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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
DNF @ 78%
Conceptually, this book could've easily been a 4-5 star read but the execution was pretty awful.
Here are some things I disliked:
♢ The FMC was TSTL.
♢ There was no buildup of romance. FMC and MMC were pretty much on their way to being together by the start of the story.
♢ FMC and MMC lacked chemistry.
♢ The writing needed a lot more editing - some sentences were very awkward to read and some sentences made no sense.
♢ Storyline jumped around too much and lacked coherency.
♢ Social commentary felt too on the nose and performative.
I'm sure there's a good story buried in this mess somewhere... but I'm not going to go look for it.
No rating.
Conceptually, this book could've easily been a 4-5 star read but the execution was pretty awful.
Here are some things I disliked:
♢ The FMC was TSTL.
♢ There was no buildup of romance. FMC and MMC were pretty much on their way to being together by the start of the story.
♢ FMC and MMC lacked chemistry.
♢ The writing needed a lot more editing - some sentences were very awkward to read and some sentences made no sense.
♢ Storyline jumped around too much and lacked coherency.
♢ Social commentary felt too on the nose and performative.
I'm sure there's a good story buried in this mess somewhere... but I'm not going to go look for it.
No rating.
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
I wanted to absolutely love this... But it was only okay. Honestly, I was really hoping for a sexy paranormal romance when I started this. And while this has a romantic subplot, it just fully didn't hit the mark for me. I think the problem for me was that our main character has a very tragic and traumatic backstory that she isn't fully over and which is brought up constantly throughout the entirety of the book. Sam has been through a lot. Despite this background that should make her more cautious about her safety, Sam makes so many stupid decisions. She gives everyone ample opportunity to kill her and then wonders why she keeps getting attacked. It feels like this should be out of character for her because of her past trauma. For example, while she's watching Coco finish fixing her protective necklace, which she was overwhelmingly scared to let out of her sight a few moments before, Sam decides, despite knowing she's in danger, to just take off to get drinks and a snack, without saying anything to Coco . She also doesn't lock the door behind herself when she leaves. And all this because she didn't want to nod off again. Of course, the second she finishes buying her drinks and snacks she runs into trouble that Coco had to leave her shop to help her out of, in turn allowing Sam's protective necklace to be destroyed beyond repair. And this keeps happening... She goes out, nearly dies and gets upset that people keep telling her that she should stay home. It did get better towards the end of the book, but my frustration with her was overweighing my enjoyment of the book. There is also the fact that, especially at the beginning, we are treated to first-person, very detailed and full color torture and death visions that are unsettling at best. I felt that some of them were unnecessarily graphic. And the frequency of the visions made it so that I wasn't completely sure what was actually happening and what was just another death dream.
Overall, I probably would continue with the series. It had a good urban fantasy set up that I was vibing with and I did like Sam despite her lack of self preservation.
Overall, I probably would continue with the series. It had a good urban fantasy set up that I was vibing with and I did like Sam despite her lack of self preservation.
I wanted to rate this book higher but it was frustrating to read that majority of the book entailed Sam Quinn being tortured, stabbed, etc. I liked the dynamic between Sam and Clive and the relationship she has with Dave and Owen. I'm hoping that the next book is not as tedious as this one.
3 Stars
Overall Rating ★★★
Plot ★★★
Humor ★★
Characters & Character Development ★★★
Narration ★★★★★
Honestly, I struggled to finish this book. I always love a bad ass and a bar. I wanted to love this book. However, this story didn't bring me job to read/listen to. The main character, Sam, has a tragic back story full of assault and trauma. And she gets a lot more of that in this book. She's in danger for the entire book. Sam knows she's in danger yet she keeps going out and wondering alone. She gets hurt multiple times. It was frustrating that she was too stupid to live (TSTL). I don't understand why Clive is so infatuated with Sam. We really don't learn anything about why Clive is so helpful and has been keeping an eye on Sam for 7 years.
In conclusion, I'm not sure I'll continue. They're included in my Audible membership so maybe. But this book was such a downer that I'm not sure it's worth it.
Overall Rating ★★★
Plot ★★★
Humor ★★
Characters & Character Development ★★★
Narration ★★★★★
Honestly, I struggled to finish this book. I always love a bad ass and a bar. I wanted to love this book. However, this story didn't bring me job to read/listen to. The main character, Sam, has a tragic back story full of assault and trauma. And she gets a lot more of that in this book. She's in danger for the entire book. Sam knows she's in danger yet she keeps going out and wondering alone. She gets hurt multiple times. It was frustrating that she was too stupid to live (TSTL). I don't understand why Clive is so infatuated with Sam. We really don't learn anything about why Clive is so helpful and has been keeping an eye on Sam for 7 years.
In conclusion, I'm not sure I'll continue. They're included in my Audible membership so maybe. But this book was such a downer that I'm not sure it's worth it.
Urban fantasy has always been by far my favorite genre, and I do like a little bit of romance running through it if it’s not the main part of the story. It’s been hard finding trad published ones, so I was excited coming across this one. I admit at first, I wasn’t sure I was going to like this. But with excellent writing and interesting characters, I was drawn in. By the end of the book, I knew I couldn’t wait to come back to this unique and interesting world. I would like a little more explanation of the bar and bookstore next time, though. This is a good series starter, but there is reference to the protagonist’s past rape for those who have triggers. Recommend. I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.
Headlines are horrible.
Unlike this book, which was quite fun.
Yes, there where some typos and missing words, but nothing that took away from the meaning or story.
I'll be reading the next book in this series too.
Unlike this book, which was quite fun.
Yes, there where some typos and missing words, but nothing that took away from the meaning or story.
I'll be reading the next book in this series too.
dark
emotional
mysterious
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:
Complicated
