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A review by achillreads
The Nettle and the Nightmare: A Queer Vampire Sleeping Beauty Retelling Novella by Alora Black
4.0
(I was provided an eARC in exchange for an honest review.)
The Nettle and the Nightmare was a great experience that I kept wishing to be longer. The characters are likeable, the setup is cosy, and the spice is spicing. It was a fun read. It is just right for the season and a great retelling that doesn't rely on the cheesy kiss of some random straight man. That makes it gold tier for me as it is.
With my issues and my joys, I had a great time overall with this book.
Initially, the first 50 or so pages dragged the story down a little for me because Brenlyn's inner talks didn't work for me, but as the story progressed, I started to like Brenlyn. She starts off with being a classic "hunter" and begins to grow into herself, which was great to see in such a short amount of time. I also really liked the "nettle" that makes her succumb to the sleep isn't a literal nettle but heartache.
Mara and Ravensworth had my heart from the start. The only weird situation to me was how Mara realised that Brenlyn was her mate when she smelled Jasmine on her as a baby. I know that time isn't the same for the vampires, considering how long they live and all, but that was a little questionable to me.
The spicy scenes were excellent. I am still quite new to the spicy section of the book world, but this has to be the best I have read thus far. I really liked the relationship between the trio. But Mara... She is...mother. The use of shadow magic was...chef's kiss.
The story itself was quite predictable and has some classic story beats, but with the characters, it starts to diverge from the classic a little. But that part was hindered for me with the length of the book and how some parts felt too fast. It would work much better as a full lenght novel. The Brenlyn's revelations towards the end felt like a recap of the book before the big fight, but then the supposed big fight wasn't as exciting as I had expected. So, I am very excited to check out the author's future works from this world.
The Nettle and the Nightmare was a great experience that I kept wishing to be longer. The characters are likeable, the setup is cosy, and the spice is spicing. It was a fun read. It is just right for the season and a great retelling that doesn't rely on the cheesy kiss of some random straight man. That makes it gold tier for me as it is.
With my issues and my joys, I had a great time overall with this book.
Initially, the first 50 or so pages dragged the story down a little for me because Brenlyn's inner talks didn't work for me, but as the story progressed, I started to like Brenlyn. She starts off with being a classic "hunter" and begins to grow into herself, which was great to see in such a short amount of time. I also really liked the "nettle" that makes her succumb to the sleep isn't a literal nettle but heartache.
Mara and Ravensworth had my heart from the start. The only weird situation to me was how Mara realised that Brenlyn was her mate when she smelled Jasmine on her as a baby. I know that time isn't the same for the vampires, considering how long they live and all, but that was a little questionable to me.
The spicy scenes were excellent. I am still quite new to the spicy section of the book world, but this has to be the best I have read thus far. I really liked the relationship between the trio. But Mara... She is...mother. The use of shadow magic was...chef's kiss.
The story itself was quite predictable and has some classic story beats, but with the characters, it starts to diverge from the classic a little. But that part was hindered for me with the length of the book and how some parts felt too fast. It would work much better as a full lenght novel. The Brenlyn's revelations towards the end felt like a recap of the book before the big fight, but then the supposed big fight wasn't as exciting as I had expected. So, I am very excited to check out the author's future works from this world.