MossyFernForest

I can't wait for the next one!

Revisado: 04-13-20

This is such a fun series. I was so pissed off at the first book not tying up anything and leaving me hanging, but the second book of the series had some super satisfying moments that made up for it and then some. I'm so looking forward to the third book in the series. There is nothing else quite like these books out there, and it's really fun to be in this world of magic. Josh Lanyon has written some of my favorite magic fantasy mm books and always makes them super original, gets me emotionally involved, and has a very sophisticated writing style. The love interests are always a bit hard edged but it makes them pretty sexy. The mc of this story is very interesting and a different sort of character than I've read about before. He's intelligent and resourceful and kind and capable. He doesn't always make the choices I would make, but it's always clear why he makes his choices. He's much more sympathetic than the love interest so far, who seems super hot, dark, tall , muscular, handsome, badass and scary, but not all that loving or capable of empathy, appreciating anyone who's different, etc. We know that he's damaged from a past in the military, and that somehow he does seem to love the mc, so I hope we'll get insight into his heart sometime too and see that he actually likes the mc as well as loves him, and I can't wait for a moment when they might both be on the same team so to speak, and work together and for him to appreciate the mc and regard him as an equal. He started off viewing him in a condescending way as some sort of nutjob who was endearingly cute, but then switches to being disgusted and almost scared of him, so we'll see what the next transition is.

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Warning: Unresolved Story

Revisado: 10-15-19

Just to let you know, not much was resolved in this book. We barely get to know the two main leads at all. Pretty much everyone the main character , Cosmo, knows is a possible suspect at the end still, and Cosmo is still under suspicion. The book description made me think that at some point in the book Cosmo would actually confide in his husband, but no. It's every bit as dissatisfying as the tv show Bewitched, which the book references many a time.

Overall, I loved the feel of the witchy stuff, though there were a lot of dorky cliche spells etc. This has the very intrigueing makings of a fun series, but it made me feel frustrated and angry that so little was resolved or actually happened in this first book and it feels like a really unsubtle attempt to break a story into multiple books in order to profit more from the sales, although maybe I'm just bitter and cynical.
This is a very nice series so far and I may read the next installments, but be warned that this first book is incomplete and unsatisfying in many regards, and you probably shouldn't even start on it until the 2nd book is ready to purchase and listen to immediately after words. I imagine I'll have to wait at least a year before I can purchase the 2nd book and by then I will have lost interest in the plot.

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esto le resultó útil a 8 personas

cute

Revisado: 12-06-18

The first book in this series was very amateurishly written, but this one shows a ton of improvement. It is an enjoyable story that is fairly solidly written, though there are still some cringey parts and a few parts where the names were mixed up. There isn't much of the two MCs getting to know each other, but that is typical for omegaverse/shifter stories, and I liked the way the Alpha in this one cares for the well-being of the omega. Both of the MCs are likeable, and their chemistry is sexy. I'm glad I got to listen to this as part of the Romance Package, because otherwise it would be too short to waste my credits on, but as part of the package it was a fun short mm romance to listen to in one morning.
Overall, highly recommend for those who enjoy cute mm shifter stories.

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too much baby stuff too little relationship develo

Revisado: 11-19-18

i wanted more of the relationship development and less of the baby and marriage stuff. I loved the premise of the romance part, that the alpha finds them and protects them, that part was fun. The sex scenes weren't very romantic or sexy to me, i guess i wanted them to be more like making love, at least for the first times as they spent time getting to know each other. After the alpha saves them and takes them in, which was totally awesome, this book held little interest for me.

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disappointing

Revisado: 11-19-18

The whole conflict between the two mc's depended on the alpha being a moron and never even asking the omega about the lies he had heard. Very frustrating and annoying. I also felt it was kind of lame that the alpha couldn't protect his omega from physical danger. He put his omega through emotional hell for so long and then couldn't make sure he was safe? This alpha seemed so cool in the beginning of the book and then turned out so lame.
In real life of course i can't expect that someone could keep their loved ones totally safe, or would be smart enough not to believe gossip, but i expect my guys to be cooler than that in romance stories. It is an ok book but not the type that really makes me feel satisfied.

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like a gritty army bootcamp version of hogwarts

Revisado: 10-06-18

The first 5 hours are one painful, long, boring struggle, and you have to suffer through the whole initial boot camp with her. I've never longed for an 80's montage so much! It would be so great if I could just have the sweetened, condensed version of this first year struggle. I kept thinking maybe something would happen that will be fun or enjoyable to listen to. I get that it is gritty and realistic to describe the whole cruel and tough love experience, but there wasn't much to keep me excited. The prince she likes sometimes seems to have potential as a hottie, but most of the time just seems like a jerk for most of the book. It's not until about 5 hours & 15 minutes in that things get even slightly less dreary and the interesting things pick up.

The narrator is actually really good, but I don't like the accents she chooses. For some reason the high born characters sound like they're old New Yorkers...that's not a sophisticated sounding accent, IMO.

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um, wow, that was surprising!

Revisado: 10-03-18

jeez, this book surprised the heck out of me. i was ready to endure yet another sub par romance in my search for good lighthearted fare, but this one far surpassed my hopes. i wasn't sure during the first chapter whether i liked the tone or whether it seemed to be trying too hard to be cute, but after they got out of their hometown, it felt like the humor started to pick up or maybe i just started to understand the feel of it better. it is witty and cute, intelligent and fun. the world building is strong, inventive, original, and doesn't include long boring exposition paragraphs. everything is explained about the world and how it works seamlessly in a show vs tell style, as the main character learns and observes and experiences. despite the lighthearted and amusing quality to this story, it is some seriously well-written fiction. very much looking forward to continuing the series.

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great idea but slow execution

Revisado: 10-02-18

i like the premise and the romance is fun. there are long, boring periods of exposition, sometimes interjected into exciting plot points and slowing them down to an uninteresting and excruciating reveal. i had to press the fast forward button a lot. The political stuff holds absolutely no interest for me so i just tried to skip those sections. The basic world building, such as the surroundings create lovely imagery. The characters are pretty likeable even though they're kind of dumb sometimes, and i like the protagonist girl's differences that isolate her and give her pain but also make her special. Definitely a big dependence on lack of communication as a major source of tension between the two MCs, which can be frustrating. Overall, a book worth trying out because it is set in a unique world.

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esto le resultó útil a 2 personas

Fun YA fantasy

Revisado: 10-02-18

This book was fun and has some lovely imagery. It should have been edited a bit more imo, there are long slow descriptions of the surroundings sometimes that seem to go on and on and weigh down the flow of action and plot. The MC girl can be dumb sometimes but sometimes she is also surprisingly cool. i love characters that are loyal and loving and determined and brave, so it's ok that she's dumb and embarrassing sometimes.
Overall enjoyed this and am going to listen to the 2nd book. I'd give this book a 3.5 rating if i could. The lovely fantasy world and fun premise are keeping me addicted even though i have to fast forward through boring parts sometimes ( long fight scenes and long aforementioned descriptions). it's got enough going on that it's totally worth listening to tho!

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struggled to finish

Revisado: 09-26-18

First let me say that Roan Parrish is one of my favorite m/m authors and I have loved the other books I've read! The Remaking of Corbin Wale is absolutely gorgeous, and the first one of this series was super (I haven't read the 2nd yet)! But this one left me a little disappointed. I was so excited to hear Leo and Will's story from the little I had gotten to know their characters before, but I felt that most of this book was spent with Leo moping and Will being a kind of boring and cold tsundere character. I didn't feel their chemistry until about 3/4 the way through the book, and it wasn't until the actual last hour of the 10 hour audio that they started to come to some sort of agreement or compromise and actually become a couple. While I think that Will's hard exterior made perfect sense with his history, and the story felt very realistic to me, it didn't make for the most dynamic romance story in my opinion.

Even though Will did open up to Leo over time, and become willing to have a romantic relationship, his character didn't really ever truly open up or catch my interest. We do get to see where the source of his pain and defensiveness come from over time, but we never truly see who he really is or get to experience anything about him that is particularly captivating. I like it that he cares about his sisters kids, but I guess I was wanting to see a little more about him and understand better what it is that makes Leo so obsessed with him. He didn't feel exactly flat to me as a character, but I never felt intrigued by him or felt a spark of excitement to get to know him better. One thing I can say about his character is that he seems very realistic to me and I have met a couple people with very similar interests, behavioral patterns and characteristics. They knew a lot about their fields, were very rigid and arrogant about their opinions, brutally honest, defensive and hardened. I guess that type just doesn't interest me. I know they, including Will, aren't really like that deep inside, but I find their exterior characters very off-putting.

The narrator took some getting used to for me, and I didn't feel the voices were right for the characters. However, he did a good job narrating and putting feeling into things.

Now for my favorite parts: Leo and his friends are all extremely likeable characters, and nothing in this book was super depressing or dark like a lot of m/m books I've read lately that were trying to be realistic and gritty. Leo's character truly grows throughout the book, and he learns to look at things with a more rounded and truthful acceptance, while still being himself.
There are some fun anecdotes and facts in it, and I always love that because it's great to learn things or be exposed to new information/concepts effortlessly while listening to fiction stories. Also, this book has a HEA ending that is very satisfying and flows logically from the nature of the characters in a realistic way, and also brought a smile to my face. Overall, this was a mostly relaxing romance read with some gentle angst, an everyday realistic (but not dark/gritty) feel, some nice college atmosphere, and some fun friend characters, in addition to a solid HEA, which is very important to me in a romance. Despite the things I didn't like, I would recommend this story because of the positive aspects and because it's a nice long listen and a fairly relaxing mm romance.

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