Mimi's Random Ramblings

Posted on January 12, 2019 by Mimi's Random Ramblings

Tower (Ever After #2) by Measha Stone

I took Azalea from her tower. She didn’t come willingly, but she’s not going anywhere. She’s staying right where I have her – no matter her demands for freedom.

Azalea thinks the world outside is full of wonder and beauty. She has no clue about the danger that lurks within every shadow – and hell if I don’t want to keep her from finding out.

She’s sheltered but not stupid – and damn is she gorgeous. That long stark blonde hair and those crystal blue eyes – hit me in the gut every time I look at her.

The fire in her spirit only makes me crave her more. But, there are secrets in her world – secrets I intend to uncover and protect her from. What’s not a secret? Azalea will belong to me.

I liked the first book of the series enough to get the second one and almost as soon as I started reading it I regretted it.

You see, what I liked most about the first book was that Ellie had choices. They were not always palatable ones but she could walk away from Ash had she been prepared to face the consequences. Azalea doesn’t have that luxury. She’s a prisoner throughout 90% of the book – initially she’d imprisoned by her “mother”, then Peter kidnaps her and keeps her prisoner in Ash’s mansion and than she’s again imprisoned by her “mother”.

Tower is a retelling of Rapunzel so some things were a given – like the fact that Azalea’s mother wasn’t really her mother. Or that her mother would end up being a really bad person. So I’m going to ignore her imprisonment under mommy dearest and talk about her time as Peter’s kidnap victim. He can rationalize his decision to take her away from her home as much as he want, and believe me, he does – “she was a prisoner in her own home!”, “there’s something fishy about that I must save her, etc. And that would have been all okay because ultimately he was right and had she stayed at her home she would have ended up in a really nasty situation. But once he “saved” her he keeps her confined and under watch in turn even when she repeatedly says that she wants to leave. He punishes her (and in my book this is sexual assault because she didn’t explicitly agree to it in the beginning) for trying to escape and for talking about going home. He’s a virtual stranger at the time and just because it ends up being the best thing that could have happened to Azalea (more about that later) it tainted the book for me. Even when things improved and she agreed to play ball, I couldn’t shake the feeling of distaste.

WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD!

As with any fairy tale retelling just knowing which tale a book is based on is a big spoiler for things to come. Knowing that this is based off Rapunzel I figured out the big twist pretty early on. And no it’s not the Azalea’s mother is not her mother. However, based on a few comments thrown in the book I knew what Bellatrix planned for her virgin “daughter” way before I hit the midway point. It’s an awful thing one can do to a person she’s watched over since childhood and it turned my stomach even through I knew it was coming. And had Peter not kidnapped Azalea and fallen in love with her as a result her fate would have been horrible. But as this is a book he, of course, managed to save her from her evil “mother”. Somehow that didn’t make me feel better about what Peter did in the beginning. Actually it made me feel like the author was trying too hard to make what he did seem like a good thing and it just plain left me feeling a bit nauseated.

Posted on January 6, 2019 by Mimi's Random Ramblings

Review: Beast (Ever After #1) by Measha Stone

Wouldn’t you give up everything for the one you love?
When Ellie’s father is taken by a group of thugs planning to take his life in exchange for his debts, it’s no surprise she goes running straight into the beast’s lair. After all, Ellie Stevens has been her father’s keeper for as long as she can remember.
However, Ashland Titon isn’t a man of mercy. If you owe, you pay. End of story. His unrelenting control has built his empire, and he’s not going to give over that power now. But when Ellie charges into his life with her demands and possibilities of sweet surrender, her offer proves too tempting to pass up.
Yet there’s more at play here than just working off a debt. There are secrets buried in the shadows, and dangerous desires to be explored. While the two of them dance to an erotic beat, outside forces threaten Ashland’s empire and Ellie must decide where her heart truly lies – and what she’s truly willing to risk for love.

I picked this up because it was marketed as a Beauty and the Beast retelling and I love those. Also it was discounted or free on Amazon at the time and between the title (which on Amazon includes A Dark Beauty and the Beast Retelling) and that cover it was way too tempting not to click on the buy button.

I went in blind not having a clue about the setting, I didn’t even know if it’s contemporary or some sort of fantasy. So I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that it features one of my favourite tropes -the girl paying her father/brother/boyfriend dept with her body. It’s a guilty pleasure of mine but damn I love it and it took me an embarrassing amount of time to figure out why this particular scenario always appealed to me. But than again in my teen years I was not so prone to analyzing my psyche and finding the hidden connections. It was after I was in my mid twenties when I finally connected the love of this particular scenario with my favourite fairy tale.

If you’re familiar with this trope you won’t find any surprises. I won’t go into trying to figure out if Ellie truly loves Ash by the end or it’s just a form of Stockholm Syndrome. I choose to believe the truth is somewhere in the middle. I want to talk about Ash and why this wasn’t as creepy cringey as most of these books usually are.

Most of the dark romance novels make me want to kill one of both main characters because while I might have some submissive tendencies myself I go into a rage over rape and most of the standard BS of the genre. After all I have my pride and most often than not when reading one of those books I end up thinking that I would kill myself rather than let that overconfident jerk order me around. Dammit I would do it just to deny him his fucking prize. But I digress. Ash coerced Ellie, there’s no going around that fact. But she had a choice. In each moment she could walk away and let her worthless father reap what he sowed. In fact I was a bit annoyed when she kept forgetting that little fact and acted childish in the beginning. Ash didn’t force her and if this was real world she would have ended up gang raped at best and gang raped and sold into slavery (possibly killed) at worst. He provided everything she needed except contact with her father. Which ended up to be for her own sake as he proved to be an even bigger piece of shit than I thought.

It was Ash’s change in thinking that was most fascinating. I loved how much he struggled with accepting his own feelings. It was this slow realization that loving doesn’t make you weak that really made this stand out for me. Yes, he was a jerk and his behavior frustrated me to no end at times but he has his own set of morals and he sticks to them. He provides a safe environment, frees her from the biggest stress factor – her father, his gambling and lies. What I liked from the start about Ash is that it was in his interest to simply take Ellie as a form of payment from her father as she would have been able to make him the money her old man owed him, one way or another. However, he had no intention of doing that and if she hadn’t offered herself he would have simply ridden the world of one human waste of space.

I know it all sounds as if I’m rationalizing things and looking for a reason to like an asshole. However, I’m aware that he’s not the good guy and that what he did was wrong. I’m just saying that he didn’t abuse her when he could have and instead let her spread her wings in ways she never expected to be able. Some of the things he did are still a form of rape but she could have walked away. There would have been consequences but knowing what I know about her father I can’t help but feel that either way she would have won.

There are elements of BDSM in this book. And those scenes were pretty hot and really graphic. I liked that there was a good balance between the sex and the plot, which isn’t usually the case with a first in a series book.

Posted on January 3, 2019January 20, 2019 by Mimi's Random Ramblings · 1 Comment

ARC Review: Silk and Steel by Ariana Nash

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The Dragon Queen’s reign is one of darkness and death. Humans have vanished under the rubble of their world and if the queen has her way, elves will be next.

Eroan, one of the last elven assassins, lives for one purpose: kill the queen.

He would have succeeded if not for her last line of defense: Prince Lysander. Now, captured and forced into the queen’s harem, Eroan sees another opportunity. Why kill just the queen when he can kill them all? It would be simple, if not for the troubled and alluring prince. A warrior, a killer, and something else…, something Eroan finds himself inexplicably drawn to.

Trapped in a life he despises, Lysander knows his time is running out.

If the queen doesn’t kill him for his failures, her enemies will. There’s nothing left to live for, until an elf assassin almost kills him. A stubborn, prideful, fool of an elf who doesn’t know when to quit. An elf who sparks a violent, forbidden desire in Lysander.

If Lysander can’t save himself, maybe he can save the elf and maybe, just maybe… one stubborn elf will be enough to bring down the queen before she kills them all.

Duty demands they fight for their people. Love has other plans.

TRIGGER WARNING! ATTEMPTED SEXUAL ASSAULT AND DUBIOUS CONSENT!

When Ariana Nash first said she is planning on writing a dark M/M fantasy/romance book I was really worried. First because I’m not all that into M/M. Usually the story has to be really good for me to ignore the fact that the sex scenes make me uncomfortable and most often than not manage to turn me completely off. I know this is a bias and that if it’s a conventional romance I would let a lot more slide plot-wise than when I’m reading M/M. I do try to keep an open mind and always think how my gay friends have amazing mental stamina to get through the M/F scenes that are the norm. Basically homosexual scenes do nothing for me so I tend to only read the dialogues and focus on the relationship. The romance itself is no problem for me, I get just as involved emotionally and I root for the couple and feel all mushy inside when they get their happy ending. So I was aware that agreeing to receive an advance copy of this and review it is a risk for both the author and me as I’ll be a lot more critical than usual. In fact I spend a lot of time contemplating my rating. Five stars is too much but four starts just aren’t enough, so I settled for 5 and I’ll tell you what swayed me in favour of giving the higher rating. Remember that I told you that M/M sex scenes do nothing for me? Up until reading this series (I read the prequel when it was released) that was 100% true. Until this. Boy, some of the scenes were HOT (though I would have preferred it if one of the guys was a girl but hey it’s the way I’m wired!) and for the first time ever I didn’t skim read them. So bonus a fraction of a start for that.

My second concern when I learned of this book was that I know how dark and twisted Nash’s other books are (this is a pen name for one of my favourite authors Pippa DaCosta), having her warn us this will be dark made little warning lights go off in my head. If you somehow skipped the Trigger Warning in the beginning, let me tell you this – by God, this was twisted and screwed up on so many levels. I was actively uncomfortable through much of the book because the things that happened to the characters both on page and implied, past and present are seriously fucked up. So if you have a weak stomach stay away. If sexual abuse in any form triggers a bad memory stay away. If implied child abuse sickens you to the point where you can’t take a breath stay away. This is not a book for you. But if you can stomach all that and want to see characters that fight to survive it and be free, free from their abusers, from a society that tells them that who they love is wrong, characters who not only survived the abuse and constant pressure to conform but didn’t let it twist them and turn them ugly inside, this book is for you. Reading it won’t be easy, there’ll be rough moments when putting it down and taking deep breaths is the only way to silence the rage and bone deep sorrow at what’s done to these characters. But for me at least, it was worth it to have the chance to accompany Eroan and Lysander on this first part of their journey.

I received this eARC from the author in exchange for an honest revi

Posted on January 2, 2019 by Mimi's Random Ramblings · 3 Comments

Destined for an Early Grave (Night Huntress #4) by Jeaniene Frost

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Her deadly dreams leave her in grave danger
Since half-vampire Cat Crawfield and her undead lover Bones met six years ago, they’ve fought against the rogue undead, battled a vengeful Master vampire, and pledged their devotion with a blood bond. Now it’s time for a vacation. But their hopes for a perfect Paris holiday are dashed when Cat awakes one night in terror. She’s having visions of a vampire named Gregor who’s more powerful than Bones and has ties to her past that even Cat herself didn’t know about.
Gregor believes Cat is his and he won’t stop until he has her. As the battle begins between the vamp who haunts her nightmares and the one who holds her heart, only Cat can break Gregor’s hold over her. She’ll need all the power she can summon in order to bring down the baddest bloodsucker she’s ever faced . . . even if getting that power will result in an early grave.

I dreaded rereading this particular installment of the Night Huntress because I really hate relationship drama and if I have to sum DfaEG in two words those would be my top choice. I can’t properly explain how frustrated it all made me feel. It was so unnecessary and painful and I wasn’t sure which one I wanted to strangle more – Cat or Bones. Because they’re both to blame for the twisted, nerve wrecking clusterfuck they created out of an already a fucked up situation.

A little background so if you haven’t read this book just stop now and come back when you have.

WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD!

A vampire named Gregor has a power similar to that of Mencheres and saw Cat in all her vampire glory in one of his visions. So he decided that he wanted all that power for himself despite seeing her with Bones in his visions and kidnapped her when she was a teen. He managed to convince her that he was only trying to help her avoid the fate of being forced to become a killer by a monster named Bones. To thwart Mencheres he married Cat and as we know there are no divorces in the vampiric world. As if that would stop the crafty old Egyptian bastard! *snort* So Mencheres found them, imprisoned Gregor for interfering with his long planned plot to be rid of his own meddling wife, green-eyed Cat into forgetting anything ever happened and delivered her back home so she can meet Bones a few years later.

There are a few more things but let’s not spoil the plot completely. This is enough to grasp that the situation was complicated enough without an added shitload of relationship drama and tears. Both Cat and Bones are stubborn, overprotective morons when it comes to the safety of the other and both have severe case of not communicating about their feelings. And while I expected it from Cat, who at times has the emotional maturity of a 5 year old, I definitely expected more out of Crispin. But the stupid stunts he pulled in this one made me rip my hair out! I usually manage to remain mostly collected when reading in public but after a particularly nasty trick of his I was crying on a bus sitting next to a total stranger who kept giving me the side eye as if I’m crazy! And don’t imagine sobs and wails, just silent tears running down my face while cursing Bones in my head.

You see a lot of this drama was purely for drama’s sake as I know that the book could have been super interesting if Cat and Bones had held their shit together and dealt with the psycho a an united front. The only bright thing in this whole mess was Vlad and his unshakable friendship. Everyone deserves a friend like him and reading about it made me value my true friends even more. He’s devoted but not to the point when the other side starts taking him for granted. And after finally severing the tied on one of the most toxic friendships in my life I recognized the signs of healthy selfishness. So I will strive to be more like Vlad. Well at least when it comes to friendships as I’m pretty sure that if I start burning people to crisps for fun I’ll end up in jail.

This book left me exhausted. I felt like I need a break and I was very happy when my friends and I decided to skip a week before continuing with the series. Because of the way it made me feel I deem this the lowest point of the series and I’m so happy that the next two books (chronologically speaking) don’t deal with Cat and Bones. I’m really looking forward to Spade and Denise’s book as I really need the break.

Posted on December 27, 2018December 25, 2018 by Mimi's Random Ramblings

Audio Review: At Grave’s End (Night Huntress #3) by Jeaniene Frost

Some things won’t stay buried . . . at grave’s end.

It should be the best time of half-vampire Cat Crawfield’s life. With her undead lover Bones at her side, she’s successfully protected mortals from the rogue undead. But though Cat’s worn disguise after disguise to keep her true identity a secret from the brazen bloodsuckers, her cover’s finally been blown, placing her in terrible danger.

As if that wasn’t enough, a woman from Bones’s past is determined to bury him once and for all. Caught in the crosshairs of a vengeful vamp, yet determined to help Bones stop a lethal magic from being unleashed, Cat’s about to learn the true meaning of bad blood. And the tricks she’s learned as a special agent won’t help her. She will need to fully embrace her vampire instincts in order to save herself–and Bones–from a fate worse than the grave.

Being the Red Ripper has never been more dangerous. When you’re the only half-vampire in existence and making a living by killing the undead, it stands to reason that sooner rather than later the undead community will figure out who you are and no amount of colored contacts and hair dye will save you from being busted. And while having Bones by her side, Cat’s running on borrowed time playing bait. So it’s time to think about a change of profession. But not too drastic one as we’ll be disappointed if Cat turns to knitting to pass her time 😉

There are two somewhat distinct parts to this book. In the first one Cat is mostly dealing with the fallout of the previous book’s end and her being outed to the bigger vampire community and the animosity of her father Max. Max is a real piece of work and I hated him more with each passing page. There’s just no amount of torture he can be subjected to to make me feel he’s had enough and he can be left to finally die. His idea of a joke caused an immense amount of grief to Cat while she was growing up but he was not contented with that. No, instead of realizing that his misguided prank with Justina’s mind is the reason why Cat turned into the Red Ripper, he blames Cat for being picked on by the undead community. The scene in which he tortures both her and her mother is one of the top 10 scenes with the most emotional impact of the series. And I’ve ugly cried in public while reading the Night Huntress, so that scene had a lot of competition.

The second part is where most of the things that impact the overall plot of the series happen. Bones’ grand-sire Mencheres is a scheming, manipulative bastard and we get the first real glimpse into his plans here. Thanks to his powers he plays the long game and maneuvers people like pawns on a chessboard. He uses the people around him and it makes a twisted sort of sense as someone as old would have trouble seeing people’s emotions as anything other than tools to move them in the positions he wants them in. In this particular case he used Bones to clean up a mess he made thousands of years ago. I can sympathize with Patra to an extend and would probably even root for her had she not attached Cat and Bones in the process of getting revenge on Mencheres.

In this part of the book we also meet a new key player in the series – Vlad. Yes, that Vlad. The one we like to call Dracula. His steadfast friendship with Cat is one of the highlights of this series. I love their relationship as it’s not based on romantic/sexual feelings and survives even the centuries’ long enmity between Vlad and Bones. Another extremely strong (from emotional POV) scene is when Vlad talks Cat off of a ledge. He’s blunt and comes off as rude at times but he’s honest with her and helps her survive through some of the hardest moments of her life. He totally deserved a spin-off of his own!

A note on the audio: I’m still struggling with Tavia Gilbert’s narration, especially of Bones as he keeps sounding more feminine to me than not. I don’t know why this bothers me so much after 4 books (I finished Destined for an Early Gravebefore I sat down to write this review) and I still can’t get used to her version of Bones. Though I have to admit she has a terrific British accent :). Still I can’t help but wish for someone else to have been chosen to narrate. Oh well I don’t really have a choice and switching to the ebook will make finishing the series next to impossible so I’ll have to suck it up.

Posted on December 26, 2018 by Mimi's Random Ramblings · 2 Comments

Review: All Things Merry and Bright: A Very Special Christmas Tale Collection

I came by this anthology thanks to a tweet by one of the authors I follow (unfortunately I don’t remember which one) and it was really cheap so I told myself “Why not?” and hit pre-order. After all I knew I’ll be in the mood for some light and Christmas-y read in December. Since I’m not a fan of or even have read any of the series these stories are part of I didn’t have high expectations. In the end it was precisely what I expected and needed.

A de Russe Christmas Miracle by Kathryn Le Veque

I know that Christmas is all about miracles and love but this one was a bit too religious for me. Add the ‘cancer’ diagnosis of one of the characters and I was snorting in disbelief. Mind that this takes place in the middle ages and while cancer has been around since the dawn of humanity, with the first described case in Ancient Egypt, throat cancer is a bit difficult to diagnose with a simple physical exam. Still it’s possible and I acknowledge that, it’s just highly unlikely. I can usually suspend my disbelief while reading but too much modern ‘things’ in the Middle Ages tend to annoy me.

The Holly and The Ivy by Tanya Anne Crosby

At first I didn’t like this story because Alex annoyed the living daylights out of me. I was also more than a bit mad at his parents for constantly comparing him to his missing older brother and instating in him this sense of deficiency. It was only when I learned Alex’s actual age that his behavior started making sense. But his parents are still jerks for making him feel as if nothing he ever does will be good enough.

A Dukes of War Christmas by Erica Ridley

This one I loved. It had the right ratio of teasing to good cheer and it was precisely what I wanted to read when I picked this anthology.

A Very Special Gift by Eliza Knight

This story is an extended epilogue for The Highlander’s Gift and I’m guessing that it would have had a bigger impact had I read the novel. Still it had enough background info in it to make it enjoyable even as a standalone.

Mariote’s Christmas Wish by Suzan Tisdale

I rated this 4 stars despite it being the story which I remember best of the anthology. It resonates best with modern times and how young people can get suckered by a stranger who has a way with words. Yes. It’s full of clichés but it was cute and relaxing and just what the doctor ordered 😉

A Very Brethren Christmas by Barbara Devlin

Absolutely adored this one. So much that I want to read the series its part of. I just can’t decide if I want to read Admiral Mark and Lady Amanda’s story first or Eileen and George’s story. I think it’s be the Admiral’s as I got quite attached to him following his adventures in getting home for Christmas.

A Rivenloch Christmas by Glynnis Campbell

Usually I like Viking stories but this one didn’t really resonate with me. Nothing wrong with the story I just couldn’t connect with the characters. Maybe if there weren’t so many POVs in such a short story I would have had the time to get properly inside the heads of the characters and managed to enjoy it more.

Overall rating: 3.4

Posted on December 25, 2018 by Mimi's Random Ramblings · 2 Comments

Audio Review: Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) by Sarah J. Maas

Chaol Westfall has always defined himself by his unwavering loyalty, his strength, and his position as the Captain of the Guard. But all of that has changed since the glass castle shattered, since his men were slaughtered, since the King of Adarlan spared him from a killing blow, but left his body broken.

His only shot at recovery lies with the legendary healers of the Torre Cesme in Antica—the stronghold of the southern continent’s mighty empire. And with war looming over Dorian and Aelin back home, their survival might lie with Chaol and Nesryn convincing its rulers to ally with them.

But what they discover in Antica will change them both—and be more vital to saving Erilea than they could have imagined.

I have conflicting feelings about this book. I’m happy I didn’t skip it as I initially intended but I had to get to the last third of it to start feeling that way. For about 2/3rds I wanted to throw it away and just jump in straight in Kingdom of Ash. I generally like Chaol, I actually like him more than I like Rowan, but this was boring. I just couldn’t connect to Yrene Towers. I had to google her name querying for “Chaol’s love interest in Tower of Dawn” because no matter how much I tried I just couldn’t remember her name and it’s been about a week and a half since I read the book. That by itself should tell you how little I cared for her. And I have no idea why I feel so little for her. She was well developed, balanced character, she was strong and able to think for herself, so by all counts I should have at least found her interesting. I’m happy for Chaol because he deserves someone to love him the way she does but I just didn’t need the countless pages of their back-and-forth.

Nesryn’s story was a lot more engaging. Especially after she left with Sartaq. I found the Rukhin and the ruks fascinating. I might have felt differently about ToD if we had more time with them. I hope we’ll see more of both Sartaq and the ruks in the last book as they really managed to capture my attention. Sartaq is definitely my favourite character of this book and it would be a shame if he only gets a footnote in KoA, though I realize that due to how much needs to happen in it to tie everything up nicely, he probably won’t get much page-time.

The last third of ToD contained the parts that make it a must read and not just a rather boring side trip. The revelations about Maeve and her true nature as well as why Erawan sought to destroy the magic users not only give a new perspective on all that happened on Erilia but it gives me hope that Aelin can find a way to survive what’s to come despite Elena’s foolish actions all those centuries ago. The ending was so strong and so devastating that I immediately downloaded Kingdom of Ash and listened to the first couple of chapters right away. I had to put it on hold after that as previous reading engagements (buddy reads and ARCs take precedence) took over but I’m hoping I’ll be able to finish it by New Year’s Eve.

A note on the audio: After 6 books I’m used to Elizabeth Evan’s narration of the Throne of Glass series so it was extremely easy to just put my headphones on and just listen. Usually she manages to suck me in but because I didn’t find the story itself as engaging I found myself spacing out more often than not. The audio quality was great and the familiarity of Evan’s voices probably made it easier for me to get through the book.

Posted on December 12, 2018December 11, 2018 by Mimi's Random Ramblings

Review: Empire of Storms (Throne of Glass #5) by Sarah J. Maas

If I have to choose one word to describe how this book made me feel it would be “angry”. That was the emotion I felt throughout the book starting with the events when Aelin met with Lord Darrow through the mistakes Elena made in her hubris and the consequences of those mistakes to the way things end. At least I was prepared for that ending as a friend of mine told me it was brutal. In fact, that’s the reason why I waited so long to read Empire of Storms. Initially I waited for Tower of Dawn to be released but upon learning that it’s not a continuation of the events of EoS but concomitant novel I decided to wait a bit more for Kingdom of Ash.

It’s a bit difficult to talk about EoS without spoilers. But because the book’s been out for quite a while now I don’t think minor spoilers will be that much of a problem. I liked this book a lot.There was the right balance of action and plot development. There was even some additional worldbuilding, something that’s rather unusual this late into a series.

What I loved most was the progress and development of the relationships between the main cast. The addition of Manonto the group of heroes, something I’ve wanted to happen ever since she first showed up on page, was probably the highlight for me. I love the idea of her and Dorian together so I hope nothing happens to them in the final book (yes, I know it’s out but so far I’ve managed to avoid spoilers not that they bother me as much as they do other readers).

Another relationship that really got me involved was the one between Lorcan and Elide. I liked the byplay between those two and how his worldview slowly shifted from the complete obsession with Maeve to a more tempered view and understanding of the consequences of blind devotion. Considering that in the previous instalments I wanted Lorcan dead,the fact that I kind of feel bad for him now is quite the development. He’s still a long way from redeeming himself in my eyes but at least he’s on the right path. Elide is one of the more interesting characters in this series.Like Chaol she has no superpowers but is nevertheless a major player and contributes on an almost equal ground to the war effort in her own unique way.Her strength and loyalty along with her wit make her someone worth paying attention to.

In the beginning of the series I had issues with Aelin (mostly while she was in her Celaena persona) because she was spoiled and immature. So, I understand why Darrow and other people will be hesitant to entrust Aelin with power over them. At the same time, I watched Aelin grow out of that spoiled selfish brat phase, so I found their behavior infuriating at the time. But considering my feelings about her in the beginning and her reputation, yes, I see why she would need to work hard to win their trust. Thankfully she seems to understand that and not go into a rage just because things don’t go her way. And that’s quite the character growth when you compare her to who she was in Throne of Glass or the prequel stories *shudders* She was a real terror back then and I don’t mean it in a good way!

After the ending of this book I really wish I could skip Tower of Dawn and go straight for Kingdom of Ash but I’ll be strong and read Chaol’s story. Hopefully it’ll grab my attention enough not to be annoyed at the interruption.

Posted on December 10, 2018December 9, 2018 by Mimi's Random Ramblings

Review: Defiance (Masters of the Shadowlands #13.5) by Cherise Sinclair

Z’s day begins with sadness
A phone call from a dying friend leaves psychologist Zachary Grayson determined to fulfill the old survivalist’s request–a send-off that will comfort his grieving sons.
And then turns deadly
The death threat is only the beginning…because the letter isn’t a hoax. Z walks out of his office into a barrage of bullets. He can take being shot at, but when the second shot splinters the empty child-seat in his car, he’s shaken to the core. The horror of what would have happened if his little girl had been there spurs him to action.
Master Z is a Dom, a husband, a father—every instinct drives him to protect those under his care. When the police can’t catch his stalker, he must take matters into his own hands.
He must keep danger far from those he loves.
Secrecy and distance is the key. The funeral in Alaska is the perfect location, especially since Z won’t be alone. The survivalist’s sons have grown into men with lethal skills. With their help, he can trap the shooter and keep his family safe.
As long as his impetuous and all-too-observant wife, Jessica, doesn’t discover he’s using himself as bait.

A new book from my favourite erotica writer? Gimme! It’s a good thing I follow this author on Facebook or I might have missed this little gem. It’s a bridge novella that introduces us to the characters of a new contemporary series through the eyes of two of the most beloved characters of the Masters of the Shadowlands series.

This is more a treat for the long-time readers and a way to whet our appetites for this new endeavor. I’m actually quite curious to see how Ms. Sinclair will handle a non-BDSM relationship and if the smutty scenes will be as scorching. After all the bar is set pretty high.

Like the rest of her later books the focus here is on the plot and the relationships between the characters rather than on the sex scenes. Don’t get me wrong, there was always a plot in her books but in the beginning it was fairly cliched and the books themselves had a lot more sex in them. Things have changed and to me it seems like a good change.

I think Defiance can be read as a standalone but it would be a lot more enjoyable to those familiar with both the Masters of the Shadowlands and Mountain Masters series.

Posted on December 9, 2018December 9, 2018 by Mimi's Random Ramblings · 2 Comments

ARC review: Prince of Dreams by Pippa DaCosta

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Publication date: December 14th

I thought that the last book’s ending was brutal but Prince of Dreams slayed me. The ending is very different yet it packs a similar emotional punch. In fact for the most part of this book my heart was pounding so hard (both from fear and pure unadulterated lust) that midway through I gave up on trying to finish it sober and went for the bottle of wine I keep for special occasions. I’m not sure what impact the alcohol had on my perception of the book but I know for sure that I would have had a lot of trouble accepting the ending otherwise.

You see, this is not the typical series where the main character, while flawed is completely trustworthy. Kesh is a basket case due to her upbringing and that makes her unpredictable and not always in a good way. But she’s trying and at the end of the previous book there was finally some progress on the trust front with Kellee and Talen. She was finally throwing off the Fae’s poisonous influence on a deeper more meaningful level. So watching how Oberon and Eledan were undermining her progress and doing their damnest to entrap her in their beautiful lies, to turn her back into that nothing girl, that empty shell from the beginning was painful as hell.

At the end of The Nightshade’s Touch I was terrified not for Kesh but for what it would mean for her relationships, the one with Kellee in particular. He’s the most difficult to win over and she had finally managed to crack some of his armor. So seeing him fight so damn hard to get her back and that he didn’t doubt her devotion was a relief. I love the violent vakaru and I want him to have some happiness in his world. He deserves it more than anyone else of Kesh’s men. And that final scene with him was so sweet it melted something deep inside me, something cold and frozen and cynical that doesn’t believe in love and happy endings. Now I want that happy ending for him and Kesh, and Talen and Sirius. But I’m afraid as I know that Pippa is not really into the HEAs and there’s a big chance that someone (if not most of them) will end up dead or somehow separated for eternity (I still have not forgiven Pippa for what she did with Muse and Akil).

Talking about Sirius, I’m pretty surprised at how things turned out. Oh I was pretty sure that beneath all the snark and disgusted looks he had a thing for Kesh but I never expected that haughty Fae to have a heart, yet alone to do what he did. But I’m glad he did surprise me as I found him particularly interesting and want him added to the Messenger’s harem even before he showed up his true colors. Besides there’s one dream I’m really keen to see play out for real 😉 I’m just not sure how he will fit in with the rest of the guys but considering the latest revelations he deserves a place in Kesh’s life and her revolution.

Okay… this turned out to be a lot longer than I expected. And I wasn’t done but it’s doubtful anyone is going to read something this long. Anyway, a few words about my favourite character Sota. He undergoes quite the metamorphosis in this installment which will make things even more interesting. While I was reading that scene I couldn’t help but remember one of Pippa’s extra “scenes” (she shares those in her private Facebook group so join to see what I’m talking about) and now I can’t stop thinking about ‘leg-fingers’. Oh how I hope she’s going to publish those out-takes. They deserve to be more than Facebook posts.

Last paragraph. I promise! There’s only one more book left in this series and knowing what happens in this one I have to say I don’t know how Pippa will manage to wrap all things up in only one novel. The situation is quite tangled and there are even more questions that demand answers now than when The Nightshade’s Touch ended. I can’t wait to see how everything will be resolved. Thankfully Pippa’s a fast writer so I won’t be waiting an year or more to get my answers.