Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
There’s a few things I’ll take no arguments on: reading before bed, coffee has to be drank before doing the things, and now this book 😌
I grew up on stories about the Scottish highlands, the folklore, fae, and the secrets that were out there if you wandered too far. Those stories don’t end up in many books, so when I catch a glimpse of them, I’m all over that like no one’s business. I was in love with the feel to the story, the hints of magic that were placed throughout it and the twisting romance that exploded in the pages. I was fully aware of this being a series going into it but was so entranced by it that by the end I had forgotten and was expecting it to tie itself all up nicely until I got to the last page and stared blankly, needing to bring myself back to reality. When I say I am desperate for the next book, I do quite mean there’s a possibility I would do some rather shady things to get the next one 👀
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was lucky enough to read an ARC through NetGalley and was so excited for ST Gibson’s gothic adventure in Scotland and was not disappointed! The characters are flawed and know it and yet you can’t help rooting for all of them to love and be loved. The Scottish lore was woven through the book expertly and I cannot wait for the next one!
This one let me down a bit. I went in expecting dark, gothic fantasy and instead got insufferable characters hooking up while the plot crawled along.
I couldn’t connect with any of the characters, which is usually what pulls me into a book, and the pacing dragged. It leaned so heavily on character dynamics and emotions that I kept waiting for the story to actually do something. The plot doesn’t really pick up until the last third, which makes the beginning feel like a slog.
I didn’t mind the sexual dynamics since they played into the character development, but I wish the other threads of the story had been brought forward much earlier.
I do love S.T. Gibson’s writing style, but unfortunately the other issues overshadowed that and held this one back. Overall, I liked it well enough, but it’s not a new favorite.
I couldn’t connect with any of the characters, which is usually what pulls me into a book, and the pacing dragged. It leaned so heavily on character dynamics and emotions that I kept waiting for the story to actually do something. The plot doesn’t really pick up until the last third, which makes the beginning feel like a slog.
I didn’t mind the sexual dynamics since they played into the character development, but I wish the other threads of the story had been brought forward much earlier.
I do love S.T. Gibson’s writing style, but unfortunately the other issues overshadowed that and held this one back. Overall, I liked it well enough, but it’s not a new favorite.
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Extremely horny though. Be ready!
I’m so sad to report that this book didn’t work for me—I was confident it would! I love A Dowry of Blood, and I really enjoyed An Education in Malice as well, but Savage Blooms fell flat. It has so many elements that are right up my alley—gothic overtones, a crumbling manor in the Scottish countryside, fae lurking the grounds, ancestral secrets, a bunch of bisexuals panicking about their attraction to one another, but they didn’t come together in a satisfying way.
The writing felt awkward and stilted compared to the lush prose I had come to expect from S.T. Gibson. I did feel like it hit a better stride about ⅓ of the way into the story, but the pacing was glacial and the plot was lacking. I’m not sure if the intent was creeping dread or the uncanny slowly making its presence known, but I felt neither—I felt like the fae element should have been more pervasive than just cropping up in a few direct encounters. The atmosphere that Gibson has been pitching wasn’t delivered.
I don’t mind character-driven stories that are light on plot, but I think Savage Blooms would have been enjoyable with more plot as the character-focus didn’t do much for me. It felt like I was just being told facts about the characters’ lives to further move along Eileen’s ulterior motives, and while I also don’t need to like all the characters in books, I didn’t feel any affection/connection/interest in any of them. Their insta love/lust irked me—they all became VERY attached to one another in a week or so. I would have been just fine with them getting down and dirty with one another without so much attachment? Again, if the intention was that there was some sort of supernatural force at work making that happen, it wasn’t conveyed effectively. I do think Gibson writes intimacy, kink, and power dynamics quite well, but that wasn’t enough to hold the story together and keep me enticed.
The last 25% was quite engaging—the pace finally picked up,and the ending leaves off on a cliffhanger with a new character introduced that does have my interest piqued! I do understand that Savage Blooms is the first book in an erotic fantasy trilogy, but I need more from book one in a series to keep me on the hook.
Thank you to Netgalley and Orbit for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Got an arc from the author, hi Saint thanks Saint
Listen, my demi ass is very particular about Sexy Books™️, I don’t read a ton of them because I have trouble getting into them, I know they’re typically not for me with certain exceptions:
This is one of those exceptions.
Maybe it’s because I love Saint’s writing, her prose is so tasty I wanna take a bite out of it; maybe it’s because the characters are so richly imagined that I want to study them like bugs and see how they tick even when they’re NOT sleeping together; maybe it’s because the whole story feels like a gothic fever dream that you can’t look away from even though you KNOW it’s going to end badly for everyone involved, but I was ENTRANCED watching just how this was going to play out.
This is a heady gothic mindfuck and I think I love it.
Listen, my demi ass is very particular about Sexy Books™️, I don’t read a ton of them because I have trouble getting into them, I know they’re typically not for me with certain exceptions:
This is one of those exceptions.
Maybe it’s because I love Saint’s writing, her prose is so tasty I wanna take a bite out of it; maybe it’s because the characters are so richly imagined that I want to study them like bugs and see how they tick even when they’re NOT sleeping together; maybe it’s because the whole story feels like a gothic fever dream that you can’t look away from even though you KNOW it’s going to end badly for everyone involved, but I was ENTRANCED watching just how this was going to play out.
This is a heady gothic mindfuck and I think I love it.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
THAT CLIFFHANGER THOUGH!!!
Can I remember ANY of the book before the last twenty pages due to the absolute UNHINGED magnificence of it?! Not much, honestly. This book had a very nostalgic, old world feel to it, with some of the most delicious spice I have read in a while, but what made it 5 ⭐ for me was the fact that it shocked me in the end! Just when I thought I had it all figured out, it had me gasping and completely aghast! I hope the next book comes out soon, because I can't wait to see where this adventure takes us now ...
Can I remember ANY of the book before the last twenty pages due to the absolute UNHINGED magnificence of it?! Not much, honestly. This book had a very nostalgic, old world feel to it, with some of the most delicious spice I have read in a while, but what made it 5 ⭐ for me was the fact that it shocked me in the end! Just when I thought I had it all figured out, it had me gasping and completely aghast! I hope the next book comes out soon, because I can't wait to see where this adventure takes us now ...
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
still a bit unsure how i feel about it/what i would rate it tbh!
i like st gibson's writing and how they explore queerness/polyamory/different types of relationships in all of their books! also i love how all of the characters are allowed to be messy, complicated people!
that being said, idk how I feel about the pacing of this one! It is a character-driven gothic romance erotica, so the plot isn't the most important, but it still felt a bit off to me. a lot of the scenes were *the characters find out something shocking/fantastical* the characters: "damn, that's crazy, now let's get back to our kink dynamics" and it took me out of the book. but i still thought it was entertaining, and i am invested in the world and the messiness of the characters.
also minor complaint bc this could change in the future books, but it annoyed me how the female characters in this polycule were the subs and the male characters were the doms! that's boring!!! let's change things up please!!!
i like st gibson's writing and how they explore queerness/polyamory/different types of relationships in all of their books! also i love how all of the characters are allowed to be messy, complicated people!
that being said, idk how I feel about the pacing of this one! It is a character-driven gothic romance erotica, so the plot isn't the most important, but it still felt a bit off to me. a lot of the scenes were *the characters find out something shocking/fantastical* the characters: "damn, that's crazy, now let's get back to our kink dynamics" and it took me out of the book. but i still thought it was entertaining, and i am invested in the world and the messiness of the characters.
also minor complaint bc this could change in the future books, but it annoyed me how the female characters in this polycule were the subs and the male characters were the doms! that's boring!!! let's change things up please!!!
this book is proof that i will read anything as long as s.t. gibson writes it