831bookworm's reviews
209 reviews

Sainted by Jesse H Reign

dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This author is quickly becoming a favorite author of mine for the MM Romance category. The characters become so well rounded as you read because of the energy she interjects into telling their story. ⁠
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And did you know that a male femme top is called a BLOUSE? Whether its true or not, its an example of you're constantly whipped into another direction/tone; its fun and exhilarating, and mimics Saint and Demon/Damon's dynamic perfectly. Blood rush of all kinds reading this book. ;) ⁠

Unwrapped by Rachel Rowan

hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This was a very sweet quick read about a boy and a girl, opposites attract trope, that go on a road trip that goes awry. The author is very good at casting a suite bubble around the world her characters live in. It’s a contemporary romance, so there is the usual mindless elevation as the characters are rich and their only issues are from their personal world, but I love how Will actually calls that out several times. Jules is a little more of the classic girl who doesn’t want to be burned by love so dressed in black and is angry - a trope, but also that was me at 17. Maybe some critique to Jules since she is later 20s but acts like a high schooler. Will is little better but gets more spotlight on his growth and maturation. 
Overall I would recommend as a short sweet male/female road trip one bed story with a Christmas theme.  

Hating You, Needing You: A Dark Bully MM Romance by OctiWriter EN

dark emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

to escape his parental abuse, eli spends the money he's been saving to go on a week long field trip. he ends up bunked with his high school bully, damon. by the end of the week eli is falling in love with his old bully and damon is inviting eli to live with him. it ends with marriage proposal. 

The writing was a bit simplistic, with the plot moving fast and without much in its way. the parents are abusive but brought in just to give eli and damon something to bond over, and then never heard from again. eli is a cute character but weakly built, same for damon - there are sketches of who they are but its mostly from trope development rather than the writer's intentional thought. there is some nice spice but thats about the most that i really liked from this book.

Poetry On Ice by Jesse H Reign

emotional funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I really enjoyed this book. High from just having finished it, it leaves a happy fuzzy buzz because the author's characters are just SO DAMN LOVABLE. You spend the beginning of the book learning about their personality with real round character building, carried on throughout, so when they start to warm up to each other you're matching their temperature. 
Also can't pass up good ol' angst and its littered throughout the pages with Ant's character and storyline. But Robbie is so sweet to slowly patiently take the reins until Ant can himself. 
The writing flowed nicely and there wasn't anything that took me out of the moment whether it was the actual pacing of the plot or the internal commentary. Its a hilarious read with sweet sensual words peppered in, the best combination.
I'd definitely recommend for a sweet pairing of some beautiful men in a swoony but angsty sports romance read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Minor: Injury/Injury detail

The Step Bro Situation by Jesse H Reign

emotional funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I really enjoyed reading this book, I am a sucker for the opposites attract and with some hurt/comfort on top, its delicious :) Jessie is the dark sarcastic broody one but that is just to cover up their sad emotional turmoil inside and Luke is a seemingly "simple" himbo but his overall character is actually to show how simple being strong and soft can be in the conscious choice to be that way. 

Their parentals were a little unrealistic (though sweet) and mostly not in the story at all except to move the plot forward at times. It was a little slow to start off establishing the new scene and connecting us to Jessie and although its dual POV there is much more told from jessie's POV than Luke's, which I would have loved to have gotten more time inside Luke. Then it gets heightened when they get to "what are we doing, lets keep doing it" but then it kinda snowfalls so fast towards the finish line that without the gratifying steam scenes beforehand it would feel underwhelming. I really like the characters so far and would have liked more time with them and their thoughts about each other and the larger things at stake/in conflict.

If it weren't for the deeply emotional and pleasing steamy bits, this story overall is like a short story oddly stretched out. But the sarcasm is hilarious and although they lightly touch on it, the soft commentary on a [new to me] type of parental abuse is an awesome little add in. (The things you find in books, ammiright?) 

Id suggest for those that love MM steam and emotional connection in their main characters.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Emotional abuse

Rent: Paid in Full by Jesse H Reign

emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I absolutely loved this book. I've read in other reviews it reads like a fan fiction and second that, the energy behind the prose and scene plays are akin to someone whose weaving a fantasy with "real" characters. And the pacing between Ryan and Miller's relationship development is exquisite, with the tone changing from one narrative to the next and giving each character an endearing "puzzle piece click" with each other. I was outright grinning like an idiot or catching my LOL so I don't look weird throughout the entire book, and true to life, the other companion steam was top notch. 

Ryan is in need of some financial aid but more than that he needs someone to break through his stubbornly erected and held walls, enter Miller. He is bluntly forthright + rich + beautiful + wants Ryan + loves Ryan. I fell in love with Miller's whole character almost immediately (golden retriever) but could understand how Ryan had a hard time learning that Miller was different from all the other "popular beautiful people" (sassy black cat). Ryan can be a bit of a drama queen at times, translating into inadvertent pain on Miller's part, but he loves him and goes at Ryan's pace always.

Also a note, it had one of the best written [bully?D/S] scenes I've read so far. It gave me an "explanation" as it were into how the humiliation and adjacent bullying feelings could bring a sense of peace and wellness after play completion.

Engaging the Enemy by Rachel Rowan

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Not my usual read, what with a modern regency romantic couple, Hugo and Amy, and frenemy/second chances storyline; but it was an excellent read! The author has a real penchant for keeping the proper English tone throughout the book while popping in fresh little snarky comedy keeping you engaged throughout the read. ⁠
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The beginning was a little slow on the burn (what with both sides not willing to face how they feel about each other) but around the 50% point the two finally get together and start the next leg of the journey: Is their love and attraction real or simply for the money? We have the atypical connection plot point of a marriage of convenience but the author does a good job at trailing out that ultimate ending with real emotional roller coaster ups and downs to process their feelings, which made me feel more sappy than expected as they engaged their individual insecurities with the relationship. ⁠
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He is groveling in one form or another throughout the entirety of the story because his dumbass can't seem to not offend her, but he doesn't give up. I love a fighter! :) ⁠
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Its an excellent daytime read with engaging prose and some light romance with savory slow burn that morphs into a will they/wont they struggle. ⁠
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❤️‍🔥 1 open door and 1 closed door scene, otherwise its all sap and romance and angst. ⁠

Dark Fairytales for the Unloved: Volume 1 by Stacey LP, Loren Sorensen, Amity Grey, Nova B. Quinn, RubyAnn Stiegelmeier, S.D. Paine, Marianne Grey, Grace Vice, Memo Rable, Hannah Gardener, Ellen Winter, Alex UpChurch, Gareth Ian Davies, Mehdi Fakhrahmad
Did not finish book. Stopped at 50%.

It was hard for me to get through the book, i ended up just not finishing it. The stories were ok, but they were kind of varying qualities so it felt very jarring from one story to the next. Here are the notes from the stories I did read: 

A collection of fairy tales by an anthology of authors delving into the shadows of the stories we thought we knew. 

 

Requiem 

This was a short story told from the perspective of a survivor of mistreatment, whom she ultimately kills in retribution. The story was a little confusing for me, it got a little confusing who was “you” and “me” (as it seemed like the perspective was changing even if the tone wasn’t?) and with all the pronouns, the lack of names just adds to the confusion. It seems like excerpts from a tortured person’s journal moments before they get their vengeance, like a thinner less gorey version of “I spit on your Grave”. 

 

Nourishment 

This was a retelling of “the elves and the shoemaker” which I recognized from the loose premise, but unlike that story this one does not have a concrete ending. Or maybe I was too obtuse to see it, in fact I was only able to piece together the ending by consulting the content warnings. The writing was good but it was too porous - this definitely should be a regular length story. 

 

The Pale Mother 

An atypical looking woman at the edge of the village is declared informally a witch by the people and so her and her family are outcasts. The woman eventually dies, and then the focus which is to a husband, wife and child. They live on the edge of the village close to the woods. The child is enchanted into the woods and the mother and father pursue. Then it goes a little splatter punk and there’s a forced(?) sex and then the carnage. It ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, more so like this was a short story or a snippet with a larger story. 

 

The hours in between 

Celeste is the belle of the ball but she receives 2 dream-visits of a time-related ghost-spirit-thing telling her to be precious with her time. She doesnt heed the first time and continues her vapid life. Then she ages horribly and is alone and is visited again who which she accepts death then but is thrown back into her 20 year old body. Then she chooses different things and doesnt fear time, her reflection, or see the ghost-spirit-thing again. 

 

The blooming curse 

A very fast paced story of a curse on a village which results in false lore surrounding trapped souls which Eira, the protagonist, is the key to freeing them. Erik, who is a draugr, started to have sex with her to trap her soul but instead falls in “like”(?) with her and stops and brings her home to dad… there’s an evil witch deal thrown in. It felt like a lot crammed into a small space, I think this rolled out with more detail in longer content would be better. 

Dante’s Divine Comedy: A Graphic Adaptation by Seymour Chwast
Did not finish book. Stopped at 53%.

I lost interest while reading, it was basically an annotated version of Dante's Divine Comedy. It was like VERY SPARSE cliff notes with illustrations. i would have liked if it were updated a little more. 

Randall & Hudson: A M/m Humiliation Play Romance (Beautiful Shame Book 2) by M.A. Innes
Did not finish book. Stopped at 55%.

I just lost interest in the book after putting it down but I did jot down some notes when I was reading it..

Randall + Hudson

Randall aka Angel is the dirtier-than-his-angel-face twink and Hudson is the GQ looking Dom with his own moving business (read: “he has big muscles”). Randall wants to feel freedom and Hudson show him how submission will do just that.

Despite Randall being a very big fan of humiliation kink, he has intruding internal thoughts about the “right” and “wrong” of what he wants and what he’s doing, which would be appropriate for a literal virgin. But from the moment of their first interaction, its i-m-m-e-d-i-a-t-e chemistry. Hudson finds Randall “perfect” and does not have the same intruding thoughts as Randall.

Hudson’s thoughts are like a kindhearted predator in how he’s trying to figure out how Randall ticks, but for his pleasure and Angel’s. All of Hudson’s affection and appreciation for him as a person (and a slut in the bedroom) is a key component to the overall positive [safe sane consensual] sexual messaging of Hudson’s character. He also comes from an accepting family which is supportive of his healthy regard and relationship with sex.

Through the narration of Randall/Angel the reader is shown the insecurity, shame, and inexperience of a repressive upbringing/family in throes of shocked desire and denial. And through Hudson the reader is able to see healthy balanced sexual behavior, plus “learn” about the norms of a Dom-Sub with humiliation-kinky play in their unorthodoxly sweet and not in any way shameful relationship (at least, as much as one can from a fictional book).