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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Narration was amazing story and characters had me laughing so much :) already started book 2 immediately:)
Didn't want it to end
Loved everything about this story. It was hilarious, low-angst and spicy where it needed to be. Can't wait to read about more shenanigans with these boys!
Loved everything about this story. It was hilarious, low-angst and spicy where it needed to be. Can't wait to read about more shenanigans with these boys!
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
slow-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
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I thought that this was really cute and I enjoyed the heck out of it. I liked all of the characters, including the side characters and I was really rooting for the relationship to work out. However, I also thought that the book dragged in the middle, with too much time dedicated too many random things and going on equally random missions, as all the men mulled over the same things. I would have liked to know a bit more of the world in general, how magic, mages, and familiars fit into it, for example. I thought the dialogue tripped into cheesy occasionally and the whole thing just got too childishly ridiculous at points (especially around Nico’s character). All in all, however, I liked a lot more than I didn’t and I’d happily read more.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
funny
relaxing
medium-paced
I really REALLY wanted to like this book. I made it to 90% before I gave up.
What I liked about this book:
Characters.
The characters were great!
Bel: part demon mage. Genius. Secret agent. SO COOL RIGHT?! My only issue with Bel (and this is personal) is that he's so young. Only 19. I would have liked to read a story about someone slightly older. I think it would have been feasible for him to have waited longer to go for another familiar. (Bel summoned a familiar at age 16, which is the standard age, and it rejected him causing him YEARS of recovery because of the bond breaking).
Nico: Army Ranger, summoned to be Bel's familiar. Nico is great and I loved him immediately. He's super hyperactive and just can't sit still or stop talking for two minutes. I loved that he was an Army Ranger and a badass, but was also kind of a fast talking dork. Nico's dialogue is some of my favourite stuff in the whole book. He has this very ADHD habit of spitting out random thoughts, and they're often really funny little observations about the world.
Garen: Part gargoyle/Secret Service Agent/Bodyguard. Garen is a great balance to Nico and Bel. I liked his steadiness and sureness. I really think this triad is balanced well. If it were just Bel and Nico I feel like I might have gone a little crazy... but Garen is the PERFECT balance for them. I also LOVE the idea that he's part gargoyle and can transform parts of himself into stone.
The world.
I love the way this world and the lore/magic in it is built. Magic being integrated into the world is one of my favourite things. And I loved that there's ALL kinds of creatures all over. I loved the way Bel's magic worked, and the fact that he was super powerful but was also hindered by that power was great. I love the idea of this secret agent branch of badass mages.
Ok... so if I liked all that stuff... why didn't I finish the book?
The romance plot line/sexual tension.
This drove me insane. INSANE. All three of them realize pretty early that they want to be together, all of them. Understandably they're unsure if the others are on board. But in a switch POV book when all three have the same realization, and then they're ALL cuddly and touchy feely with each other... like... just fuck already. There was too much build up. I don't mind a slow burn, but I don't care for books like this where everyone is all on board but the author KEEPS building the sexual tension... there's no more conflict... so the tension feels unnecessary except to keep stringing the reader along. They don't even have sex until 85% or so into the book... and at that point there are literally TWO interrupted sex scenes where they've all decided to be in a relationship together and the phone rings to interrupt them... or someone knocks on the door. At that point, when you've had so much build up and then you have those interruptions... it just feels cheap. To me anyway. Not to mention the fact that there's a plot line in the middle where Garen might get called back to his previous job... the stakes of that would have felt a LOT more intense if they'd already built an intimate connection and had sex together. Because it would have felt like they'd sealed the deal and then one of them was going to be torn away. So there was no need for the tension of the interruptions when Garen's possible departure could have added that extra conflict/tension. This drove me so crazy that I actually ended up skipping several chapters because I was like: I just need the relief of seeing them get together so I can stop reading (which I did at 90%).
The language.
Some of the language used was repetitive and started to get on my nerves. Particularly the use of "as" constantly. Everyone used it in dialogue. It was used in the narrative. And I know it seems like a small thing, but it started to really grate. This is just a personal thing, I know it doesn't bug everyone but it drove me nuts. I also found that a lot of people used the same slang/dialogue despite being from different backgrounds/parts of the country. The characters felt very unique because of their character traits, but all of their dialogue started to feel generic because they all spoke the same way. Things like, characters independently (not because they picked it up from each other) using the phrase "cool beans," which isn't a particularly common phrase everywhere. I think that could have been a unique thing that one character could have used, but more than one character says it and it makes them all start to feel the same.
Lack of non-romance plot.
I was jazzed for the poly romance, but I was also SUPER excited for the magic plot stuff. I mean: c'mon! A part-demon mage, his Army Ranger familiar, and a part-gargoyle all do magic secret missions together?! Doesn't that sound awesome! It fell flat for me. I understand that the missions needed to be low key because they were a new team and they couldn't very well go into some crazy battle having never fought together before... but the missions had absolutely NO stakes at all. There was never any moment where it felt like anyone was in danger (as far into the book as I got). It was a good opportunity to show all sorts of things if one of them got hurt. Maybe they're a good team, but they're still learning to work together... maybe it proves just how dangerous the job really is... it also gives the opportunity for hurt/comfort... but instead they skate through their missions no problem. And the only time I saw any real danger (a building collapses on top of Bel and Nico), it was from Garen's POV and he just watched the building collapse before Bel and Nico come out completely unscathed. So... the magic never felt like any threat. And the missions were treated like they weren't of consequence and they were just boring reading between romantic plot scenes. Missions: Rodents infesting a mine, structural issues with a building, a cave with dangerous wards/curses going on (which... two missions in a cave... felt repetitive). Add to that Garen never using his stone skin ability (in any scenes I read) except when he shows it to Bel when they first meet... and I was bummed.
Repetitive narrative and internal monologue.
Too much of this book is repetitive. To the point that I would start skimming ahead while one of the characters was overthinking their relationship AGAIN. Nico thinking about Garen. Nico thinking about Bel. Bel thinking about Nico. Bel developing a crush on Garen. Bel thinking about Nico and Garen's relationship. Garen thinking about Bel and Nico. Garen thinking about Nico. Set on a loop... over and over again. I understand that regular people second guess themselves a lot. But as a reader... we get it. You can tell us once, and then you can use hints or references to previous thoughts/incidents. We don't need to be told the same information over and over every time the person starts thinking about their relationship status again.
This book had huge potential for me, and I was super excited by the world/characters/concept... but execution just wasn't there for me. I tried to push through to the end, but I just couldn't make it.
What I liked about this book:
Characters.
The characters were great!
Bel: part demon mage. Genius. Secret agent. SO COOL RIGHT?! My only issue with Bel (and this is personal) is that he's so young. Only 19. I would have liked to read a story about someone slightly older. I think it would have been feasible for him to have waited longer to go for another familiar. (Bel summoned a familiar at age 16, which is the standard age, and it rejected him causing him YEARS of recovery because of the bond breaking).
Nico: Army Ranger, summoned to be Bel's familiar. Nico is great and I loved him immediately. He's super hyperactive and just can't sit still or stop talking for two minutes. I loved that he was an Army Ranger and a badass, but was also kind of a fast talking dork. Nico's dialogue is some of my favourite stuff in the whole book. He has this very ADHD habit of spitting out random thoughts, and they're often really funny little observations about the world.
Garen: Part gargoyle/Secret Service Agent/Bodyguard. Garen is a great balance to Nico and Bel. I liked his steadiness and sureness. I really think this triad is balanced well. If it were just Bel and Nico I feel like I might have gone a little crazy... but Garen is the PERFECT balance for them. I also LOVE the idea that he's part gargoyle and can transform parts of himself into stone.
The world.
I love the way this world and the lore/magic in it is built. Magic being integrated into the world is one of my favourite things. And I loved that there's ALL kinds of creatures all over. I loved the way Bel's magic worked, and the fact that he was super powerful but was also hindered by that power was great. I love the idea of this secret agent branch of badass mages.
Ok... so if I liked all that stuff... why didn't I finish the book?
The romance plot line/sexual tension.
This drove me insane. INSANE. All three of them realize pretty early that they want to be together, all of them. Understandably they're unsure if the others are on board. But in a switch POV book when all three have the same realization, and then they're ALL cuddly and touchy feely with each other... like... just fuck already. There was too much build up. I don't mind a slow burn, but I don't care for books like this where everyone is all on board but the author KEEPS building the sexual tension... there's no more conflict... so the tension feels unnecessary except to keep stringing the reader along. They don't even have sex until 85% or so into the book... and at that point there are literally TWO interrupted sex scenes where they've all decided to be in a relationship together and the phone rings to interrupt them... or someone knocks on the door. At that point, when you've had so much build up and then you have those interruptions... it just feels cheap. To me anyway. Not to mention the fact that there's a plot line in the middle where Garen might get called back to his previous job... the stakes of that would have felt a LOT more intense if they'd already built an intimate connection and had sex together. Because it would have felt like they'd sealed the deal and then one of them was going to be torn away. So there was no need for the tension of the interruptions when Garen's possible departure could have added that extra conflict/tension. This drove me so crazy that I actually ended up skipping several chapters because I was like: I just need the relief of seeing them get together so I can stop reading (which I did at 90%).
The language.
Some of the language used was repetitive and started to get on my nerves. Particularly the use of "as" constantly. Everyone used it in dialogue. It was used in the narrative. And I know it seems like a small thing, but it started to really grate. This is just a personal thing, I know it doesn't bug everyone but it drove me nuts. I also found that a lot of people used the same slang/dialogue despite being from different backgrounds/parts of the country. The characters felt very unique because of their character traits, but all of their dialogue started to feel generic because they all spoke the same way. Things like, characters independently (not because they picked it up from each other) using the phrase "cool beans," which isn't a particularly common phrase everywhere. I think that could have been a unique thing that one character could have used, but more than one character says it and it makes them all start to feel the same.
Lack of non-romance plot.
I was jazzed for the poly romance, but I was also SUPER excited for the magic plot stuff. I mean: c'mon! A part-demon mage, his Army Ranger familiar, and a part-gargoyle all do magic secret missions together?! Doesn't that sound awesome! It fell flat for me. I understand that the missions needed to be low key because they were a new team and they couldn't very well go into some crazy battle having never fought together before... but the missions had absolutely NO stakes at all. There was never any moment where it felt like anyone was in danger (as far into the book as I got). It was a good opportunity to show all sorts of things if one of them got hurt. Maybe they're a good team, but they're still learning to work together... maybe it proves just how dangerous the job really is... it also gives the opportunity for hurt/comfort... but instead they skate through their missions no problem. And the only time I saw any real danger (a building collapses on top of Bel and Nico), it was from Garen's POV and he just watched the building collapse before Bel and Nico come out completely unscathed. So... the magic never felt like any threat. And the missions were treated like they weren't of consequence and they were just boring reading between romantic plot scenes. Missions: Rodents infesting a mine, structural issues with a building, a cave with dangerous wards/curses going on (which... two missions in a cave... felt repetitive). Add to that Garen never using his stone skin ability (in any scenes I read) except when he shows it to Bel when they first meet... and I was bummed.
Repetitive narrative and internal monologue.
Too much of this book is repetitive. To the point that I would start skimming ahead while one of the characters was overthinking their relationship AGAIN. Nico thinking about Garen. Nico thinking about Bel. Bel thinking about Nico. Bel developing a crush on Garen. Bel thinking about Nico and Garen's relationship. Garen thinking about Bel and Nico. Garen thinking about Nico. Set on a loop... over and over again. I understand that regular people second guess themselves a lot. But as a reader... we get it. You can tell us once, and then you can use hints or references to previous thoughts/incidents. We don't need to be told the same information over and over every time the person starts thinking about their relationship status again.
This book had huge potential for me, and I was super excited by the world/characters/concept... but execution just wasn't there for me. I tried to push through to the end, but I just couldn't make it.