Reviews

The story dragged on for too long, only to be resolved within a few paragraphs in the end. Is Kresley Cole losing her touch? The last few books in this series have been lackluster at best.

theresaramp's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

4.25

magnafeana's review against another edition

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3.0

This book recommendation came from a discussion, and I was intrigued by the way the person described it.

And now I’m about to read the entire series!

Warning: this review contains spoilers.

I do not regret this buy! I loved the story! To me, it’s all about the *yearning* #withcindy (amazing BookTuber and her quotes live through me). I loved that Lanthe took pride in her experiences and did not want to be shamed for them. Did she feel guilty she broke his heart? Yes, but she does not regret her sexual past.

Snaps. Snaps for the author for this.

Was it agitating Thronos wanted her to be a virginal maiden and how quickly he about-faced? Yes, of course. Yes, he did go through the time loop and the cliche of “In the event of peril, we now forgive each other”, but still, I loved that there was no “absolving” Lanthe for her past. And she damn well owned it.

Now—here comes the downsides of the read.

Lust saved them all.

Fated mates has this disorder—hyper sexuality disorder and a bit a mania thrown in. This mean, when it comes to mates, regardless of how much they hate each other, how much they SHOULD hate each other, and how valid their wrath towards each other is…

They will almost always forget about it for love/lust.

I hate this trope so much. I really do. For me, it’s about the conflict and yearning. And the conflict keeping its place and naturally progressing forward. Everything felt a little too fast-paced for me. This is my first book in the series, so maybe as I read more books, I’ll get used to it and this is just how the author writes all the couples.

Another thing: the snark.

M/M who clearly outline top/bottom femme/masc dom/sub and F/M all suffer for this treatment.

The snark, the ill-timed humor—it had it.

And I had to skim.

I’m not saying I dislike humor, but it felt…forcibly placed. Like the author, not the character, was trying to be funny and meta. There were times I might have had some amusement, but I cringed the other times. It would have been nice to see Lanthe be more grounded and not joke about, well, *everything*.

I’m sure immortality means Lanthe has a different psychological state and, again, this was my first book in the series, so I’m sure when I read things in order, I’ll see more immortals have her same mindset of forgive and forget and make fun of it.

But for me, I couldn’t buy she was over her trauma. She claimed to have chronic anxiety, yet she never displays it?

I’m a recluse. My own PTSD and obsessive thoughts from my trauma render me a crying mess leaving my apartment and I have to take small steps in order to even throw my trash out and do laundry in the laundry room of my floor. It felt saddening that all this chronic anxiety was never explored, even with inner monologue.

That’s the reason why I rated this 3.5 stars, but I’m keep it at 3. If there had been less humor and we took the time to naturally overcome both characters’ internal conflict as individuals so they can also grow as a couple rather than joke and be intimate? I would have rated this 4 stars.

I honestly would have rated this 5 stars had the author kept Thronos with his mind erased, at least mostly. It would have been nice to see the consequences and also how all the characters would grow. I could see Thronos getting back bits and pieces of his memories, but it was never the whole picture. They would date with Lanthe upfront about her past. But they would fall in love with her chasing him.

I’d also love to see Lanthe and her sister have to repair their relationship instead of the “ohana means family” hug it out scenario.

And then in the epilogue, Thronos would piece it all together and be even more grateful for Lanthe.

But that is my two cents on the piece.

Would I recommend this book to someone? Yes.
Will I reread this? Possibly in the far future.

bhookjunkhie's review against another edition

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5.0

WOW! what a wild ride!!! Can't wait to see what's next!.. Whoo Hoo !

booksandteatime's review

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adventurous emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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