Scan barcode
astrodish's review
3.0
3.5 dragon fire stars ✨🔥✨
I'm back with (hopefully) longer reviews. Yay go me.
I don't know if it's because I just finished reading Kate Daniels (oh god I never want the series to end) or not but this book hit the spot of me in the same kind of way.
I wanted the urban fantasy badass feel. I wanted a sweet slow burn that felt important to the story without smothering it. I wanted the magical excitement that comes with being engrossed in a different world. I think it MOSTLY did that. Fantasy and romance both being in the forefront of a story are hard to mix organically.
It helps that Greek mythology is all over the place and it warms my little cold heart to remember some myths I grew up with. I picked this up because it checked some major boxes for me
Badass Sassy heroine? Check
Bossy alpha male but still sweet? Check
Hate to love (sorta) ? Check
Greek mythology? Double check
Fantasy?! Omg yes
And a romance?!
Yes please and thank you.
That's all I wanted to know. It was a fun adventure that was reasonably paced and didn't drag on to much. I also thought the world building was just enough to get the gist and move on.
The sexual tension between the main characters was enough to keep me interested. I liked their banter and them being tied together by magical rope. I also liked her magic. She's knows how to use it to her advantage. The hero is A warlord. No magic and is thought of as a heathen/barbaric. How fun is that? Also I liked waiting for the buildup to the sex. Sometimes it's nice to root for your characters for awhile before they get down and dirty.
It had its problems ( is it just me but certain things just stick out and don't go together? Like she talks about childhood her puppy and says words/ phrases like sign language but it seems out of place) I think I'm harder on it because selling it as fantasy is telling me to be more critical. Fantasy will always be my first love with romance close behind. comparing it to game of thrones (go buzz words) seems a bit of a stretch. It's not that complicated
P.S. Also hades no. Bad hades.
Bottom line? I liked it as a first in a completely new series. And it's her debut! That's impressive to me in itself.
I look forward to reading more when I get a chance to pick up the next one.
I'm back with (hopefully) longer reviews. Yay go me.
I don't know if it's because I just finished reading Kate Daniels (oh god I never want the series to end) or not but this book hit the spot of me in the same kind of way.
I wanted the urban fantasy badass feel. I wanted a sweet slow burn that felt important to the story without smothering it. I wanted the magical excitement that comes with being engrossed in a different world. I think it MOSTLY did that. Fantasy and romance both being in the forefront of a story are hard to mix organically.
It helps that Greek mythology is all over the place and it warms my little cold heart to remember some myths I grew up with. I picked this up because it checked some major boxes for me
Badass Sassy heroine? Check
Bossy alpha male but still sweet? Check
Hate to love (sorta) ? Check
Greek mythology? Double check
Fantasy?! Omg yes
And a romance?!
Yes please and thank you.
That's all I wanted to know. It was a fun adventure that was reasonably paced and didn't drag on to much. I also thought the world building was just enough to get the gist and move on.
The sexual tension between the main characters was enough to keep me interested. I liked their banter and them being tied together by magical rope. I also liked her magic. She's knows how to use it to her advantage. The hero is A warlord. No magic and is thought of as a heathen/barbaric. How fun is that? Also I liked waiting for the buildup to the sex. Sometimes it's nice to root for your characters for awhile before they get down and dirty.
It had its problems ( is it just me but certain things just stick out and don't go together? Like she talks about childhood her puppy and says words/ phrases like sign language but it seems out of place) I think I'm harder on it because selling it as fantasy is telling me to be more critical. Fantasy will always be my first love with romance close behind. comparing it to game of thrones (go buzz words) seems a bit of a stretch. It's not that complicated
P.S. Also hades no. Bad hades.
Bottom line? I liked it as a first in a completely new series. And it's her debut! That's impressive to me in itself.
I look forward to reading more when I get a chance to pick up the next one.
avastras1's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-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
5.0
Definitely more romance than high fantasy, but good nonetheless! I loved that the man was in love with the mc the whole time!!
ps_racheljean's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
aprhodes's review against another edition
3.0
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Main Character: Cat. She's a strong and funny character with an (almost over-the-top) tragic backstory. The trauma causes her to make some bad choices, but she's ultimately loveable, and you root for her and hope she's able to learn to open up to others.
Love Interest: Griffin. This may be an unpopular opinion, but I did not care for many of Griffin's actions. I can get behind a captor/captive narrative in a book, but I don't enjoy it when a MMC continues to deny the agency of the FMC after the "captor" portion of the book is over. Whatever Griffin wants, he gets, even if Cat gives a firm and clear no. He's loving and never "abusive", but he's still not a good partner to Cat.
Romance: I found the romance frustrating due largely to Griffin's character. They have a strong and instant lust-filled connection. Cat continues to resent Griffin for most of the book, justifiably, because he's kidnapped her and held her against her will. She expresses why she doesn't want to be romantic with him, but he ignores her and only pushes harder and harder.
Relationship Status at Book End:
Tropes:
• Greek Mythology
• Dragons, Giants & Monsters
• Prophecies
• Alpha Male / Touch and Die / Who Did This to You
• Found Family
What Worked for Me:
Main Character: Cat. She's a strong and funny character with an (almost over-the-top) tragic backstory. The trauma causes her to make some bad choices, but she's ultimately loveable, and you root for her and hope she's able to learn to open up to others.
Love Interest: Griffin. This may be an unpopular opinion, but I did not care for many of Griffin's actions. I can get behind a captor/captive narrative in a book, but I don't enjoy it when a MMC continues to deny the agency of the FMC after the "captor" portion of the book is over. Whatever Griffin wants, he gets, even if Cat gives a firm and clear no. He's loving and never "abusive", but he's still not a good partner to Cat.
Romance: I found the romance frustrating due largely to Griffin's character. They have a strong and instant lust-filled connection. Cat continues to resent Griffin for most of the book, justifiably, because he's kidnapped her and held her against her will. She expresses why she doesn't want to be romantic with him, but he ignores her and only pushes harder and harder.
Spoiler
Since we're in Cat's POV, we see that her resistance is a "lie" and that she "really wants" it, but I don't believe Griffin's character should be able to determine that she's "lying" when she is telling him to stop. It gets borderline on some of the consent in the book.Relationship Status at Book End:
Spoiler
Together, but still keeping secrets from each otherTropes:
• Greek Mythology
• Dragons, Giants & Monsters
• Prophecies
• Alpha Male / Touch and Die / Who Did This to You
• Found Family
What Worked for Me:
anitak88's review against another edition
3.0
So as much as I loved this book it is a 3.5 star rating for me and here are the reasons why.
What I liked:
- the world building was very well done as well as incorporation of Greek mythology. The characters and character development were for the most part very well done as well as the side characters.
-at no point did I feel bored or as if I was reading filler chapters or filler content the flow was again a very well done and always kept me interested.
-as I mentioned I liked the incorporation of Greek mythology and the gods as well as the Greek language but I do think the beginning or end of the book should have had a bit of a glossary with all of the gods, their powers, maybe a bit of a language glossary as well for people that don't really know a lot about Greek mythology and all the different gods and how they're related and so on and so forth. I think for some people they might feel a bit lost in that aspect of the book and it may turn them off. I love Greek mythology and have studied it a bit so to me I didn't feel like I was missing some first book that explained all of this.
What I was not a fan of:
- so right off the bat I'm not a huge fan of Griffin. I kind of think he's an overbearing asshole who always thinks that he is right and isn't really willing to listen or take into consideration anybody else's opinion and it does become up quite a bit annoying. At some point just consistently commanding that the woman you supposedly love to do whatever you want and think that she should follow your lead just because you say so becomes incredibly annoying and is just not sexy in the least. I think the only way I won't believe he's a complete asshole is if there is quite a bit of character growth for him.
-so I truly believed and expected cat to be a much more fierce independent woman and that's kind of how she comes across but for some reason whenever it comes to Griffin she makes a pitiful attempt to argue against him or stand up to him and make her voice an opinion heard and then for some reason just rolls over and gives into his demands which turned me off so much when it comes to their relationship. Why can't she not be that strong person she is with everybody else and state her opinions and make her voice heard when it comes to him. Like we get it he's a pretty face and you find him attractive that doesn't mean you just roll over every time he gives you an order. So I definitely need her to grow more of a backbone when it comes to Griffin.
- on the topic of cat and Griffin I know we have the whole element of the gods and faith and all of that happening but I definitely don't find their love and relationship that believable right now at this point. There is still so much growth that needs to be done both independently for them and together as for their relationship. The fact that well he said I love you I would say about 55% of the way through was another turn off for me.
Conclusion: having said all of that I will be reading the next book and probably the last book in the series unless something happens that really turns me off. Because for all those little faults that I found overall I'm still very intrigued about the story and to know the reactions for everybody when they find out who she really is. There are a lot more positives than negatives overall that I found and so that's why I will be continuing on the series and I would recommend two friends
What I liked:
- the world building was very well done as well as incorporation of Greek mythology. The characters and character development were for the most part very well done as well as the side characters.
-at no point did I feel bored or as if I was reading filler chapters or filler content the flow was again a very well done and always kept me interested.
-as I mentioned I liked the incorporation of Greek mythology and the gods as well as the Greek language but I do think the beginning or end of the book should have had a bit of a glossary with all of the gods, their powers, maybe a bit of a language glossary as well for people that don't really know a lot about Greek mythology and all the different gods and how they're related and so on and so forth. I think for some people they might feel a bit lost in that aspect of the book and it may turn them off. I love Greek mythology and have studied it a bit so to me I didn't feel like I was missing some first book that explained all of this.
What I was not a fan of:
- so right off the bat I'm not a huge fan of Griffin. I kind of think he's an overbearing asshole who always thinks that he is right and isn't really willing to listen or take into consideration anybody else's opinion and it does become up quite a bit annoying. At some point just consistently commanding that the woman you supposedly love to do whatever you want and think that she should follow your lead just because you say so becomes incredibly annoying and is just not sexy in the least. I think the only way I won't believe he's a complete asshole is if there is quite a bit of character growth for him.
-so I truly believed and expected cat to be a much more fierce independent woman and that's kind of how she comes across but for some reason whenever it comes to Griffin she makes a pitiful attempt to argue against him or stand up to him and make her voice an opinion heard and then for some reason just rolls over and gives into his demands which turned me off so much when it comes to their relationship. Why can't she not be that strong person she is with everybody else and state her opinions and make her voice heard when it comes to him. Like we get it he's a pretty face and you find him attractive that doesn't mean you just roll over every time he gives you an order. So I definitely need her to grow more of a backbone when it comes to Griffin.
- on the topic of cat and Griffin I know we have the whole element of the gods and faith and all of that happening but I definitely don't find their love and relationship that believable right now at this point. There is still so much growth that needs to be done both independently for them and together as for their relationship. The fact that well he said I love you I would say about 55% of the way through was another turn off for me.
Conclusion: having said all of that I will be reading the next book and probably the last book in the series unless something happens that really turns me off. Because for all those little faults that I found overall I'm still very intrigued about the story and to know the reactions for everybody when they find out who she really is. There are a lot more positives than negatives overall that I found and so that's why I will be continuing on the series and I would recommend two friends
rebeks7's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.25
herjb's review
2.75
Good concept and universe, plot is interesting but character development and writing is a bit surface level
meghansen42's review against another edition
Ran out of time before I was able to really start it. New hold may be created
becxreadz's review against another edition
This started out fun but I got so bored