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nose_in_a_book's reviews
253 reviews
If He Wanted To, He Wood by Tanya Lynn
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
🌶️
This book felt like an outline waiting to be filled in. The premise sounded like a fun quick Christmas Day novella but then it took me 3 days to read 100 pages. Situations will be created and resolved in the span of a single paragraph and while the smut could have been fun, it gave straight cis dude/porno vibes which is not a style I enjoy. I don’t think this was fun enough to warrant picking up.
This book felt like an outline waiting to be filled in. The premise sounded like a fun quick Christmas Day novella but then it took me 3 days to read 100 pages. Situations will be created and resolved in the span of a single paragraph and while the smut could have been fun, it gave straight cis dude/porno vibes which is not a style I enjoy. I don’t think this was fun enough to warrant picking up.
Snowed In With Sin by Aurora Lillard
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
🌶️
I love the world created here. Magic feels distinct and abundant without getting lost in the system the way you would with high fantasy. Everyone’s powers seem so compelling. I also really enjoyed how sweet the whole thing is. The main couple’s love leaps off the page.
The pacing was off for me. The first half felt grounded and I was really enjoying the bickering when our lovers were still frenemies but once their first kiss happened, the book kind of flew off the rails.Two near death experiences back to back without any kind of consequences, emotional or otherwise, and it’s hard to feel like anything really matters at that point. We get to the scene with Roger and it felt more like filler because there were never any stakes.
I think if you’re looking for a soft and cozy romance, this is definitely the one.
I love the world created here. Magic feels distinct and abundant without getting lost in the system the way you would with high fantasy. Everyone’s powers seem so compelling. I also really enjoyed how sweet the whole thing is. The main couple’s love leaps off the page.
The pacing was off for me. The first half felt grounded and I was really enjoying the bickering when our lovers were still frenemies but once their first kiss happened, the book kind of flew off the rails.
I think if you’re looking for a soft and cozy romance, this is definitely the one.
All by My Elf by Olivia Dade
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.0
🌶️
The premise is fun, the characters full of personality but there were a lot of points where plot didn’t quite make sense or I couldn’t follow the implications of what someone was saying. Nevertheless, it was a fun little Christmas romp.
The premise is fun, the characters full of personality but there were a lot of points where plot didn’t quite make sense or I couldn’t follow the implications of what someone was saying. Nevertheless, it was a fun little Christmas romp.
The Baker's Wife by Caytlyn Brooke
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
2.0
🌶️
I don’t particularly enjoy books where the FMC new partner acts similarly to the abusive one but it’s ok because she’s attracted to the new one. The fatphobia in this also felt absolutely unnecessary.
I don’t particularly enjoy books where the FMC new partner acts similarly to the abusive one but it’s ok because she’s attracted to the new one. The fatphobia in this also felt absolutely unnecessary.
Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery by Brom
challenging
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
This book felt like a connection in its own right. The story is cyclical in a way that feels both intentional and hopeful even when it is at its darkest moments. I found each step of the way to feel inevitable and through that realization I found myself reflecting on my own life in the way that only good art can do. I don’t know that this is an easy read or one that I would recommend to many people in my life but those that I think will enjoy it, absolutely will.
Graveyard Shift by M.L. Rio
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
This is a well balanced story told with plenty of attention given to each individual character. I thought it was going to be spookier/more atmospheric based off the initial setting but it quickly moves to sci fi rather than horror.
Santa is a Slut by Drea Denae
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.0
🌶️
The spice was too quick and logistical for this to be about the smut and the plot was far too flimsy for it to be the focus either. This one wasn’t for me.
The spice was too quick and logistical for this to be about the smut and the plot was far too flimsy for it to be the focus either. This one wasn’t for me.
Radiant Sin by Katee Robert
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
🌶️🌶️
Now we’re getting into it. The last book broadened past the central couple but still spent most of the page on them. This one moved us firmly into the world of Olympus and focused on politics more than romance. Robert had a hard line to walk here between a satisfying self-contained whodunit and an opening gambit in a broader mystery. I think for the most part, she did pretty well. This isn’t pushing boundaries in the sub-genre of “mysterious circumstances taking place at a week long getaway to a mansion” but it has a steady pace and little filler. For writing outside her genre, she did really well.
I think the couple dynamics she chose also complement the plot. The fact that they’ve both been pining over each other for years means less time has to be spent establishing how they get together and the boss dynamic explains why they haven’t yet. Apollo did get a little much sometimes with his preachiness but I can forgive it here.
I will say this book is the final nail in the coffin that Robert sucks at endings. Apollo barely says a couple of sentences between thinking he’ll never see her again and them getting together for the HEA. It’s jarring. Compared to Electric Love and even Neon Gods, both Wicked Beauty and this one feel like they end mid-sentence. It’s such a shame but I wish her team would encourage a more proportional third act.
Now we’re getting into it. The last book broadened past the central couple but still spent most of the page on them. This one moved us firmly into the world of Olympus and focused on politics more than romance. Robert had a hard line to walk here between a satisfying self-contained whodunit and an opening gambit in a broader mystery. I think for the most part, she did pretty well. This isn’t pushing boundaries in the sub-genre of “mysterious circumstances taking place at a week long getaway to a mansion” but it has a steady pace and little filler. For writing outside her genre, she did really well.
I think the couple dynamics she chose also complement the plot. The fact that they’ve both been pining over each other for years means less time has to be spent establishing how they get together and the boss dynamic explains why they haven’t yet. Apollo did get a little much sometimes with his preachiness but I can forgive it here.
I will say this book is the final nail in the coffin that Robert sucks at endings. Apollo barely says a couple of sentences between thinking he’ll never see her again and them getting together for the HEA. It’s jarring. Compared to Electric Love and even Neon Gods, both Wicked Beauty and this one feel like they end mid-sentence. It’s such a shame but I wish her team would encourage a more proportional third act.
Wicked Beauty by Katee Robert
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
🌶️🌶️🌶️
***Heavy spoilers ahead.***
Pardon the pun but this book is a strong example of Robert’s Achilles’ heel. She has a wonderful way of crafting troubled heros with deep wounds but can’t quite keep those emotions from growing outside of her control. Much like my feelings on Demon’s Queen, I have a hard time believing our throuple stays together at the end of the book and the rushed ending doesn’t dissuade those feelings.
There is so much left completely unresolved. Helen’s trauma around being used and disrespected. Achilles’ literal cheating on Patroclus (I don’t care that the book tries to say that’s not what happened, it absolutely is. They had a mutual boundary and he crossed it.). And worst of all, Patroclus’ firm belief that he isn’t worth more than what he can offer his partners. None of them have real conversations about any of this. It’s just brought up and put back down as the plot demands without any real healing taking place.
It’s what makes the ending so difficult to reconcile. Almost 90% of the book is spent slowly tightening the central conflict that both Achilles and Helen are desperate to be Ares and anything less than that is unacceptable to either of them. It’s an impossible ask for the last 10% to resolve both who wins and move them passed the feelings that result inspires. Add in thirteen politics and there’s just no way for that to be satisfying.
Also Helen winning is bullshit. I get why she wanted to enter and why it was important to her but the actual position was never really something she was hungry for. That’s evident in how little training she did leading up to the tournament, how little strategy she had during it, and how hollow she felt after she won. What she needed was a way to not be a pawn and to be taken seriously, two things she could have gotten as second in command. Achilles could have turned down the marriage prize as a way of respecting her and offering her autonomy thus giving her a satisfying ending. He is not only better suited for the job but he actually wanted it. Having her win feels like fake feminism to me. Like she won because she controls her own destiny blah blah blah.
I still enjoyed the book but I don’t think this is one I’m going to pick up again any time soon.
***Heavy spoilers ahead.***
Pardon the pun but this book is a strong example of Robert’s Achilles’ heel. She has a wonderful way of crafting troubled heros with deep wounds but can’t quite keep those emotions from growing outside of her control. Much like my feelings on Demon’s Queen, I have a hard time believing our throuple stays together at the end of the book and the rushed ending doesn’t dissuade those feelings.
There is so much left completely unresolved. Helen’s trauma around being used and disrespected. Achilles’ literal cheating on Patroclus (I don’t care that the book tries to say that’s not what happened, it absolutely is. They had a mutual boundary and he crossed it.). And worst of all, Patroclus’ firm belief that he isn’t worth more than what he can offer his partners. None of them have real conversations about any of this. It’s just brought up and put back down as the plot demands without any real healing taking place.
It’s what makes the ending so difficult to reconcile. Almost 90% of the book is spent slowly tightening the central conflict that both Achilles and Helen are desperate to be Ares and anything less than that is unacceptable to either of them. It’s an impossible ask for the last 10% to resolve both who wins and move them passed the feelings that result inspires. Add in thirteen politics and there’s just no way for that to be satisfying.
I still enjoyed the book but I don’t think this is one I’m going to pick up again any time soon.
The Demon's Queen by Katee Robert
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
🌶️🌶️🌶️
This one was desperately close to perfection. The way my heart absolutely ached for both of the main characters was bittersweet in that lasting way that keeps a book in your mind for weeks. I thought the conflict they had to overcome was nuanced and offered no easy solutions which made the book hard to put down. I was rooting for them so hard but they both kept getting in their own ways. The toxic behaviors they fell into felt incredibly human. No one was making the right decisions and consequences appropriately came to bite them in the ass.
It was too short of a book though. Robert gave a masterclass in two people in love with a mountain of issues between them to work through right up until the end of the book. The problem is that we never saw them work through them. Or really got to see them simply in love. This book deserved another hundred pages. It’s like getting to the top of a mountain only to realize it’s too cloudy to see the view it affords. We didn’t even get an epilogue so the last page was especially abrupt.
With this being the last book in the series, I wanted this to tie everything together. I thought there’d be something at the end with everyone or like a skip in time to see how we’ll all the territories were flourishing. I was also looking forward to making sense of the scenes in past books with the second perspective added but instead it felt like they were a forced addition in a story that no longer held space for them. Eve’s interaction with Briar was especially handled poorly. Azazel was wildly out of character and Eve’s words from Briar’s book made no sense in the context of this story.
Despite all of that (including the fact that it doesn’t really feel like Eve and Azazel would end up together), I still loved this book. It’s probably their best book in the series writing-wise. I hope Robert revisits this ending some time in the future maybe if they do a compilation like Vampire Court.
This one was desperately close to perfection. The way my heart absolutely ached for both of the main characters was bittersweet in that lasting way that keeps a book in your mind for weeks. I thought the conflict they had to overcome was nuanced and offered no easy solutions which made the book hard to put down. I was rooting for them so hard but they both kept getting in their own ways. The toxic behaviors they fell into felt incredibly human. No one was making the right decisions and consequences appropriately came to bite them in the ass.
It was too short of a book though. Robert gave a masterclass in two people in love with a mountain of issues between them to work through right up until the end of the book. The problem is that we never saw them work through them. Or really got to see them simply in love. This book deserved another hundred pages. It’s like getting to the top of a mountain only to realize it’s too cloudy to see the view it affords. We didn’t even get an epilogue so the last page was especially abrupt.
With this being the last book in the series, I wanted this to tie everything together. I thought there’d be something at the end with everyone or like a skip in time to see how we’ll all the territories were flourishing. I was also looking forward to making sense of the scenes in past books with the second perspective added but instead it felt like they were a forced addition in a story that no longer held space for them. Eve’s interaction with Briar was especially handled poorly. Azazel was wildly out of character and Eve’s words from Briar’s book made no sense in the context of this story.
Despite all of that (including the fact that it doesn’t really feel like Eve and Azazel would end up together), I still loved this book. It’s probably their best book in the series writing-wise. I hope Robert revisits this ending some time in the future maybe if they do a compilation like Vampire Court.