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A review by courtney_saba
Stained Egos by Helen Scott, Serena Akeroyd
2.0
This was generally enjoyable. RH naughtiness was solid.
I really liked the setting and worldbuilding. I'm expecting more details as the series progresses, but the Brotherhood and Sixth aspects and abilities are definitely unique.
I'm uncertain about Marcella and the guys, though. Marcella comes off as this innocent (of course, she's a virgin, ugh), young, and naive girl even though she's 24 and has had years to grow and toughen up. Sometimes her characterization is off, too, as if 2 authors with different styles are writing her (definitely a possibility). Same with the Brotherhood. We're told about them, not shown, and given a tiny bit of detail, so they're still sort of vague in my mind. I'm struggling to see them all clearly and distinctly.
The plot is okay. The 5 are looking for a 6th member to close the bond and they're being controlled by perverse and corrupt leaders at the Academy. No one is good other than the Brotherhood and Marcella. Kind of unrealistic and contrived, but I'm willing to overlook it as long as the story engages me.
The characters are also sometimes immature and young and rarely acting their age. They're in their mid to late twenties. They shouldn't be acting like teenagers or letting their tempers control them or saying "No shit, Sherlock" or calling literally everyone a bitch. I don't know about you, but these things make me cringe.
The instalust isn't unbearable, but it's borderline. I wish more for slow burn and building up relationships, rather than immediate intrigue, lust, and declarations of "perfect" this and "perfect" that. I want more character development and showing of the Brotherhood bond, too. With multiple books in this series, the authors could have pulled off the slow burn and complexity. Unfortunately, though I enjoyed reading this more than I expected, I'm unsure about the future. It may just become unbearable.
Would I re-read this? No.
Would I recommend this? It wouldn't be the first RH series I would recommend, but it's a solid starting point in the genre. Especially if you love academy settings and vampires.
Was I entertained? Yes. Let's hope for better experiences and complexity in the next installments.
Happy reading, Goodreads fiends.
I really liked the setting and worldbuilding. I'm expecting more details as the series progresses, but the Brotherhood and Sixth aspects and abilities are definitely unique.
I'm uncertain about Marcella and the guys, though. Marcella comes off as this innocent (of course, she's a virgin, ugh), young, and naive girl even though she's 24 and has had years to grow and toughen up. Sometimes her characterization is off, too, as if 2 authors with different styles are writing her (definitely a possibility). Same with the Brotherhood. We're told about them, not shown, and given a tiny bit of detail, so they're still sort of vague in my mind. I'm struggling to see them all clearly and distinctly.
The plot is okay. The 5 are looking for a 6th member to close the bond and they're being controlled by perverse and corrupt leaders at the Academy. No one is good other than the Brotherhood and Marcella. Kind of unrealistic and contrived, but I'm willing to overlook it as long as the story engages me.
The characters are also sometimes immature and young and rarely acting their age. They're in their mid to late twenties. They shouldn't be acting like teenagers or letting their tempers control them or saying "No shit, Sherlock" or calling literally everyone a bitch. I don't know about you, but these things make me cringe.
The instalust isn't unbearable, but it's borderline. I wish more for slow burn and building up relationships, rather than immediate intrigue, lust, and declarations of "perfect" this and "perfect" that. I want more character development and showing of the Brotherhood bond, too. With multiple books in this series, the authors could have pulled off the slow burn and complexity. Unfortunately, though I enjoyed reading this more than I expected, I'm unsure about the future. It may just become unbearable.
Would I re-read this? No.
Would I recommend this? It wouldn't be the first RH series I would recommend, but it's a solid starting point in the genre. Especially if you love academy settings and vampires.
Was I entertained? Yes. Let's hope for better experiences and complexity in the next installments.
Happy reading, Goodreads fiends.