Redd

So, So Good!

Reviewed: 08-11-24

I fricking loved this book! It's a standalone that has ties to the Arachnomancer series by the same author, so I'm absolutely going to check that out! I loved everything about this book including the narrator because I was swapping back and forth between ebook and audiobook because I just had to know what happened next! I really want to design a special edition for this one and make lots and lots of fanart. I don't know why no one else is talking about this one. I need more people to read it! So I have people to talk to about it :) It's so funny, and I think there are plenty of bookworms who will immediately relate. This male author did a great job with the female main character as well as the female side characters. I cried at least twice at the end, and I don't usually cry at books. But I just loved this one so, so much!

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Love the Series Concept!

Reviewed: 08-07-24 Listener received this title free

This was a fascinating story with great worldbuilding and character development! I met this author (and most of the others in this shared world) at Imaginarium Book Festival earlier this year. Since The Eldritch Trials are a shared world and not a true series that needs to be read in order, I love that each author chose to focus on different fantastical races. This one looks closely at the fae and to a lesser extent the elves. The interactions between races and the cultural differences added a lot of flavor to the world. The story itself took quite a long time to actually get to the trials, which was where the protagonist was hoping to find information about her missing father. I wish the story had gotten to the trials quicker since that was the catalyst for many other story threads, but overall, I enjoyed this book very much and can't wait to start reading the other books in this shared world.

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A complete trilogy - Recommend!

Reviewed: 10-11-23 Listener received this title free

A complete trilogy, this urban fantasy/paranormal romance involves a murder mystery, mysterious curse, strong family relationships, on-page sex, and journalism. I enjoyed the overall story and appreciated that this omnibus exists so that I could just continue on immediately after each cliffhanger. I listened to the audiobook for most of it and finished the last 10 percent or so in ebook because I was too impatient to wait until my commute home to finish. I will definitely be recommending this story to other readers!

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Dark Romance, Some Bully Behavior, Reverse Harem

Reviewed: 10-06-23 Listener received this title free

I am not a fan of bully romance, but this story intrigued me enough to give it a try. And I'm glad I did! Although this book does contain bully behavior, narration provides insight into both sides to show there is a psychological reason for the behavior. I'm still not a fan of bully romance as a sub-genre but the author did a good job with this story. And the narrators brought a lot of life into the characters as well. The use of dual narrators for a reverse harem was new for me, but I enjoyed it. Each guy had a distinct personality that the fact of the male narrator not doing much to differentiate between the guys was ok. This book ends on a crazy cliffhanger, so I'm grateful the next book is already available! Thanks to the author for a complimentary copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

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Great Book 2!

Reviewed: 01-11-22

I was so excited to read this second book as I had just finished the first book just before this one's release and was in love with the characters and the world. Unfortunately for me, my anxiety left me unable to read words on a page with enough attention to enjoy the story before me, and so I was unable to read it at the time of publication. So I waited and picked up the audiobook, which I was able to focus on during my commute where there are so many less distractions.

The audiobook helped pull me out of a book funk at the start of 2022, and I owe that to both the narrator’s performance and also the writer’s skill to convey characterization and world building. We learn so much more backstory and political structure as well as addressing emotional depth and consequences throughout the entire book. And I loved every second of it. This was my first 5 star read of the new year, and I couldn’t have chosen a better one. I’m very much looking forward to book 3 later this year!

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Nice Concept

Reviewed: 11-10-21 Listener received this title free

First off, I love this cover and the description had me hooked with Greek mythology set in modern times. Unfortunately, I didn’t love this story as much as I was hoping to. I did enjoy it and I plan to keep reading the series, but there were a few things that really didn’t work for me.

Let’s start with the two things that I couldn’t get past. These are likely personal preferences, so take these comments with a grain of salt. I had a hard time following the main character’s logic. At the beginning, she is presented as a confident young lady who knows how to hold her own. Once she is outside her comfort zone though, there is no trace of that confidence. None. And I understand that being in an unknown situation makes people act out of character and they have to find new footing, but it was such an abrupt difference that it threw me off. Secondly, there was something off with the pacing and flow of the story. There were times when I thought my audiobook copy must be broken as a chapter cut off weirdly or a description didn’t quite match up, but when I checked on my ebook copy, it matched up. I haven’t really done any research, but I suspect this may be an early book written by the author, so maybe they hadn’t quite found their writing rhythm. I’m guessing this will improve over future books, so that’s cool.

Oh, one more thing I did not like. This story did not need the main character to be sexually assaulted and almost raped. That plot point did not add to the story and I did not appreciate the use of this “trope.”

On to the things I liked and will make me keep reading!

I liked how the Greek gods and goddesses were painted as good and bad but then threw nuance and context into the mix to make them more diverse as characters. I liked how they interacted with the modern world and the author’s mixture of Greek and Christian iconography to explain various human interpretations.

The romance elements were subtle and nicely done for the most part although there was plenty going on that I’m glad it wasn’t the focus. The narrator did a most excellent job adding depth and emotion to the reading and kept my attention the entire time.

I’m curious to see where this series goes from here.

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1 person found this helpful

Quick but Enjoyable Read/Listen!

Reviewed: 02-14-21 Listener received this title free

It was a relatively short listen at just over six hours, and I thought the narrator did a fabulous job adding inflection and tone to each POV.

I really enjoyed this book! There were some interesting twists and turns in the overall story and was enhanced by the character development. The political intrigue was predominant, which I enjoyed; however, I think the competition aspect was a little lackluster towards the end as the intrigue took over the narrative. The early challenges showed great character interaction while the latter ones were barely on the page. It was a little disappointing since I really like the competition trope.

The magic of the world was not explored very much. It’s clear that the author plans to reveal things as the story progresses. After the conclusion, I am very curious to see what the author has in store!

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Marvelous Book 2!

Reviewed: 10-11-20

I had been waiting to read/listen to this one until closer to the third book's release but since it doesn't seem to have one still, I went ahead and listened to this one. And loved it as much as the first book! Although it was hard to catch the shift in POV since the narrator didn't do anything different for each one (and possibly because I was listening at 1.5x speed), I thought this was a great addition to the series and am even more excited for the next one to release!

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Amazing!

Reviewed: 09-26-20 Listener received this title free

I received a copy of this audiobook from the author in exchange for an honest review. Unfortunately, that was right at the beginning of the stay home order and I learned the hard way that focusing on audiobooks just wasn’t going to happen. So, instead of forcing it and tainting my opinion of the story on something out of the author’s control, I opted to wait and try again. I can honestly say that I wish I could have finished this months ago because it was truly amazing!! I can’t wait to read book two and more with these wonderful characters and intriguing world. Check this one out if you like enemies to lovers, fae, fantasy schools, female friendship, or a marvelously written, well paced novel!

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Absolutely worth it!

Reviewed: 08-05-20

Love this fiery enemies to lovers lesbian necromancer pair. Can’t wait to dive into book 2!

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