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lisabeejenkins's review against another edition
1.0
Can someone please tell me how I keep reading books about things like MAGICAL SEMEN? I really should have known better based on book description, but it got so many good reviews from my fellow PNR fans *and* it's a year+ wait to get it on Paperback Swap. I have been misled!
I sort of doubt this next part is a a spoiler - and heaven forbid I RUIN anything! ;) - but j-i-c....
I sort of doubt this next part is a a spoiler - and heaven forbid I RUIN anything! ;) - but j-i-c....
Spoiler
Maybe I am alone here, but concepts like "the only time you're not going to be driven absolutely apeshit with desire for a guy is when you're happily KNOCKED UP WITH HIS CHILD," referring to ladyparts as a C U Next Tuesday and thinking that's sexy, and a cast of people with a doctorate in use of the word "asshole" to describe each other...I mean, not so hot.sibley's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
2.0
akbrownie's review against another edition
This isn't hot, it's literally just misogynistic. There's a way to write these carachters that show him to be dominant, but this is just men being assohles and trying to figure out who can go the most neanderthal (when they're fully human). Also, characters change their wants and motives on a whim.
sillylittlefishey's review against another edition
2.0
I was a bit disappointed with this one....I need a little more story and a little less sex and 'cunt' for me to like it. I will probably give the series another shot...eventually.
smartcookiesca's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
Moderate: Rape, Torture, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Child death and Miscarriage
beckiebookworm1974's review against another edition
3.0
I decided to reread this series from the beginning as I ceased reading back in the day and wanted to start again afresh. I've been doing this a lot with older ones I've previously read. Seeing if I can recapture the magic and if I still feel the same about them as I once did. If I recall this series was first published by the now-obsolete Elloras Cave, so as you can imagine it's heavily ensconced in the erotica genre. Later books still were geared this way but I do feel the earlier ones before the publisher changed were much more so. Not that I'm complaining mind as this was the reason I initially picked it up. Well, that combined with the hybrid animal storyline as I was heavily in my human breeds era at the time.
This is the first book and it introduces us to the origins of the breeds. Our heroine Merinus is tasked along with her special ops brother Kane to attempt to persuade Callan Lyons to tell his story to the public. Her family want to expose the corrupt council and for Callon to come out of hiding and speak his truths. Merinus's task is to establish first contact with the secretive lion hybrid and Kane is the backup research.
The bones of the story are intriguing and the potential for expansion huge. Being firmly in the erotica camp there's a hell of a lot of spice and descriptive language which is very detailed and this is as hot as Hades especially when these two go into heat. The pages sizzled with the intensity and the chemistry was explosive. The actual world expansion does take a bit of a back seat to all of this at least in this first book but it's still there and I enjoyed revisiting this series.
I'll be frank, book one isn't the strongest but I do remember this series only improving the further I read so I will be continuing on. This is mostly erotica with some additional world explanation but it's a definite good time and the subject matter is so interesting.
I liked both main characters and loved all the primal instincts and dominance battles. I'm now looking forward to rereading further and though this first book isn't my favourite it was still enjoyable and I know it's only on the up from here on out.
This is the first book and it introduces us to the origins of the breeds. Our heroine Merinus is tasked along with her special ops brother Kane to attempt to persuade Callan Lyons to tell his story to the public. Her family want to expose the corrupt council and for Callon to come out of hiding and speak his truths. Merinus's task is to establish first contact with the secretive lion hybrid and Kane is the backup research.
The bones of the story are intriguing and the potential for expansion huge. Being firmly in the erotica camp there's a hell of a lot of spice and descriptive language which is very detailed and this is as hot as Hades especially when these two go into heat. The pages sizzled with the intensity and the chemistry was explosive. The actual world expansion does take a bit of a back seat to all of this at least in this first book but it's still there and I enjoyed revisiting this series.
I'll be frank, book one isn't the strongest but I do remember this series only improving the further I read so I will be continuing on. This is mostly erotica with some additional world explanation but it's a definite good time and the subject matter is so interesting.
I liked both main characters and loved all the primal instincts and dominance battles. I'm now looking forward to rereading further and though this first book isn't my favourite it was still enjoyable and I know it's only on the up from here on out.
hmmreads's review against another edition
2.0
2 stars
Okay... this book was kinda bad and a hot mess. The world building was weak and all over the place. FMC was a bitch and MMC wasn't that interesting. The sex was bleh.
We started the book with Merinus (the h, I can't get over how odd that name is for a girl/in general) arguing with her family of guys (in total seven bros and their dad) about wanting to get involved in Callan's story. Her dad's part of the National Forum and her and her brothers were also involved in the news cycle in some way. Out of the family, Kane, the eldest, and the dad were the only ones highlighted.
Their dad was sent scientific evidence of Callan's existence by his surrogate mother and proof of the violence he endured while he was in the lab. Apparently, a bunch of people that had soldiers, had this lab and were breeding human-feline species. The book did a piss-poor job explaining this too. They used "soldiers" in the same breath talking about the government (supposedly the good guys in this world) while both could've meant the same side of people, because government-army-soldier, you know? It was just a mess and confusing. Callan's surrogate mother and Merinus' whole family's idea was that exposing Callan to the world would get the bad guys locked up and so Callan didn't have to hide anymore from these soldiers. Callan thought this was a bad idea because the world would treat him as a freak and the gov would just run more tests on him instead, which fair point, what would've happened in the real world. But of course, Merinus was too naive and thought the gov was all good and great and exposing Callan would solve the problem for good. So besides the data, Merinus needed Callan to come out of hiding as evidence. So she was there tracking him. Kane, the eldest brother was supposedly well-connected and scary (I didn't really get what this job really was tbh) and super protective but somehow was the one that supported Merinus to approach Callan. And I don't think this was ever explained.
Turns out, Callan and Merinus were mates. She started going into heat and they mated, she lost her virginity. Callan's doctor had to take a bunch of test and Merinus was grouchy, uncooperative, and annoying about it all the damn time. She was hot and cold toward Callan, always needing her independence (bcs she's not like other girls. this was also noted at the beginning of the book with her not wearing makeup) but she was just so hot for him. Callan was a detached person so he kept her at arms-length at first but then he started to be protective of her because of their bond. At least he was consistent.
Callan wasn't the only Pride left and there were like idk 6 of them. Kane turned out to be an ex-soldier working for the labs and had to rape one of the shifter girls as an experiment. Kane turned out to be the mate of this girl. There was this side thing with one of the guy shifter where he betrayed Callan because he wanted to be alpha. It was stupid and unnecessary.
I so did not want Merinus's stupid exposee belief to be the endgame but of course it was. Callan willingly got exposed and things went all fine and dandy. We got a brief pov from the bad guy saying it wasn't over blablabla but the rest of the world was just basically, "yeah, whatever". Which was just SO realistic ugh.
I originally wanted to give this book a 3 stars, but the more I write the more the stars are going down. It's currently at a 1 but I guess I'll give it a 2.
Okay... this book was kinda bad and a hot mess. The world building was weak and all over the place. FMC was a bitch and MMC wasn't that interesting. The sex was bleh.
We started the book with Merinus (the h, I can't get over how odd that name is for a girl/in general) arguing with her family of guys (in total seven bros and their dad) about wanting to get involved in Callan's story. Her dad's part of the National Forum and her and her brothers were also involved in the news cycle in some way. Out of the family, Kane, the eldest, and the dad were the only ones highlighted.
Their dad was sent scientific evidence of Callan's existence by his surrogate mother and proof of the violence he endured while he was in the lab. Apparently, a bunch of people that had soldiers, had this lab and were breeding human-feline species. The book did a piss-poor job explaining this too. They used "soldiers" in the same breath talking about the government (supposedly the good guys in this world) while both could've meant the same side of people, because government-army-soldier, you know? It was just a mess and confusing. Callan's surrogate mother and Merinus' whole family's idea was that exposing Callan to the world would get the bad guys locked up and so Callan didn't have to hide anymore from these soldiers. Callan thought this was a bad idea because the world would treat him as a freak and the gov would just run more tests on him instead, which fair point, what would've happened in the real world. But of course, Merinus was too naive and thought the gov was all good and great and exposing Callan would solve the problem for good. So besides the data, Merinus needed Callan to come out of hiding as evidence. So she was there tracking him. Kane, the eldest brother was supposedly well-connected and scary (I didn't really get what this job really was tbh) and super protective but somehow was the one that supported Merinus to approach Callan. And I don't think this was ever explained.
Turns out, Callan and Merinus were mates. She started going into heat and they mated, she lost her virginity. Callan's doctor had to take a bunch of test and Merinus was grouchy, uncooperative, and annoying about it all the damn time. She was hot and cold toward Callan, always needing her independence (bcs she's not like other girls. this was also noted at the beginning of the book with her not wearing makeup) but she was just so hot for him. Callan was a detached person so he kept her at arms-length at first but then he started to be protective of her because of their bond. At least he was consistent.
Callan wasn't the only Pride left and there were like idk 6 of them. Kane turned out to be an ex-soldier working for the labs and had to rape one of the shifter girls as an experiment. Kane turned out to be the mate of this girl. There was this side thing with one of the guy shifter where he betrayed Callan because he wanted to be alpha. It was stupid and unnecessary.
I so did not want Merinus's stupid exposee belief to be the endgame but of course it was. Callan willingly got exposed and things went all fine and dandy. We got a brief pov from the bad guy saying it wasn't over blablabla but the rest of the world was just basically, "yeah, whatever". Which was just SO realistic ugh.
I originally wanted to give this book a 3 stars, but the more I write the more the stars are going down. It's currently at a 1 but I guess I'll give it a 2.