bennysbooks's Reviews (668)

As with any anthology there were varying levels of enjoyment for me  but overall I thought this was a fantastic reading experience. It's not necessarily erotic, despite the subject matter. It's not even always a depiction of exploring kink in healthy or safe ways, and I think that has value too (because it is reality for some people). It was just very human, tender. 

Cosmic horror isn't typically my thing, more so my partner's, but this was a great read. Genuinely unsettling; on multiple occasions I had to take a break and breathe a little to gear myself up for the next story. If you like to read things that scare you while stretching your brain muscles, this will likely work for you. 

The last book I finished was The Left Hand of Darkness, and it was too much for me to go from Le Guin writing so intelligently about gender in the 60s to Jordan writing the fantasy version of Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus. I couldn't read another page of it. I own most of the books in this series, so I'll probably try again one day. They aren't ever going to be favourites, but they're decently entertaining.

Second attempt with this book, and I definitely got further in this time, but I'm still finding it hard to maintain interest. The worldbuilding is rich and the political manoeuvring interesting, but the characters aren't developed enough for me to feel uniquely connected to any of them. There are too many perspectives thrown in, which distracts from the main characters and stunts the pacing. I wanted to love it because the description sounds amazing, but I'm not thinking about it between reading sessions, and reluctant to pick it up when I sit down to read.

Very dense, hard sci-fi. Not going to lie, I was only *just* keeping my head above water at times. The discussions in this book were fascinating, but it wasn't entirely successful as a story. The narrator reflecting on his past too often took me out of the flow, unfortunately relieving the tension (which was otherwise juicy). At times there were so many ideas packed into a section that it felt bloated, which was unfortunate - your preference for story/idea balance will affect your mileage with this book. I think it will make for a rewarding re-read one day, though, so that's a good sign. 

I can't explain it but I think I need to read this in physical format rather than digitally. Something about the slow pace and atmospheric nature aren't working for me on my e-reader. I'll try again in a few months 

Not sure how I would rate this. I think the world-building was fantastic and immersive, and the writing was good. But the plot progressed slowly, and then things would happen in random bursts or off page. Coupled with the slow pace this made it quite boring at times. The characters weren't very well fleshed out either. I will say, I don't think this is a romance, although I wouldn't count it as erotica either. It's really just a dark fantasy book where sex is weaved into the world-building. Definitely check content warnings.