tmkuta's review
1.0
I received an ARC of this book for an honest review.
This book, like the others in this series, is okay. Like most Carriger books the prose is beautifully snarky and terminally delightful--I laughed and smiled a lot. The dynamics of the pack are cute, and the found family and queer aspects makes my heart wiggle happily. Lots of funny visuals and nods to current queer culture, which made me smile.
The characters in this series are hard to distinguish, especially the gay men--their voices all feel similar to me. They're all waspy, catty, faaaabulous gays. Also there are a LOT of characters. So damn many. I love playing count-the-side-character, but if you're coming into the series blind with this one you'll probably be lost. There were a lot of subplots in this book happening all at once...almost too many. Trick stole the show from Judd and Colin, but his subplot with the werebear officer felt a bit forced (although I enjoyed the Otter/Bear joke LOL). It felt like Colin got lost in his own story. The plot itself was kind of slow, although the book started off fast. At the end the book knotted, a bit unsatisfactorily in my opinion, in a neat bow.
[Spoilers]
I also wasn't super comfortable with the objectification of Judd, a gay Black man, in this book. Even though he's on the cover of the book, the plot was very much about Colin and Colin's struggles and backstory. If he was that much of the story, Colin should have been on the cover, not Judd. I would have liked to know more about Judd's backstory, because if he is 150+ years old he lived through some of America and Canada's worst racial discrimination, that would have affected him. He also wouldn't have been super hyped about the police showing up, even if it was a fellow supernatural. I understand not wanting to write too much history of a Black character as a white writer, but it did not feel like his Blackness informed how he interacted with the world at all. This is why this book gets such a low rating from me.
[End Spoilers]
All this said, I'd rather read a book about Agent Lenis, or Miss Trickle and her wife Pepper, or....many of the other side characters, honestly. I probably wouldn't read TEE again, but it was a fun distraction during COVID-times and I don't regret that I did. I'll probably read the fourth book about Trick, since I love him to pieces.
This book, like the others in this series, is okay. Like most Carriger books the prose is beautifully snarky and terminally delightful--I laughed and smiled a lot. The dynamics of the pack are cute, and the found family and queer aspects makes my heart wiggle happily. Lots of funny visuals and nods to current queer culture, which made me smile.
The characters in this series are hard to distinguish, especially the gay men--their voices all feel similar to me. They're all waspy, catty, faaaabulous gays. Also there are a LOT of characters. So damn many. I love playing count-the-side-character, but if you're coming into the series blind with this one you'll probably be lost. There were a lot of subplots in this book happening all at once...almost too many. Trick stole the show from Judd and Colin, but his subplot with the werebear officer felt a bit forced (although I enjoyed the Otter/Bear joke LOL). It felt like Colin got lost in his own story. The plot itself was kind of slow, although the book started off fast. At the end the book knotted, a bit unsatisfactorily in my opinion, in a neat bow.
[Spoilers]
I also wasn't super comfortable with the objectification of Judd, a gay Black man, in this book. Even though he's on the cover of the book, the plot was very much about Colin and Colin's struggles and backstory. If he was that much of the story, Colin should have been on the cover, not Judd. I would have liked to know more about Judd's backstory, because if he is 150+ years old he lived through some of America and Canada's worst racial discrimination, that would have affected him. He also wouldn't have been super hyped about the police showing up, even if it was a fellow supernatural. I understand not wanting to write too much history of a Black character as a white writer, but it did not feel like his Blackness informed how he interacted with the world at all. This is why this book gets such a low rating from me.
[End Spoilers]
All this said, I'd rather read a book about Agent Lenis, or Miss Trickle and her wife Pepper, or....many of the other side characters, honestly. I probably wouldn't read TEE again, but it was a fun distraction during COVID-times and I don't regret that I did. I'll probably read the fourth book about Trick, since I love him to pieces.
tinkcourtney's review
5.0
Well worth the wait
I preordered this pretty much the nanosecond it was announced. I love and adore this series, particularly The Omega Objection, and was eagerly anticipating more. Despite the high expectations involved, I wasn’t let down at ALL. In fact, I was laughing and highlighting from the very first scene. In addition to the intelligent wit, there’s a good amount of hurt/comfort done extremely well, and all the characters have so much depth that they feel real to me.
I don’t think I’ll be able to resist a reread while excitedly waiting for the next in the series.
I preordered this pretty much the nanosecond it was announced. I love and adore this series, particularly The Omega Objection, and was eagerly anticipating more. Despite the high expectations involved, I wasn’t let down at ALL. In fact, I was laughing and highlighting from the very first scene. In addition to the intelligent wit, there’s a good amount of hurt/comfort done extremely well, and all the characters have so much depth that they feel real to me.
I don’t think I’ll be able to resist a reread while excitedly waiting for the next in the series.
rachelini's review
3.0
I like these more for the pack and ancilliary characters than for the romance. Also, I loved Trick and wished it was more his story.
majabwds's review
4.0
Confirmed my love for G.L. Carriger. This book has a perfect amount of angst to not make the story too dramatic or over the top. The supporting characters are fun and entertaining. The main couple we follow communicate and the development of their relationship was a joy to read. (m/m)
cadiva's review
5.0
This series just gets better
I love this mismatched pack of werewolves, Sea creatures and humans so much.
The world created is a mix of familiar and the supernatural and with a wicked thread of humour tying it all together.
Here we finally get Judd and Colin's romance and it's a beaut. I loved all the various plotlines being juggled together, the unexpected twists and the arrival of new pack members.
Medium steamy, it's still full of the emotional connection at the heart of all the relationships in the San Andreas pack.
I love this mismatched pack of werewolves, Sea creatures and humans so much.
The world created is a mix of familiar and the supernatural and with a wicked thread of humour tying it all together.
Here we finally get Judd and Colin's romance and it's a beaut. I loved all the various plotlines being juggled together, the unexpected twists and the arrival of new pack members.
Medium steamy, it's still full of the emotional connection at the heart of all the relationships in the San Andreas pack.
elisenic's review
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
emmadalrymple's review
4.0
So glad Gail released this early—the world needs as much of her particular blend of emotional comfort and “sexy fun times” as she puts it as possible these days. LOVE the addition of Trick to the pack and excited that his story is up next! Also interested to pick up the world-building nuggets as they’re dropped in this series, like gammas vs. enforcers. Hoping to read more about Saturation, mages, and quintessence in future books, especially since Judd (and Mana) lived through Saturation.
anzunagi's review
DNF at like 50%
This series has never been my favorite from Gail Carriger but usually I want to at least finish it. This book is just...boring. I never wanted to pick it up after putting it down. Judd and Colin are not unique as characters (especially in book full of like 4 too many characters) so I wasn't particularly drawn to their stories.
Yes, Colin had a rough past and is unsure of who he wants to be. 50% into the book and that's still what's going on with him - he wasn't working through it at all. Judd has such an opportunity to be a rich and explored character but we just get some "nudge nudge wink wink" to parasolverse stuff and like nothing else of interest. Also the emphasis on Judd being "too old" for Colin (as a werewolf who is over 100) was hit as a note so many times I started to believe it and wasn't even really rooting for the couple.
They also don't talk about like anything that isn't sex which also doesn't make me invested in the characters or their relationship. Where's the romance? Where's the heartfelt talks of understanding and connection? I think the implication is that their "bond" is established off screen in the other books, since this is the third book in a series, but I think we needed to see this play out in this book vs it being assumed.
The B plot with Trick is ok. He's the exact same archetype as Max & Marvin so he wasn't bringing anything new to the table. The C plot with Kevin & Colin's country singing mother could have been fun and given something of interest to Colin but she was just Umbridge levels of evil so I was uninterested in seeing that play out.
The writing in this is also pretty bad which is disappointing from Carriger. Some paragraphs were just littered with sentence fragments and other basic writing missteps.
This series has never been my favorite from Gail Carriger but usually I want to at least finish it. This book is just...boring. I never wanted to pick it up after putting it down. Judd and Colin are not unique as characters (especially in book full of like 4 too many characters) so I wasn't particularly drawn to their stories.
Yes, Colin had a rough past and is unsure of who he wants to be. 50% into the book and that's still what's going on with him - he wasn't working through it at all. Judd has such an opportunity to be a rich and explored character but we just get some "nudge nudge wink wink" to parasolverse stuff and like nothing else of interest. Also the emphasis on Judd being "too old" for Colin (as a werewolf who is over 100) was hit as a note so many times I started to believe it and wasn't even really rooting for the couple.
They also don't talk about like anything that isn't sex which also doesn't make me invested in the characters or their relationship. Where's the romance? Where's the heartfelt talks of understanding and connection? I think the implication is that their "bond" is established off screen in the other books, since this is the third book in a series, but I think we needed to see this play out in this book vs it being assumed.
The B plot with Trick is ok. He's the exact same archetype as Max & Marvin so he wasn't bringing anything new to the table. The C plot with Kevin & Colin's country singing mother could have been fun and given something of interest to Colin but she was just Umbridge levels of evil so I was uninterested in seeing that play out.
The writing in this is also pretty bad which is disappointing from Carriger. Some paragraphs were just littered with sentence fragments and other basic writing missteps.
nelsonseye's review against another edition
3.0
I liked Colin and Judd, their relationship, and Colin’s journey of self-acceptance. I think there was a really good moment when Colin was going to leave Judd to sleep alone and was “chastised” quite meaningfully by Marvin. There were also a lot of cute/funny moments, but for whatever reason, I didn’t like The Enforcer Enigma as much as the previous books in the series. It might have been that there was a bit too much going on when I would have preferred the focus on Colin and Judd. Oh well. In any case, I am looking forward to reading about Trick and Kettil in the next book, and it will be interesting to see if Kevin gets his own story.