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vrstal's reviews
554 reviews
The Mechanic Daddy by Daniel Elijah Sanderfer
Did not finish book.
Did not finish book.
DNF @ 27%. This story was like 70% telling and 30% dialogue if that. So much was told and never shown. It was great to see an MC with HIV but other elements in this book threw me off. Leo was a young adult, sure, but he acted really like he was 12 all the time and his quirk of clumsiness was ????. Idk. I usually like a dingdong but not this one. Also I didn’t get far enough to see if this was true daddy kink, but Billy kept calling him “kiddo” and just……….. no. In little space maybe but I don’t think that was the intention of this.
Mr. Naughty & Mr. Nice by Joe Satoria
Did not finish book.
Did not finish book.
DNF @ 65%.
The sex scenes were hot and Satoria’s writing and editing has really improved. I’m happy to see that. However I personally do not believe in the relationship, in the sense I don’t think Colby actually cared about Layton, and was just using him to get close to James. Not to mention for something that is definitely not a dark romance, the attitudes and behaviors for Colby are very fucked up. If a man doesn’t take no for an answer he’s a fucking creep. Especially with not respecting someone’s new relationship or sexual boundaries.
The sex scenes were hot and Satoria’s writing and editing has really improved. I’m happy to see that. However I personally do not believe in the relationship, in the sense I don’t think Colby actually cared about Layton, and was just using him to get close to James. Not to mention for something that is definitely not a dark romance, the attitudes and behaviors for Colby are very fucked up. If a man doesn’t take no for an answer he’s a fucking creep. Especially with not respecting someone’s new relationship or sexual boundaries.
Littles Landing: Noah & Samuel by T.S. Little
Did not finish book.
Did not finish book.
DNF @ 20%.
Disliked the way this book did the storytelling of telling us everything - and major flashbacks in between blocks of the present. I understand it was set up for the main plot but honestly, the writing style just was not for me.
Not to mention, there felt no depth to the characters? I don’t know. There wasn’t much connection or personality, IMO.
Disliked the way this book did the storytelling of telling us everything - and major flashbacks in between blocks of the present. I understand it was set up for the main plot but honestly, the writing style just was not for me.
Not to mention, there felt no depth to the characters? I don’t know. There wasn’t much connection or personality, IMO.
Beast: Somewhere in the Omegaverse You'll Call Me by My Name by Elliot Roth
Did not finish book.
Did not finish book.
This is a book that has plagiarized the book Ugly by Roe Horvat, while also making it some weird Nazi romance where in the sample the PoV narrator justifies genocide and being apart of the Reich because "Well, it gives me power". What the fuck. All the writing that isn't Horvat's is also just bad, lmao.
Beautiful Dreamer by Jayda Marx
5.0
I liked Ollie, it was interesting to have a character that had narcolepsy and it wasn’t presented as something to fix. I loved the exploration of how his specific needs as a person with narcolepsy interacted with their lifestyle. All in all, I enjoyed it.
Fixing Little Red by Izaia Winter
5.0
I liked seeing characters and a friend group laced together over this series, and Red is adorable. I liked that he had established connections and a life (he was a romance novel writer) instead of having nothing to rely on. Makes characters feel more 3-dimensional. The pacing was a little quicker on this one because Nate hadn’t ever been into BDSM and here he was playing Daddy, but it wasn’t bad at all.
Lost Boy by Jayda Marx
3.0
Reread 2022
I feel a lot different about this book now. I understand Marx’s instalove formula and it works great here. The sex scenes were hot as hell (although none of them are detailed anal scenes for those who wonder about that), and the way Shawn helps Frankie is sweet. Plus, he has a totally bad complication of a day which was pretty amusing-but-sad to read about. The friendship between Ollie and Frankie was sweet as well.
——————
OG Review 2021
For some reason, this relationship felt even more unbelievable than most of Marx’s works. Also it felt a tad weird for the fact Franklin didn’t have anywhere to go and was it Shawn somewhat taking advantage of that? In a more realistic novel, I think it would be considered dark that he didn’t instead try and offer some alternative that wasn’t just ‘live with me, a stranger’.
I feel a lot different about this book now. I understand Marx’s instalove formula and it works great here. The sex scenes were hot as hell (although none of them are detailed anal scenes for those who wonder about that), and the way Shawn helps Frankie is sweet. Plus, he has a totally bad complication of a day which was pretty amusing-but-sad to read about. The friendship between Ollie and Frankie was sweet as well.
——————
OG Review 2021
For some reason, this relationship felt even more unbelievable than most of Marx’s works. Also it felt a tad weird for the fact Franklin didn’t have anywhere to go and was it Shawn somewhat taking advantage of that? In a more realistic novel, I think it would be considered dark that he didn’t instead try and offer some alternative that wasn’t just ‘live with me, a stranger’.
Mine to Save by Jayda Marx
2.0
2.5/5.
ETA: As I was reviewing a more recent book I read by her I was remembering that she mentions the use of “smudging” here too. That is a specific indigenous ritualistic practice, and she could’ve easily used “smoke cleansing”. Not to mention white sage is endangered because of over-commercialization and cultural appropriation. I’m knocking down my review stars for this.
———
As usual, Jayda Marx is hilarious and I really enjoy her writing. Part of her humor to me is some of the things she’ll say mention casually — like “oh yeah if he rejects me my life will spiral into a depressive abyss I can’t recover from but you know, whatever”. Lmfao. She sometimes was repetitive here and there, but the fact is I’ve read so many of her books I’m bound to notice such things popping up more often!
Rory and Phoenix were pretty cute - this wolf shifter universe works a little different than her other shifter books, such as how once two fated mates meet, they will essentially get pushed into a heat until they mate and bond. I liked that idea a lot, although there is no omegaverse/mpreg shenanigans here. As usual they fell together pretty quickly, and I liked how they met from Rory being physically hurt. It’s some sweet hurt/comfort trope without it being super angsty.
Marx has a bit of a formula she uses sometimes - tall big protective guy and virgin twink - that was here, and I loved it regardless. These two were hot under the sheets and had some great scenes, such as the intercrural one. Overall, I’m very happy with this read and can’t wait for Dax’s book!
“Maybe he’s some crazed mountain man who hasn’t had contact with another person in years. I mentally shrugged. Eh, nobody’s perfect. Besides, apart from Dax, this is the most attention a man has given me in...ever!”
ETA: As I was reviewing a more recent book I read by her I was remembering that she mentions the use of “smudging” here too. That is a specific indigenous ritualistic practice, and she could’ve easily used “smoke cleansing”. Not to mention white sage is endangered because of over-commercialization and cultural appropriation. I’m knocking down my review stars for this.
———
As usual, Jayda Marx is hilarious and I really enjoy her writing. Part of her humor to me is some of the things she’ll say mention casually — like “oh yeah if he rejects me my life will spiral into a depressive abyss I can’t recover from but you know, whatever”. Lmfao. She sometimes was repetitive here and there, but the fact is I’ve read so many of her books I’m bound to notice such things popping up more often!
Rory and Phoenix were pretty cute - this wolf shifter universe works a little different than her other shifter books, such as how once two fated mates meet, they will essentially get pushed into a heat until they mate and bond. I liked that idea a lot, although there is no omegaverse/mpreg shenanigans here. As usual they fell together pretty quickly, and I liked how they met from Rory being physically hurt. It’s some sweet hurt/comfort trope without it being super angsty.
Marx has a bit of a formula she uses sometimes - tall big protective guy and virgin twink - that was here, and I loved it regardless. These two were hot under the sheets and had some great scenes, such as the intercrural one. Overall, I’m very happy with this read and can’t wait for Dax’s book!
Redemption by Jayda Marx
4.0
4/5!! Another great Jayda Marx book.
Tropes:
✅ Shifters
✅ Fated mates
✅ Instalove, low-angst
✅ Experienced x Virgin
Honestly, this book was so hilarious lmao. I don’t agree that the MC having sex with someone else before he even met his mate is cheating. This was very Three Stooges, a series of events that was himbo Talon just desperately trying to get and talk to his mate. Everything was understood and imo no groveling needed to be done, but he did apologize even so because it was awkward and a bit terrifying regardless.
Brandon was sweet, very shy and innocent compared to Talon who was more outgoing and experienced. I liked their dynamic and of course we get a repeat on the lore for shifters which I assume come in ever book Jayda writes with shifters in this universe. I like the idea of a lion pride gay bar AND I’m very curious for Cedric’s story and I really hope it means Jayda will write mpreg Omegaverse!!!
If you wanna laugh, read this for sure.
Tropes:
✅ Shifters
✅ Fated mates
✅ Instalove, low-angst
✅ Experienced x Virgin
Honestly, this book was so hilarious lmao. I don’t agree that the MC having sex with someone else before he even met his mate is cheating. This was very Three Stooges, a series of events that was himbo Talon just desperately trying to get and talk to his mate. Everything was understood and imo no groveling needed to be done, but he did apologize even so because it was awkward and a bit terrifying regardless.
Brandon was sweet, very shy and innocent compared to Talon who was more outgoing and experienced. I liked their dynamic and of course we get a repeat on the lore for shifters which I assume come in ever book Jayda writes with shifters in this universe. I like the idea of a lion pride gay bar AND I’m very curious for Cedric’s story and I really hope it means Jayda will write mpreg Omegaverse!!!
If you wanna laugh, read this for sure.