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a_reader_obsessed's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 Stars
For inquiring minds, I felt that this was basically an amalgam of Ford's 2 most popular series. Take Sinner's descriptive, purple prose and mix it with McGinnis's gritty, harsh realism. Then place that into an alternate universe, where humans and sidhe coexist in the complete opposite of friendly and peaceful.
I will admit that not everything is neatly explained. Kai is still quite the mystery. He's hostile and purposely detached, having carefully formed a few safe friendships, while putting up a solid wall against any extra feelings or affection. Of course his predictable existence is thrown for a loop when he's tasked for a job to help Ryder, a sidhe high lord. As he gets more and more involved, Kai's horrific past unfortunately comes to the forefront.
So there's pretty extensive world building here. There's definitely race politics featuring the usual dark and light courts that make up the sidhe, and predictably there's continuous power plays and ulterior motives constantly at work. In and amongst all that, Ryder makes it no secret that he finds Kai intriguingly enticing, and tho Kai feels the same way, he adamantly maintains his distance. Of course, no man is an island, and though he may say he doesn't care, Kai inevitably is led by his morality and falls deeper and deeper into the sidhe world he's so fiercely avoided. Begrudgingly and quite in denial, he forms a tenuous attachment to the seductive Ryder.
As many have said, this is not a romance. Yet.
Of course Ford has a plan and knows the exact journey herantihero is going to traverse. I'm intrigued. It helps a lot to have listened to Tremblay expertly narrate this. Hopefully love is on the horizon, but I know it's going to be a tough journey for Kai because he definitely isn't going to go down easily without a fight.
For inquiring minds, I felt that this was basically an amalgam of Ford's 2 most popular series. Take Sinner's descriptive, purple prose and mix it with McGinnis's gritty, harsh realism. Then place that into an alternate universe, where humans and sidhe coexist in the complete opposite of friendly and peaceful.
I will admit that not everything is neatly explained. Kai is still quite the mystery. He's hostile and purposely detached, having carefully formed a few safe friendships, while putting up a solid wall against any extra feelings or affection. Of course his predictable existence is thrown for a loop when he's tasked for a job to help Ryder, a sidhe high lord. As he gets more and more involved, Kai's horrific past unfortunately comes to the forefront.
So there's pretty extensive world building here. There's definitely race politics featuring the usual dark and light courts that make up the sidhe, and predictably there's continuous power plays and ulterior motives constantly at work. In and amongst all that, Ryder makes it no secret that he finds Kai intriguingly enticing, and tho Kai feels the same way, he adamantly maintains his distance. Of course, no man is an island, and though he may say he doesn't care, Kai inevitably is led by his morality and falls deeper and deeper into the sidhe world he's so fiercely avoided. Begrudgingly and quite in denial, he forms a tenuous attachment to the seductive Ryder.
As many have said, this is not a romance. Yet.
Of course Ford has a plan and knows the exact journey her
claire_loves_books's review against another edition
2.0
For some reason I just couldn't get into this book, it didn't quite fit together for me and it all felt a bit disjointed. The dialogue was a bit off and the fight scenes seems to have people all over the place and I really struggled to visualise what was actually going on.
Kai is quite an abrasive character, he's been hurt in the past and seems to want to take it out on everyone he meets. It's just not that much fun to read about a character who hates everyone and everything. There's some humour but not enough to lighten it up and make it a fun read.
The other characters all seem pretty one dimensional - this might be because we see them all through Kai's jaded and prejudiced eyes. Kai didn't really like many people and that combined with the lack of depth in the characters just made if difficult to care that much. The romance aspect was also killed off by this, when attraction is purely physical/magical against the characters judgement and wishes it's really not something I'm into - magical attraction always seems a bit date rapey to me.
Kai is quite an abrasive character, he's been hurt in the past and seems to want to take it out on everyone he meets. It's just not that much fun to read about a character who hates everyone and everything. There's some humour but not enough to lighten it up and make it a fun read.
The other characters all seem pretty one dimensional - this might be because we see them all through Kai's jaded and prejudiced eyes. Kai didn't really like many people and that combined with the lack of depth in the characters just made if difficult to care that much. The romance aspect was also killed off by this, when attraction is purely physical/magical against the characters judgement and wishes it's really not something I'm into - magical attraction always seems a bit date rapey to me.
rayonx's review against another edition
4.0
This book in one sentence: In a distopian future where the fae realm has merged with California, bounty hunter Kai is sent on a mission with a Fae lord which should be simple, he gets tangled into schemes and power struggles.
My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Steaminess: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
My recommendation: I think the best part of the book is the world building. The author creates a vivid distopian picture of a cultural melting pot for American, Asian, Mexican and Fae cultures. It manages to feel completely unique yet authentic and realistic at the same time. Kai is a great grouchy bounty hunter with a traumatic past and I look forward to seeing his character evolve over the next books in the series. There's tons of action, and the plot is twisty-turny enough that you don't see things coming. There's a bit of romance and sexual tension, but it's really secondary to the plot.
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers? orphan with mystery parents
Content warnings: there are some really dark aspects to the book, including trauma, descriptions of past abuse / torture, violence.
My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Steaminess: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
My recommendation: I think the best part of the book is the world building. The author creates a vivid distopian picture of a cultural melting pot for American, Asian, Mexican and Fae cultures. It manages to feel completely unique yet authentic and realistic at the same time. Kai is a great grouchy bounty hunter with a traumatic past and I look forward to seeing his character evolve over the next books in the series. There's tons of action, and the plot is twisty-turny enough that you don't see things coming. There's a bit of romance and sexual tension, but it's really secondary to the plot.
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers? orphan with mystery parents
Content warnings: there are some really dark aspects to the book, including trauma, descriptions of past abuse / torture, violence.
terrafyd's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
claire_loves_books's review
2.0
For some reason I just couldn't get into this book, it didn't quite fit together for me and it all felt a bit disjointed. The dialogue was a bit off and the fight scenes seems to have people all over the place and I really struggled to visualise what was actually going on.
Kai is quite an abrasive character, he's been hurt in the past and seems to want to take it out on everyone he meets. It's just not that much fun to read about a character who hates everyone and everything. There's some humour but not enough to lighten it up and make it a fun read.
The other characters all seem pretty one dimensional - this might be because we see them all through Kai's jaded and prejudiced eyes. Kai didn't really like many people and that combined with the lack of depth in the characters just made if difficult to care that much. The romance aspect was also killed off by this, when attraction is purely physical/magical against the characters judgement and wishes it's really not something I'm into - magical attraction always seems a bit date rapey to me.
Kai is quite an abrasive character, he's been hurt in the past and seems to want to take it out on everyone he meets. It's just not that much fun to read about a character who hates everyone and everything. There's some humour but not enough to lighten it up and make it a fun read.
The other characters all seem pretty one dimensional - this might be because we see them all through Kai's jaded and prejudiced eyes. Kai didn't really like many people and that combined with the lack of depth in the characters just made if difficult to care that much. The romance aspect was also killed off by this, when attraction is purely physical/magical against the characters judgement and wishes it's really not something I'm into - magical attraction always seems a bit date rapey to me.
teresab78's review
5.0
As always, Greg Tremblay brings the book to life. I love this series and these characters.
teresab78's review against another edition
5.0
****Reviewed for Prism Book Alliance****
4.5 Stars - I had read the précis for this book and immediately needed to read it – only to find out it was out of print. So I had to wait for it to be rereleased. In the meantime, I had read a few reviews that made me nervous. Rumours that Kai was basically straight and lusted after women for most of the book, and that there was really no romance, made me wonder if I did want to read it after all. However I had committed to reviewing it, so I forged ahead.
I am so glad that I did! It was stated early on that Kai was an equal opportunity lover, and though he does lust after a few women, he doesn’t carry through. As well, he has equal lust for our other male MC. Although there isn’t romance, per se, there is definitely a lot of sexual tension with potential.
This is very much Kai’s story though. Told from his perspective, we learn a lot about him, though not fast enough for my tastes. Information is withheld and hinted at, doled out sparingly, which amps the tension and suspense of the novel. The adventure and action kept the pacing swift and me on the edge of my seat.
I loved the world and the uniqueness of the setting. It is a fantasy dystopian future with sci-fi elements in the technology but also magic and creatures from the fae world. The descriptions are rich and I could feel myself present.
Though there is definitely more of the story to tell, and I am eager to read it. It didn’t end on a cliff hanger, for which I am thankful. I do need more of this couple together though as there is no sex whatsoever in this book, just a few steamy kisses. That will have to keep me until next time!
4.5 Stars - I had read the précis for this book and immediately needed to read it – only to find out it was out of print. So I had to wait for it to be rereleased. In the meantime, I had read a few reviews that made me nervous. Rumours that Kai was basically straight and lusted after women for most of the book, and that there was really no romance, made me wonder if I did want to read it after all. However I had committed to reviewing it, so I forged ahead.
I am so glad that I did! It was stated early on that Kai was an equal opportunity lover, and though he does lust after a few women, he doesn’t carry through. As well, he has equal lust for our other male MC. Although there isn’t romance, per se, there is definitely a lot of sexual tension with potential.
This is very much Kai’s story though. Told from his perspective, we learn a lot about him, though not fast enough for my tastes. Information is withheld and hinted at, doled out sparingly, which amps the tension and suspense of the novel. The adventure and action kept the pacing swift and me on the edge of my seat.
I loved the world and the uniqueness of the setting. It is a fantasy dystopian future with sci-fi elements in the technology but also magic and creatures from the fae world. The descriptions are rich and I could feel myself present.
Though there is definitely more of the story to tell, and I am eager to read it. It didn’t end on a cliff hanger, for which I am thankful. I do need more of this couple together though as there is no sex whatsoever in this book, just a few steamy kisses. That will have to keep me until next time!
captperfecthair's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Torture, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Medical trauma, Gore, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Slavery, Rape, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Incest, Sexual violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, and Dysphoria
Minor: Police brutality, Confinement, and Pregnancy