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emilysbooksandbakes's review against another edition
3.75
Every now and then you just need a quick, short read with tentacles.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, and Abandonment
nat20charisma's review against another edition
3.5
They kept calling the main chick “trouble” but I didn’t see it. Also everything moved so fast, and it felt a bit like a repeat of the first book.
That said, still written better than other smut I’ve read. It was fine. And this one has a non-binary character; it was my first time reading a book with ze/zir pronouns, and it was very normalized!
That said, still written better than other smut I’ve read. It was fine. And this one has a non-binary character; it was my first time reading a book with ze/zir pronouns, and it was very normalized!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Abortion
Minor: Body shaming
mariakureads's review against another edition
challenging
sad
fast-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
1.0
I wanted to like this one. I really did – I mean the premise sounded promising plus Kraken MC why not right? – but there was enough here that left a sour taste in my mouth.
Thane is cold and distant in a way that leaves him almost nonchalant and unfeeling towards others and slightly self absorbed in his own pain that he's blind to the rest around him which might not be a problem except he's just signed a deal to take a human bride for the next 7 years, which honestly he's not wanting.
Whereas our human MC, Catalina, signed the deal to get away from her world and all the bad with it, I'm thinking in hopes of something better. She has a lot of issues, one being that she's so used to being verbally, mentally and possibly physically abused that she can't tell when she is being hurt thus harmed and in violation of their contract because it's so "normal" to her.
I tried but honestly Thane doesn't recognize his maltreatment until more than 3/4ths of the way in and by then I really couldn't see or understand how aside from the contract keeping them together, why, and this is a short read, they would be together? She has so many different self issues aside from being a survivor of abuse to stay in a relationship with a man who neglected her time and time again and added on to the damage.
I loved The Dragon's Bride and am curious to see how the others play out, hoping that the other protagonists get better treatment than Catalina did.
Thane is cold and distant in a way that leaves him almost nonchalant and unfeeling towards others and slightly self absorbed in his own pain that he's blind to the rest around him which might not be a problem except he's just signed a deal to take a human bride for the next 7 years, which honestly he's not wanting.
Whereas our human MC, Catalina, signed the deal to get away from her world and all the bad with it, I'm thinking in hopes of something better. She has a lot of issues, one being that she's so used to being verbally, mentally and possibly physically abused that she can't tell when she is being hurt thus harmed and in violation of their contract because it's so "normal" to her.
I tried but honestly Thane doesn't recognize his maltreatment until more than 3/4ths of the way in and by then I really couldn't see or understand how aside from the contract keeping them together, why, and this is a short read, they would be together? She has so many different self issues aside from being a survivor of abuse to stay in a relationship with a man who neglected her time and time again and added on to the damage.
I loved The Dragon's Bride and am curious to see how the others play out, hoping that the other protagonists get better treatment than Catalina did.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Grief, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Confinement, Death, and Body shaming
sup3r_xn0va_maya's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Thane is a POS and I'm so annoyed with this book. Catalina deserves so much better than his dumb ass. I understand that he's going through loss and grief but that doesn't give him the right to be neglectful and borderline abusive towards Catalina. Thane takes too long to start treating Catalina right in my opinion, and it's frustrating as hell.
I don't think book was long enough to address the trauma that Catalina has gone through or the grief that Thane is dealing with. Because of the short length of the book, Thane is an asshole and selfish for 60% - 70% of the book, so basically for most of the book.
He's so carelessthat he ends up giving Catalina "The Bends" at the start of the book. He then locks her in a tower for weeks on end, leaving her in isolation.
For those few weeks she was only fed bread by the tower/kitchen workers because they thought she was purposefully being neglected by Thane and they wanted to follow in his footsteps.
Even though both characters discuss not wanting children, Catalina gets pregnant because he doesn't think about using any form of contraception. Up until the 70% mark, Thane has sexual encounters with Catalina and then he always leaves right afterwards. Leaving her feeling rejected, neglected, and used (like all the other people in her life have already made her feel.)
I would say that this book has an okay amount of spice. I really want more spice in my monster erotica! I would rate this 3 🌶️ chilies/ out of 5🌶️ chilies.
Overall this book was really frustrating but the smut was okay so I'm giving it 3 stars out of 5.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
I listened to this audiobook for free on Hoopladigital.com
I don't think book was long enough to address the trauma that Catalina has gone through or the grief that Thane is dealing with. Because of the short length of the book, Thane is an asshole and selfish for 60% - 70% of the book, so basically for most of the book.
He's so careless
For those few weeks she was only fed bread by the tower/kitchen workers because they thought she was purposefully being neglected by Thane and they wanted to follow in his footsteps.
Even though both characters discuss not wanting children, Catalina gets pregnant because he doesn't think about using any form of contraception. Up until the 70% mark, Thane has sexual encounters with Catalina and then he always leaves right afterwards. Leaving her feeling rejected, neglected, and used (like all the other people in her life have already made her feel.)
I would say that this book has an okay amount of spice. I really want more spice in my monster erotica! I would rate this 3 🌶️ chilies/ out of 5🌶️ chilies.
Overall this book was really frustrating but the smut was okay so I'm giving it 3 stars out of 5.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
I listened to this audiobook for free on Hoopladigital.com
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Abandonment, Abortion, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Medical content, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Body shaming, and Grief
gidgetdraws's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
fast-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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Body shaming
unusablebooklore's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.5
Loads of grief
Loads of what appears to be CPTSD
Thane’s neglect and isolation of Catalina is abusive and Catalina just keeps accepting it because of her rock bottom self-worth.
At one point Thane gags her and pushes her limits…no discussion, no safe measure. Again, yes it’s fiction, so suspended reality I get that. But I feels so wrong.
I adored the first book in this series, and I enjoyed this one as well. My biggest complaint is that they're a bit too short. They don’t unpack the characters as well as I want them to.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Abandonment, Pregnancy, Sexual content, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Fatphobia
Minor: Body shaming
smuttymcbookface's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion, Sexual content, and Confinement
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Trafficking and Body shaming
emmagrace's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
as much as I appreciate that this was a romance between two people who didn't want kids and still don't want kids by the end of the story, that was pretty much the only thing I liked. the main guy/kraken was so terrible to her and the justification is just that she's used to being treated poorly?? I was not a fan, especially not when weighing this against the previous book which was so much better in every aspect.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Abortion, Emotional abuse, Grief, Body shaming, and Child abuse
harveyjoy53's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Grief, and Abandonment
Moderate: Bullying, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Abortion, and Pregnancy
Minor: Death and Toxic relationship
bangiebangs's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
As far as spicy monster romance goes, these are really enjoyable. It's more novella length, so can be read in a few hours. Felt a bit different from the first of the series, in that pacing seemed a little rushed towards the end, and I'd have liked just a little more story around the personal development part. Some developments feel a tad rushed.
All that said, though, this was really enjoyable and had me smiling and even chuckling on occasion, and I'll continue reading the series.
Ok the one thing that was a bit too much for me was the sentence "It is prehensile?".. like yes, you are currently getting hot and heavy with a half kraken person, but who says "prehensile" in the heat of the moment? Just a tiny thing obv, but that interrupted the scene for me.
All that said, though, this was really enjoyable and had me smiling and even chuckling on occasion, and I'll continue reading the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming and Abortion
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Abandonment