Stone Heart (Dark Olympus, #0.5) by Katee Robert Review

This is a spoiler-free review! Stone Heart is currently available for free on Kindle.

I have been meaning to get into the Dark Olympus series for years now, and since I am such a big fan of mythology retellings, I thought this would be a great novella to help me out of a reading slump and keep up with my reading goal. Medusa is working for Athena as essentially a human tool to take care of business, but the lines of her work begin to blur when she is tasked with getting rid of Calypso. The premise of the story is intriguing, but I was definitely hesitant to see how it would play out in such a short number of pages.

Reading this was basically a test to see how I would feel about Katee Robert's writing style, and while this was a short glimpse into her retellings, I found myself able to read quickly through this story without feeling like the plot was dragging. The pacing was faired pretty well given that this novella clocks in at just over one hundred pages, and it did not extremely rushed putting Medusa and Calypso together.

The side characters made their quick appearances and then disappeared for the remainder of the story with the exception of a mention here and a quick phone call there. I did not care for Athena -- she is on the more severe in her relationship with Medusa considering their mentioned past, and it just did not seem to flow well with how their dynamic was set up by the author. Maybe this was my fault for going in with assumptions, but I was under the impression that this series leaned more towards the dark romance or spicier side of reading, and I did not get any of that from this novella.

Robert's retelling had a lot to work with in terms of mythology, but seemed to fall a little flat when it came to incorporating unique aspects to the story. Medusa seemed to be very insecure, and it was hindering the reading experience in the sense that she was not developing at a rate that would project the story forward within the restricted number of pages. It really started to feel as though she was never going to make a breakthrough until we got to the very end of the novella, and even then I have my doubts that she makes any more progress after the story was over.

Their story is definitely skating the lines of insta-love, which is not my favorite trope, but I tend to throw away that bias when it comes to romantasy books. However, it really did feel out of the blue with Medusa, and took all of five pages before she was playing with the idea that she was in love with Calypso. If this novella was about fifty pages longer, it would have been great to see some more character development in Medusa or Calypso, but what was given to them fit their characterizations well. It was nice to see a little sneak peak into Neon Gods, and I may decide to return to this series later on.

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Satan's Affair by H.D. Carlton Review

This review contains spoilers for Satan's Affair. Please read reviews or go to the author's website for more details on trigger warnings. It is recommended that you read the prequel novella, Satan's Affair, prior to reading the Cat and Mouse Duet, but is not required. You can read my review of Haunting Adeline on my blog, here.

I genuinely did not know what to expect or had an idea about what I would think of this book since I was not jumping up and down after reading Haunting Adeline, but I wanted to go back and read the prequel just in case it gave more a little background before I go diving into Hunting Adeline. Compared to Haunting Adeline, I would say that Satan's Affair definitely prioritizes gore and violence in the first half of the book, while the smut takes a secondary priority.

Through the use of her own haunted house and a handful of very attentive henchmen, Sibby is able to take down the demons she finds one at a time in a very particular way. You can tell that while she does let her emotions come through from time to time, she is typically very particular about how she goes about these killings. She certainly is creative, and with the haunted house on her side, she is able to basically do whatever she wants and have her henchmen clean up the pieces.

When Sibby was doing her thing to Gary, I was literally so surprised that he was still conscious and aware of what was happening -- if someone was getting their limbs cut off and bones broken, you would think the pain would have taken them out pretty quickly. She really has a bone to pick with him, especially after overhearing what he did to his girlfriend, Jennifer. There is definitely an up on the gore and violence factor in this prequel, and while I did not find it unbearable, some may find the content a touch too disturbing.

This novella will definitely prepare readers for what is to come in the Cat and Mouse Duet when it comes to both smut scenes and graphic depictions of violence and assault. While the content in Satan's Affair certainly heads towards a blurry line, I would say that it is just getting readers ready for what is to come.

I love that we got to see Sibby watching Zade follow Adeline and Daya through the haunted house -- not really a spoiler for Haunting Adeline, but just one scene that we see in the book that I actually appreciated really after reading Haunting Adeline. To be quite honest, the scenes between Sibby and Zade from her perspective somehow made me like Zade more, and made me even more excited to continue the duology. Looking back, I do wish I read this novella before starting the duology, and I would recommend reading Satan's Affair first just to get a touch of background information on Sibby, but it is entirely up to the reader's preference.

It was such an interesting choice to see that the henchmen were not actually real -- I knew people always referenced a twist with Sibby at the end, but I did not expect it to apply by extension to the henchmen. There were some definite negative connotations made towards Sibby's mental struggles, especially towards the end of the novella when she is in the institution.

Overall, this is a decent introduction to the Cat and Mouse Duet, and provides a quick and interesting read for those looking to get into the taboo genre while still being a little cautious of where exactly they may draw the line when it comes to dark romance.

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Finding Cinderella (Hopeless, #2.5) by Colleen Hoover Review

This review does not contain spoilers for Finding Cinderella. This novella accompanies the Hopeless series by Colleen Hoover, which includes Hopeless, Losing Hope, and Finding Perfect. You do not need to read Loosing Hope in order to reading Finding Cinderella - it is essentially Hopeless from Holder's perspective, with some additional information.

You can read my reviews of Colleen Hoover publications on my blog here: It Ends With Us.

I absolutely loved Hopeless, so I was so excited to see that Finding Cinderella was available to download for free! It has been some time since I read Hopeless, but I can vividly remember where I was when I read it - I definitely recommend looking at trigger warnings if needed for this series, as it may be difficult to read if you are not aware of particular plot devices.

In Finding Cinderella, we see Daniel and Six's early moments - how they met, what he thinks of her, and what is currently going on in his life when she quite literally falls into his lap. We are able to see his perspective on his current relationship and the hardships that he is going through when he finds this Cinderella that goes as quicks as she came in, then comes back rushing in.

It is great to see Daniel's thoughts during these encounters with Six, and watching him also begin to value his own being as he realizes that he shouldn't have to change into a different person in order to please anyone. We see the comparisons between Val and Six that he makes as he spends more time with Six and gets to know her, and are able to have a better understanding of who he is as an individual and as someone in a relationship.

Daniel and Six are complex characters, and it was great to dive into his perspective during these key moments. Hoover is able to show his internal battles while actively trying to do what is best for him as he learns more about Six and their budding relationship. It is a fantastic addition to the series and furthers the depth of Daniel's character.

This is a quick read, and adds to the story of Hopeless and Losing Hope. Colleen Hoover is able to build upon the characters and world that she has created in a way that doesn't seem overzealous or dragging out their story.

Finding Cinderella is available to download for FREE on iBooks and Amazon kindle devices/applications. You can add Finding Cinderella and the rest of the series on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to date on releases and publications.

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The Dare by Harley LaRoux Review

This novella review contains mild spoilers for The Dare by Harley LaRoux. The actions depicted in this novella do not represent accurate or safe BDSM encounters — reader discretion is advised.

I honestly don’t even think I have the words to describe this novella to the extent that I need to — TikTok was definitely not lying when everyone said it was something else. I have read my fair share of steamy and taboo books (shoutout to Credence by Penelope Douglas), but this certainly was an experience I was not expecting to go through, especially with how the story progressed. Jessica and Manson have a past, however fleeting it may be, but that certainly does not stop either one of them from engaging in one of the most public and ill-acknowledged erotic relationships that I have seen. For some reason, while everyone at the party was super invested into their Drink or Dare competition, the interest immediately died down just when it was getting interesting.

We’ve got knives, we’ve got humiliation, we’ve got… clowns? I actually laughed out loud when I saw clowns listed in the warnings before the beginning of the story — I was going in blind and this threw me for a loop before I even got to page one. It is very fast-paced once we get to the initial plot point that puts Jessica into the situation that she is in — and doesn't seem to want to get out of. She is getting humiliated in front of dozens of party-goers, and yet she is also the most confident person in the room — besides Manson.

Now when we finally got to the clowns, I literally had to mentally prepare myself for whatever the author had in store for us. Yes, this takes place during a Halloween party with young adults, but I could not help but picture a children's birthday party clown costume when the boys were finally mentioned in the store. Totally not scary and definitely what I did not want to be picturing while reading this novella. Luckily, we move on pretty quickly from the clowns and Jessica's involvement with them, and go straight into...you guessed it — knife play! No worries, there is nothing gory mentioned.

We somehow manage to be going back and forth between Jessica literally being used in a dozen different ways by the hands of Manson to catapulting into Manson's backstory. It adds maybe a little shock to the plot, but if you are reading too fast and skim over the two sentences it takes to reveal that the house that the party is at is actually Manson's house, you won't be missing much.

If you need a quick and steamy read, The Dare is for you. I would definitely recommend this novella to fans of more taboo story-telling, but it's overall pretty mild and any newcomer to the genre would not have an issue with anything mentioned or depicted in the story.

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Elemental (Elemental, #0.5) by Brigid Kemmerer Review

 

This review does not contain any major spoilers for Elemental or for the series.

I was looking to get back into fantasy after reading a number of contemporary novels and needed something to see if I was actually in the mood to go back to the genre - and Elemental was the perfect choice. A complementary novella to the Elemental series by Brigid Kemmerer gives us a glimpse into the lives of main characters of the series before the events that unfold in Storm, the first official installment of the Elemental series.

It was a lot shorter than I expected, but it was nice to return to these characters after awhile. I definitely needed a bit of refreshing before deciding to continue on with the series, so it was a quick read in terms of remembering who the characters were and the basics of the plot. I do wish it was a tad longer - and I understand that novellas are supposed to be short, but it felt so sped through that I did not have time to actually digest what was going on - and I wish we were able to see more of Michael's POV, but it definitely did its job of wanting me to be interested in finishing the series.

After finishing the first two books in the series, Elemental was able to give the boost of information and reminders needed to remember what the series what about and the world-building behind our main characters. The writing style is easy to follow and the dual POVs provide us with an overall understanding of what is going on for both characters, as well as a deeper understanding of their own family dynamics.

A number of novellas accompany the Elemental series and are a sure way to gain an even better grasp on the lore of the series. The Elemental series is now available for reading. You can add Elemental and the rest of the series to your Goodreads shelves and follow the author for more updates.

You can catch up with me and my current reads by friending me on Goodreads and following this blog in order to stay up-to-date with any reviews, blog tours, and more!