charliauthor's Reviews (531)

 Another amazing outing into the land of Westeros.
The show was still pretty much faithful to the books at this point so i have no issues there.
I loved the redemption arc of Jaime, Arya's life lessons among the Brotherhood, Tyrion being Tyrion except when he was really willing to get into bed with Sansa - such a perv!
Cersei doesnt play as big a role in the books as she did on the show even with plotlines that do concern her so love that dynamic.
Daenerys was also minimal in this one but absolutely love her growing into herself and being a powerful woman. Absolutely loved when she told Jorah to fuck off lmao! She's a child you dirty old man, leave her be!

Im listening to the audio of this which is basically both parts of this in one so while this part is finished, on i go! 

Im ashamed at myself for having gone through all of these books but what can i say, im a completionist! Lol

This book is another fuckfest like all the others but if it is at all possible, it just gets worse. If theyre not all filling all the holes, theyre doing it immediately after each other with no reprieve or lubrication which just isnt remotely believable.
All the MMCs are in love with the female as she is with them to keep this on the right side of erotica but its still just insanely idiotic. There was an obvious preference for one guy over others which defeats the purpose of the polyamorous setting.

Theres no real plot to speak of, any questions answered in book 3. Their kinks arent kinky and anyone who thinks simple butt sex, bondage and voyeurism is a major kink is probably shopping in the vanilla aisle cause this was all pretty basic fare lol

My soul is tainted but fun was had lol 

 nother steamy romantasy from Katrina but this time in an urban/contemporary setting with vampires.

While there were a few loose plot elements, text errors and typos, I really really enjoyed the vampiric world the author has created.
The attention to detail in highlighting how the vampires exist in this hybrid world was amazing. How they can see themselves in mirrors if the mirror doesnt have silver in it was an example of a great touch to detail.
The steam was top notch as ever and had all the right elements for a quick romance novella. Even the mechanics of how they partake in coitus was designed well.
The dialogue was good with some notably funny bits from the FMC.
I recommend it for a quick easy fun read 

 I really liked this one!

This was recommended to me by a friend who knows i have a major thing for Jason Momoa so if the MMC is said 'to look like aquaman' i knew i was down for the ride.

A bit too insta-love for me considering how macho the guy is meant to be but hey, if he's a cuddly giant like JaMo, who am i to complain!

I loved loved LOVED the banter between FMC and her bestie, Sloane. Knowing the next book is about her as made this even better and i cant wait to get stuck into that one.

The smut was great in that it was somewhat realistic. Would have liked a bit more time taken with it as opposed to him flipping her into a new position every ten seconds but it was believable and realistic which was a good read.

Writing overall was good, loved that it had substance and a genuine plot even if it was wrapped up a little quickly.

Overall though, great read. A definite 'Green' LOL 

 Where to begin?

House of Marionne is about a teen named Quell - shit name - who has some sort of bad magic that rather than teach her about or how to control, her mother has her on the run for years to hide it from her magically respected family. The magic manifests into something like black ash or shadows or something and apparently this is bad for reasons not really made clear.

Fast forward to some people called Draguns - no discernible reason for the name or spelling - hunting her, Quell's mum sends her to the very place theyve been running from and tells her to seek sanctuary. Said place is a school for magic people, one of four and this particular house is run by Quell's obviously shady grandmother who is like Professor McGonagall and Anna Wintour had a very rude baby.

Quell has to learn about magic and this school in a matter of seconds in order to graduate in some fashion that isnt that clear in order to hide her bad magic and avoid annihilation.

I liked the Bridgerton esque feel of school with its debutante balls and learning how to curtsy was cute enough but it was all very...pretty. The whole book is pretty and 1000% YA.
There is no darkness to speak of so if you like that sort of squeaky clean, no frills YA, then be my guest. The romance is wack too.

I pretty much disliked everything else and found it a struggle to read the last 25% because i lost interest. The magic system could have been stronger, the dialogue was weak, pacing was too slow and the brooding bad boy was neither brooding or bad. Simply possessing shadow powers doesnt make you edgy dude. You actually have to BE edgy -_-

I did like the grandmother but by the end of the book, when her role in the story was revealed to be the role i thought it was from the beginning, it felt super basic. Nothing came as much of a shock and even the end which i didn't see coming - mainly because the character held no interest - still wasnt enough to make me think 'oooh, i really need to read book 2'

Quell is largely uninteresting but then most 17 year olds are so what ya gonna do. The author just didnt really create anything of substance about her or the other characters around her who all felt flat and largely insignificant.

There was a lot going for it in terms of the setting but at times i wasnt even sure where or when this was. The worldbuilding felt rushed and incomplete when there was so much more that could have been done to flesh it out and make me want to be in this place.

There's also the level of racial ambiguity in this that i really didnt respect and thought was a little cowardly. No descriptions of anyone black from a mixed author felt like a sale grab and comparing it to Fourth Wing was an outright lie.

In short, i'm really disappointed in this one and wanted it to be much better 

 This one was really funny and i enjoyed the banter between the two main characters.
It did come across as a bit overkill at times but it still held merit and i enjoyed the read.
I gave it a 3 because there was just a bit of a drag at the end that could have been wrapped up a lot earlier for.
The steam was steamy and the writing style and quality was great too.
With this being a mafia romance, there was some unrealistic elements and while this was to be expected, i did want a bit more edge to these guys.
They're all very sweet and poetic even though they're meant to be super dangerous.
The end however shows that they still maintain some edge so that was good 

 Is this weird? Yes
Did i devour it in one sitting? Also yes

This isnt real life. I dont know what im doing here. I have no idea what just happened?! How did it even fit?!

Wild stuff. Hilarious. Original but just wild stuff LOL 

Where do i begin with this...?

A few of my mates said this book was really triggering, a dark romance that was super dark so yes, i read it to find out what the fuss was about. What can i say, sucker for punishment! Ha!

So, Sea of Ruin had a promising start. Well written, engaging FMC with a touching back story and of course it was about pirates! All in all, a good smut rec to start but unfortunately everything after chapter 3 was an endless smut fest with no rhyme or reason for the excessive actions that took place.

Bennett, while a forceful and rebellious character at the start which was endearing and at a point life saving, by the end of the book was extremely annoying. It is not smart to run your mouth in the company of forty pirates who've not seen a woman in a reallly long time and are emphatically telling you what theyre going to do to you without your consent...

(Minor Spoilers here:) This incident aside - which involves some unnecessary and disgusting finger violations - there is a lot of mention of rxpe in this book. While there is only one instance of this actually taking place which we were thankfully saved from any truly explicit description, there was always the threat of rxpe at every corner. One of the standout issues for me is after she is abused, the love interest tells her that she has never looked more beautiful then in that moment because she was brave and endured her ordeal. Please note that she is tied down and naked at this point and this...arouses him?! WTF?!
What makes matters even worse is that she welcomes the attraction and is also aroused. This makes absolutely no effing sense!!! Why would you want rough - he's a spanker and bootyhole invader - after having been violated for two weeks?!     

My issue with this entire book more so than the triggering and largely unnecessary content was how accepting the FMC was about her ordeals. There was never any questioning about the actions of those around her, instead telling herself to constantly endure and breathe through.
I found this vile and largely disrespectful to people who have been through such things.

It gets one star for the writing, the author really knows about pirate ships and terminology and there were some very emotional passages that i found interesting. Outside of this its sexually explicit and violent for absolutely no reason and plot choices make no sense.

Im not sure what took me so long to get through this but im glad i did eventually. Maybe it was the pacing or the lack of answers quite deep into the book or even the long chapters that had me initially struggling to get through the first two thirds but once it picked up, it really got going. 

Seven Faceless Saints features Roz and Damian. The former supposedly ‘blessed’ by the Saints to received magical abilities, while the latter, a protege of his military general father is not so blessed. Growing up on either side of the privilege of magic, Roz and Damian have very different views about the world and the faith that governs it. 

When a disciple - person blessed by magic of one of the seven saints - is found dead, Roz and Daman are forced together again (theyre childhood sweethearts) to try and solve the murder. Set against a backdrop inspired by Italy with corrupt politicians and rebel groups, there was always something going on that at times honestly got a little scary which was great. 

The latter third was the best part with the revelations and dark shit that went on and the promise of book 2 (which i was sooo happy to be proved right about) makes me excited to get to the sequel. 

Just the right blend of YA and Dark Adult for me, SFS is one that should definitely be bumped up the TBR and given a chance.