Weekly Reading Roundup: April 22nd, 2022
It was a pretty good week of reading for me.
The Soldier and the Spy (Society of Beast #2) by Annabelle Greene. 5 stars.I'm so glad I picked this up. I don't usually go for historical, so I wasn’t expecting to like this as much as I did. I loved a good hidden identity/betrayal premise, and this kind of relationship dynamics (a young, flirty, bratty MC and an older, grumpy Captain with a tormented past) is so compelling to me. The prose was delightful and even poetic at times without being too heavy-handed, and I just loved all the flirty banter. This is pretty high-steam and the relationship even gets this little D/s undertone, with a touch of neediness and urgency that felt right for the characters. The plot isn't overly complex, nor does it need to be, as it packs plenty of feels! I just wanted a little more from the big reveal scene, but I still loved it. I didn't read the first book and I thought this did well as a standalone.
Adara Wolf has this way of writing dark stories in a way that's intriguing, and not emotionally draining, and even... kind of fun? She's really a top-tier author for dark erotica, and it's pretty impressive how she makes a book that has so much sexual torture into something so captivating. Most of the kinks featured in this (and there are a lot) are not my thing at all, but I don't think the sex scenes are meant to be titillating. what makes the story appealing is the psychological development of Alex and how Tracht is slowly molding him into the perfect bondservant in a way that you, as the reader, should hate, but kind of end up rooting for. It's hard to rate this, and even harder to know who I would recommend this to, but I do feel like it's a book that's going to stay in my mind for a while. Please, please, please read the CW on the author's website first if you're considering reading this.
This is short (under 100 pages), but if this is the direction the rest of the story is going in, I'm liking it. I loved getting Tracht's POV here, and I enjoyed some of the softer thoughts he had about Alex, in his own, sadistic way. I know this isn't even supposed to be a romance, though I did find some parts in both books strangely romantic in a fucked-up way (your mileage may vary on this). But really, what I’m the most excited about, is the bigger plot that is starting to form alongside the exploration of Alex and Tracht's fucked up dynamics.
I only finished one book this week! It was a weird busy week and also I watched TV and wasted time instead of reading.
The Taste of Ink (book 1 of 3) by Daniel May 4 stars ARC review (but it has since been released!). This is the re-release of Daniel May's taste of ink 7 book serial into a trilogy. I have only read the first one but have the ARCs of the next two in the queue. It's a difficult book to rate and review as a standalone because it very much isn't a standalone. It's erotica, cheating and the characters are the main driver of the plot (but is not overly angsty about it), and it just kind of ends since the full story is over the full trilogy but I still had a good time reading it. I want all the characters to be happy and redeemed and everything to work out! Stay tuned for reviews of books 2 and 3!
Hopefully this week I will finish more than one book since I have a pile of ARC obligations to get through.
I think I’d call this a pretty chaotic week for reading, as far as subgenre which is kind of fun.
The Art of Mutual Pleasure by KA Merikan Kindle Unlimited. 5 stars.
This had quite the bonkers premise, how could I resist? Benjamin was an adorable dingdong. I felt so bad for him and his mistaken thoughts! I loved how Frederick eventually came around to help him through his crisis and tragic feelings. It had some places of unexpected humor, and of course - incredible hot. What a fun read!
The Devil Told You by Alexis Jane Kindle Unlimited. 1.5 stars.
An entry into the Grim Delights multi-author series, of retelling fairytales as dark romances. I should know better - these series usually have one or two authors that really hit the mark, and the rest….less so. This is one of those missed-the-mark entries.
Dark? No.
Interminable internal dialogue? Yes.
Plot? Uhh
Fairytale elements? Kind of? It’s Rumpelstiltskin, and it manages about half the vibes of the fairytale, with a pretty strange epilogue.
Overall, it was flat for me, emotionally, plot, etc. Will I read more from the series? You know it
Crazy Kinky Dirty Skinhead and Crazy Kinky Dirty Stud by KA Merikan Both on Kindle Unlimited. 4 stars.
These two are part of a five novella bundle, all erotica with some interesting kinks. Vivid, sometimes emotional, and fun to read. I’m spacing them out, because they are a little intense with the kinks (in a good way).
Cherryvine by Marina Vivancos Kindle Unlimited. 2 stars.
A sequel of sorts to Honeythorne, this did not measure up at all. Poor Isak - abused in his last marriage of ten years, trying to adjust to moving to the South (from the North), and adjusting to his weirdly nice new Alpha. Emil, the Alpha, was completely flat. He had instalove for Isak, and even in his one - completely random - POV chapter, he had no personality. I never got the sense he knew or understood Isak, which made their romance a fail to me. The handling of Isak’s PTSD felt out of character for Vivancos, who usually handles these things with care.
Additionally - an extremely perplexing epilogue, in which we are in the POV of their child. Who is 7. ???
The Reluctant Companion by HL Day ARC (release date: May 9th on KU). 3.5 stars.
A fantasy setting, which was pretty neat. The romance was done in fits and starts though, a little blocky which made it hard to get into for me. It was still a generally fun and easy read, as HL Day is a solid writer (for the books I’ve read of hers).
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