kewlkat70's Reviews (250)

There is no limit to the amount I love to consume these types of books. 

As long as the author doesn't purple prose it or try to slooooooooow burn it or make the FMC too angry or too "independent".  Throw in a BFF if they get too tough.  But the FMC needs to be smart.

The sex scenes should be plentiful and explicit.  

And if there are wolf shifters and vampires they absolutely need to be balanced by other mythical beings.   

If it follows the right formula it's an automatic 4.0 and more if the characters get more lovable as the novels progress.  Bonus if it makes me cry. 

This is the first novel of a series all set in the same world that includes Day (light) elves , Night (dark) elves and humans.  All three groups have access to magic although not all humans can access magic.  Humans are late comers and split the elf world and all three groups hate each other and do not understand each other. 

So obviously this first story is a romance between a human and a night elf.  

The story and characters and world and narrative are not particularly unique to the fantasy world.  This is not a bad thing.  It is not a copy of any one book but just the usual fantasy tropes and nothing more.  

What I found was refreshing was the lack of the usual romantasy tropes.  This is just a simple romance between two ordinary beings although from different cultures.  They don't even speak the same language. 

Neither protagonist is particularly talented in magic or swordplay.  They are in their respective armies as a courier and a scout.  They don't have sway they are not secretly royalty that are slumming it.  The FMC has a debilitating anxiety condition that has her shut down in any stressful situation.  I thought at first she was just tamping down some major and rare magic power, but no.  She just has anxiety condition. 

The MMC is not grumpy or overly gregarious.  

Typically we have to wait for 80% of the book before they admit their feelings for each other and get to business but in a refreshing and much more realistic turn the sex comes first as they are adults who find each other attractive and are also kind of lonely.  

Usually the only time we get to intimacy early is if they are fated mates or there is "insta lust" which many readers decry as "body betrayal trope".  But there is none of that here proving that sex can happen even if feelings are not fully developed.  Its perfectly OK. 

I love a good fated mates story so I have no problem with spicy scenes early and often but this build up is so real.  

I don't know right now if I will continue this series as I fell in love with the characters more than the setting.   I always get disappointed at first when I love the couple 

I listen to audiobooks because I do a lot of driving.  I typically prefer to read than listen but occasionally there is a book that has the right narrator and a pace that pulls the reader along. 

More often than not, the audiobook narrator does not capture the character in tone or accent.  Or the pace doesn't suit a narrator and has to be sped up.  

In this book I feel the written page would be a loss.  The music and singing is integral to the plot.  The story is a aural fairy tale and should be spoken and sung.  

The story itself is like an old English tale and the same fae world what Emily Wilde is trying to capture (those books are also better suited to audio).  I think of mummers and maypoles and willow trees and languid rivers.  An idyllic English countryside as opposed to a Greek pastoral or a Germanic forest.  I love these stories and this feels authentic with songs and music. 

I wavered on a 5⭐ rating but for me personally the story was missing some warmth and the beginning didn't quite pull me in right away.   I might feel differently later if the story lingers but it feels too small and too light to have a huge impact. 

Extra marks for the interaction with the small human and I hope there are more of them.

This was a great story that brings back the original preservationaux team and Dr Mensah.   

I don't have HBO but I hope I will be able to watch Murderbot series because I think this will translate well to the entertainment feeds.  

The rating might have been higher if it were not for the narration.   The narrator had an old fashioned plummy English accent which made Kel come across as a middle aged stodgy Englishman, like the father from Mary Poppins (I know, very specific but trust me).  Kel sounded like he was Lila's father not a potential love interest.  And keeping with the musical theme, Delilah was Eliza Doolittle of My Fair Lady.  
Again so hard to imagine any romance between them 
And without the burgeoning romance the story was slow.  Lots of time spent on interesting characters who don't make it to the end of the novel.   So by the end all you have is a mutual understanding between Kel and Lila and hints of adventure but no more or less than where they started.   
I had to listen at a faster rate and it still dragged.  

I like the author's writing and I'm not looking for a fast burn spicy romance after reading the Many Lives of Addie LaRue.   

I am holding out that the rest of the trilogy holds out better on paper.   There is enough potential in what's left at the end of this novel for some promising developments. 

I hate distopias.  

But the page upon page of I'm not hungry and please let me talk was not a good start.  When she threw a peach because she was upset I was on Azreal's side and tired of her suffering hero persona 

High school reverse harems are not for me