Scan barcode
honzukiraye's reviews
308 reviews
Painted in the Shadows by Nichole Greene
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
3.5
3.5 Stars
This is the second book I have read from Nichole and while it was ok, it wasn't amazing. One of the things I found a little distracting was the number of spelling errors and missed grammatical things. Nothing too big just 'her' instead of 'here' or missing 'the' or 'to'. But, it was distracting nonetheless.
The other thing that I was a little annoyed by was Tavi. She wasn't an FMC I enjoyed reading her POV. She was very naive and the fact she never listened just irked me to no end.
Now onto the things I loved. This book's spice is some of the best I have read in a while. Leif is swoon-worthy. He's unhinged, psycho, and possessive—everything I love in a fictional man lol. If I am being honest it was Lief and the spice that kept me from DNFing. The spice also starts fairly quickly in this book (about 13% in).
If you like stalker romances, unhinged MMCs, toe-curling spice, and a bit of action and mystery. This is for you!
This is the second book I have read from Nichole and while it was ok, it wasn't amazing. One of the things I found a little distracting was the number of spelling errors and missed grammatical things. Nothing too big just 'her' instead of 'here' or missing 'the' or 'to'. But, it was distracting nonetheless.
The other thing that I was a little annoyed by was Tavi. She wasn't an FMC I enjoyed reading her POV. She was very naive and the fact she never listened just irked me to no end.
Now onto the things I loved. This book's spice is some of the best I have read in a while. Leif is swoon-worthy. He's unhinged, psycho, and possessive—everything I love in a fictional man lol. If I am being honest it was Lief and the spice that kept me from DNFing. The spice also starts fairly quickly in this book (about 13% in).
If you like stalker romances, unhinged MMCs, toe-curling spice, and a bit of action and mystery. This is for you!
Against Dark Tides by Clare Sager
adventurous
emotional
tense
3.0
I really enjoyed the first book, but this book was a struggle to get through. I was hoping for more character development with Vice. But all I got from her from the first 50% was a stubborn, bratty, self-involved woman. Yes, she loves her crew, but as Perry pointed out she doesn't rely on her crew, and only when situations get dire does she do so. Which makes for poor decision-making and people dying. Even after almost killing some of her crew she still acts immature and gets captured. I have to admit this was half a DNF situation. A little over halfway through I got so frustrated that I skipped to the end.
While I was hoping things would move forward they didn't. Vice continually used Knigh as a punching bag even though he continually groveled at her feet for forgiveness. It was just too hard to read. I felt so bad for him (yes, he effed up but 400 pages of her not forgiving him was much).
I have been told that books 3 and 4 are better and Vice matures and grows up. However, I think I need a break before diving into the rest of the series. I am sad to have to give this rating but it was frustrating to me. I hope the last two books redeem the series.
While I was hoping things would move forward they didn't. Vice continually used Knigh as a punching bag even though he continually groveled at her feet for forgiveness. It was just too hard to read. I felt so bad for him (yes, he effed up but 400 pages of her not forgiving him was much).
I have been told that books 3 and 4 are better and Vice matures and grows up. However, I think I need a break before diving into the rest of the series. I am sad to have to give this rating but it was frustrating to me. I hope the last two books redeem the series.
The Sinner by Shantel Tessier
I liked most things about this book, but I have to admit that even with the trigger warnings, I think incest (two step-parents) should have been one of them. I did finish the book but agree with another reviewer that Sin was not a very redeemable character. I loved The Ritual but this book was too dark and took non-con to a whole new level. Definitely review those trigger warnings and do not read if they are one of yours. The grooming and CSA is not a closed-door scenario. As the story goes on and we learn more about Elli's past the situation with Elli's stepdad gets more and more descriptive.
So suffice it to say I felt really icky reading this and should have DNFd but I wanted to give it a chance since I really enjoyed The Ritual. I know it's two different stand alones but I thought it would have a similar feel. This is just my opinion and I wanted to warn anyone who might be open to dark romance like I am but this one was maybe a bit too dark for me.
And for anyone that is curious, this book is a 5/5 spice level around 14% in and you already have some explicit scenes.
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.0
I liked most things about this book, but I have to admit that even with the trigger warnings, I think incest (two step-parents) should have been one of them. I did finish the book but agree with another reviewer that Sin was not a very redeemable character. I loved The Ritual but this book was too dark and took non-con to a whole new level. Definitely review those trigger warnings and do not read if they are one of yours. The grooming and CSA is not a closed-door scenario. As the story goes on and we learn more about Elli's past the situation with Elli's stepdad gets more and more descriptive.
So suffice it to say I felt really icky reading this and should have DNFd but I wanted to give it a chance since I really enjoyed The Ritual. I know it's two different stand alones but I thought it would have a similar feel. This is just my opinion and I wanted to warn anyone who might be open to dark romance like I am but this one was maybe a bit too dark for me.
And for anyone that is curious, this book is a 5/5 spice level around 14% in and you already have some explicit scenes.