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fic_it's review
1.0
Ehh.
I didn’t exactly “read” this properly mind you, I read a bit, skimmed, and jumped right into the entire series staring with this one instead of in order from the first one (bc this series can be read as a stand alone so why the heck not?).
So I’m probably grossly biased but… It’s basic.
The broody, huge, feral alien man was less then “meh”, he was like an “heh”. Like a scoff of air punctuating his unimportance. He was “feral” sure but he wasn’t totally feral. The hype the intro spouted about how he calmed for her and no one else wasn’t really capitalized on the way I thought it would be it was more like, slightly acknowledged, a given and then treated like more of a, “moving on!” type of deal. He wasn’t some big bad monster Beauty had to tame much to the awe of his well meaning captors it was more like, a stray and wary dog learning to trust a human and becoming more and more puppy like and trained. Not what the intro had me thinking this dude would be like. Not at all.
So it was disappointing to say the least.
On top of that this book is marketed as a “stand alone” and yet the entire beginning was jolty, and jumpy. As a reader diving in literally at the middle of this series I was greeted upon my arrival with an opening that read like I should have been three books deep already and geared up to ace the state champion spelling B with pockets of prior knowledge and insights.
For example, we hardly get a real introduction to the girl. We get hints and peeks sure, but they’re not real dives into her person or character and life like it would be if SHE was the main character of book #1.
She’s hard to relate to and like as such. She’s withdrawn, she’s been married, bereaved, and it feels as if she prefers the company of men to women simply out of the resentment that despite not going out of her way to form companionships with the other women, she still seems to expect them to ignore her hostile, ungrateful, and prickly exterior, and fall all over themselves offering to be her friends anyways. She’s not strong and unique. She’s hallow and incomplete.
So “Ehh.” But more like, “ehck”.
I didn’t exactly “read” this properly mind you, I read a bit, skimmed, and jumped right into the entire series staring with this one instead of in order from the first one (bc this series can be read as a stand alone so why the heck not?).
So I’m probably grossly biased but… It’s basic.
The broody, huge, feral alien man was less then “meh”, he was like an “heh”. Like a scoff of air punctuating his unimportance. He was “feral” sure but he wasn’t totally feral. The hype the intro spouted about how he calmed for her and no one else wasn’t really capitalized on the way I thought it would be it was more like, slightly acknowledged, a given and then treated like more of a, “moving on!” type of deal. He wasn’t some big bad monster Beauty had to tame much to the awe of his well meaning captors it was more like, a stray and wary dog learning to trust a human and becoming more and more puppy like and trained. Not what the intro had me thinking this dude would be like. Not at all.
So it was disappointing to say the least.
On top of that this book is marketed as a “stand alone” and yet the entire beginning was jolty, and jumpy. As a reader diving in literally at the middle of this series I was greeted upon my arrival with an opening that read like I should have been three books deep already and geared up to ace the state champion spelling B with pockets of prior knowledge and insights.
For example, we hardly get a real introduction to the girl. We get hints and peeks sure, but they’re not real dives into her person or character and life like it would be if SHE was the main character of book #1.
She’s hard to relate to and like as such. She’s withdrawn, she’s been married, bereaved, and it feels as if she prefers the company of men to women simply out of the resentment that despite not going out of her way to form companionships with the other women, she still seems to expect them to ignore her hostile, ungrateful, and prickly exterior, and fall all over themselves offering to be her friends anyways. She’s not strong and unique. She’s hallow and incomplete.
So “Ehh.” But more like, “ehck”.
likesami's review
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
shannieleann's review
adventurous
reflective
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
4.5
shinysue's review
3.0
This is a pretty good character driven story. I think she was done dirty, though. Just cuz she had sat at a deathbed in the past doesn't mean she's the right woman to sit at his deathbed. There should have been more emphasis on her linguistics education.
elizabethc98's review
5.0
I really enjoyed Caul and Sophie’s love story! Lots of my favorite tropes: fated mates, relying on each other in nature, unable to communicate verbally, broken hero & heroine who heal each other. It’s part of the Kalixian Warriors series, but works well as a standalone novel. Great portrayals of consent and healing!
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