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katsiano 's review for:
Savage Blooms
by S.T. Gibson
This was my first book from ST Gibson and I went in not knowing fully what to expect, but I was hoping for a quick, low stakes read with a completely different vibe from my last book to change things up. This definitely delivered for what I was looking for, and while different from a lot of what I typically read, I devoured this one in less than 24 hours.
I think the author did a good job at building up the setting - the book feels very atmospheric, and almost like you lose sense of time in a way that feels incredibly fitting given faerie folklore which this book is built on. There are nods to time passing ("a few days later" type phrases), but I could just as likely believe the book start to finish happened in a week as I could that it happened in six months. In all honesty I think she could've built up the atmosphere even MORE and it wouldn't have felt overdone at all.
The various relationships definitely feel very insta-lust but I don't think the book is trying to be anything else, so that's not a bad thing. While I typically read books with fewer smut scenes, I think these were well crafted - they never felt too long, they weren't repetitive, and I think consent, kink, and polyamory is handled really really well. I expected going into this it would be "porn with plot" and I do think it's about as balanced as a book of this type can be.
There are some things I think make the book weaker - the author references things using brand names (Volvo, Starbucks, etc) which in this book, pulls me out of the story a bit and doesn't always fit the POV of that given chapter. I think she could also trust the reader a bit more - there were some lines which felt very on the nose explaining things which subtext was already hinting at, and I think the story would be stronger if she left some of those things up to subtlety. For example, it's very clear from the mention of the missing art pieces/empty spots on the fireplace etc that the family is not as flush with cash as they used to be. We don't need to immediately be told that wealthy old families get themselves through hard times by selling off treasures, she did a good job at hinting at that already.
On the complete other end of subtlety and subtext, the ending left me mostly confused. I don't entirely understand some of the logic/conclusions some of the characters are making, and it all happened so quickly that it wasn't flushed out as much as I would've wanted. That said, it did end on a cliffhanger that has me looking forward to book 2, and overall I enjoyed this read! I think in light of the rushed/confusing ending, and some things in the writing I think could be tightened up a bit, I'd give this 3.75 stars.
Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
I think the author did a good job at building up the setting - the book feels very atmospheric, and almost like you lose sense of time in a way that feels incredibly fitting given faerie folklore which this book is built on. There are nods to time passing ("a few days later" type phrases), but I could just as likely believe the book start to finish happened in a week as I could that it happened in six months. In all honesty I think she could've built up the atmosphere even MORE and it wouldn't have felt overdone at all.
The various relationships definitely feel very insta-lust but I don't think the book is trying to be anything else, so that's not a bad thing. While I typically read books with fewer smut scenes, I think these were well crafted - they never felt too long, they weren't repetitive, and I think consent, kink, and polyamory is handled really really well. I expected going into this it would be "porn with plot" and I do think it's about as balanced as a book of this type can be.
There are some things I think make the book weaker - the author references things using brand names (Volvo, Starbucks, etc) which in this book, pulls me out of the story a bit and doesn't always fit the POV of that given chapter. I think she could also trust the reader a bit more - there were some lines which felt very on the nose explaining things which subtext was already hinting at, and I think the story would be stronger if she left some of those things up to subtlety. For example, it's very clear from the mention of the missing art pieces/empty spots on the fireplace etc that the family is not as flush with cash as they used to be. We don't need to immediately be told that wealthy old families get themselves through hard times by selling off treasures, she did a good job at hinting at that already.
On the complete other end of subtlety and subtext, the ending left me mostly confused. I don't entirely understand some of the logic/conclusions some of the characters are making, and it all happened so quickly that it wasn't flushed out as much as I would've wanted. That said, it did end on a cliffhanger that has me looking forward to book 2, and overall I enjoyed this read! I think in light of the rushed/confusing ending, and some things in the writing I think could be tightened up a bit, I'd give this 3.75 stars.
Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.