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A review by _isabel_
Lor by Lily Mayne
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
3.5
I really don't know how to rate this. So yeah. I loved most of it, but I despised a good chunk of it too.
Maybe "despised" is the wrong word, but Lily Mayne chose a few tropes that, in my world, have no place in a romance novel.
But yeah.
First of all, the good:
The first 60% of "Lor" was absolutely lovely. A bit slow maybe, but I still loved it.
I adored the monster world setting: it was so fascinating and so clever.
I also loved the whole cast of main and side characters. I admit, Jugs remained a bit underdeveloped as a MC because most of the story is told through Lor's POV and because of *insert spoilery, despicable trope here* reasons.
Lor was a wonderful protagonist though and I LOVED him: he's so sweet and insecure and shy and endearing and lovely. I loved being in his head.
And all the side characters? Absolutely iconic. Lyri already owns my soul and I cannot wait to read his book and discover his adventures and how, precisely, he ends up meeting Cat. All the other characters were equally precious! We meet a lot of new monster species too, and I wonder about a certain sneaky, giant, warmongering bastard.
I also loved seeing the monster apocalypse from the monster's world point of view and I'm so excited to see what will happen after that last chapter.
Why 3.5 stars then?
If there's one thing I despise in my romances is time jumps and the agonizingly horrific "seperated for years and years because of *reasons*" trope.
I hate it so, so much. It makes me angry, frustrated and unspeakably sad.
Lor spends THIRTY YEARS without Jugs, because he's in a stasis, TEN YEARS without Lyri and I hated every moment. It was so, so unfair and so cruel.
I understand that, from a series-wide plot point of view, it makes sense. This way, Lor and Jugs' story joins up with the rest of the monstrous couples' stories and especially, Lyri and Cat's. But I still hated it. I skimmed a good 30% of the book: I couldn't wait to be finished. So yeah, that was disappointing.
I still loved good chunks of "Lor", and of course, the last few chapters where we finally get to witness their much-awaited HEA.
I'm still BEYOND excited to read Lyri's book: I honestly can't wait, especially considering what happens in that last chapter.
Maybe "despised" is the wrong word, but Lily Mayne chose a few tropes that, in my world, have no place in a romance novel.
But yeah.
First of all, the good:
The first 60% of "Lor" was absolutely lovely. A bit slow maybe, but I still loved it.
I adored the monster world setting: it was so fascinating and so clever.
I also loved the whole cast of main and side characters. I admit, Jugs remained a bit underdeveloped as a MC because most of the story is told through Lor's POV and because of *insert spoilery, despicable trope here* reasons.
Lor was a wonderful protagonist though and I LOVED him: he's so sweet and insecure and shy and endearing and lovely. I loved being in his head.
And all the side characters? Absolutely iconic. Lyri already owns my soul and I cannot wait to read his book and discover his adventures and how, precisely, he ends up meeting Cat. All the other characters were equally precious! We meet a lot of new monster species too, and I wonder about a certain sneaky, giant, warmongering bastard.
I also loved seeing the monster apocalypse from the monster's world point of view and I'm so excited to see what will happen after that last chapter.
Why 3.5 stars then?
If there's one thing I despise in my romances is
I hate it so, so much. It makes me angry, frustrated and unspeakably sad.
Lor spends THIRTY YEARS without Jugs, because he's in a stasis, TEN YEARS without Lyri and I hated every moment. It was so, so unfair and so cruel.
I understand that, from a series-wide plot point of view, it makes sense. This way, Lor and Jugs' story joins up with the rest of the monstrous couples' stories and especially, Lyri and Cat's. But I still hated it. I skimmed a good 30% of the book: I couldn't wait to be finished. So yeah, that was disappointing.
I still loved good chunks of "Lor", and of course, the last few chapters where we finally get to witness their much-awaited HEA.
I'm still BEYOND excited to read Lyri's book: I honestly can't wait, especially considering what happens in that last chapter.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness, Medical content, and Death of parent
Moderate: Xenophobia