3 STARS
When I first started reading Captured, I genuinely enjoyed it. I was able to ignore the editing issues and just lose myself in the story. It had this nostalgic feel for me, like something I’d read before and was super comfortable with. I liked it. Definitely.
And then the romance kicked in…
At the start of this year, I vowed to read more historical romance. It was the one sub-genre of romance that I sort of avoided like the plague, and in 2015, I was determined to change that. So I read. I downloaded a lot of free historical romance, snagging what I thought seemed really interesting based on the descriptions, covers, and reviews. And you know what? The majority of the time I was disappointed. For the most part, I tended to dislike the heroes—a bit sexist, rude, and cruel. Then the heroines were basically all carbon copies of each other: either very, very innocent and virginal, or so ill-mannered that there is no way they would have maintained their rank/position/whatever without scandal ruining them.
So, after a number of meh books, historical romance and I went our separate ways. That is, until After Sunrise by Amanda Olivier popped up in the It Begins Here anthology.
After He Left by Marissa Fuller is story #2 in the It Begins Here anthology. Like Carlson’s Beauty’s Bargain, this is the first time I’ve read the piece, and I’m pleased to say it left me knowing I’ve found another favourite author to watch out for. Fuller’s piece knows how to bring all the feels, and centers around Alexandria, who just lost her twin brother to cancer. The author’s description of the loss, the separation, and the horror of basically no longer having half of yourself in your life anymore was so real that I was actually tearing up as I read. I can’t imagine how devastating the loss of a twin would be, but Fuller paints an incredibly vivid image that will stick with me for a long time to come.
This ten thousand word piece won’t take long to read–mostly because you won’t want to put it down. And know that I’m not just singing its praises because I was a contributing author to the anthology. I have no issues pointing out flaws in a piece. Here, for example, I wish more time had been spent on Michael and Lex, rather than Michael and Ronnie, but I’m hoping we’ll get to see more of the main young couple, battling love and loss, in the next anthology.
All in all, After He Left is a wonderful piece that knows how to grab you right from the opening line. If you can put it down for long, I applaud you. I know I couldn’t.
Check out Fuller’s piece in our recently released anthology, It Begins Here.
A Beauty’s Bargain was a part of the anthology that I participated in that was released this past November. I’ve finally started reading my fellow authors’ work in more detail, and I’m super proud to be sharing some thoughts with you about them.
It Begins Here, our anthology, has been getting lovely reviews from readers, and while I plan to write blurbs about the stories, I won’t rate them unless the authors have published them independently from the anthology (like myself and Ashley did). I have a thing about not giving anything I’ve worked on a star rating, so here we are.
5 STARS
A Beauty’s Bargain is the perfect companion piece to Carlson’s The Charismatics. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it as a standalone, and I personally don’t think it can be read before Charismatics. It really enriches the whole fictitious world, and I think serves as a great tasty treat while readers wait for the release of the second book in the series. I wish it was longer, but given it was written for the anthology I also wrote a 10K piece for, I absolutely understand why it isn’t. That being said, I can’t wait to read more on Merry’s story.
This short piece earned such a high rating from me because it really made me feel. As always, Carlson is a fantastic writer, and I feel this was one of her strongest pieces of written works to date. However, it was the very squicky (SPOILER) rape scene that sold me. It was just so awful and brutal, even though it was a fade to black, that I actually had a physical discomfort while reading it–and that to me is the mark of a talented writer. They make you feel things, good or bad. So I applaud Carlson once again for making me feel with her work, and I can’t wait to read more from her!
Check out the short story on Goodreads for more reviews and purchase links!
4 STARS
Whenever I read a lot of books by the same author, I find myself bracing for that one book that I won’t like. This will be book #4 that I’ve read from Rosanna Leo, and I’m happy to announce that this is NOT that kind of book. Night Lover was a gloriously sexy, well-written, heartfelt book that knew how to tug at my heartstrings and make me laugh.
It was my first experience reading about an incubus, which is strange, given all the paranormal stuff I enjoy, and I’m really enjoyed it. Going forward, my paranormal creatures list has definitely expanded. Leo’s incubus was sexy and alluring without the rape-y overtones that I feel the creature could drift toward (given what they are known for, anyway).
Renata was a really interesting lead for me. I’ve been plotting an aspiring opera singer character, and given Leo’s background, I was really excited to read about a character in the music profession who wasn’t a rock star. It was a really interesting shift in dynamics, so A++ for uniqueness. In fact, all of the characters were unique and well-developed, and I thought the curse factor was different and new. I think that’s a great way to describe this book: different and new. Hurray for breaking boundaries and barriers and all that jazz.
My only slight negative were the religious overtones toward the end, and I don’t think that hinders the book. Faith was described as basically anything, not necessarily religiously focused, but it just wasn’t up my alley. I think it will work for others, especially those who are connected to their own spirituality.
All in all, Night Lover was a fun, interesting, and dynamic read. I’d recommend it for all paranormal romance lovers who are ready for something a little different.
Check it out on Goodreads for more reviews and purchase links!
3 STARS
Sooo…
Okay.
Let me first start off by saying I loved how this book was written. I thought it was absolutely beautifully crafted by the author. It was dark and grungy and dangerous. Physical descriptions were wonderful. I fell in love with the writing style from page one, and because of that, I will absolutely be reading more of the author’s work.
But will I continue with this series? I’m not sure if I was just loving this book so much that I missed key details, but where the hell did that ending come from? Up until the syringe appeared, I had literally no idea that the main character was feeling the way she did, and everything just sort of… spiraled from there. I was left sort of feeling thrown and confused and a little annoyed? I don’t know. The book was so exceptional in its storytelling up to that point, and then it was like getting hit with a truck. Everything just happened so fast, so much info to take in at once, and it just… didn’t work for me.
Also “Grimaldi” makes me think of the Princess Diaries. I know it’s a legit family name, but I was half wondering if it was a joke at first.
Also, can we talk about a virgin getting totally pounded during her first time, while still having a knife wound healing? … No. Alex herself was hit and miss for me. I loved her darkness and her danger, but I was kind of sick of “girly girls” being knocked on. Apparently once you have sex, you become a woman and should therefore love shopping for dresses and shoes, and I just… yeah, it frustrated me. Why do we have to crap on other women just to be the strong loner type heroine who can kill a man with her pinky?
So. I’m left with mixed emotions at the end of this one. A+++ writing, but the ending felt like such a punch to the gut, and not necessarily in a good way, that I’ll need time to digest it.
Check out Unmasked on Goodreads for more reviews and purchase links!
Liz Meldon - Romance Author 