lilith_knight's review against another edition
4.0
fun fun fun! rtc in the following weeks (because uni exams -_-)
paradoxically's review against another edition
5.0
This story was so much fun.
I adored it. Flat out. It wasn't perfect, but the premise was completely up my alley and I loved Dina, her inn, and the magic. Magic and science. As in it tickled me pink that werewolves were the result of science, which I've actually read about sparingly before, but this just somehow made me super pleased. The world of Clean Sweep is a rich one for a story that is kind of short for a novel (60kish words). Yet for all that I prefer my novels to be longer, it sure didn't lessen the sense of depth of the world. Worlds.
And that's the best part of the novel, the sense that there's always something more out there, that there are entire planets with interesting things and people who lead interesting lives. And you have Dina, who ostensibly runs a simple bed and breakfast, except no, she's an innkeeper and she's basically lord and master of this tiny space that she keeps and protects. She seems ordinary, but she is anything but, and she's this polite, almost soft-seeming person who has no compunction with tying you to her inn's walls if you pose a threat to her or her guest.
She's a great character that made me happy to read. She's not physically strong and her powers are limited, but she knows herself and what she can do and it's wonderful. And her sole guest, Caldenia, is this older seeming woman who seems to derive great enjoyment from eating people. Needless to say, I really want to learn more about her and her past.
As for the two male leads. Well. One doesn't even show up until the latter half of the book and we never quite know much about him other than he's a vampire and strikingly handsome, and the other is a werewolf who goes around marking territory. By, you know, peeing on things like plants and fences. Which is funny and he's a lot more than that, buuuut. I wasn't completely in love with either, for hard to parse reasons. Both seemed rather typical. I liked them but didn't love them.
The plot was interesting. You have a bunch of dead dogs and Dina afraid of an escalation. Then there's the person behind the attacks and werewolves and vampires and it all kind of snowballs from there. It wasn't the best plot ever, but it was solid.
What sold me on the book was the background. The little bits of information the authors slip in about Dina and her family, the world around and other ones to boot. They were interesting and rich and I would have loved to wallow in another story just to know more about everything in general.
So, all in all, I had a lot of fun. A very solid, quick sort of read that is highly enjoyable. 4-5 stars, rounding up to 5.
I adored it. Flat out. It wasn't perfect, but the premise was completely up my alley and I loved Dina, her inn, and the magic. Magic and science. As in it tickled me pink that werewolves were the result of science, which I've actually read about sparingly before, but this just somehow made me super pleased. The world of Clean Sweep is a rich one for a story that is kind of short for a novel (60kish words). Yet for all that I prefer my novels to be longer, it sure didn't lessen the sense of depth of the world. Worlds.
And that's the best part of the novel, the sense that there's always something more out there, that there are entire planets with interesting things and people who lead interesting lives. And you have Dina, who ostensibly runs a simple bed and breakfast, except no, she's an innkeeper and she's basically lord and master of this tiny space that she keeps and protects. She seems ordinary, but she is anything but, and she's this polite, almost soft-seeming person who has no compunction with tying you to her inn's walls if you pose a threat to her or her guest.
She's a great character that made me happy to read. She's not physically strong and her powers are limited, but she knows herself and what she can do and it's wonderful. And her sole guest, Caldenia, is this older seeming woman who seems to derive great enjoyment from eating people. Needless to say, I really want to learn more about her and her past.
As for the two male leads. Well. One doesn't even show up until the latter half of the book and we never quite know much about him other than he's a vampire and strikingly handsome, and the other is a werewolf who goes around marking territory. By, you know, peeing on things like plants and fences. Which is funny and he's a lot more than that, buuuut. I wasn't completely in love with either, for hard to parse reasons. Both seemed rather typical. I liked them but didn't love them.
The plot was interesting. You have a bunch of dead dogs and Dina afraid of an escalation. Then there's the person behind the attacks and werewolves and vampires and it all kind of snowballs from there. It wasn't the best plot ever, but it was solid.
What sold me on the book was the background. The little bits of information the authors slip in about Dina and her family, the world around and other ones to boot. They were interesting and rich and I would have loved to wallow in another story just to know more about everything in general.
So, all in all, I had a lot of fun. A very solid, quick sort of read that is highly enjoyable. 4-5 stars, rounding up to 5.
storytimed's review against another edition
3.75
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
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
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
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
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
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.
Very cool series starter.
gondorgirl's review against another edition
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
Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Xenophobia
severelyhopefulcloud's review against another edition
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
Graphic: Violence and Animal death