didn't finish my audiobook copy in time but honestly... these books are so damn repetitive i'm not sure if i'll get back to the seriesdidn't finish my audiobook copy in time but honestly... these books are so damn repetitive i'm not sure if i'll get back to the series...more
literally the same premise except the main character in this one is sexually assaulted before she finds her one this was worse than beautiful disaster
literally the same premise except the main character in this one is sexually assaulted before she finds her one true love. and the love interest in this is british.
words can't describe how bad this was. from the dick van dyke in mary poppins slang for the british guy, the girl who is in love with classic literature AND makes her own metal jewelry, to the street fighting... it was just. bad.
and i powered through it thinking i might be rewarded with some decent sex scenes. but to me, plunging your finger in to someone while you're declaring your undying love is just... not sexy. call me old fashioned, but i want a different kind of declaration.
i was also extremely annoyed at the lack of precaution these two college students were taking. "hey i know we're practically strangers but let's fuck raw and hope you don't get pregnant." give me a freaking break. i was hoping it was gonna be some sort of foreshadowing and she would be punished for her stupidity with a surprise child. but unfortunately that never happens.
uh yeah that's all i'm gonna say. this was cheesy, the plot was poor, the characters were my least favorite. and i don't think i want to pick up any other books by this author unfortunately. good riddance and goodnight....more
let's start with the basics. this book starts off innocently enough, with our main girl Kloe rehabilitating our dude Anderson. y[image]
what the fuck?
let's start with the basics. this book starts off innocently enough, with our main girl Kloe rehabilitating our dude Anderson. you get the warm fuzzies at his shy advances towards her and think "oh yes find comfort in each other, recover from shared traumas." BUT NO FUCKING SIR! that would be too simple. instead our main characters get ripped apart and reunited 4 years later. but of course our sweet vulnerable dude is basically a sociopath upon reunion. heart warming, no? and that's not to mention the unnecessary twists.
what really pissed me off here i think was the over use of trauma. i am ALL for trauma in dark romances cause i mean that's the whole point. but not EVERYONE in this world is bad. not everyone wants to rape and kill you. so why would you make all of your characters fucked in the head?
and i was also just really upset at the characterization of Anderson. he started off SO promising. i love a good broken/damaged male lead. but you can't have your guy sexually assault your leading lady and hit her across the face and threaten her??? there were some pseudo BDSM elements to the book but most of the episodes with Kloe were not under that guise and really left a bad taste in my mouth.
but like most upsettingly, the consensual sex was pretty hot. so why did you have to ruin it with all the other bullshit... sigh.
whatever, my twisted soul will probably read the sequel....more
nubbin ________________ Let's start with some quotes shall we.
"I moan feebly as his teeth graze my neck, undthe only meaningful reread comment i have is
nubbin ________________ Let's start with some quotes shall we.
"I moan feebly as his teeth graze my neck, undulate helplessly as he tugs my flesh so firmly, I think he's going to give me my first hickey."
"but he's massively big and drags thickly over every inch of my channel. A haggard whimper...."
"calling me a little chick-fil-a sandwich, because I'm so chicken."
[image]
Yeah. Um. EXCUSE ME. Part of me wants to reduce this review purely to quotes so you all can have a good laugh. One second the h refers to her vagina as a kitten, the next it's a pussy (are you 24 or 12). She lives for ear-lingus and being licked by her "sexy lion man."
I'm not here to kink shame, but the writing of the sex scenes and honestly just general internal monologue from the h (Brooke), kinda made me wanna gag.
Which SUCKS because this book could have been amazing. Remy, our dude (for lack of a more sophisticated word), was awesome. I love a good damaged goods story and Remy has a seriously messed up background. I even loved his crazy alpha male thing, and I LOVED that he communicated through music. Remy rocked.
But like I said, Brooke was a problem for me. Bland, uptight, whiny, but pretty damn good at waxing poetic about black spiky hair and blue eyes.
Also I think some of the characterization of bipolar disorder was a leeeeeettle problematic.
Whatever, if this writing style doesn't piss you off you might love this. And I might read the next one; glutton for punishment and all that....more
NO NO NO. NO I TELL YOU, I REFUSE TO BELIEVE THIS SERIES IS OVER.
I fell hard for the Page boys and their ladies, and Quarry and L every. single. day.
NO NO NO. NO I TELL YOU, I REFUSE TO BELIEVE THIS SERIES IS OVER.
I fell hard for the Page boys and their ladies, and Quarry and Liv were no exception. This book follows the journey of, you guessed it, Quarry and Liv as they heal from loss and find love with each other. I'm not going to gush about this book, but it was beyond sweet and sexy. And even better than that, we get nice wraps ups for the couples from the previous books.
There were two main reasons I didn't 5 star this though (yes even after I gushed about the series). The first is that I was DYING to read Quarry's book and see his personality really shine in a book. But while Till and Flint were obviously very differentiated in character, I didn't feel like Quarry was afforded that same nuance. Which made me especially sad since he's probably the most different of the three, in the other 2 books. The other reason I didn't 5 star was because I wasn't entirely onboard with the whole dead former lover thing. I think it was handled well but it just wasn't as satisfying as I had hoped. I like that Quarry and Liv could connect to each other with their grief but I wish more work had gone into the logic behind the reconciliation of guilt (which you'll understand if you read this).
That being said, would still recommend this series 10/10. You'll fall in love....more
OKAY FOLKS IT'S OFFICIAL I AM OFF MY ROCKER. I am a grad student and yet I read this book in a day. After finishing the first book in the seriesalways
OKAY FOLKS IT'S OFFICIAL I AM OFF MY ROCKER. I am a grad student and yet I read this book in a day. After finishing the first book in the series earlier today. Granted there was a cliff hanger in the first book... but I digress.
This story follows Ash and Flint and their relationship over about a 6 year span (much like the first one, shocker). We still have the lovely familial aspects to this book, but not as much as you might expect given the importance of family in the first book.
But lemme tell ya, this book wasn't at all a cheap retelling of the first book. Flint is stony (HAH) and a little cold, with a mushy center. Ash is laugh out loud funny with a zest for life that isn't cheesy or cringey. And the chemistry was very palpable between the two characters, even more so than the couple in the first book.
AND. THE. TWISTS. Y'all. There were so many that I wasn't expecting. They weren't over the top or unbelievable either. But that one at the end was stone. fucking. cold.
Annnnnd now I have to go and pick up the third book and immediately devour it. Brb, prolly see y'all same place & time tomorrow with a third review....more
hi, hello, welcome to the weirdest fcking book i read in 2017.
i guess i have no one to blame but myself since i didn't thoroughly read the synopsis buhi, hello, welcome to the weirdest fcking book i read in 2017.
i guess i have no one to blame but myself since i didn't thoroughly read the synopsis but i wasn't really expecting this medieval shit. essentially the story revolves around this TRULY ODD underground fighting pit/secret world that this sick fuck has created. he has men fight to the death, women are whores, and the undesirable women are like scullery maids.
like i said, truly fcking strange.
and in the midst of all this you have the "high whore" essentially fall in love with the champion fighter which is a BIG NO NO. and like obviously they find a way to escape.
so their relationship is kind of cute and i was definitely here for it, but it was just too weird of a book for me to really get into it. i felt kind of detached from the characters because the world was so weird (it was like impersonal kind of like a fairytale/ some historical fiction) AND we keep getting chapters from the point of view of the people that eventually save them but i just did not care??? i mean great for saving ur fam/friends from modern day slavery but i just don't care about your POV honestly.
overall, strange read. wouldn't really recommend. won't read the rest....more
2023 review: i'm rereading romances i loved 6 years ago and sadly this one didn't age well. i LOVE aly martinez but this book lacked so much of what i 2023 review: i'm rereading romances i loved 6 years ago and sadly this one didn't age well. i LOVE aly martinez but this book lacked so much of what i love about her stuff. the introspection? completely lacking here. and don't get me wrong i don't want to only be in a character's head. i need dialogue as much as the next bitch. but you feel like you're reading the synopsis of a plot when the characters don't ever stop and THINK about the stuff happening to them.
also LOLing at me thinking the characters had interests/faults etc. we're told eliza is going to college. we never hear about it after that. like did she graduate? what degree? even what job she has? poor girl was literally just a prop to hold up the emotionally stunted hero.
i didn't hate this or anything i just completely misremembered this book. but it's nice to know how much i still love this author's work since i've read her current stuff and it does indeed slap.
2017 review: This was such a nice lil sports romance for my current reading slump. And it could probably best be described as Beautiful Disaster's sweeter and less problematic cousin.
The story revolves around two poor kids, Till and Eliza who find solace in each other's company when dealing with all that life throws their way. The story spans more than 8 years of their friendship and eventual relationship. Oh yeah, and Till is a fighter who's going deaf. There's a little more to it than that but that's all you really need to know before reading.
I loved the way that Till and Eliza were characterized. They both had their own interests, faults, and hesitations in starting a relationship. But once they get together I just about died; Till is such a sweet and dedicated dude. But even more than the main couple, I fell HARD for Till's brothers, Flint & Quarry, and the way that family plays into this book. Especially near the end of this book I found myself caring less about T&E and more about the two younger boys. The comedic relief they provided was much needed and I'm just really excited to see them grown up in the next 2 books.
And I know some people had an issue with the ending of this book as not very HEA but I think it worked. The main couple definitely get their HEA but we're also perfectly set up for the next book. And I for one immediately purchased the second book upon finishing this one so I think Martinez knew what she was doing with the ending.
Anyway, if you liked (or hated) Beautiful Disaster, have a thing for sports romances, or just like the idea of dudes beating the shit out of each other, you should give this one a try....more
