Reviews

Clean Sweep by Ilona Andrews

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storytimed's review against another edition

3.75

Spoiler

I'm combining all the books into this series into one review because tbh I read them all in a dizzying gulp and they all kind of blend together

These books are very trashy but very satisfying; like Legends and Lattes but with like, imagination

They follow Dina, a woman who's inherited a magical inn (comes with free superpowers!) and has to balance the competing and complex needs of different guests. There are werewolves! There are aliens! There are philosopher chickens!

The fun part about this series is that it's very cozy but at the same time everyone is trying to kill each other all the time, which makes for a great clash as the orcs declare war against the vampires but then get pacified by tea and a Playstation loaded up with Call of Duty and Madden NFL

Kind of reminds me of a low-drama slice-of-life manga? You have the same importance placed on comfort, consideration and ability to read people's needs, the slow growth of the protagonist into someone so incredibly OP the plot becomes less interesting, and the same absolutely bonkers worldbuilding

Idk why they decided this, but I love it: after thinking for half the first book that you're reading a generic urban fantasy, it's casually revealed that all the supernatural creatures are ALIENS. The vampires are ALIENS and live on PLANET VAMPIRE. The werewolves are ALIENS and Dina's love interest is the son of GENETICALLY ENGINEERED ALIEN WEREWOLVES who meets the guy who spliced his genes and immediately gets adopted by Mad Scientist Grandpa

It's so stupid and so enjoyable to read. I devoured the whole series in a week, just totally head empty vibing

There's no depth to this! It's just, like, "ooh, Dina's only long-term guest is a former galactic tyrant! the innkeeper's chef is a dramatic hedgehog, hee hee!"

The romantic drama exists for like two books and then quickly settles into Dina getting married to her ex-military genetically engineered werewolf boyfriend, after which they are just chill and married for the rest of the series

Though there is one book where Dina's sister Maud goes to live on VAMPIRE PLANET and gets married to VAMPIRE PRINCE, which has the same cozy "single mom gets a second chance at love, impresses everyone with her talent for logistics" vibes except Maud and her six-year-old daughter are also stone-cold killers formerly on a mercenary rampage of revenge. Fun!

First book is still finding its feet and sets up a completely pointless love triangle; not the best.

meganreadsome's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

jg93's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

anastasia_stopreading's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

shaysbookshelf_'s review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

annieb123's review against another edition

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5.0

This is a genuinely readable and entertaining paranormal UF with an interesting setup and plot arc. I really enjoyed it. There's a dash of romance, but it's not overwhelming. It's a promising series start and getting the other books in the series to binge has already led to me procrastinating a bunch of my eARC reading for review.

Very cool series starter.

gondorgirl's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Content Warnings

severelyhopefulcloud's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Content Warnings

hgranger's review against another edition

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3.0

Fun fast read, with a reasonably interesting protagonist and several enjoyable quips throughout.
The looming love triangle is lame though. Do we REALLY need one of those??

ethayden2's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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