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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
***Audiobook Review***
I’m a huge fan of Michael Ferraiuolo and Greg Boudreaux but Tim Paige is a new vocal performer to me. I liked his performance a lot. It was interesting to hear three different voices and hear how each performer was able to simulate each character’s voice. There were a couple of times the speed of speech was weird…the character spoke too fast, and it seemed forced. I’m not sure if that was a characterization or the performer's preference but it was hard to follow at times.
I liked the story overall but parts of it fell a little flat. And the instalove was A LOT. I understand the bond between Nico and Bel but adding Garen in and them all having a happily ever after two days after they met didn't work. I also thought the casual way Garen talked to Bel about his relationship with Nico was uncomfortable and made me cringe every time he said something. Nico and Bel are ‘bonded’ now and hearing about Nico’s past love life was just…awkward. I guess it was used as a way to form a bond between Bel and Garen but it was icky.
I guess there are DnD references based on the other reviews but those were totally lost on me. I did have a hard time keeping up with some of the supporting characters because there were a lot of them, and they were similar.
This is the second book I’ve read/listened to by this author, and they were both ‘meh’ for me. I think we may not go further together.
I’m a huge fan of Michael Ferraiuolo and Greg Boudreaux but Tim Paige is a new vocal performer to me. I liked his performance a lot. It was interesting to hear three different voices and hear how each performer was able to simulate each character’s voice. There were a couple of times the speed of speech was weird…the character spoke too fast, and it seemed forced. I’m not sure if that was a characterization or the performer's preference but it was hard to follow at times.
I liked the story overall but parts of it fell a little flat. And the instalove was A LOT. I understand the bond between Nico and Bel but adding Garen in and them all having a happily ever after two days after they met didn't work. I also thought the casual way Garen talked to Bel about his relationship with Nico was uncomfortable and made me cringe every time he said something. Nico and Bel are ‘bonded’ now and hearing about Nico’s past love life was just…awkward. I guess it was used as a way to form a bond between Bel and Garen but it was icky.
I guess there are DnD references based on the other reviews but those were totally lost on me. I did have a hard time keeping up with some of the supporting characters because there were a lot of them, and they were similar.
This is the second book I’ve read/listened to by this author, and they were both ‘meh’ for me. I think we may not go further together.
Cute and cheugy
Really wholesome and lovely lil magic MMM story. I personally would’ve preferred less slang like amazeballs, yummers, awesomesauce, and cool beans, because it makes the book feel at least ten years older than it is. If you’re gonna have a 19 year old Gen Z teen date some 30+ old millennials, that teen’s gonna be cringing at the older slang. (I say this as a fellow millennial who understands the shock of learning your slang is outdated.) Also there are some smut scenes, and none of that slang belongs in the bedroom IMO. But overall very cute book!
Spice: 2 or 3 out of 5
Really wholesome and lovely lil magic MMM story. I personally would’ve preferred less slang like amazeballs, yummers, awesomesauce, and cool beans, because it makes the book feel at least ten years older than it is. If you’re gonna have a 19 year old Gen Z teen date some 30+ old millennials, that teen’s gonna be cringing at the older slang. (I say this as a fellow millennial who understands the shock of learning your slang is outdated.) Also there are some smut scenes, and none of that slang belongs in the bedroom IMO. But overall very cute book!
Spice: 2 or 3 out of 5
Very enjoyable low angst
Thoroughly enjoyed the shenaningans of Bel, Nico and Garen.
They complement each other well, and I also found their field work interesting to read about.
Thoroughly enjoyed the shenaningans of Bel, Nico and Garen.
They complement each other well, and I also found their field work interesting to read about.
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
READ: Apr 2023
FORMAT: Digital
BRIEF SUMMARY:
ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: 2.5 / 5⭐
This book wanted to be fun and cute and quirky and random and funny and fresh, but I hate to say that (at least for me) it missed the mark... by a lot. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good comedic romance that’s a bit off the wall, but I think writing something that’s successfully both funny and charming is a very tall order to fill. Every character in this book is either one of two things: forgettable, or over-the-top.
This book wanted to be fun and cute and quirky and random and funny and fresh, but I hate to say that (at least for me) it missed the mark... by a lot. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good comedic romance that’s a bit off the wall, but I think writing something that’s successfully both funny and charming is a very tall order to fill. Every character in this book is either one of two things: forgettable, or over-the-top.
Nico is an energetic man-child whom I started equating to an excitable Labrador a little while before the book started equating him to a Golden Retriever. Garen might be the most likeable character in the book, but he honestly doesn’t do a whole lot now that I think back on it. And then we have Bel, who is ostensibly the star of the show, but actually has the least personality of them all. Honestly, he doesn’t do anything except analyze things and write spells. That is his job, not who he is. I have nothing to describe who he is. He has demon ancestry and demon eyes, and that’s something, I guess. It’s certainly his most defining traits.
TECHNICAL / PRODUCTION: 2 / 5⭐
I might have liked this book better if there were any sort of stakes in it. Nothing happens in this book. It is a series of events, where something happens, and then the next thing happens, and then another thing happens. The closest thing we have to a villain in this book is either bureaucracy or circumstance. I can’t decide which was more nefarious, and I use that word generously. But I’m serious: every time we get to see actual mage stuff happening, it’s resolved in the most off-hand ‘and then the problem was over’ way possible. There isn’t any sort of attempt to lead into a bigger picture story, no overarching through-line., no struggle There is nothing at all. Nothing is ever earned in this book.
The characters are written either completely devoid of any personality, or with so much personality that they’re insufferable. Garen somehow manages to be both, which somehow makes him almost a balanced character. Characters do not behave their ages (I am very close in age to Nico and Garen and they absolutely do not behave like anyone I’ve ever known). Some of the side characters are so forgettable or unimportant to the story that when they were given the occasional lines of dialogue, I would have these, “Oh yeah, they’re here to, huh?” and, “Wait, who are they again?” moments.
I had to double check to see what year this book was written, and I was shocked. It feels a decade older than it is, and I can’t reconcile that I my head. The repetition in this book was also something else. If I had a dollar for each and every time it was explained that being a familiar is emotionally a lot at first, well. I didn’t actually count how often it happened. Also, there are more ways to indicate that one wants to bone than to say, “I want to sex him up,” or, “I want to seduce him,” but you wouldn’t know it based on this book.
FINAL THOUGHTS - OVERALL: 2.25 / 5⭐
I don’t know who I would recommend this book to. Maybe to someone who enjoys randomosity and quirk and goofiness and playfulness, and doesn’t need much in the way of plot or stakes. The worldbuilding is lacking; half the fun of a contemporary supernatural story is learning the rules of the universe and watching the characters navigate them or struggle within them, but we focus on all the wrong things here instead. Going over my highlights and notes for this book, 95% of them are just me cringing over the choices of jokes, dialogue, and pop culture references, or just the shockingly fortuitous circumstances that allow the story to story.
If you’re looking for a romance that’s fun and funny and charming and mysterious and supernatural and contemporary, I would recommend Maz Maddox's RELIC series. If you want all of that and also a vibrant, deeply thought-out world, I might instead direct you towards Charlie Adhara’s Big Bad Wolf series.
If you’re looking for a romance that’s fun and funny and charming and mysterious and supernatural and contemporary, I would recommend Maz Maddox's RELIC series. If you want all of that and also a vibrant, deeply thought-out world, I might instead direct you towards Charlie Adhara’s Big Bad Wolf series.
This book has representation for gays and bisexuals. There are a couple of non-white characters.
I would typically write out an explanation for my content warnings here, but this particular book is largely inoffensive. No clarifications necessary.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing, Violence
adventurous
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Really interesting world with some fun characters, both main and secondary. The pacing was a bit odd though. There wasn't a central plot, and I had a hard time tracking the passage of time. I'm hoping the next book is more organized.
It took me a bit to get into the story, but it was a good read at the end!
I really like the pacing, and the humour... also Nico is adorable!
I do find it a bit insta-loving? Especially everything happening with Bel....
Author not followed !
I really like the pacing, and the humour... also Nico is adorable!
I do find it a bit insta-loving? Especially everything happening with Bel....
Author not followed !
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Not for me. Too much romance. Turns out I'm not into it. I'm glad I read it though, because now I know more about what I'm not interested in.
adventurous
challenging
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A Mage's Guide to Human Familiars by A.J. Sherwood
☀️☀️⛅
▪️This magical adventure promised a fun time, and it certainly had a lot of laughs, but the lack of true, authentic romance and strange plot choices unfortunately stopped this from being an impressive book
▪️The tone and writing style of this book was regrettably far too juvenile for my current tastes; the contract of genuine adult conduct with childish dialogue and behaviour was too jarring to really find it believable or connect fully with the characters
▪️The way the progression of the poly relationship (something I hadn't known about before reading) was handled as well as it could be in the context of this story, but a lot of the plot devices felt forced and a sense of actual danger was never present enough for me to buy into the nature of the organisation and it's threats, which definitely minimised the pull they all felt for each other
▪️The sex scenes were surprisingly well conceived and written considering my dislike of the overall writing style, particularly the lack of tension in the action sequences as mentioned above
▪️At another time I possibly could have enjoyed this more than I did, but as it stands I was really disappointed by the contrast between the mature story concept and juvenile writing style. This had a lot of potential but failed to capitalise on those story bones, taking the easy way out.
"When you think about how huge the earth is, and how it's just a tiny ball circling a sun, which in turn is a miniscule speck in the universe, it's pretty easy to rationalize eating an entire box of donuts."
☀️☀️⛅
▪️This magical adventure promised a fun time, and it certainly had a lot of laughs, but the lack of true, authentic romance and strange plot choices unfortunately stopped this from being an impressive book
▪️The tone and writing style of this book was regrettably far too juvenile for my current tastes; the contract of genuine adult conduct with childish dialogue and behaviour was too jarring to really find it believable or connect fully with the characters
▪️The way the progression of the poly relationship (something I hadn't known about before reading) was handled as well as it could be in the context of this story, but a lot of the plot devices felt forced and a sense of actual danger was never present enough for me to buy into the nature of the organisation and it's threats, which definitely minimised the pull they all felt for each other
▪️The sex scenes were surprisingly well conceived and written considering my dislike of the overall writing style, particularly the lack of tension in the action sequences as mentioned above
▪️At another time I possibly could have enjoyed this more than I did, but as it stands I was really disappointed by the contrast between the mature story concept and juvenile writing style. This had a lot of potential but failed to capitalise on those story bones, taking the easy way out.
"When you think about how huge the earth is, and how it's just a tiny ball circling a sun, which in turn is a miniscule speck in the universe, it's pretty easy to rationalize eating an entire box of donuts."