Reviews with content warning for Blood - Hunt on Dark Waters

Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Hunt on Dark Waters by Katee Robert

15 reviews

bittie_bee's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Stop trying to make "paladin" happen 😒

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booksdogsandcoffee's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny fast-paced

3.5

Embark on a hot and thrilling D&D esc adventure where the dark fantasy of The Witcher collides with the swashbuckling excitement of Black Sails, set in a realm beyond imagination

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kamreher's review

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adventurous emotional funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

per my spreadsheet:

this was my first katee robert book and it did not disappoint. i love a good pirate book, and the spice was fun. the way it reads gave me anime vibes

the lower ratings on this book are wild to me. its a fun little book and i'm ready for more of this world.

spice 🌶 - a 4 🌶 spicy (romance.io scale)
length - just right
reading speed - read in 2 days
did it make me cry? - no

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sweetlittleredw's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I love Katee. I love their writing. I love how they put so many diverse characters and unique relationships in their books. However… this book did not hit the spot. The spice was nice, but Bowen and Evie’s relationship just seemed so surface level. I wish we would’ve seen more of Bowen’s powers. I want to see his and Evie’s powers develop much more in the next book because I will, of course, read the next one. I want to see how their relationship will blossom. I was just left wanting so much. With all that being said… I want phantom hands IYKYK

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chainsiren's review against another edition

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adventurous funny medium-paced

3.5

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albyatross's review

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

*For ref, I have the barnes and noble edition with author notes, and honestly I think that brings the score up since it was nice checking the notes verse the pages.

The writing is fine, the plot is fine, Evelyn and Bowen are good ... separately, not as a couple. Dia is cool, Lizzie was fun. Miles and nearly everyone else was very cardboard prop for plot purposes.

Lots of later plot points happen I think just because they need to happen, certain things seem overly convenient.

The world building had so much potential! And somehow fell so flat! Like the islands move! Your boat is full of people and species from across the multiverse! Where is ANY discussion on culture!? That could have been SO FUN?

Also, I think this book is slightly mismarked bc Bowen isn't a pirate ... he's more like something in the realm of a privateer, since he reports to a council / government, and does not seem to generally engage with the act of theft or plunder (unless we get into, uh, theft of people falling into Threshold maybe, but that seems like a topic beyond what this series could reasonably handle in a thoughtful way). So like if someone actually wanted pirates, plz pick a different book, there are NOT pirates here!!

+ on the spice;

The sex scenes were very insta-attraction and shallow, tbh. Fine if you want sex for sexs sake as both charas have plenty of energy an experience, but overall feels more like horny one night stand energy than anything leading to long-term attachment.

I will probably not read the sequel unless I find it in a LFL for free or something.

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jlaz_13's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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dwarrowdams's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Really fun! I wish we’d gotten a little more development from (and insight into) Evelyn, but this was still a delightful read.

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just_one_more_paige's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

So, I've been low key making my way through Robert's Dark Olympus series... I haven't officially shared reviews for this series on my blog yet, because I was going to kinda of just speak to them all together in one big post when I finish the series. That's how I found out about this new one from her. I wouldn't normally start another series like this while simultaneously mid-another one, BUT the end of the year, cold weather vibes made this pirate/vampire/witch magical fantasy romance situation exactly what I was looking for. And it was available at the library, so, I went for it.

Evelyn is a witch, and even though she knows it's a bad idea, she's dating a vampire. A very powerful, scary one. When their relationship takes a turn for the...not good, she steals some important jewels from her (now) ex on the way out, barely escaping through a portal to another realm: Threshold. Rescued from the water by Bowen, a noble captain of the Cŵn Annwn, tasked with protecting the world(s) from monsters. He remembers nothing from his life before the Cŵn Annwn and, following their laws, offers Evelyn a choice: join the crew or die. Obviously, Evelyn isn't here for those options and wants to get back home, while her many attempts to do so (and her questioning of everything about the Cŵn Annwn in the process), are deeply antagonizing to Bowen. But where there is tension...there is also tension. And Evelyn and Bowen's attraction to each other, against both their better judgements, is going to change everything for them both.

Look, this was exceptionally cheesy, hitting on all the notes of magic and witches and vampires and portals and the Wild Hunt and pirates and romance tropes. (Plus, the reference to Supernatural dropped in there in an #iykyk way gave me full on "I love when nerds write books!" feels.) Normally, I’m not even sorry about reading cheesy books like this. And I'm not sorry I picked this one up with that goal in mind. But, unfortunately, this one just wasn't it for me. It definitely doesn't hold a candle (at least so far) to the Dark Olympus series. And while it had so much promise, the quality of the writing and execution of the plot and character development just didn't deliver. Also, if I'm being honest, I was just not impressed with the steamy scenes (which sucks, as they are a primary aspect/pull of this book). They were really stereotype-y and fell into the "orgasming so many times and no need for breaks” trap. I mean, both participants are supernatural so mayyybe you could look past it if the general writing of them worked for you. But that wasn't the case for me. They just seemed uninspired (especially, again, compared to what I've read in Dark Olympus, which has been fire) and for real, the way Bowen's telekinetic power is used creeped me out more than anything.

One of the primary themes of this story, monsters and what makes them, is a common one as well (nature and survival instinct of animals versus purposeful violence/power-grabbing of humans/higher brain species). Now, that's not necessarily a bad thing. But this was pretty par for the course as far as the related "lessons" to the reader. However, I do want to give a nod to the way Bowen was written. He was faced with mounting evidence of his own "evil," compliance with a governing body that is not, in fact, as pure in intentions as advertised; usually (naturally - as no one wants to think of themselves as the bad guy, especially if that was not your intent) that causes a person to react with defensiveness and entrenchment. Bowen chooses instead to face down the cognitive dissonance and learn and grow from it. Faster than is, in all likelihood realistic, but still...a pervasive and incredibly important character theme throughout the novel.

I'd also like to recognize how much I appreciated the casual inclusion of myriad pronoun options. I love the way fantasy can be used as a driver for those kinds of accustomizations. And there was element-based magic and that's always a favorite of mine as well.

Look, I didn't hate this read, and the “unlikely compatriots” turn the ending took (small spoiler: when Evelyn's ex shows back up) was actually quite entertaining (and it set up a "what comes next" for the series that has potential). But overall, I don't think it was quite different or intriguing enough to make me want to actually keep reading. I'll keep it on the back burner though, I suppose...

“I won’t pretend there aren’t monsters lurking in plenty of shadows, but a lot of people look at something Other and decide it's monstrous simply because they don't see themselves reflected back.”

“Anytime there’s power to be had, there's power to be misused. [...] Absolute power corrupts absolutely, and all that.”

“I never wanted to hurt anyone. I only wanted to protect them. But what the fuck do my intentions matter when I'm serving and unjust system?”

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phlipsie's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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