Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

Foolish Puckboy by Eden Finley, Saxon James

3 reviews

maddie_0930's review

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funny lighthearted relaxing tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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galleytrot's review against another edition

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

3.5

FIRST READ: Nov 2023 
SECOND READ: Dec 2023 
FORMAT: Audio

ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: 3.5 / 5⭐ 
TECHNICAL / PRODUCTION: 3.75 / 5⭐
FINAL – OVERALL: 3.5 / 5 ⭐ 

This fourth installment of the Puckboy series follows Aleks as he burst his way into the pansexual life as a freshly divorced man. Having only ever been with his high school sweetheart before, his expectations of getting out there and sowing his wild oats just don’t align with his personality and all he really wants is to experience all the things he’s never had the chance to before with Gabe, the attractive fireman who swung onto the scene when a house party got a bit out of hand. Gabe is more than happy to work Aleks through his list of firsts, even if that means immersing himself in a world of a sport he couldn’t possibly care less about. 

I’m sad to say that, while I liked the characters perfectly fine, this has easily been the least memorable of the Puckboy series yet. It wasn’t bad, but I honestly couldn’t remember much of what happened once I was done reading it – the only reason I read it twice was because I later stumbled on a standalone book involving three of this one’s side characters, and I couldn’t for the life of me remember whether a particular circumstance from that book was explained in this one or not (answer: it was vaguely hinted at in a scene that was clumsily shoehorned in as setup).

This brings to light my frustration with James/Finley collaborations all taking place within an interconnected universe. Sometimes I enjoy authors’ works quite a lot, but get frustrated by the expectation that I need to read everything they write in order to understand what’s happening. My first time reading this one, it wasn’t until the third mention of Gabe’s past living arrangements (about half-way into this book) that I realized, “Holy shit, I’ve already met this book’s main character before in another book, and of course these two unrelated worlds would have to collide together so gracelessly.” 

If you want to play Six Degrees of Separation, look no further than the James/Finley book extended universe. Every character across the continent can be connected to any other character in six or fewer social connections (and let’s be real, it’s usually fewer). 

This book has representation for gays and pansexuals. There is otherwise little else in the way of diversity. 

The following elaborates on my content warnings. These may be interpreted as spoilers, but I do not go into deep detail.
This book contains:
alcohol use; fires (minor property damage, larger emergency endangering people and animals, mentions of smoke inhalation and shock); mentions of past child abandonment rooted in homophobia; minor and moderate injuries (bruising, strain/pull), mention of past serious injury (gash, bleeding); fist-fighting; and, brief depiction of medical anxiety.
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aelin_morgenstern's review

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emotional funny relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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