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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
I'm pretty certain I'll never try another book by Gena Showalter. The prose was clumsy, the plot awkward, and the characters unrealistic and unconvincing.
I'm sorry :( I really wanted to like this. I did! I need a good new PNR series NOW. It just underwhelmed. It moved really slowly, very little action, most things seemed to take place in internal dialogue. Seriously, the scene where the H found the h in the dungeon and tried to get her to come out with him lasted 10 years. I was like either stay in the damn dungeon or move your ass, girl, cuz I'm tired of this.
Aside from the sex scenes seemed kind of YA to me. Nothing wrong with that, but not what I was expecting.
The narrator didn't blow me away, either. The H and many of the males sounded a bit like "dudes" or grunting Neanderthals. I prefer more zippy dialogue and less grunting. Just me.
So to all you friends who love the series, I'm sorry. No offense, I'm just not getting it. Actually, I'm jealous of you because I'm having a dry spell and I wanted a new series to crack out on until the IAD returns :( :( :(
Aside from the sex scenes seemed kind of YA to me. Nothing wrong with that, but not what I was expecting.
The narrator didn't blow me away, either. The H and many of the males sounded a bit like "dudes" or grunting Neanderthals. I prefer more zippy dialogue and less grunting. Just me.
So to all you friends who love the series, I'm sorry. No offense, I'm just not getting it. Actually, I'm jealous of you because I'm having a dry spell and I wanted a new series to crack out on until the IAD returns :( :( :(
4/5
Reread 10/18/17
After reading The Dark Promise, I was wondering if I had imagined how good this book was. I wondered if my desire to leap into this series had been a fluke or due to temporary literary fugue. Nope. Upon rereading this, I was delighted by confirmation of how cute this love story was. Maddox and Ashlyn LOVE each other. Basically immediately. Their scenes are a little silly but so sweet and cute. They have great chemistry between them and it burns the pages at time. I read these types of books bc I like love stories. I do not like, I hate you and want nothing to do with you books. Those aren't fun for me. This one was fun for me.
This book is all over the place. Clearly there are many storylines beginning with this. I remembered being fairly confused by several of the events and was happy to see how it all made sense to me. Now. Then, it was too much. I think this is one of the worst parts of Showalter's books. That she packs so much into the books to keep readers' interested, that things become confusing and convoluted. It dulls the reading experience rather than enhancing it.
Regardless of the writing snafus, I still think these first books in the series were great fun.
Reread 10/18/17
After reading The Dark Promise, I was wondering if I had imagined how good this book was. I wondered if my desire to leap into this series had been a fluke or due to temporary literary fugue. Nope. Upon rereading this, I was delighted by confirmation of how cute this love story was. Maddox and Ashlyn LOVE each other. Basically immediately. Their scenes are a little silly but so sweet and cute. They have great chemistry between them and it burns the pages at time. I read these types of books bc I like love stories. I do not like, I hate you and want nothing to do with you books. Those aren't fun for me. This one was fun for me.
This book is all over the place. Clearly there are many storylines beginning with this. I remembered being fairly confused by several of the events and was happy to see how it all made sense to me. Now. Then, it was too much. I think this is one of the worst parts of Showalter's books. That she packs so much into the books to keep readers' interested, that things become confusing and convoluted. It dulls the reading experience rather than enhancing it.
Regardless of the writing snafus, I still think these first books in the series were great fun.
I'm hooked! Bring on the rest of the series!
Well this was a good starter to a series I have been meaning to read in a while! I have given it 3 stars because, as a few other people have commented in their reviews, I had problems seeing Maddox as a whole person. I enjoyed his story, but the only thing we really learn about Maddox, as a character, is that he really hates his demon and really loves Ashlyn. I wanted to know more about his relationships with his fellow Lords, about how he spends his time when he wasn't with Ashlyn, but it just didnt happen. We met a few of the other Lords, as readers, but I know nothing about his relationship with them, because the interaction was just dialogue to advance the plot. Ashlyn annoyed me slightly for the same reasons. I never got emotionally involved with this plot because I didnt see the lead characters as being "real" people. That, for me, is my biggest bug-bar with this book and the reason I have given it 3 stars. When I want to read the plots that involve the side characters more than that that involve the main characters, I know that there is something I dont quite like. I loved the plot (the Pandoras box angle was fabulous) and because of the side characters, I know I will continue with the series (I have just finished book 5 but am late reviewing). I liked it, it was entertaining but I wont be rushing to reread it!
this author uses the word 'lathe' and all it's different forms in what seems like every single sex scene. And basically that's what this book is, scenes with very little action and not very interesting or likeable characters linking sex scenes that aren't all that great either. The premise is interesting and I wanted to like it but really it was only just worth the 99p I paid for it.
I didn't like the heroine for most of the book. While I finally warmed up to her it was too little too late for me to rate this higher.
three and a half stars. I liked a lot of things in this book, but I always have a problem with kidnapping, or keeping people against their will... Ashley wasn't really kept against her will, and she and Maddox were great together! Demon-tamer indeed, and she made the ultimate sacrifice to save him from his curse. However, the other women were kidnapped, and kept there, even if nothing happened to them at the hands of the Lords.
Interesting mythology, and I would like more of that, understanding how these Lords have been able to cope for so long, and trying to be so good the people in the village near them actually think they are angels is quite a feat.
Interesting mythology, and I would like more of that, understanding how these Lords have been able to cope for so long, and trying to be so good the people in the village near them actually think they are angels is quite a feat.
A sheltered, insecure young woman (yes, she's a virgin) is driven to desperation by loneliness and an ability to hear past conversations replayed in her mind 24/7. She throws herself at a scary demon-man (with a terrifying soft side) whose face sometimes transforms into a flashing Halloween skeleton mask. He carries her off to his fortress/castle demon share-house where she is rotated among a few locked rooms. For a moment she protests because she has a life and a job! But who is she kidding, she's actually totally onboard in what might be the fastest case study of Stockholm Syndrome yet.
Some thoughts (including spoilers):
1) For the first half of the book, I was repeatedly confronted by a long forgotten sexual fantasy from my childhood, involving the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. In the fantasy, I'd be trapped in a room with them as they gazed down at me trying to decide what to do with me, agreeing only on the fact that they couldn't let me go. That's what a lot of this book is like, minus the intense sexual tension (and in my fantasy I was often in a bathtub, sometimes I was a mermaid).
2) Apparently Ashlyn tastes minty (this was the time she'd finally brushed her teeth after repeatedly vomiting and knocking on death's door - not the demon Death, actual R.I.P death), feminine and of "pure, innocent female". What flavor is THAT I wonder? Anyone tried it?
3) I don't know about you, but I've never felt the urge to drown or die in the heights of sexual arousal.
4) There's not a lot of sex in this book. And during the sex that does happen, dialogue consists mostly of 1-2 word sentences (mine, yours, more, I need, I like, etc) and "I love you". Nothing wrong with that, but if you like hot sex and dirty talk, you'll likely be disappointed. This was the most vanilla immortal demon sex I've ever seen.
5) Special ADHD warning: There are a LOT of characters in this book, especially if you consider that half of them are actually TWO characters.
Finally, I gave this book two stars:
-One for the premise of the book and for the last couple chapters when the action finally picked up. -One more because I'm glad Ashlyn got stabbed six times.
Some thoughts (including spoilers):
1) For the first half of the book, I was repeatedly confronted by a long forgotten sexual fantasy from my childhood, involving the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. In the fantasy, I'd be trapped in a room with them as they gazed down at me trying to decide what to do with me, agreeing only on the fact that they couldn't let me go. That's what a lot of this book is like, minus the intense sexual tension (and in my fantasy I was often in a bathtub, sometimes I was a mermaid).
2) Apparently Ashlyn tastes minty (this was the time she'd finally brushed her teeth after repeatedly vomiting and knocking on death's door - not the demon Death, actual R.I.P death), feminine and of "pure, innocent female". What flavor is THAT I wonder? Anyone tried it?
3) I don't know about you, but I've never felt the urge to drown or die in the heights of sexual arousal.
4) There's not a lot of sex in this book. And during the sex that does happen, dialogue consists mostly of 1-2 word sentences (mine, yours, more, I need, I like, etc) and "I love you". Nothing wrong with that, but if you like hot sex and dirty talk, you'll likely be disappointed. This was the most vanilla immortal demon sex I've ever seen.
5) Special ADHD warning: There are a LOT of characters in this book, especially if you consider that half of them are actually TWO characters.
Finally, I gave this book two stars:
-One for the premise of the book and for the last couple chapters when the action finally picked up. -One more because I'm glad Ashlyn got stabbed six times.