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shelovestoread81's review against another edition
5.0
I LOVED this book so much. It had so many twists and turns and I love Jessa. She is taking no sass and I love her. Her sister is someone I don't care for right now.
dreamer4ever's review against another edition
4.0
Actually, 4.5. I loved this. Great and very unique story. I love Jessa and all 4 Compass brothers. All the secondary characters have depth and we're really good. This is an excellent start on a new series. Author writes very well. If your unsure or are on the fence, buy it and sit down and loose yourself in this great world. This is most definitely Urban Fantasy, so if your looking for an erotic themed book, this is not it, but it is a strong as hell and fascinating story, with, I'm hoping, another book that is either on the way or already written. Great cover by the way, it's what initially grabbed my attention
parisreads_pc's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this I'm excited to see how this goes.
jojesweden's review against another edition
DNF at about 65 %.
I'm not really sure what's going on and why. Okay, scratch that, I get what is happening, I just don't understand any of the characters' motivations or the world in which they live. Characters seem to have motivations, but tbh, they seem a bit forced. Everyone seem to be very passionate, but not really for any well explained reasons. Essentially, things seem to be moving a bit too fast in general, and not enough character definition is happening. Like we were dropped into the middle of the book, where characters were already well established, rather than the opening of a story where we don't yet know anyone.
Actions happen because of strong emotions, but only later are the reasons for those emotions explained, making the whole thing seem very improvised and the characters irrational. Like Jessa throwing a hissyfit and running into the woods when Misha is introduced. Like... Why? We only know she's upset that her mother is back, but nothing about how long she's been gone, what the rumors say, what her father told her, etc. All that is explained AFTER she acts in a way that seem extremely over-dramatic or even ridiculous without that context. It reminded me of Jade's Badly Written Erotica.
The concept of dragon-marked isn't introduced in any way, so when we learn that Jessa is, indeed, dragon-marked (which we already knew from the fucking blurb and could infer from the title) it doesn't tell us anything and, again, her reaction seems ridiculous. After that point, people being dragon-marked is suddenly a super-big issue without anyone seeming to know why. But it's also, apparently, a giant civil rights issue when there seem to be dragon-marked locked in Vanguard (which, btw, is a ridiculous fucking name for a prison, why not just call it Avant-garde, Spearhead, or Forerunner?). Nobody actually knows that Jessa is dragon-marked though, so the sudden interest isn't because of sympathy.
Constantly springing things at the reader without the context to understand the characters' behavior or reasoning and then explaining it post-hoc is just bad narration. It's like the opposite of foreshadowing and world-building.
Oh, and for fuck's sake, "alpha" is not a personality trait or a personality type. It's a specific role among some social animals. It's also not about being dominant and being an ass to everyone around you. The domination BS in this book is so cringe it almost hurts even for PNR which, as a genre, already has a deeply problematic relationship with the concept of "alphas".
Maybe it's the fucking intense narrator, who says everything in this wistful and sad voice, sounding as if she's constantly at the edge of tears, who's injecting way too much emotion into everything and making it feel over-dramatic.
And why are everyone having Attack & Defence classes in "College"? Are they training a fucking army? Apparently, um, yes? Maybe? Or extended prison guard corps? Unclear. There doesn't seem to have ever been any prison breaks, until very recently, and then only at other prisons. And why are they throwing a girl who can't even shift yet in with people who have had their powers and have been training since their... Early teens? When *do* people normally get their powers anyway? Could be relevant to understand Misha's situation, but I guess not. And apparently, attempted murder during class is just something that happens and worthy of little more than a warning, because supernaturals are just violent by nature? Or maybe it's because you have fucking classes about ATTACKING!? Holy normalization, Batman!
After the hangover, Jessa dons her "usual form-fitting jeans". Didn't she usually wear basically whatever as long as it was loose so she could quickly get out of it when she needed to shift? It's also winter now, but in the beginning, Jessa wore only a tank-top and short-shorts, did months pass? When? Where?
Who are these quads really? They seem like a gang of white trash petty criminals who expect to be treated as better than everyone else because of their innate powers. They seem to be assholes to everyone except their closest family and friends, but we're still expected to like them because they are nice to Jessa? They're suddenly about to do a prison break from the most secure supernatural prison in the US and they bring a girl who managed to shift for the first time the day before and who knows next to nothing about the supernatural world? Doesn't seem smart or like examples of great leadership in the future. Even Jessa recognizes that it all seems very weird and like a trap, but she doesn't want to seem like a coward (or like she has a brain) and just goes along with it. And so does her father apparently, who endorses the whole thing rather than using his own position and connections to find out more about what's going on.
And what is the plan for the prison break? Walk in through the front door and then improvise? Again, it all seems more like the actions of impulsive and self-entitled small-time criminals.
Fuck this, I can't be bothered.
I'm not really sure what's going on and why. Okay, scratch that, I get what is happening, I just don't understand any of the characters' motivations or the world in which they live. Characters seem to have motivations, but tbh, they seem a bit forced. Everyone seem to be very passionate, but not really for any well explained reasons. Essentially, things seem to be moving a bit too fast in general, and not enough character definition is happening. Like we were dropped into the middle of the book, where characters were already well established, rather than the opening of a story where we don't yet know anyone.
Actions happen because of strong emotions, but only later are the reasons for those emotions explained, making the whole thing seem very improvised and the characters irrational. Like Jessa throwing a hissyfit and running into the woods when Misha is introduced. Like... Why? We only know she's upset that her mother is back, but nothing about how long she's been gone, what the rumors say, what her father told her, etc. All that is explained AFTER she acts in a way that seem extremely over-dramatic or even ridiculous without that context. It reminded me of Jade's Badly Written Erotica.
The concept of dragon-marked isn't introduced in any way, so when we learn that Jessa is, indeed, dragon-marked (which we already knew from the fucking blurb and could infer from the title) it doesn't tell us anything and, again, her reaction seems ridiculous. After that point, people being dragon-marked is suddenly a super-big issue without anyone seeming to know why. But it's also, apparently, a giant civil rights issue when there seem to be dragon-marked locked in Vanguard (which, btw, is a ridiculous fucking name for a prison, why not just call it Avant-garde, Spearhead, or Forerunner?). Nobody actually knows that Jessa is dragon-marked though, so the sudden interest isn't because of sympathy.
Constantly springing things at the reader without the context to understand the characters' behavior or reasoning and then explaining it post-hoc is just bad narration. It's like the opposite of foreshadowing and world-building.
Oh, and for fuck's sake, "alpha" is not a personality trait or a personality type. It's a specific role among some social animals. It's also not about being dominant and being an ass to everyone around you. The domination BS in this book is so cringe it almost hurts even for PNR which, as a genre, already has a deeply problematic relationship with the concept of "alphas".
Maybe it's the fucking intense narrator, who says everything in this wistful and sad voice, sounding as if she's constantly at the edge of tears, who's injecting way too much emotion into everything and making it feel over-dramatic.
And why are everyone having Attack & Defence classes in "College"? Are they training a fucking army? Apparently, um, yes? Maybe? Or extended prison guard corps? Unclear. There doesn't seem to have ever been any prison breaks, until very recently, and then only at other prisons. And why are they throwing a girl who can't even shift yet in with people who have had their powers and have been training since their... Early teens? When *do* people normally get their powers anyway? Could be relevant to understand Misha's situation, but I guess not. And apparently, attempted murder during class is just something that happens and worthy of little more than a warning, because supernaturals are just violent by nature? Or maybe it's because you have fucking classes about ATTACKING!? Holy normalization, Batman!
After the hangover, Jessa dons her "usual form-fitting jeans". Didn't she usually wear basically whatever as long as it was loose so she could quickly get out of it when she needed to shift? It's also winter now, but in the beginning, Jessa wore only a tank-top and short-shorts, did months pass? When? Where?
Who are these quads really? They seem like a gang of white trash petty criminals who expect to be treated as better than everyone else because of their innate powers. They seem to be assholes to everyone except their closest family and friends, but we're still expected to like them because they are nice to Jessa? They're suddenly about to do a prison break from the most secure supernatural prison in the US and they bring a girl who managed to shift for the first time the day before and who knows next to nothing about the supernatural world? Doesn't seem smart or like examples of great leadership in the future. Even Jessa recognizes that it all seems very weird and like a trap, but she doesn't want to seem like a coward (or like she has a brain) and just goes along with it. And so does her father apparently, who endorses the whole thing rather than using his own position and connections to find out more about what's going on.
And what is the plan for the prison break? Walk in through the front door and then improvise? Again, it all seems more like the actions of impulsive and self-entitled small-time criminals.
Fuck this, I can't be bothered.
jordanrevenge's review against another edition
4.0
It took me a bit to get pulled into this book, but after 4-5 chapters I was pretty well hooked. Part of what made me want to read it was Jaymin Eve, so far the books I've read of hers have been awesome so I wanted to check out this series. The other part was that some people had marked this as reverse harem, well for anyone reading this looking for that, this isn't one. Still a good read though!
kerri_library's review against another edition
5.0
absolutely loved it. can't wait to read next one!!
thenia's review against another edition
3.0
A story that reminded me of another of the author's works, the Curse of the Gods series with the first book being Trickery.
Both stories are pretty light, although Trickery is a lot lighter, and have a reverse harem theme, where the main heroine is surrounded by powerful men who all consider her special for one reason or another.
In this case, Jessa is an alpha wolf shifter, and her harem are a set of brothers with different talents each. They grew up together so she loves all of them, but has a soft spot for Braxton, the dragon shifter, who seems to share her feelings.
They are all going off on adventures together, trying to find the magical prison of their area that's hidden from the public. Unfortunately,
There, Braxton meets a kid that should not be a prisoner, and he vows to return for him. They soon discover that the boy wasn't the only one imprisoned in secret, but there was a whole new ward full of people and children of all ages. They are all dragon marked, and so is Jessa and her newly discovered twin sister, and the dragon marked have always been hunted and presumed dead, so their parents separated the two of them and hid their marks and dragon marked abilities to keep them safe.
It's a story that requires the reader to suspend disbelief to enjoy, and having done that, I found it engaging enough to make me curious about what happens next to the group in Dragon Mystics that follows.
Both stories are pretty light, although Trickery is a lot lighter, and have a reverse harem theme, where the main heroine is surrounded by powerful men who all consider her special for one reason or another.
In this case, Jessa is an alpha wolf shifter, and her harem are a set of brothers with different talents each. They grew up together so she loves all of them, but has a soft spot for Braxton, the dragon shifter, who seems to share her feelings.
They are all going off on adventures together, trying to find the magical prison of their area that's hidden from the public. Unfortunately,
Spoiler
they get more than they bargained for when the boys are framed for murder and get to see the prison from the inside.There, Braxton meets a kid that should not be a prisoner, and he vows to return for him. They soon discover that the boy wasn't the only one imprisoned in secret, but there was a whole new ward full of people and children of all ages. They are all dragon marked, and so is Jessa and her newly discovered twin sister, and the dragon marked have always been hunted and presumed dead, so their parents separated the two of them and hid their marks and dragon marked abilities to keep them safe
It's a story that requires the reader to suspend disbelief to enjoy, and having done that, I found it engaging enough to make me curious about what happens next to the group in Dragon Mystics that follows.
mistressop's review against another edition
2.0
The audiobook reader sounds like she's in Jr. High. It's kinda uncomfortable because the main character is supposed to be in college. Yet the college sounds more like high school. Bit Confusing it's one of those YA, New Adult grey zone which I'm not really all about. I read another book by this author hoping that this might be good. So far, it's so so.
Error the friends with the boy is childish, the nickname for the girl is dumb. Here friendship seems wildly one-sided. It's like instead of building character the author is obsessed with you know how much the guys care for the girl. On the upside in much later book of hers are good. Namely, the one about the rejected wolf shifter.
Besides the other issues using a character in an urban fantasy book who is frankly dumb is really annoying. It's repeated the same mistake for the advancement of the plot that knocks you out of the story.
I am thankful that the author's storytelling skills improved in later books. With more action a driving pace and a lot more on the plate. But that doesn't happen until around the 2019- onward book titles. Her writing skill in this book isn't bad. There's stuff to read it's not awful but there's also a deep sense of rejection because it's almost something worth reading and then it gets bogged down in things that aren't developed with interest. Like validation of the male leads the four brothers love is a validation of the female instead of simply character-building them as a pack and family as she does in later 2019 books. It's such a huge hole. When reading it felt like staring into a chasm of missing emotional intelligence.
Error the friends with the boy is childish, the nickname for the girl is dumb. Here friendship seems wildly one-sided. It's like instead of building character the author is obsessed with you know how much the guys care for the girl. On the upside in much later book of hers are good. Namely, the one about the rejected wolf shifter.
Besides the other issues using a character in an urban fantasy book who is frankly dumb is really annoying. It's repeated the same mistake for the advancement of the plot that knocks you out of the story.
I am thankful that the author's storytelling skills improved in later books. With more action a driving pace and a lot more on the plate. But that doesn't happen until around the 2019- onward book titles. Her writing skill in this book isn't bad. There's stuff to read it's not awful but there's also a deep sense of rejection because it's almost something worth reading and then it gets bogged down in things that aren't developed with interest. Like validation of the male leads the four brothers love is a validation of the female instead of simply character-building them as a pack and family as she does in later 2019 books. It's such a huge hole. When reading it felt like staring into a chasm of missing emotional intelligence.
tizii00's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
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? No
4.0
mirareadsbooksforfun's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75