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I really thoroughly enjoyed this book. My first Elizabeth Hoyt in many years (and possibly second ever) and I thought she absolutely brought it. Georgian-set romances aren’t as common as Regency era, so it’s a delight to come across, and the dark backstory of these collective characters was compelling and intriguing. It was interesting that Messalina got some POV time in this book, in addition to our main characters, so I’m even more looking forward to reading her story next.
The one thing I have to note is how tonally off this cover seems for this story. The bright sunshine, full faces, red dress— none of it fit with the story for me, and I was surprised when I realized how dark parts of the story are. The cover reads fluffy fun romance, and this is much more serious than that.
Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the copy of this book to review!
The one thing I have to note is how tonally off this cover seems for this story. The bright sunshine, full faces, red dress— none of it fit with the story for me, and I was surprised when I realized how dark parts of the story are. The cover reads fluffy fun romance, and this is much more serious than that.
Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the copy of this book to review!
I loved this book. We already knew Messalina well from the previous book, but discovering her arranged marriage of animosity to Gideon— the lowborn neurodivergent antihero who has pined for her all along— was better than I could have even anticipated. Plus the villain plot built wonderfully. My only complaint was that the ending seemed sudden.
On reading two Hoyt books in a row, I have to commend her for a couple of things consistent in her writing. First of all, her use of anatomically correct terms and still making them wonderfully spicy. It doesn’t always need to be dirty words and euphemisms, and I have to give her so many props for that! But also, usually when there are quotes in the beginning of chapters, I skip past or glance over them. In both Greycourt novels, she uses that space to tell a whole other story in the form of fairy tales, and I was invested in both!
The covers to these are still so tonally off, especially for a story with the sheer amount of attempted murder this one had. The title for this one really didn’t fit either, but oh well. Loved everything on the inside!
Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the copy of this book to review!
On reading two Hoyt books in a row, I have to commend her for a couple of things consistent in her writing. First of all, her use of anatomically correct terms and still making them wonderfully spicy. It doesn’t always need to be dirty words and euphemisms, and I have to give her so many props for that! But also, usually when there are quotes in the beginning of chapters, I skip past or glance over them. In both Greycourt novels, she uses that space to tell a whole other story in the form of fairy tales, and I was invested in both!
The covers to these are still so tonally off, especially for a story with the sheer amount of attempted murder this one had. The title for this one really didn’t fit either, but oh well. Loved everything on the inside!
Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the copy of this book to review!
This series is so good! This one brings us back to the original plot thread, and I have THEORIES about where Hoyt will take us next, and I absolutely can’t wait. (Give me the Ran book, and give it to me now.)
Julian and Elspeth were an odd coupling from what we’ve seen in the previous stories, but they work better than I expected. The age gap isn’t my favorite, but I think it was needed for Elspeth to have missed the family drama and almost entirely grown up in Scotland with the Wise Women, the feminist secret society that was introduced in the first book. Together they are the grumpiest/sunshiniest of grumpy/sunshines and I was here for all of it. The BDSM subplot was a nice addition too, even if malesub isn’t my usual jam. Julian’s backstory and guilt was handled well that it contributed to him as a character, but wasn’t why he was in to that lifestyle, so I really appreciated that also.
These covers still, though. These are more gothic romances than they would lead you to believe. Plus the title for this one is completely off-base, or kind of a spoiler for the end? This one also suffered from having a totally wrong summary on Goodreads, so I actually spent most of the book thinking it was spoilers, but it was just wrong.
Julian and Elspeth were an odd coupling from what we’ve seen in the previous stories, but they work better than I expected. The age gap isn’t my favorite, but I think it was needed for Elspeth to have missed the family drama and almost entirely grown up in Scotland with the Wise Women, the feminist secret society that was introduced in the first book. Together they are the grumpiest/sunshiniest of grumpy/sunshines and I was here for all of it. The BDSM subplot was a nice addition too, even if malesub isn’t my usual jam. Julian’s backstory and guilt was handled well that it contributed to him as a character, but wasn’t why he was in to that lifestyle, so I really appreciated that also.
These covers still, though. These are more gothic romances than they would lead you to believe. Plus the title for this one is completely off-base, or kind of a spoiler for the end? This one also suffered from having a totally wrong summary on Goodreads, so I actually spent most of the book thinking it was spoilers, but it was just wrong.
I’d never read anything of Llovet’s before but Alexandra and her amazing blonde bob on the cover roped me in from the start (um, pun unintended). She’s gorgeous and I was instantly obsessed.
Equally in turns scary and sexy, Crave is a commentary on social media, AI, and the darker elements of humanity. The artwork was full of detail, so many things happening in some panels without being too cluttered. The characters were all distinct with quickly fleshed out personalities, backstories, and romances. Really a fantastic mini-series. I’d be interested to see if Llovet revisits this world, but it felt wonderfully complete.
Thank you to NetGalley and Image Comics for the ARC of this book to review!
Equally in turns scary and sexy, Crave is a commentary on social media, AI, and the darker elements of humanity. The artwork was full of detail, so many things happening in some panels without being too cluttered. The characters were all distinct with quickly fleshed out personalities, backstories, and romances. Really a fantastic mini-series. I’d be interested to see if Llovet revisits this world, but it felt wonderfully complete.
Thank you to NetGalley and Image Comics for the ARC of this book to review!
Nailed it.
This one is great. Kennedy has solidly hit her stride here. My ONLY qualm is the weird age difference which is never truly stated, but assumably the guys are all in their late 20s (based on the ages of the heroes in the previous two installments), and it’s clear in the way Colin talks to Gracie that he has significantly more life experience than her. I do like that she gains some before they reconcile, and I fully appreciate Kennedy’s commitment to her main characters’ having other romantic interests/relationships/SEX, which is wonderfully refreshing within the genre. I’m glad I stuck this series out (as I’m blowing through them.)
This one is great. Kennedy has solidly hit her stride here. My ONLY qualm is the weird age difference which is never truly stated, but assumably the guys are all in their late 20s (based on the ages of the heroes in the previous two installments), and it’s clear in the way Colin talks to Gracie that he has significantly more life experience than her. I do like that she gains some before they reconcile, and I fully appreciate Kennedy’s commitment to her main characters’ having other romantic interests/relationships/SEX, which is wonderfully refreshing within the genre. I’m glad I stuck this series out (as I’m blowing through them.)
This was… rough, I’m not going to lie. The nicknames, the “dirty talk”, the so terrible he’s just ridiculous ex. One of the guys’ entire personality is Grumpy Vocabulary, and that’s the more interesting one, and Trina is borderline Mary Sue. At some point I realized I probably shouldn’t finish this one, but I was already 90% into it, so I just did. It had enough moments of promise though (and I’m in the mood enough) that I’m going to give Blakely another try and read the next book in the series.