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hannahslit's reviews
25 reviews
Destroy The Pretty: Interracial Dark Romance by Garnell Wallace, Garnell Wallace
Did not finish book.
Did not finish book.
The writing in ‘Destroy the pretty’ was simply not good. Weak characterisation and random info dumping, plus odd sections written in italics that was meant to signify a dream sequence? Idk. Skipped pages to see if the book got any better and was not prepared to read (TRIGGER WARNING) a r*pe scene where the female protagonist r*pes the male protagonist MULTIPLE TIMES whilst he is asleep and knocked out from pain medication. Surprised to see only one other review condemning this behaviour or mentioning that it occurs at all. Really horrible to read and completely unnecessary. This book shouldn’t be classified as a romance. Permanently deleted this off my kindle and will not be reading this author again.
The Librarian by Lena Little
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
This was a really short read and was designed that way, but I would’ve liked it to have a bit more padding, not in terms of length because I believe you can still communicate what you need to with a short story, but in substance. I liked that Jacob’s occupation was a hot librarian. Jenna was a nice enough heroine, however I didn’t find Jacob’s borderline stalkerish behaviour endearing (though from the amount of his dialogue that is highlighted, many others did). This read like someone writing out a fantasy. I didn’t connect with Jacob as a character as I felt that he was written like someone’s (misogynistic) fantasy rather than a character with his own motivations and personality. Things moved super fast too-proposing after a one night stand? I understand the length is short but this just felt very unrealistic. Not for me, though I can see why it would be someone else’s cup of tea.
Prince of the Brotherhood by K. Alex Walker
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I started reading Prince Of The Brotherhood a year ago (March 2023), paused on reading then picked it up from the start on 12th March 2024. It grips you pretty much from the start and a large part of that is down to Eija’s badassery. As a character, I’d say she’s my favourite part of this book. She’s fun, she’s sexy, she’s smart, she’s witty, she’s hard working and hard loving. I really enjoyed seeing a Black woman as a secret spy, especially one whose gargantuan responsibility doesn’t come at the expense of her enjoying herself. The cast of side characters (Russian bodyguard and soap opera enthusiast Gideon, stoic security guard Pavel, man whore partner with a heart Colin, big, bad wolf Yuri) were well written and not just background pieces to move the plot along. Thats why the way Dominik or ‘Dom’ was written confused me because he was rather two dimensional. He felt very much like a man written by a woman in that I could hear the female writers voice prominently saying everything a woman would want to hear rather than his own unique voice. I get that she wanted to drive home the fantasy of a big, strong, dangerous man being obsessed and easily swayed by his woman, but I found it textbook saccharine rather than genuine.
As a result I didn’t get a sense of who he was and it made it difficult for me to root for him beyond his association with Eija. Also I’m not a fan of the whole “I’ll kill anyone who even looks in your direction” kinda vibe and found it odd that Eija was? Like this is supposed to be an ultra intelligent super spy who should be cringing at that behaviour rather than finding it hot.
I found parts of this repetitive, in particular the constant inner monologue worrying over a secret that I assumed was their true identities being revealed to each other but was actually (on Eija’s part) a secret baby. That secret baby came out of NO WHERE and gagged me a lil bit because I was not expecting it (SPOILER: mind you, I guessed early on that Randy had closer ties to the Bratva than he was letting on and I was right). The secret baby element revived the story for me because I’d begun to feel like it was dragging, though I think there could have been a bit more clue sprinkling on the run up to the reveal because it very much came out of nowhere and confused me a little. I appreciated the authors research and how she could’ve tied up the story after (SPOILER) Dom and Randy’s familial connection was revealed but chose to give us a bit more action and the realism of the surviving members of the Bratva that would still be wondering what happened to ‘The Prince’ and ‘Miss K’.
K Alex Walker clearly did her research and not only did I feel like I was in the places and locations she described, everything was seamlessly woven into the story. I liked that as a reader I was taken on a physical journey (From Grenada in the Caribbean, to Lyon in France, to Russia, to London) and I actually felt like I’d visited those places.
A lot of effort and energy was put into the plot and characters and I could FEEL that, which I really appreciated. I could definitely see this as a TV show and am intrigued by the other books in the series/by this author.
As a result I didn’t get a sense of who he was and it made it difficult for me to root for him beyond his association with Eija. Also I’m not a fan of the whole “I’ll kill anyone who even looks in your direction” kinda vibe and found it odd that Eija was? Like this is supposed to be an ultra intelligent super spy who should be cringing at that behaviour rather than finding it hot.
I found parts of this repetitive, in particular the constant inner monologue worrying over a secret that I assumed was their true identities being revealed to each other but was actually (on Eija’s part) a secret baby. That secret baby came out of NO WHERE and gagged me a lil bit because I was not expecting it (SPOILER: mind you, I guessed early on that Randy had closer ties to the Bratva than he was letting on and I was right). The secret baby element revived the story for me because I’d begun to feel like it was dragging, though I think there could have been a bit more clue sprinkling on the run up to the reveal because it very much came out of nowhere and confused me a little. I appreciated the authors research and how she could’ve tied up the story after (SPOILER) Dom and Randy’s familial connection was revealed but chose to give us a bit more action and the realism of the surviving members of the Bratva that would still be wondering what happened to ‘The Prince’ and ‘Miss K’.
K Alex Walker clearly did her research and not only did I feel like I was in the places and locations she described, everything was seamlessly woven into the story. I liked that as a reader I was taken on a physical journey (From Grenada in the Caribbean, to Lyon in France, to Russia, to London) and I actually felt like I’d visited those places.
A lot of effort and energy was put into the plot and characters and I could FEEL that, which I really appreciated. I could definitely see this as a TV show and am intrigued by the other books in the series/by this author.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Trafficking, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Death of parent
Unhinged by Vera Valentine
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I came across this author and book by accident when trying to see which Chuck Tingle book people on Reddit recommended be read first. An old post, rather than answering the question, suggested this book instead, and I’m glad they did. Once I found out ‘Unhinged’ (perfect title btw) was about a sentient door in love with the human woman whose apartment he ‘protects’, I was all ears (and eyes).
The story is narrated by The Door, so we see everything from his point of view, which is so unique and works really well I think. It also means we don’t know much about Tana other than the things Drys (aka The Door) sees; her love of detective shows, the ice cream she eats to make herself feel better during her depressive episodes, the way she uses her “shivering blue stick” (I really love this joke) to give herself pleasure.
Weirdly, though I was curious to know things like Tana’s job, why she had moved to the apartment, her friends and family etc, I found myself accepting the mystery of her, perhaps because Drys, the narrator, had so willingly done the same. The short length of the book also made me more understanding to the author not needing to delve as deep as you may be required with a full length.
The danger to life element/threat of a murderous landlord gave the story a much needed edge and was a good plot driver, though at times I felt the landlords portrayal to be cartoonishly evil.
(SPOILER)
I thought adding the gods element to explain Drys being sentient was smart (also enjoyed Zeus’ cameo lmao), along with communicating with Tana through her dreams. I’m also realising whilst writing this review that Tana hinted at being more ‘kinky’ than she first thought by even agreeing to have sex with her front door, and this is later seen in her taking the lead sexually.
I kind of wanted to know what they looked like a bit more for my own personal visuals. I felt like it was hinted at (Drys saying Tana’s skin was closer to the original colour of his oak, if oak is a brown shade does this mean she’s Black or Mixed or simply has a tan?) but not explored. Maybe Drys could’ve had a scene where he looked in the mirror so that the readers could see a visual of him as a human too.
The way Valentine tied Drys need to protect and serve Tana into Tana awakening a sub kink in him was genius and I loved that. Tana being a dom was unexpected but appreciated! The sex between them was hot and I believed their chemistry. There were a few editing issues (e.g. when tenses would slip and Drys, who was our acting narrator would accidentally refer to himself in the third person) but otherwise this was a really original, sexy novelette and I REALLY enjoyed it.
P.S. I thought it was quite a cool touch that Drys turns into a door every full moon and only Tana’s “magic pussy” can bring him back to life. It’s an homage to myths and fairytales which fits with Drys’ existence.
The story is narrated by The Door, so we see everything from his point of view, which is so unique and works really well I think. It also means we don’t know much about Tana other than the things Drys (aka The Door) sees; her love of detective shows, the ice cream she eats to make herself feel better during her depressive episodes, the way she uses her “shivering blue stick” (I really love this joke) to give herself pleasure.
Weirdly, though I was curious to know things like Tana’s job, why she had moved to the apartment, her friends and family etc, I found myself accepting the mystery of her, perhaps because Drys, the narrator, had so willingly done the same. The short length of the book also made me more understanding to the author not needing to delve as deep as you may be required with a full length.
The danger to life element/threat of a murderous landlord gave the story a much needed edge and was a good plot driver, though at times I felt the landlords portrayal to be cartoonishly evil.
(SPOILER)
I thought adding the gods element to explain Drys being sentient was smart (also enjoyed Zeus’ cameo lmao), along with communicating with Tana through her dreams. I’m also realising whilst writing this review that Tana hinted at being more ‘kinky’ than she first thought by even agreeing to have sex with her front door, and this is later seen in her taking the lead sexually.
I kind of wanted to know what they looked like a bit more for my own personal visuals. I felt like it was hinted at (Drys saying Tana’s skin was closer to the original colour of his oak, if oak is a brown shade does this mean she’s Black or Mixed or simply has a tan?) but not explored. Maybe Drys could’ve had a scene where he looked in the mirror so that the readers could see a visual of him as a human too.
The way Valentine tied Drys need to protect and serve Tana into Tana awakening a sub kink in him was genius and I loved that. Tana being a dom was unexpected but appreciated! The sex between them was hot and I believed their chemistry. There were a few editing issues (e.g. when tenses would slip and Drys, who was our acting narrator would accidentally refer to himself in the third person) but otherwise this was a really original, sexy novelette and I REALLY enjoyed it.
P.S. I thought it was quite a cool touch that Drys turns into a door every full moon and only Tana’s “magic pussy” can bring him back to life. It’s an homage to myths and fairytales which fits with Drys’ existence.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence, Murder, Death, and Stalking
His to Own: 50 Loving States, Arkansas by Theodora Taylor
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Ok, so. I would say I have read most of this authors catalogue, bar a couple books. I knew of this book, but after looking at reviews decided I did not want to read a book with that premise. Fast forward to this year and I get a Goodreads update from a respected Black romance author reviewing the book. Her review and the review thread of other Black womens thoughts about the book intrigued me to read it for myself and see what the book I had avoided was about.
In short, they said the authors works, though well written and engaging, make them feel deeply uncomfortable as race is handled abysmally, and I agree with them. There was no reason why Mason needed to start the book as a white supremacist. No reason at all. He then goes on to BUY June from her evil ‘boyfriend’. Again, UNNECESSARY and especially bad considering our history. He couldn’t have just been a biker bad boy doing a guns deal that sees her and later that night, whilst everyone else is asleep, returns to rescue her? That couldn’t have been done? Him having that identity made no sense because he meets her and is pretty much cured of it. So what was the point? Also writing your male character to call the female character “chubby” and her saying she doesn’t like it and him ignoring that and saying he’s still going to call her that anyway…could he not have been written to compliment her normally? “I love your curves” would really have sufficed.
The other reviews also pointed out the sex was hot, and I concur. June and Mason had great chemistry and as far as the heroines of this author go, this is one of her best written. June, like the others, has been through unimaginable pain and horror (at the hand of a man), has custody of a child that is not hers but that she is still incredibly maternal to and finds herself rescued by a man who on paper is very dangerous because of his job and lifestyle, but is very sweet to her. June was super wary of Mason (with good freaking reason, the dude was a yt s*premacist) and made him work for her heart. I liked that she was soft but still a fighter. Also appreciate that their sex reflected those parts of themselves.
Weirdly, the characters weren’t the problem in this story; it was the author. That epilogue was wretched. This is another thing highlighted by the other reviews. Making yourself a character in your own book in this fashion was not only totally unnecessary, it took me out of the story, especially because it was right on the end of an extremely tense scene. This is a story from the authors back catalogue so hopefully she’s seen the reviews and thought about peoples valid critique.
In short, they said the authors works, though well written and engaging, make them feel deeply uncomfortable as race is handled abysmally, and I agree with them. There was no reason why Mason needed to start the book as a white supremacist. No reason at all. He then goes on to BUY June from her evil ‘boyfriend’. Again, UNNECESSARY and especially bad considering our history. He couldn’t have just been a biker bad boy doing a guns deal that sees her and later that night, whilst everyone else is asleep, returns to rescue her? That couldn’t have been done? Him having that identity made no sense because he meets her and is pretty much cured of it. So what was the point? Also writing your male character to call the female character “chubby” and her saying she doesn’t like it and him ignoring that and saying he’s still going to call her that anyway…could he not have been written to compliment her normally? “I love your curves” would really have sufficed.
The other reviews also pointed out the sex was hot, and I concur. June and Mason had great chemistry and as far as the heroines of this author go, this is one of her best written. June, like the others, has been through unimaginable pain and horror (at the hand of a man), has custody of a child that is not hers but that she is still incredibly maternal to and finds herself rescued by a man who on paper is very dangerous because of his job and lifestyle, but is very sweet to her. June was super wary of Mason (with good freaking reason, the dude was a yt s*premacist) and made him work for her heart. I liked that she was soft but still a fighter. Also appreciate that their sex reflected those parts of themselves.
Weirdly, the characters weren’t the problem in this story; it was the author. That epilogue was wretched. This is another thing highlighted by the other reviews. Making yourself a character in your own book in this fashion was not only totally unnecessary, it took me out of the story, especially because it was right on the end of an extremely tense scene. This is a story from the authors back catalogue so hopefully she’s seen the reviews and thought about peoples valid critique.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Torture, and Stalking
Moderate: Death of parent and Racial slurs
An Untitled Love by Olivia Gaines
lighthearted
fast-paced
2.5
I got this in the ‘stuff your kindle’ event in December. The concept of someone showing up and saying they wanted to be married to you thanks to a promise you made when they saved your life years earlier was silly and fun to me which is what drew me in at first.
There were a lot of attempts at humour however that didn’t really wash with me. For example, Jacquetta, the female MC, found it hilarious that she’d married into an ultra conservative family who were openly shocked at her being Black. Not to mention the male MC, Orlando, had put her in this position by not even telling his family this information. Jacquetta could do it all; cook, clean, paint, charm everyone in the neighbourhood. I liked the part of her personality that was a wealthy, well travelled artist with a kind spirit, I just didn’t love how I pretty much always saw her in service to others (this was not reciprocated. Instead we saw characters acceptance as a reward for her above and beyond behaviour). It was so bad that she told Orlando to give the money he’d saved for their honeymoon away to his parents so they could go on a retirement trip. Like girl, this is your HONEYMOON we’re talking about!
Orlando was not patient enough for my liking and way too much exclamation points were used whenever he spoke. Jacquetta communicating how much she’d struggled mentally after being kidnapped and trafficked during her time as a soldier abroad was not responded to with care and understanding (especially as he was in the army too! He should know how she feels or at the least, listen!) but with him moaning about how horny he was which was INFURIATING. He also kept bringing up that her night terrors had calmed since he slept in the same bed as her and comforted her which was like, ok? You are her husband, that is the least you can do?
I just remembered that Orlando’s dad called Jacquetta ‘Negro’ when they first met which is…yikes on a bike. She then had a thought that she was gonna show him because she was going to give birth to ‘mulatto babies’ and kept calling him ‘Dad’ just for his reaction because she knew her being Black frightened him. It’s really not my type of humour and since his family weren’t a source of conflict for the MCs (which I would not have liked to have read about either) did we as readers really need to see this?
[SPOILER] The conflict of Orlando lying about his reason behind wanting to marry Jacquetta was revealed with no prior warning, resolved way too quickly and the details behind it were fuzzy.
There were grammar mistakes and I felt the story and plot were underdeveloped as a whole. In terms of readability, it is easy to read and this may seem random but I really liked the names of the MCs. I think their names suited them so much. Lots I did not love about it but I still found it to be a light hearted read to start the year off.
There were a lot of attempts at humour however that didn’t really wash with me. For example, Jacquetta, the female MC, found it hilarious that she’d married into an ultra conservative family who were openly shocked at her being Black. Not to mention the male MC, Orlando, had put her in this position by not even telling his family this information. Jacquetta could do it all; cook, clean, paint, charm everyone in the neighbourhood. I liked the part of her personality that was a wealthy, well travelled artist with a kind spirit, I just didn’t love how I pretty much always saw her in service to others (this was not reciprocated. Instead we saw characters acceptance as a reward for her above and beyond behaviour). It was so bad that she told Orlando to give the money he’d saved for their honeymoon away to his parents so they could go on a retirement trip. Like girl, this is your HONEYMOON we’re talking about!
Orlando was not patient enough for my liking and way too much exclamation points were used whenever he spoke. Jacquetta communicating how much she’d struggled mentally after being kidnapped and trafficked during her time as a soldier abroad was not responded to with care and understanding (especially as he was in the army too! He should know how she feels or at the least, listen!) but with him moaning about how horny he was which was INFURIATING. He also kept bringing up that her night terrors had calmed since he slept in the same bed as her and comforted her which was like, ok? You are her husband, that is the least you can do?
I just remembered that Orlando’s dad called Jacquetta ‘Negro’ when they first met which is…yikes on a bike. She then had a thought that she was gonna show him because she was going to give birth to ‘mulatto babies’ and kept calling him ‘Dad’ just for his reaction because she knew her being Black frightened him. It’s really not my type of humour and since his family weren’t a source of conflict for the MCs (which I would not have liked to have read about either) did we as readers really need to see this?
[SPOILER] The conflict of Orlando lying about his reason behind wanting to marry Jacquetta was revealed with no prior warning, resolved way too quickly and the details behind it were fuzzy.
There were grammar mistakes and I felt the story and plot were underdeveloped as a whole. In terms of readability, it is easy to read and this may seem random but I really liked the names of the MCs. I think their names suited them so much. Lots I did not love about it but I still found it to be a light hearted read to start the year off.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Violence, Kidnapping, and Trafficking
Bargain with the Bear by Annalise Nixon
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
2.5
This book did interest me from the beginning, however I found myself confused for a lot of it. I think quite a bit of information was omitted or scenes could’ve been elaborated on (SPOILER: such as the death of the villain at the end). Alexander constantly testing Sherry and her falling for his mediocre apologies also PISSED me off. I didn’t particularly feel like his words matched his actions and to offer the excuse of ‘My Mum left when I was young so I don’t trust women’ was so played out even the character acknowledged it.
Sherry being able to talk to ghosts was only a thing for like the first half of the novel, then that power pretty much ceased to appear which made me wonder how relevant it really was? (SPOILER) A scene where she’s talking to the ghost of Alexander’s Mum and Jake, Alexander’s friend bursts in and puts his hands on her because he thinks she’s ’trying to play (his) friend’ was made even worse by Alexander scolding but then THANKING him for ‘looking out’ for him. Also Sherry was the vulnerable person there? She’d literally been bought at a human woman auction? (The horrible semantics of that were acknowledged). Who could she play? Sherry felt like the ‘strong Black woman’ stereotype too. Like, cut her a BREAK. The worldbuilding of human women being hot commodities for shifters as they tried to increase the dwindling number of shifter births was interesting but not fully expanded upon. I believe this was my first bear shifter romance, so that was different. I enjoyed the scene of Sherry interacting with Alexander’s bear interacting, however this was only one scene and much like Sherrys power of talking to the dead, I wondered how necessary his power was if we barely get to see it?
Sherry being able to talk to ghosts was only a thing for like the first half of the novel, then that power pretty much ceased to appear which made me wonder how relevant it really was? (SPOILER) A scene where she’s talking to the ghost of Alexander’s Mum and Jake, Alexander’s friend bursts in and puts his hands on her because he thinks she’s ’trying to play (his) friend’ was made even worse by Alexander scolding but then THANKING him for ‘looking out’ for him. Also Sherry was the vulnerable person there? She’d literally been bought at a human woman auction? (The horrible semantics of that were acknowledged). Who could she play? Sherry felt like the ‘strong Black woman’ stereotype too. Like, cut her a BREAK. The worldbuilding of human women being hot commodities for shifters as they tried to increase the dwindling number of shifter births was interesting but not fully expanded upon. I believe this was my first bear shifter romance, so that was different. I enjoyed the scene of Sherry interacting with Alexander’s bear interacting, however this was only one scene and much like Sherrys power of talking to the dead, I wondered how necessary his power was if we barely get to see it?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Trafficking, Violence, and Sexual harassment
Dirty Boss Games by Sedona Venez
Did not finish book. Stopped at 49%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 49%.
It started off promising with Jayla saying she couldn’t stop masturbating to her hot boss, Porter. However it quickly became tiresome to read. Jayla referred to herself as ‘exotic’ and kept expressing that despite the fact she is a beautiful woman, Porter would not be interested in her because she’s not “blonde and thin.” The characters self hate didn’t advance the story/wasn’t a plot point so why tf was it there? I don’t even like seeing it even if it is for the previous reasons mentioned. The ‘relationship’ if you can even call it that also happened very suddenly. There was no build up, no tease and the sex scenes weren’t even enough to entice me. The story could’ve done with character development and plot development. It wasn’t believable; these two who have previously had the most minor interaction are suddenly entering into a Dom/Sub relationship after their FIRST conversation? And the CEO is going public with her early on too? Make it make sense. The way Dom and Sub relationships were represented also felt disrespectful to the rules and care shown by that community. It was very slap dash and I did not want to continue reading. The reason I got to 49% was because I skipped ahead to see if it’d get better and it didn’t impress.
The Replacements by Shae Sanders
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I will start this review by saying The Replacements: A Grumpy Boss Romance was VERY easy to read. Shae Sanders is a very good writer. It was the reading equivalent of cutting through soft butter. I didn’t feel bogged down by information or bored, it had a nice flow to it.
Now for the characters. Mr Jackson was TOO assholey for me. It’s funny that alphaholes aren’t my thing, yet this is the second work place romance with an alphahole at the helm that I’ve read in a row. I must have a hankering for them for some secret reason/a desire that needs to be fulfilled, a bit like when people who swear they aren’t anaemic take an iron tablet and suddenly feel much better lmao.
Much like Savannah, I didn’t appreciate his hot and cold act, but I did appreciate how Sanders navigated it/used the twists and turns to create plot. Savannah was familiar as a heroine; a beautiful, curvy woman skilled in cooking, cleaning and running a home whose efforts go unappreciated by her foolish husband/boyfriend until she meets a man that is blown away by attributes that she sees as normal to her. More often than not, I felt that Taurus was getting the better end of the deal. She helped him reconnect with his brother, become more emotionally available for his daughter, brought him new business, became his business muse, helped him reach his milestone of a million in time for his fortieth birthday, cooked him lunch everyday (this was way before they were even sleeping together btw), took care of him when he was sick, put it on him in the bedroom (a mutual effort to be fair) etc. When he was tallying up what they do for each other in a speech about how much he loves her, her side was far longer than his which she seemed content with (I wasn’t). He, for his part, promised to provide financially, fucked her during a storm to help her get over her weatherphobia, supported her during her divorce trial and allowed her to take care of him because he knows it makes her feel good. At one point, Savannah literally pre pastes his toothpaste. Like GIRL. STAND UP.
It just felt unbalanced to me.
Sanders ideals about mens and womens roles definitely seeped through (which I think happens with a lot of writers anyway and especially in the romance space). I didn’t necessarily agree with all of these thoughts, however I was happy that both characters reached their respective goals; Taurus to hit a million by forty and the goal he never even knew he had, finding love and nurturing in love, and Savannah to find a new, rich, sexy husband to take care of her and to have a career that she was actually passionate about. That layer of the goal that the character is openly pursuing and the internal goal they may not share with anyone (except their significant other) or the goal they may not even know they want until they’re faced with it (such as unconditional love, security, stability etc) was done very well here. I do feel that the sex scenes weren’t terrible but were often lacking detail and felt glossed over. Like, tell me more! Don’t just tell me you gave the best blowjob of your life and not show me that shit!! There was a lot of humour in this story too, which I love. “You know what they say, closed mouths don’t get nutted in”, “You’re a fucking boss, Taurus. And do you know what bosses get to do? Bosses get to pressure wash my tonsils tonight” and “I'd forgotten how fun it could be to buy a man presents with his money” were personal favourites of mine.
I enjoyed this story and enjoyed reading it. I look forward to reading more of Ms Sanders work.
Now for the characters. Mr Jackson was TOO assholey for me. It’s funny that alphaholes aren’t my thing, yet this is the second work place romance with an alphahole at the helm that I’ve read in a row. I must have a hankering for them for some secret reason/a desire that needs to be fulfilled, a bit like when people who swear they aren’t anaemic take an iron tablet and suddenly feel much better lmao.
Much like Savannah, I didn’t appreciate his hot and cold act, but I did appreciate how Sanders navigated it/used the twists and turns to create plot. Savannah was familiar as a heroine; a beautiful, curvy woman skilled in cooking, cleaning and running a home whose efforts go unappreciated by her foolish husband/boyfriend until she meets a man that is blown away by attributes that she sees as normal to her. More often than not, I felt that Taurus was getting the better end of the deal. She helped him reconnect with his brother, become more emotionally available for his daughter, brought him new business, became his business muse, helped him reach his milestone of a million in time for his fortieth birthday, cooked him lunch everyday (this was way before they were even sleeping together btw), took care of him when he was sick, put it on him in the bedroom (a mutual effort to be fair) etc. When he was tallying up what they do for each other in a speech about how much he loves her, her side was far longer than his which she seemed content with (I wasn’t). He, for his part, promised to provide financially, fucked her during a storm to help her get over her weatherphobia, supported her during her divorce trial and allowed her to take care of him because he knows it makes her feel good. At one point, Savannah literally pre pastes his toothpaste. Like GIRL. STAND UP.
It just felt unbalanced to me.
Sanders ideals about mens and womens roles definitely seeped through (which I think happens with a lot of writers anyway and especially in the romance space). I didn’t necessarily agree with all of these thoughts, however I was happy that both characters reached their respective goals; Taurus to hit a million by forty and the goal he never even knew he had, finding love and nurturing in love, and Savannah to find a new, rich, sexy husband to take care of her and to have a career that she was actually passionate about. That layer of the goal that the character is openly pursuing and the internal goal they may not share with anyone (except their significant other) or the goal they may not even know they want until they’re faced with it (such as unconditional love, security, stability etc) was done very well here. I do feel that the sex scenes weren’t terrible but were often lacking detail and felt glossed over. Like, tell me more! Don’t just tell me you gave the best blowjob of your life and not show me that shit!! There was a lot of humour in this story too, which I love. “You know what they say, closed mouths don’t get nutted in”, “You’re a fucking boss, Taurus. And do you know what bosses get to do? Bosses get to pressure wash my tonsils tonight” and “I'd forgotten how fun it could be to buy a man presents with his money” were personal favourites of mine.
I enjoyed this story and enjoyed reading it. I look forward to reading more of Ms Sanders work.
Tempted by Danger by Endiya Carter
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
This is my first read from this author. I will say that the opening scenes dragged a lot, to the point where I did something I never do and skipped past pages until I got to a bit that looked juicy enough to slip back into the story. I think this story would have benefitted heavily from having overly long descriptions that did nothing to serve the story cut out. In contrast, scenes that should have had more detail/have been shown were glossed over and spoken about in the past tense. The reader was told the important scene happened but not actually shown it.
I’m not a fan of alphaholes, no matter how sad their start in life was. Dymon (or ‘Mr Dymon’ if you’re nasty, and I’m nasty) May have started out bad (idk, I skipped a lot of the early scenes but him calling her ‘Wendi’, the name she incorrectly introduced herself as because she was nervous was annoying) but him being so openly enamoured with her softened him for me. I didn’t love how Quinci would put words in his mouth, even going so far as telling him that even though he didn’t explicitly say he loved her she knew he did like girl where’s your street smarts/bad bitch gene??
I can’t review this book without talking about the sex, which was honestly the most incredible standout for me. Whew. WHEEEEEW. I haven’t read sex scenes like that in…well, ever. The dirty talk, the creativity, the in sync-ness, the describing AND doing…this is art. Ms. Carter is a freaky genius. I never got bored of their sex or felt like I’d read the scene just in different words. I actually looked forward to their sex scenes and felt that interestingly, it made me more attached to their characters when usually it’s the other way around and I’m already attached before they have sex. Those sex scenes are inspiring and MEMORABLE. I know Ms Carter’s pen was producing flames when she put it to the page. Also for what is essentially a millionaire romance, I felt the presence of money but didn’t necessarily feel it was overwhelming, which is wild because they were taking PJs and talking about net worth. It still felt kinda humble to me, which I actually liked. This is likely because of Quinci’s own humble ‘country’ ness. I really liked the set up of ‘Chokers’ the exclusive BDSM club of which ‘Mr Dymon’ was a member. Quinci getting invited as a sub and him paying half a million dollars ‘for this pussy’ was a great way to break the sexual tension between the characters and reveal their active interest in Dom/Sun relationships. I was with Mr Dymon when he kept saying Quinci’s ‘You paid half a million for this pussy!’ joke was running stale though. I also liked how Quinci had filled out a form expressing her ideal Dom and also what she was like as a sub, I thought that was a great touch.
All in all, I enjoyed this and found this a fun read. I’m interested in exploring the other books in Ms Carters catalogue.
I’m not a fan of alphaholes, no matter how sad their start in life was. Dymon (or ‘Mr Dymon’ if you’re nasty, and I’m nasty) May have started out bad (idk, I skipped a lot of the early scenes but him calling her ‘Wendi’, the name she incorrectly introduced herself as because she was nervous was annoying) but him being so openly enamoured with her softened him for me. I didn’t love how Quinci would put words in his mouth, even going so far as telling him that even though he didn’t explicitly say he loved her she knew he did like girl where’s your street smarts/bad bitch gene??
I can’t review this book without talking about the sex, which was honestly the most incredible standout for me. Whew. WHEEEEEW. I haven’t read sex scenes like that in…well, ever. The dirty talk, the creativity, the in sync-ness, the describing AND doing…this is art. Ms. Carter is a freaky genius. I never got bored of their sex or felt like I’d read the scene just in different words. I actually looked forward to their sex scenes and felt that interestingly, it made me more attached to their characters when usually it’s the other way around and I’m already attached before they have sex. Those sex scenes are inspiring and MEMORABLE. I know Ms Carter’s pen was producing flames when she put it to the page. Also for what is essentially a millionaire romance, I felt the presence of money but didn’t necessarily feel it was overwhelming, which is wild because they were taking PJs and talking about net worth. It still felt kinda humble to me, which I actually liked. This is likely because of Quinci’s own humble ‘country’ ness. I really liked the set up of ‘Chokers’ the exclusive BDSM club of which ‘Mr Dymon’ was a member. Quinci getting invited as a sub and him paying half a million dollars ‘for this pussy’ was a great way to break the sexual tension between the characters and reveal their active interest in Dom/Sun relationships. I was with Mr Dymon when he kept saying Quinci’s ‘You paid half a million for this pussy!’ joke was running stale though. I also liked how Quinci had filled out a form expressing her ideal Dom and also what she was like as a sub, I thought that was a great touch.
All in all, I enjoyed this and found this a fun read. I’m interested in exploring the other books in Ms Carters catalogue.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Medical content, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, and Panic attacks/disorders