I know others didn't think as much of this book. But I found it just as much fun as the first book. More time for Noctus and Chloe to get to know each I know others didn't think as much of this book. But I found it just as much fun as the first book. More time for Noctus and Chloe to get to know each other. You get some time in Noctus' head to see what he thinks of Chloe. Both of them are holding back for various reasons. But as the reader, you can tell they were fated... but of course not fated for this book (the inbetween book). There's some more revealing of the history of the main characters except for the Paragon and I would love to learn more about Ms. Booker. There's not so much a cliffhanger at the end, but a split between Chloe and Noctus for noble reasons. Some adversaries are vanquished and some aren't. And of course, Chloe finds her strength....more
**spoiler alert** This was super cheesy angsty goodness.
It's roughly the same trope as 'Pack Darling', but in one book instead of a belaboured duet.
H**spoiler alert** This was super cheesy angsty goodness.
It's roughly the same trope as 'Pack Darling', but in one book instead of a belaboured duet.
Hazel was an 18yr old Omega whose scent matched pack rejected her because they already had an Omega and they didn't think they could have 2 and still be one big happy family.
The Monford pack; Demon (stupid name) is the hardass in charge who is the most to blame and honestly, I still didn't feel like forgiving him in the end. But the author made a decent effort to make him acceptable. Angel the cop. Workaholic. Disagreed with Demon the most about rejecting Hazel. Carson the comicbook shop owner with anxiety issues. Sunny the laid back teacher who goes with the flow. Soren the immature (even though 1yr older than Hazel) Omega who spends too much time feeling sorry for himself instead of calling his alphas out on their BS.
We do get to see the rejection on page and then fast forward to 5 years later. Hazel has kept her promise to stay away... sort of. And they have stayed away... sort of. The catalyst to bring them together is a serial killer targeting Omegas, who tries to kill Hazel. But Hazel finds that her dream pack is really a dysfunctional mess because of guilt, pining for her and an inability to communicate with each other.
Was the grovel good? Well, it wasn't so much a grovel as an acknowledgement of idiocy and promises to never be cowardly dumbasses ever again. I guess you could say there were layers to the grovel, because there were mitigating circumstances to their betrayal. Ultimately though, they gave up on her without even trying to see if their mating could work. Was it stupidity, laziness or cowardliness? A bit of all 3 I think and just plain bad timing.
So I enjoyed this more than 'Pack Darling' but it has it's problems too. There's some strange transitions like what happened to her 'busted' hand and ankle? Is there super healing in this world building? And there's that part where she's sleeping unclothed and then talking to police etc. Is she still naked? The author put more thought into their feelings, which I appreciated.
The serial killer was an ok mystery and of course there's a climactic scene with an evil monologue. But the reveal of the killer did kinda make the pack look stupid. I confess that I skimmed that part and a lot of the sexy times.
Safety is good. (view spoiler)[ The pack only have sex with each other and even that isn't frequent or all together. Hazel tried to spend her first heat with a hired pack but because she'd met her fated pack she couldn't enjoy it. She's been celibate since and uses heat suppressants since then (hide spoiler)] Biggest complaint (view spoiler)[I hate when the author suggests that the time apart was needed and they wouldn't have figured it out happily, if they'd got together 5 years ago. It always feels like a cop out. (hide spoiler)]...more
**spoiler alert** Meh... This just missed the point as usual
So it's about shifters... except they never shift. It's about firefighters, and they do **spoiler alert** Meh... This just missed the point as usual
So it's about shifters... except they never shift. It's about firefighters, and they do actually put out a fire, so that was good. It's about witches, that suck at being witches. It's about a guy who supposedly loved her the whole time (including in high school) yet somehow didn't have the cajones to let her know or look for her after she left, or protect her from all the bullies, or NOT boink all the other girls in high school first... etc. And yet he's an alpha???
what utter tripe.
Wendy was treated badly because of her weight and the fact that she was never able to shift. So when she finally graduated high school she left town and never returned until 7 years later her mother dies in a car accident. The one who started all the bullying and never stopped it... is of course the hero, Ayden (that's Aiden with a 'y' cause this book wants to be different, NOT). Ayden's excuse for being such a despicable shit to her back then? Well he doesn't have to have an excuse because apparently he doesn't remember any of it. How convenient... I thought maybe there was an evil third party who cast a spell on him, but no. He was a shallow drunken twit who went around talking smack about others and yet had a secret crush on Wendy the whole time. Yet has ONs and flings with all the cheerleaders instead. He never tries to follow Wendy or find out where she went. I mean how hard can it be? Just hire a PI. So although he feels bad I never felt satisfied. And this shallow pathetic excuse for a Beta is now the Alpha??? And what the hell is up with her witch powers? The author makes her successful in her job and has mostly overcome her lack of confidence in her looks. But she makes her a pathetic witch? Why are there even witches and werewolves in this book, they had so little to do with the story. They sounded more like social clubs than paranormal creatures.
Ugh, I could go on, but why bother. If the author can't be bothered to put effort into world building or creating halfway believable characters, ... why bother.
Safety is convenient. (view spoiler)[He had sex with all the hot high school girls but becomes celibate not long after school (and after she leaves) because he ends up becoming alpha when his dad dies and his older brothers abdicate(?). So now he's kind of a morose stick in the mud beta who is alpha and fire chief at the ripe old age of 26? Wendy has had good sex. The author makes sure we know that. But that's all the info we get. And of course it was after she left town and created a new life for herself. We never run into any of the high school mean girls except for Pauline who has turned over a new leaf so we can't be mad at her for her past behavior. And we can't have Ayden regretting sticking his d*ck in her crazy when she was a back stabbing skank, cause now she isn't one. But we don't get Ayden regretting any of that anyways. He only regrets not being nice to her back then even though he doesn't remember actually NOT being nice to her back then. The only reason he knows the details of what happened was Wendy told him. But she tells him off page, so we don't even get the full delicious impact of that confrontation. See? No follow through on anticipation here. (hide spoiler)]
The only thing I liked about the story was the little tid bits about her mother coming around to understanding how she failed at being a mother. Other than that, this was just a long boring disappointment. ...more
What lovely prose! (Although the modernized cover is crap... shoulda kept the older 60s cover)
Joan has always lived under her mother's thumb. She's a sWhat lovely prose! (Although the modernized cover is crap... shoulda kept the older 60s cover)
Joan has always lived under her mother's thumb. She's a sweet person and lovely to look at. She wants to be more, but nobody ever gives her a chance. So she runs off to be with her godmother in the Australian outback after her mother ruins her first romance. There she meets the Moonshiner. But her Godmother's niece claims that the Moonshiner is hers and everyone else seems to think so too. The niece, Shelly is this annoying know-it-all who does her passive aggressive best to keep Joan in her place. She doesn't mean to be mean, but she sure does a great job of it without even trying. (view spoiler)[(Actually this would have been a 5 star read if someone had just given Shelly a talking too at some point in the story. But I guess I'm just not as nice as Joan) (hide spoiler)]
The godmother however, seems to see Joan and understand. The Moonshiner believes lies told about her. And her old beau that the mother shook off, returns to muddy the waters.
Yet the story is full magical moments. The author really made me feel like I was there for the short but eventful week that brings Joan into her Moonshiner's arms.
Loved it!
Safety is fine. (view spoiler)[People seem to think the Moonshiner is going to marry Shelly, but they forgot to tell the Moonshiner. And it's been years, so you would think they would know Shelly was talking out her ass. They pass it off in the end as Shelly just being possessive about everything. If I was Joan I would have had it out with her by the second day. They don't really talk about sex in the story. So not sure if Shelly or Joan are virgins, but probably. Joan's ex is more interested in his own future consequence than real feelings for Joan. He never gets any comeuppance either, sorry to say. Neither he or Shelly apologize for being such utter self centered shits to Joan. But I still loved the book. (hide spoiler)]...more
**spoiler alert** This was entertaining, yet I ended skimming quite a bit. At first I skimmed all the copious amounts of sex. The book could have been**spoiler alert** This was entertaining, yet I ended skimming quite a bit. At first I skimmed all the copious amounts of sex. The book could have been 2/3 the size easily without all the sex. Then I skimmed a lot of the second half where the story lost it's momentum. Ayla's 23, Griffen's 37. He has an ex that he never married, but they share 15 year old twins that read more like 11 or 12 years old. Do parents in Tasmania molly coddle their teenagers? I used to babysit other kids when I was 13 and yet these boys at 15 can't be left alone in the house in the evenings? And how does Griffen make 10 to 40 thousand at high end poker games but he's never taken any money from his parents, and his income is from a tattoo parlor he owns. You don't get rich running a tattoo parlor. And then the other weird plot hole; How has Griffen as a sexy man in his prime who owns a tattoo parlor, not had sex since he got his ex fiance pregnant 13 years before he meets Ayla???
It's all just a fairy tale. So just enjoy the ride. I just kept being taken out of the story because it was just so unbelievable.... And that's saying something considering all the silly trash I read.
The ex seemed like a cross between Andy Cap and Andy Cap's wife. Not appealing and I wondered why he wanted in her pants when they were younger. Griffen had to grow a pair when dealing with her because for the first 3rd of the book he lets her walk all over him, Ayla and his kids. But he does grow up and it was fun to read. But that's a pretty simple goal, and so there's also her old friend who has issues, his parents who were also caricatures of bad parents. And it ended up getting a little boring in the second half. Hence the skimming.
Anyways, It's on KU and was a quick read.
Safety is too good really. (view spoiler)[He slept with his ex like once and she got pregnant. Then they supposedly lived together for 10 years where he was faithful but never had sex with her again. And even after leaving her, he still didn't date. Why? No idea. Nothing until Ayla and then they are a couple of horny chipmunks right from the get go with him whispering dirty somethings into her ear on their first dance. Uh huh. Whatever. She was a virgin but she was only 21 when they met... I guess it's possible. (hide spoiler)]...more
I pretty much sped through this one. There wasn't anything meaty to chew on. There are a LOT of info dumps and they even get kinda repetitive. But oveI pretty much sped through this one. There wasn't anything meaty to chew on. There are a LOT of info dumps and they even get kinda repetitive. But overall it was entertaining in a cheesy way.
Mitchell and Sabine have never met. But she knows he's her mate because she's seen him in dreams. Yet she also knows that he (as with most people in the pack) doesn't believe in true mates. So she is hesitant to tell him. And she was right to hesitate because he turns out to be a total ass and not only refuses to acknowledge that she is his mate, but he kills her bakery business by commanding that nobody shop there. It's one of those rejected mate stories where there's an evil OW (I guess there usually is), and she's got an agenda that doesn't include Sabine.
But the story never really gets angsty because things aren't what they seem. So it's actually a little boring. There's too much info dumping to enjoy the world building which is kinda shakey anyways.
SO I enjoyed it but was glad it was KU.
Safety is fine (*huge spoilers*) unbeknownst to him and his family, his on and off again girlfriend is the offspring of a 'crone'. Which is some kinda evil witch. Mitchell has had a handful of other shifter ONs over the years too. The author really leaves it up to you as to whether Sabine is a virgin or not. I found this kinda fence sitting annoying....more
I just don't see the point in reading the rest. It's so obvious where the story is going. Lots and lots of filler. It's sweet and kept my interDNFed 81%
I just don't see the point in reading the rest. It's so obvious where the story is going. Lots and lots of filler. It's sweet and kept my interest on a stressful day.
But all 8 of her mates are interchangeable, alpha or not. They all have different interests supposedly but their personalities are identical. Like she just mated 8 clones. And she's supposed to be bad ass and has had a healthy sex life. But there's no sign of this. She just briefly mentions wanting to hook up with someone at the start of the book. We never run into any of her ONs. The boys show up practically at the start of the book and all the rejection by her first chosen mate happened long before the books started. I wish there had been some world building but the author just assumes you've read Omegaverse books and follows the same floorplan.
So the book is low stress but also low feels.
It was like having a bowl of instant ramen when you wanted Guinness stew.
safety is fine. (view spoiler)[NOoo OP other than the one mentioned from the rejection and who is never seen or heard from again. No specific talk about sexual pasts... not even hers. No manhoes (hide spoiler)] ...more
**spoiler alert** This was fun but had some issues. Still I will read the rest of the series when the author finishes it because I liked the character**spoiler alert** This was fun but had some issues. Still I will read the rest of the series when the author finishes it because I liked the characters and the story was somewhat unpredictable.
This is a world where shifters are secret but it seems pretty darn unlikely. Just exercise your 'suspension of disbelief'. There are wolves and then there are occasionally 'Goddess blessed' wolves who have special gifts, usually of the psychic variety. It is a genetic thing so you have to be born to someone who is already blessed. Kiva's power is foretelling the future and she has been hunted and captured several times in the past. At the start of the book she is just managing to escape years of imprisonment only to be fished out of the river by the pack that lives next door. The new pack (The Blackmanes) are pretty suspicious of her for days and keep her locked up in the infirmary. Now her history with the previous pack was just awful and as other reviewers have mentioned. It's not really dealt with effectively. WARNING HERE->(view spoiler)[She was kept in wolf form for 3 years in a small cage and raped to get her pregnant. They would then take her pups from her and give them to others to raise. I was disappointed that she didn't take back her stolen pups. The author tries to give reasons why, but they were pretty specious. (hide spoiler)]
The alpha of the Blackmanes, Liam, is of course, her mate. He resists it at first because he thinks she's some kinda femme fatale. Pfft. It was entertaining and sucked me right in though. Turns out this was her mother's pack and so she not only finds her mate, but also her father and brother. Brother dearest was a bit of an ass though and never actually apologizes to her for being a dick head. But I liked his mate, Chloe.
All the characters were interesting and not perfect. Kiva seems to live her life like she's on a surf board, just trying to stay balanced and live another day.
The story falls into 3 or 4 parts. The beginning where she is taken in by the Blackmanes, and then she gets kidnapped. I skimmed a fair bit of that part though. She is rescued but the rescue wasn't well thought out, so they end up captured by another pack again. Then the story winds up with them getting home again and her having a baby with Liam. I liked Liam. He was alpha but not an alpha-hole. He had the cojones to apologize when he was in the wrong.
There's talk about her changing the role of Goddess Blessed wolves so that they can live safer lives. The Goddess even shows up at one point to give her a mission. Anyways, I quite enjoyed this one despite it's odd pacing and meandering plot.
I would love to read about this mission, but it will have to wait till the books are written. This one was fairly unpredictable which was a pleasant surprise. The safety is good except for her back story. (view spoiler)[ There's no details about his sexual history. He's not a virgin and neither is she. She's never had good sex though. Just rape in her wolf form. It bothered me that the author didn't have her more scarred by her time with the other pack. I mean she is very hesitant to trust but she has not problem having sex with Liam when the time comes. I guess I figured it was a wolf thing that she wasn't more psychologically scarred. It seemed that the Beta who was also abused later in the book, had more mental damage from what happened to him. And it wasn't as awful as what happened to her. (hide spoiler)]
There are some dark parts of the story and I hear the next book gets darker. (view spoiler)[ There's the rape I already talked about. Some shifters are killed but it's not dwelled on. Some villains murder her infant pup that she birthed just before escaping. A father has to execute his daughter (she kinda had it coming but still...). The Beta gets his back torn up with wolfbane so it won't heal right. He gets offered a therapist to talk to but they didn't offer the same to Kiva. Another glaring hole in the plot I guess... Ah well. That's shifter books for ya ; ) (hide spoiler)]
But in the end there's a very brief epilogue where (view spoiler)[she has her pup and is happy with Liam as they wait to have a new home built for themselves. (hide spoiler)]...more
I really enjoyed this one. I can't say i was entirely convinced of the heroine's character. She seemed to bounce back from years of mental abuse prettI really enjoyed this one. I can't say i was entirely convinced of the heroine's character. She seemed to bounce back from years of mental abuse pretty darn quick. But I went with the flow and still found the read a nicely balanced romance.
Meredith has nobody who truly cares for her. She finally leaves her mentally abusive husband and runs to her sister Helen, on the spur of the moment. She didn't know Helen was in Europe while her house was being renovated. Helen arranges for Jack to give Meredith a temporary position but also makes sure she fills Jack's head with her own twisted view of Meredith. She has been jealous of Meredith since their father left Helen's mother for Meredith's mother. Helen does more than this and I never felt she apologized for it. Although the author finagles things to make it seem they are going to be good 'sisters' now. But I felt like Helen had a lot more to answer for and never actually said she was sorry but makes excuses for why she said the things she did. So that's why 4 stars instead of 5.
SO Jack trusts Helen's judgment and doesn't know Meredith so of course he treats her like she's a spoiled girl having a tantrum instead of an abused woman looking for help. There's a nice arc to Jack and Meredith's getting to know each other and for him to see past his prejudices. He lives with his grandmother who of course sees the truth of Meredith long before Jack does. It was like he was willfully blind at first. But he's been a grumpy jerk since he parents died when he was young.
I loved that Meredith stood up to him and wasn't quick to forgive him. And he actually apologizes! So nice to read a book where the hero has the balls to apologize ; )
There's a long epilogue that actually gets kinda schmaltzy.
Safety is good (view spoiler)[ Jack has a long distance girlfriend but their relationship is pretty strained. He neglects her and she ends up dumping him before anything happens between him and Meredith. Meredith married her husband straight out of college and is now 28. Jack is mid 30's. Meredith's husband Andrew never actually hit her but he would constantly put her down when nobody was around to see it. In public he played the devoted husband. The divorce is finalized before Meredith and Jack have sex. (hide spoiler)]...more
DNF around half way. I just don't get into the author's writing style. It's too frenetic and the intrigue is a little thin and obvious. Most of the charDNF around half way. I just don't get into the author's writing style. It's too frenetic and the intrigue is a little thin and obvious. Most of the characters are dislikeable... especially her sisters. I do like the world building and the heroine. Which is why I kept reading after the first book. ...more
I'm really not sure what to think of this one. It's a world like ours but with hidden magic critters from nursery rhymes. Seph is a witch with three siI'm really not sure what to think of this one. It's a world like ours but with hidden magic critters from nursery rhymes. Seph is a witch with three sisters who are also powerful witches. They become immortal when they turn 27, which is just around the corner for Seph. Her sisters are decades older than her but of course, look 27 too. There is a mystery about what happened to their missing mother. There is another mystery about Jack (as in Jack Frost) Seph's ex sort of secret boyfriend who shows up again a decade after he left her.
I liked Seph's character. She's a curvy petite blonde who runs a bar/laundromat/tattoo parlor with one of her sisters. But was not impressed with her use of alcohol to drown her dissatisfaction with life. I mean why not just make her smoke cigarettes too author? But I guess it's good that the heroine not be perfect. Cause she's pretty close to perfect, and as the reader finds out; she's also a special snowflake with an price on her head. Actually, Seph finds this out the same time as the reader. So lots of unanswered questions. A shadowy cabal. A mysterious prophecy. An enigmatic anti-hero. A sympathetic heroine with a pragmatic nature but a broken heart.
What's not to love...
...A cliffhanger.
Safety is kind unknown at this point but here's what I got so far; (view spoiler)[ Jack took Seph's virginity when she was 17 and then left her with no reason. Seph has tried to move on with the werebear king and dated others too. But she's never had sex with anyone since Jack. There's no info on what Jack's been doing for the last 10 years... so far. (hide spoiler)] So hopefully more answers in the next book. Gonna leave this at 3 stars for now. But if the next books pan out well, I will raise that....more
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