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Spaisey

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Betting the Scot Audiobook By Jennifer Trethewey cover art

Miscommunication trope and too much God/church talk

Overall
3 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
3 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 01-01-24

I gave this book a good try but I couldn’t stop rolling my eyes at the miscommunication problems that KEPT on happening. It would not stop. It made so many of the conflicts feel so contrived and annoying. Caya ended up feeling like her own worst enemy. She would not stop creating problems by making assumptions instead of asking for clarification or thinking things through.

Declan was not faultless. He was definitely too prone to outbursts, which is a different characterization of him than we saw in the previous book. He seemed to be the most patient of his cousin but now he seems so hotheaded. I didn’t like that. I did want to like this story because when Declan is acting normal he is so very sweet and charming, but because of his inconsistent characterization I ended up feeling wary of him.

Also, there was a lot of God/church talk in this novel. Especially when you consider it wasn’t even really brought up in the last book. And it always felt ill-timed. Caya would be thinking of how pious she should be and then think of Declan passionately and it was such a whiplash. I didn’t like that.

Such a shame about these issues because it had so much promise. The narrator was good though.

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Tying the Scot Audiobook By Jennifer Trethewey cover art

Could have been great

Overall
3 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
3 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 01-01-24

It bothered me that her hidden name for him turned out to be Master. Not because of the dom/sub connotations but because he earlier had told her she would have to listen to him as he would become her Master once he became her husband. In this same conversation he threatens to spank her to teach her a lesson once she becomes his wife. I hated that so much. It was so unnecessary. Later on his family tells her he often says things he doesn’t mean when he has been riled up like that is an excuse. And it’s something that is never brought up again. It bothered me so much it colored my ability to enjoy the rest of the novel which sucks because there were really genuine and good moments between the two. I could have loved this story if it wasn’t for that threat. The narrator was great. Also, I liked a lot of the secondary and minor characters.

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The Wrong Bride Audiobook By Gayle Callen cover art

Dubious consent

Overall
3 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
2 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 12-31-23

I wanted to like this book. I recently discovered this author and have liked other novels by them but this one just didn’t hit. The male lead, Hugh, just felt too pushy for any of their “romantic” moments to feel truly romantic. I didn’t understand how Riona went from wanting to truly escape to wanting to kiss Hugh. Was it just because he is attractive? And if so, is that really such a powerful motivator to get over the fact that he abducted her? The fact that he abducted her and she can’t escape is itself problematic since it creates an unequal power dynamic between them that isn’t settled until after they’ve gotten together. How are we supposed to believe Riona chooses Hugh when she can’t even leave? It’s a shame really since there are good moments sprinkled about. I’d recommend skipping it. I wish I hadn’t used a credit on it.

The narrator was great though.

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The Four Kingdoms Box Set 2 Audiobook By Melanie Cellier cover art

Repetitive, vain, and questionable moral messaging about beauty = goodness, worthiness, and royalty

Overall
3 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
2 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 12-31-23

Story 1 (Book 3): 2.75 stars
I’m starting to feel like the author has some very clear preferences of what they consider to be beautiful. Somehow our very tall, curly haired blonde female lead is still not pretty enough because she’s tall? Implying she needs to be petite to be considered a true princess? The fact that everyone who she comes across her is like “you don’t look like a princess” because she didn’t fit this one mold of their stereotypical princess by one characteristic is just so weird. Everyone in the book gets hung up on it and it gets annoying. Doesn’t really help that she is revealed to not be a true born princess of the current king which reinforces everybody’s warped perspective on what princesses should look like. But her father is technically a prince so…she could still be considered a princess by blood. Idk the rules that dictate who and who isn’t a princess in the series seem kinda wishy washy. This is the third blonde princess in this series (if you exclude the fact that one of them was disguised as a brunette for part of their story). Idk man it just feels odd. Especially because this feels like it’s catered to a younger audience, it just feels judgmental in promoting one type of ideal beauty. The romance aspect of the book was alright. It felt a little underdeveloped.
*Spoiler*
I wish the mystery of Rumpelstiltskin had been further developed. Like who is Marie’s mother? And how did Rumpelstiltskin manage to find someone who wanted to procreate with him? I don’t feel satisfied by the end.

TL;DR for book 3: Unanswered questions and okay(ish) romance. I’d skip it.

Story 1.5 (Book 3.5): 3.75 stars
I liked the build up of the relationship between Ferdie and Cordelia from friendship to romance. Even though it is a short story - it felt well paced (more well paced than some of the others in the series). I will say that it is getting harder to ignore how vain the people in the stories are and it has begun to sour some of my enjoyment of the series as a whole. They are wildly obsessing over how they look, how others look, and how others perceive them. It’s exhausting to hear and annoying in general. And, I have to wonder if there is a deeper message in this series. Cordelia (and everyone around her) remark that she is the least prettiest of her sisters. I found that interesting because looks really do matter in this series and it made me wonder if it would affect her place in the hierarchy. Would she be marrying a prince closer in line to the throne or a spare further down the line. I didn’t want to be cynical so I pushed that thought away as ridiculous. Well…she didn’t marry into royalty at all. The story ends with her engaged to Ferdie who is the heir to a Marquis and a large estate. Which is good, but I can’t help but notice the princesses that are regarded as less pretty either get a spare (Marie) or (in this instance) a noble while the designated prettiest ones get the heir apparent (Alyssa) or become the Queen (Ava). There just seems to be some subliminal messaging about beauty and worth here that irks me. That is even more apparent because this particular story is supposed to be about getting over looks to find love. Well Cordelia goes from being a princess (higher in rank) to being a Marchoness (lower in rank) after putting aside looks. It almost feels contradictory. I only rated this story high because I was really into Ferdie. He was so sweet that he melted my cold bitter heart.

TL;DR for book 3.5: The male lead is golden. Not crazy about the vanity and subliminal messaging about beauty and worth. Mildy interesting plot.

Story 2(Book 4): 2.75 stars
My hypothesis of the prettiest princesses getting the heirs is bolstered in this story. Celeste is regarded as one of the prettiest of the princesses (and is the most beautiful of her siblings). Celeste gets with Will who is the heir apparent in his kingdom. It doesn’t make sense how Celeste is able to show her competence at the end and that is what ticks off Will that she is Aurora. Shouldn’t that have disabled her according to her curse? It feels too plot convenient and lessened the threat of the curse. Actually a lot of the things that Celeste gets away with as Aurora shouldn’t work or are too convenient. It makes it hard to take anything happening seriously. It’s more boring than anything. I’d skip it. Even the romance feels a bit contrived

TL;DR for book 4: More of the same and somehow more boring.

Final note: The stories feel like they are getting more and more contrived and in effect more boring. I truly think this series peaked at book 2 from the last box set. The ongoing exaltation of beauty and its unmitigated equivalence to goodness, worthiness, and royalty is messaging that I can’t stand and has soured this series for me.

Based on my 3 ratings of the 3 stories, I’d give this box set a rating of 3.08. I’m rounding down to 3 stars for issues I’ve talked about at length in my review above.

Overall TL;DR: I recommend skipping it. Beauty being constantly equated with goodness, worthiness, and royalty is a poor overarching message in this series and feels more pronounced the more you read these stories.

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The Four Kingdoms Box Set 1 Audiobook By Melanie Cellier cover art

Story 2 is the star but the others are nice

Overall
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
3 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 12-29-23

Story 1: 3 stars
I liked it but it was a tad bit too over dramatic at times. Sometimes I couldn’t help but really roll my eyes because I doubt any real person would think/act the way our female lead did. One instance that I recall very clearly was our female lead going to change after having been kidnapped and freeing herself (she was very disheveled and injured). Instead of going right away to warn anybody she chose to go change. Which, fine, it’s possible she might have needed to be changed into something better so she wasn’t stopped by other people but she actually stops to BATHE. Like, are you not trying to rush??? I could not suspend my disbelief. It took me out of the story. There were more instances like this throughout the story. This one just felt like the most egregious.

Because it’s a princess and the pea retelling Alyssa, our female lead, is really sensitive to discomfort. I mean really sensitive. It was repeated to the reader incessantly. It gets annoying even if it makes sense in world.

Alyssa also worked against herself because someone would tell her she had permission to do something and then she would internally be like, “no, I shouldn’t do it”, and then there would be a consequence for her not doing it. That happened several times and it got tedious.

TL;DR for story 1: okay if a little boring and repetitive. The romance had a nice pace.

Story 2: 5 stars

It was an interesting choice to follow the villain from the first book, but one that really paid off! This was by far the best story in this set. I believed in the characters motivations and actions. It even explains clearly why Ava was the villain in the first book. I never felt pulled out of the story. And I was enthralled by the romance and intrigue. I really enjoyed the relationship between Ava and Hans. You could tell they had respect for each other and a connection that could not be denied. But, they (mostly Ava) had to grow before their relationship would be able to work and be healthy. The background characters were great and felt fleshed out. It’s definitely a different take on Red riding hood than I’ve ever read before, but I enjoyed its uniqueness. I would definitely read this book again (and again).

TL;DR for story 2: Great! Loved the romance and intrigue. Give it a read. You don’t even need to read the first book if you don’t want to and it wouldn’t be hard to piece together what you need to know to enjoy this book.

Story 2.5: 3.5 stars
It follows two of the secondary characters from the previous book. I liked both of the characters, so I enjoyed it. I definitely prefer Evelyn over Sarah, since Sarah will have bouts of fancies and be melodramatic which can get a bit annoying. I also couldn’t get over one of the love interests being named Jake. It just doesn’t feel like a very fairytale name. It’s definitely a short story but it feels paced accordingly.

TL;DR for story 2.5: Cute and short.

Final note: I liked the collection. My favorite is still story 2. I will say there are no spicy scenes in these books, so if that’s something you’re expecting (like me) you might be disappointed. I would venture to say the collection is definitely worth a read if you enjoy fairytale retellings and like more fluff than sexy romance.

Based on my 3 ratings, I would reward this set of stories 3.8 stars. Since I can’t do that precise rating on audible, I will round up to 4 stars because the narration was good and I didn’t really have any big or problematic complaints.

Overall TL;DR: I’d give it a read if you like fairytale retellings and enjoy cute non sexy romance.

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Highland Angel Audiobook By Hannah Howell cover art

Medieval stealthing and mildly boring

Overall
2 out of 5 stars
Performance
4 out of 5 stars
Story
2 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 12-28-23

It was hard to get through. I started it a couple of months ago, but wasn’t that into it and forgot about it. I finished it but it didn’t get any more interesting. While I liked the premise (everyone likes evil men getting their due), but it felt like it took too long to get to the pay off.

I found it weird that Kirstie was so reluctant to sleep with Peyton because she was married when everyone believed she was dead because her husband had thought he had successfully killed her. Anyway, it would have been better if her reluctance to sleep with Peyton was because she wasn’t sure she wanted to be near men in that way because her husband abused her and it would take time to trust Peyton rather than her loyalty to wedding vows her own husband broke first.

One other thing that bothered me was when Peyton and Kirstie started sleeping together Peyton notes that he doesn’t pull out after finishing like he normally does because he likes Kirstie and wants to keep her with him. (Essentially baby trapping her) The ick that gave me was so intense. If he wanted her to stay with him, he should have had the courage to say it and not take advantage of her naivety on the subject. It felt like stealthing or a medieval equivalent of it because it doesn’t seem like Kirstie knows the difference in a man finishing inside vs outside. And while pulling out is not a full proof way of preventing pregnancy the fact that it can make a difference and Peyton should have been asking Kirstie what she preferred and didn’t was just plain gross. I almost rated this story 3 stars because being slightly boring isn’t the worst thing in a book, but I feel like 2 stars are more deserved now.

The narrator does a good job voicing the characters but I dislike the voice they use for the narration parts.

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Highland Vixen Audiobook By Mary Wine cover art

Almost okay but mostly boring in the first half

Overall
2 out of 5 stars
Performance
3 out of 5 stars
Story
2 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 12-28-23

It took me months to finish this story because I started it one day, paused it, and then I totally forgot about it. I think that speaks to the quality of the story. I have finally finished it and only because I don’t like reviewing a book unless I have tried my best to finish it. This book is better than the following one but the premise is repeated. A woman is kidnapped multiple times and romance happens during that turmoil. That’s it. I almost gave it 3 stars but there was a moment when Marcus thinks about spanking his wife to teach her a lesson and that lowered the rating immediately. I don’t care that he only thought it and didn’t say it or act on it. This is a romance book and the love interest shouldn’t think about hitting his love interest. They were really into each other and Marcus definitely respected his wife more than other men in this series. But, like I stated earlier, I won’t stand for men thinking they can hit their wives to correct them. Is it historically accurate? Sure. But this is historical FICTION! Some leeway is allowed and I think it should be taken.

The narration was fine. Wish he did better female voices.

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Suddenly a Bride Audiobook By Gayle Callen cover art

Unexpectedly sweet and sexy

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 12-28-23

I didn’t know what to expect from this story or author. I’ve never read any books from this author before and I didn’t realize until a couple chapters in this book was part of a series, but I was hooked. I really liked the male lead, Edmund. He was a hurt person but he wasn’t trying to hurt others, just trying to keep to himself to limit any pain that would be caused if he did open himself up. He was a little gruff in the beginning but it was understandable considering the situation. He does quickly warm up to Gwyneth. I will admit a bias as I find scars to be sexy and Edmund is very much my type. I melted every time Edmund was sweet to Gwyneth. Also, I actually really enjoyed that Gwyneth had to be the one to try and seduce him into her bed. Her attempts while genuine were fun and sexy. She was great! It made for a nice change of pace in the historical romance genre. I liked that that they were eventually able to be honest with each other. Their relationship was stabilized once trust was completely established and they both realized it was necessary. I greatly appreciated that they grew to respect each other as well. They both made the best of their situation and it payed off nicely. Overall, I am very happy I spent a credit on this book and gave the author a shot. I’m thinking of trying out the other two books in the series.

The book has spicy scenes but not many. I wouldn’t have minded a few more.

The narrator also did a great job! I loved their voice for Edmund and the variety of voices they were capable of performing.

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The Highlander’s Christmas Bride Audiobook By Vanessa Kelly cover art

A nice and basically unproblematic read

Overall
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 12-28-23

The characters are likable. I don’t always agree with their actions but they make sense for the characters. The romance between the two leads is fun and filled with healthy banter. Nothing stuck out to me as overly problematic which is rare for a historical romance book. It’s definitely worth the read.

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His Rebellious Lass Audiobook By Callie Hutton cover art

Good romance with strong heroine and open minded male lead

Overall
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 12-27-23

The characters were nice and had backstories that made sense. I really enjoyed that this book didn’t fall into the trap of a strong woman being bent to the will of her love interest. She remains strong throughout and they grow to try and understand the other. It was a nice change and refreshing. They had that instant attraction that I’m not crazy about in stories but because the author had them wait in their physical intimacy milestones it was less annoying. Also, I will say the author makes it almost a pulpit point that people need to marry and have kids to ensure you don’t end up old and alone. It’s not a sentiment I agree with, but it was a sentiment that was reiterated quite a number of times to start to bother me. However, I was still overall able to enjoy the story. Anyway, if the premise interests you, I would definitely give it a go.

The narrator did a great job. I would happily listen to any other stories they’ve narrated.

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