kirby2002's reviews
1115 reviews

I love a good romantasy retelling and was super excited to start this Beauty and the Beast one. Oh boy, was I disappointed. Overall, I enjoyed the world she created; the storyline was decent and has potential, and I loved the side characters. What I didn’t like was the vulgar and unnecessary dialogue. At times, it felt like a 14-year-old boy had written it. I am all for some great banter, but this was just dirty in a very icky way. I also like a romantasy book that is plot-driven and not just smut for smut's sake. So, even though I think the storyline has potential, I will not continue with the series. From some of the reviews I’ve read, the smut and vulgarity only get worse. 

Stars: 2⭐️⭐️
Spice: 2.5🌶️🌶️🌶️
Eyeroll: 4 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄
Genre: Romantasy Retelling
Series: Yes
Format: Hardcover
Narrator Tillie Hooper
Narrator Rating: 3.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Cliffhanger: Yes

 This is my second listen to the audiobook since I never finished the series, and it's been almost 10 years since I first read it. I am knocking the rating from 4 to 3. I enjoyed it, but my rating system has changed over the years.

Wolf’s Head is a traditional retelling of Robin Hood, not over-the-top like the most recent movie remake. The plot is very basic; it is nothing too special but not bad. This is a setup for the series, which I hope gets better with each book. I did have an issue with the audio. There were long pauses between chapters and randomly throughout the book that I did not like. The narrator himself was very good, but I hope the next book doesn’t have the odd pauses.

Stars: 3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: .5 🌶️
Eyeroll:1 ⭐️
Genre: Retelling
Series: Yes
Format: Audiobook
Narrator Nick Ellsworth
Narrator Rating: 3⭐️⭐️⭐️
Cliffhanger: No

 

This is a Cinderella retelling with a plus-size woman minus the evil stepmother and stepsisters. Setting up the book on a reality show was an interesting take on Cinderella. I am all about body positivity and having women of all shapes and sizes as main characters. But I did not need to be reminded repeatedly that she was plus-sized. It was every challenge, date, ball, general conversation with people, and even using a towel at a hotel. It became too much towards the end. 

Henry is “Prince Charming” and dated models, and his most recent ex is a huge pop star; I found it hard to believe that he was instantly attracted to Cindy when they first met. I am not saying it's not possible for him to fall for her during the show once he got to know her, but the love at first site wasn’t realistic. I know it’s a fictional romance novel, but you still want it to be semi-believable. 

Overall, I liked it even though it was ridiculously predictable. Pick this up if you want a quick, PG contemporary romance novel. 

Stars: 3.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: .5  🌶️
Eyeroll: 2.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Retelling
Series: No
Format: Audiobook
Narrator Jen Ponton
Narrator Rating: 4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Cliffhanger: No

 This is very different from Disney’s The Little Mermaid. I didn’t care for it; it was a different, dark retelling but unforgettable. I probably would have enjoyed this more if it had been a full-length novel and not a novella.

Stars: 2 ⭐️⭐️
Spice: 0
Eyeroll: 1⭐️
Genre: Retelling
Series: No
Format: Audiobook
Narrator Susan Dalian
Narrator Rating: 3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Cliffhanger: No 

This is a VERY DARK Peter Pan retelling mixed with some King Arthur. It started with a very disturbing scene. Once Nick and Peter got to Avalon, I felt the story began to drag. The same thing happened for many chapters. Peter would be in the middle of something, and a flashback would start. I get we need a back story, but the same style over and over became annoying. I also had a hard time keeping track of everything. At times, the mix-in of King Arthur confused me, and I had no idea what was happening. I found myself zoning out of the audiobook and having to go back and relisten to the chapter. Overall, it was well-written and an interesting take on Peter Pan, but it's not for me. 

Stars: 2.5⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice:  0 
Eyeroll: 1⭐️
Genre: Retelling
Series: No
Format: Audiobook
Narrator Kirby Heyborne
Narrator Rating: 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Cliffhanger: No

 Synopsis: 

Paul Gallo is sitting in a bar when he hears a news report of bodies found in Dread’s Hand Alaska. It immediately grabbed his attention because that was the last place his twin brother, Danny, was before he disappeared one year earlier. Paul decides to make the trip there to see if his brother is one of the victims and get some answers as to what happened to his brother. 

 

Thoughts: 

This is my fourth Ronald Malfi book and my least favorite. Each book has something like another

. There is a reference to an umbilicus, which was also in Small Town Horror. In Small Town Horror, he sees a ghost of himself, which also happened in Come With Me

. Each one of his novels has had an interesting concept but lived up to expectations. This was the first one I was bored listening to and was debating DNF’ing it. I did chug through, and it wasn’t a horrible ending, but it was definitely lackluster. 

 

Side note: Another book listed as Horror and not at all scary. 

 

Stars: 2.5⭐️⭐️ 

Spice: 0 

Eyeroll: 1⭐️ 

Genre: Horror 

Series: No 

Format: Audiobook 

Narrator: Charles Constant 

Narrator Rating: 3⭐️⭐️⭐️ 

Cliffhanger: No