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chrysfey's reviews
666 reviews
Girls Weekend by C.M. Nascosta
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
3.0
I had a fun time reading this story. I enjoyed the characters and pairings of Lurielle and Khash, and Silva and Tate. Lurielle is a curvy girl with insecurities and is super relatable. Khash is the sweetest heartthrob of an orc. Silva is struggling with what's expected of her and doing what she truly wants, be who she truly wants to be. Tate is a mysterious, "dangerous" (although I'm not convinced) part-orc character. I will read Book 2 because I really want to find out what happens with Silva and Tate.
With that said, there are some things that I did not enjoy as much:
1. My biggest critique is that Ris is an unnecessary character. Her main purpose was that she was the one who planned the trip to the resort with Lurielle (and they sort of tricked Silva into going). Now, I did not count, but her pages were far and few between. It feels like she had ten or less pages in her point-of-view throughout the entire story. She does not have any sort of storyline what-so-ever. This story would've held up just fine if Lurielle and Silva had been the two female characters who went to the resort together. Then Ris could've come along in Book 2 on their second trip, and the orc she passes on the sidewalk for a brief moment in one scene could've been saved for Book 2, as well. Because of this, I'm not interested in Ris at all. That may change while I read Book 2, because it seems her story actually begins there, but we will see. (One whole star removed.)
2. Then there was the fact that I never knew whose POV we were in. I started skimming to find the character's name before reading the next part. A reader shouldn't have to do that. If the character's name isn't used as a chapter title or scene break heading, then the character's name should be within the first sentence to prevent confusion. And apparently this is the case for Book 2, according to other reviews. (1/2 star removed)
2. (SPOILERS) The girls are super excited to go to this resort and have some fun times with orcs, and yet, none of them, not even Ris (who is far more adventurous than the other two), share their experiences with each other. They don't talk about what they did the night before or who they met. I didn't understand that at all. Why the secrecy? Why all of a sudden close-lipped? Why didn't any of them ASK each other what was going on when they saw the other dressed up and leaving to go somewhere else, or coming back to her room super late, or looking like something was very wrong with their friend? I expected them to get each other to spill on their drive home, but they don't even talk then. Nor do they share a word in the MONTHS following their vacation. None of that made sense to me. Even with Silva and the mysteriousness around what she had with Tate, she only hints at something in the last few pages, and it's not even her but Khash who reveals to Lurielle that the orc she was talking about was Tate. (1/2 star removed)
3. This leads off my previous point. There's no girls' time during this girls' weekend. I know they went with a specific goal...to get laid by orcs, but I was hoping for more fun amongst friends. The morning when they get drunk on champagne is the most we get of these three friends/coworkers together. The brief meals they share when they're all distracted don't really count. They could've spent more time together during the day before their nighttime fun in order to cement their friendships. (1/4 star removed, but because I did enjoy the story to a degree, I rounded the star rating back up to 3)
With that said, there are some things that I did not enjoy as much:
1. My biggest critique is that Ris is an unnecessary character. Her main purpose was that she was the one who planned the trip to the resort with Lurielle (and they sort of tricked Silva into going). Now, I did not count, but her pages were far and few between. It feels like she had ten or less pages in her point-of-view throughout the entire story. She does not have any sort of storyline what-so-ever. This story would've held up just fine if Lurielle and Silva had been the two female characters who went to the resort together. Then Ris could've come along in Book 2 on their second trip, and the orc she passes on the sidewalk for a brief moment in one scene could've been saved for Book 2, as well. Because of this, I'm not interested in Ris at all. That may change while I read Book 2, because it seems her story actually begins there, but we will see. (One whole star removed.)
2. Then there was the fact that I never knew whose POV we were in. I started skimming to find the character's name before reading the next part. A reader shouldn't have to do that. If the character's name isn't used as a chapter title or scene break heading, then the character's name should be within the first sentence to prevent confusion. And apparently this is the case for Book 2, according to other reviews. (1/2 star removed)
2. (SPOILERS) The girls are super excited to go to this resort and have some fun times with orcs, and yet, none of them, not even Ris (who is far more adventurous than the other two), share their experiences with each other. They don't talk about what they did the night before or who they met. I didn't understand that at all. Why the secrecy? Why all of a sudden close-lipped? Why didn't any of them ASK each other what was going on when they saw the other dressed up and leaving to go somewhere else, or coming back to her room super late, or looking like something was very wrong with their friend? I expected them to get each other to spill on their drive home, but they don't even talk then. Nor do they share a word in the MONTHS following their vacation. None of that made sense to me. Even with Silva and the mysteriousness around what she had with Tate, she only hints at something in the last few pages, and it's not even her but Khash who reveals to Lurielle that the orc she was talking about was Tate. (1/2 star removed)
3. This leads off my previous point. There's no girls' time during this girls' weekend. I know they went with a specific goal...to get laid by orcs, but I was hoping for more fun amongst friends. The morning when they get drunk on champagne is the most we get of these three friends/coworkers together. The brief meals they share when they're all distracted don't really count. They could've spent more time together during the day before their nighttime fun in order to cement their friendships. (1/4 star removed, but because I did enjoy the story to a degree, I rounded the star rating back up to 3)
The Woman in Me by Britney Spears
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
5.0
I finally finished reading Britney’s book. I’ve been reading it off and on while at work. If you are (or ever were) a Britney fan, was curious about the conservatorship, ever used the hashtag FreeBritney (I did), saw any of her IG posts and wondered about her, I recommend that you read her book. What everyone did to her is heartbreaking. I mean…this was Britney-effing-Spears. They never should’ve had the power that they did. Britney is stronger than any of us could ever imagine. 🌹 🌹🌹🌹
How To Marry A Marble Marquis by C.M. Nascosta
3.0
My first monster romance read. I’ve been lurking among the monster romance Instagram for a couple of years now, maybe longer. It’s been fascinating to say the least. lol C.M Nascosta was one of the first monster romance authors I followed after seeing so many readers raving about orcs and becoming obsessed.
I read this book quickly and enjoyed it. I haven’t felt that in a while…wanting to ignore everything and just read. It was nice.
I enjoyed the character of Silas, the marble marquise. He’s devilish and charming at the same time, and he knows it. He agrees to help Eleanor line up a future husband at the Monsters Ball as her last resort to provide for her family. Lessons on seduction are involved. Very intimate, in-depth lessons. Things get messy, because of course they do. And not just figuratively but actually when the characters get very…um…messy in one specific scene. (The one thing I did not like about him was that he does have s e x with someone else at some point.)
The lessons were detailed and fun and 🥵, making you want to skip ahead to each one. I wish there had been a little more between each lesson, though, to truly show Eleanor and Silas bonding. I also wanted more near the end, like the days leading up to the Monsters Ball. It was too rushed for me. We were given snapshots when I would’ve personally preferred to experience those moments fully.
The actual Monsters Ball was fun, as well as the conclusion, even the final sentence, and, yes, that epilogue…because I hoped Eleanor wouldn’t have offended him by not doing it. IYKYK 😘
There were some errors throughout, like spelling errors (even the FMC’s name near the end was spelled as Elanor) and dropped/missing words that unfortunately kept taking me out of the moment because I’d have to read the sentence again a couple of times. As an ex-editor and a writer, I couldn’t shake it, but that’s just me.
Originally 3.75 stars but lowered to 3 after some thought.
Originally 3.75 stars but lowered to 3 after some thought.