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kamcon 's review for:
Savage Blooms
by S.T. Gibson
Wuthering Heights x faeries (your cunning Sidhe type fae) on an eerie estate with a bunch of horny 20 year olds.
Adam and Nicola are just your average college grads who embark on a week long vacay to an estate on the outskirts of Scotland in order to discover secrets from Adam’s warped family history (check TW). Once there, they meet Finley, the grounds keeper and the lord of the Manor, Eileen, who also happen to be the same age and are also polyamorous what are the odds! Eileen and Finley convince Adam and Nicola to prolong their stay and thank god for the WFH era because they say sayonara responsibilities and bills to pay, we’re in. Everyone's having a fun, sexy time until they uncover the real reason that Eileen has for keeping them on the estate, and it's time to face the music (aka the evil ancient fae that have been on the property long before their time…).
I had to sit on this book for a while to be able to review this more objectively, because it wasn’t my favorite ST Gibson (I LOVE a Dowry of Blood), but just because some things didn’t work for me doesn’t mean you wont like it! To note, this novel is classified as erotica as the blurb explicitly states, so anticipate this being a shift from some of Gibson’s previous works. I’m all for authors shifting genres and did not have a problem with this, however will say that this felt like a different author to me. The positives: Gibson shines with character driven books and I think the characters of Eileen, Nicola and Finley were dynamic despite the odds of them all coming together with the same sexual tastes being way too implausible for me. They feel raw and real and a refreshing break from your textbook 6 foot, hyper-masculine, jacked MCs. (The exception is Adam: my guy's really asleep at the wheel). I loved the setting, the eerie atmosphere and the mysterious, dread-inducing fae as well.
My biggest issue with this book was the prose, which is wild because I loved the prose in all of Gibson’s previous works. There were instances of lyrical, decadent prose that Gibson always delivers, but juxtaposed with the modern lingo of Adam and Nicola made it feel clunky and almost satirical.
i.e: “.. that made Nicola feel melty inside in that scared-confused-sexy way she liked so much”
It objectively makes sense because Nicola and Adam are modern, American, 21st century college students however just did not work for me when combined with purple prose and took me out of the story.
The plot served to bring the characters together, but didn’t really say much otherwise. I was hoping for a deeper dive into the faeries and lore which was largely unexplored. I also thought this was a standalone, but the epilogue’s cliffhanger definitely makes it seem like this will be a series with more answers regarding the faeries and magic. Overall: 2.5 stars.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
Adam and Nicola are just your average college grads who embark on a week long vacay to an estate on the outskirts of Scotland in order to discover secrets from Adam’s warped family history (check TW). Once there, they meet Finley, the grounds keeper and the lord of the Manor, Eileen, who also happen to be the same age and are also polyamorous what are the odds! Eileen and Finley convince Adam and Nicola to prolong their stay and thank god for the WFH era because they say sayonara responsibilities and bills to pay, we’re in. Everyone's having a fun, sexy time until they uncover the real reason that Eileen has for keeping them on the estate, and it's time to face the music (aka the evil ancient fae that have been on the property long before their time…).
I had to sit on this book for a while to be able to review this more objectively, because it wasn’t my favorite ST Gibson (I LOVE a Dowry of Blood), but just because some things didn’t work for me doesn’t mean you wont like it! To note, this novel is classified as erotica as the blurb explicitly states, so anticipate this being a shift from some of Gibson’s previous works. I’m all for authors shifting genres and did not have a problem with this, however will say that this felt like a different author to me. The positives: Gibson shines with character driven books and I think the characters of Eileen, Nicola and Finley were dynamic despite the odds of them all coming together with the same sexual tastes being way too implausible for me. They feel raw and real and a refreshing break from your textbook 6 foot, hyper-masculine, jacked MCs. (The exception is Adam: my guy's really asleep at the wheel). I loved the setting, the eerie atmosphere and the mysterious, dread-inducing fae as well.
My biggest issue with this book was the prose, which is wild because I loved the prose in all of Gibson’s previous works. There were instances of lyrical, decadent prose that Gibson always delivers, but juxtaposed with the modern lingo of Adam and Nicola made it feel clunky and almost satirical.
i.e: “.. that made Nicola feel melty inside in that scared-confused-sexy way she liked so much”
It objectively makes sense because Nicola and Adam are modern, American, 21st century college students however just did not work for me when combined with purple prose and took me out of the story.
The plot served to bring the characters together, but didn’t really say much otherwise. I was hoping for a deeper dive into the faeries and lore which was largely unexplored. I also thought this was a standalone, but the epilogue’s cliffhanger definitely makes it seem like this will be a series with more answers regarding the faeries and magic. Overall: 2.5 stars.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.