peristome's reviews
111 reviews

Bro and the Beast 2 by L.C. Davis

funny lighthearted

2.5

https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/f47c12e4-b0fa-4086-a195-30dd4aef9737

Bro and the Beast 1 by L.C. Davis

funny lighthearted

2.5

https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/f47c12e4-b0fa-4086-a195-30dd4aef9737

Bro and the Beast 5 by L.C. Davis

funny lighthearted slow-paced

2.5

I'm reviewing the series as a whole (Bro and the Beast 1–5) rather than individually, since the "installments" are all about 100 pages and change, and pick up one after the other. In all honestly, they should have been published as one big book.

I enjoyed the first installments a little more than the later ones, which got way more meta than I was expecting (and I think the story suffered for it). It would have been more interesting if Brad was forced to stay there and never got back to the "real" world. 

The books are not bad. They have a great sense of humor, and I think Brad and Raul's chemsitry is great, but that about sums up everything I like.

There's a lot weighing down these books for me. First of all, there is not enough sex. We get like a total of three sex scenes between all the books, and since the plot doesn't make a lot of sense, the smut needed to be ramped up big time. Second of all, Luna is the prime example of a self-insert character, and it's not cute. Another thing: the logic is not consistent throughout—in the first installment, Brad isn't actually in the book world physically, because his body is in the hospital in a coma, but later on, whenever they "jump" worlds, they don't have a physical body left over. Which is why I don't really understand how Brad

got pregnant

.

Overall, if you're looking for a fun time, this could give you one! But if you hate copious amounts of fourth wall breaks and meta-textual elements, I think there's better omegaverse fics out there for you.

The Dragon and His Prince by R. Phoenix, Adara Wolf

dark tense medium-paced

2.5

First thing's first, I want to say that I appreciate the forward written by the authors', as it describes exactly what you're going to get. The authors' are right: this is just fiction and they are exploring tropes and kinks within that medium. I am mentioning all of this to say that the dubcon, rape, etc. are not the reason for my rating.

The reason for my rating is that I find the book to be avergae. The Dragon and His Prince is not horrible, but it's not for me. Despite it's short length, it took me days to complete because I kept getting bored. And I even skipped and/or skimmed a good few chapters (you know the ones).

And I have to say, the whole "heal SA trauma with more sex" was a really weird choice that I don't agree with, despite the content warnings the authors' offered.

The writing style is not bad, though. If you know you like monster romances (and you've read the trigger warnings and are okay with them), then you should give this a go. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping

Moderate: Confinement, Blood

Minor: Vomit, Murder

Dasher by Colbie Dunbar, Lorelei M. Hart
Did not finish book. Stopped at 70%.

Even though I'm so close to the end, I really don't want to finish this book. I found this series while browsing Kindle Unlimited and I thought it sounded fun and absurd, so I gave it a try. I must say, this wasn't what I was expecting, and I don't mean that in a good way. I was expecting all of Santa's reindeer to interact, but besides the main character (Dasher), not one of them has been mentioned, which is disappointing. 

The mate thing is also incredibly weird and rushed as well. They barely have time alone but are completely devoted to each other. I also think the omegaverse dynamics are weird. Humans apparently have them, as Byron acknowledges, but he (and other humans) don't know what mates are? And none of the other humans besides Byron are even, like, acknowledged to be A/B/O. It's just really weird. And it's barley relevant to the story as well. Which is probably a fault of the prose, which is horrible (sorry to say). The writing is incredibly stilted, and is riddled with factual and grammatical errors. It's just... serviceable in the worst way possible. Lots of conversations are skipped over and the timeline is hard to follow. This book needed an additional 100 pages just so it could make sense. 

I don't know, this didn't hit with me the way I wanted it to. I wanted it to be a goofy, silly time, but it's just boring. I wouldn't waste your time on this, there are much better shifter books out there. 

Just a Bit Twisted by Alessandra Hazard

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes

4.0

I really enjoyed this book. It's a bit on the short side—the story and characters aren't as fleshed out as they could have been—but overall, I found it to be quite enjoyable. Shawn and Derek were very cute at the end. It was so sweet to see them falling in love, especially Derek. 

If you like student/professor relationships, you should read this one.

A Teaching Moment: Sometimes the Best Way to Learn, Is the Hard Way by Jax Ryder

lighthearted fast-paced

4.0

This was such a fun short story. Hot, too. I feel like the characters needed a little more fleshing out, and the romance could have used a little more of that as well. I feel like if it was double the length it is now, with more focus on those two things, it could be an easy 5 star. If you like spanking and find teacher/headmaster relationships to be hot, I strongly recommend this one. 

Away Games by Misha Horne

inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

This was so much fun to read. It's a great conclusion to this series. I'm so excited to read the rest of this author's work. They have a way of writing characters that is incredible to read. I don't really have a reason for not giving this five stars, except that I would feel weird to rate it above Comfort Me, Daddy. 

I'm a little sad I have to leave these characters now. I highly recommend this series to those who love DD/lb, who are curious or unsure about DD/lb; hell, I'd even recommend it to people who haven't liked any DD/lb in the past. I think it's worth giving it a shot. 

Teach Me, Daddy by Misha Horne

fast-paced

4.5

Hot. As always, I wish it was longer. 

Comfort Me, Daddy by Misha Horne

emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

First of all, this is such a good book. I have read only a few DD/lb romances before, but they always left me feeling off-kilter and I could never get into them. This series changed that. The characters feel like real people outside of the DD/lb dynamic, and that makes all the difference. In the other books I've read with this trope, it always feels like the characters are, well, caricatures that only embody the stereotypes, whereas these characters get to live outside of that.

I admit I was a little skeptical at first since the characters are high schoolers, but they are both nineteen-year-old seniors with interesting and believable reasons for why they behave the way they do, which helps it not be completely awkward and weird. And the punishment aspect also helps me like it, too. The other books I've read have really soft daddies, and that's not for me. (Not that Caleb isn't sweet, but he can be stern, too).

However, I have one major and two minor grievances that are keeping me from giving this 5 stars.

The one major grievance I have with this book is, unfortunately, the climax at the end.

I'm sorry, but there is just no way that a principal would tell a student (with an obviously unstable mother) to leave in the middle of the school day to drive her home. They would call the cops, especially if the student was over eighteen and no longer living with her. And on top of that, Logan's coach was there as well, and you're telling me he wouldn't protest one of his star athletes leaving the day he has a really big test that matters? The star athlete who he rode endlessly to get his grades up? There's no fucking way.

I'm not saying the basic premise of the climax is bad, but I think the author could have found a much better way to get to the scene at Logan's old house. The way it happened is incredibly stupid and took me out of the story.

The two minor grievances are honestly not enough to remove any points, and one of them is just selfish on my part. The first is the way Logan's big test gets graded.

In Hurt Me, Daddy, Logan isn't actually failing, but on the precipice. Here, it's treated like he was failing and needed this test to be able to play. And if that was the case, Logan wouldn't actually be forced to wait around on a game day for it to be graded. Simply put, if he was going to be put on academic probation, it would be after the test was graded normally.

The second minor grievance is that we didn't get to see the scene where Caleb fucks Logan while quizzing him on Chemistry. I'm so offended that this is just referenced as a couple throw-away lines. I NEED IT, DAMMIT. 

As for the things I liked about this book, they seem endless. The characters are wonderful and fleshed out, the spanking scenes are hot as hell, and I loved seeing Logan learn to love himself (and Caleb). I think the timeline was a little fast, but it's not a dealbreaker here like it can be for other books. If you're looking for a fun time, I strongly recommend you read this.