Usually, I absolutely adore Hawk's work (the Whyborne & Griffin series is one of my favorite series of all time), but this particular book left me feeUsually, I absolutely adore Hawk's work (the Whyborne & Griffin series is one of my favorite series of all time), but this particular book left me feeling very, "Meh."
I think a lot of it is me. I've gotten to a stage in my reading where the whole, "I want to have sex, and you look like a pretty reasonable option," premise is actually a detraction. I don't dislike all books that do this, and if this is what people want to do (either in fiction or real life), that's certainly fine, but I myself don't particularly enjoy reading about it. I like for some manner of positive feelings (either romance or friendship) to come first. The characters certainly don't have to be Committed For The Rest of Their Lives before hopping into bed, but this, "Hey, we just met, and I don't know anything about you, but I'm horny so lets boink," isn't my cup of tea.
Now, books can and do recover from this for me. I don't enjoy the above, but neither is it a massive dislike for me. It is something to overcome, but it can be and often is overcome. The problem with this book is that it didn't. I never really understood what it was that the MCs liked about each other, other than their desire to boink. They only had an incredibly short time (as in, time that passed in the book) to get to know one another, and most of that time was spent on other plot things. This was understandable given the short length of the book, but I was left not feeling their relationship. I feel like I got a reasonable understanding of the characters as individuals, but why they would be drawn to each other romantically didn't connect with me. I did understand their desire to have a sexual relationship, but romantic? No.
But I did feel like the characters were very well crafted, which doesn't always happen in shorter books. That was very positive.
Merged review:
Usually, I absolutely adore Hawk's work (the Whyborne & Griffin series is one of my favorite series of all time), but this particular book left me feeling very, "Meh."
I think a lot of it is me. I've gotten to a stage in my reading where the whole, "I want to have sex, and you look like a pretty reasonable option," premise is actually a detraction. I don't dislike all books that do this, and if this is what people want to do (either in fiction or real life), that's certainly fine, but I myself don't particularly enjoy reading about it. I like for some manner of positive feelings (either romance or friendship) to come first. The characters certainly don't have to be Committed For The Rest of Their Lives before hopping into bed, but this, "Hey, we just met, and I don't know anything about you, but I'm horny so lets boink," isn't my cup of tea.
Now, books can and do recover from this for me. I don't enjoy the above, but neither is it a massive dislike for me. It is something to overcome, but it can be and often is overcome. The problem with this book is that it didn't. I never really understood what it was that the MCs liked about each other, other than their desire to boink. They only had an incredibly short time (as in, time that passed in the book) to get to know one another, and most of that time was spent on other plot things. This was understandable given the short length of the book, but I was left not feeling their relationship. I feel like I got a reasonable understanding of the characters as individuals, but why they would be drawn to each other romantically didn't connect with me. I did understand their desire to have a sexual relationship, but romantic? No.
But I did feel like the characters were very well crafted, which doesn't always happen in shorter books. That was very positive....more
I'm going to be honest: I absolutely skipped the sex scenes in this because, well, shark/orca/fish. Maybe Hawk managed to de-emphasize anything to do I'm going to be honest: I absolutely skipped the sex scenes in this because, well, shark/orca/fish. Maybe Hawk managed to de-emphasize anything to do with the shark/orca/fish factor to a degree that I could have tolerated it, but all of that is so central to Persephone that I'm not sure how that could be done. So, skip, skip, skip for me.
That being said, I was so ecstatic to see Miss Parkhurst finally getting her own special happiness after seeing her affections for our beloved Whyborne go so spectacularly astray. I've always liked Maggie and felt sad that she was so totally getting the short end of the stick when she was being so earnest (and Whyborne, you are very thick). I also loved to see her come into herself and her own abilities and self-confidence. AND it was fun to see some of what's going on in Widdershins from a little less of the Center Stage perspective.
Merged review:
I'm going to be honest: I absolutely skipped the sex scenes in this because, well, shark/orca/fish. Maybe Hawk managed to de-emphasize anything to do with the shark/orca/fish factor to a degree that I could have tolerated it, but all of that is so central to Persephone that I'm not sure how that could be done. So, skip, skip, skip for me.
That being said, I was so ecstatic to see Miss Parkhurst finally getting her own special happiness after seeing her affections for our beloved Whyborne go so spectacularly astray. I've always liked Maggie and felt sad that she was so totally getting the short end of the stick when she was being so earnest (and Whyborne, you are very thick). I also loved to see her come into herself and her own abilities and self-confidence. AND it was fun to see some of what's going on in Widdershins from a little less of the Center Stage perspective....more
This was a pretty solid little story, but it just wasn't my genre. I knew it might not be (the author warns somewhere that people who have read--and pThis was a pretty solid little story, but it just wasn't my genre. I knew it might not be (the author warns somewhere that people who have read--and possibly enjoy--The Prisoner of Zenda are more likely to enjoy this book, and I have done neither), but I was willing to take the chance. Alas, it just wasn't for me. I didn't like most of the character (or maybe mostly didn't like the characters?) and found chunks of the text confusing. I probably could have worked it out if I'd been willing to reread the text in question, but I didn't care enough, so I just kept going. I think I still got the general plot and didn't miss the overarching theme even though there were parts where I didn't know what the characters were doing (because I was confused), but it's very possible I missed something.
The romance felt pretty spotty to me, too, even at the end. That isn't to say that there aren't real relationships that end up working something like this (there absolutely are...well, I'm not talking about the more fantastical elements, but hopefully you get what I'm referring to if you've read the book (view spoiler)[I mean the whole breaking up, spending time apart, being with other people, coming back together, no "I love you"s, etc (hide spoiler)]) but it's not not what I'm looking for in a romance. That doesn't mean there's anything wrong with it, it's just not my cup of tea, which is fine.
I did like the whole, "Story from another perspective," aspect, though. That's always very appealing to me.
Merged review:
This was a pretty solid little story, but it just wasn't my genre. I knew it might not be (the author warns somewhere that people who have read--and possibly enjoy--The Prisoner of Zenda are more likely to enjoy this book, and I have done neither), but I was willing to take the chance. Alas, it just wasn't for me. I didn't like most of the character (or maybe mostly didn't like the characters?) and found chunks of the text confusing. I probably could have worked it out if I'd been willing to reread the text in question, but I didn't care enough, so I just kept going. I think I still got the general plot and didn't miss the overarching theme even though there were parts where I didn't know what the characters were doing (because I was confused), but it's very possible I missed something.
The romance felt pretty spotty to me, too, even at the end. That isn't to say that there aren't real relationships that end up working something like this (there absolutely are...well, I'm not talking about the more fantastical elements, but hopefully you get what I'm referring to if you've read the book (view spoiler)[I mean the whole breaking up, spending time apart, being with other people, coming back together, no "I love you"s, etc (hide spoiler)]) but it's not not what I'm looking for in a romance. That doesn't mean there's anything wrong with it, it's just not my cup of tea, which is fine.
I did like the whole, "Story from another perspective," aspect, though. That's always very appealing to me....more
This is the second book in "The Christmas Angel" series that I read (the authors seem to have decided to all pick how they wanted to make the books avThis is the second book in "The Christmas Angel" series that I read (the authors seem to have decided to all pick how they wanted to make the books available separately, and not all of them made them available the same way so I'm having trouble getting a hold of some of them; my library can't get some of them, and some of them aren't on Kindle Unlimited), and it was okay. I didn't really feel much of a kick in it, but it also wasn't bad. I just didn't feel it. The characters and their story didn't move it. Usually with short stories or shorter stories I say part of the problem is the length (when I found out this story was on the shorter side, I was worried about that), but to be honest I'm not sure making it longer would have helped in this case. Usually with short stories I'm frustrated because I want to read more, more details, more plot, more development, and in this case I just didn't care. I coasted through the book fine (it wasn't difficult to read), but nothing about it meant anything to me. I was well ready to be finished with it when the story was done.
Merged review:
This is the second book in "The Christmas Angel" series that I read (the authors seem to have decided to all pick how they wanted to make the books available separately, and not all of them made them available the same way so I'm having trouble getting a hold of some of them; my library can't get some of them, and some of them aren't on Kindle Unlimited), and it was okay. I didn't really feel much of a kick in it, but it also wasn't bad. I just didn't feel it. The characters and their story didn't move it. Usually with short stories or shorter stories I say part of the problem is the length (when I found out this story was on the shorter side, I was worried about that), but to be honest I'm not sure making it longer would have helped in this case. Usually with short stories I'm frustrated because I want to read more, more details, more plot, more development, and in this case I just didn't care. I coasted through the book fine (it wasn't difficult to read), but nothing about it meant anything to me. I was well ready to be finished with it when the story was done....more
This was a perfectly readable book, but nothing exciting. One of the things that I'm not sure how to do, though, is writing a review on it without spoThis was a perfectly readable book, but nothing exciting. One of the things that I'm not sure how to do, though, is writing a review on it without spoiling things that I figured out before I even oped the book (ahh, common tropes) but aren't actually in the blurb.
So, I guess I'll say that I didn't really like Philip. I didn't really dislike him, but he was more of a doormat than pleased me, and I kept wanting to tell him throughout the book that people shouldn't be treating him the way they were. Even if for some reason he absolutely could not get it to stop (the degree to which this could be argued varied depending on the situation) he had the right to mentally think, "This is not okay, if I see a chance to get out of this situation, I will take it." But, as I said, he was more of a doormat than I liked.
As for our Love Interest (LI), I rather liked him (and here I just can't avoid spoilers that, once again, I figured out before I opened the book, but aren't in the blurb, so others might not) (view spoiler)[because he felt more non-human (at least for chunks of the book) than often happens in these types of books. I don't think it has to be written this way, but I enjoyed seeing it play out like this. (hide spoiler)]
The sex was interesting. I liked the way it was done because I felt it departed from familiar tropes (in a way that fit in with the LI spoiler above). However, there did feel like there was a lot of it to me (a matter of taste), and sometimes when it happened, I was sitting there thinking, "You know, given what else is going on, the mood disconnect is really weird." Sometimes it felt like the main plot stopped, the characters had sex in a compartmentalized world, and then the plot started again. It was odd.
I did like the overall plot, although there wasn't enough space to get to know the world very well. I thought it was an interesting idea and, if I'd liked Philip more, I probably would have liked the book more. ...more
This absolutely is not a stand-alone book at all and you must have read the previous two books in order to understand this book at all. Some books in This absolutely is not a stand-alone book at all and you must have read the previous two books in order to understand this book at all. Some books in a series you can get away with skipping a book, this series you absolutely cannot. Be aware of that.
I really liked this series because it often didn't do what I expected. As a whole, I didn't feel like, "Yes, I am someone who has read fantasy a lot, I know where this story is going already." This book didn't feel quite as twisty and unexpected as the previous two, but it was still lots of fun. I'm sad to see Sairis and Roland go; I'll miss them and I'm actually going to push myself to read A.H. Lee's MMF series (The Incubus series) which I don't usually dip into. Fingers crossed!
I really liked to watch both Roland and Sairis change throughout the books, both as they interacted with each other (and their varying moral stances, lived experiences, places in society, and ways of interacting with the world) and as they had other interactions external to each other. Getting to know them, and watching them getting to know each other and themselves, was such fun.
I also liked that people in this book didn't know everything about everything, that some people knew things that others didn't. And not just in a, "A wise sage tells the protagonist something as a way to inform the reader," way. No, different people (both individuals and groups) had access to different knowledge and that played into the plot. That was very enjoyable and doesn't always happen.
I also really appreciated that (view spoiler)[the lover that Roland had before Sairis was treated with gravity and respect in this book, that it wasn't ignored, minimized, treated as a threat to Sairis, or treated as something that Roland would get over when he fell in love with Sairis. That's something that happens a lot in romance novels, and it drives me bonkers. (hide spoiler)]...more
As with the first book, this book ended on a cliffhanger so profound that "cliffhanger" barely covers it. Be prepared to have the next book or be prepAs with the first book, this book ended on a cliffhanger so profound that "cliffhanger" barely covers it. Be prepared to have the next book or be prepared to say, "That's the end?!"
This series keeps not going where I expected to. There was one point (view spoiler)[where someone was blackmailing Sairis (hide spoiler)] where I said to myself, "Ugh, I know where this is going for at least a good chunk of the book from here, and I don't like this trope at all," but I was wrong! Fooled! tricked! Led astray! Now, I'm pretty easy to trick, so people shouldn't automatically take this as an indicator that this book is sneaky (I'm so easy to fool!), but I was pleased that I didn't predict the path of the book when I was convinced (unhappily) that I had. Yes!
I very much enjoyed the presentation of grey morality in this book, which was particularly grey for some characters. I'm wondering how that will progress into the third book. It's tough to pull that off without it falling into "really not that bad" or "oh shoot, that's actually too bad," so we shall see. So far (more significant spoiler here)(view spoiler)[most of the pushing of the moral line has been done by secondary characters, not primary ones (hide spoiler)] but I'm curious to see if that changes....more
First, I will warn that this book very much ends on a cliffhanger. All three books in this series seem to bAnother book that I very much enjoyed! Yay!
First, I will warn that this book very much ends on a cliffhanger. All three books in this series seem to be available at this time, so as long as you get all three books, this shouldn't be a problem, but this book does not stand alone at all.
In this book, we get to know Sairis and Roland as they...start to get to know one another. There are still many secrets and unknowns (I have lots of speculation that I won't engage in here about what will happen in the next books, I'm very excited!) The interpersonal drama/relationship between Roland and Sairis is glorious. Seeing them go from interacting when they don't know each other's identities at all to when they have some information about each other is incredible. Questions of trust, knowledge of self and other, identity, all are explored, and the exploration clearly isn't finished. The world-building was also very interesting, dealing with changes to the world, characters themselves not knowing everything, differing responses to cataclysmic events, varying moral stances by characters...I really enjoyed it.
I'm looking forward to rushing off into the next book....more
First off, there had better be a sequel following book, because WTF with that last line in the book? I dStarting out the year on a good note! Woo woo!
First off, there had better be a sequel following book, because WTF with that last line in the book? I don't know if "cliffhanger" really counts because the book pretty much felt complete but that last line!
Anyway, I do agree with many of the reviewers that there was a lot of head-hopping and that it might have been better to cut down on this some, but ultimately the head-hopping didn't bother me, maybe because I've read a lot of fantasy books where this is fairly common so I'm used to this sort of thing. I'm not saying it was or wasn't the best stylistic choice, it just didn't bother me.
I was pleased by the fact that a lot of the characters ((view spoiler)[maybe all of the main characters, ultimately? (hide spoiler)]) were morally ambiguous in some way. I like it when characters aren't perfect and all good and their "flaws" aren't pretend flaws that aren't really flaws. It makes the story more engaging for me. Sometimes that can be hard to pull off (sometimes the characters end up being just bad and unlikeable), but I think this book did it well.
If there is an area that this book fell short in, I think it's that the relationship/romance didn't get as much development as it might have. Hopefully, if there is a sequel (give it to me!) we'll see more of that, and I definitely felt like the foundation of a relationship was there, but it wasn't as strong as I would have liked.
I'm also really hoping to see more of the dragon/human cultural differences.
Prince Roland felt kind of off for me though. He didn't feel like a child of his age at least a chunk of the time when we saw him....more
Oh, my goodness, Percy and Monty are so ferociously wonderful and adorable. I love them so much. I want to read more of this series and will as soon aOh, my goodness, Percy and Monty are so ferociously wonderful and adorable. I love them so much. I want to read more of this series and will as soon as I'm not drowning under school work and work-work that I need to graduate (I'm dying here).
I loved so very much that Percy and Monty still felt so real in this little novella, like they were still people with flaws and who couldn't read each other's minds and needed to work things out, both with themselves and with each other. I also adored that their conflicts were both real (not some made-up nonsense) and something that they honestly worked through, both as individuals and as a couple.
I want to read the first book again, then this book again, then the second book (haven't read it yet! Gah!) then the third book (not out yet!). So many books to read! It's nice to have books that I really am excitedly looking forward to after I'm no longer being crushed beneath trying to graduate....more
I did not like this book At. All. If it wasn't so short, I would have DNFed. But it was short, really short, so I did.
First off, they were both jerks,I did not like this book At. All. If it wasn't so short, I would have DNFed. But it was short, really short, so I did.
First off, they were both jerks, but I was supposed to like them anyway. I did not. First, who in their goddamned mind says, "I have a crush in this person, so I'm going to be an asshole them?" Sure, twits may say "Oh, s/he's just being mean to you because s/he LIKES you!" but A) is that ever true B) does anyone ever do that consciously? In this book, apparently so, and it happens with full-grown adults we're supposed to empathize with.
Secondly, the response to the "theft" is both all out of proportion and illogical. You're going to use something intimate and personal to do psychological damage to someone because of supposed loss of money that you absolutely do not need to live because you're a rich twit? And you're going to do this with no investigation beforehand? Not, I don't know, go to the freaking publisher and say, "Dude, my work was stolen, you owe me money as is my due for my work"? I mean, WTF?
Third, I don't even understand why these two like each other. First they don't know each other, then they are horrible assholes to each other, and then they are in love? Why? Where is the movement from enemies to in love? It just POOFS into being.
This is the second book I've read by this author (I didn't realize who it was by when I started it), and I dislike them both, although I don't hate this one as much as the other one....more
Ongoing webcomic, one of my absolute favorites. I want it to come out in a form that I can buy, and that says something considering my limited-financeOngoing webcomic, one of my absolute favorites. I want it to come out in a form that I can buy, and that says something considering my limited-finance-induced-cheapness. It's SO GOOD. I may elaborate more when I'm not writing from my phone. ...more
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