Reviews

Budding Love by Adara O’Hare

raynebair's review

4.0

I have to say, this was a fun read. I'm just impressed at Adara's ability to take such an off-the-wall prompt and turn it into such a unique story. Well done.

teresab78's review

3.0

I did not like Aethos at all. He was manipulative and selfish. I did like the whole inter-species aspect;I thought the story represented the prompt very well. I didn't like the pain involved in the sex especially as Kuzuo didn't really enjoy that part of it. It ended with so many things left hanging that it feels like it needs a sequel, which I might read as I was so interested in Kuzuo and the plant.

lkmreads's review

3.0

I was a bit skeptical at first, and a bit uneasy with the end, but overall it was an enjoyable story.

Spoiler

While I generally speaking liked the entirety of the tale, particularly when Sakura turned out to be able to change into humanoid form, the whole deal with Aethos and his lies was a bit bothersome - bothersome not because it was a bad plot point, I kind of enjoyed the 'betrayal' and wish it would really have been fleshed out more how lonely he felt so we could sympathize a bit more with him - but because not much was resolved between him and Kazu by the end, despite his implication on the final words spoken in the story, and despite Sakura claiming to want them both.

It's definitely a HFN ending, and I would have liked to get a HEA.

regencyfan93's review

4.0

I was not expecting to like this, and I was wrong.

I was intrigued by the relationship between Kazuo, Sakura, and Aethos. The characters want and need different things - what Aethos wanted and waited for, what Sakura needed, what Kazuo wanted and was willing to give, the relationship between Kazuo and his father. This was really enjoyable.