Ruby Red Booty Shorts and a Louisville Slugger Author: Lexi Ander Title: Ruby Red Booty Shorts and a Louisville Slugger Series: I.O.N 1 Genre: Paranormal Pairing: M/M Rating: Three Petals On the Author's Website: http://www.lexiander.com/ION-Series.html Summary: Eager to escape the shadows of a tragic loss, Diego builds a new life with his best friend, Beck. When he finally decides to admit he's in love with Beck, that new life takes a hot and happy turn. But the peace is easily shattered, as he's learned all too well, and this time it's ruined by the arrival of a mysterious package and dangerous men bent on violence. Memories of a dead brother and an untouchable drug lord rises inevitably to the surface, and Diego dreads the man he loves is mired in the world Diego tried to escape. But Beck's secrets aren't so simple, and neither is the world in which Diego has been living… Maggie's Review:
I received this book from the publisher (LT3) in exchange for an honest review. This book was on Netgalley when it first came out and I decided not to read and review it then. Even though this book is listed as paranormal/urban fantasy, the summary doesn't mention magic or magical creatures at all. I didn't realize this book fell under the purview of my site, so I skipped it. Then the second book in the ION series was posted on Netgalley and I realized I had made a mistake. Luckily, LT3 was kind enough to send me a copy. This book was a lot of fun to read. The world Ander created was absolutely marvelous. Diego has a kind of magical sight that scares him so much he accepts a method to suppress it. The consequences of that color the rest of the book as he slowly learns more and more about the magical world he's trying to hide from. I learned as Diego learned, which I thought brought me deeper into the characterization and the world itself. Unfortunately, this story lacked description. I know Diego is still learning about his powers, but there's never any explanation given as to what those powers actually entail. Beck, Diego's love interest, also has some sort of power, but I couldn't tell you what it is after reading this book. I can almost forgive this because the story is from Diego's perspective and he spends most of his time trying to pretend the supernatural world doesn't exist, but there needed to be just a bit more for me to really enjoy this story. I also thought this story was extremely predictable. Nothing surprised me and every conflict was sealed with a bow. At the same time, I had trouble putting this book down. It was so interesting despite the predictability and I am really looking forward to starting the second book. Maggie's Recommendation: This story was predictable and lacking in detail, but I really enjoyed reading it despite that. The world and characters were so interesting and the overall plot was really well written, so I have to recommend this book.
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Troubled Waters Author: Sharon Shinn Title: Troubled Waters Series: Elemental Blessings 1 Genre: High Fantasy Pairing: M/F Rating: Four Petals On the Author's Website: http://www.sharonshinn.net/troubledwaters/ Summary: Zoe Ardelay is living in an obscure village, mourning her father’s death, when a powerful man named Darien Serlast arrives and informs her she must travel to the royal city and become the king’s fifth bride. Numb with grief, she accompanies him to the city of Chialto, but she is able to slip away from him and hide among the city’s vagrants. She doesn’t want to marry the king, but she doesn’t know what her destiny holds. Like everyone else in Chialto, Zoe frequently seeks guidance at the temples, pulling “random blessings” from great barrels of stamped coins; each blessing is related to one of the five elemental influences of air, water, fire, wood, and earth. Zoe is coru, a woman of water, and so was her mother and all her mother’s family; her father was sweela, a man of fire. Her brilliant father was exiled by the king at the urging of Zoe’s coru grandmother, and now Zoe wants to know why. But if she uncovers the momentous secrets of her family’s past, will her whole life change? Do her father’s secrets put the king at risk? And could Darien Serlast help her put the puzzle pieces together—if he would? Maggie's Review:
I know I say this a lot, but world-building is very important to me in deciding which books are good and which ones are excellent. Troubled Waters easily falls into the excellent category. Every single inch of the world is perfectly depicted, from the layout of the rivers and canals throughout the country to the cultural aspects that define the people. The blessings were my favorite part. At birth, a baby's father rushes to a temple where strangers pick what is known as blessings out of a communal barrel and those blessings guide the child into adulthood. Throughout life, if someone needs additional guidance or simply needs to realign themselves, they can visit the temple and pull blessings for themselves. I found it gave depth and interest to the world. It was also interesting to read about the five different types of powers and people. Each person in the world is aligned with an element--air, water, fire, wood, and earth--and that element influences their personality and even life decisions. Zoe, for example, is coru, which means she's aligned with water. It means she's persistent and if one plan is halted she will work to find another path around it. She comes to the city not knowing what is in store for her, but understands that she needs to figure out why her father was exiled and how she can fit herself back into the world he was forced out of. Of course, having a person's personality so defined by element and blessings unfortunately made them feel very one-dimensional. A person of fire would have a fiery personality without fail or a person who pulled a blessing of courage would inevitably do something courageous. It's an issue that worked because that's how the world works, but was still a little disappointing considering how wonderful the rest of the book was. Maggie's Recommendation: This book has world-building that is so amazingly detailed that I couldn't help falling in love with the book and this series. The characterizations were a touch one-dimensional, but it worked with the world and does absolutely nothing to keep me from absolutely recommending this book. The Cobbler's Soleless Son Author: Meredith Katz Title: The Cobbler's Soleless Son Series: None Genre: High Fantasy Pairing: M/M, M/F, Bi, Pan Rating: One Petal On the Author's Website: https://meredithakatz.wordpress.com/books/ Summary: Everyone expects Renart Walker to follow in his mother's footsteps and become the cobbler for their little demon-ruled town. That'd be the proper thing to do: keep his head down, live his quiet human life, and try not to get too involved with demons. But Renart has never been terribly concerned with proper, and he isn't interested in a quiet life. His interests are a little more ambitious: he's aiming to catch himself a demon prince. As a human, he'd never be allowed to even get close to Prince Hrahez. The only solution is to make a bargain with a demon, and everyone knows what they want. Still, nothing ventured, nothing gained, and he's got a plan—but it involves tricking a demon. If it doesn't work, nobody in town would want to be in his shoes. Maggie's Review:
I received this book as an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. If you like porn without much plot, you'll enjoy this book. I prefer plot, to be honest, so this story really wasn't for me. Renart has a thing for demons. He likes to have sex with them, the thrill of it giving the experience an additional edge. One day he sees Prince Hrahez on parade in front of the human populace and falls instantly in complete and utter lust. Renart immediately starts planning how he's going to convince Hrahez to be his. Because Hrahez is an incubus type demon, Renart knows he won't be Hrahez' only bed mate and that Hrahez won't expect that from Renart either, so Renart pauses to have graphic sex with with a female demon and to almost have sex with a demon footman. Since he's supposed to be focusing on snaring his man, this is a little ridiculous. It also ruins any chance of romance in the book, and since LT3 (the publisher) is exclusively a romance publisher this really doesn't work. I'm not saying that romance is only present in an exclusive relationship, because that's not true, but there's no build-up of any connections between the two at all. Plus, Renart's straying eyes put a lie to the belief that he's hooked on Hrahez. The biggest issue I had with this story is the fact that the constant and graphic sex replaces any plot. We are hardly given a glimpse into Renart's plans to snare Hrahez. There's barely enough world-building to make the fact that demons and humans live in the same world plausible, but not enough to give the story any depth. There's a brief mention of a time prior to the demons being present, but anything that might have given this story a full plot was glossed over in favor of something sexual. Had there been more plot, more description, and any depth at all, I wouldn't have minded the sex as much, but there was nothing but sex in this book. Maggie's Recommendation: If you like sex without much plot, you'll probably enjoy this story. I prefer plot, world-building, and some depth, all of which this book lacked, and I therefore cannot recommend it. Justice Calling Author: Annie Bellet Title: Justice Calling Series: The Twenty Sided Sorceress 1 Genre: Paranormal Pairing: M/F Rating: Two Petals On the Author's Website: http://anniebellet.com/books/justice-calling/ Summary: Gamer. Nerd. Sorceress. Jade Crow lives a quiet life running her comic book and game store in Wylde, Idaho. After twenty-five years fleeing from a powerful sorcerer who wants to eat her heart and take her powers, quiet suits her just fine. Surrounded by friends who are even less human than she is, Jade figures she’s finally safe. As long as she doesn’t use her magic. When dark powers threaten her friends’ lives, a sexy shape-shifter enforcer shows up. He’s the shifter world’s judge, jury, and executioner rolled into one, and he thinks Jade is to blame. To clear her name, save her friends, and stop the villain, she’ll have to use her wits… and her sorceress powers. Except Jade knows that as soon as she does, a far deadlier nemesis awaits. Maggie's Review:
This book was all potential. I saw wonderful world-building, interesting powers, and the start of exceptional characterization, however none of it was ever fully realized. This read like only half the book was completely written. Jade Crow is a sorceress living in a town of shapeshifters. She's hiding from a very bad guy until some odd things start happening to her friends and she has no choice but to reveal her magic. The entire book serves as foreshadowing for that bad guy's eventual arrival--but he never actually arrives. Instead, we're given a half-formed plot about some other guy doing some potentially bad things that Jade probably ought to stop. There wasn't any growth of the real plot in the story. There also weren't any twists and turns to make the limited plot in the story interesting. The romance was also extremely disappointing. The hot guy shows up and Jade is instantly in love. They barely have one full conversation, she fantasizes about him at inappropriate points in the plot (ie. her friend's mother is dead, but he's still really hot), and then they're dating. The front half of their relationship where they actually learn about each other, discover there's more than looks pulling them together, or anything else romantic in nature that would have given a touch of believability to the relationship was all missing. Maggie's Recommendation: Overall I found this book disappointing. There wasn't any real depth to the plot, world-building, or a believable romance. The potential was definitely there, but it desperately needed more for this to be considered a good book. I can't recommend it. The Slave Author: Kate Aaron Title: The Slave Series: Free Men 1 Genre: Fantasy Pairing: M/M/M, Poly Rating: Four Petals On the Author's Website: http://kateaaron.com/books/free-men-series/ Summary: Freedom is only an illusion. At twenty-seven, Tamelik has been a slave more than half his life. Submissive by nature, he can’t help but fall in love with the master who treats him kindly. When the mistress walks out, Tam dares to hope his love will be enough. Then he’s ordered to purchase another slave. He wants to hate Kai for being unruly and ungrateful. For being of the same race as the men who murdered his family. For being his eventual replacement in their master’s bed. But it’s hard to hate a man who cries himself to sleep, flinches at the slightest touch, and blushes beautifully when he’s kissed. Maggie's Review:
True to the title, this book contains slavery. I know that bothers some people, so I wanted to get the warning out of the way first. Tam is a slave in love with his master, so when he is suddenly sent to purchase another slave Tam doesn't know what to think. Is he being replaced? Is his master suddenly tired of him? There were plenty of hints of Stockholm syndrome, with Tam being so young when he was purchased, but Aaron made it very clear that Tam was an adult before he became a pleasure slave. It was a delicate balance between slavery, where Tam clearly doesn't have a choice because he is owned, and love evidenced by the way they treat each other. Enter Kai, a soldier captured, sent into slavery, and purchased by Tam. He's angry, scared, and aggressive, but from the first I could tell he had a good heart. Again, there were hints of Stockholm as Kai starts to settle in, but he settles slowly in a way that I could believe he fit in with Tam and Master's already set relationship. The reason this book didn't receive five petals was the love. I didn't quite believe it. Like I said, Stockholm syndrome is there, but the real issue I had was that their love blossomed only in the bedroom. I liked those scenes with Kai first learning to touch Tam, then learning to touch Master, and finally allowing Master to touch him back, but there wasn't enough of similar growth outside of sex. There was one nice scene at the pool and another half-scene when Kai is practicing, but I needed just a touch more to be satisfied. However, reading the summary of the next book in the series tells me that I might be about to get just that if I'm patient. Maggie's Recommendation: I liked reading this story and do recommend it. The characters were all interesting and the burn of their relationship was really fun to read. There wasn't enough growth between them outside of the bedroom, which is the only reason I didn't give this story five petals. Wriggle and Sparkle Author: Megan Derr Title: Wriggle and Sparkle Series: None Genre: Paranormal Pairing: M/M, M/F, Bi, Pan Rating: Four Petals On the Author's Website: Not available on the author's website. Summary: Lynn is a kraken shifter in every way: detailed, tenacious, resilient, and hard-working. Also possessive, vain, arrogant, and demanding. It makes him an excellent agent for the Federal Bureau of Paranormal Security and Investigation—and impossible to work with, as the long list of partners who have transferred away from him will attest. His newest partner is a unicorn, possibly the worst type of paranormal for work that often turns ugly and violent. Everyone knows unicorns are too delicate for such things. Then Anderson proves to be a unicorn like no other, the kind of partner Lynn has always wanted—the kind of partner he wishes was more. But if there's one thing he's learned, it's that the only thing harder to keep than a partner is a lover. Maggie's Review:
I received this book as an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I didn't know what to expect when I picked up this book. Tentacles generally evoke a more carnal stereotype, but, while Derr doesn't shy away from sex, Derr generally keeps it simple. Tentacle porn--porn in general--isn't really Derr's wheelhouse, so I tried to start this book without any preconceptions. Turns out, Derr embraced the stereotype and excelled with the tentacles, while also providing layers of plot and depth that keep this story from degenerating into pwp. Lynn is a creature known as a kraken, a tentacle monster who is clingy, demanding, and generally rude. Most people don't like him, so when he's saddled with a new partner at work Lynn expects the worst. Anderson is a unicorn, but instead of embracing the pure and delicate life people expect of him he's become brash and embraced an open, sexual lifestyle. As work partners they mesh nicely, and as life partners they fit even better. The characterization and depth of their relationship is perfectly written, with just enough sex that I can still say this fits into the tentacle stereotype while not going too far. The balance was absolutely perfect. I also really enjoyed the world Derr created. It hearkens back to the Dance with the Devil and Midsummer series, where Derr created a magical world slotted within our own so smoothly I couldn't help wishing they were real. I could easily see a giant kraken and a unicorn moving next door, the world was so realistic. The only complaint I had was that each chapter in the book was really separated from each other. The love story and their relationship spanned the entire book, but there wasn't an overarching plot to tie it all together. That made the ending of the book feel rushed and slightly stilted. It's a minor complaint considering how good the rest of the book was, but had that extra touch been present the book would have stepped up to the next level. Maggie's Recommendation: The characters and the world Derr created were amazing, which is why I absolutely recommend this book. The depth of the romance outstripped the stereotype of a tentacle story and the world kept me turning the pages. My only complaint was that there wasn't an overarching plot connecting all the stories together, but it's a minor issue in my opinion. Trick of the Light Author: Rob Thurman Title: Trick of the Light Series: Trickster 1 Genre: Paranormal Pairing: M/F, M/M Rating: Five Petals On the Author's Website: http://robthurman.net/new/the-trickster-novels/ Summary: Now you see it… Now you don’t… Now you’re history. There are demons in the world, Monsters. Creatures that would steal your soul. You might hide under your covers at night and pretend all’s right with the world, but you know. Even if you don’t want to admit it… Las Vegas bar owner Trixa Iktomi deals in information. And in a city where unholy creatures roam the neon night, information can mean life or death. Not that she has anything personal against demons. They can be sexy as hell, and they’re great for getting the latest gossip. But they also steal human souls and thrive on chaos. So occasionally Trixa and her friends have to teach them manners. When Trixa learns of a powerful artifact known as the Light of Life, she knows she’s hit the jackpot. Both sides-angel and demon-would give anything for it. But first she had to find it. And as Heaven and Hell ready for an apocalyptic throw-down, Trixa must decide where her true loyalty lies-and what she’s ready to fight for. Because in her world, if you line up on the wrong side, you pay with more than your life… Maggie's Review:
This is a difficult review to write because of the complexity in the book. Every single detail is important, nothing that is said or done is an accident, and the twists and turns are amazingly written, which means I need to be really careful with what I say here so I don't ruin the story for you. One wrong word could accidentally give something away and I don't want to do that. Trixa is a bar owner and all around bad girl, and her goal in life is to live to the fullest. No regrets is her motto, but there's one regret that continues to haunt her: the brutal death of her beloved brother. She refuses to let her depression define her, which is one of the things that I most enjoyed. All of her antics brought a smile to my face. Overall, this was an amazing read. The world Thurman created for her Leandros Brothers' Novels is wonderful. Humans go about their regular lives while magic creatures from all sorts of mythical tropes inhabit the same world in secret. Trixa's story is set in that world, but her story highlights a different sort of magic, one that I can't go into more depth on here or I'll give away too much. Suffice it to say the magic is really interesting and brought the plot together perfectly. Maggie's Recommendation: I absolutely recommend this book. The complexity of the writing, the depth of the world building, and the twists and turns that kept me hanging throughout the story were amazing. I have zero complaints about this book and will be rereading it again soon. The Beast Author: J. R. Ward Title: The Beast Series: Black Dagger Brotherhood 14 Genre: Paranormal Pairing: M/F, M/M, Bi Rating: Four Petals On the Author's Website: http://www.jrward.com/books/the-beast/ Summary: Nothing is as it used to be for the Black Dagger Brotherhood. After avoiding war with the Shadows, alliances have shifted and lines have been drawn. The slayers of the Lessening Society are stronger than ever, preying on human weakness to acquire more money, more weapons, more power. But as the Brotherhood readies for an all-out attack on them, one of their own fights a battle within himself… For Rhage, the Brother with the biggest appetites, but also the biggest heart, life was supposed to be perfect—or at the very least, perfectly enjoyable. Mary, his beloved shellan, is by his side and his King and his brothers are thriving. But Rhage can’t understand—or control—the panic and insecurity that plague him… And that terrifies him—as well as distances him from his mate. After suffering mortal injury in battle, Rhage must reassess his priorities—and the answer, when it comes to him, rocks his world...and Mary’s. But Mary is on a journey of her own, one that will either bring them closer together or cause a split that neither will recover from... Maggie's Review:
The first books in this series followed a predictable and cliche pattern: a strong man fighting a powerful enemy for the very survival of his race is brought low by love at first sight when he meets the woman that changes him from a scary he-man to a gentle pussycat. Every single story followed the exact same route, almost without even a page-by-page difference. It got repetitive very quickly, but there was enough unique additions that I continued reading this series. For example, the world-building is exquisite, with the different powers the vampires have, the gods they worship and fight against, and the different types of creatures they run into in the battle against evil. Even the writing was well done, with each character having an individual and distinct voice. Yet, the similarities between the plots of the books did get a touch boring. Then Ward broke the mold. The Beast follows the first story focused on Rhage, during which he was essentially unmanned, yet still made infinitely stronger by meeting the one woman he would spend the rest of his life with. Their lives have continued since their first bonding and now he and Mary have to struggle with the difficulties their choices back then have since brought to their lives. It's a story that delves into the psychological issues in their relationship, giving their marriage a level of depth that it previously lacked due to the cliched nature of their first story together. It made their relationship feel believable, and not only that, it also gave a touch of realism to some of the other characters' relationships that also needed that little kick of depth. I can't deny the fact that this story still has the vestiges of the cliches that brought it this far, but the plot-building Ward has accomplished since then is remarkable. I am really looking forward to the next book in the series. Maggie's Recommendation: I do recommend this book and this series. Yes, the series starts of with the cliche and sometimes difficult to endure strong man meets perfect woman and changes himself for her plot device, however this book moves far away from that and instead reads as a unique and interesting novel. Runaway Prince Author: May Ridge Title: Runaway Prince Series: None Genre: Paranormal Pairing: M/M Rating: Two Petals On the Author's Website: Hasn't been updated recently: http://may-ridge.squarespace.com/ Summary: On the run from his family and a life he hates, Astin reluctantly stops to rest at a trashy motel for the night. The very last thing he expects is Delaney, a bold, beautiful rentboy—and Astin's mate. Maggie's Review:
I received this book as an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This story was originally published in LT3's Bad Moon Rising Anthology and I read it there first, but I didn't really enjoy it at the time. I felt that the story lacked depth, the characters--particularly the little brother--were all caricatures rather than real people, and the drama at the end with the step-mother was a little too obvious. Yet, upon reading this story a second time, I realized that while it still wasn't particularly good, I did enjoy it. I couldn't really tell if there were any edits made between the old version and this one. It seems like the overall plot is unchanged, but the story seems to flow better and the step-mother drama doesn't feel nearly so contrived and overly ridiculous and unbelievable. Maybe this story just needed a second read for the details to really set in. It wasn't enough to fix all the issues, but it helped. Astin is on the run, mostly from responsibility, and he stops at a trashy motel for the night so he doesn't fall asleep while driving. The next morning he runs into Delaney, a rentboy working in the room next door and Astin's mate. The logistics of how mating works are a little sketchy, but Delaney's past and the reason he's working as a rentboy work. It's Astin's past that is a stretch to believability. When responsibility returns and we learn more about Astin, that's when the story starts to go south. Whatever edits were completed from the first printing to this one helped greatly and I did like this story, it just needs a touch more work. Maggie's Recommendation: I saw improvements between the first printing and this printing, but it wasn't enough to really make this story believable. It was an okay read and I liked it, but there were still enough issues that I can't recommend this story. |
Magnolia's Reviews
Maggie reviews paranormal and fantasy novels and novellas. She also interviews authors and hosts giveaways. Archives
April 2018
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