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bizknitsbooks's reviews
102 reviews
These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong
4.0
I listened to the audio book, which I feel always needs to be clarified because it IS a different experience.
This book was a pleasure to listen to. The writing is beautiful. The detail included and descriptions are so well done that it feels like you are there with them, immersed in the story.
I can appreciate the complexities of the Romeo and Juliet familial loyalty, blood fued stuff but some of the secondary characters (Tyler, Kathleen, etc.) could have used some more depth or had more character information. At least I wanted more than the somewhat vague info that was provided on them. I also am not sure how to feel about/what to make of the fantastical part of the plot about the monster, like it felt very out of place with the rest of the story.
Other than that element being the main reason for my 4 stars, this book is a work of art and I AM excited to read the next book. I'm a sucker for a good love story, especially along the lines of forbidden love. The book left off on such a cliffhanger and I can't wait to see what happens next.
This book was a pleasure to listen to. The writing is beautiful. The detail included and descriptions are so well done that it feels like you are there with them, immersed in the story.
I can appreciate the complexities of the Romeo and Juliet familial loyalty, blood fued stuff but some of the secondary characters (Tyler, Kathleen, etc.) could have used some more depth or had more character information. At least I wanted more than the somewhat vague info that was provided on them. I also am not sure how to feel about/what to make of the fantastical part of the plot about the monster, like it felt very out of place with the rest of the story.
Other than that element being the main reason for my 4 stars, this book is a work of art and I AM excited to read the next book. I'm a sucker for a good love story, especially along the lines of forbidden love. The book left off on such a cliffhanger and I can't wait to see what happens next.
Meant to Be Immortal by Lynsay Sands
1.0
*CW: Police brutality, violence against POC*
Okay, I have read all the preceeding books and typically enjoy this series as a light read that I can crush in a couple days. I know that the Argeneau novels are what they are. I understand they aren't meant to be great books, or socially/culturally accurate for the most part. But I'm growing less and less impressed with these books, hence the 1 star (which I don't want to give but it's honest).
You can still have trashy romance AND create a plot that is representative of the time we live in without doing it half assed. Like, do a little research before including police brutality in your story. Don't write characters relating to this part of the story in a suggestive way that leads the reader to assume they are POC WITHOUT ACTUALLY SAYING IT. Straight up say they are Black or non Black POC and move on with respect. Dancing around the issue only perpetuates stereotypes and does more harm than good. I get that people don't want their leisurely reading to get political, that's fine, BUT DON'T INCLUDE ELEMENTS OF CURRENT EVENTS AND TRIGGERING CONTENT IF YOU AREN'T GOING TO DO IT RIGHT OR RESPECTFULLY. End of discussion. Obviously I don't start these books expecting great quality writing, but even this one was a huge turn off.
Also, we are 32 books in. Do we really need an internal discussion on the explanation of nanos/immortals in every book?! Especially when there are barely descriptions about the MCs? Come on. The intimacy and life mate stuff is pretty much the same old song and dance which is fine, that part is expected at this point. However, due to the aforementioned this might be the last Argeneau novel I read. I'm pretty mad about this one.
Okay, I have read all the preceeding books and typically enjoy this series as a light read that I can crush in a couple days. I know that the Argeneau novels are what they are. I understand they aren't meant to be great books, or socially/culturally accurate for the most part. But I'm growing less and less impressed with these books, hence the 1 star (which I don't want to give but it's honest).
You can still have trashy romance AND create a plot that is representative of the time we live in without doing it half assed. Like, do a little research before including police brutality in your story. Don't write characters relating to this part of the story in a suggestive way that leads the reader to assume they are POC WITHOUT ACTUALLY SAYING IT. Straight up say they are Black or non Black POC and move on with respect. Dancing around the issue only perpetuates stereotypes and does more harm than good. I get that people don't want their leisurely reading to get political, that's fine, BUT DON'T INCLUDE ELEMENTS OF CURRENT EVENTS AND TRIGGERING CONTENT IF YOU AREN'T GOING TO DO IT RIGHT OR RESPECTFULLY. End of discussion. Obviously I don't start these books expecting great quality writing, but even this one was a huge turn off.
Also, we are 32 books in. Do we really need an internal discussion on the explanation of nanos/immortals in every book?! Especially when there are barely descriptions about the MCs? Come on. The intimacy and life mate stuff is pretty much the same old song and dance which is fine, that part is expected at this point. However, due to the aforementioned this might be the last Argeneau novel I read. I'm pretty mad about this one.
Sacrifice by Katee Robert
4.0
For the length and nature of this one it was pretty good. I do love Katee Robert's books, so that may be biased of me. I do think everything happened very fast and some things were very rushed, but again for the length it was done well enough. I totally understand that these books aren't supposed to be plot heavy but I did enjoy the story. I am a sucker *hehe* for vampire erotica so I very much enjoyed the level and brand of spice, no matter how depraved that makes me