It was painful to read about a couple of dumbasses that angst over each other for 8 years in secret while spending every day together. And, just one conversation would have prevented it. And what about the alphahole being married to another man?
[image] yeah, you better hold me back! I'm gonna smack the shit out of those bitches.
Sigh
I feel victimized by this book. It was just too much angst and stupidity for me to handle. Am I supposed to cry? Over idiots? What are you trying to get out of me here? Cuz I don't have it - whatever it is.
Meh, didn't like this one as much as the second. The human was the alpha in the relationship. So, he was ridiculously over the top all of the time to Meh, didn't like this one as much as the second. The human was the alpha in the relationship. So, he was ridiculously over the top all of the time to make it seem like he was capable of being the alpha over a fucking wolf. That's right. He's tougher than a werewolf.
[image] yeah, right.
Gimme a break!
Plus, the whole series has been building up to a big war against a hidden enemy and this book brought us no closer.
[image]
Gimme another break!
Then, the kinks that I'm kinda ickish about and were mentioned in the first book showed up in this one. Ew. I'm sorry I'm kink-shaming, but ....
[image] ew.
I seriously need that break now.
[image] Now, this is a kink I can get behind!...more
I read a few of these short, smutty books and there is a pattern you need to know if you want to read them: they end abruptly. It happens in all of thI read a few of these short, smutty books and there is a pattern you need to know if you want to read them: they end abruptly. It happens in all of them. The guy decides he's going to marry her and that's it.
Hmm... it's almost like the men are making the decisions about the women's futures... but that could never happen in real life, right??
[image] Oh yeah. Right.
So this book is about a guy who falls for his secretary. Now, this guy is a DICK - like seriously horrible. He does so many things that she could sue his ass off for and take his company, but she she puts up with it because their parents are friends and she loves his dad who hired her. She is also desperate for money and he pays well. But, seriously, this man needed to take a thousand hours of office etiquette and sensitivity training. Then, be forced to read the labor codes. Then, maybe some shock therapy whenever he considered fucking his girlfriend on his desk with her screaming throughout the whole office for him to fuck her in the ass. Yes. That happened.
[image] I think he saw the same one and also took it as an instructional video.
Then, he pushes her too far and she quits. Good. I was on #TeamQuit, but I was also on #TeamBallPunch and that didn't happen. You win some, you lose some.
He gets furious that she has the nerve to quit on him. How dare she think she can leave this amazing job of being demeaned, yelled at, forced to listen to loud sex every other day, and treated as cruelly as possible? So, he goes to confront her at her house and gets his eyes opened. She is a single mother who lives in a shit-hole trying to support her kid. Who was sick. Which is why she needed to go home early and he refused.
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And, luckily, he does realize what a huge dick he is. So, he does a complete 180 and becomes the nicest guy ever. Which happens all the time, right? Giant assholes always realize they were wrong and change into the best people. I heard Mother Theresa was a giant asshole when she was younger....
Anyway, I like him after his assholectomy. He's cute with her kid.
You know who would like this book? People who like Kristen Ashley and the whole alpha male thing. I'm not into alpha males because I'm an alpha femaleYou know who would like this book? People who like Kristen Ashley and the whole alpha male thing. I'm not into alpha males because I'm an alpha female. I would kill the crap out of one of those guys. You would find me over their blood-soaked body grinding my heel into their crotch screaming, "Why don't YOU make ME a sandwich, bitch?"
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So, to start off my crappy, rambling review, here's a quote from the book:
"Has anyone ever told you that your cat looks like Kirk Douglas?"
Huh? Who the fuck is Kirk Douglas? I had to look it up. Then, I realized that her answer should have been, "Yes, that guy in the time machine, just back from the 1950's did. We laughed and laughed, and then he told me to make him a sandwich. He's dead now. I killed him."
So, the girl with the cat is Rayne. She's a tattoo artist with purple streaks in her hair, so she's a bad girl. Supposedly. The only problem in seeing her as a bad girl is that she giggles a lot. As a matter of fact, there is a lot of giggling in this book. It's a bit annoying. Like, check out this quote:
(When talking about someone dying and horrible things happening):
"...It's nothing to kill or die for."
Misty giggled on the other end of the line. "You do make a good point."
What the hell was wrong with Misty? Was she drunk? It made absolutely no sense for Misty to giggle at that time. I mean, truly, grown ass women shouldn't giggle at all, but if she needs to, maybe not when you are talking about death and robbery and a police investigation? It was weird.
Anyway, Rayne has the hots for the sheriff in town, Dare. *sigh* Yeah, I said his name is Dare. He's a cowboy-cop who is too serious. Her name is Rayne and she's a manic pixie dream girl. She even dances in the rain.
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Someone breaks into Rayne's tattoo parlor and trashes it, so Dare to the rescue. They realize that they are attracted to each other, even though he usually likes his women blonder and more meek. She's hot and sexy, so he might as well break a few rules for her, in spite of her personality...
He had it bad and the only cure was to get the little lady in the sack. Once he'd sated his hunger things would go back to normal.
Lovely.
Of course, he eventually learns to love her in spite of her flaws - you know, the speaking of her mind and all... He's a real hero for putting up with shit like that.
If I have to read about one more alpha caveman playboy asshole who only falls in love with the snowOkay, this is an exact quote from my last review:
If I have to read about one more alpha caveman playboy asshole who only falls in love with the snowflake virgin girl who saved herself just for him, I will probably puke. .
Now, here are a few quotes from this book:
The guy's name is Duke. He's a werewolf shifter. "Want to talk about a ladies' man," Striker said, pointing to Duke. "Right there. Big time." Duke wore the label with pride.
Regarding how much respect he felt for the thousands of women he had slept with: He was open with them all, telling them firmly he was only in it to get off, nothing more.
Sorry, girls. He found his mate now and is taken. You won't have the privilege of "getting him off".
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Now, here are a few tidbits about his new mate, Mercy:
People had told her more than once in her life that she was very different - an out of the box thinker. Her I.Q. was off the charts.
She'd held on to her virginity for far too long... now she found the man she wanted to hand herself over to. Too bad she'd only just met him...
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Don't worry, they had sex and professed their undying love for each other within 24 hours. It was about as romantic as bathroom sex.
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This was free on Amazon, so if you want a quick and smutty read with a few chuckles, go for it. If you are looking for something great... keep looking. As for me, I'm going to go puke now....more
The main girl in this book, Hope, seriously needs better friends. Her supposed good friend, Avery, wants her to get together with her boyfriend's brotThe main girl in this book, Hope, seriously needs better friends. Her supposed good friend, Avery, wants her to get together with her boyfriend's brother so badly that she pushes Hope over and over again into a relationship with a guy who's a serious asshole. And, who is completely wrong for Hope.
Avery's explanation when Hope tells her how rude he is to her. (And, she's not over-reacting. The guy is so rude that I would have told him to f-off long ago.)
“I do my job and keep out of his way. And what do I get? A curled lip and insults, when he bothers to acknowledge I exist.”
“Maybe he’s got a thing for you”
“Oh.” Hope sat back, nodded. “That could be it. If we were eight..."
Yes, because grown-up men who want to touch a boobie need to be nice to said booby-owners.
[image] Boobies deserve respect!
Then, when Hope is considering dating him, but realizes that it might, just might, be inappropriate for her to date the boss.
Avery, the shitty friend:"he’s not your boss. Justine’s your boss."
Justine is his mother - so the boss's son. Also, he's one of the owners of the inn she is working at, so... technically, he IS her boss. So, inappropriate? Yes. Also, she left her last job because she was dating the boss's son and they had a messy break-up. So.... inappropriate AND stupid? Yes. That too. A good friend would steer her away from making the same mistake twice.
[image] A good friend knows when to get the hose out. "Oh no, girl! You are NOT doing that again!"
Later in the book, when Hope gets angry with the asshole for doing something inappropriate, by supposedly "taking care of his woman" but really butting into her business without her permission, Avery takes HIS side! No real girlfriend takes the guy's side. I don't care if my best friend had PMS and decided to kill her boyfriend for eating the last piece of chocolate - I'm on her side! He should have known better. The jerk!
[image] Oh, it's on alright! Someone hold my purse!
The romance in this book was so wrong. This couple really didn't like each other - and not in the cute, funny, banter- but-really-flirting way. He was just rude to her and she avoided him... you know, because he was rude. And, it didn't change. He never stopped being rude. He didn't have a cute/sweet gooey inside that only she could see. He was just simply a jerk. So, I never believed in their connection. I never felt any chemistry from them. She just walked up to him one day and said "let's have sex" and then they set a date on the calendar to do it. (I mean, come on! That's how they start? Isn't this supposed to be a romance novel?) And, then they aren't a cute couple. The sex isn't even steamy. I'm okay with the fade-to-black sex that Nora Roberts does, but at least there could be some steam between them to build up to the fade. We just have these two meeting to have sex a few nights a week. Well, we are told they are. They are like a physicist and biologist.
[image] Ba-dum-dum
Obviously, I didn't like the couple or the romance. However, I did like seeing how the other couples were doing, and seeing the ending to a ghost story that was going on in the background. I'm fine with this being the last book in the series. There wasn't enough umfff in this series. It just lacked in general....more
Eve Langlais' books are hit and miss for me. This one was a miss. It's because she writes strong character personalities and very alpha males. If you Eve Langlais' books are hit and miss for me. This one was a miss. It's because she writes strong character personalities and very alpha males. If you don't like one or both of them, you will not like the book. In this case, I didn't really like either of them that much. Let's discuss why, huh?
Our heroine is Tammy, a "big, beautiful woman". She dumps her ex-boyfriend when she catches him cheating on her and continually mentions that he sucked because he was always on her about her weight. I like how she wasn't willing to change for him, and that she wanted someone who accepted her for who she is - a chubby chick who's cute anyway. But, she didn't get rid of the douche, who constantly called her fat, until he cheated. She also whined throughout the entire book about being chubby. Either own it or change it, girl! If you have curves and are fine with it, then stop with the "poor me, I'm fat" routine. You can't expect other people to accept you for who you are if YOU don't accept yourself for who you are.
[image] Excuse me, I've got to leave and be her best friend now.
Tammy's love interest is Reid, an alpha bear shifter who is in charge of a shifter town in Alaska and owns some sort of importing-exporting company.
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Tammy comes to Alaska on behalf of Reid's insurance company because he's been losing trucks lately and has made claims. She's going to check out if there is shady business going on. And, being the professional she is, she stays in his house with his grandma and wishes he would have sex with her. Of course, that would be completely unethical and wrong, so she totally resists her urges for literally hours before "her body betrays her" and she is screwing the client.
[image] Um, yeah Tammy. If you need to ask that, I'm wondering why we hired you in the first place.
Reid is Mr. Super Alpha. I had a hard time with him because I didn't actually see any reason for her to like him. I guess she liked what he looked like, but he was never nice, funny, interesting, charming, or intelligent - you know, the kind of things that would make someone's personality attractive. He was just a pushy jerk. At one point, he decided he didn't want her to leave and he took her cell phone away from her and wouldn't let her call her mother to let her know that she was okay. How could any girl be willing to be with a man who pushes her around and thinks he has the right to "ground her" off the phone? I really wanted to hurt this asshole.
[image] You would think so, Batman. You would think so...
He also pushed her into having sex after she said NO, while knowing that he couldn't have a relationship with her because he was expected to marry another shifter.
"A man in his position was expected to having pure descendants."
Oh, now I really want to kill him!
So, if he lowers himself to mate with Tammy, his children will be "unpure"?
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To summarize his position: he wants to have sex with the insurance adjuster whether she wants to or not, he claims ownership over her multiple times by saying she is his and by deciding who she can talk to or not by taking her phone and forbidding her to make phone calls on anyone else's phone, he refuses to let her leave town and tells everyone in it to make sure she doesn't get away, and yet he is fully planning on marrying someone else who is more "pure" than her? Yup. Want to kill him.
[image] Huh, cats are good for something after all.
I admit that plenty of my friends love the whole over-bearing alpha guy thing, so if that's you, here you go. It's free on Amazon right now.
He wasn’t about to let a piece of ass, even a prime piece, mess with his good judgment and common sense.
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Sorry, Ladies, he's taken! Finding aHe wasn’t about to let a piece of ass, even a prime piece, mess with his good judgment and common sense.
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Sorry, Ladies, he's taken! Finding a quality man like this who considers women "pieces of ass" is tough, but we have one here. He sees a woman at a bar and figures she MUST be either meeting a date or looking to get laid, because a woman having a drink at a bar has to be looking for a man. Unlike men. They can go to bars to watch the game, sit alone, maybe chat with other guys without anyone thinking anything about it. But women. Well, we all know how women are....
[image] Here's a handy guide for the men out there.
Unfortunately, our heroine, Jaclyn, does end up sleeping with this asswipe. So, another strike against us all. Just don't try to ever have a drink alone, ladies. You will totally end up on your back, even if you didn't mean to. It's in our DNA.
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Asswipe is a detective, so that's Detective Asswipe to you. He needs to investigate a murder of a Bridezilla and his bar-booty-call chick is the last one to see the victim alive. What does Detective Asswipe do? Does he take her aside and explain that he has to do his job and he's sorry that it might be awkward? Does he treat her kindly because he actually does know that she's innocent and you know, he just had sex with her a few hours ago? Or, does he act like the Asswipe he is and treat her as shitty as possible, antagonize her, threaten her mother, and get a kick out of it? yeah, he isn't named Asswipe for no reason.
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Asswipe also thinks it's sexy when she gets so angry with him that she's losing her f-ing mind. It's so cute when chicks get angry!
damn, he liked the way she looked with fire in her eyes. The cool lady could be pushed out of control, and he bet that would be a lot of fun.
Yeah, it's fun to upset someone so much that she's practically in tears. It's hot. Totally sexy. Oh, only if it's a woman though. Not a man. Because we all know that a woman seeing a man furiously angry and out of control brings out different feelings in us. Fear. Yes, we need to be afraid of an angry man, but angry women are sexy and cute.
[image] Cute and handy!
This book made me murderously angry which made my husband's male instincts kick-in and suddenly he's all over me. *sigh* Man, it sucks to be a woman.
You all know how much I hate the "Alpha Asshole" man. There is nothing that will get my hackles raised quicker than some AA pushing a girl around "forYou all know how much I hate the "Alpha Asshole" man. There is nothing that will get my hackles raised quicker than some AA pushing a girl around "for her own good", or ignoring her when she say's no - but it's okay because "her body betrays her" and she really does want him. This guy, Decker, triggered me faster than a mansplainer.
[image] Yeah, I'm gonna need a gun over here...
Decker treats his life-mate worse than any of the previous vamp guys ever have, and they are all a lot older than him, so he can't blame "old fashioned" ideas about women as an excuse. He grabs her by the arm so many times to force her to do something that she is going to start looking like one of those old Stretch Armstrong dolls that has been overused:
[image] Okay, maybe the long arms will be beneficial sometimes. At least he won't have to be the douche with the selfie-stick.
You know how many times my husband has grabbed me by the arm to stop me from walking here or there, or to spin me around to force me to listen to him, or to force intimacy? NONE. That's right, he has done that zero times in our almost 30 years of knowing each other. Because it is disrespectful, rude, a bully tactic... not to mention dangerous - for him! Yeah, a man trying that shit on me would lose an appendage.
[image] Aww, now I'm less angry. Thank you, bears. You always fix everything.
Decker also keeps saying that she's cute when she's angry. That's another thing that I hate. When a man is angry, he is never cute. He is dangerous or scary. He is taken seriously. But, when an AA sees his woman get angry (for serious reasons), he smiles or chuckles because she is so cute. Isn't that just the cutest face she makes when she's freaking out about her sister possibly being tortured and raped by a madman? Aww, she's adorable. Look at her little face getting all red! Look at her cute little huffy expression! I'm so glad she is my property now. Let me just grab her arm and order her to stay out of the way while the big strong men take care of everything. She needs to go get all prettied up for when I get back from my man-work and want food and sex from her.
[image] Not you too, Superman!
Which brings up the next point as to why this book was a suck-fest. This couple is humping like bunnies all over the place, every second, while her teenage sister is in the hands of a raping, torturing, murderer! Is this really the best way to use their time? Could they possibly be doing something actually useful towards saving the kid? Not to mention the fact that maybe it's disrespectful to act like a cat in heat right now. AND, I would think that knowing what her sister is going through would be a slight buzz-kill in the terms of sex. I know that when I hear a story of some poor girl being kidnapped, raped, tortured, and killed on the news, all I want to do is jump my husband's bones. And, I don't even know those girls. Just think how horny it would make me if it was a relative!
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Yup. So, basically, I didn't like anything about this book. And, I'm not even mentioning the fact that, once again, there isn't an actual ending to the story. So, here's how I will wrap up my review. Decker?
This world is a total rip-off of Tessa Dawn's series, Blood Curse.
The main guy in this book, Talen, is a vampire who "rescues" Cara and her daughter iThis world is a total rip-off of Tessa Dawn's series, Blood Curse.
The main guy in this book, Talen, is a vampire who "rescues" Cara and her daughter in the middle of the night by breaking down her door, grabbing her and forcing her into a car all while threatening and bullying her because she may, just may, think that HE is the bad guy. After all, he is kidnapping her and her child. But, how dare she question his motives?!! She's his mate! He will kidnap her, brand her, forcibly mate her, separate her from her 4 yr old daughter for weeks, tag her with a gps device, and order her obedience while threatening to hurt her if she doesn't mind. I'm sorry, who is the bad guy?
The amount of times this guy says that he's warning her, and that she'll be sorry if she doesn't obey him is outrageous. Also, she feels extreme fear of his anger. This is not the sign of a sexy alpha. This is an abuser. There are so many markers for abuse in this book. Here's a few, aside from those that I already listed, which are many:
He isolates her. She is forced to abandon her home, job, and family to be with him. He then leaves her alone constantly while he "goes on missions". When he gets home, he demands sex.
He belittles her and silences her. Whenever she voices an opinion that is not his, he uses intimidation tactics to shut her up. He also disregards everything she says. Her voice means nothing.
He physically restrains her, pushes her around, and even uses his "powers" to incapacitate her. He freezes her body at one point, and at another point, he screams into her head with telepathy so loudly that she literally passes out.
He takes away her identity. Not only does he take away her life's work as a scientist, but he also takes away her identity as a mother by separating her from her child. He also refuses to call her by name, but instead refers to her as "mate". Her sole purpose now is to mate him, she needs no other name.
He forces her to have sex with him. It doesn't matter that "her body betrays her". She still says "no" and he disregards that.
Needless to say, I hated this book with the burning rage of a thousand suns....more
The hero is a dick. We get to see him in his "before and after" being a prisoner of war who was tortured. And, I just have to say that he was a dick tThe hero is a dick. We get to see him in his "before and after" being a prisoner of war who was tortured. And, I just have to say that he was a dick to begin with, not Mr. Sweet and Wonderful.
Why: He meets Ginny at a bar where she is the waitress, grabs her onto his lap and makes her stay with him the whole night as he gets more and more drunk. Um, ever heard of sexual harassment?
[image] You break it, you buy it!
Next, he doesn't ask her if he can sleep with her. He simply goes to her boss and offers him enough money for her boss to force her to do it.
[image] Well, at least he obeyed the sign.
Then, he takes her virginity without even realizing it, even though she is crying. Is he accustomed to women crying when he has sex with them? Is that just SOP?
[image] Aww, that explains it.. Got all messy for nothing.
Then, he leaves the next day for war and is captured as a POW where he is tortured for a year. In that year, he romanticizes the "whore" he spent the night with and makes her out to be some saving angel that he will find after he's free and marry her. That's right, he's a Duke, but he plans on marrying a "whore" whose name he doesn't even know that he spent a few drunken hours with.
And, lucky him! When he is rescued and sent to the hospital, she just so happens to be the nurse who takes care of him. She even realizes he was diagnosed wrong and saves his life. Even though she was wearing a wig that night as his whore, after all of his fond memories of her, he will surely recognize his fallen angel, right?
When he is told that she saved his life and is going to give him his medicine:
"That plain-faced twit won't come near me.. Get out!"
The teacup shattered on the wall above her head, showering her with lukewarm droplets..
[image] okay, man, we'll find you a Coke..
His little tantrum gets Ginny fired and her life falls completely apart. Luckily, a NICE old man marries her and then dies. That worked out well. Now, she is wealthy, titled, and living next door to the Duke of Dickdom. He not only doesn't remember her as his whore, but he also doesn't remember her as the nurse who saved his life. And, he hates her because she is doing charity work. Charity work!!! That bitch!!
He threatens her, degrades her, yells at her, grabs and shakes her, and rants about how the lowly poor don't deserve the help of the rich. He also calls her a gold-digging whore for marrying her husband, and is upset that she is helping reformed whores. This guy has really got whores on his mind. Only one whore is good enough for him!! His magical whore!
"Shame on you, beguiling a decent old man on his deathbed, turning his ancestral home into little better than a brothel, and not even a useful one at that."
So, brothels are cool as long as they aren't in your neighborhood, and whores are only good if they are sweet and spent the night crying in your arms because you ripped her virginity from her?
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The heroine of the book was strong, compassionate, and resilient. But, the hero was such an ass that I couldn't like the story. I was actively rooting that some other guy - a nice guy - would show up and she would fall for him....more
Ugh! Shoot me if I ever lose enough self-respect to act like this girl! We have Kate, the love-sick, desperate loser, and Thorne, the alpha-jerk who trUgh! Shoot me if I ever lose enough self-respect to act like this girl! We have Kate, the love-sick, desperate loser, and Thorne, the alpha-jerk who treats her like crap and continually tells her to go away. But, she won't listen. No. She is convinced that they belong together, so she throws herself at him over and over again. It's pathetic. Not romantic.
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The only reason I gave two stars to this book is because Kate's family is awesome. There really needs to be an entire series based on these eccentric aristocrats themselves. I would totally read it. Unless Kate is there. She sucks so bad that she's pulling small planets into her personality.
Alpha males. Sometimes I love them. Sometimes I want to cut off their testicles and use them like those squeezy stress balls while I'm reading [image]
Alpha males. Sometimes I love them. Sometimes I want to cut off their testicles and use them like those squeezy stress balls while I'm reading about them.
[image] Tell me again about how women have to obey their men?
I have noticed there are two types in books: the tough-guy who will protect his woman at all costs with a heart of gold, and the borderline abuser guy who treats his woman like an errant child. The first two books has Alpha number ones. This book had the second guy and I spent much of my time simmering in boiling hatred of him.
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The series itself is really cool. It is dystopia, with smut. Smutopia. And reminds me a little bit of the Beyond series by Kit Rocha. The survivors in this post-apocalyptic world are trying to survive - as their name implies, and it ain't easy because the bacteria that killed most of the population turned some of them into psychotic killers. Some are just bat-shit crazy, and some are organized serial killers who love to inflict pain. Sounds fun, huh? Oh, and the president is one of the second kind. He is a total sadistic lunatic. Good thing this is fiction. It would suck to have a crazy president, wouldn't it?
[image] Damn. Well, maybe tomorrow...
In this series we are following a group of survivors in a camp that has soldier-types protecting a large group of civilians, including women and children. The main characters are all interesting and well-developed. But, in this book we are focusing on the guy who never really talks. He's a badass. But, to me, he is boring as hell. I see nothing attractive in a man who refuses to speak more than two words at a time. And, this isn't because he lacks the ability to speak or anything. He just chooses to be an asshole. It's his love-story. Yay.
So, our asshole is named Raze, and his love interest is Vinnie (a girl). Vinnie was in the last book being tortured by the president of the United States and the group rescued her. She is a bit messed-up from the experience, so what does she need now more than anything? A guy to push her around, threaten to beat her, and tie her to a radiator to make her stay in her room. Yup, he's a gem... How could she resist falling for him?
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Now, Vinnie is no prize herself. She has crazy moments when she hallucinates, but she is lucid most of the time. She was a brilliant profiler for the FBI before society collapsed - a doctor of psychology. So, we expect some sort of brains from her, right? yeah, no. Vinnie may have a PHD, but she calls her vagina her "girly parts". She also uses the medical terminology of "looney" when describing a patient's mental status. Combining that with her choice in men and I am wondering if anyone asked to see her identification to prove who she was. I'm thinking some bimbo on the street looked similar and took her place. There is no evidence to support this woman's claim of intelligence.
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Still. Does she deserve to be tied to a radiator by her "boyfriend"? Okay. Maybe.
So, I truly hated the main couple in this book, but I still enjoyed the story overall. I like all of the other characters and the world. And, I'm really looking forward to our funny Texan guy's book next.
So, it's not perfect, but it does have some Kate Danielish qualities. There is a girI liked it.
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Sorry to everyone that I have just disappointed.
So, it's not perfect, but it does have some Kate Danielish qualities. There is a girl who is not quite human, who has an unnatural relationship with her sword that is hired to help a shifter pack find a missing shifter kid.
The shifter alpha is a female jerk who is completely bat-shit crazy and will possible kill our girl. The shifter second is a complete dickhead guy who is with her 24/7 and is an abusive jerk.
[image] ok, so maybe not the most original story in the UF world...
Still, I enjoyed the story and I even liked Kit. I know, I know. You all hate her. And, yes, she's not a badass like Kate, she's not bitchy like Anita, she's not funny like Harry, and she makes some very dumb decisions too quickly. But, she's a scrapper. She came from a horrific background and yet she just doesn't give up. I liked her way better than Anita (I guess that's not saying much).
The one thing I totally hated, though, was her love-interest, Damen. This guy was not just an alpha-asshole, he was downright abusive. He literally abused her when they first met and then he continually threatened her and was physically domineering. I just couldn't get over that as quickly as Kit seemed to. She fell for his "charms" way too quickly and I was pissed off.
[image] douchebag... I am sure.
I admit that I hated Curran in the first few Kate books too, but at least she made him wait. And wait. And wait. Until he proved himself before she got together with him. Which comes back to the fact that if anyone goes into this book thinking it will be just as good as Kate Daniels - there will be sadness, disappointment, and gnashing of teeth. But, if you really like Urban Fantasy, and you are okay with just a decent, entertaining read, you will like it.
So, I was doing that thing where you don't know what you want to read next so you are wandering through your e-reader and listopia, and I was visited So, I was doing that thing where you don't know what you want to read next so you are wandering through your e-reader and listopia, and I was visited by two spirits. The first one was my old friend and literature teacher who said to me: Jilly, this is a perfect time to catch up on some of those classics. You can expand your mind and vocabulary. The second spirit was the spirit of Kelly's porny librarian. She said, "Cyborg porn." She made a good point. I mean, it would also expand my mind, right? How do cyborg's procreate? They are part machine, right? Do they have settings like the spin cycle of my washing machine, or are they more like a roomba - bumbling around until they knock into something? These questions need to be answered.
[image] In the name of science!
So, let me start out by saying that I've already read the first 4 of these books, and this one is terrible. Just horrible. But, it's like an accident. You don't want to see, but you can't look away.
[image] Stop that! What the hell's wrong with you?
You will be asking the question: "what the hell's wrong with you?" a lot when you read this book. Both to yourself, and to the characters - who are awful.
Our "heroine" is Mira, who is an idiot. She gets kidnapped by a cyborg and he decides to keep her as a sex slave. Right away, we have dubious consent. But, of course, she falls in love with her captor almost immediately. Then, she runs away. But, instead of letting her go, he captures her back and sells her to a sadistic cyborg who will sell her as a sex slave. She gets down on her hands and knees and begs her original captor to keep her instead, promising her complete submission and obedience. She immediately breaks that promise and is a pain in the ass who gives angst a new definition. She angsts over this guy so bad that she would give Bella Swan a run for her money.
Why oh why doesn't my captor love me??
Later, when he tells her something she doesn't like, she decides to kill herself to get him to give in. That was AFTER she asked him to kill her earlier in the book. Seriously. Bella. Swan.
[image] Mira has.
Anyway, like I said, this book is horrible. But, it's so horrible that you enjoy it. You find yourself saying,"What? That makes no sense!" many times. Like, how they have 5 women to every man on the planet so the women have to take multiple husbands, and yet the men also have "breeding contracts" so that they are forced to breed with any woman whose husband can't knock her up. Really? You have three husband's and they are ALL sterile? Um, aren't there a lot of other available guys out there? You really need to FORCE some guy who is in a relationship to breed with you? Um, okay. Is there enough oxygen on your planet, cuz you all be cray-cray! Oh, but there's so much more. The crazy goes deep in this series. On to the next review!...more
A huge letdown after the first three books. I guess I just never really liked either of the main characters.
There's Ava - an annoyingly bubbly girl whoA huge letdown after the first three books. I guess I just never really liked either of the main characters.
There's Ava - an annoyingly bubbly girl who is "quirky". She likes to hum, adores the color pink, and talks excessively. In other words, she's got the personality of a 13 year old girl on a sugar high. She calls Salem her "cuddly Bear" and I could just hear it in my head like nails on a chalkboard of her saying it in baby-talk. Kill me. I'm all about girl-power and not cutting down other women, but she's fictional so I get to say what I really feel about her: Shut the fuck up and grow the fuck up. You're an adult woman.
[image] She made it funny. Ava? Not so much...
Now, let's talk about Salem. In the first book, when Sam meets him, she says that his real name is Edward but went by Salem for some reason. He was also born in Ireland. Do we learn why he's called Salem? No. Do we get anything on his Irish heritage, or even the idea that he was from Ireland? No. All we get is some dominating asshole who pulls out all the alpha bullshit like pegging her against a wall so she can't escape, telling her that she is his possession, picking her up and forcing her to go where he wants her to go. At one point in the book, he sees another vampire she's working with touching her elbow - her elbow - and he freaks out:
Once her back met the wall, I placed my hands either side of her head. "You let him touch you."
"Just my elbow..."
"Whether it's your elbow, your ass, your breasts isn't the point - every inch of you matters." And every inch of her was mine.
Oh brother! Can I roll my eyes across the floor now? I would have kneed this guy in the balls if he expected me to never touch another male again in my life. She needs to keep some sort of 10 foot buffer zone between her and every man that exists? Shopping is going to be hell.
[image] Could someone roll me to the store and throw some butter in my ball?
So, I hated the couple. Luckily, the other characters in this series are still awesome and I'm willing to give the next book a try. But, now I'm nervous. I've lost my faith in the series, so I'm not going to hold my breath....more
I think Kristen Ashley's alpha assholes are the picture of mansplaining. Reading one of her books will send feminists into homicidal rages, and[image]
I think Kristen Ashley's alpha assholes are the picture of mansplaining. Reading one of her books will send feminists into homicidal rages, and would even be good propaganda material to recruit for the cause.
Here is a typical conversation in a KA book:
Girl: I really need to talk to you about your actions last night. When you grabbed me by the wrist and threw me against the wall, it really hurt. I had to go to the hospital after you finally let me leave this morning and -
Guy: Come and listen to my story about a man named Jed.
Girl: Would you please let me finish! I can't continue this abusive relationship! I am breaking -
Guy: A poor mountaineer, barely kept his family fed,
Girl: Guy, listen to -
Guy: And then one day he was shootin at some food,
Girl: Guy!!!
Guy: And up through the ground come a bubblin crude.
Girl: Okay. Whatever you say. You are so much smarter than me. I will have sex with you now.
Alright, I admit that maybe the guy isn't exactly reciting the theme song from the '70's TV show, The Beverly Hillbillies, but he might as well be. Because it doesn't really matter what he says, the point is that he's right and she's wrong. In everything. In this book, our male "hero" explains to his woman why she shouldn't have her own feelings about her period. She's in her late 30's.
That's right. Our man mansplained menstruation to a woman!
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Another common thread is that the male alphas typically think their female is "cute" when she's angry. So, when the woman is angry because he has done or said something extremely horrible (which is often), the man will typically laugh or decide to force sexual advances on her. He can't help himself! She's sexy when she's mad!
You know what else is cute when mad? Babies. We, as their parents see those little face bottom lips go out and it's so adorable.
[image] See? That's cute!
Do we consider babies our intellectual equals? No. Do we think that our opinion means more than a baby's? Of course. Do we make babies do what we need them to do despite their complaints? Yes. They have to go to bed at night, allow us to change their diaper - even if we have to hold them down, and get dressed - even though it means that we have to manipulate their arms and legs into the clothing for them.
The problem is that the men typically do all of the above to their women. The woman is below the man in every way. Her opinion is unimportant compared to his. She is forced to have physical contact with him against her will. She is constantly being manipulated by him in every way.
And, the conversations between the characters is excruciating! Here is a snippet from the book. Let's see if you can get through it without wanting to kill someone:
"Why?" he asked. "Why?" she repeated. "yes. Why?" "Layne, I'm not sure we should -" "Why?" "I really don't want to talk about - " "Why?" "Layne!" He leaned in to get his face close to hers. "Why?" he repeated. "Why do you want to know?" she shot back. "Because I do," he answered.
I bet you find that conversation irritating, huh? Well, the book is filled with these little ditties. Pages and pages of them. Seriously, if these type of exchanges were omitted from the book, it would probably shrink it in half.
And, in this book we had a "hero" with teenage sons. God help us all! He thinks it is perfectly acceptable for his 14-yr old and 17-yr old sons to say "fuck" around him and his woman. His oldest son is a complete manwhore and he is all proud of him with a "that's my boy" attitude until the son meets "the right girl". Then, he tells his son that he has to treat her right and not step out on her. Well, of course! Those other teen girls that his son screwed are not deserving of respect or decency! Only "the right girl" deserves to be treated well. The rest of those girls deserved to be screwed and screwed over. They deserved to have their hearts broken and hopes unfulfilled. What a bunch of sluts they must have been to have allowed the most popular boy in school, the football hero of the town, sweet-talk them into sex.
[image] Time to man-up and drink a beer, boy!
He also decides that his 14-yr old son will work undercover against a pedophile who is running a sex ring. This is the same pedophile that he refuses to allow his woman to even talk to because he is so dangerous. So, in other words, an adult woman is less capable of keeping herself safe than a 14-yr old boy? Evidently.
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Of course, his ex-wife is a bitch. A dumb bitch. So, any problems she has with his style of parenting is just too bad. He is the man. He is the fathering genius. Sure, he was gone for the first 12 years of their lives while she had to do it all alone, but he's around now. That means that he is in charge. Stand back, women!! A man is here now! He'll take it from here.
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So, even though I have had an awesome time reading these books with all of my reading buddies in the BBB group, I don't know if I can go on. I get way too stabby when I read these. I live in a home with two sons and a husband and I am just not sure if I can keep a male alive in my home when I read these books. Anything with a penis is in danger around me right now.
Beware if you are considering this series. This book has more triggers than a gun show in Texas!
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So, yeah, it's dark. There is murder, rape, tor Beware if you are considering this series. This book has more triggers than a gun show in Texas!
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So, yeah, it's dark. There is murder, rape, torture, and bloody battles. The bad guys are so evil that it is kind of funny. (I know, I'm sick). But, here's what I mean: one evil brother watches his younger evil brother brutally rape and murder a woman right before his eyes. When he's finished, they start having a conversation about how much they love their little baby nephew demon.
There was a quick snap before her lifeless body slumped to the ground. As he zipped up his pants, he sighed. "You know, brother, I think I love that kid like he's my own."
Salvatore smiled. "As do I, Zarek."....
Salvatore watched as Zarek sauntered out the door. All in all, he was such a good kid.
Okay, that's some hardcore evil shit! And, it kind of cracked me up. The evil guys are truly sociopaths, and sociopaths in books always make me laugh.
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The overall story and world in this series is pretty compelling. There is this weird blood curse going on that is seriously messed up and dark as hell. But, the thing about paranormal romance novels is that you really need to like the couple in order to really like the book, and in this one, I didn't like either one of them. The male is a complete dick and was in the last book too. The female is so completely boring and one-dimensional that she could easily be replaced with a ball.
[image] Wilson definitely had more personality than this chick
So, even though the world is cool and my bloodlust is sated through these books, this one was just kind of meh for me. I was actually rooting for the bad guys, and maybe for some terrible unhappy ending for our couple. Oh well, maybe next time...
[image] see? now, that's how to end a story!! Nailed it!...more
Just shoot me. This fucking book! I wanted to murder the main guy. He is an alpha asshole for the alpha asshole museum. And, the book was 1,400 pages Just shoot me. This fucking book! I wanted to murder the main guy. He is an alpha asshole for the alpha asshole museum. And, the book was 1,400 pages on my e-reader. That's a long time to hate someone. I think my blood pressure took a hit during this reading. I need wine.
Okay, so we have Violet, a widow with two teenage daughters, and Joe, an asshole who lives next door. They have a not-so-nice meeting where Joe acts like a total jerk. Later, he comes up to her at the local bar while she's drunk and decides to take advantage of that fact. You know how you read these romances and the lead male character is all noble and shit and refuses to sleep with the drunk girl? Yeah, this guy isn't noble at all. Even when she says she's not on the pill, and he doesn't have condoms, he says, "Fuck it" and has sex with this drunk woman who can barely stand up anyway.
What a hero! How romantic! Isn't he awesome?
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After a couple of nights of booty calls, he cuts her loose in the most humiliating way possible. After this happens, she avoids him - you know, like a normal human would do. And, she's pissed off - again, a human-like reaction. So, good old Joe calls her a bitch. Yup, he's that awesome. I know what you are thinking, girls, "Where can I find a great guy like this?" I'm thinking you can go to any prison or biker bar and find guys of this caliber.
[image] This guy might be available. And, he's better than Joe.
So, Violet moves on and meets another guy, Mike. Mike is normal. He asks her on a date. He gives her time to see where her head is at. He treats her with decency and doesn't even cuss her out. What a loser!! So, of course she goes back to screwing Joe.
They've got a great situation worked out. Mike takes Violet out on nice dates and drops her off at home with a goodnight kiss, then she goes over to Joe's house and has sex with him. Joe is cool with this arrangement. He doesn't have to do the work, but gets the payoff. Violet is cool with this. She's obviously a low-class slut. Mike.... well, Mike doesn't actually know about this. What Mike doesn't know won't hurt him, right?
So, at this point I'm thinking Violet deserves Joe. They are both a couple of assholes.
[image] Two for one special here!
Aside from the horrible horrible couple in this book, it was also just waaaay too long. It dragged on and on with angst and break-ups and fights and dramatic bullshit until I wanted to burn the world down just to get rid of this book. Seriously. I considered the Witness Protection Program to get out of this buddy-read.
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But, my friends at BBB make the torture of these KA books worth it, so of course I will be ready for our next book. I'm such a masochist!...more
You know when you read a first book and it is so awesome that you are just itching to read the next one? And, then it lets you down...
It's like a babyYou know when you read a first book and it is so awesome that you are just itching to read the next one? And, then it lets you down...
It's like a baby eating a lemon. They are all excited to get this exotic new food, but then reality strikes. [image]
[image] why are parents such jerks? For the laughs of course!
In the last book, I fell in love with Taryn. She is sarcastic, bitchy, and hilarious - the perfect girl. And, Trey, her love interest was pretty great too. He was this big scary alpha who became a sweetheart with her. The problem is that this book tried to follow the same formula, but it didn't work.
First, we have Jaimie. She is trying to be like Taryn, but fails miserably. She makes all of the cut-down quips, but they are just not funny. Not clever either. It's almost uncomfortable how much she fails at delivering a snarky comment.
Here's Jaimie trying to throw down:
"I wish the wizard had lived up to his promise and given you a heart."
[image] This baby could have come up with a better line!
So, yeah, Jaimie is lame.
Her love interest is Dante - the beta of the pack. But, Dante acts more like an alpha than Trey. He's one of those domineering assholes that makes me want to go on a homicidal rage. My KA buddy readers get me.
He takes her car keys, orders her around, physically restrains her, bites her without permission, and constantly threatens her. He is also one of those idiots who tells her that she has to beg for sex and then calls her a "good girl. My good girl." Ewww.... that is so gross and creepy.
First of all, no real woman has to beg for sex. If there is begging going on, it will be the man doing so. Let's live in the real world here, people!
Secondly, I call my dog "my good girl". Who's a good girl? Sunny is a good girl!" [image] See, she loves it!
So, calling a woman his "good girl" is weird and wrong. It has both the creepy and the weird factor going.
And, all of this is to say that I didn't like this couple. They were trying to be like the first couple, but failed miserably. And, when I wasn't pissed off because of them, I was bored because there are just pages and pages of them "thinking". Ugh! Their thoughts were not even that interesting! No ones are! I don't want to hear about your dream last night, and I don't want to know every thought that goes through your head! Certain (boring) things are meant to NOT be shared.
I'm not ready to give up on this series yet, though, because I know the author has the ability to write great characters. She just didn't get there on this one....more
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