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A review by lilibetbombshell
Omens by Dana Isaly
4.0
This book was simultaneously everything I could have asked for and just not enough.
The beginning? *chef’s kiss* Absolutely perfect. The angst, the genuine heartbreak, the total unsteadiness of everyone in the Triad. Everything is in shambles and all anyone knows is that they are out for blood but don’t know exactly who they want it from or how to go about getting it since most of their assets have essentially been destroyed. They have manpower but nowhere to point it.
Now… I have some slightly ambivalent feelings with the way the situation was resolved between Scarlett and Motshan after the events at the end of “Liars” (if you know, you know). I don’t know how anyone, especially Scarlett, could make heads or tails in any competent manner after that night or trust their memories, but I also don’t know how much weight they carry for me in the long run in terms of rating the book. It’s like, “Yeah, this whole plot point has some holes in it I don’t like and are bothering me, but it’s all in service to something greater in the plot so maybe look at it that way”. Plus, Motshan isn’t a big enough personality to compete with either Scar or the boys anyway.
Now, we get to my favorite part of the whole book that doesn’t involve nookie of some kind: the ENTIRE middle section. The whole 30% or so section that might as well have sprung from the forehead of Frances Ford Coppola like Athena did from the forehead of Zeus. This huge, sprawling, epic action sequence was not only inspired–it was the la petite morte for all us reverse-harem mafia romance readers who love our heroes and heroines blood-soaked, violent, and utterly psychotic. What I wouldn’t have given to be a Go-Pro on Scarlett’s dress!
The largest downer in the book came after this point in the book. After the events of that day wrap up we don’t get to see the wrap-up of events between the two gangs, we get time devoted to a subplot romance I couldn’t have given a toss about, and we get a lot of waiting around. It’s just too much down time and too much discussion about babies. Nothing turns me off more than constant talk from men about when they can get to knocking a woman up.
What did I enjoy in the later 15-20%? Um, hello, Sebastian and Tristan! I don’t care if it felt a little forced. Sword-crossing is always okay in my book. And the sex. Lots of varied, spicy scenes.
Dana has concluded this trilogy in a challenging year, but she has done it with aplomb. I still remember “Scars” was one of the first RH mafia romances I read when I started reading these sorts of books last year, and I feel in love with the down-and-dirty Scarlett: the mafia princess who ran away from that life when she found out what her evil father had in store for her and decided to go somewhere else and make a life for herself. Years later, she’s made a life of her own with men who love her and her own power to wield. She may have never truly gotten away from the mafia life, but the mafia life she has she runs on her terms.
The beginning? *chef’s kiss* Absolutely perfect. The angst, the genuine heartbreak, the total unsteadiness of everyone in the Triad. Everything is in shambles and all anyone knows is that they are out for blood but don’t know exactly who they want it from or how to go about getting it since most of their assets have essentially been destroyed. They have manpower but nowhere to point it.
Now… I have some slightly ambivalent feelings with the way the situation was resolved between Scarlett and Motshan after the events at the end of “Liars” (if you know, you know). I don’t know how anyone, especially Scarlett, could make heads or tails in any competent manner after that night or trust their memories, but I also don’t know how much weight they carry for me in the long run in terms of rating the book. It’s like, “Yeah, this whole plot point has some holes in it I don’t like and are bothering me, but it’s all in service to something greater in the plot so maybe look at it that way”. Plus, Motshan isn’t a big enough personality to compete with either Scar or the boys anyway.
Now, we get to my favorite part of the whole book that doesn’t involve nookie of some kind: the ENTIRE middle section. The whole 30% or so section that might as well have sprung from the forehead of Frances Ford Coppola like Athena did from the forehead of Zeus. This huge, sprawling, epic action sequence was not only inspired–it was the la petite morte for all us reverse-harem mafia romance readers who love our heroes and heroines blood-soaked, violent, and utterly psychotic. What I wouldn’t have given to be a Go-Pro on Scarlett’s dress!
The largest downer in the book came after this point in the book. After the events of that day wrap up we don’t get to see the wrap-up of events between the two gangs, we get time devoted to a subplot romance I couldn’t have given a toss about, and we get a lot of waiting around. It’s just too much down time and too much discussion about babies. Nothing turns me off more than constant talk from men about when they can get to knocking a woman up.
What did I enjoy in the later 15-20%? Um, hello, Sebastian and Tristan! I don’t care if it felt a little forced. Sword-crossing is always okay in my book. And the sex. Lots of varied, spicy scenes.
Dana has concluded this trilogy in a challenging year, but she has done it with aplomb. I still remember “Scars” was one of the first RH mafia romances I read when I started reading these sorts of books last year, and I feel in love with the down-and-dirty Scarlett: the mafia princess who ran away from that life when she found out what her evil father had in store for her and decided to go somewhere else and make a life for herself. Years later, she’s made a life of her own with men who love her and her own power to wield. She may have never truly gotten away from the mafia life, but the mafia life she has she runs on her terms.