lorj 's review for:

House of Pounding Hearts by Olivia Wildenstein
3.5
dark mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Took a long time to get going.

The main female character was a fair bit more annoying in this book.

The author used a few words that I don't think fit in the setting/world, like "creepy" "cruise director" and "play-by-play".

God the smut was awful! I laughed and/or cringed at some of the terms used. It didn't feel remotely realistic given the main female character's lack of experience.

I think the age difference was a bit gross. Sure they're
"mates"
but he's 680 years older than her. She's over 18 sure, but everything else about the age difference is gross.

Everyone's pupils were constantly dilating and retracting. Sounded a bit distracting when you're trying to have a conversation!

I'm so sick of sex scenes where the women has 10 orgasms back to back and they have sex like 6 times. And the man is so "big" the woman worries about it, then it's magically fine. I really think the book's sex scenes ruined it!