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eemms's review
3.0
I received an ARC of this book
A low 3 stars from me. The actual text was enjoyable to read, but as a story it just isn't enough. It's a good shell, the writing is fine though it is in present tense (not my fav). I like the subject matter - it's a holiday-ish story starting with Yalda, a Persian solstice celebration and going through the next month hitting Christmas, New Years, 12th Night, and Sadeh (another Persian mid-winter holiday). Shahin has an Iranian father but isn't really connected to the culture, and Yima is descended from a long line of Persian demon hunters. There is a ton of good stuff there...it just doesn't make it to the page.
This story need to be at least twice as long, preferably more. As it is, within paragraphs Shahin goes from "I'm afraid this stranger with a sword will murder me" to "wow I have feelings for this man". There's no time for the romance to unfold or develop, there's no time to explore the very interesting-seeming world of demons and demon hunting (there's nothing from Yima's point of view). There's a lot of potential but it's not realized.
Which brings me to my final issue - all the sex scenes fade to black. This wouldn't have bothered me at all if the book had had enough words to let the feelings do the heavy lifting. But there just isn't enough there. It's all little vignettes. And if I'm not getting feelings I at least want some smut ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
A low 3 stars from me. The actual text was enjoyable to read, but as a story it just isn't enough. It's a good shell, the writing is fine though it is in present tense (not my fav). I like the subject matter - it's a holiday-ish story starting with Yalda, a Persian solstice celebration and going through the next month hitting Christmas, New Years, 12th Night, and Sadeh (another Persian mid-winter holiday). Shahin has an Iranian father but isn't really connected to the culture, and Yima is descended from a long line of Persian demon hunters. There is a ton of good stuff there...it just doesn't make it to the page.
This story need to be at least twice as long, preferably more. As it is, within paragraphs Shahin goes from "I'm afraid this stranger with a sword will murder me" to "wow I have feelings for this man". There's no time for the romance to unfold or develop, there's no time to explore the very interesting-seeming world of demons and demon hunting (there's nothing from Yima's point of view). There's a lot of potential but it's not realized.
Which brings me to my final issue - all the sex scenes fade to black. This wouldn't have bothered me at all if the book had had enough words to let the feelings do the heavy lifting. But there just isn't enough there. It's all little vignettes. And if I'm not getting feelings I at least want some smut ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
aligroen's review
3.0
A Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Review An Alisa Review:
Rating: 3 stars out of 5
I felt for Shahin from the beginning, as he is trying to survive without any support from his family. Yima is quite mysterious and not very open. While I liked Shahin, I didn’t feel much of a connection to Yima though I know he is used to being secretive. Shahin finds a surrogate mom along the way too. It was nice for them both to find acceptance and somewhere to belong.
The cover art by Catherine Dair is nice and is one of the holiday series styles.
Rating: 3 stars out of 5
I felt for Shahin from the beginning, as he is trying to survive without any support from his family. Yima is quite mysterious and not very open. While I liked Shahin, I didn’t feel much of a connection to Yima though I know he is used to being secretive. Shahin finds a surrogate mom along the way too. It was nice for them both to find acceptance and somewhere to belong.
The cover art by Catherine Dair is nice and is one of the holiday series styles.
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