RTC.

I received an advance review copy from Black Rose Writing through Netgalley; all opinions are my own and honest.

3.5 stars

This was definitely ... interesting. I don't read many books featuring anthropomorphic animals, let alone books where their physiological and evolutionary differences are so thoughtfully examined and incorporated into the story. While animal-society-as-allegory certainly isn't a unique premise, Popovich has constructed a fascinating narrative.

My rating boils down to the fact that this is stronger as social commentary than entertainment; this is totally fine if it's what you're looking for, but I have trouble buying into a novel when I can't get a good sense of the characters, let alone empathize with them. A lot of the dialogue is cheesy, and in parts (especially in the latter half) the plot felt like a side story or afterthought — a vehicle for philosophical or moral proclamations, or for inter-character drama.

This has a solid foundation; I just personally don't love how the (metaphorical) house ended up looking. But that doesn't make it a bad work of architecture, and I think plenty of people will enjoy this book more than I did.

content warnings:

Spoiler

speciesm (racism), fat-shaming, public humiliation by authority (police), minor gore, blood, violence

rep:

Spoiler

bi-species major character (polar & black bear), lesbian major character, inter-species relationships

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CONVERSION: 9.1 / 15 = 3.5 stars

Prose: 4 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 6 / 10
Emotional Impact: 4 / 10
Development / Flow: 5 / 10
Setting: 8 / 10

Diversity & Social Themes: 4 / 5
Intellectual Engagement: 3 / 5
Originality / Trope Execution: 4 / 5
Rereadability: N/A
Memorability: N/A

This book can be summed up with a classic AO3 tag: "porn with minimal plot." And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that; it's a fun, light read if that's what you're looking for.

rep:

Spoiler

bi/pan polyam MCs

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CONVERSION: 8.8 / 15 = 3 stars

Prose: 6 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 8 / 10
Emotional Impact: 4 / 10
Development / Flow: 7 / 10
Setting: 4 / 10

While this definitely isn't an essential read to appreciate the Newsflesh 'verse, I think it's an interesting addition — especially for those interested in the science and human fuckups that lead to a pandemic like the Rising.

In other words, it's a pretty neat bit of worldbuilding with a small side of human-interest elements.

content warnings:

Spoiler

chronically ill characters, death of a child

rep:

Spoiler

MLM character & M/M relationship

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CONVERSION: 10.6 / 15 = 4 stars

Prose: 7 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 6 / 10
Emotional Impact: 9 / 10
Development / Flow: 8 / 10
Setting: 8 / 10

I received an advance review copy from Wednesday Books; all opinions are my own and honest.

I would definitely have enjoyed this more when I was a teenager myself — when it often felt like me against the world. For a start, I would definitely have related more to JL; her feelings are familiar to me, her bad decisions understandable, but since I like to think I've since matured it was frustrating to read.

The timeline-jumping also didn't really work for me, though that might just be my tendency to automatically skip over the chapter heading and date. While the short chapters and abrupt transitions added some tension/mystery, it also kept me from feeling totally immersed in the narrative.

content warnings:

Spoiler

ableism (incl “cr*zy”), relationship with age gap (15 & 19), pressure to have sex, non-graphic sexual content, mentally ill parent, slut-shaming, underage drinking, marijuana use, mention of drug use (shrooms), mention of alcoholic parent

rep:

Spoiler

secondary character (parent) with dissociative disorder

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CONVERSION: 8.47 / 15 = 3 stars

Prose: 6 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 4 / 10
Emotional Impact: 6 / 10
Development / Flow: 4 / 10
Setting: 4 / 10

Diversity & Social Themes: N/A
Intellectual Engagement: 4 / 5
Originality / Trope Execution: 3 / 5
Rereadability: 4 / 5
Memorability: N/A
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Happiness is getting home after an exam and finding this pretty book on my desk! Thank you to Wednesday Books (St. Martin’s Press) for sending me an advance review copy. (And thank you to my housemates for bringing in the mail, I guess.)

Throughout the series Shayla has been both "one of the girls" and "one of the guys," and it's interesting to see how this translates into a [fairly heteronormative] relationship. Not to say that she doesn't have individual character growth or strength, of course, but this is first and foremost an erotic romance novel.

To be totally honest, after reading the previous books, it all starts to get a bit old. Traumatic backstories? Jealousy on both sides? A lot of drama as the leads refuse to define the relationship? Check, check, and check.

content warnings:

Spoiler

past physical & verbal domestic abuse, past toxic relationship (large age gap, power imbalance, abuse)

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CONVERSION: 11.0 / 15 = 4 stars

Prose: 7 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 8 / 10
Emotional Impact: 8 / 10
Development / Flow: 9 / 10
Setting: 8 / 10

Diversity & Social Themes: N/A
Intellectual Engagement: N/A
Originality / Trope Execution: N/A
Rereadability: N/A
Memorability: N/A

I liked Penny as soon as we met her in [b:In Your Corner|18509673|In Your Corner (Redemption, #2)|Sarah Castille|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1398031182l/18509673._SY75_.jpg|26203447], so I was really rooting for her to get the HEA she deserves. And I liked what we got to see of Rampage (as a secondary character), so I was cheering for him too. Though I wouldn't have put the two of them together based on their [lack of] interactions before this book, the chemistry is strong and I'm always a sucker for friends-to-lovers.

As with the other books in this series, it's a lot of back-and-forth, frustration all around; familiar territory, just with some modified details. But getting to see these two deal with their past trauma, overcome self-loathing, and learn how to be in a functional romantic and sexual relationship? That was pretty gratifying.

content warnings:

Spoiler

violence, graphic BDSM (mainly sadism/masochism), self-harm (cutting), flashbacks to physical & verbal abuse

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CONVERSION: 10.8 / 15 = 4 stars

Prose: 7 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 9 / 10
Emotional Impact: 8 / 10
Development / Flow: 7 / 10
Setting: 8 / 10

Diversity & Social Themes: N/A
Intellectual Engagement: N/A
Originality / Trope Execution: N/A
Rereadability: N/A
Memorability: N/A

3.5 stars

I had no expectations whatsoever going into this, so eh. It was fun, I guess? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

content warnings:

Spoiler

violence, under-negotiated kink, flashbacks to alcoholic abusive parent

rep:

Spoiler

diverse minor characters

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CONVERSION: 10.4 / 15 = 3.5 stars

Prose: 7 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 7 / 10
Emotional Impact: 8 / 10
Development / Flow: 6 / 10
Setting: 9 / 10

Diversity & Social Themes: N/A
Intellectual Engagement: N/A
Originality / Trope Execution: N/A
Rereadability: N/A
Memorability: N/A

3.5 stars

Hm. I wouldn’t call this a total disappointment, but there were a lot of things I didn’t really enjoy — so compared to the exhilaration of the first book, it’s a bit of a letdown.

content warnings:

Spoiler

drug abuse & addiction, mentions of past rape, threats of self-harm, blood, major character death

rep:

Spoiler

MLM secondary character

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CONVERSION: 10.3 / 15 = 3.5 stars

Prose: 8 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 7 / 10
Emotional Impact: 6 / 10
Development / Flow: 5 / 10
Setting: 9 / 10

Diversity & Social Themes: N/A
Intellectual Engagement: 3 / 5
Originality / Trope Execution: 4 / 5
Rereadability: N/A
Memorability: 3 / 5