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lilipopmlml's reviews
937 reviews
Forgive Me Father by Katerina St Clair
1.5
I got this book out of a morbid sense of curiosity - I do read a good amount of "dark romance," am not adverse to "spicy" books, and thought the concept of a priest breaking his vows was a set-up for some great angst.
Boy was I wrong. I read all the disclaimers and trigger warnings and was prepared, but as much as I like spicy, dark romance books, I prefer them to be between two consenting (and consensually kinky) adults. This was not that. Edith falls into the category of barely legal, while Roman is almost thirty, and while that age difference might not seem like much in terms of numbers, it felt like a grooming story, especially with Eden being set up as a shy, highly traumatized, and thus highly susceptible to abuse, girl from the beginning of the story. I could have gotten over that, maybe, if Eden and Roman's story was a little slower-paced, but they are fully finger banging in his car only a few hours after meeting.
Overall, I thought this book was very inconsistent in its characterization of pretty much every single character. Eden's actions and thought processes were all over the place, and seemed highly unrealistic given what she had already been through. Roman was even worse, as a male protagonist he wasn't flip flopping between black and white with zero shades of grey. Somehow the most realistic part of this book was that there was an underground sex trafficking ring being run out of a Catholic church.
I thought the premise had some promise, and was actually hoping Eden would be one of those FMC's who learns to own her sexuality and becomes somewhat of a femme fatale. Sadly, the execution was highly lacking for me and there were several times where I almost DNFed. If you are able to overlook the glaring lack of consistent characterization and are just in it for the spicy scenes, you might enjoy, but otherwise read with caution.
Boy was I wrong. I read all the disclaimers and trigger warnings and was prepared, but as much as I like spicy, dark romance books, I prefer them to be between two consenting (and consensually kinky) adults. This was not that. Edith falls into the category of barely legal, while Roman is almost thirty, and while that age difference might not seem like much in terms of numbers, it felt like a grooming story, especially with Eden being set up as a shy, highly traumatized, and thus highly susceptible to abuse, girl from the beginning of the story. I could have gotten over that, maybe, if Eden and Roman's story was a little slower-paced, but they are fully finger banging in his car only a few hours after meeting.
Overall, I thought this book was very inconsistent in its characterization of pretty much every single character. Eden's actions and thought processes were all over the place, and seemed highly unrealistic given what she had already been through. Roman was even worse, as a male protagonist he wasn't flip flopping between black and white with zero shades of grey. Somehow the most realistic part of this book was that there was an underground sex trafficking ring being run out of a Catholic church.
I thought the premise had some promise, and was actually hoping Eden would be one of those FMC's who learns to own her sexuality and becomes somewhat of a femme fatale. Sadly, the execution was highly lacking for me and there were several times where I almost DNFed. If you are able to overlook the glaring lack of consistent characterization and are just in it for the spicy scenes, you might enjoy, but otherwise read with caution.
The Sirens by Emilia Hart
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Emilia Hart, author of Weyward, follows up her gothic debut with The Sirens, deftly weaving the tale of two sisters bound for Australia on a women’s convict ship with the contemporary journey of Lucy, an aspiring journalist seeking reconnection with her older sister, Jess. Haunting and atmospheric, The Sirens is a gothic mermaid tale reminiscent of Sarah Porter’s Lost Voices, exploring themes of sexual violence and women’s erasure from history.
The story overall flows along at a medium pace, with interspersing chapters told from Lucy’s POV, Jess’s diary, and the POV of Mary, a passenger on the women’s convict ship. While the overarching mystery of Comber Bay and the fates of Mary and Eliza kept the story engaging, there were a few plot points that were never fully resolved, and I personally would recommend skipping the epilogue, which felt very out of place from the rest of the story. That being said, I overall greatly enjoyed The Sirens and the blending of history and myth, and am excited to see where Emilia Hart decides to explore next.
***I received an Advanced Reader's Copy of this title from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
The story overall flows along at a medium pace, with interspersing chapters told from Lucy’s POV, Jess’s diary, and the POV of Mary, a passenger on the women’s convict ship. While the overarching mystery of Comber Bay and the fates of Mary and Eliza kept the story engaging, there were a few plot points that were never fully resolved, and I personally would recommend skipping the epilogue, which felt very out of place from the rest of the story. That being said, I overall greatly enjoyed The Sirens and the blending of history and myth, and am excited to see where Emilia Hart decides to explore next.
***I received an Advanced Reader's Copy of this title from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
2.5
....This series is really something. On the one hand, it is 1000% fairly surface-level alien smut, and some of the books as you go on in the series start to get a little repetitive. On the other hand, the relationships in these books are far healthier than 90% of dark romance and probably like 50% of the hockey romance books that are out there, so I would consider this is a win.
Are they super high-quality, thought-provoking works of literature? Uhh, no. Not even close. And yet I found myself flying through the first ten, giggling at both cute moments and stupid antics, and thoroughly distracted from the dumpster fire of modern life.
Are they super high-quality, thought-provoking works of literature? Uhh, no. Not even close. And yet I found myself flying through the first ten, giggling at both cute moments and stupid antics, and thoroughly distracted from the dumpster fire of modern life.
Hate Mail by Donna Marchetti
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
I was pleasantly surprised by this fun, quick read. I haven't seen the concept of long-time penpals used in any romance novels I've read, so using that as the foundation for the plot was refreshing and felt very modern despite using snail-mail. The male main character is actually described in a very wholesome way, which was a pleasant break from some of the straight-up problematic male main characters that have been in popular rom-coms lately. The plot twist was still a tad predictable but seemed well-done in that it took me almost to the twist actually happening to have figured out all the details.
Fated to the Feral Wolf by April L. Moon
3.0
Slightly less predictable than the first book, starting to veer into overpowered female main characters territory
Fated to the Wolf Prince by April L. Moon, April L. Moon, April L. Moon
2.75
Very quick, entertaining non-sober read. Not a lot of character growth overall and extremely predictable. Read as a mash-up of common tropes strung together
House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.75
Fun, gothic atmosphere with a nice mystery and unique setting/description details. The characters themselves were a little tropey and the overarching plot a tad predictable. Quick, entertaining read overall though.
The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I greatly enjoyed The Familiar, which weaves together history and magic with a unique twist. The folklore melded with the magic system and religious discussions was clever, though not so deep as to take away from the quick-paced political machinations of a decently large cast of characters. The climax of the plot happens rather early however, causing the ending to feel like a slow fizzle when there was potential for more dramatics.
Phantasma by Kaylie Smith
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Phantasma was an entertaining read. I appreciated how the spicier scenes didn't venture anywhere close to abuse territory like many "dark romance" novels tend to do, rather the "dark" part was from the gothic themes of the book. I did feel like the pacing was way too fast to be believable. A lot happens plot-wise that the female lead doesn't really get the time to process because the narrative clock is so short, to the point that what growth she does have seems implausible. The ending was also a little confusing and didn't quite feel earned. As a reader, there was enough foreshadowing for me to know where it was headed, but it felt like Ophelia didn't actually have to do enough to have pieced all the clues together.
The book overall is giving Kingdom of the Wicked and Caraval mixed together, with many similar themes, characters, and tropes.
The book overall is giving Kingdom of the Wicked and Caraval mixed together, with many similar themes, characters, and tropes.