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buffyreads's reviews
532 reviews
Fire in His Blood by Ruby Dixon
2.0
The Good
There is actually a lot of interesting world-building for a dragon romance book and it made me more invested in the story. Claudia is the most reasonable female lead I've seen in a shifter/paranormal romance like this. She isn't automatically cool with it and still has her own desires and life she wants to get back to. Her fears are completely rational but she's also trying her best to adapt. (See the next section for how this changes) Kael is also great! He is fighting the madness and is trying his best to understand Claudia. He's patient and mischievous which was cute to see. I like that the fated mates this time is not automatically mutual and took more time. I reminded me of the first Ice Planet Barbarian book which is my favorite.
The Bad
I understand the militia is desperate but why would they think Claudia if chosen by the dragon would protect their fort like the other woman... They left her to die. Also Fated mates... Again. Ruby Dixon loves this trope so much and at this point I must begrudgingly love it to or something because it makes me roll my eyes but I read anyways. By the 50% mark the story stalls. I appreciate the introduction to more of her life at the fort but I feel like Dixon sometimes reiterates the same talking points over and over. We know her sister sells herself, we know her other sister has a limp and needs to be taken care, we know the militia treats women poorly. The first part of the book set all these things up and were covered. Why does she need to go over these all again Towards the end of the book I started to dislike Claudia. She went through all that to "save" her friend and sister from the men at the Fort only to then have them forced to mate dragons for the same reason. She is essentially doing the same thing that was done to her but saying "Well I like Kael now so they will too probably." Her motivation is so different from the beginning it makes no sense. Why save them to begin with! For her own selfish reasons of course to make herself feel better.
The Rating
I give this book a2/5
There is actually a lot of interesting world-building for a dragon romance book and it made me more invested in the story. Claudia is the most reasonable female lead I've seen in a shifter/paranormal romance like this. She isn't automatically cool with it and still has her own desires and life she wants to get back to. Her fears are completely rational but she's also trying her best to adapt. (See the next section for how this changes) Kael is also great! He is fighting the madness and is trying his best to understand Claudia. He's patient and mischievous which was cute to see. I like that the fated mates this time is not automatically mutual and took more time. I reminded me of the first Ice Planet Barbarian book which is my favorite.
The Bad
I understand the militia is desperate but why would they think Claudia if chosen by the dragon would protect their fort like the other woman... They left her to die. Also Fated mates... Again. Ruby Dixon loves this trope so much and at this point I must begrudgingly love it to or something because it makes me roll my eyes but I read anyways. By the 50% mark the story stalls. I appreciate the introduction to more of her life at the fort but I feel like Dixon sometimes reiterates the same talking points over and over. We know her sister sells herself, we know her other sister has a limp and needs to be taken care, we know the militia treats women poorly. The first part of the book set all these things up and were covered. Why does she need to go over these all again Towards the end of the book I started to dislike Claudia. She went through all that to "save" her friend and sister from the men at the Fort only to then have them forced to mate dragons for the same reason. She is essentially doing the same thing that was done to her but saying "Well I like Kael now so they will too probably." Her motivation is so different from the beginning it makes no sense. Why save them to begin with! For her own selfish reasons of course to make herself feel better.
The Rating
I give this book a2/5
Circe by Madeline Miller
4.0
Characters:
Circe at her core is desperately lonely and naive (in the beginning). I loved her development and coming into her own. Especially with her powers. I loved her rage at her life and men. I loved how she fought for every single thing she got. She wasn't anywhere near perfect and I really liked that aspect. This story didn't glorify her or make her into a hero. She felt like a person warped by trauma and immorality.
Plot:
I didn't know many stories of Circe from greek mythology and it was interesting to see them all woven together in some sort of chronological order. I loved the progression of her character as she ages. Knowing where everything was going didn't effect my desire to know how she got to that point. I loved the Odysseus slander as well.
Secret Sauce:
The prose and dialogue is so beautiful. It's amazing to read. Even moments you wish were less vivid were so graphic.
Circe Lovers Ranking: Telemachus > Daedalus > Odysseus > Hermes = Glaucas
Rating: I give this book a 4/5
Circe at her core is desperately lonely and naive (in the beginning). I loved her development and coming into her own. Especially with her powers. I loved her rage at her life and men. I loved how she fought for every single thing she got. She wasn't anywhere near perfect and I really liked that aspect. This story didn't glorify her or make her into a hero. She felt like a person warped by trauma and immorality.
Plot:
I didn't know many stories of Circe from greek mythology and it was interesting to see them all woven together in some sort of chronological order. I loved the progression of her character as she ages. Knowing where everything was going didn't effect my desire to know how she got to that point. I loved the Odysseus slander as well.
Secret Sauce:
The prose and dialogue is so beautiful. It's amazing to read. Even moments you wish were less vivid were so graphic.
Circe Lovers Ranking: Telemachus > Daedalus > Odysseus > Hermes = Glaucas
Rating: I give this book a 4/5
A Prince on Paper by Alyssa Cole
3.0
Characters:
Nya is shy, playful, sweet and genuine but holding a lot of trauma from the treatment and then arrest of her father. She is tired of being treated like a child. I liked that she was not made to forgive her father as sone novels push for but to reclaim her life. Johan is a not prince who put on a show of being an asshole playboy to protect his brother and himself. While I understood why he was the way he was it was I felt like he needed a good therapist rather than a girlfriend at times. Like even his brother wasn't allowed to truly understand him.
Plot:
The romance developed incredibly well. The dual pov was a must as we really understood why they liked then loved each other. Fake dating is a very popular overdone trope but here they are such good friends it still felt interesting. Family is also a central part of this story and letting go of control over others. I felt like the story dragged from the 60% onwards time as their relationship never progressed onward and their thoughts on it were the same over and over. And when they finally get together he gets mad about something so silly it baffled me. He needs a therapist like forereal.
Secret Sauce:
Nya and Johan felt like real fleshed out people and their chemistry was palpable.
Rating: I give this book a 3/5
Nya is shy, playful, sweet and genuine but holding a lot of trauma from the treatment and then arrest of her father. She is tired of being treated like a child. I liked that she was not made to forgive her father as sone novels push for but to reclaim her life. Johan is a not prince who put on a show of being an asshole playboy to protect his brother and himself. While I understood why he was the way he was it was I felt like he needed a good therapist rather than a girlfriend at times. Like even his brother wasn't allowed to truly understand him.
Plot:
The romance developed incredibly well. The dual pov was a must as we really understood why they liked then loved each other. Fake dating is a very popular overdone trope but here they are such good friends it still felt interesting. Family is also a central part of this story and letting go of control over others. I felt like the story dragged from the 60% onwards time as their relationship never progressed onward and their thoughts on it were the same over and over. And when they finally get together he gets mad about something so silly it baffled me. He needs a therapist like forereal.
Secret Sauce:
Nya and Johan felt like real fleshed out people and their chemistry was palpable.
Rating: I give this book a 3/5
The Bride Test by Helen Hoang
5.0
The Good
This book was incredible! I binged it through the night and picked it back up once I woke up. It was addictive and emotional in the best way. Arranged Marriage is my favorite trope and seeing a version of it in a contemporary novel makes me so happy. Khai was really interesting. I liked how the author included so many aspects of autism that other media usually leaves out like touch sensitivity and how they experience emotions differently. I loved Esme so much. She is a ray of sunshine but also has really deep emotions and love. I loved how hard she worked and how she did it for herself. She knew what she deserved and wanted to be happy and to love. Quan is the best ever. He is supportive, understanding and so sweet. The ending was perfect!
The Rating
I give this book a 5/5
This book was incredible! I binged it through the night and picked it back up once I woke up. It was addictive and emotional in the best way. Arranged Marriage is my favorite trope and seeing a version of it in a contemporary novel makes me so happy. Khai was really interesting. I liked how the author included so many aspects of autism that other media usually leaves out like touch sensitivity and how they experience emotions differently. I loved Esme so much. She is a ray of sunshine but also has really deep emotions and love. I loved how hard she worked and how she did it for herself. She knew what she deserved and wanted to be happy and to love. Quan is the best ever. He is supportive, understanding and so sweet. The ending was perfect!
The Rating
I give this book a 5/5
Sleepless Volume 2 by Sarah Vaughn
4.0
The Good
This story continued the fast pace of the first volume! The art was beautiful and the romance was subtle yet so sweet. The plot lines were wrapped up nicely.
The Bad
The shortness of this story does leave something to be desired. I didn't even remember who the character who was exposed to be the big villain was. The apology from the King also felt like a shift in personality. He would marry her to a man who tried to kill her because there wasn't enough evidence but suddenly lets her go now that he finds out the truth? It felt rushed.
Format:
Ebook — Libby
The Rating
I give this book a 4/5
This story continued the fast pace of the first volume! The art was beautiful and the romance was subtle yet so sweet. The plot lines were wrapped up nicely.
The Bad
The shortness of this story does leave something to be desired. I didn't even remember who the character who was exposed to be the big villain was. The apology from the King also felt like a shift in personality. He would marry her to a man who tried to kill her because there wasn't enough evidence but suddenly lets her go now that he finds out the truth? It felt rushed.
Format:
Ebook — Libby
The Rating
I give this book a 4/5
Can't Escape Love by Alyssa Cole
4.0
The Good
I loved both Reggie and Gus so much! I wish this was a full length book because they both were so interesting to read about and their relationship was so sweet and full of understanding. Two nerds in their own ways with their own differences falling in love.
The Bad
I really wish this was a full novel and not a novella because the dynamic between Reggie, her sister, and her family was super complex and I wish we got to see that more.
The Rating
I give this book a 4/5
I loved both Reggie and Gus so much! I wish this was a full length book because they both were so interesting to read about and their relationship was so sweet and full of understanding. Two nerds in their own ways with their own differences falling in love.
The Bad
I really wish this was a full novel and not a novella because the dynamic between Reggie, her sister, and her family was super complex and I wish we got to see that more.
The Rating
I give this book a 4/5
Party of Two by Jasmine Guillory
4.0
Characters:
Olivia is a lawyer, very confident and ambitious. A character trait she had that annoyed me is she constantly made assumptions about everything, and not based on people's actual behavior but her idea of them in her head. She got much better when her walls began to go down. Max is a US senator who is impulsive, empathetic, self-assured and a huge romantic. I loved how open and genuine he was. He wore his heart on his sleeve and loved wholeheartedly. He however is also incredibly impulsive and didn't think through his decisions and their effects on Olivia.
Plot:
This book focuses in their romance and connection so much through simply dating. It's super different from a lot of contemporary romance where people fall in love without dating at all. I loved seeing their feelings grow. I love that their conflict was realistic and not based on miscommunications or misunderstandings.
Secret Sauce:
I love that we see them actually dating and determining if they like each other. There's so much insta-love or insta-lust in other romance books that this stood out. Max is an incredible male lead I adore him.
Rating: I give this book a 4/5
Olivia is a lawyer, very confident and ambitious. A character trait she had that annoyed me is she constantly made assumptions about everything, and not based on people's actual behavior but her idea of them in her head. She got much better when her walls began to go down. Max is a US senator who is impulsive, empathetic, self-assured and a huge romantic. I loved how open and genuine he was. He wore his heart on his sleeve and loved wholeheartedly. He however is also incredibly impulsive and didn't think through his decisions and their effects on Olivia.
Plot:
This book focuses in their romance and connection so much through simply dating. It's super different from a lot of contemporary romance where people fall in love without dating at all. I loved seeing their feelings grow. I love that their conflict was realistic and not based on miscommunications or misunderstandings.
Secret Sauce:
I love that we see them actually dating and determining if they like each other. There's so much insta-love or insta-lust in other romance books that this stood out. Max is an incredible male lead I adore him.
Rating: I give this book a 4/5