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aislinghelen's reviews
843 reviews
The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic by Breanne Randall
Did not finish book. Stopped at 32%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 32%.
Grimm County Haven by Cora Day
Did not finish book. Stopped at 20%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 20%.
I can only suspend my disbelief so far. There is no way this man went from “fan girls are everywhere, pretend to be on duty so I can escape” to “omg i’m on a date with a fan girl”. And I wish I could say there was no way I would believe her naivety and quite honestly childish nature but I can believe it and I hate it.
“She knew she should let go. She was already pushing it by being with him. Dangerous people were looking for her, and it wasn’t fair to drag anyone else into that. But she had loved Christian from afar for so long, and here he was in the flesh, taking her on a date (because it was a date!), and now he was holding her hand.”
“She knew she should let go. She was already pushing it by being with him. Dangerous people were looking for her, and it wasn’t fair to drag anyone else into that. But she had loved Christian from afar for so long, and here he was in the flesh, taking her on a date (because it was a date!), and now he was holding her hand.”
Rewrite Our Story by Kat Singleton
Did not finish book. Stopped at 72%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 72%.
Genuinely why does this have good ratings? Cade is an irredeemable asshole. The whole thing was just him being an asshole and gaslighting her because she left to go to college and never came back BECAUSE he told her to leave and he didn’t love her. He is not good at all.
A Date with the Mountain Man by Hallie Bennett, Hallie Bennett
Did not finish book. Stopped at 40%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 40%.
I wasn’t loving it because there was quite a few Harry Potter references and I can’t stand TERFy McTERFerson and the relationship was waaay too fast for me. They went on one date and suddenly she was daydreaming about a proposal. I gave up for good when he is talking to his friend at the bar about how it’s hard to find a good women and apparently his friend has scars and women are “superficial bitches”. So, that’s nice.
Blood Queen by Caitlin Denman
Did not finish book.
Did not finish book.
I can’t finish this. This book has so much misogyny in it that I am worried for the author. Her opinions on sex work, the not so subtle slut shaming and “dominant man in bed” at the start are just some of it. I love some degradation and dominance in books but this isn’t giving that.The first sex scene feels like its going to end in abuse, he’s being ‘dominant’ but in a way that makes me think this author has never read about or experience safe BDSM practices. Everyone, including Rune, also slut shame Layla for sleeping with Rune prior to them meeting each other, when she’s the queen rather than the night before when she’s disguised. But no one has any issue with him sleeping with her the day before they meet.
I want to go slightly more in depth on my issues with the way sex work and sex workers are described and discussed in this book. I have studied this heavily as part of my criminology degree. She talks about the women “selling their bodies” due to addiction and trying to eradicate the profession through social welfare programmes (painting her as some kind of saint or something, a common theme in this book). Both these ideas are very wrong. Sex work may sometimes be a result of trafficking but not generally. It is a real and chosen profession done by many, not just women. While there are issues with sex work and treatment of sex workers many of these are actually due to the criminalisation and stigmatisation of it! This view of sex work is incredibly misogynistic, basically saying that all sex workers are brainwashed and not listening to the people doing sex work who almost entirely disagree. If you have heard of TERFs there are also SWERFs, none of which are actually feminists but this gives you an idea of how gross this view is.
I also have a problem with the inconsistency in the characters. Layla, the blood queen, and Rune are both so different from page to page and when you compare their actions to their words. This is trying so hard to paint the queen as a gracious and kind leader, like moving the servants to guest quarters that are fancy rather than the cold servant ones. But it’s so inconsistent with how she talks about everything else that it just feels false. She’s also meant to be 28 but reads as early 20s at most.
There was very little about this book that is good, maybe there is more later on but I will not be finding out.
I want to go slightly more in depth on my issues with the way sex work and sex workers are described and discussed in this book. I have studied this heavily as part of my criminology degree. She talks about the women “selling their bodies” due to addiction and trying to eradicate the profession through social welfare programmes (painting her as some kind of saint or something, a common theme in this book). Both these ideas are very wrong. Sex work may sometimes be a result of trafficking but not generally. It is a real and chosen profession done by many, not just women. While there are issues with sex work and treatment of sex workers many of these are actually due to the criminalisation and stigmatisation of it! This view of sex work is incredibly misogynistic, basically saying that all sex workers are brainwashed and not listening to the people doing sex work who almost entirely disagree. If you have heard of TERFs there are also SWERFs, none of which are actually feminists but this gives you an idea of how gross this view is.
I also have a problem with the inconsistency in the characters. Layla, the blood queen, and Rune are both so different from page to page and when you compare their actions to their words. This is trying so hard to paint the queen as a gracious and kind leader, like moving the servants to guest quarters that are fancy rather than the cold servant ones. But it’s so inconsistent with how she talks about everything else that it just feels false. She’s also meant to be 28 but reads as early 20s at most.
There was very little about this book that is good, maybe there is more later on but I will not be finding out.
The Gargoyle's Captive by Katee Robert
Did not finish book. Stopped at 55%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 55%.
I don’t enjoy books where the woman is the dominant one and this is that. Love the premise but just not for me. Will continue the series
Savage Vandal by Heather Long
Did not finish book. Stopped at 53%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 53%.
couldn’t get into it enough to commit to reading that many books
Come as You Are: The Surprising New Science that Will Transform Your Sex Life by Emily Nagoski
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
This was incredibly well written, it’s understandable to a general audience, helpful and at points very relatable. I love that it was told with anecdotes as well as science and wasn’t just all about sex but general things to help.
I think this is a must read for everyone but especially women. It deals with myths about sexuality, gender, how deal with stress, stress in general, relationships (romantic, sexual, friendships and with your self and your body).
I think this is a must read for everyone but especially women. It deals with myths about sexuality, gender, how deal with stress, stress in general, relationships (romantic, sexual, friendships and with your self and your body).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Sexual assault
Beastly & Bookish by Catrina Bell
Did not finish book. Stopped at 43%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 43%.
Just a bit too slow for me. It felt like nothing was happening and I didn’t feel any connection to the characters