Taramisu

2.5 ⭐

Revisado: 04-12-22

Yet another book that was highly rated and my favorite trope, yet fell flat for me.

Very little plot.
Very little character building.
Insta-love.
All tell, no show.
Plus, I listened to the audiobook and have never cared for the narrator. Her cadence and inflection leave something to be desired. Plus, she doesn't distinguish well between different voices.

The beginning was completely ridiculous. Why would you think pretending to be a sex-bot and giving a blow job would be a good way to ask a stranger for help? And, I don't find the words "dick" and "ass" romantic. 🙄

Also, the mother was OTT evil. But I did enjoy Venice giving her a dressing down.

All in all, I should have skipped this one.

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2.5 ⭐

Revisado: 03-25-22

The first half 3 ⭐. The second half, for a person who has not read the previous books, 2 ⭐. Definitely not a stand-alone book.

As my favorite trope of lonely people finding comfort in each other, I quite enjoyed the beginning. Not much plot otherwise. The attempt of her previous slave owner to retrieve her wasn't terribly exciting to me, not knowing anything about the plethora of characters just introduced.

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I hate titles

Revisado: 03-25-22

This is a hard book to rate. Firstly because it was dark and painful, and I was not expecting that and I don't read dark books. Secondly because the book was engaging, exciting and filled me with emotion. Thirdly because...well, the characters pissed me off. So, overall, I'm torn.

Major Spoilers

I chose to read this because it's my favorite trope - a MMC who has been deemed unworthy of love who manages to find love with a kind, open hearted FMC. I like my pain at the beginning and for the story to lift higher and higher, bringing me joy. And it did that...briefly. Then it all went to hell.

I honestly thought the person begging and paying her to choose Torkel was one of his dear friends. That felt so incredibly sweet...then it all went to hell as the author ripped that away from me and he turned out to be a manipulative a-hole. Then, she chose him, he was overjoyed, unable to believe he was finally chosen...then it was tainted with a challenge from an unchosen a-hole, and because she couldn't understand their language, accidentally unchose Torkel, then chose him again...?

And here's where it REALLY went off the rails for me. The Big Misunderstanding. She ends up blackmailed by the mystery person she met before the choosing. He forces her to give classified information (btw, very limited information) about Torkel's elite warrior team. Instead of telling Torkel, she continues to give the information, fearful of her husband finding out she was paid to choose him. All I could think was, GO TO ONE OF THE TEAM MEMBERS! They love Torkel and would do anything for him. Explain what's going on and ask for help.

Instead, she does nothing, ends up kidnapped by the slave traders for which she is accidentally working and they torture and starve her for 6 weeks. All the while, she's sure Torkel and the team will rescue her. Then we flash back to 6 weeks ago. Torkel learns the truth and abandons his rescue mission, stating she should "rot" in prison. Well, isn't that romantic? He has no idea what her motivations are. He has no idea what information she shared. He just gives up on her. AND IT'S NEVER ADDRESSED. Sure, she has to apologize ad nauseum. But his actions are never questioned.

The book ended with unanswered questions and left me with a sick feeling in my chest. I only gave it 3 stars because the writing was engaging and the action scenes well written.

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Nope

Revisado: 02-28-22

I liked the premise. 7 days to convince his alien Tinder match to agree to stay with him. But then it was just about the f-ing. His word, not mine. Repeatedly. Yes, he repeatedly said to the heroine that he wanted "a lot of fu@#ing."

And she was all for it. So romantic. 🙄

The best part of the ENTIRE BOOK was the son. He was so determined to get his Dad a mate. I loved him. But that was all I loved.

Side note. Clearly the author watched The Middle. Bryk, Axel, Weld. I see what you did there.

And the narration. {Runs hand across face.} The male narrator, aside from sounding like Rod Serling, was great. The female? While she wasn't monotone, she gave no different inflection or tone when something important was happening. In fact, when our heroine was being attacked by deadly birds, I was listening while folding laundry, and really thought it was supposed to be a funny scene. Ha! Birds are flying in her face. But, oh, no, this was an action part of the book. She really needed to infuse some emotion in her performance, not just read us a bedtime story.

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DNF

Revisado: 02-25-22

Maudlin. I listened to over an hour of this and we still haven't met the love interest. All the book managed to do for me was depress me thoroughly. I even skipped to the near end and Josh was STILL sad and complaining.

Does anyone have some Prozac?

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Surprising

Revisado: 02-25-22

This was a huge surprise. I mean, just look at the cover. It screams "ridiculous, plotless alien porn". Whoever chooses the covers for books, needs to be fired. This book was none of that. At all.

Susan, a human who lives in a (non-Earth) matriarchal society, is a third daughter who has no prospects as she will never own land. She swallows her pride and agrees to marry an alien and move to his planet and adopt his culture. The lizard-esque male she's been matched to is not what she would prefer, but she's out of options.

Olix's people are in a bad situation as their food supply is steadily dwindling and a corporation is bullying them to buy their tribal lands. When the Seer tells him he will take an alien mate who will save their tribe, he agrees to whatever female he is paired with, sight unseen.

There is no insta-lust. They both find each other repugnant. So what we have here is a slow building relationship based in respect and kindness.

There is friction between the tribe and Susan as she tries to convince them to farm their lands rather than rely on the mysteriously disappearing game. Just a couple generations ago, the people were enslaved and forced to work the land, using methods that poisoned it and made the people ill. They fought their way out, but cannot possibly consent to farming the land that has now been restored. They are hunters not dirt-diggers.

This is as much a romantic love story between Susan and Olix as it is a story of how Susan helps to transform the tribe into a successful people who thrive without compromising their values and beliefs.

In the end, this is an uplifting story where everyone gets what they deserve...with some steam on the side. 😉

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3.5

Revisado: 02-17-22

Very sweet. Quite angsty. Funny. Sexy. What else could you possibly ask for?

A different narrator would have been nice. Lilly is 31 years old but the narrator's voice sounded much older. It made me picture her as a cougar. Plus, she was kind of...mean...in the beginning. I'm glad she improved.

Jax? I just want to wrap him up in blankets and give him a good cuddle. Poor guy. I have a thing for MMCs who have been rejected all their lives then find the right person who accepts them for who they are. Sigh.

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Ugh!

Revisado: 02-16-22

This was so bad. I mean, horrible. DNF.

1) The narrator's voices were over-the-top and her cadence completely wrong.
2) Terrible dialogue. No one, not even bad romance characters, talk this way.
3) In the scene where our MCs first meet, the FMC went through about 5 emotional states within as many minutes.
4) Characterization worse than cardboard cutouts.

Returned this sucker. (Tentacle pun intended.)

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More Sci-Fi Than Romance

Revisado: 02-15-22

Seriously good sci-fi. This would make an incredible movie. I felt immersed in the world and was genuinely enthralled by the plot, unable to guess where it was headed.

The romance, while important, took a back seat until the very end, which was disappointing to me in my current binge cycle.

Definitely a book I won't soon forget.

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I hate titles

Revisado: 02-11-22

This is part of a series that must be read in its entirety, in order. And I don't just mean that each book is not a standalone. I mean, there's no real ending to any of these books. The author originally wrote a trilogy (re: 1 book with 2 random breaks), but there are STILL loose ends (HUGE ones) at the end of the 3rd. Then she wrote a 4th book based on a dream she had which STILL didn't resolve the loose ends.

Yet, despite this, I still rated the 1st and 3rd books as 4 stars. These heros are my jam: unwanted, unloved, dejected and under the impression they have nothing to offer a mate. Lily is able to draw them out and give them each a chance to be their best away from their ultra-judgy tribe mates.

Yes, this is a reverse harem. The first book introduces the world and our 3 main heroes. The second and 3rd bring in a 4th male and the 4th book brings in a 5th. For some reason it was easy to accept the 3 original husbands, but just weirded me out to add more one at a time. The complete opposite of most alien romances where the Hero is overly possessive.

I understand the author will be continuing this universe, which is awesome because we still don't know much about the fish a$$holes who stole her in the first place, nor the wolfman who seems to be trying to kill the Shevarii.

If you just consider the romance, it's completely swoony and adorable and I reread parts just for that.

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