Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

Shadow's Seduction by Kresley Cole

4 reviews

antimonium's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny fast-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

4.75

I loved the friends to lovers trope and the adventure. Mirceo kept me laughing throughout the book. Bonus points for

Lothaire being his crazy self at the end.

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katyhosbein's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny 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

Really enjoyed Cas and Mirceo’s relationship development. The homophobia was hard to read but I felt like it was resolved fairly quickly and the reasons for Cas’s resistance made sense based on his past and culture.

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meggiemine's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted fast-paced

3.0

I was excited about this, but ultimately it didn’t live up to my expectations and there was too much wasted potential. Still, I enjoyed it well enough to give it 3-stars, which is an overall positive rating.

First, it was too short, there was something off about the writing and pacing, and the ending was too abrupt. I can’t tell if it’s because the story is so condensed, I’m used to listening to this series in audio (not in print), or if there was an editor change as a result of this being self published. The book felt a bit like a rough draft that still needed to be fleshed out with more story and character development.

I didn’t like Caspion in Shadow’s Claim, so I was looking forward to getting to know him better. I still find him a bit baffling and annoying. I had trouble following his motivations, reasoning, and reactions. Cas’s embarrassment about being defeated by Trehan, and his need for revenge were dumb. Also, Cas’s feelings about Mirceo as his mate changed at the drop of a hat. At first he’s like, “I’m straight!” Then he’s like, “Mirceo must have mesmerized me!” Then he’s like, “Mirceo could never be in a monogamous relationship!” I think these shifts would have made more sense in a longer book with more space for deeper characterization.

I’m not sure what purpose Cas’s 500 years in self-exile served. I didn’t like the way Cas used his older age as an excuse to condescend to Mirceo. For example, Cas mansplains the demon mating bond to Mirceo, as if he couldn’t possibly understand monogamy, even though vampires have life-long mates, too! Besides some differing claiming rituals, the demon and vampire concepts of “mates” are essentially the same. I was reminded of this quote from Jane Eyre:

“I don’t think, sir, you have a right to command me, merely because you are older than I, or because you have seen more of the world than I have; your claim to superiority depends on the use you have made of your time and experience.”

_______________

Endnotes

Series: Immortals After Dark #16

Genre: Fantasy/Paranormal Romance

Setting: modern times, the mortal realm, the Plane of Lost Years (“Poly”), and the Dacia realm

Hero: Mirceo Daciano, vampire, Prince of Dacia, last male scion of the House of Castellan, dark hair, pale skin, slim muscular build, hedonistic flirt and rake, bisexual

Hero: Caspion the Tracker, bounty hunter, parentage unknown, demon, Mirceo calls him a “fair, golden Adonis”

Point-of-View: 3rd person, alternating between Mirceo and Caspion

Tropes/Themes: friends to lovers, fated mates, gay for you, reformed rake

Length: 251 pages, 68k words (short novel)

Read Date: April 18, 2022

Heat Rating: High

Flames: 4🔥🔥🔥🔥

Density: 5📑📑📑📑📑

Intensity: 4💓💓💓💓

Burn Speed: 4.5💨💨💨💨💨

Overall: 5🌡️🌡️🌡️🌡️🌡️

Sex Scene Details:

❌Ch 4, 5, & 10, I didn’t count this as a flame/full scene b/c it’s split across multiple chapters. Cas and Mirceo kiss in Ch 4 then it fades to black. Ch 5 picks up in the aftermath with Cas and Mirceo laying side by side, we’re told both of them came. Finally in Ch 10, there’s a flashback to the kiss in full, with grinding Os for both. 🔥Ch 8, 21%, from behind Caspion, Mirceo gives Cas a HJ while biting his neck and drinking his blood. Os for both, Mirceo comes in his pants. 🔥Ch 11, 30%, kissing, frotting, Mirceo bites Cas’s neck and drinks his blood, Os for both. 🔥Ch 17/18, 48%, Cas is a bit dominant with Mirceo, commands him to give him a BJ, Mirceo bites and drinks from Cas while doing so, masturbation O for Mirceo, BJ O for Cas. 🔥Ch 27, 80%, BJ for Mirceo, then anal sex, Cas penetrates Mirceo, Cas bites Mirceo’s neck to mark and claim him, Os for both.

※ My star and heat ratings are explained here

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particledamage's review against another edition

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lighthearted fast-paced

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

Absolutely mindless fun. Veers on some homophobic tropes ("I'm not gay but I'm gay for you") and some bad smut dialogue but it has interesting world building and compelling enough character dynamics for a book that is 40% smut. This is a trashy romance novels for people who want to see gay monster-men bump uglies. I'll admit a lot of the book was just building up tension but it worked.

Don't come here if you want god tier gay literature but honestly if you wanna just relax and waste an afternoon on a book that feels like fanfic, this is great for that. I tagged this with homophobia/biphobia but it's VERY light.

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