A review by stevia333k
Just a Bit Ruthless by Alessandra Hazard

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad

5.0

my thoughts pre-release


I always tended to read Rutledge as ruthless in book 1 in this series... well that and ruth-ledge, and ruthless edge... so yeah... the first thoughts be that...

2016-0509-2003


omygawd! omygawd! there's a blurb! there's a blurb! there's a blurb!

uuu Stockholm Syndrome is quite controversial, I wonder how much research that entailed, or if it will even be sensitive to the experiences of Stockholm Syndrome cases or if it will be trigger warning filled?...

`*raises imaginary champagne glass*` toast to a new book. good luck & don't fuck it up.

2016-0527-0106

So basically I read the trigger warning info on the author's website for this book, my thoughts
+ God damn it, I have to wait until June 3. but yay an actual date! `*moves pointing hands in air like fricking maracas*`
+ ew, homophobic language scares me, then again when in Russia, do as Romans do.~
+ + cuz god damn it! I'm a fucking queen! I need to get a thicker skin if I ever want to rule these assholes someday.
+ + + `*z snaps fingers*` um-hmm girl!! you just schooled!!! - cool.

got the book 2016-0602-1630


29% 2016-0602-1755

Spoiler
this book seems to merge my two favorite books this series #0.5 & #3 (though it had elements of #1 because the seduction has to do with gaining survival advantages, #1 isn't so coerced & actually on that book Shawn is the seducer for gain & the straight guy, while the teacher is essentially Richard geere although I have never watched pretty woman i know there's a note job scene in both & Richard geere is like notably rich and is one looking for companionship with the poor one desperately turning tricks with him.)

so this pairing is basically Xavier & Sage the next generation. granted there's a lot of D/s dynamic but Roman is a lot like Xavier with consent & between these 2 "mind games". and the prisoner/real world dynamic happening.

also there's more healing involved in discussion about not living up to people's expectations like with Gabriel & Jared, though with Gabriel his insecurities from appearance and orphanhood hoarding/possession (like with how American households that have to clean up the houses they inherit from their family members who lived during WWII & the great depression because they adopted a hoarding mentality, kind of like that with orphans in Gabriel's case) while with Luke it's more the loss of his strongest ally and best friend, aka his mom, when he was like 8 because his dad was insecure with his son's embrace feminine gendered culture (in gay communities effeminate gay could be called "camp" in contrast to "Castro" which analogous to "butch" and "femme" subcultures in the lesbian communities, butch & camp being possibly most stereotypical of their communities) a culture that his son at 23 still craves to embrace & also his having the appearance of a kid/twink in an environment where it's less favorable to more rugged masculine features that Castro gays tend to go over the top with. so basically Gabriel & Luke are alike that they have mainly developed without allies/parents/love & they have self conscious issues with their appearances.


so yeah that and my love for Russian history like especially the pre USSR era, the USSR & Russia after the USSR, it's like this book was made for me!!! 4 stars for now. I would give 5 stars but that be too soon for my comfort. [2016-0602-1835]

2016-0603-1000 just finished this book like less then 5 minutes ago


so I saw this book combine a lot of the dynamics from each of the other books. i like screamed when I read that the next book is likely the last book in the series. on one hand I have a tendency to want to see everyone get married & crap like that because victory tour. so yeah it makes sense though because there's not a lot of spaces to run to left with the chain continuing.

but yeah, I liked this installment because it seems to be reusing dynamics not entire plotlines so yay always for that. i also liked Spoilerhow the convention of figuring out that they are a couple in final sex scene convention was not used here (it makes for very wordy cuddle sessions...) but I liked how it was distributed over the final chapters. so yay.

I love this.

2016-0603-1010 about this review and my rights on this series & comparison to other series


people might have a different opinion on it if this it their first book in the series, but yeah because I didn't read it isolated from the others I can't give that long of review.

I think this is my favorite series of MM romance novels because it's kind of sappy but also healing for the social misfits of desire. Brazen Boys by Daryl Banner is like that, but they don't get sappy. and First and Forever by Alexa Land of very sappy, but it doesn't deal with misfitted love as much, though it's funny like Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series. This series kind of uses dark humor at times which is always a plus for me. So yeah, I'll be sad see this series end, but I do tend reread this series unlike other book series (Although I perhaps do reread The Hunger Games Trilogy) but like I've reread "Book #3 Just a Bit Unhealthy" like more than 10 times (I've lost count and I tend to reread certain scenes over & over compared to others). so yeah this series is of my favorites. 

Thank you too Alessandra. 

PS
Red hair is a source of proudness (like of my heritage & it being my latent hair color) for me, so, yay!

PSS
holy crap the next book is a remix of book 3! yay God yes yass gawd yay yay yay!!! like that book is literally my favorite USA book (well, is like they are in the UK most of the time, but they do go back to USA while the others after it don't) along with Sage/Xavier's book Straight Boy. this book here it like Sage/Xavier reincarnated and now I get to see Jared/Gabriel reincarnated! woo!

Notes for book 7/Just A Bit Shameless, but it ain't out yet, so I'm putting down here since Dominic/Sammy are first mentioned in this book & about how they are Jared/Gabriel reincarnated



so at the end of Jared's book he tells Gabriel that he has wanted to fuck him since he saw him but was like in denial at the time. also that being said I gleaned that he was in denial until Gabriel got discharged & was headed back to the UK, and got drunk as hell & slept with a barely legal blond guy with green eyes... Basically with Dominic, other people see the attraction before he does, he likely carries shame... & is therefore in denial.

Gabriel's injury was a back type injury that prevented him from walking. when Dominic comes home and Sammy is excitedly walking towards Dominic, Sammy's legs are described as clumsy as a baby giraffe's. also Sammy has green eyes like Gabriel. However, Sammy is more reading of other people, so kind of more like Tristan from books 3, 4 & 5 (they both have dark hair by the way, but Sammy's dark red & thereby more exotic, which would be like Gabriel). also Sammy is deemed totally straight by the other person in the pairing, and if considered quite possessive, although while Gabriel's motive was unsaid amongst people (though made explicit in Gabriel's thoughts on Jared being in love with him), it matches the reasoning/motive of Sammy, though it's more rationalized as child/parent type thing instead of nurturing friend.
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