Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Shots and Barbs by Lily Mayne

3 reviews

lizacorn's review

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-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

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redhairedashreads's review

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3.0

 
3 stars - I liked it

After being introduced to Nuni in Berries and Greed I was a bit apprehensive about his book because I didn’t really like him in that book. Well I struggled a lot with Nuni in the first half of this book but I think by the end he finally gets his head out of his ass and becomes a character who I actually liked. 

Nuni is a very driven, determined, and self absorbed demiurgus who is used to getting his way. I really struggled with him in the beginning of this book because he is a total frat boy who is used to getting what he wants and being the best at what he does. When he doesn’t win there is always an excuse or he makes some kind of fake excuse for why he can’t continue if he is losing. So a lot of their earlier interactions are filled with constant lying because they are trying to one up each other. Anita does this as well, but it came the majority of the time from Nuni.

Nuni does begin to change after he talks with his brother Greed and realizes he was a bully as a child. This was another reason why I was apprehensive about Nuni but I was glad to see him actually talk to Greed about his behavior and to apologize to him for how he acted as a child. It was a very emotional scene and from here on is when I actually started liking Nuni I think.

Anita is a strong willed woman who is great at her job. She initially tries to keep Nuni at a distance because of work policy but realizes that he makes her happy and decides her happiness is more important.  Antia and Nuni’s relationship was steamy and intense from the very beginning. While they may have tried to keep their hands off each other at first, that didn’t really work for long. It was an enjoyable relationship overall, and I really loved the ending that Anita surprised Nuni with.

Overall, while I didn’t really love Nuni for a lot of this book he did redeem himself and I still enjoyed the romance between him and Anita. I am still very interested in reading the next one to learn more about the var Rorik siblings and seeing the next one fall in love. 

TW: Controlled eating (could be considered an eating disorder); alcohol consumption; recreational drug use (fictional drug); childhood bullying mentioned; brief mental breakdown mention; 
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cluckieduck's review

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emotional funny lighthearted 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? Yes

4.25

I was so happy to revisit the Deep Earth Dating world. Lily has a great knack for world-building within her series and she has certainly found the recipe for creating characters that you want to root for.

Pooni Nuni was such an unlikable character in book 1, but the way Lily was able to flesh out his backstory and show his growth throughout this one made him an endearing lead. While I don't know if the juxtaposition between how Nuni handled his anxiety (Mr. highly regimented perfectionist) compared to Greid (softboi stoner) influenced me, I felt that I didn't connect with Nuni as a MMC as much as I did Greid. That's not to say he wasn't enjoyable, because he certainly was, I think that's just a personal preference of mine.

I really enjoyed the dynamic between Nuni & Anita, and reading their ever-evolving competitiveness was fun. And the snark was top notch!

I bet he swaggered, as if his enormous dick was throwing him off balance.

Anita is a great FMC - strong-willed, competent, and caring. I also appreciated the IBS rep without it being a defining character trait! The way she was able to balance Nuni, and both finding equal support with one another was really enjoyable - they were a perfect match.

"Nuni, you do know they're not up there specifically worshipping you, right?"

"I know," I shot back defensively. "But it's like...I'm like the demiurgus version of that old Italian statue of a human dude. You know? The ideal or whatever. I'm probably what they're all up there imagining as the ultimate demiurgus specimen."

"This is starting to feel like I need to contact your family for an intervention."

I also really enjoyed getting to spend some more time with with extended var Rorik family, especially seeing the relationship Nuni has with Laki. Very much looking forward to their upcoming book. I'm glad that Nuni & Greid got to air their stuff, though it did seem to wrap up a little too nicely. Also really digging this trend away from 3rd act break-ups - keep it going please!

All in all, a great continuation of the series and can't wait to see where it goes next!

I received a free copy of this book from the author and am leaving this review voluntarily.
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