Scan barcode
A review by vwalklate
Align Ourselves by Adrianna Schuh
4.0
I enjoyed this book very much. The reader is sucked into the action immediately, with the lead character Aria and a group of her people being captured after emerging from their underground home. Although it’s marketed as fantasy romance, there is a strong dystopian element - the setting is futuristic Earth, with different groups ruling different areas. I would’ve liked a bit more world building and background at the start, for example I wasn’t sure why the king Lex needed the marriage union with Aria in the first place, or the full backstory on how Earth was destroyed.
The banter between Aria and Lex was amusing, and the slow burn leading to high heat was great. The author has a real talent for sex scenes - they were hot! Aria was a strong character and I also liked Grace and Mara, I hope they get a book of their own at some point. And Lex was a great moody alpha hero with a soft side.
Nitpicking for personal reading preferences - there were a few places where the writing switched briefly from past tense to present, which unfortunately pulled me out of the story each time. The bad guy Warren seemed to come out of nowhere, I would’ve liked some mention of him near the beginning to build his threat and make Aria’s conflict with him feel more personal. And the dialogue could’ve done with some cutting in places - there were a lot of pauses and stuttering/repetition of words (from anger/fear/high emotion rather than speech impediments, which obviously would be different) which I find distracting as a reader as it slows down high tension scenes. But all in all this was a good romance with an interesting plot, steamy sex and likeable main characters and I will gladly check out this author’s future work!
The banter between Aria and Lex was amusing, and the slow burn leading to high heat was great. The author has a real talent for sex scenes - they were hot! Aria was a strong character and I also liked Grace and Mara, I hope they get a book of their own at some point. And Lex was a great moody alpha hero with a soft side.
Nitpicking for personal reading preferences - there were a few places where the writing switched briefly from past tense to present, which unfortunately pulled me out of the story each time. The bad guy Warren seemed to come out of nowhere, I would’ve liked some mention of him near the beginning to build his threat and make Aria’s conflict with him feel more personal. And the dialogue could’ve done with some cutting in places - there were a lot of pauses and stuttering/repetition of words (from anger/fear/high emotion rather than speech impediments, which obviously would be different) which I find distracting as a reader as it slows down high tension scenes. But all in all this was a good romance with an interesting plot, steamy sex and likeable main characters and I will gladly check out this author’s future work!