Tag: erotic romance

Erotica, Mystery/Thriller, New Adult, New Adult Romance

My review: Kingston (Brothers of Hawthorne Hall #1): by Leila James

nicholasjgoodsell
Publish Date: October 3rd, 2022
Number of Pages: 468 Pages
Publisher: Kindle
Genre(s): Erotica, Reverse Harem, New Adult Romance, Mystery & Thriller

Total Star Rating: 3.75 Stars

What It’s About:

The Official Blurb:

Three men, two choices, and one secret …

A year ago, my best friend received an exclusive invitation to join an elite brotherhood at Kingston University. He went into Hawthorne Hall for his initiation … but never came out.

I intend to find out why.

The brotherhood would never knowingly invite a female into their ranks. So what if I forged my father’s signature on the recommendation? With a name like Elliot Ashford, they’ll never see me coming.

I’ll endure whatever hell these brutal brothers put me through because I have no intention of backing down or bowing out gracefully. It won’t be pretty. I’ve heard the rumors, especially about the three men in control of the brotherhood.

Kingston.
Cannon.
Archer.

I’m going in with one mission—find out what happened to Will. But the moment I set foot in this house, I have a feeling all my plans will go up in flames.

Welcome to Hawthorne Hall! Let the games begin …

***********************************************************************************

Kingston is a 94,000+ word novel, the first in a trilogy, centering around three men and one woman. It’s kind of like a sandwich—a quadruple decker with extra spice. There is a possibility that sandwich toppings will touch, if that makes sense.

WARNING: This trilogy contains dark elements, graphic content, and situations that some readers may be particularly sensitive to. If you have triggers or are even remotely unsure, please check my website, which you can access through my author page, for a full list.

~~~

This was a book that was highly recommended to me by one of my #bookstagram besties named Em because she knows I’m always game for any book that has some decent spice in it! When she started telling me the premise of these books, I will say I was immediately interested: a reverse harem, college, mystery thriller?? Ummmm LOVE that journey for me! Sign me up, and I couldn’t put these books on my kindle fast enough!

Now after reading the first book, what I can say is it’s definitely an entertaining, fast read with some really decent spice and just a dash of mystery. It definitely kept my attention, but it also could’ve been better in some regards. BUT I also didn’t care enough for certain things in the story to be better either because honestly, I just in it mainly for the spice, which definitely meets if not exceeds expectations, so that’s where most of the praise will go!

This story is about Elliot, who manages to sneak her way into Hawthorne house in order to solve the mystery of the disappearance of her best friend/cousin named Will. There’s absolutely no word as to what happened =, and everyone acts like it didn’t even happen, so she’s going on the inside in order to get her own answers. While she’s infiltrating the brotherhood as a newly incoming freshman, its there she meets the three enigmatic boys that throw everything off kilter for her: Kingston, Archer, and Cannon. Can she trust them? What do they know? And will she survive the initiation process before she’s considered a “brother?”

For the most part, I really did enjoy this book thanks to the characters! Elliot is your very typical spunky, sassy heroine who has a sharp tongue and isn’t afraid to mouth off to the alphaholes that practically infest that house that she must now call home. The boys in the Hawthorne house definitely don’t start off as very likeable, especially Kingston, who’s the frat president and a majorly bipolar a-hole through most of the book, but he’s also a HOT a-hole so it’s complicated….at leas the hate sex is hot? I like Archer the most right off the bat, but he also has camera’s set up throughout the whole house that includes people’s bedrooms, so I find that a bit creepy…and then there’s Cannon. Mr. Tall, stoic, and hot as hell, but hardly says a word. Like, his main way of communicating is text message even when he’s sitting right next to the person…it’s a little strange, but I’m sure there’s a story to it somewhere down the road…

What I Liked:

  1. The Spice! There are some HOT moments in this book, and it’s only the first one in a whole trilogy! It makes me wonder what else is in store for later down the road! I will of course be keeping reading on to find out.
  2. The Main Characters! Elliot and her boys definitely grew on me and made me keep interested to see what happened next, plus their group dynamic did add for some of the spicy scenes that I enjoyed too! Will things like that majorly change? Will she form alliances with one over the others? Turn them against each other with her vagina? Will the guys’ friendship shift with sharing? Who knows! I stand by what I said earlier, Archer is my favorite so far! BUT Kingston grew a lot on me as we got to know more about him too.

What I Didn’t Like:

  1. Too Many Names to Remember…I had a hard time right at the beginning with the literal train of men who answered the door when Elliot first showed up at Hawthorne House. Too many names all at once and throughout the book I still had trouble differentiating between some of the other frat boys, but that could also be because the author doesn’t really do much to make them stand apart from each other too much either…
  2. Not Enough Mystery… Not gonna lie, I was disappointed how it felt like the mystery took a back seat through quite a bit of the story. Sure, there was plenty of spicy scenes which I’m not complaining about, but more the several initiation scenes. I just wish the mystery and sneaking around to get answers was played up more, or a trail of clues or something!
  3. The Insta-Love…This seems to always be a thing with RH’s, but at least one of the guys is always a lovesick puppy when he first lands his eyes on the girl, and its no different here.

Conclusion:

Overall, it’s a pretty good but not great RH read. I like that it’s a college, mystery thriller one too because I honestly haven’t read too many of those! I also haven’t read the Inheritance Games Trilogy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, but I’d imagine I’d like them more if they had a similar vibe to these books with the spice and less YA story features. Actually side note, but there are a LOT of YA books I look at nowadays and am like, “This story would be so much better if it had spice!”

I’ll definitely continue to read theses books; the author gives you a satisfying amount but also leaves you wanting more, and there’s a pretty decent cliffhanger of an ending that really adds to the mystery surrounding the main plot, so it definitely keeps my interest! Plus helloooo, more spice!

Thanks for Reading!

— Nick Goodsell

Erotica, LGBT, New Adult, New Adult Romance

My Review: Want Me (Extracurriculars #1): by Neve Wilder

nicholasjgoodsell
Publish Date: May 6th, 2019
Number of Pages: 304 Pages
Publisher: Kindle Edition
Genre(s): New Adult Romance, LGBT, Erotica

Total Star Rating: 4.25 Stars

That’s not handholding. That’s like … hand fucking. Or hand seduction. Your hand is seducing mine and my hand has zero game. It’s just gonna hop into bed with yours without dinner or a drink first. Maybe I need to give it a lecture about standards.”

– Neve Wilder, “Want Me”

What It’s About:

The official synopsis:

Two roommates. One calculus exam. A whole lot of extracurricular activity.

Nate:
Living with four other guys, it’s bound to happen.
Every guy’s been caught taking care of business at least once, right?
It shouldn’t be a big deal.

But I don’t know Eric as well as my other roommates, and things are a little awkward now.
He’s a loner. A mystery. Quietly confident. Smart.
Sexy as hell.

I’ve been happily subsisting on the typical frat guy diet of booze and sorority girls.
But the way Eric looked at me that night?
There was something there.
Something that’s got me curious.
Something that’s stirring up feelings I thought I’d left behind for good.

Something that’s making me think I’m not as straight as I thought I was.

I can’t get him off of my mind.
I don’t think I want to.

So when he offers to help me study for a midterm, I take him up on it.

It’s innocent.
Probably. Maybe.

There’s no way I could’ve known what it’d start…

~~~

Lately I’ve been in a reading slump, which I’m starting to notice is a normal thing for me in the spring time. Maybe it’s how the weather is nicer so I’m more likely to be out and about, and life just gets busier because of it to the point where I’m not concentrating as much on the books I read, and I feel the struggle with high octane, fantasy genre stories…

…this is where I turn to hot, quick, mindless smutty books to ward off the slump!

After DNFing several books prior to this one, I was relieved when I flew through this one no problem at all! It’s exactly what I’m looking for when I’m in this reading mood.

This MM romance book is HOT. Plain and simple. There’s so much sex in this story I almost want to say it’s ridiculous, but I enjoyed it way too much to even complain about it!

The story revolves around Nate and Eric, two college guys who are also roommates in the same house with three other guys living with them. Nate gets caught by Eric when he’s….taming the dragon? Having some fun with “Jill?” Whatever you want to call it, but after the initial shock, there’s a curiosity that grows between them, and then the extra push is when Nate needs help with an algebra exam coming up…Eric is right there to help him out in more ways than one!

The story is told through Nate’s perspective, and he’s an absolute delight to follow along with. His commentary is hilarious, and he’s a pretty standup guy who’s awkward and charming and easily likable. Eric is a lot more mysterious and alluring at first, and part of you questions his intentions at first, but he grows on you too as you get to know him better.

~~~

I didn’t know a lot about him beyond that he was majoring in structural engineering. And currently minoring in confusing my dick.“

– Neve Wilder, “Want Me”

What I Liked:

  1. There Is SO Much Sex! I mean….we’re talking hot AF hooking up in almost every chapter!! There definitely wasn’t a shortage of spice in this book!
  2. There Wasn’t A Random Break-Up Right Before The End! One thing I see all the time in romance novels is that dramatic breakup the couple always has to have right towards the end…like a secret gets out or there’s some last minute drama that comes between them, and luckily this sort of thing happens earlier in the book! It was refreshing because I’m always like “Okay….we know they’re gonna end up together…cut the shit!”
  3. The Banter & Dirty Talk! Eric is a sexy dirty mouthed bastard, and I love him for it! The conversations between him and Nate are a highlight, no doubt!
  4. Its Hilarious As Much As It Is Sexy! This goes with the banter a little bit, but even the narration with Nate telling the story was pretty funny! The author really knew how to sound like a guy in college!

What I Didn’t Like:

  1. There Wasn’t As Much Build Up With Other Main Characters for The Next Books…this one is kinda nit-picky, but hey, I have to include something in this section at least! There wasn’t a whole lot of development with many other characters except for maybe Marc, but he’s off screen—or page?—so often that it doesn’t feel like he does much…the author throws subtle hints that more is to come with some drama with Marc and another character, but it’s barely touched on to the point that this book feels like it could just be a standalone because it didn’t really make you feel a whole lot for the other characters.

Conclusion:

Overall, this book was EXACTLY what I needed after DNFing several books prior to it! It was hot, sweet, quick, and sexy as hell with some equally cute and tender moments between the two main characters!

There’s two more books to make this a trilogy, and while the author didn’t build up the other characters quite as much as I’d liked, the fact that this is the steamiest book I’ve read this year so far is what makes me want to keep reading and see what happens next!

Thanks for Reading!

— Nick Goodsell

Erotica, LGBT

My Review: Try (Temptation #1): by Ella Frank

nicholasjgoodsell
**Kindle Edition**
Publish Date: November 13th, 2013
Number of Pages: 353 Pages
Publisher: Kindle
Genre(s): Erotica, LGBT, Romance

Total Star Rating: 4.25 Stars

‘I want you. Am I supposed to walk away because you’re a man? Maybe. They’ll say yes for sure. But I’m sick of all the questions running around in my head.’ Tate stopped and licked his lips. ‘I want the man who sat down across from me and changed the way I look at the world. And if that’s wrong, then I’m confused because when I’m near you, it feels so damn right.’“

– Ella Frank, “Try”

What It’s About:

The official blurb:

Try – verb: to make an attempt or effort to do something or in this case…someone.

Sex. Logan Mitchell loves it, and ever since he realized his raw sexual appeal at a young age, he has had no problem using it to his advantage. Men and women alike fall into his bed—after all, Logan is not one to discriminate. He lives by one motto—if something interests you, why not just take a chance and try?

And he wants to try Tate Morrison.

Just coming out of a four-year marriage with an ex-wife from hell, a relationship is the last thing on Tate’s mind. He’s starting fresh and trying to get back on his feet with a new job at an upscale bar in downtown Chicago.

The only problem is, Tate has caught the unwavering and unwelcome attention of Mr. Logan Mitchell – a regular at the bar and a man who always gets what he wants.

Night after night Tate fends off the persistent advances of the undeniably charismatic man, but after an explosive moment in the bar, all bets are off as he finds his body stirring with a different desire than his mind.

As arrogance, stubbornness and sexual tension sizzles between the two, it threatens to change the very course of their lives.

Logan doesn’t do relationships. Tate doesn’t do men. But what would happen if they both just gave in and…tried?

~~~

So upon doing a little research on this specific title, it’s funny to see how torn people are about it…Apparently this was the author’s first try at M/M erotic romance when she already has a big following from her M/F titles, and it seems to be that the M/F fans absolutely love it while the more experienced M/M fans aren’t so crazy about it. Personally, I’ve never read anything by this author and I have delved into both straight and gay (emphasis on M/M) erotic romance, and what I say is that it’s written incredibly well and it’s a hot, quick, mindless read.

I can agree with some of the criticism that the dialogue can be somewhat cheesy and spoken in a way in which no male actually talk like unless they’re a poet laureate, but honestly I could look past it for the most part. It’s a romance so sometimes cheesy dialogue is just a par for the course in my opinion. They also just say its M/F written like M/M which I also can kind of agree on. I noticed that for two guys, there’s a lot of crabby getting angry at one and storming off to stew about whatever, but I’m also not saying that only women act that way either, and to think otherwise is a little sexist…I don’t know, I guess like a lot of negative reviews out there, it all comes down to personal preference, and while it’s not the greatest erotic romance I’ve read, I think it still satisfied my need for some hot male-on-male action!

I suppose my only personal qualm about getting into this story is just because I have a wishy-washy preference on “Gay 4 U” type romances. I guess part of me just really questions a story when a guy goes through life straight and never questioning themselves until a specific guy comes along and flips the other guy’s world upside down. I don’t know, I guess that’s how sexuality can work for some, but I also for some reason kind of question the believability of that type of storyline. I guess it depends on the specific story and how the author has it play out. I go into this conversation in my review of Collide (Blackcreek #1) by Riley Hart because that was also a huge part of the story in that book as well.

I feel like other than that, there’s not a whole lot more to say other than just that I thought this book really appealed to my M/M romance need, and that if you’re a fan of that style of erotic romance, I—cringe because of the pun—say to just give it a try and see what you think for yourself!

What I Liked:

  1. Lots Of Greatly Written Smut! The sexual tension was actually pretty freakin’ hot! It built up rather well, and I will say that for this story it was hot to see Tate’s sexual exploration as he came to terms with his attraction to Logan, especially when he’s never been attracted to another man before. All I know is that when Tate gives into temptation and him and Logan start going at it, the spice is abundant!

What I Didn’t Like:

  1. The Very Beginning Is Strange…So the story starts off with Logan on an Airplane and he ends up hooking up with someone who’s not his main love interest, and it’s also with a woman. I get that it shows that Logan is bisexual and that he’s a total manwhore, but part of me felt weird at how this is how a M/M romance begins…It felt out of place and might’ve been just as effective if maybe he met a couple instead and had a three-way later on if not on a plane. The fact that he sleeps with a woman to join the mile high club is just an odd way to start a M/M erotic romance…
  2. The Coupling May Be Seen as Problematic…So we can all agree that consent is very important. One criticism some readers had was how pushy Logan was when he kept hitting on Tate, who at the very beginning of the story said himself that he’s straight. Some reviewers even went to say Logan was being predatory and stalkerish and that he was signaling some major red flags as Tate kept telling him no. I feel like consent was still there because we as the audience know the sex is going to happen eventually, so I find it a little weird when people complain about consent in erotic romance. Don’t we kind of already know the character is interested to some degree, even if they may not admit it right away? Besides this, I can admit it did feel like this relationship had some toxicity to it, but mainly because it was all about sneaking around and having lots of sex. It wasn’t like an actual relationship with an actual future to come later.

Conclusion:

Overall, I enjoyed this M/M book and it really satisfied the interest in reading an erotic romance title. The dialogue had its own ups and downs, but like I said earlier, I liked this book and it was just quick, mindless, and spicy as hell!

I’m surprised there’s six total books in this series, so I’m definitely curious to see how Logan and Tate’s story gets spaced out between that many volumes! I can say I’m reading on to see for myself, and enjoy a lot more steamy sex too!

Thanks for Reading!

— Nick Goodsell

Erotica, New Adult Romance, Romance

My Review: Four Letter Word (Dirty Deeds #1): by J. Daniels

nicholasjgoodsell
Publish Date: October 4th, 2016
Number of Pages: 416 Pages
Publisher: Forever
Genre(s): New Adult Romance, Erotica

Total Star Rating: 4.25 Stars

Love was a risk. It was wild and unpredictable. You could either hold on for the ride, not knowing how it would end, or you could let go and never know the amazing you could have had.”

– J. Daniels, “Four Letter Word”

What It’s About:

The official blurb:

Fate. Hate. Love. Lies.

Which four letter word will change their lives forever?

Sydney Paige was never so mortified to hear the words “wrong number” in her life. She meant to tell off the guy who broke her best friend’s heart but unleashed her anger on a perfect stranger instead. And now her world is turned upside down by the captivating man who wants to keep her on the line.

Brian Savage is living a life he’s quickly come to hate-until Sydney’s wild rant has him hooked and hungry for more. Soon the sexy woman on the phone becomes the lover in his bed. But Brian has secrets, and the closer he lets Syd get, the harder it is to shield her from the devastating mistakes of his past . . .

~~~

Hey guys, Glad to be back with my latest review on here, and I gotta say that this latest erotic romance title was a VERY happy surprise for me; I really enjoyed this book! I’ve never read books by this author before so I had no idea what to expect, but she really brought the spice! I was worried for the first chunk of the book because of how somber and depressing the tone was surrounding the main character, Sydney, and her predicament. But the book really picked up quickly and got a lot better from there on!

Sydney Paige has hit rock bottom as she walks out on her husband who doesn’t even look away from the TV as she does so, and moves to a new town to move in with her best friend, Tori. She decides to have a full fresh start; new home, new hair, new job, almost new everything. Both girls have been burned by the men in their lives, and Sydney does something really out of character one night and decides to call Tori’s ex and give him a piece of her mind! She calls the wrong number that’s off by one digit and that’s where the story really starts to begin…

She inadvertently meets Brian Savage and their relationship starts from there from calls and texts and late night conversations to the possibility of meeting in person. He’s not in a good place in his life either, and Sydney quickly becomes the only light he can see above all the darkness.

I quickly got wrapped into the story and really enjoyed how Brian and Sydney’s relationship developed throughout the story and how much both of them grew individually along with it. When you summarize their story it would seem so extra and over the top—I mean, what are the odds of meeting someone like this based off one wrong digit for someone’s number?—but reading it makes you really, truly believe it and that love does exist in this dark and crazy world we’re all living in.

It was a rather quick read and not too heavy, just how I like my romance novels, and the added spice of the sex scenes made it even more enjoyable than others.

I say if you’re looking for a well written, smut-filled romance that has both spice and utter sweetness, this is a choice I definitely recommend!

What I Liked:

  1. How Long It Took For Brian and Sydney To Meet! Part of the journey was how long it took these two to actually meet in real life. They start off as speech bubbles in their text chain and get closer and closer and they even have a few close calls where they would’ve met up in real life and it fills you with anxiety in the best way because you wonder if it’ll happen now or not. The author dragged out their eventual meeting in such a good way, when they eventually do it just makes it all the more explosive—in more ways than one!
  2. The Smut! This book was hot, nuff said. There were plenty of angsty, heart-wrenching deep moments in the book, but there was also a lot of hot-as-hell dirty scenes and oh so amazingly descriptive. Smut lovers will especially enjoy this book for this factor alone!
  3. Tori and Jamie! I really became invested in these two as a potential couple down the road. Tori is Sydney’s best friend, and Jamie is Brian’s, and their relationship definitely adds some sexual tension with the promise of more down the road! Tori is waitress at a local beachfront diner and Jamie is a pro surfer and total player, so him chasing her and her rolling her eyes at his lines and player antics were a fun addition to the story!
  4. How Brian and Sydney Help Heal Each Other! Both have some massive baggage going on in their lives even before they met each other, but I loved how they both help each other fight through the issues in order to become stronger on the other side of it all. It helps make their relationship and their love feel all the more powerful and real.

What I Didn’t Like:

  1. The Ending…I swear I say this about every romance novel I read, but the ending just feels really rushed and tossed together. There’s usually some issue that drives a massive wedge between the lovers and they get together in the end, but it seems like the authors just always have to throw in some last minute crisis just to add that much more drama, and it’s just something I’ve seen too often in this genre and am just not a fan of.
  2. I Didn’t Care For A Lot of the Side Characters…Besides Tori and Jamie, I just wasn’t really invested in any of the side characters. Sure, maybe that’ll change in the next books since this is a series, and they’ll get more attention when it’s their turn/book, but again besides Tori and Jamie, I’m not all that interested to see what happens down the line with most of the side characters…

Conclusion:

Overall, this was an incredibly well written erotic romance that I definitely recommend for anyone who’s looking for another of these types of books to enjoy. It’s one that isn’t by Colleen Hoover or on Booktok, but it’s still a very good story, and if you like romance novels with some good smut, I say give this a look!

Thanks for Reading!

— Nick Goodsell

Fantasy, New Adult Romance, Romance

My Review: A Touch of Darkness (Hades & Persephone #1): by Scarlett St. Clair

nicholasjgoodsell
Publish Date: May 23rd, 2019
Number of Pages: 353 Pages
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre(s): Fantasy, New Adult Romance

Total Star Rating: 3.75 Stars

Hades chuckled, leaning in so that when he spoke, his breath caressed her lips. ‘Oh, darling. You don’t know what I’m capable of.’”

– Scarlett St. Clair, “A Touch of Darkness”

What It’s About:

The official blurb:

Persephone is the Goddess of Spring by title only. The truth is, since she was a little girl, flowers have shriveled at her touch. After moving to New Athens, she hopes to lead an unassuming life disguised as a mortal journalist.

Hades, God of the Dead, has built a gambling empire in the mortal world and his favorite bets are rumored to be impossible.

After a chance encounter with Hades, Persephone finds herself in a contract with the God of the Dead and the terms are impossible: Persephone must create life in the Underworld or lose her freedom forever.

The bet does more than expose Persephone’s failure as a goddess, however. As she struggles to sow the seeds of her freedom, love for the God of the Dead grows – and it’s forbidden.

~~~

This was a total mood read, and while there are plenty of things that I thought could’ve been way better about it, it still at least served its purpose and entertained me as a reader. While some aspects were underdeveloped more than I cared for, what this story did give me was an erotic romantic tale with a sprinkling of fantasy elements added on top, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing so long as that’s something that you’re looking for.

I’ve been in the mood for some greek mythology related stories, and I’m usually really drawn into novels that get compared to the retelling of the classic tale of Hades and Persephone, so I’m so incredibly sad to say this wasn’t the best out of the many in that regards. It was still good enough to keep me interested and had me reading late into the night, but the romance factor was the main reason for that along with just having the whole classical mythology aesthetic on top of it all.

The writing was very so-so; It felt a little amateurish and choppy in some parts…not to mention there were a few typos and names mixed up…

This version of Persephone wasn’t the greatest portrayal of her character…

The sex was hot!

The Gods/Goddesses live amongst us!

The worldbuilding was simple, but effective!

Overall it wasn’t a bad book by any means, but I have similar feelings to it as I did for Laura Thalassa’s Bargainer series…I’d only read the first book for that, but the story focused mainly on the romance, had a simple world constructed with the possibility of more to explore as you read on, but not enough of the other aspects to make it a greater fantasy-genre book were developed as much as they could’ve been. It felt like I was just reading another version of the 50 Shades millionaire romance stories but the guy’s name just happens to be Hades this time around. At least from my perspective, I can say it felt like this story was less problematic than the franchise by EL James was…

With all that said, I can praise the romance factor that this book offered. I thought the author did a splendid job at it with the sexual tension that was built up between Hades and Persephone! At least, I can say I personally enjoyed it. It wasn’t the greatest, but it was still keeping me reading on. Some could argue that some of the lovemaking scenes felt out of place or excessive, but c’mon…..lesbehonest, we all know the smut is one of the main reasons people are drawn to these books to begin with. I certainly did not think this way!

~~~

‘Let me worship you,’ he said.

She remembered the words she had whispered to him in the back of the limo after La Rose. You will worship me, and I won’t even have to order you. His request felt sinful and devious, and she reveled in it.

She answered, ‘Yes.’“

– Scarlett St. Clair, “A Touch of Darkness”

What I Liked:

  1. The Slow-Building Sexual Tension! The sparks between Hades and Persephone were (of course) a major highlight of the book. The author really did a good job of giving their relationship a slow burn that made the moments whenever they gave into their lust and passion all the more satisfying! Side note, but I was also such a fan of the scene later on in the book when the two of them are freakin’ couples goals when they had a movie night in their sweats and baked cookies…
  2. It’s an Unorthodox Retelling! So not everyone will like this retelling simply because it doesn’t necessarily follow the original story to a T. Things have definitely been switched around, or completely different ideas have been sprung forward to at least make it feel like something completely new. I just know there are certain readers who are really sensitive to that sort of thing, and will strongly dislike something if it doesn’t perfectly match up, kind of like when a book gets turned into a movie or TV show and doesn’t follow the book all that much.
  3. The Modern Day Greek Gods Living Amongst Us! The worldbuilding was honestly more on the mediocre side, but it still worked rather well for the sake of the story. In this world, The greek gods and goddesses live among us, and they’re very much still in charge. They’re like the A-list celebrities a lot of us idolize: Hades runs the night-clubs and casinos, Dionysus has the world’s best wine vineyards, and I think you get the picture…There’s a red carpet scene with all the glitz and glamour and paparazzi cameras flashing as they all make their appearances, and it made me think how much more fun even events like the MET Gala would be if we could see deities like Apollo, Aphrodite, and yes even Hades making appearances at these sort of events. Overall, this aspect of the whole book was very fun!

What I Didn’t Like:

  1. The Grammar/Spelling/Typos…It happens at the very beginning, but there are some noticeable errors along these lines that were a big turn off…I mean, if something is published—traditionally or independently, I’d hope there wouldn’t be something like this in the book itself. I’m not reading someone’s fanfiction on Wattpad, this is an actual published book! I don’t know, it lessened my expectations and made the quality of it go down in my eyes.
  2. The Smut is Overhyped…I’m glad to see how many people like this book, or even this whole series, but I will admit that the actual sex scenes didn’t fully live up to the hype for me. They were good, but I was thinking they’d be better based off so many glowing reviews this book has. I was also maybe hoping for something…darker and more erotic and tantalizing, and maybe with more magical abilities put into play to spice things up a bit…
  3. Not Sure How I Feel About the Villain…This is the first time I’ve seen Demeter set up as the villain in the whole story revolving around Hades and Persephone, and while I say this is a more original take, I’m not sure how I feel about it to be honest. In the story, Demeter is always known as the caring and doting mother, but this time she’s painted as cold and manipulative and just an all around frigid bitch! I don’t know, I think the idea of having a positive mother/daughter relationship is always a better way to go, but that’s just a personal preference to me. I’ve just seen shitty parents used as the outer conflict for a character in the romance-genre way too many times, and it’s just so cliché for me too.
  4. Very Little Magic…Some other reviewers on Goodreads say this, and I have to agree: there were times this felt like just another millionaire romance, and not really something that has the legendary Greek God as the main character. It did feel almost like a “50 Shades of Grey” + Greek Mythology kind of setup quite a few times. At least this time it’s a little less problematic. There just wasn’t as much magic as I was hoping, it was very underdeveloped, but maybe more will happen in the later books! Fingers crossed…
  5. Persephone Isn’t All That…I wasn’t the biggest fan of Persephone in this particular story. She was headstrong and fierce at times, and more power to her for that, but she was also just pure plot convenience too. She was just way too naive and there was just WAY too much miscommunication with her in order to add conflict into the story for my liking.

Conclusion:

Overall, I liked but didn’t love this book, but it certainly filled the need for some Greek Mythology related fiction that I’ve been kind of craving as of late. It focused more on the erotic romance and less on the grandeur of having the powerful and magical gods among us, which is fine, but I want to see more stronger fantasy aspects going forward!

I recommend this book, and possibly this series, to those who really enjoy authors like Sarah J. Maas, Laura Thalassa, and even Jennifer L. Armentrout. This author’s writing isn’t as up to par with these other names, but the overall themes and aesthetics of the story and what is given attention to within the plot will appeal to those who enjoy their books.

The big question I had going forward was which book to read next in the series. Technically, there’s two options: A Touch of Ruin which follows after this book and still follows Persephone’s point of view, or there’s also A Game of Fate, which is actually this book all over again, but this time it’s told from the perspective of Hades! Do you go forward, or see everything from the other side of things? Maybe I’ll try and read the beginning of both and see which one I want to read first? If you’ve read these books already, what do you suggest? Let me know!

Thanks for Reading!

— Nick Goodsell