I don't think this was the strongest one in the series, but then it's been 3 years since the last one and I may have just become a bit more d3.5 stars
I don't think this was the strongest one in the series, but then it's been 3 years since the last one and I may have just become a bit more distanced from the world than I had been.
Even so, it was nice of the author to return to the series to tie up the loose ends....more
This one was more romance than the urban fantasy series it was spun from, The Baine Chronicles, athough it's still a fairly slow burn romance. Not a3+
This one was more romance than the urban fantasy series it was spun from, The Baine Chronicles, athough it's still a fairly slow burn romance. Not a lot happened in the book in terms of adventure or danger and it ultimately ended up feeling like an introduction and set-up book for the series that will follow.
I enjoyed seeing this side of Fenris as it begins to round him out more as a character in his own right. I also liked the Mina character and look forward to seeing how see matures through the series.
Walt is a good writer with a creative mind, and her Baine Chronicles world is easy to slide into. My only worry is that the relationship aspects will over shadow the plots. For me this is not a bonus, although I know romance readers will be pleased....more
This time through I listened to the series (first time listening), back to back, and it was almost like getting to experience it for the first time agThis time through I listened to the series (first time listening), back to back, and it was almost like getting to experience it for the first time again. Almost.
Excellent series.
*********************** Absolutely the best in the trilogy! What a fun read, with plenty of movement in the relationship, the family dynamics, and the long arc.
While the long arc gets addressed and could be a stopping place in the story, it wasn't resolved. It's my sincerest hope this means that the authors will continue this series whether with a publisher or independently.
And frankly, the covers can only improve if the authors take over that aspect of the book production. The romance covers on this series are appalling and in no way reflect the wonderful goodness between the pages....more
It was cute if a bit anachronistic. For a reverse harem sort of story it's very slow burn. Still, the writing is fresh and funny. I'll eventua3+ stars
It was cute if a bit anachronistic. For a reverse harem sort of story it's very slow burn. Still, the writing is fresh and funny. I'll eventually get to the others and see how the story ends up.
Half a point off for a literal "to be continued" ending, although they didn't end it on a huge cliff hanger, so it's only half a point instead of an entire point....more
I listened to this while in the hospital getting a rather major surgery. I am sure that skewed my perspective and memory of the book and I'll3.5 stars
I listened to this while in the hospital getting a rather major surgery. I am sure that skewed my perspective and memory of the book and I'll inevitably feel like I should listen to it again. That said I enjoyed the story but felt like it was a bit all over the map. The outcome with the Band of Bastards was pretty much how I predicted it would go back when they first entered the scene, but it was enjoyable to read never-the-less(view spoiler)[ and it brings the Bastards into the Brotherhood fold and gives Ward new characters about which to write romances (hide spoiler)].
I'm not sure wtf is up with Trez and suspect that "too soon" is applicable here.
(view spoiler)[I'm a bit confused about the advent of "magic" and humans with abilities, as Ward has seemed adamant that these things won't be a part of her universe. I'm not averse to it, just surprised. After so many books, however, I can see how she might need to make some changes to broaden the world and the story a bit. It should be interesting to see what she does with it. (hide spoiler)]...more
I really hate the endings of these books. I'm glad I waited until the series was finished to continue reading.I really hate the endings of these books. I'm glad I waited until the series was finished to continue reading....more
Thea Harrison is really good at delivering plenty of non-relationship plot in her romance books, which are supposed to be by definition mostl3.5 stars
Thea Harrison is really good at delivering plenty of non-relationship plot in her romance books, which are supposed to be by definition mostly about the relationship.
I am ALL GOOD with that.
Her adult scenes are smokin' hot and her world and characters are engaging and easy to empathize with, even if they sometimes get on your nerves.
I enjoyed this spin-off to the Elder Races series and am looking forward to seeing how the stories shake out. You could think of it as "Elder Races in the UK" I suppose. Light and Dark Court doing unspeakable things to each other. It sounds pretty standard but Harrison does a good job of making it her own....more
I like that Ward is using this spinoff series to go back to the romance formula that she used in the early BDB books, and yet still maintain3.75 stars
I like that Ward is using this spinoff series to go back to the romance formula that she used in the early BDB books, and yet still maintaining the original characters and stories from the original series. I also like that she is keeping so much of the original series characters involved in this series, too.
The romance in this addition was good, the angst wasn't too over the top and neither of the protags were perfect. The adult times were as good as Ward ever does them, which isn't shabby at all.
I thought that the story line with Mary and Rhage was a bit contrived in that it was apparent very early on that one thorough, adult, calm conversation could have resolved the issue, but Ward did a good job of using it to create all the feelz even if I knew that's what she was doing.
There were several places where I had to pause the playback because I was laughing too hard to pay attention to the narrative, which is always fun. Also, there was only one or two places where Ward's tendency to go over board with "urban" nomenclature confused me or caused a mental stumbling block, which is significantly better than some of her other offerings between the two series.
I think it was a good addition to the world and I hope to see these characters again in the future....more
It was ok although not particularly my cup of tea at the moment. It was a 5.5 hour audiobook with entirely too much erotica. It was grim/dark which I It was ok although not particularly my cup of tea at the moment. It was a 5.5 hour audiobook with entirely too much erotica. It was grim/dark which I didn't mind so much, and the bdsm absolutely didn't bother me but MaleDom/femsub isn't my preferred flavor of BDSM. Over and above the BDSM the story was full of abusive relationships and codependency and that sort of thing stopped being quality drama for me a long time ago. The long arc, which gets pretty much laid out at the end, is interesting but I think the story tries too hard to be edgy and falls on a lot of abuse tropes to do it.
I really wanted to like this because I love Gayla Drummond's writing in general. In this book you can still see all her word crafting and p3-3.5 stars
I really wanted to like this because I love Gayla Drummond's writing in general. In this book you can still see all her word crafting and plotting skills, but there are some significant tropes that tend to get in the way.
At first blush it seems the story is going to suffer from an insta-lust trope (to which sexy times are admirably handled by Drummond's writing skills) but that fades away pretty quickly. Unfortunately neither of the MCs are very likeable until the last 1/3 to 1/4 of the book in which they both redeem themselves fairly well. But perhaps the largest disappointment for me is the fact that the story is tailor made for a love triangle and that's essentially what this book is, a book about a triangle being used as the framework for the world building (which is interesting) and setting up not only introducing the characters but their development arcs as well. I suspect that ultimately the relationship will end up being a long-arc slow burn, but for now it's a triangle of sorts.
I'll probably read the next to see where it goes and to see if the triangle thing gets resolved quickly because the world and the long term conflicts have potential, but I don't consider it "must have the day of release" like I do Drummond's Discord Jones series. I'm willing to give it time and see if it shakes out, though....more
This one was a lot of fun to listen to. Rhage is a marshmallow with whom it's always fun to visit, and watching the beast completely dominated by MaryThis one was a lot of fun to listen to. Rhage is a marshmallow with whom it's always fun to visit, and watching the beast completely dominated by Mary is always a good time. The amount of angst was just right, the amount of sex was only slightly more than just right, the vernacular was eye roll worthy but it did have an unusual number of chuckles buried within.
There were a few things in some of the secondary story lines that made me wonder if I should go back and actually read The Shadows. I don't think not reading it has put me behind with this story, but some of the secondary story made some references that suggested there had been movement I missed. I noticed, I'm saying, but it didn't hold me back....more
It was ok. It wanted to be original but suffered from a "breeding program" story line trope. As might be expected that trope is riddled with 2.5 stars
It was ok. It wanted to be original but suffered from a "breeding program" story line trope. As might be expected that trope is riddled with women being kidnapped, women being considered chattel, women being raped (or attempted) ad nauseum, and of course the inevitable Stockholm Syndrome that is presented here as the "heroes" finally waking up to their ill conceived ways and redeeming themselves.
It wasn't poorly presented at all. In fact it was fairly well written and I MIGHT read the next two just to see how the long arc goes - eventually.
But the "women abducted to be used as brood mares" thing is not my cup of tea.
ETA: All the accents on the names is an insipid device. My reader didn't like half of them so I was forced to guess what the author meant to name people....more
I think this might be my favorite D.B. Reynolds book so far, and not just because the last line isn't "to be continued."
Although this was defi4+ stars
I think this might be my favorite D.B. Reynolds book so far, and not just because the last line isn't "to be continued."
Although this was definitely a paranormal romance story written as scifi it was absolutely excellent. The amount of the story that was devoted to the romance was nearly perfect with the world building, character introduction and development, and story taking the majority of the page space but the romance still being smoking hot. The folks are adults, these folks are not angst ridden, the alphas are still chest-pounders but not unto idiocy, and the female lead is strong, likeable, and smart.
Although I've not seen any word about this being turned into a series there is definitely room for it, not only with the plethora of protagonists and antagonists, but also with a longer arc that was only hinted at - and I would welcome it.
This was a pleasant surprise and I'm glad I made time for it before the end of the year. Recommended for people who like their romance wrapped in a good story....more
Plenty of smexy, which Thea Harrison does quite well, but I thought the mystery was a bit thin. It did provide insight into secondary fae ch3.5 stars.
Plenty of smexy, which Thea Harrison does quite well, but I thought the mystery was a bit thin. It did provide insight into secondary fae characters that we haven't seen a lot of to date.
I am looking forward to the next one in this trio, Liam Takes Manhattan....more
I thought this was a really good entry to the series. It furthered the long arc quite nicely and also returned us to remembering why we liked Cyn all I thought this was a really good entry to the series. It furthered the long arc quite nicely and also returned us to remembering why we liked Cyn all on her own before we even met Raphael.
If I had one negative comment it would be that Reynolds seemed to pack a lot of sex into the times when Raphael and Cyn were together. The storyline dictated that they were apart for much of the book and I found myself thinking that Reynolds must have had a specific number of coitus instances she was shooting for so she had to pack them into the times when they were not separated by the story. I flipped through a lot of them thinking 'Yeah, yeah, at least twice a day just like meal times." I've always found Reynolds' sex scenes very well done, so no argument about that, I was just not really in a frame of mind for so much of it.
And yes, the Epilogue is really just the set up for the next book.
The story, however, was excellent and it served up some set up for interesting developments in the long arc. This really is one of the best PNR series out right now....more
It was good, but I have to admit that my fangirl like squeeing over the BDB has waned a bit. I still haven't read The Shadows yet, and I realiz3.25ish
It was good, but I have to admit that my fangirl like squeeing over the BDB has waned a bit. I still haven't read The Shadows yet, and I realized that I had apparently flew through The King too quickly to really absorb it all because details from it were mentioned in this book and I was a bit lost. Not lost so much that I couldn't keep up, just lost enough to wonder where I had missed things from.
That said it was nice to revisit the brothers on their home turf and watch new recruits coming in. The format of new recruits is a good one because it will enable Ward to stick to her most comfortable formula, the 1 new couple per book formula. I'm glad she's also finding ways to fit in slice of life stuff from the original couples, too. That lends a bit more depth to the formula and capitalizes on existing investments in the world.
The storyline for this was more murder mystery than it was court politics or the wars. I don't think it suffered for it, but I'm not sure what Ward is going to do with her long arcs. ...more
I enjoyed this one better than the first one. So much that I may go back and enjoy them a second time but in audio. I will definitely be read4.5 stars
I enjoyed this one better than the first one. So much that I may go back and enjoy them a second time but in audio. I will definitely be reading them both again before book 3 comes out.
Best one of the series yet. There was about equal amounts of long arc and romance, perhaps a bit more long arc, in this entry in the series and it wasBest one of the series yet. There was about equal amounts of long arc and romance, perhaps a bit more long arc, in this entry in the series and it was all the better for it.
The smexy was still smokin' hot, but the vast majority of the book was about the politics and action happening around the town.
While the end wasn't a cliff hanger the long arc story is in a place that can't possibly be dealt with in one book. I think the author picked a good place to end this book. I am happily anticipating the next....more