I enjoyed this a lot! Really promising set-up, good characters, nice grim/spooky atmosphere. I got some Wishverse Buffy vibes, which idk if that was iI enjoyed this a lot! Really promising set-up, good characters, nice grim/spooky atmosphere. I got some Wishverse Buffy vibes, which idk if that was intentional or not, but it was neat. Definitely going to check out the next few volumes....more
Pretty much does what it says on the tin! Characters were fun, plot was a bit circular at times but I enjoyed the Amsterdam setting and the crimey vibPretty much does what it says on the tin! Characters were fun, plot was a bit circular at times but I enjoyed the Amsterdam setting and the crimey vibes. If anything, for “dark� romance, I found Zaid a little too nice, but not complaining really. Quick, entertaining read....more
3.5 stars rated up. It’s been a while since I read an Eli Easton, having skipped both her Lake Prophet mysteries and most of the Hot Cannolis series a3.5 stars rated up. It’s been a while since I read an Eli Easton, having skipped both her Lake Prophet mysteries and most of the Hot Cannolis series as not being my cuppa, so it was nice to read something set in a previous series. I’d only read the first one of the Lancaster books and didn’t think I remembered it well, but it came back reasonably clearly and it was fun to return to the animal rescue farm.
The characters were lovely, especially Elijah, whom I just wanted to hug a lot. Found family is my drug of choice and this did not disappoint. The vibes at the farm in general were cosy and warm without being saccharine, and the autumnal feel of it all fit the mood beautifully.
The romance itself is slow burn, with strong chemistry but not a lot of steam. Personally I found that a bit of a let-down because I know Easton gives good smut, and since these two sparked really well, I would have liked to see more of that on page, but that’s just my preference.
As per the author’s warning/heads-up, there is a fair amount of woo-woo in this, Elijah being ex-Amish and a practitioner of Braucherei, a type of Amish spiritual healing practice combined with herbal remedies. I’d been wary of this but enjoyed it quite a lot � it was a unique plot element that fit the overall atmosphere and it seems like the author did her research well.
A few niggles: -I know Pennsylvania Deitsch is quite different from modern German, so I found the bits of German included in the dialogue a bit questionable � some of it was just plain misspelled rather than archaic/Deitsch, and some of it is just straight-up modern German, which seems unlikely. Granted, I don’t know how difficult it would be to find an Amish native speaker to check the Deitsch in your queer romance, lol. Minor thing, really.
-Author's intro has an "enemies-to-lovers" thrown in, which is laughably untrue. There isn't even the slightest bit of enmity between these two. Jon is not a massive people person and takes a while to warm up, that's literally it. That's the "enemies." Authors, stop doing this!
-Overly meddling family is a pet peeve of mine, and unfortunately Aunt Jolie fell into that category for me. I know she was there to present Elijah with a positive lived experience of folk magic/spiritual whatever, but she rubbed me the wrong way, especially when she goes on preaching about how harmful pills are and how “plants have no side effects� (LOL). In a post-Covid world, I have less patience than ever for BS of that ilk.
-Jon’s past trauma was questionable at best. (view spoiler)[He’s gay but his last partner was a trans woman who died in a car accident because she was being chased by bullies. The implication seemed to be that she was bullied FOR being trans (?), which, IDK how much I need a trans woman’s harassment-induced death to be used as a gay man’s Tragic Backstory (TM). (hide spoiler)] Just seemed like kind of a bizarre choice that wasn’t needed at all.
Other than that, this was warm and fuzzy and sweet.
This was a little treasure. Lots of heavy themes and grim backstory, but the relationship development was so carefully and beautifully handled it was This was a little treasure. Lots of heavy themes and grim backstory, but the relationship development was so carefully and beautifully handled it was a sheer joy. No smut at all, which isn’t usually my preference but in this case it totally works, and the emotional intimacy was absolutely there. Loved it....more
1.5 rated up, mostly for old times' sake. Actually just ridiculous by this point, I’m sorry to say. But then the last books I found truly appealing in1.5 rated up, mostly for old times' sake. Actually just ridiculous by this point, I’m sorry to say. But then the last books I found truly appealing in this series were nos. 8 and 12, so you’d think I could catch a clue, lol.
This felt phoned in, poorly paced, poorly characterised, still trying to work the same trope and same dynamics when by now it kinda feels like trying to wring blood from a stone. I found Will genuinely boring and frustrating as he spends the majority of the book sending shitty mixed messages whilst sternly berating himself. Gadiel I felt mostly sorry for, like, this guy needs a support system and all the therapy, not a see-sawing, emotionally exhausting not-quite-romance. The author also leaned pretty heavily into this semi-lecturing thing she seems to be doing with a few of her newer books where the narrative and the characters do all this finger-wagging and agonising about how toxic their relationship is. In this case, that manifests as Will ruminating endlessly about how Gadiel is an isolated, emotionally abused, semi-suicidal, love-starved kid who a man ten years his senior shouldn’t be lusting after, and how the fact that this literal teenager is desperately throwing himself at Will for scraps of affection and attention is sad, not sexy. And you know what, he’s totally right. But also, ffs, when the toxicity is a feature, not a bug, maybe stop constantly pointing out how it’s not healthy, lol. Like, way to hamstring your own formula.
I also found the smut side unsatisfying � from the way Gadiel was introduced in the previous book, the one thing I did expect from this was lots and lots of ill-advised and creative shagging, but even that doesn’t really get going until about the 80% mark and is generally underwhelming. There was plenty of the usual clinginess and co-dependency but no real emotional intimacy. Most of the time I just felt genuinely sad for Gadiel.
The whole side plot with Will’s cousin Scott went on way too long and the chapters from his POV seriously hampered the momentum. Zain dips in and out as well, as the timeline seems to overlap significantly with his and Aiden’s story. Sounds like the next book will be about Scott, who I could not care less about. Considering I’ve only enjoyed one out of the last seven, that may be a good place to finally let go of these....more
I kind of missed Böll in the secondary school and uni deep dives into German literature; the only book I previously read of his was Die verlorene EhreI kind of missed Böll in the secondary school and uni deep dives into German literature; the only book I previously read of his was Die verlorene Ehre der Katharina Blum, which I loved. So I'm looping some of his other books into the current ongoing bout of my basically lifelong WW2 obsession.
Some of these short stories hit really intensely, others felt almost banal. I feel like he excels at the atmosphere and everyday horrors of the war and post-war era but not so much at the interpersonal; the love stories especially were somewhat underwhelming. I'm sure there have been absolute tomes and stacks of theses written about his excessive use of semi-colons and ellipses, which personally mostly made me want to get out a red pen, lol. Blasphemy, I'm sure....more
3.5 stars rated up. YA/New Adult, UK-based, roller derby F/F coming-of-age type thing. It’s intense, lovely, and (guessing from the Author’s Note) com3.5 stars rated up. YA/New Adult, UK-based, roller derby F/F coming-of-age type thing. It’s intense, lovely, and (guessing from the Author’s Note) comes from a very personal place, which strengthened what could otherwise have been a merely frothy piece of niche sports entertainment.
There’s quite a lot going on for Casey, the MC, who at barely nineteen is the main caregiver for her mum and is struggling with anxiety over various issues ranging from the prospect of having to move out and go to university, her sexual identity, her caregiving responsibilities, social interactions and, well, literally anything under the sun that could trigger a person with undiagnosed anxiety, which� you know, quite a lot of things.
The roller derby is front and central, and the book absolutely shines with love and passion for it. There is quite a lot of it, in quite a lot of detail, so do take that into account if you’re not into sporty books. I rather enjoyed it � I thought there was enough detail to get a good idea of how it works, and how utterly bonkers it is, lol. My favourite thing about it was how much the narrative centres roller derby as a safe space for queer folks and as a source of found family, fierce friendships and support. There are some wonderful side characters and lots of good rep (trans, non-binary, BIPOC, disability) and the sense of community among the roller derby players was one of the strongest suits of the story.
Casey’s anxiety was well handled, but it does get rather intense towards the end of the book, so things got very heavy at times. There’s also other heavy topics like shitty family dynamics, alcoholism as a coping mechanism, and chronic illness/disability (Casey’s mum has chronic fatigue syndrome). The love story is lovely and real and a central part of Casey finding out who she is, but don’t go in expecting standard romance conventions.
Thanks to Netgalley and 8th Note Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Da ich ein anderes Buch des Autors so seLeider ein totaler Fehlschlag. Ãœberzeichnet, seltsam gestelzt-krampfige Dialoge, unsympathische Figuren - meh.
Da ich ein anderes Buch des Autors so sehr mochte und dieses absolut enttäuschend fand, will ich jetzt doch eine etwas längere Rezi schreiben.
Mein Hauptproblem war, dass ich die Charaktere überhaupt nicht mochte. Ich kann es generell nicht leiden, wenn die Figuren sich irgendwie dadurch definieren oder sich selbst bzw. den anderen „hochreden�, indem sie andere Menschen subtil, oder auch nicht so subtil, runtermachen. Ich fand, das traf hier auf beide zu: Thor, der Love Interest, wird ohnehin ständig dadurch als toll beschrieben, dass er ach so anders und tiefsinniger und ehrlicher und weniger konsumgetrieben und was weiß ich noch als alle anderen Typen ist; Jörn verklickert dem Leser in einer Tour, wie authentisch und faszinierend das wirkt. In seinem Handeln allerdings kommt Thor höchstens als leicht verschrobener, in seiner Wesensart verbohrter Typ mit problematischem Kommunikationsverhalten rüber (view spoiler)[(Extrembeispiel: Verlangt von seinem Lover absolute Transparenz und offene Kommunikation, hält es aber selber anscheinend für eine tolle Idee, Jörn ohne vorherige Absprache anzupinkeln, und zwar als „Test�, um zu sehen, ob der sagen kann, wenn er was nicht mag � hallo, geht’s noch?? Das ist das absolute Gegenteil von guter Kommunikation und ich hätte erwartet, dass bei so einer Aktion gleich jedes Vertrauen restlich weg ist.) (hide spoiler)]. Seinen (voll überzogenen) tragischen Hintergrund und die Gründe, warum er so ist, gibt es als einmaligen seitenlangen Vortrag, das muss dann anscheinend für alle seine Beweggründe reichen. Raum für Veränderung oder persönliches Wachstum ist nicht drin.
Bei Jörn, dem Erzähler, ging es ähnlich wertend zu � bei so ziemlich allem, was er mag oder sich wünscht, muss etwas oder jemand anderer dafür abgewertet werden. Vor allem die Untertöne gegen die BDSM-Szene waren ständig präsent, als wäre es einfach nicht möglich, das, was Jörn und Thor wollen, von extremerem oder strenger strukturiertem BDSM abzugrenzen, ohne Letzteres als irgendwie minderwertig hinzustellen. Überzeichnet wurde das ganze noch arg durch das seltsam beharrende Verhalten von beiden, betont durch jede Menge Ausrufezeichen bei jedem verbalen Austausch. Jörn brüllte auch ganz schnell mal rum oder musste sich zusammenreißen, um nicht mit dem Fuß aufzustampfen und sowas. Zuweilen habe ich ihn mir echt als trotzigen Fünfjährigen vorgestellt.
Auch die Beziehung selbst fand ich eher unterwältigend. Mir fehlte irgendwie die Chemie, es war nichts von einem richtigen Funken zu spüren. Jörn findet Thor heiß und schwupps sind sie in einer Art Fick-Arrangement, bei dem ich auch weit nach 50% nicht viel von echtem Gefühl zu merken war. Dementsprechend ließ mich auch der Smut relativ kalt.
Endgültig die Geduld verloren habe ich bei dem „Konflikt� in letzter Sekunde. Erstens hatte ich das Gefühl, dass dem Autor der Atem ausgegangen war, denn es geht übergangslos von einem Kapitel, in dem alles gut ist, ins nächste, in dem alles Scheiße ist. Keine Entwicklung, einfach mal so. Dann kam noch dazu, dass Jörn als das größte Arschloch dargestellt wird, weil er halt hin und wieder auch gern ein „Ich liebe dich� hören möchte. Das macht Thor nicht! Der zeigt sowas! Wie kannst du es wagen, Jörn, du Arsch! …hört Jörn von seinen eigenen Freunden dazu. Als wäre es das Abwegigste und Unverschämteste auf der Welt, Gefühle auch mal verbal bestätigt kriegen zu wollen.
Generell hat mich das Buch großteils gelangweilt und ein wenig genervt; mir war ständig, als wolle mir das Buch etwas ganz anderes über die Figuren und die Beziehung verkaufen, als sie selbst rüberbrachten. Ich fand auch den Schreibstil nicht gut. Schade, da ich den Sommerhagen-Band des Autors richtig schön fand. Naja, win some, lose some....more
Heartfelt, immensely readable, and lovely � of all her books since Simon, I enjoyed this the most. Definitely had some important things to say about hHeartfelt, immensely readable, and lovely � of all her books since Simon, I enjoyed this the most. Definitely had some important things to say about how harmful it can be to try and define others� experiences or gatekeep queer identity. Most of the time I just wanted to wrap Imogen up in a big tight hug....more
4.5 stars. This was highly enjoyable, with lots of emotional roller-coastering, and I tore through it in a day and a bit. I love it when books keep yo4.5 stars. This was highly enjoyable, with lots of emotional roller-coastering, and I tore through it in a day and a bit. I love it when books keep you up until arse o’clock with that “just one more chapter� feeling. I haven’t read Great Expectations (I started once and quickly grew tired of all the meandering) and I’m afraid my definitive version prior to this had been the Ethan Hawke adaptation with the gorgeous score; but I’m familiar enough with the broad strokes to appreciate what the author was doing with this, and how well the story lends itself to this reimagining.
I loved that this was proper enemies-to-lovers (or I suppose indeed enemies-to-lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers!), none of that nonsense where that label gets undeservedly slapped onto every mild misunderstanding or amiable rivalry. The feelings here are large and complex, with love and hate and longing and loathing all tangled up nice and snug. The vicious, painful bits were delightful and in fact my favourites, because I am perverse like that. If anything, I think the book perhaps didn’t quite commit to its themes of betrayal and emotional knife-twisting quite as much as it could have done. There were definitely parts where I felt like the author was pulling her punches a little, and I wish she hadn’t!
Gideon, this book’s version of Miss Havisham, was fabulous and twisted, deliciously fun.
It definitely does what I often miss about second-chance romance - giving enough scope to the initial relationship instead of hurriedly shoving it into some flashbacks. I suppose this is where the Dickens trellis comes in handy, because the story properly follows the characters through all the ups and downs, and if anything the eventual second (third? fourth?) chance bit gets gently hurried along; I wouldn't have minded a little more lingering there.
There were some minor editing issues that annoyed me, especially in the first part � some weird faffing about with wrong tenses and some line-level stuff that an editor or proofreader should have caught.
The other reason I’m rounding down instead of up is that this character configuration felt very, very familiar, and that part isn’t down to Dickens: Jude is, or at least starts out as, a sweet, earnest, kind-hearted upstanding lad, he’s dark-haired and green-eyed and doesn’t know how gorgeous he is, he wears his heart on his sleeve and it’s going to get broken so hard. Caspien is pale blond and blue-eyed, ethereally, stunningly beautiful, posh and smart and twisted and vicious and cruel and endlessly intriguing, with hidden secrets and insecurities, etc. etc. They’re great, I liked them, there’s a reason this configuration is so popular. It’s Harry/Draco fanfic, it’s Damen/Laurent, and the blond ice queen is always some version of Francis Lymond. There’s nothing wrong with it, but also I do sometimes wish authors shook it up a little bit and at least altered the visuals, because I’ve definitely met these exact same characters dozens of times before.
Overall, though, this was well-conceived and well-written and had me delightedly cussing at fictional people or fanning myself over the hot hatesex through the witching hour, so: noice. Will keep an eye out for other stuff from this author....more
Oof, this is a hard one to rate, because obviously it’s Farseers and Robin Hobb, so not automatically slapping on 5 stars feels wrong! Also, I do fullOof, this is a hard one to rate, because obviously it’s Farseers and Robin Hobb, so not automatically slapping on 5 stars feels wrong! Also, I do fully recognise what a monumental task it must be to adapt these in any other medium. I admit I had to giggle when I got to the end of this first volume and we’ve barely scratched the surface. I wonder how many volumes are planned? Because at the current rate, you’d need about 237, lol.
So, doing my best to judge this on its own merits: I think the narrative adaptation is very well done � obviously I can’t make myself be a person who hasn’t read and obsessed about these books way too much a normal amount, but it seems like it would flow well enough to follow even if you haven’t read the novels. The panel layout was easy to follow, and the cover art for the individual chapters is absolutely gorgeous.
The panel art� not so much. It all looks very basic and samey to me and I was pretty disappointed with the character design. It must be tricky to create distinctive-looking characters if several of them are similarly aged men with similar colouring, but I think one thing Ryan Kelly missed is just how young everyone is when the story starts. Like, yes, Fitz is six, nailed that, well done. But Chivalry and Verity and I think even Burrich are young men in their twenties when it all starts � they only seem old and intimidating because the POV character is a six-year-old boy! Regal was a literal teenager! In the panel art, they all look like guys in their forties, and I frequently found it hard to tell Chivalry, Verity and Burrich apart. Poor Molly, as a child Fitz’s age, looks like a thirty-year-old woman. Chade looks ancient, but Shrewd (who actually WAS pretty damn old) is in his fifties and looks like a warlord for some reason. I know character visuals are highly subjective and in fact it’s often what trips me up about comic adaptations, but this was just really not it.
It's also not made clear enough how much time passes � it seems like just a year goes by in this volume but Fitz and Molly clearly go from children to teenagers while nobody else changes physically. It’s all a little vague and meh.
He got the Fool more or less right, which is hilarious as he states in the notes that he doesn't grasp the Fool as a character.
I’ll check out the rest if I can get my hands on them, but mostly I just want to reread the books now and will have to restrain myself because I do not currently have the stamina for a sixteen-tome journey with guaranteed emotional devastation, lol. ...more
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