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A review by vwalklate
Beyond Shame by Kit Rocha
3.0
I genuinely don’t know what rating to give this book. I’m not sure how I feel after finishing it! Did I like it? I think I did but I’m not sure! I’m going to try and make sense of my thoughts then figure out my rating at the end.
Good: I LOVE an alpha male, and this book was chockfull of them, yum
Not so good: Most of them were pretty interchangeable, including the male MC Jasper, and I kept forgetting who was who.
Good: I LOVE a wallflower/shy heroine with inner strength - enter female MC Noelle
Not so good: Unfortunately her personality was overshadowed by the fact that she appeared to be a complete nymphomaniac. If she wasn’t thinking about sex she was talking about it, and if she wasn’t talking about it, she was having it. Her obsession with sex – even before she actually had it - was her main personality trait & it got a bit boring in the end. I needed more from her.
Good: Hot, explicit sex scenes? Yes please! They were hot. They were explicit. They were very well written, brilliantly written in fact. But…
Not so good: If I hadn’t recently read the first two books in Katee Robert’s Wicked Villains series, I think I would’ve been blown away by the sex scenes but unfortunately I kept comparing them, and something was just missing in this book. Maybe the emotional aspect wasn’t quite as strong as the KR books? It could be that I just didn’t care that much about Noelle and Jasper? I can’t quite put my finger on it, but basically although my boat was floated, it didn't entirely sail away.
Good: I love a should we/shouldn't we romance
Not so good: I didn’t completely understand Jasper and Noelle’s conflict in that regard. There was so much back and forth, inner turmoil and confusing dialogue, I genuinely didn’t get what their issue was. He didn’t want her to tie herself down to him too fast? She didn’t know if he truly wanted her? He wasn’t sure she trusted him? Still not sure I’ve got that right... I understand Lex and Dallas’ relationship so much better, and it wasn’t even their book!
Good: I like a bit of dystopia and this gave me romantic/erotic adult Hunger Games vibes – great!
Not so good : Chapter 1 jumped straight into the action with Noelle wandering around terrified outside the walls of her luxurious city (basically District 1 in HG terms) and falling into Jasper’s arms. We didn’t get to see anything of her life before she joined their gang which unfortunately didn't help her character development, or the world-building in general.It also made the big confrontation scene with her dad at the end fall rather flat for me.
So overall, this wasn’t a 5 or a 4 star book for me, but it wasn’t a 2 either, so it’s a 3. Maybe a 3.25. I didn’t hate it, it just didn’t knock my socks off like I expected and I think it was due to a lack of character connection for me. I will read the next one, as Lex was incredibly interesting - I’m rooting for her and Dallas already. Not sure I’ll carry on after that, but another series by the same author involving mercenary librarians looks amazing so will defo give that a try!
Good: I LOVE an alpha male, and this book was chockfull of them, yum
Not so good: Most of them were pretty interchangeable, including the male MC Jasper, and I kept forgetting who was who.
Good: I LOVE a wallflower/shy heroine with inner strength - enter female MC Noelle
Not so good: Unfortunately her personality was overshadowed by the fact that she appeared to be a complete nymphomaniac. If she wasn’t thinking about sex she was talking about it, and if she wasn’t talking about it, she was having it. Her obsession with sex – even before she actually had it - was her main personality trait & it got a bit boring in the end. I needed more from her.
Good: Hot, explicit sex scenes? Yes please! They were hot. They were explicit. They were very well written, brilliantly written in fact. But…
Not so good: If I hadn’t recently read the first two books in Katee Robert’s Wicked Villains series, I think I would’ve been blown away by the sex scenes but unfortunately I kept comparing them, and something was just missing in this book. Maybe the emotional aspect wasn’t quite as strong as the KR books? It could be that I just didn’t care that much about Noelle and Jasper? I can’t quite put my finger on it, but basically although my boat was floated, it didn't entirely sail away.
Good: I love a should we/shouldn't we romance
Not so good: I didn’t completely understand Jasper and Noelle’s conflict in that regard. There was so much back and forth, inner turmoil and confusing dialogue, I genuinely didn’t get what their issue was. He didn’t want her to tie herself down to him too fast? She didn’t know if he truly wanted her? He wasn’t sure she trusted him? Still not sure I’ve got that right... I understand Lex and Dallas’ relationship so much better, and it wasn’t even their book!
Good: I like a bit of dystopia and this gave me romantic/erotic adult Hunger Games vibes – great!
Not so good : Chapter 1 jumped straight into the action with Noelle wandering around terrified outside the walls of her luxurious city (basically District 1 in HG terms) and falling into Jasper’s arms. We didn’t get to see anything of her life before she joined their gang which unfortunately didn't help her character development, or the world-building in general.
So overall, this wasn’t a 5 or a 4 star book for me, but it wasn’t a 2 either, so it’s a 3. Maybe a 3.25. I didn’t hate it, it just didn’t knock my socks off like I expected and I think it was due to a lack of character connection for me. I will read the next one, as Lex was incredibly interesting - I’m rooting for her and Dallas already. Not sure I’ll carry on after that, but another series by the same author involving mercenary librarians looks amazing so will defo give that a try!