Reviews

Embracing His Syn by A.E. Via

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1.5 stars.
Firstly can we talk about the names? Sydney to Syn, like wtf. So damn cheesy and you can tell it was only done for that mediocre 'embracing his syn' title. If the author wanted a character named Syn so bad she should have just named him Synergy or something. It's almost less ridiculous. And then God and Day? My head was spinning.

But I wouldn't factor in names when rating a book no matter how outstanding the names are. What really brought this book to 1.5 stars was the soo prevalent misogyny all throughout. Usually, I can, unfortunately, tolerate a little misogyny from M/M books and even M/F because I find that it is very very common. However, when Day was questioning the lesbian witness and she said:
“You’re not as smart as you think you are Lieutenant Day!”
and Day replied:
“Smart enough to like cock,” Day shot over his shoulder before leaving the room.
And Syn and God doubled over laughing? Are these guys supposed to be the good guys? Are we supposed to like them? All of this just because the author wanted to extract laughs from the viewer? The author managed to make her gay characters both homophobic and misogynistic. Make it make sense. A positive portrayal of a woman is so few and far between in this book, it's almost sad.

And then the plot. I love Hawaii Five-0, its a show about cops in a team that have free range and can also do whatever they want. However, the cops in Hawaii Five-0 are responsible. And you can see that's why they have that privilege. The members of the team in this book, are very clearly not. From the dumbass jokes to the absolute shambles of a plan they have when doing anything, it's clear that these are not the people you would choose to put on a team that have no consequences for the actions whatsoever. It's like watching a bunch of skilled high schoolers that are all attracted to each other try to solve crimes after watching an episode of CSI.

rellimreads's review

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4.0

I really enjoyed Embracing His Syn. I think it helps that I got to know the secondary characters in Nothing Special and they definitely play a major role in this book as well. I think (and I'm writing these reviews after having already binged 6 books!) that one of the things I enjoy most about this series is that Via doesn't drop characters in and out. We get regular appearances and interaction which allows listeners to really feel immersed in the world she's created. Which is precisely why it was so easy to binge.

Syn was the perfect balance of protective Alpha male, yet respective of Furi's need to be in control of his life. There was also an interesting flip of Furi being the one to dominate & direct in the bedroom (or wherever!). There's also a nice element of suspense as Furi is trying to escape an abusive and stalking ex. Via continues to give us a strong brotherhood between all the officers which is in turns serious and hilarious.

Aiden Snow's narration continues to be excellent. Not only does he have a super sexy voice, but he gives all the characters distinct voices and keeps them consistent from the previous book.

bitchie's review

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4.0

Ok, first off, Via really needs to stop being so effusive in her thanks to her editor in the acknowledgements, because the editing in these books just ain't that good. I've read worse, but I expect better from books that cost this much.

Now on to the book itself- utter brain candy. There isn't any mental nutrition to be found in these books. The plots are completely illogical, make no sense, points are dropped or unexplained. But I really didn't care, because it was just FUN. I went ahead and gave this 4 stars, not because of the quality of the writing or the plot, but just how much fun I had reading it.

I wonder how long the author sits, thinking up these absurd names: Cashel "God" Godfrey, Leonidas Day, Furious AKA Furi, Sydney AKA "Syn". Don't even ask how she got Syn out of Sydney, I stopped trying to figure that out early on.

evethingiread's review

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2.0

2nd time reading

"Embracing His Sin," shifts focus to Sin and Furious. Sin, the new lieutenant, and Furious, escaping an abusive relationship, embark on a passionate journey. Despite the intriguing premise, this installment became my least favorite in the series. The dynamic between Sin and Furious felt somewhat forced and formulaic, straying from the more natural flow present in the first book. The dialogue and plot developments seemed less authentic, taking away from the overall charm of the series. While the characters and their struggles were interesting, the execution left something to be desired. Nonetheless, the book concludes with a satisfying and sweet ending, maintaining the series' signature style.

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This book was ridiculous! I get that the author was doing the whole role reversal thing, but Furi was annoying as fuck every time he was being dominant with Syn. And oh god I think I might be over their names already, how am I gonna keep up with this whole series.

I do love the books, I totally get they’re ridiculous and crazy and eye roll inducing. They’re fun. But this books just didn’t keep me entertained as much as it made me angry.

Loved seeing the foursome and and the little bit about Prescott. Had a lot of haha moments.

This was just too much. I even skipped over a lot of the sex. It became repetitive and pointless after the 70% mark!

krisssreads's review

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3.0

Syn went from having big dick energy to having a vagina... I mean each to their own but his character was a little bitch behind closed doors and it put me off.. anyone else?

Honestly there wasn't much to the story apart from Syn protecting Furious from his ex husband, chuck in a little mystery, dead bodies (which was pointless?) and hot sex. However, I can't help feeling like there like an age gap or something between these two that I missed because it had me feeling like Syn had at least 10 years on him... the comments just made their dynamic fucking weird