30something_reads's Reviews (820)

4 ⭐ 

What a journey 😭♥️!!

The pacing of this book was definitely slower compared to book 1 which made it a little harder for me to get into. But man, I am so glad to see how the story concluded for Oraya and Raihn.

I am excited to see what comes next in this world! (The set up feels very much like The Bridge Kingdom series and I love that!)

 3⭐

TLDR; enjoyable but needed to be shorter.

Overall, this was a fun read. A dystopian Why Choose Monster/Alien romance with three love interests that have many appendages. And a fun (albeit darker) twist on the story of Little Red Riding Hood.

My only concern was with the pacing and the repetition of certain plot devices. (Slightly spoilery - I think the second time Arie was taken was completely unnecessary and could have been cut for the sake of pacing.) I almost gave up around the 60% mark but action really picked up and I really enjoyed the ending.

And let me tell you, for an alien romance, I was not anticipating how deep and dark we got into topics of religious zealotry and corruption in the human societies as these driving background forces in the plot. I liked it.

TWs: murder, violence, gore, blood, mentions of SA, mentions of spousal abuse. 

Anytime a Risda novella comes out I just know I'm in for a cozy little treat and that's what this was ☺️

(Also, I just love that Ruby's adopted kitten is what inspired the character of Chelsea 😆.)

I can't wait to read Jrrru's story when it comes out next.

 3.75⭐ rounded up

Did I enjoy this? Absolutely! Did I love it though? Eh.

But it was cute. It was hot. It was HELLA spicy for a romcom (which, I mean, A+ on that.) It gave what it needed to give when it needed to give and for that, I appreciate it.

I loved the little steamy snippets we got of Cassie and Aiden's OF interactions through the chapters (Not going to lie though, it would have been nice to have like some flashback moments with more details). And, as I mentioned, the spice was A+. We love a bossy man who wants his lady to use toys.

I loved Wanda and Sophie as side characters. (maybe even more than Cassie and Aiden tbh.) Wanda made me laugh out loud every time she talked about the "booby cams".

And I know it was meant to be cute and quirky but I absolutely hated the whole Snapple facts schtick that Cassie had. Like it was cute the first time. But I hated it a little bit more every time she whipped out another one.

I did enjoy the writing overall, and I will absolutely be checking out the shifter romance because... obviously. 

You win again, Emezi.

3 for 3 on the ugly crying. This one probably tops all the others. I'm literally crying right now as I write this. Everything was so beautiful and devastating all at once. 

3⭐

Overall, I ended up enjoying this story. Vark is a character we meet in earlier books and it's nice to see him find his HEA after everything he went through 🥹

I wasn't 100% sold on Hazel as a character. I loved her fierceness in protecting her daughter though. (I actually loved how ALL of the characters were so sweet and protective of Wren.) 

There were some definite pacing issues between the 60%-80% mark that had me questioning whether or not I'd give up but I'm glad i pushed through because the little twist and action at the end was very good.

 4.25

How do you even try to explain this story without sounding absolutely bonkers? It was so beautiful and weird. And about finding and building a family full of love from the most unexpected of places.

I really adored this. 😌❤️ 

 “You want more than I can give you,” I whispered.

“I can’t imagine that ever being true,” he murmured. “Because I want only you, Lilith. Whatever of you I can have. I’ll take one night. One hour. One minute. Whatever you want to give me. I’ll have it.”

The whole "centuries old vampire that has lost joy/purpose in his life" meets "baffling human scientist with so much passion for her cause" thus causing him to begrudgingly reevaluate his world views while simultaneously falling in love is a really great dynamic.

I love that for them. I'm not jealous at all. Nope.

This novella provided a lot of really great context to the world overall and I really enjoyed that. I'm not sure if we'll see Lilith and Vale in the next book, but it would be awesome if we did :)

ALSO!! The neurodivergent representation was something I really loved about Lilith. I haven't seen it mentioned, but the ways in which she interacts with the world around her compared to the way she was able to unmask with Vale and still feel accepted was one of my favorite things. 

 4.25 ⭐

Okay! I get it. I see why everyone is freaking out about this book.

Background:
We have 3 Vampire Kingdoms and all of the infighting and messy politics that come with being blood thirsty immortal beings.

And THEN there is an epic tournament that only takes place once every century in which the contestants that enter fight until the end in order to gain a prize of their choosing from the goddess Nyaxia.

So... You know, given the political atmosphere, that seems messy.

Plot:
Oraya, adopted human daughter of the Night or King, decides to enter the tournament. The odds are stacked against her but she's trained her whole life to protect herself against vampires. Once there, she reluctantly teams up with another contestant, Raihn, who is as mysterious as he is strange. They must work together to get through the trials. But there is only one winner.

Overall thoughts:
Once I picked this up, it was hard to put down. The pacing and the world building felt very consistent and I never experienced any moments of info dumping fatigue or lulls in the plot. And the slowburn romance was VERY GOOD.

I really loved Oraya and Raihn as main characters. They are both very well thought out with really interesting backstories and motivations. And their chemistry and banter were top notch. It was a slowburn but it was worth the wait. 🔥

I didn't quite get all of the world building that I would have liked. Especially regarding these other kingdoms. This centered on the House of Night. We got a little bit into the House of Blood. But, did I just miss the stuff about House of Shadow? I feel like it never really came up. Also, like what about any human kingdoms out there? What are those guys doing?

(But maybe we'll see more of this world building in book 2.) 

Confirmed: Silas is still my favorite 😆🥰

This was such a sweet little revisit to the world of Sorcery of Thorns. Low stakes. Grand gestures. Silly magical antics. And murderous knickers. 

Love the narrator for the audiobook ♥️