4 for your soft (and safe) heart stars!!! (update to add links of Aubrey and Lex) Henry Cavill as War. [image]
FIRST OF ALL Notes for safety gang. For tho4 for your soft (and safe) heart stars!!! (update to add links of Aubrey and Lex) Henry Cavill as War. [image]
FIRST OF ALL Notes for safety gang. For those of you who don't know there's a group of Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ romance readers who hate to find things in our reads that ruin our fun. We don't have time to waste with cheating, rapist heroes, and we consider other woman interaction as cheating. It ruins the romance for us. Happy endings are a must for many of us.
Cheating: (view spoiler)[ NO (hide spoiler)] Other Woman after meeting: (view spoiler)[ NO Yay!*dances the conga* (hide spoiler)] Other Men: (view spoiler)[ NO (hide spoiler)] Violence: The graphic violence ratchetes up. In comparison, Pestilence's violence was less in your face. Doormat heroine: In my opinion no. That's the reason for my high rating. I love Miriam more than Sara. Abuse: (view spoiler)[Phychological yes. Physical No. Not like in Pestilence Sexual there were rape attempts but thanks god the heroine does everything in her power to stop rape (an impossibility during war times, war and rape come hand in hand) and eventually the hero stopped the sexual abuses that occurred in his camp because Miriam herself was attacked. There's not a single time when H gets involved in those crimes. How sad I have to point out, it should be a given that NO HERO SHOULD EVER RAPE OR APPROVE RAPE but you know that lately we can find rapist heroes in books marketed as romance. However, for a while War ignored humans, he acted very indifferently towards them, after all he's there to kills us, so there are mentions that there was rape in his camp. He stopped this when he fell for the heroine, but careful if this is something that can trigger you. (hide spoiler)] HEA: (view spoiler)[ Sort of. It's more like a Happy for now, but the good news is that it seems like the couple of book 1 Pestilence is still well and happy!!! So I'd say in Famine, book 3 of this series we will find all our people still happy. I'm really excited about that. (hide spoiler)] Bareback sex. (view spoiler)[Yes (hide spoiler)] Mismatched sexual pasts: Yes because REFORMED MANWHORE!!! He doesn't have eyes for anyone after meeting the heroine. Thank you so much for that Thalassa. Would have preferred if his past hadn't been mentioned at all but it didn't play anything with the romance. No X's, no slutshaming of the x's. No OW drama. The romance was great, in my opinion. RELIGION: I praised Pestilence to no end because it approaches religion in a non-religious way. This book follows the same BRILLIANT neutral approach. If you looked up the world "religion" in your ebook reader it will return 9 results and none of them favors a religion above another.
Case in point Result 2 of 9 All religions want the same thing-salvation. I can hear my father's voice like an echo from the past. We're all the same or
Result 4 of 9 But not everything is normal. After all, there's no indictation that religion exits here. Granted, I've only been at camp for a day, so maybe I just need to be patient. However, so far there have been no calls for prayer and no public sermons. I haven't seen anything that indicates which god -if any- these people believe in.
Anyone who disagrees with my POV, could you please quote which parts of the book contradict my statements?
I didn't find anything here that could be offensive to the Abrahamic creeds: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. If anything, the mentions of religion in books like City of Bones and Angelfall are potentially more risky to become offensive for some creeds because the protagonists of those books, Jace and Archangel Raphael question the idea of God and their own biblical origins. Yet those books are insanely popular so I applaud Thalassa for the very unique way she transformed 4 biblical figures into interesting Romance heroes in a way that can be respectful to all creeds. BRILLIANT. It almost makes me give this book 5 stars.
There are some things here that didn't work for me personally but those have nothing to do with safety or romance. As a safe romance I highly recommend this book, almost as much as I recommend Pestilence. If you read only for the romance there's a lot of good things to find here. However, fans of post-apocalyptic books that don't care much for romance might find difficult to suspend disbelief around some situations because (view spoiler)[ it's not realistic to expect that dead bodies can be move around by supernatural powerful beings without making human sick. People who work around dead bodies follow certain procedures. There were other unrealistic things here that didn't ruin my enjoyment. If you're here only for the romance I don't think any of those things will bother you. (hide spoiler)]
I suggest to approach this book not as Post-apocalyptic story but as a VERY unique, VERY original Paranormal romance that stepped a tad bit into erotic romance territory (not as much as A Court of Mist and Fury, but unlike that book, War isn't marketed toward 11-13-year-old-children). Just don't expect this book to be as unique as Pestilence. The whole premise is still way different than most Fantasy romances out there. It's compelling and makes for a fun read, but some aspects of this story aren't as original (some overdone romance tropes here that in no way ruin the entertaining factor of the book) or thought-provoking as Pestilence. It's a totally different book with a totally different Hero, who isn't as willing to show his vulnerability as his brother, our dear Pest the conqueror.
Side note ABOUT THE BRILLIANCE OF THIS BOOK considering a bussiness perspective inside this spoiler tag. DON'T READ unless you're interested in the behind the scenes of publishers and the agenda against indie authors: (view spoiler)[I can't be the only one who notices that lately indie authors have been targeted by members of the GR community. Also there has been a lot of false advertising in the GR features. I want to point out that false marketing is a huge trigger for me because I PAY FOR MY OWN BOOKS AND UNLIKE MANY INFLUENCERS, I'M NOT PURSUING A CAREER IN PUBLISHING. This book has been marketed honestly so I recommend it. I've been saying all along that many people in Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ post reviews that hide problematic content of books published by the big five publishers or/and try to discourage readers from discovering authors like Laura Thalassa among many other talented writers. Why? Because many people including influencers think wrongly that the only way to get published is by getting an agent and/or the good will of the big publishers. If you're doing that, if you're covering up p@rn content or posting fake reviews to hurt this author or any other, hoping to gain the good will of publishers you're selling yourself cheap. My contacts tell me that publishing contracts lately aren't Stephanie Meyer's-contract-great. This book opened at number 7 (I heard it peaked at 5) on release day on AMAZON with no pre-sales period, and barely any marketing at all other than the author's hard work that reflects in having been publishing ORIGINAL, UNIQUE series in the past 6 years consistently and gaining new readers each time.
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This book is still top of several amazon lists and it has been consistently on the top 100 for weeks. This author didn't start with these numbers. She kept working and publishing until she got them.
Thalassa, Shannon Meyer, C.N. Crawford, Jaymin Eve, among many others might not be as famous as indie stars like Howey, Forrest, Hockings, Hoover, Ward, but if what authors Brianna Aubrey and Jex Lane published on their blogs is true these authors must be receiving within the week of their release what many of the trad-published authors will receive as advance. Maybe more.
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And many traditionally published New adult fantasy authors, currently marketed as YA by their big five, can't get 3500 Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ ratings within their first month of release. Even well-known authors. This book is sold exclusively on Amazon, no paperback yet and is already past 5000 Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ ratings.
So if any of the Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ top reviewers who are using their Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ accounts and blogs to attack indie authors or hide problematic content of the big five publishers is reading this post, please consider other options that don't imply posting lies in our Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ community. Maybe there are other ways to achieve your dreams that don't require you to scoop low. (hide spoiler)]
Now let's back to the book.
Reading this book as part of a Buddy Read was one of the best reading experiences I had this year. [image]
Vicky- Death QT Fotini- Pestilence QT Chikiboom Mother-shocker QT April- Death QT Laura Elizabeth- Pierogi Princess Bunny Mouse- War QT Charlene- Sleepy Charlie QT Tracy- Iron Maiden QT Jordan-War QT Karen-Pestilence QT Parvati Patil- Desmond Flynn QT
I like the QT's review form. It was a great tool to analyze objectively my rating.
Characters: 5 stars How can't I love Miriam more than Sara? Sara was a good heroine, but she was more willing to accept Pest's logic and his role in our extermination until almost the end of book 1. Miriam? (view spoiler)[ she fought her husband's mission from the moment she met him. She knew she was no match for her "husband" physically, that she wasn't accepted by the people around him, that she wasn't even properly trained for war, but she did what she could to save as many lives as she could. And she killed a couple of rapists. I read some reviews calling her wishy washy and I strongly disagree. Miriam didn't waver in her purpose, not even when passion consumed her. And under those terrible circumstances I can understand why she needed sex. THIS WOMAN WAS SO LONELY! Sex became a mean for her purposes and a way to connect to someone else. And I applaud a heroine that ENJOYS sex! I can't stand behind that STUPID idea many romance writers have that man can't and won't resist sex, while women not only can, but somehow should if they want to get their happy endings. How many times we have read about separated couples and find H sleeping around during the separation and the stupid h waiting in disgusting, unequal celibate? I hate those kind of tropes and that's why I love this book so much. (hide spoiler)] War on the other hand was so difficult to love AT FIRST. (view spoiler)[Half the book he made me miss his brother Pest. Remember when we met Pestilence he was minding his own business when Sara shoot him? And he was in pain! And he asked Sara for a bit of humanity, a bit of MERCY a bit of HUMANITY even though he was the most powerful being we have met so far within this post-apocalyptic world! He was vulnerable and strong at the same time ever since the opening chapter of his book. And later he becomes even more vulnerable and even MORE POWERFUL as love finds him. War shows no pain, no physical vulnerability and his devotion to Miriam seems at first more like a dominance thing than true, passionate love. But eventually War shows us how he fell hard for Miriam and in doing that we could see a little of compelling vulnerability in him. Like Miriam I was surprised when I realized I was in love with War. I didn't even realized when that happened! I was sure I didn't like War at all even after the 65% mark, and suddenly, I didn't know when, I didn't know how. I was rooting for him! I was smiling when he was smiling and got dead worried when things seemed to go terribly wrong for him. It was magical!!! (hide spoiler)] Character relationships: 4 stars It was only War and Miriam and for me it was hard at first to root for them. I was rooting solely on Miriam. In general, Thalassa's books are always focused on the couple and their relationship. There wasn't an equivalent of the elderly couple here like there was in Pestilence and I missed that so much. Pace: 5 stars Despite my not caring much for War and his raids this book grabbed me and it was difficult to put down. The last 25% of the book is unputdownable. Ignore the DNF's reviews because this book saves the best for last.
Steam: NO STARS. I remember several sex scenes but only two worked for me. One of these sex scenes was as disgusting as the one described in a court of wings and ruin, but Hey! at least this is marketed towards adults and not to 11-13 YO children. I also hated the overuse of porn language. Nothing wrong with dirty talk, but Rhapsodic is one of my favourite books ever and that kind of classy, romantic, creative, not over-descriptive and yet supersteamy sex scenes is what rocks my boat. In other words I only liked the sex scenes that were similar to those of Pestilence and Rhapsodic and there weren't enough of those.
Beginning: 4 stars The opening chapter didn't pull me the way Pestilence did, but if you don't compare, it was still engaging and well-written. Middle: 4 stars
Ending: 5 stars The last 25% is the best part. Overall: 4stars Trigger warnings for (cheating?, rape?, gratuitous angst?): I already posted my warnings, and I wouldn't call the angst that comes with the end of world as "gratuitous angst". The title itself is a trigger warning. What I liked the most about War in 10 words or less: I can't say everything I liked about this book in 10 words. So many things worked well here. Again if you don't compare to Pestilence you may enjoy this one a lot. What I didn't like about War in 10 words or less: An ancient powerful paranormal being using modern porn language.
Thank you QT's for inviting me to read with you. I'm so glad to see honest, real users who PAY FOR THEIR OWN BOOKS (not a single ARC or booktour review on this BR) enjoying a safe book like this one. Bravo QT's.
Original I just realized Pestilence changed cover. What happened? Does Anyone know? I can't take this series seriously anymore with a cover like that....more
NOTES FOR SAFETY GANG AT THE BOTTOM OF MY REVIEW Safe book! Henry Cavill as Griffin
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Another New adult fantasy that is advertised as such! NOTES FOR SAFETY GANG AT THE BOTTOM OF MY REVIEW Safe book! Henry Cavill as Griffin
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Another New adult fantasy that is advertised as such! And to make it even better it's well- written and at least for this first installment is safe (MEANING: no cheating NO KISSES OR SEXUAL ACTIVITY WITH OTHER PARTNERS) Not only that, it's WELL-EDITED, (no overuse of any word here, no filler, no repetitive annoying stuff) and the EROTIC SCENES NEVER TAKE A CENTRAL PLACE, THERE'S STILL A PLOT! And that plot is perfectly woven with a well-researched greek mythology and some very steamy sexy scenes.
So I'm really happy I discovered this author. Honest author! Honest publishers! HONEST MARKETING! Quality content! That's so hard to find these days.
Yes, this book is what its blurb and cover promise to be. No misleading potential book buyers here. No wonder the same bloggers and reviewers who always praise the books from that publisher (which will not be named) who sells books with fifty shades of grey content to 12 YO children have given this one a not so stellar rating.
Oh yes, for this ADULT/NEW ADULT book advertised and promoted as such there are at least a couple of top reviews in Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ with triggers warnings for sexual content and violence . Those same warnings are lacking in reviews of books from the big publishing houses. Funny because other than a little bit of Stockholm syndrome which is something we can infer from the blurb and a very ALPHA HERO, posessive and deliciously brutal, I found nothing abusive. At least not as abusive or problematic as series as the royals and A court of thorns and roses which are sold to Young kids despite the age of the characters and the erotic content with no warning. The heroine Cat is really on equal terms in terms of power and rank than the hero. She's smart and stands up for herself all the time. He's very dominant but she's fierce. There's sexual content, but it's marketed for adults so I see no problem there. I'm all for steamy content(even in young adult books) as long as it's advertised and marketed as such. IF YOU'RE GOING TO SELL A BOOK TO UNDERAGE READERS THEN ADD A NOTE THAT THERE'S EROTIC CONTENT TO YOUR COVER. BUYERS DESERVE TO KNOW WHAT THEY'RE PAYING FOR Clearly this book comes from a smaller, imprint with less resources than some other publishing houses to pay for false advertising. Yet this book has higher quality! And less of the problematic issues (like abusive relationships, cheating, OW, OM, pro-rape culture messages, racism, among others) that make me afraid of grabbing over hyped books without reading my friends honest opinion first.
This review might become a rant later because there's so much to discuss about this book and I need to cool down before writing my ideas. I just have to tell you that I love the secondary characters; Kato, Carver, Flynn they're handsome, funny and I need more of them. The worldbuilding is great, the greek mythology, the pace, the plot, everything works well to make A promise of fire an enjoyable, sexy read. Overall a winner for me!
I'm trying to find safety info on the sequels and can't find it yet so I might not start the rest of the series for now. I recently read a new adult fantasy novella that ruined one of my all time favourite OTP's so I'm a little bit afraid of reading the others books of this series, but I might take a chance on the other books if they are safe.
SAFETY INFO No Cheating No OW after meeting No OM after meeting A little bit of age difference (H is in his early 30's h is 23) Mistmatched sexual pasts. (view spoiler)[ he's more or less experienced and she's a virgin. However once he meets her there's no OW scene and he gets eyes for no one but the heroine. There's this woman who slept once with the hero who taunts the heroine and becomes the evil ex, but other than that I had no problems with this. (hide spoiler)] Bareback sex but(view spoiler)[ heroine is a virgin (not of the stupid kind, she's very bad ass) and hero seems to have experience, but not in the manwhore way. (hide spoiler)]...more
Update 07/22/19 I finished the sequel of this book some hours ago and I have to tell you that I was seriously underating this series. I'm upping my ratUpdate 07/22/19 I finished the sequel of this book some hours ago and I have to tell you that I was seriously underating this series. I'm upping my rating to 5 stars beacuse book 2, War has some issues, but it's another safe book that in no way ruins the good things built in Pestilence. If you like me hate cheating heroes and OW after meeting I highly recommend this series.
I also want to point out that Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ is a site to express our opinions about books and to discover new books. Any member of our community trying to prevent you
a) from expressing your honest opinion, whether positive or negative about this or any other book b) from discovering this author's books because they would prefer if you paid more attention to the New adult fantasy (marketed as YA) of the big publishing houses.
is someone that if I were you, I would block.
I'm tired of seeing campaings pro/anti books based on their content (Twilight? Fifty shades? Carve the mark? Damsel? Black witch, Pittacus Lore books?) or stupid parameters like indie vs. Traditionally published, Harper vs Simon and Shuster, Amazon books vs. Penguin books etc.
Let the material speak for itself and readers decide by themselves
Nobody has the right to tell the readers DON'T FALL FOR THE COVER OF THIS BOOK, THIS BOOK IS PROBLEMATIC, THIS BOOK IS THIS OR THAT, THE AUTHOR OF THIS BOOK OFFENDED MY FRIEND. in other words, many people in goodreads always tell you don't read this book. There's good and terrible edited books in the traditional published world. Lately bad edited books from the big publishers are a frequent occurency. There's Good and terrible edited books in the indies world. As a reader what we want is good stories and who publishes those stories is beside the point. The fact that some times content offends a group is something that I'm free to ignore or not. But don't act like if I enjoy Twilight or Fifty shades or tHE SELECTION, or Carve the Mark or Pestilence there's something wrong with me and don't try to force me into your triggers. I have triggers of my own, thank you very much.
So please don't use our Goodread platform to prevent people to read books they might enjoy. Trash the book all you want in your review if you want to. But don't use your review to try to prevent a book reaching its target audience. In the case of Thalassa and Sarah J. Maas books the target audience is the 17 and older readers. That's not what goodreads is for. I have specific triggers (cheating, rape, Other woman) and I love reading reviews that give me information about those triggers but I would never use my negative reviews to prevent people who might like a book better than me, to read it because its message offends me. That's immature. I have no time for immature readers so I'm starting to unfriend and block readers according to what I perceive are misleading reviews.
If you like me are a reader who pays for your own books and are tired of the same old same old of the fantasy and romance genres I suggest you to ignore the haters and give the Four Horsemen a chance. Or at the very least Rhapsodic. A book in my opinion, much better than all the New adult fantasy (which is currently marketed as YA ) by publishers like Wensday books and Bloomsburry. Distrust anyone who tells you Thalassa isn't an author worth reading.
One last thing. Many people who trash this book are big supporters of the big publishing houses and dont' want you to discover that some indies (key word being some)are publishing great stories that you're missing out. Just because some top Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ reviewers and Booktubers don't pay for their books (or want to get a publishing contract with traditional publishers) and NEED TO SUPPORT the traditional pulsihers doesn't mean the rest of us, that all we want is a good story to read, should follow their advice. I'm here to discover books, and I don't care the publisher behind it as long as I enjoy the story. And Thalassa's stories are some of the most original ones I've read in a long time. And to top it all safe!!! It's so difficult to find safe books nowadays so if you like me hate cheating, sad endings and OW after meeting don't let anyone keep you away from Thalassa's books.
ORIGINAL REVIEW NOTES FOR SAFETY GANG:
No Cheating, No Other Woman No Other Men, plus Virgin hero!
More info on safety below
Jason Lewis as Pest!
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Thank you Laura Thalassa for writing this beautiful enemies to lovers book. And their love conquered everything! I'm so happy LOVE was such an important part of their redemption! Additional thanks to you Laura Thalassa for trusting your talent and hard work SO MUCH as to avoid falling into the pattern of false/deceiving /misleading advertising. That speaks volumes of your quality as both: as a human being and a writer.A good book doesn't need false advertising, word of mouth and a good story will make the book a bestseller. This one is currently number one on several Amazon Lists.
I almost gave Pestilence a 5 Stars rating on honest advertisement. I might up my rating when I finished the entire series because I've been saying all along that False marketing has become my personal trigger and it's so refreshing to find a new adult book marketed as such!
When a "fantasy" book has characters who are older than 19 YO and feature explicit sex scenes there shouldn't be: a) False advertisement shoved through Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ on underage readers throats using Listopia and the Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ choice awards to give the impression that said book is a Young adult book
b) Campaigns to vote up and protect from erasing certain books in what is in my opinion big publishers' self-promotional lists aimed to promote new releases to underage readers (meaning YA 2017, YA 2018, YA 2019 lists in goodreads) Distrust those lists my friends! Plenty of books there are New adult and heavy on sex!
c) Censorship and campaigns against the few honest reviewers who mention explicit sex scenes in books marketed towards underage readers. (Note to goodreads employees and editors, please stop trying to hide the information we readers need to make informed decisions before reading a book.)
So in spite of the current state of the Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ community regarding false advertising (they will probably hide/censor this review) I'll be honest in this review disregarding the consequences (Note: Thalassa isn't pretending her book is Young adult, she has been very upfront and HONEST about the genre of her book and I commend her for that.) : Pestilence isn't a Young adult book, it's a New adult as the MC's are all older than 18 and there are explicit sex scenes. Plus there are some graphic scenes of torture and a massive epidemic. However, that's the brilliance of this book: Not many authors can weave brutality and romance the way Thalassa does. She did it before in her Fallen world series (one of my favorite New adult dystopias) and she did it again with pestilence. I'm impressed with Thalassa's writing ability.
Is this book perfect? Is this book for everybody? Honestly, no, but what book is? As I said, if violence and sex are your triggers perhaps you should skip it (you'd be missing out, but hey, we like what we like). The hero, Pestilence, is very stubborn about (view spoiler)[his mission of wiping out the human race, and he won't change his mind until almost the very end of the book, so a huge amount of human lives will be lost. However, the author makes a great job making you understand why he does this and you don't hate him. (hide spoiler)] I personally think that Thalassa could have made the violence of her post-apolyptic world way worse, but she didn't. She knew where to draw the line to make her book a very enjoyable experience and not one that will keep your bile rising up. I thought the combination of horror and romance was beautifully done.
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So Pestilence starts 5 Years after The Four Horsemen of the apocalypse appeared on Earth. Pest is the first one to start their mission of wiping out the human race from Earth, and he takes his mission seriously. The internet has failed and some people aren't sure of what's going on. Several people have tried to kill Pestilence, but he's immortal. Sara doesn't know this and when her own attempt to kill Pest fails she'll become her prisoner. Cool isn't it? And let me tell you something. Pest is really sadistic at the beginning. He seems to have been observing for years how low our kind can scoop (Hitler? Rwanda? Bosnia? Sandy Hook?) and he'll hurt Sara physically so much that at one point you'll be wondering: Is this really a romance? To be honest I almost DNF at certain point. I can't stand a hero torturing the heroine and then root for her tofall in love with him. That's not romantic, but hang in there my dear romance-loving friends. Later in the book we'll be able to see why Pestilence is the way he is, and why he isn't the bad guy.
After a journey all over post-apocalyptic North America (think Angelfall) and several close encounters with death, a crucial point comes for Pestilence and Sara when they meet Rob and Ruth, an elderly couple. Rob and Ruth know what kind of death awaits to the ones who come close to Pestilence, yet they are religious, wise people. They realize Pest isn't a bad man, they know he's not doing what he does for fun and they above all notice the kind of feelings that are brewing inside him. He's already in love with Sara and it shows! So they'll welcome death with open arms after a long life of shared love and shared hardships. Honestly, I couldn't love this couple more. From their encounter with these two something changes in both, Sara and Pest and they'll start their own path through redemption. Through love, with love, because love. I thought that was beautiful!
Religion is managed well IMHO. Nothing is offensive or contradictory to the beliefs of the Abrahamic creeds: Islam, Christianity and Judaism. Have you read City of bones or Angelfall? Both are insanely popular books that IMHO have a more risky, potentially offensive approach to religion. Jace the hero of City of Bones says that although he is a nephilim and has been blessed by the Angel Raziel he hasn't seen anything that makes him believe in God, he's convinced that even if God existed (and he doesn't bet on it) we are on our own. Archangel Raphael the hero of the Angelfall series is an atheist and he isn't even convinced God created him. Does this sound risky and potentially offensive to bible readers? It isn't, considering both books are insanely popular. In comparison Pestilence handles the religious talk in a more neutral way IMHO. According to Pestilence God exists, but Pest is convinced God is beyond religions so all religions deserve respect. I personally loved the way religion was handled here. It discusses religion in a non-religious way. Brilliant!
Two minor issues I had with this book: The ending and not enough grovel (view spoiler)[Hero trapped h when she tries to break up with him. I gave it a pass because he doesn't have experience with human relationships and she was very sick at the time, not trapping her could have lead to her death. I only wish he had groveled! and the cliffhanger ending. We got a HEA, but the Epilogue is 5 years after the final chapter and it opens a Pandora box. Our H and h are happy, but for how long? (hide spoiler)]
This book deserves all the praise is getting and I'm recommending this to my friends who loved New adult dystopian books.
SAFETY INFO (view spoiler)[No OW, No OM activity Bareback sex, but he's a virgin H tortures h at the beginning of the book. Not enough groveling NO CHEATING Some graphic violence (hide spoiler)]
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Pre reading thoughts Beautiful cover?
[image] No fake advertising? This is New adult paranormal/fantasy advertised as such. Amazing blurb? A talented New adult author who as far as I remember never writes cheating heroes or heroines? Enemies to lover trope? Edgy like The Fallen world series? Based on Apocalypsis mythology? Standalone?
****4 AMAZING, Yet unsafe STARS**** Coming from my monogamist, perverted little heart it's almost like a gazillion stars. I'm nAlex Roe as Rome
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****4 AMAZING, Yet unsafe STARS**** Coming from my monogamist, perverted little heart it's almost like a gazillion stars. I'm not joking, when a book is tagged as romance I get picky and I need possessive heroes and commited heroines. I rarely give 5 stars to unsafe books (ACOMAF was a glorious exception) unless there's something outside the romance and that something has to be really amazing to impress me.
Well, ladies and gentlemen, Trickery is an amazing book. I'm impressed!
I'll say this book is the perfect choice if you want a light fantasy book to take with you to the beach. You won't find complicated world-building. You won't find poetic prose and heavy social issues. You'll find a story of friendship, bravery and the eternal mystery of why opposites attract. And of course you'll find 5 hot guys completely devoted to their heroine.
I like the world building! I know that some fantasy readers prefer overdescriptive, detailed worldbuiding and everything explained in book 1 of the series, but I don't. I don't want to know the whole history and politics of the world in the first books of the series. I prefer the kind of worldbuilding that has the potential to grow throughout the series. Think Harry Potter, and Hunger games. Book 1 didn't explain the history and politics of the world but we the impatient readers eventually discovered what was going on as the series progressed. This one has potential to become really epic.
Jaymin Eve and Jane Washington provide us readers with enough information of their magic world:Minatsol, to understand Willa's position and why the Abcurse brothers infatuation with her are a big deal.
Minatsol is a world where not everyone is equal. Willa, a walking disaster, cheats during her "exams" and therefore she gets a high ranking that gives her the "privilege" of travelling with her sister to a very exclusive academy. Not to study but to serve the demigods who attend the school there.
I disagree with anyone who calls Willa stupid. She is quite smart actually. There are several types of inteligence. Willa has interpersonal and intrapersonal, skills. She's also good at language, I mean, all her witty comebacks. Poor Willa just doesn't have the kind of intelligence that allows normal people to put one foot in front of the other without tripping. That's the kinesthesic intelligence, but other than that she's quite smart and I like her. I guess some people will find her sense of humor juvenile, but I think that's what really made me enjoy this book.
I had the most amazing pic to fancast the other abcurse brothers but for some reason it's not working. It must be that Willa's pull for chaos is rubbing on me.
Anyway, I think this book is different. I don't think it's romantic, and I'm uncapable to root for Willa with all the brothers. I prefer possessive, strong heroes and I think Rome is the one who really seemed more affected by the fact that Willa has a thing for ALL THE BROTHERS. I hope he eventually finds someone else or that Willa chooses him, but that doesn't seem the point of the series. The whole point seems to make the reader laugh so I'll read the next of the series and hopefully I'll enjoy the sequels as much as I enjoyed this one even if there's not a single couple to root for ... or maybe there are too many of them.. I might even preorder Seduction, book 3 of this series because my friends are all hyped about it. I think it's the most anticipated November release in the YOung adult section.
I'm not writing a parental guidance alert...yet because this book was clean, but I don't know whether the authors will try to be like Tahere Mafi and Sarah J. Maas and change genres, from clean YA to raunchy no-fade-to-black-during-sex-scenes-New-Adult later in the series.
Do you need a laugh?A mindless YA? Juvenile jokes and hot guys?Read Trickery.
Pre-reading thoughts I wasn't going to read this because TRIANGLES AND POLYGONS AREN'T MY THING. But I need a light young adult fantasy and My dear friend Karen says that this Fantasy book is the opposite of a Sarah J. Maas books and that ingrigued me. How is that even possible?
I also pick a popular overly anticipated series once in a while to read and Seduction book 3 of this series is coming in November: I don't think I'm exaggerating that it has to be the MOST ANTICIPATED YOUNG ADULT FANTASY NOVEMBER REALEASE, judging by the level of interest amogn my friens. Before Seduction appears all over my newsfeed with me not having an idea of what's going on I decided to step out of my confort zone of safe romances and go for something that everyone says is quite funny and different. I honestly hate reading on going, unfinished series because I hate cliffhangers. But usually Young adult Kindle unlimited authors finish their series quickly so I'm here ready. I'm not expecting romance. How could it be with so many love interest?
Wish me luck. I really want to love this one.
Note: Unsafe means that there are other partners activities meaning kissing, watching naked and I usually hate that so. I wonder how I'd feel about this one....more
LONG, DETAILED (and filled with gifs) REVIEW TO come
I'm so happy I found a safe read! Soooooooooooooooooooo cuuuuuuuuuuuuuteeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! I waLONG, DETAILED (and filled with gifs) REVIEW TO come
I'm so happy I found a safe read! Soooooooooooooooooooo cuuuuuuuuuuuuuteeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! I want to be mistaken for a Gryfala Princess and I want my own Rakii Gladior and my team of hobs!
Seriously I have so much to say about this book, thank you Kriss for the recommendation and Susani for the saftety info. Not a full 5 unfortunately, but I'm so recommending this to the safety gang. If you can ignore the editing and a weird second half, you'll love this.
NOTE AUTHOR REVAMPED HER COVER! It looks much better now. PREREADING THOUGHTS Virgin hero? No hype, no false advertisement only stellar word of mouth? Intriguing blurb? Interesting concept? Free on Kindle unlimited Sign me in!...more
I love it! I don't think it's MY Warner's eye? I love that it matches perfectly the rest of the covers UPDATE OCTOBER 6TH COVER REVEAL****
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I love it! I don't think it's MY Warner's eye? I love that it matches perfectly the rest of the covers of the previous books!
I always imagine my man Warner's eye more masculine.
Are you new to the Shatter me series? I have to tell you that the series start in the young adult side and by book 3 we have more sex. Not graphic, mostly sensual imagery, nothing like the jump between Throne of glass book 1 (upper young adult) to almost porn XXX content that you'll find in Empire of storms book 5 of TOG (new adult/adult). But the financial success of this approach, starting as young adult and then change to new adult/erotica as the series progress, might become a trend, specially in books from the big publishing houses. Using some booktubers and sites like Kirkus reviews and Common sense media to hide the problematic content of a book is also common practice of the big publishing houses.
Either way I think it's time for honest reviewers, booktubers and librarians, to add information of sexual content and not try to cover it up as it has been the case with the erotic content of Sarah J Maas books. My friends read YA because they think , wrongly, that it's a sexless genre. We need this information of the content we'll find in a book to make informed decisions. I wonder how many parents really know about this tendency of market New adult/adult books with erotic content as safe for underage readers. Either way If I were you I wouldn't give certain series as a gift to underage readers now that Christmas season is approaching.
Don't take me wrong. I love the idea of Warner sexy times if that was the case. This book might actually sell more if the Publishers advertise as Warner sexy times! This is 2017 and new adult is a very respectable genre. Just add warnings in the blurb and make sure the reviewers mention this. Don't make reviewers and booktubers hide this information.
Is there an honest goodreads librarian reading this? Could you please add sexual content disclaimers in the Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ blurbs of A COURT OF MIST AND FURY, Ignite me and Empire of storms ?
Original prereading thoughts:
This has to be my most anticipated book of 2018! I just can't wait.
I just hope Mafi doesn't take the A court of mist and fury route and starts to write erotic scenes in a book marketed as Young adult. Ignite me was pretty much new adult, and I like that, but I'm tired of publishers and authors shoving sex-scenes down young readers throats without proper warnings. We have enough authors selling erotica to children like Elle Kennedy and Sarah J Maas without Mafi joining the crowd....more
UPDATE OCTOBER 6TH, 2017 back to original price, still free on Kindle unlimited
If you like me hate cheating heroes, I recommend you to get the amazon UPDATE OCTOBER 6TH, 2017 back to original price, still free on Kindle unlimited
If you like me hate cheating heroes, I recommend you to get the amazon version, it's the best and it's well-edited and safe of OW. Any other site is either incomplete or unsafe.
Original updates.
UPDATE OCTOBER 5TH, 2017 STILL 0.99 BUT PRICE GOES UP soon
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****DISCOUNT ALERT -60% BUY FOR 0.99 OR FREE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED**** LIMITED TIME BOOKDEAL ****DISCOUNT ALERT -60% BUY FOR 0.99 OR FREE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED**** LIMITED TIME BOOKDEAL ****DISCOUNT ALERT -60% BUY FOR 0.99 OR FREE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED**** 04-10/2017 LIMITED TIME BOOKDEAL
Get it here
NOTE. This book ISN'T a dark erotica that romanticizes rape. This one is A SEXY PRO-CONSENT, (consent is sexy! So is a dominant, broody hero!) ANTI-RAPE AND PRO-LOVE BOOK. It's heart-wrenching but SAFE OF OW if you read the KU version and has a beautiful ending.
This one is one of the few books out there that is really sexy without falling into dangerous pro-rapeculture messages.
ORIGINAL DISCOUNT ALERT.
****DISCOUNT ALERT -60% BUY FOR 0.99 OR FREE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED**** 03-10/2017
****DISCOUNT ALERT -60% BUY FOR 0.99 OR FREE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED**** 03-10/2017
****DISCOUNT ALERT -60% BUY FOR 0.99 OR FREE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED**** 03-10/2017
You don't need to have a kindle, just an amazon account and the reading app. I have one app to read on my mobile!
Click here!
I don't resent that this time is only for USA readers because last time there was a giveaway it reached the Australian store. Please authors don't forget to include all countries in your promos. We are all people!
I also want to point out that this book is safe of OW and WELL-EDITED if you read THE AMAZON VERSION. There are a couple of copies in other sites that are either incomplete or unsafe....more
This book was such an emotional rollercoaster! I laughed, cried, raged (because OW and OM, seriously authors stop doing that!!!) swoon (repeatedly) anThis book was such an emotional rollercoaster! I laughed, cried, raged (because OW and OM, seriously authors stop doing that!!!) swoon (repeatedly) and overall enjoyed myself. I'm so reading the sequel but I can't give this book 5 stars because it has everything I hate in a book and more! (view spoiler)[ 1) Slutshaming, seriously authors you are women, too. Will you ever stop condeming other women's sexual decisions? It was particularly annoying here because h might be subject of slutshaming in other books and in real life because she sleeps around a lot! Who does she think she is to call Zoe a slut?
2) OW and OM. In real life, I can understand when people sleep around as long as no one gets hurt, but in this story everybody got hurt! This is supposed to be a romance book. I didn't need a full, graphic detail of what happened between h and Paris... I meant Connor. The romance was ruined for me, but there was something about the writing that kept me reading.
3) Heroine wasn't H's first love, and his reason to act like a douche made me think that this Vanessa girl was more important to him than Cassie at that moment. Cassie was supposed to be the love of his life so all this mentioning of OW are so off-putting. This isn't a safe read. (hide spoiler)]
It might seem that I hated the book, but I didn't. In fact, Ethan is already one of my book boyfriends, (provisionally, I hope book 2 doesn't ruin him) but I won't fancast him like I do in some of my reviews. Not until I finish book 2 and until I find a gif. I need a gif for this book. Not of the hero but of the reaction he brings on Cassie.
Does anyone have a slow-clapping-vagina gif??? LOL I'll need it for my review! Cassie's train of thought was rather silly that way.
I want to write a longer review because Cassie's first time and the things I love about this book deserve more!!! If I had to choose my top 10 defloration scenes in books Cassie's will be certainly one of them. So sweet! I felt like I was there. I also love the sexual chemistry and all the description of their casting, their rehearsals, their acting classes. It was fascinating.
I'm on book 2 now.
So does anyone have a slow-clapping vagina gif? LOL I'll need one for my longer review....more
Are you a patient reader? Do you prefer when the couple takes their time to get to bed? Do you need a break of insta-gratfication and insta-love? ThenAre you a patient reader? Do you prefer when the couple takes their time to get to bed? Do you need a break of insta-gratfication and insta-love? Then this book is for you! I'm rating it high because I found no cheating, because I love love the ONLY one sex-scene we got and because I adore heroes that fight long for their heroines. I love when a heroine doesn't give in immediatly but makes the hero work hard for her love. I've said this before. Mariana Zapata is the queen of slow romances. Longer review to come....more
3.5 stars! No slut shaming no cheating no womanizers!!
Henry Cavill as Joshua! [image]
Note for Harper Collins and Children bloomsburry imprints:
New adu3.5 stars! No slut shaming no cheating no womanizers!!
Henry Cavill as Joshua! [image]
Note for Harper Collins and Children bloomsburry imprints:
New adult exists!
New adult is a genre!
Admit it!
Plenty of readers want to read New adult! Why do you keep pretending that New adult reads like A court of Mist and Fury and in this case The hating game are something that they aren't? Why do you mislead readers?
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Readers like to read sex scenes and the readers who prefer clean reads should know what they're getting into.
This book isn't chick lit IMHO. This is New adult/erotica
Don't let the chick lit cover trick you, the sex scenes are graphic and steamy and this could fall easily in the New adult category (because the characters don't act like they're adults) and even erotica! Chick lit as far as I remember isn't as graphic as erotica and this book is graphic. It's 2017 dear publishers! People are more willing to admit that they like to read smut. A court of mist and fury is New adult no matter if you publish under a children's imprint name and any reader or GR librarian who denies it is lying.
So this New adult/erotica book coud have passed as chick lit had the erotic scenes been less graphic (no complaining! They were great!!) and if there had been more laughs.
I recommend this book to my safety gang. Is it hilarious? I don't think it is. I read this after re-reading another New adult book that is pretending to be what it isn't called Love me never. That book my friends is hilarious! I didn't get a lot of laughs from this one, that's why I don't consider it chick lit. I usually get more laughs and less smut moments with chick lit reads.
This wasn't as funny for me as books from other genres that aren't supposed to be funny like dystopian romance, and paranormal romance. Love-hate books should contain more and wittier banter. That's why I'm only giving 3 stars. And those stars are mostly for Joshua!
Joshua is adorable! He's not disloyal, he challenges the heroine without being abusive and he doesn't cheat. As of late non-cheating heroes are so difficult to find in contemporary romance! I really loved his chemistry with Lucinda! He has this bad boy vibe without ever crossing the line into abusive behaviour. I dont' think he slept around but perhaps I didn't pay attention?
Lucy's train of thought never made sense to me, and Danny appeared too much for my taste. I also thought that the cliche "hero taking care of sick heroine" scene took too many pages. Those are minor complains, in general this was a good book.
If you're looking for a low angst read featuring a non cheating, no manwhore hero this is a good option....more
[image] This book is my second favorite of the series (after Deathly hallows) becau[image]
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I ship Lurry.
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Yeap, this Lurry, too.
[image] This book is my second favorite of the series (after Deathly hallows) because everything that is supposed to give Harry happiness and love is taken away from him by either that stupid toad or the Ministry or Voldemort. It's the darkest of the series, but still J. K Rowling wove her story so well that you laugh and cry and get angry and you yell at your book and to love and hate the characters.
Unpopular opinion: I hate Hagrid. He's so stupid and he causes problems to everyone and never listens and has no proper magic. His only quality is that he's loyal. Okay I don't exactly hate him but I wish in book 7 it had been him and not Fred if you know what I mean....more
UNSAFE READ ALERT! OTHER WOMAN DRAMA UNSAFE READ ALERT! OTHER WOMAN DRAMA
Dropping two stars and maybe dropping the series for good.
SUpdate 10-14-2017
UNSAFE READ ALERT! OTHER WOMAN DRAMA UNSAFE READ ALERT! OTHER WOMAN DRAMA
Dropping two stars and maybe dropping the series for good.
Spoiler for this book and the sequels (view spoiler)[ Jack, the hero, works as a escort and at first I was okay with that because, he says that sex is rarely part of his job, he says that women usually hire him for non-sex stuff, like for making exes jealous or him going with them to proms and events. Stupid me! I believed him! I'm trying to read book 2 and after Jack and Isis kiss he not only keeps his job but his relationship with an ex-flame is stronger than I thought. If you don't like love triangles F/M/F avoid this series. That's a shame because Isis is one of my favorite heroines, she has serious self-esteem issues and she hides behind her humorous facade to try to survive. A heroine like her deserved better! Please don't tell me that's not cheating because he's not officialy dating Isis! It's 100% disloyal and stupid! I hate it.
Also he kind of dates platonically (at Isis insistance) one of heroine's best friends. It's a very platonic relationship that seems to be only to make Isis happy, but now that I know he's so close to Sophia I see his dating Kayla as weak, disloyal and traitorous. (hide spoiler)]
I'm taking back everything nice I said about Jack Hunter. I'm so glad I didn't pay for book two!
Original review. I feel tempted to erase it, but my friends liked it already so I won't eraset I'll just hide under spoilers.
4 I-couldn't-stop-reading-I-couldn't-stop laughing stars Thank you so much The dreamer for the book recommendation. I loved it. I thought that Cassandra Clare, J.K Rowling, and Jennifer L. Armentrout were the authors to go when you want to read cute bantering and female characters with the wittiest comebacks. I was wrong. Not even Isabelle Lightwood can contest Isis Blake's sass. The first 50% of the book was text-book of how to write a heroine with the smartest comebacks and the sassiest dialogue. Even her internal monologues were so entertaining. And she spoke some of her internal monologue aloud! Even better: she never became embarrassed about it! She's crazy like that.
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Practically every page of the first half of the book is full of funny dialogue. I don't recommend reading this in public. It's very difficult to keep a straight face while reading this book.
That's not to say that I didn't find problems with this book. I'll address those later, but the fact that the protagonist Isis Blake is a Gem difficult to find in contemporary "romance" (notice the quotations in romance, I'll address that later) makes me want to give not 5 but 6 stars.
Isis Blake is a force of nature. One of the most complex heroines I've read in recent years. She's completly and unapologetically crazy, she can be as immature and childish as a 5-year-old one minute, and a very loyal friend the next. She can plant weed on a locker to get revenge of her enemies and then go home to cook dinner and take care of her depressed mother. She could be the girl you'd like to be your friend or the crazy freak you'd want to keep at an arm's length because she's just so unpredictable and so unapologetic. I personally wanted to hug her and offer her comfort. From the moment I read the first pages and the way Isis feels about love I knew that she had been hurt, both physically and emotionally and that all that humor, all those contradictory attitudes (one minute she calls herself ugly and feels insecure, another minute someone tries to bully her and she'll rise to the occasion by jokingly calling herself "hot") seemed to be rooted in her need to fight against the people who hurt her, against her internal demons, against her tragic past. I really got to understand her character and to feel as though she could be any girl I know. She's like a young Lorelai Gilmore (watch the Gilmore girls if you haven't) Lisbet Salender (watch the girl with the dragon tatoo Fincher's version) Buffy the Vampire slayer, and Jenna Hamilton from Awkward. Except Isis is wittier, sassier and way much more broken inside than all the other women I mentioned.
Maybe it's not so much that she's so strong as much of the fact that she's constant and true to herself and never acts OCC. To be honest I've read contemporary heroines that are sassy and strong, too. The problem is that at some point they act stupidly or more like the authors make them act stupidly. Isis can be silly at times, but never stupid. That wasn't a problem with this book, although there were other problems, but none of them were major for me. The hero compensated for that and now I don't even know if I should enter into detail into those problems as they are very personal. I feel most readers wont' have any problems reading this book unless they hate dark topics. Even if you don't relate or like the heroine at the very least I'm sure you'll finish the book quickly and be thoroughly entertained and laughing and enjoying the crazy situations. This is a good mix of comedy and dark topics.
I love Jack Hunter. He reminds me so much of another favorite of mine Aleksey from The V Girl UPDATE, I TAKE THAT BACK! JACK ISN'T LOYAL and he has eyes for other women !!!hate him!! I'm recommending this book to my group of friends who love Aleksey as much as I do. The leonine silent attitude. The fact that Jack's not a manwhore. He's a silent, broody jackass that can also be very caring. He challenges the heroine and protects her at the same time and their first encounter is in a situation in which both are in opposite sides of the war. He can be hurtful one minute and then dress as Jack Sparrow the next because he knows that SHE is crazy for (and as crazy as) Jack Sparrow. I love that so much. My only problem with him is that (view spoiler)[ unlike Aleksey who never loved anyone else, Jack seems too attached to a girl in his past. It's clear that he loves her in a way that isn't clear to me, does he love OW as a sister? or does he have other feelings? Love triangles aren't my thing. If he's really into that girl (I'm crossing finger the sequel won't be about that) I think he might enter the category of disloyal heroes, because he kind of dates one of Isis's friends (not exactly date, more like letting the girl kiss him so the friend would be happy and Isis would lower her guard and smile more) and I don't know if he's being disloyal or not to this other girl. And if he really loved her at one point that will ruin the book for me. I want him to love only Isis. (hide spoiler)]
WARNINGS with potential spoilers: This book follows the tendency of late to include strong language, dark situations (prostitution, PSTD, rape attempt, date rape attempt, suicide, bullying, drugs) in a YA read. There's no nudity or sexual situations (a descriptive make out with clothes on happens) , but just beware that lately YA romance is becoming more and more edgy. Also at the end of the book some situations will require your suspension of disbelief.
I'm recommending this book to fans of the enemies to lovers trope and fans of cute banter and slow burners. Perhaps also the fans of The coincidence of Kayden and Callie will enjoy this book (because there's pain behind the MC's attitudes) and the fans of Paper princess will enjoy the love-hate relationship and the reality-show-soap-opera situations full of drama. (hide spoiler)] Taking back everything I said about the romance in my original review, the 3 stars are all for Isis! That girl deserved more! After all the pain she went through, it's so unfair.
I'm upset! This is the last time I read unfinished contempoary series. I swear! (view spoiler)[Cheating (hide spoiler)] in the sequels is the worst!
Read if you want to laugh, but don't expect a loyal hero....more
Update Feb 24th: Added some warnings for my friends who prefer when hero has no past at the end of my review. Drew Van Acker as Ian!!
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Update Feb Update Feb 24th: Added some warnings for my friends who prefer when hero has no past at the end of my review. Drew Van Acker as Ian!!
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Update Feb 22nd
4 safe no cheating, no OW drama stars!!!I found a new book boyfriend. Ian Merrick/Smith/ is amazing! He's not a manwhore, he's not abusive he doesn't have another woman in his past that will come to haunt me (in this book, at least),he's a hot-nerd and he only has eyes for Kate
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Thank you Gio for recommending this book to me. Note for safety gang: when Gio recommends something you read it, okay? She's the recommendations boss!
This book is solid evidence that authors don't need to retort to slut-shaming and OW drama to creat a compelling, sexy read.
I recommend this books to the safety gang if you're searching for a low angst, insta love read and you have a great ability to suspend disbelief. It would have been better if it had been 1st person narrative and the twist made me cry, but other than that great book!
WARNINGS and a few spoilers
Some of my friends hate not only cheating but also any kind of OW activity after meeting. Although there's nothing of the sort, just some spoilers that might upset a few of my friends (view spoiler)[ the first time that H and h make love he mentions that he always sleeps better with beautiful women by his side. Not the best moment to mention OW IMHO but it didn't upset me, because for once! we have a non-cheating no manwhore hero. Also this is for my friends who don't like when there's a mistmatch of past sexual experiences, h isn't a virgin, but she has been ONLY with one guy before Hero. Yes, JUST ONLY 1 very serious relationship while he has invited other women to move around with him, implying that he considered at least a couple of times to share his life with OW that weren't the heroine. I don't know whether you'd consider this unequal past experiences. It didn't bother me. (hide spoiler)] Really, this book has a lot going on that compesates the minor flaws.
Prereading thoughts Update: Back to regular price 3.99. Thanks again Heather, I got the special price promotion and another book to the TBR pile. Thanks to The awesome Heather K (dentist in her spare time). She told me that this book is only .99 and the Amazon Gods were kind enough to keep that price in the Australian store!!
I haven't read it, but friends whom I trust because they like romance featuring NO cheating heroes liked this book.
I already downloaded it. I'll read it in my next contemporary romance phase....more
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