Sign in with Facebook
Val ⚓️ Shameless Handmaiden ⚓️'s Reviews > Pen Pal
Pen Pal
by
by
2.5 Stars
This was book was billed as dark romance and so I went into in with that expectation. That said, my tolerance for dark is extremely high and most books deemed "dark" usually hit more beige for me. Or perhaps greige. Anywho. I went into this expecting it to be dark-ish leaning.
What I did not expect was a supernatural element.
More specifically....
***SPOILERS AHEAD***
***SPOILERS AHEAD***
***SPOILERS AHEAD***
***SPOILERS AHEAD***
***SPOILERS AHEAD***
(view spoiler)
Anyway, I really liked Aiden and Kayla. They had fantastic chemistry which accounts for every bit of the rating I gave this. Otherwise, I just didn't love this, but that's okay. And there are many reviews of this as it's an older release, so I'll stop here.
Regardless, I really like this author, this just wasn't a slam dunk for me. And it's all good.
This was book was billed as dark romance and so I went into in with that expectation. That said, my tolerance for dark is extremely high and most books deemed "dark" usually hit more beige for me. Or perhaps greige. Anywho. I went into this expecting it to be dark-ish leaning.
What I did not expect was a supernatural element.
More specifically....
***SPOILERS AHEAD***
***SPOILERS AHEAD***
***SPOILERS AHEAD***
***SPOILERS AHEAD***
***SPOILERS AHEAD***
(view spoiler)
Anyway, I really liked Aiden and Kayla. They had fantastic chemistry which accounts for every bit of the rating I gave this. Otherwise, I just didn't love this, but that's okay. And there are many reviews of this as it's an older release, so I'll stop here.
Regardless, I really like this author, this just wasn't a slam dunk for me. And it's all good.
Sign into ŷ to see if any of your friends have read
Pen Pal.
Sign In »
Reading Progress
January 29, 2023
–
Started Reading
January 29, 2023
– Shelved
January 29, 2023
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-19 of 19 (19 new)
date
newest »
newest »
message 1:
by
A_Ryan
(new)
-
rated it 4 stars
Jan 30, 2023 01:16AM
Oh no, Val - sorry it was a miss for you. I totally get it though. It wasn't like anything I'd read before and probably won't be something I will look for again but you're right: their chemistry carried the book. I gave it 4 stars but looking back I couldn't remember what it was about and had to re-read the blurb to get a sense of it. And it wasn't even that long ago that I'd read it! Perhaps one of my stars was purely due to the novelty of it! Lol. Anyway, you're review is spot on and i hope the next read is better for you!
reply
|
flag
I totally get where you’re coming from. Expectations can’t help but play in when you want a dark fantasy romance. This is dark but not quite dark fantasy romance. The author did do a bit of a genre bait and switch which pissed some people off, understandably. I guess it may be hard to define your genre when you have a big secret plot twist like that. I cried hard on this one and I think that might be why it got me so hard. I rarely cry for books but this was an exception. And the love story sunk its hooks in me. It also is one that “haunts� me in that I do find myself thinking about it often even though I read it last year and tons of other books in between. Also the ending was not quite a HEA which I think plays into our expectations. Great review!
Nope nope nope that is a hard pass for me.
Yeah, I went into this with the same expectation and was pleasantly surprised about the ghost story aspect�.. until it became predictable, cheesy and more sex than plot. It was a “meh� for me as well.
I hope a 5 star bomb of a book comes your way and you get out of your reading slump soon, Val.
A_Ryan wrote: "Oh no, Val - sorry it was a miss for you. I totally get it though. It wasn't like anything I'd read before and probably won't be something I will look for again but you're right: their chemistry ca..."Thanks!
Angela wrote: "I totally get where you’re coming from. Expectations can’t help but play in when you want a dark fantasy romance. This is dark but not quite dark fantasy romance. The author did do a bit of a genre..."🏼
Melissa (LifeFullyBooked) wrote: "Nope nope nope that is a hard pass for me."Hahah.
Carli wrote: "Yeah, I went into this with the same expectation and was pleasantly surprised about the ghost story aspect�.. until it became predictable, cheesy and more sex than plot. It was a “meh� for me as well."Yes, I didn’t love the cheese.
Nancy wrote: "I hope a 5 star bomb of a book comes your way and you get out of your reading slump soon, Val."Thanks Nancy!
I am having such a book slump....if I slump any further, I will start devouring myself. Thank you for the warning as this would have depressed me even more.
Dee wrote: "I am having such a book slump....if I slump any further, I will start devouring myself. Thank you for the warning as this would have depressed me even more."I’m in a book slump too, Dee. Pretty bad one, actually. Fingers crossed for us both!
Oh no! I Hope you are able to find something that brings you out of your book slump soon! <3
Sending you lots of positive thoughts Val ♡♡� And thank you themostlovely ♡♡
themostlovely wrote: "Oh no! I Hope you are able to find something that brings you out of your book slump soon! <3"Thanks!
Dee wrote: "Sending you lots of positive thoughts Val ♡♡� And thank you themostlovely ♡♡"💕
Haha love the �5� spoiler alert. 🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨
Kerry Ann wrote: "BTW thanks for the good review."Thank you!
