclusion of a character mentioning g@ng r@pe, only for that character to be immediately killed and then the whole thing (coupled with a random decision to include child trafficking) is completely forgotten and never mentioned again.
- There is no consistency: Isolde has lost her father, yet spends so little time actually thinking about it that I can tell you exactly which scene she actually mentions it. Other character's reactions to his death are actually more emotional than Isolde ever is, despite mentions that she is TORN about it but CHOOSES not to think about it.
- Wtf is Adrian in this book? Why do they keep fighting, fucking, fighting, fucking...there's nothing to develop their relationship. As others have said, the author relies so heavily on them having had a previous connection, it's laughable. The smut was incredibly stupid as well, I loved Book 1 for the good smut and the decent but flimsy plot, and now this book has thrown out any good smut in favor of randomly dropping quick smut scenes every chapter that feel kind of bland.
- Speaking of plot, the whole flashbacks thing is handled insanely badly. I was listening to it as audiobook, but would have to pick up my paperback constantly to understand how we were switching to flashbacks, and even the paperback shows very little transition, the amount of whiplash this gave me...But also, Isolde doesn't remember everything from her previous life, makes sense, right? Except that we only get random flashbacks for plot convenience, and it feels like the author couldn't come up with a better way to give information than like this.
- The WHIPLASH: within 70 pages, we get two fights and fucking, executions, a battle, Isolde getting bit and Isolde turning into an animal. Which btw is treated like no big deal, everyone acts like no one could have possible found out despite seeing their queen run into the snow with the king following her (NAKED). REALLY? NO ONE NOTICED?
The sheer plot convenience of everything, the way we switched from one scene to the other, felt like such a rough draft, it was a "woop, gotta drop a flashback here to advance the plot" "woop, this villain turns out to be a good guy, woop his hands are cut, woop, he sacrifices himself for the people who maimed him" (this plotline was also dumb af, someone being introduced just to cause a little more conflict, only to then become vanilla boy, only then to be killed off because he has time freezing powers)
There's no way I'll give the next book a chance, and I'm incredibly disappointed. This was obviously rushed, a filler book, and the author wanted to do too much while not giving herself the time to properly introduce and connect all of it. Not only should this have been a duology, but I feel like it's hard for me to know where to stand with Scarlet St Clair. I legit loved her YA book way more than this because at least her YA book had a rounded plot that didn't try to do too much. It feels like I always adore book 1 of her series and get violent whiplash from how drastic the changes are in book 2.
I waited impatiently for this book to come out, only to find reviews that made me wait for a whole other year before giving it a go...and the reviews were right.
2.5? Maybe? Idk.
I'm just confused by this book. I remember liking KOBAB and I was so excited for this book but...What was that?
The entire plot of this is Isolde and Adrian fighting — mainly due to Isolde behaving like a spoiled child who cares about nothing but her own feelings and going through an annoying circle of "I know he's right but I want to hurt him" or whatever variant it was — and then having sex. Only after ch 20 did things start picking up and it was such a small piece of plot that it barely even counted as something.
I'm not giving up on this series yet, but I really hope book 3 is better than whatever this was.
I'm just confused by this book. I remember liking KOBAB and I was so excited for this book but...What was that?
The entire plot of this is Isolde and Adrian fighting — mainly due to Isolde behaving like a spoiled child who cares about nothing but her own feelings and going through an annoying circle of "I know he's right but I want to hurt him" or whatever variant it was — and then having sex. Only after ch 20 did things start picking up and it was such a small piece of plot that it barely even counted as something.
I'm not giving up on this series yet, but I really hope book 3 is better than whatever this was.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The quote in the book says it all. "All we seem to do is fight and fuck." Yeah, that's about what the book is. I never stop reading a book but when I only had 100 pages left and I realized I didn't care what happened to the characters anymore I stopped. There was no character development.
Holy crap
This was a wild ride but oh so great!!!! Can’t wait for book three! My jaw is on the floor from the bombs dropped in here
This was a wild ride but oh so great!!!! Can’t wait for book three! My jaw is on the floor from the bombs dropped in here
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Substance: 2.5/5
Spice: 4/5
I was so let down by this installment of Adrian & Isolde.
I finished the first book in basically one sitting, the plot was interesting, the characters felt dynamic, the smut was delicious.
But this book didn’t have the same depth as the first.
Parts of this novel were straight up confusing. The author moved from memory to present moment, in a way that left me going back to figure out where the fuck I was in the story.
The plot is basically lovers quarrels and make up sex.
The smut is meh in the beginning and gets a little sexier later in the book.
Even though the story was slow and a little boring, the end still managed to feel anticlimactic.
I imagine I’ll read the third installment when it comes out, but phew I almost DNF’d this one after the mid-way point, because it was so freaking boring.
If bloody vamp smut is your vibe, it might be worth it just for the steamy scenes. But it’s you’re looking for substance and spice, this one was a miss for me.
Spice: 4/5
I was so let down by this installment of Adrian & Isolde.
I finished the first book in basically one sitting, the plot was interesting, the characters felt dynamic, the smut was delicious.
But this book didn’t have the same depth as the first.
Parts of this novel were straight up confusing. The author moved from memory to present moment, in a way that left me going back to figure out where the fuck I was in the story.
The plot is basically lovers quarrels and make up sex.
The smut is meh in the beginning and gets a little sexier later in the book.
Even though the story was slow and a little boring, the end still managed to feel anticlimactic.
I imagine I’ll read the third installment when it comes out, but phew I almost DNF’d this one after the mid-way point, because it was so freaking boring.
If bloody vamp smut is your vibe, it might be worth it just for the steamy scenes. But it’s you’re looking for substance and spice, this one was a miss for me.
