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whrohala's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Short and spicy. Pretty much what I've grown to expect from Katee Robert's writing.
Story moved quickly, but was repetitive, which was disappointing. I also found myself having a harder time rooting for the relationship than I usually would, which I assume is mostly because they don't really talk to each other until the last 1/3 of the book, so the relationship development felt a bit forced. I feel like the story as a whole would have benefited from either being shorter and cutting out the redundancy, or a lot longer to flesh out the detail and lore that was just hinted at.
Story moved quickly, but was repetitive, which was disappointing. I also found myself having a harder time rooting for the relationship than I usually would, which I assume is mostly because they don't really talk to each other until the last 1/3 of the book, so the relationship development felt a bit forced. I feel like the story as a whole would have benefited from either being shorter and cutting out the redundancy, or a lot longer to flesh out the detail and lore that was just hinted at.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Abortion, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Child abuse and Death
olivialandryxo's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I was Very Nervous going into this for one reason and one reason only: tentacles. And I won’t lie—I did find the smut scenes weird for that reason, but not enough so that I didn’t enjoy the rest of the book. I did, much more than I expected to. Although there was a portion of the book where I found Thane to be rather annoying and insensitive, he grew on me significantly; I loved Catalina from the start and that never stopped. And pushing through was so, so worth it, because I got to see them become comfortable around each other, heal and build their future together. 💙
Also, in the biggest twist of the year—this book made me genuinely like Ramanu. They had much more page time here than in the first book, which annoyed me at first because I thought they were an obnoxious asshole. But seeing how they softened around Cat and were such a good friend to her… it really endeared them to me. I’m suddenly quite eager to read their book in the Peculiar Tastes series, which I’d already been thinking about but now will definitely be diving into next.
Current ranking of the series:
Also, in the biggest twist of the year—this book made me genuinely like Ramanu. They had much more page time here than in the first book, which annoyed me at first because I thought they were an obnoxious asshole. But seeing how they softened around Cat and were such a good friend to her… it really endeared them to me. I’m suddenly quite eager to read their book in the Peculiar Tastes series, which I’d already been thinking about but now will definitely be diving into next.
Current ranking of the series:
- The Kraken’s Sacrifice
- The Dragon’s Bride
Representation:
- two queer protagonists, each attracted to multiple genders
- nonbinary side character that uses ze/zir
- nonbinary side character that uses they/them
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Grief, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Abortion and Pregnancy
Death & grief: Thane’s husband was killed prior to the story. Emotional abuse & gaslighting: experienced by Catalina prior to the story, by both her mother and various friends and partners. Pregnancy & abortion: Catalina ends up with and thus terminates an unwanted pregnancy. This is handled with care and respect, and she’s supported by everyone involved.sba2x's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Abandonment
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Medical content, Grief, Abortion, and Pregnancy
emwgrace's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Picked this one up to do a buddy read with a friend, as this is not usually the type of book I'd choose to read on my own. It was my first experience in the monster romance genre, and unfortunately I was disappointed and frankly, bored. No seriously, I must be the only person in the world to fall asleep to tentacle porn.
Catalina was insufferable and I couldn't bring myself to care about her. If she wasn't being stuffed with tentacles, she was complaining about stairs. Thane's chapters were less annoying to me, but I wasn't interested much by him either. Both characters were insanely insecure and horrible at communicating due to traumas from their past, but neither backstory was explored well enough for me to care.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Abortion and Pregnancy
morgansbookshelves's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I wish we got to see a little bit more development from the characters!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Grief, and Abandonment
Moderate: Child abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Vomit, Medical content, and Abortion
Minor: Death, Murder, and Pregnancy
skaurgo's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Abortion, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
Minor: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Death of parent
ashleycmms's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Grief, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
Moderate: Toxic relationship and Death of parent
Minor: Blood and War
queenie_ofthe_void's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
It was boring... spice wasn't that great even though it was tentacles. I forgot it wasn't a slow-burn kind of book though so that's my bad.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Abortion, and Pregnancy
bi_n_large's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Abandonment
Moderate: Death, Grief, Abortion, and Pregnancy
Minor: Murder and War
bryelle's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Omg. This book is so good. I loved how relatable these characters were. They were doing with their past traumas while also navigating a new relationship.
Catilina makes a deal with a demon to get away from mother and get money to live happily. Thane is a kraken humanoid who has closed himself off after his husband died. Lina just wants to be given love since she was not provided it as a child and her adult life. She has been the person everyone thinks needs to change to be loved. While Thane is very blunt now that his husband passed. Thane doesn’t know why but he wants to make Lina happy and safe but feels like being away from him is the answer to that.
They finally see that they could both be happy but they just stop blaming themselves for everything. They learn to communicate better and their their second chance at a happily ever after.
Catilina makes a deal with a demon to get away from mother and get money to live happily. Thane is a kraken humanoid who has closed himself off after his husband died. Lina just wants to be given love since she was not provided it as a child and her adult life. She has been the person everyone thinks needs to change to be loved. While Thane is very blunt now that his husband passed. Thane doesn’t know why but he wants to make Lina happy and safe but feels like being away from him is the answer to that.
They finally see that they could both be happy but they just stop blaming themselves for everything. They learn to communicate better and their their second chance at a happily ever after.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Abortion, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Body shaming and Death