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literaryweaponry's reviews
270 reviews
Defy the Night by Brigid Kemmerer
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I have a type. We all have a type. No, I don’t mean romantically, I mean book genre type. We all have that one particular type of book that sinks it’s teeth into us whether we like it or not. When reading that kind of story it is like indulging in your favorite food or activity. Sometimes we think, “No, not this time. I read that all of the time! I need something else.” But then we end up picking up that exact type of book anyway.
Yeah. For me, that genre is fantasy romance. I can’t get enough of it. Add in a bit of forbidden attraction, some violence, and a hefty amount of denial and you have yourself a winner!
To be completely up front with you, I very nearly did not read this book. Kemmerer’s previous ya fantasy series, Cursebreakers, had its hooks in me completely. The first two books in that trilogy, A Curse so Dark and Lonely and A Heart so Fierce and Broken, wrecked me in the best kind of way. Then…then came the third book. It was so fantastically, earth shakingly bad that I had decided in a fit of rage to not read any more from Kemmerer. Yes, that was a bit dramatic of me. I stand by my feelings at the time. I was severely disappointed.
Of course, I am also a sucker and ended up preordering Defy the Night anyway and, oh boy, am I glad that I did! This book sucked me in from page one and did not let me go.
First of all, our main female character, Tessa, was wonderful. She is highly intelligent and capable of helping those people in the poorer areas battle the disease that has been ravishing the population for years. The problem is that the medicine needed to help those people is hard to come by and theft of the plant needed to make the medicine is punishable by death. However, Tessa sees her neighbors and community suffering and does what she can to help them without getting herself killed in the process. She is also good with a blade but doesn’t use it unless absolutely necessary and while having a backbone of steel Tessa also has a good heart. Yes, she makes mistakes and missteps but uses her brain to make the best of the situations before her. Overall, she was a good YA character and I liked her very much.
The story also drew me in. Yes, I am well aware that everything about it sounds cliched, I’ve read the synopsis, too, you know. But, the synopsis doesn’t do this book justice. While it is absolutely a ya fantasy novel it feels better put together and more thought out than most that I have read. There was a life to this book that has been harder and harder for me to find the last year or so. Am I getting more picky? Perhaps, but I also feel like that the genre has been so flooded with hyped and over promoted books that finding the real gems has been next to impossible.
We have an interesting plot, evil bad guys hiding in plain sight, a threat that blankets everything, a romance with a twist that absolutely rocked me (right around page 140), and one of the support characters is up to something fishy but I love them anyway. My only (and minor) complaint is that at about the 3/4 mark of the story there was a scene that went on just a little longer than I felt that it should. It lasted just long enough that I began to feel very slightly bored. That was it. One, single complaint.
I loved this book. It is an example what YA fantasy romance should be (at least for me). The writing was vivid, the characters interesting, and the story made sense. At no point did I feel lost and fumbling. If you enjoy the genre then I highly recommend you picking this book up. I can’t wait to see what Kemmerer does with these characters in the next book in the series!
Yeah. For me, that genre is fantasy romance. I can’t get enough of it. Add in a bit of forbidden attraction, some violence, and a hefty amount of denial and you have yourself a winner!
To be completely up front with you, I very nearly did not read this book. Kemmerer’s previous ya fantasy series, Cursebreakers, had its hooks in me completely. The first two books in that trilogy, A Curse so Dark and Lonely and A Heart so Fierce and Broken, wrecked me in the best kind of way. Then…then came the third book. It was so fantastically, earth shakingly bad that I had decided in a fit of rage to not read any more from Kemmerer. Yes, that was a bit dramatic of me. I stand by my feelings at the time. I was severely disappointed.
Of course, I am also a sucker and ended up preordering Defy the Night anyway and, oh boy, am I glad that I did! This book sucked me in from page one and did not let me go.
First of all, our main female character, Tessa, was wonderful. She is highly intelligent and capable of helping those people in the poorer areas battle the disease that has been ravishing the population for years. The problem is that the medicine needed to help those people is hard to come by and theft of the plant needed to make the medicine is punishable by death. However, Tessa sees her neighbors and community suffering and does what she can to help them without getting herself killed in the process. She is also good with a blade but doesn’t use it unless absolutely necessary and while having a backbone of steel Tessa also has a good heart. Yes, she makes mistakes and missteps but uses her brain to make the best of the situations before her. Overall, she was a good YA character and I liked her very much.
The story also drew me in. Yes, I am well aware that everything about it sounds cliched, I’ve read the synopsis, too, you know. But, the synopsis doesn’t do this book justice. While it is absolutely a ya fantasy novel it feels better put together and more thought out than most that I have read. There was a life to this book that has been harder and harder for me to find the last year or so. Am I getting more picky? Perhaps, but I also feel like that the genre has been so flooded with hyped and over promoted books that finding the real gems has been next to impossible.
We have an interesting plot, evil bad guys hiding in plain sight, a threat that blankets everything, a romance with a twist that absolutely rocked me (right around page 140), and one of the support characters is up to something fishy but I love them anyway. My only (and minor) complaint is that at about the 3/4 mark of the story there was a scene that went on just a little longer than I felt that it should. It lasted just long enough that I began to feel very slightly bored. That was it. One, single complaint.
I loved this book. It is an example what YA fantasy romance should be (at least for me). The writing was vivid, the characters interesting, and the story made sense. At no point did I feel lost and fumbling. If you enjoy the genre then I highly recommend you picking this book up. I can’t wait to see what Kemmerer does with these characters in the next book in the series!
Down Comes the Night by Allison Saft
Did not finish book. Stopped at 33%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 33%.
Main character was childish and self absorbed, cared about no one but herself and made all of her choices at the expense of others, even the people she claimed to love. I could not stand reading about her for one more page. If I want a dislikable main character I'll go read a murder mystery, thanks.
The Family Plot by Megan Collins
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book was kindly sent to me by the publisher for review. All thoughts are my own.
I’ve read some books in my time with dislikable main characters but, oh boy, the walking moron that is Dahlia Lighthouse really takes the cake. But, I think, that is part of the point.
Dahlia grew up in an unconventional way, secluded away from society on an island estate and home schooled by her murderer obsessed mother. Her mother went so far as to name all of her four children after after famous murder victims. Dahlia, of course, is after the Black Dahlia, a real life victim of a gruesome murder in an LA park. If that doesn’t set the stage for the gothicesque feel of this book then I am not sure what will.
Now, Dahlia left home after her twin brother disappeared on their sixteenth birthday and she has assumed for ten years that he ran away and would come back to her someday. After returning to the island following her father’s death, she learns that her brother was actually murdered ten years prior and hidden in their father’s burial plot.
The premise for this book is interesting enough. Try to figure out her murdered her brother with decade old evidence on a small island full of locals that view the family as a side show attraction. You know, no big deal.
Overall, I really enjoyed the base story of this book. Grisly murder and everyone is a suspect. What let this book down a bit were the characters. They were all just so thoroughly unlikeable. I think this story was supposed to be a maturing plot for Dahlia, how she changes and grows after living mostly stagnant after her brother’s death/disappearance, but I ended up being so thoroughly annoyed with her character that I couldn’t begin to care about her. She is so absurdly self absorbed and thinks her way is the only right way and does not care if anyone gets hurt by her callous and narrowed minded behavior. It is difficult to spend over 300 pages with a character you simply don’t like in any way. I couldn’t even force myself to feel sympathy for her.
This was a good mystery for the most part. On a personal level I would have liked to be able to connect with any of the characters but my own feelings about that didn’t detract from the need to know the murderer and the motive. I’d read a book from Collins again.
I’ve read some books in my time with dislikable main characters but, oh boy, the walking moron that is Dahlia Lighthouse really takes the cake. But, I think, that is part of the point.
Dahlia grew up in an unconventional way, secluded away from society on an island estate and home schooled by her murderer obsessed mother. Her mother went so far as to name all of her four children after after famous murder victims. Dahlia, of course, is after the Black Dahlia, a real life victim of a gruesome murder in an LA park. If that doesn’t set the stage for the gothicesque feel of this book then I am not sure what will.
Now, Dahlia left home after her twin brother disappeared on their sixteenth birthday and she has assumed for ten years that he ran away and would come back to her someday. After returning to the island following her father’s death, she learns that her brother was actually murdered ten years prior and hidden in their father’s burial plot.
The premise for this book is interesting enough. Try to figure out her murdered her brother with decade old evidence on a small island full of locals that view the family as a side show attraction. You know, no big deal.
Overall, I really enjoyed the base story of this book. Grisly murder and everyone is a suspect. What let this book down a bit were the characters. They were all just so thoroughly unlikeable. I think this story was supposed to be a maturing plot for Dahlia, how she changes and grows after living mostly stagnant after her brother’s death/disappearance, but I ended up being so thoroughly annoyed with her character that I couldn’t begin to care about her. She is so absurdly self absorbed and thinks her way is the only right way and does not care if anyone gets hurt by her callous and narrowed minded behavior. It is difficult to spend over 300 pages with a character you simply don’t like in any way. I couldn’t even force myself to feel sympathy for her.
This was a good mystery for the most part. On a personal level I would have liked to be able to connect with any of the characters but my own feelings about that didn’t detract from the need to know the murderer and the motive. I’d read a book from Collins again.
All the Stars and Teeth by Adalyn Grace
Did not finish book. Stopped at 20%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 20%.
DNF
I just did not connect with the writing style which made it hard to get into the story. Decided to set it aside.
I just did not connect with the writing style which made it hard to get into the story. Decided to set it aside.
All Systems Red by Martha Wells
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This series is fantastic. There, that’s the review, do you really need to know anything else?
Oh, you do.
Well fine then.
Do you like a bit of snark in your books? Do you enjoy a touch of apathy along with a sense of obligation that you resent? Oh boy, then do I have the series for you!
I really didn’t know what to expect when I first picked up All Systems Red, the first book of the Murderbot series but several reviewers I trust had nothing but stellar things to say about these books so I figured I’d give it a shot. I’m not typically much of a science-fiction reader but I was eyeballs deep in an epic reading slump and figured it couldn’t hurt to give them a shot. I could absolutely kick myself for not having read them sooner.
Murderbot, the absolute star of these books, is (at least in my opinion) the near perfect character. As a bot, it is supposed to be under the control of the Company and only follow commands. Our Murderbot, however, wasn’t so fond of that so they hacked themselves, effectively, and removed the programming that forced them to only obey commands. Now they only want to watch television shows and mind their own business. Unfortunately, the humans around it keep getting themselves into trouble and Murderbot, with no little amount of grumping, keeps having to save them or get them out of trouble.
Being along for the ride as Murderbot tries to sort out who they are for themselves, dealing with social anxiety, getting themselves into ridiculous situations, and accidentally making friends is some of the best reading I’ve ever found myself caught up in. Murderbot is all of us, clumsily trying to make our way through life and not ever really figuring out this whole “adult” thing.
It’s funny how a robot character really represents humanity best.
In a nut shell, these books are amazing. Murderbot, despite being a robot, is so relatable and entertaining. I can’t wait to pick up the next book in the series and see what they get themselves into next.
The House Between Tides by Sarah Maine
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Do you ever pick up a book and you aren’t sure exactly what drew you to it, why it called to you, but you find your brain won’t focus on any other story until you read that particular one? That is what happened to me with The House Between Tides and, honestly, I am still unsure why precisely this book called to me so loudly. I’m a self professed reader of mainly fantasy and sci-fi. Sure, I dip my toes into other genres and typically enjoy them but I usually have a reason for reading them.
This one? Well, this one I just had to. It wouldn’t let me rest until I did.
This book is written in both a contemporary setting in the year 2010 and historically in 1910. Multiple timeline stories don’t always work but in this story it was well executed. It was easy to tell when you were and who you were with from the tone of the chapter even if you hadn’t glanced at the chapter heading that told you what character you were with and what year they were in.
That aside, The House Between Tides absolutely swept me away. From page one I was invested in this story with it’s fascinating location and varied cast of characters. In 2010 we spend our time with Hetty, the unexpected inheritor of Muirlan House. Muirlan is a wreck. The floors are rotted away, the roof leaks and is missing in places, the walls are cracked, and overall it is more a ruin now than an actual house. Then in 1910 we find ourselves in the same house, in pristine condition, with the outwardly reserved yet inwardly passionate Beatrice who has a strained relationship with her new husband but wants nothing more than to find joy in her life.
Oddly, the house was something I really loved about the story. It had its own story and it felt almost like an active spectator to the drama and household tension. The house saw all and knew all and it had moods from dark and drab to sunny and airy. Muirlan may had been the setting of this story, but she felt real and alive and very much like an unwilling observer of the lives that teemed within her walls across the years.
The story itself was also very well thought out. No matter which time frame you were in, the stories and the character’s actions wound together seamlessly. You could watch a scene happen in 1910 and feel all of the emotion and tension that came with it and then see how it affected something in 2010 or watch as Hetty discovered an incident, action, or how it somehow affected her in 2010. I felt that the writer’s planning and execution of those transposing scenes were very well done.
This book had tension, feeling, and heart and overall I absolutely loved it. Even being able to take a fairly reasonable guess at the mystery did not detract from my enjoyment. Overall this was a very enjoyable read and I’m grateful to whatever force was at play trying to get me to read this.
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This year I have loved some books and I have hated some books. I have given glowing recommendations and scathing reviews. However, of everything I’ve read, I think Iron Widow is the first book this year to have me really and truly excited. Shouting on Twitter about this book excited. Thinking about this story constantly excited. Already trying to find fan art even though the book isn’t released yet (as of this writing) excited.
Ya’ll, this story is phenomenal.
Zetian is one of my favorite female protagonists that I have ever had the privilege of reading. This young woman is a roller coaster of emotions and determination. The strength of her character is simply astounding. She is in turns angry and scared and wanting to exact retribution and is not letting anyone stand in her way. What I love most about Zetian is that even when she is afraid or nervous, especially when she is afraid and nervous, she never backs down. She acknowledges those feelings of fear and finds it in herself to set them aside in order to accomplish whatever task it is set before her. The confidence and bravery she finds within herself throughout this story is magnificent. I love when a character is just so completely unapologetic about their goals despite others attempting to make her feel shame.
Then we have the general basis of this story. Zetian’s world was attacked by other worldly beings who are trying to wipe out the human race and absorb all of their resources. Humans, being the stubborn creatures that we are, instead find a way to use those resources to create these enormous monsters of metal that can be imbued with power from their operators to take on the threat. The thing is, these powerful weapons need two people to use them. The pilot, who is this culture is always a male, and the concubine, the female. Being a male lead society that looks down upon females, the concubine is almost always killed during these battles. Zetian’s beloved sister is believed to have been killed this way which is the jumping off point for her journey toward retribution.
This book is simply amazing. It never slows down, never stops, and around every turn is Zetian with her two partners at her side, taking on the world. There is emotion, action, questionable choices with consequences, violence, love…I could go on. Within these 400 pages you will find a little bit of everything woven together to make one spectacular story. And, folks, the twist at the end will leave your head spinning! I cannot recommend this book enough.
Ya’ll, this story is phenomenal.
Zetian is one of my favorite female protagonists that I have ever had the privilege of reading. This young woman is a roller coaster of emotions and determination. The strength of her character is simply astounding. She is in turns angry and scared and wanting to exact retribution and is not letting anyone stand in her way. What I love most about Zetian is that even when she is afraid or nervous, especially when she is afraid and nervous, she never backs down. She acknowledges those feelings of fear and finds it in herself to set them aside in order to accomplish whatever task it is set before her. The confidence and bravery she finds within herself throughout this story is magnificent. I love when a character is just so completely unapologetic about their goals despite others attempting to make her feel shame.
Then we have the general basis of this story. Zetian’s world was attacked by other worldly beings who are trying to wipe out the human race and absorb all of their resources. Humans, being the stubborn creatures that we are, instead find a way to use those resources to create these enormous monsters of metal that can be imbued with power from their operators to take on the threat. The thing is, these powerful weapons need two people to use them. The pilot, who is this culture is always a male, and the concubine, the female. Being a male lead society that looks down upon females, the concubine is almost always killed during these battles. Zetian’s beloved sister is believed to have been killed this way which is the jumping off point for her journey toward retribution.
This book is simply amazing. It never slows down, never stops, and around every turn is Zetian with her two partners at her side, taking on the world. There is emotion, action, questionable choices with consequences, violence, love…I could go on. Within these 400 pages you will find a little bit of everything woven together to make one spectacular story. And, folks, the twist at the end will leave your head spinning! I cannot recommend this book enough.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Violence, and Sexual harassment
Involves a society built on the repression of women, their abuse, and their lack of rights.
Small Favors by Erin A. Craig
This is a review of an ARC. All opinions are my own.
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This is a review of an ARC. All opinions are my own.
I…what? My feelings about this book are thumping around in my brain like a wadded up shirt in a tumble drier. And not in the fun, “Wwhhheeee!” way the makes you think of a roller coaster. More of the, “I think I may vomit,” kind of way. Where do I even begin to talk about this book?
Let’s start with some positives. The first half of this book was honestly pretty good. Ellerie started off as a very interesting character who was showing a lot of growth and change when her life got turned on its head when her mother was horribly injured and her father had to take her far away to see a proper doctor. With her father away she had to learn to take care of the family home, her younger sisters, and the bees that provided them with a living. Seeing her struggles and how she tried her best to overcome them, how they changed her, was entertaining and I became invested in the character.
Then, well, then we get to the second half of the book. I swear, it was as if the second half was written by someone completely different than the first half. Being a YA novel we end up, of course, with a love interest for Ellerie. Now, that is not something I normally have a complaint about as I enjoy romance in my books but this was just…bad. Talk about instalove! Whitaker is everything you expect in a YA love interest. Handsome, charming, and possessing all the personality of cauliflower rice. His story has a “big twist” but if you have more than two brains cells knocking around it isn’t difficult to figure out.
I’m finding it difficult to review this book. There are a lot of little plot points that come together to pretend to make a whole and they are all made to feel important but none are ever properly addressed. There is a lot of, “Oh! This thing happened and it is a big deal and we need to talk about it constantly for two chapters and consult our old white man elders about it!” and then it gets brushed under the rug and we move onto the next Thing. Even the conclusion felt like a bunch of plot points brushed aside under the guise of a finale. Nothing was resolved at any point and there were so many plot points left flapping in the breeze that it was impossible to feel any kind of closure.
Heres the thing. If you enjoyed Craig’s House of Salt and Sorrows I very much imagine that you will enjoy Small Favors as well. Why? I had very similar feelings at the end of Salt and Sorrows as I did this novel. Completely unnecessary and dull love interest, plot points that go nowhere, and an unsatisfying conclusion under the guise of some fantasy elements. Not very entertaining and it left quite a bad taste in my mouth
For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I want to begin this by saying that this book is sold as an adult fantasy novel. While it certainly isn’t YA, I wouldn’t go as far as to call it adult either. Hm, if only there was a category in between those two in which this could be tidily sorted…wait! There is! New adult. You know, that category people like to scoff at but is completely legitimate and most of my favorite reads can be found nestled into that particular cove? Yup. That one.
So, this delightful little red riding hood inspired new adult fantasy was absolutely fabulous. Let me tell you why.
First of all, the characters are very vibrant and distinct. I hate when I read a book and the character’s personalities are so similar that you can’t figure out who is speaking or whose thoughts you are in because they all feel the same. In For the Wolf I did not have that problem.
Red, our female lead, is bold and opinionated but also struggles with some insecurities and those insecurities make her feel so human. We’ve all read novels where there is a “fierce female” lead and she seems to struggle with nothing and everything works out for her and it just makes them dull and unrealistic. Red does her best and makes the best decisions she can in unidyllic circumstances and sometimes those choices don’t turn out quite the way she hopes. The thing is, she doesn’t sit around and mope about it, she recognizes that things have gone awry and attempts to make further choices to better those circumstances. Overall, she was a fantastic character who showed a lot of growth throughout the story and I really appreciated her.
Next, we have the Wolf. Yes, he has a real name but he goes by Wolf. He is a bit of an odd duck full of pain and suffering and repressed feelings. You know, hot fantasy guy stuff. His character background gives away a lot of the plot so I’m hesitant about talking about him much here. Know that while he isn’t perfectly written, some of his flaws like his refusal to communicate frustrated me, he is still a solid character and one I can easily see a lot of fan art popping up around.
The overarching plot of this book is to stop some evil ancient beings from rising from their prison because they would take over the world. Both the human world and the magic forest kingdom…thing… are at risk and they are approaching the impending return very differently. Lives will be lost, hearts will be broken, and sacrifices will have to be made.
Overall, I found this book highly entertaining. There were a few slow bits and Red’s sister got on my nerves but for the most part I absolutely loved it. If you are a fan of new adult fantasy titles then I cannot recommend this one enough.
So, this delightful little red riding hood inspired new adult fantasy was absolutely fabulous. Let me tell you why.
First of all, the characters are very vibrant and distinct. I hate when I read a book and the character’s personalities are so similar that you can’t figure out who is speaking or whose thoughts you are in because they all feel the same. In For the Wolf I did not have that problem.
Red, our female lead, is bold and opinionated but also struggles with some insecurities and those insecurities make her feel so human. We’ve all read novels where there is a “fierce female” lead and she seems to struggle with nothing and everything works out for her and it just makes them dull and unrealistic. Red does her best and makes the best decisions she can in unidyllic circumstances and sometimes those choices don’t turn out quite the way she hopes. The thing is, she doesn’t sit around and mope about it, she recognizes that things have gone awry and attempts to make further choices to better those circumstances. Overall, she was a fantastic character who showed a lot of growth throughout the story and I really appreciated her.
Next, we have the Wolf. Yes, he has a real name but he goes by Wolf. He is a bit of an odd duck full of pain and suffering and repressed feelings. You know, hot fantasy guy stuff. His character background gives away a lot of the plot so I’m hesitant about talking about him much here. Know that while he isn’t perfectly written, some of his flaws like his refusal to communicate frustrated me, he is still a solid character and one I can easily see a lot of fan art popping up around.
The overarching plot of this book is to stop some evil ancient beings from rising from their prison because they would take over the world. Both the human world and the magic forest kingdom…thing… are at risk and they are approaching the impending return very differently. Lives will be lost, hearts will be broken, and sacrifices will have to be made.
Overall, I found this book highly entertaining. There were a few slow bits and Red’s sister got on my nerves but for the most part I absolutely loved it. If you are a fan of new adult fantasy titles then I cannot recommend this one enough.
A Touch of Malice by Scarlett St. Clair
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
~Quick review~
This review has nothing to do with the grammatical mistakes currently in the ebook as of this writing. I understand that these can be corrected later and have no problem ignoring them for the sake of this review.
There will be spoilers for the first two books of the series in this review.
This book was boring. In the first two books, A Touch of Darkness and A Touch of Ruin, we had a clear plot progression and character development. Persephone starts as this innocent little dove trying to figure out who she is when out from her mother's wing and begins to discover her own power and desires and to act upon them. At the end of Ruin the relationship has progressed and the characters have opened up and we have a reasonably good idea of how the conflict will progress.
Then everything comes to a grinding halt.
Persephone in this book has returned to bumbling around trying to figure herself out, Hades becomes little more than plot fodder, and the entire plot screeches to a stop as we rehash the same stories and bullet points just with different characters.
It was so incredibly dull. Even the sexual scenes had lost their interest. Same thing, different page except now we have a soft boy Hades employing emotional manipulation. No thanks.
I was incredibly let down by this story. The only true plot progression happened within the last couple chapters of the book. Every thing else was just monotonous nonsense.
Not a good installment to the series. I'll probably still give the next book a shot though.
This review has nothing to do with the grammatical mistakes currently in the ebook as of this writing. I understand that these can be corrected later and have no problem ignoring them for the sake of this review.
There will be spoilers for the first two books of the series in this review.
This book was boring. In the first two books, A Touch of Darkness and A Touch of Ruin, we had a clear plot progression and character development. Persephone starts as this innocent little dove trying to figure out who she is when out from her mother's wing and begins to discover her own power and desires and to act upon them. At the end of Ruin the relationship has progressed and the characters have opened up and we have a reasonably good idea of how the conflict will progress.
Then everything comes to a grinding halt.
Persephone in this book has returned to bumbling around trying to figure herself out, Hades becomes little more than plot fodder, and the entire plot screeches to a stop as we rehash the same stories and bullet points just with different characters.
It was so incredibly dull. Even the sexual scenes had lost their interest. Same thing, different page except now we have a soft boy Hades employing emotional manipulation. No thanks.
I was incredibly let down by this story. The only true plot progression happened within the last couple chapters of the book. Every thing else was just monotonous nonsense.
Not a good installment to the series. I'll probably still give the next book a shot though.