aimora's review against another edition
5.0
Wow. This is my first Hailey Turner read. I'm so impressed by the scope of the universe that was created. Mythogical creatures, fae, vampires, werewolves, gods, and devils, all coexisting with mages and witches.
As the story unfolds, we start to see aspects of the supernatural that the characters take for granted and more of the universe is explained. The romance part of the story is so hot, too. Love Jono so much! Thankfully there are 7 books in this series so I should be seeing more of him in book 2.
As the story unfolds, we start to see aspects of the supernatural that the characters take for granted and more of the universe is explained. The romance part of the story is so hot, too. Love Jono so much! Thankfully there are 7 books in this series so I should be seeing more of him in book 2.
the_otaku_bibliophile's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
sandyfrancesca's review against another edition
4.0
4.67 stars. This was a really great book, even though sometimes the writing felt clunky and didn't flow as well as it could have and some sex positions and actions during sex is impossible for mm lovers and felt more like something mf lovers would pull. All in all the story was incredible the action good.
4.67 stars.
Also, I don’t understand the week timeline. It makes no sense for Patrick to offer Casel a timeline to get the case solved, there is no reason for the deadline. He has the upper hand why give a contingency when you don’t need to. And there is no contingency. And Casel counting down the days as if there is a a threat at the end of the week. If Patrick does not close the case by the weeks end, what happens? Nothing! Casel has no one to go to. It’s not a local case anymore, it’s Patrick’s case, Patrick is the boss here but is not acting like it. Sure he want the local pd to be his backup okay but what does he lose if he doesn’t close the case by the end of the week? It makes zero sense!!!
There’s too many inconsistencies in this book. The reason for the shield in Patrick’s bones changed chapter to chapter. One minute he got them as a child the next he got them after the war. It’s ridiculous. Also the siege ward works differently sometimes.
4.67 stars.
Also, I don’t understand the week timeline. It makes no sense for Patrick to offer Casel a timeline to get the case solved, there is no reason for the deadline. He has the upper hand why give a contingency when you don’t need to. And there is no contingency. And Casel counting down the days as if there is a a threat at the end of the week. If Patrick does not close the case by the weeks end, what happens? Nothing! Casel has no one to go to. It’s not a local case anymore, it’s Patrick’s case, Patrick is the boss here but is not acting like it. Sure he want the local pd to be his backup okay but what does he lose if he doesn’t close the case by the end of the week? It makes zero sense!!!
There’s too many inconsistencies in this book. The reason for the shield in Patrick’s bones changed chapter to chapter. One minute he got them as a child the next he got them after the war. It’s ridiculous. Also the siege ward works differently sometimes.
maleesha's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
A fun and well written urban fantasy. I really liked the characters, the pacing, and the plot. I will definitely be picking up book 2.
littleastrid's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
wardenred's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
“The SOA isn’t the military with a multibillion-dollar budget and the ability to write off your destructive tendencies with a mere warning.”
“That’s a shame. You might want to look into changing your budget.”
This book was actively recommended to me as something that would scratch the itch left by Charlie Adhara's fantastic but sadly finite Big Bad Wolf series. I fully admit it's possible that if I picked it up for some other reason, I would be a bit less strict. Beyond the surface similarities, like being investigative urban fantasy with werewolves and m/m romance, these books really have little in common. The Soulbound 'verse, for once, is a lot more expansive and varied—and I feel like it's both this novel's strength and downfall.
On one hand, I'm extremely impressed by the rich lore the author crafted and by how all those elements—magic users, shifters, demons, gods, vampires, and more—all mattered to the plot. On the other hand, the plot often got seriously bogged down in all the worldbuilding, especially given the way the lore was introduced. There were SO MANY infodumps, OMG. It's unreal. Especially at the beginning—it felt like the story just couldn't start properly, because every page or two everything paused and there were a few paragraphs of densely worded explanations that I could barely process. Because I expected to read an exciting urban fantasy novel, not a guidebook on a made-up world. It was also so awkward and unnatural given the third person limited POV—as if the main character felt the need to suddenly just stop everything and think about a number of things that are supposed to be perfectly familiar to him. It's like if you, hypothetical future reader of this review, paused right this moment to conduct an elaborate inner monologue on what Storygraph and book reviews even are. I bet you don't feel the need to do that, do you?
This heavy-handed delivery made it hard to follow the plot in more than one way. Like, I'm still not sure if it's a plot hole that during their second meeting Marek tells Patrick something like, "You didn't say you were a mage, we thought you were just a cop." Like, come on, Marek cast an anti-eavesdropping spell when they first met? Although he did describe casting it differently than his previous spell, so maybe Marek assumed he was a witch and not a mage? How am I supposed to know that, though? Was that information contained in one of those guidebook-style detours that I glossed over because I wanted to get on with the story parts? It certainly wasn't in the story parts.
As for the romance plot, to be honest I didn't feel any strong chemistry between the leads and I felt like their mutual investment in the relationship grew too quickly. What frustrated me that given these guys' respective backstories and personalities, there was a lot of potential for me to absolutely fall for their romance, but something was constantly off. Probably the balance of the action/mystery storyline and the relationship storyline, for the most part. And again, there was plenty of potential for syncing up those plots to help them move together more smoothly! But it was completely missed in favor of infodumps and some other needless wordy moments.
I'm probably still going to continue with the series, because the setting intrigues me, and there are a lot of characters here who seem interesting. Though unfortunately few of them are anywhere near what I'd call "fully realized," possibly because there are just too many people and other individuals on these pages to give anyone proper screen time and significant chance to establish themselves. But... yeah, this wasn't the reading experience I hoped for, especially when I kept comparing this book with Charlie Adhara's far more thoughtfully crafted works.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, and Gore
terriaminute's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
2.0
Two stars, because I finished it, and I enjoyed it, but wow does it have issues. Every person who did an edit pass on this manuscript failed spectacularly. Every single one. The quotes & notes are all edit & writer fails, and that's way less than half of what I noticed. And then there's the info-dumping.
I was warned that it's info-dumpy, but good gravy, whole paragraphs just shoved in repeatedly in the first few chapters is... A lot. Here's the thing; this book was published seven years after her debut, with a lot of work in between. By this point she should've learned how to drop in info less blatantly, and didn't. I don't know, maybe it was a mad scramble to make a deadline. Whatever, this is me judging a product, and it deficient.
But. I finished it.
Here's the reason: Somehow, despite the issues above, I enjoyed the characters and the plot. This is doubly remarkable because I usually dislike fantasy with gods running around, but the worldbuilding hangs together well. The pace is a bit uneven here and there, but the climax was satisfying. If you're one of those readers who can ignore edit fails, you may enjoy this. I enjoyed it in these aspects. I wish I could've enjoyed it more.
I was warned that it's info-dumpy, but good gravy, whole paragraphs just shoved in repeatedly in the first few chapters is... A lot. Here's the thing; this book was published seven years after her debut, with a lot of work in between. By this point she should've learned how to drop in info less blatantly, and didn't. I don't know, maybe it was a mad scramble to make a deadline. Whatever, this is me judging a product, and it deficient.
But. I finished it.
Here's the reason: Somehow, despite the issues above, I enjoyed the characters and the plot. This is doubly remarkable because I usually dislike fantasy with gods running around, but the worldbuilding hangs together well. The pace is a bit uneven here and there, but the climax was satisfying. If you're one of those readers who can ignore edit fails, you may enjoy this. I enjoyed it in these aspects. I wish I could've enjoyed it more.
cassi_370's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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? It's complicated
4.75
tetiana's review against another edition
4.0
Apparently, Turner is my new favorite author, since I’m steadily going through every single one of her books.
This one feels like a blend of Supernatural (if the show was, you know, good) and some of the less boring aspects of American Gods with a good sexy helping of action and romance on top. I’m really into it.
This one feels like a blend of Supernatural (if the show was, you know, good) and some of the less boring aspects of American Gods with a good sexy helping of action and romance on top. I’m really into it.
royda88's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-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? Yes
4.25