Fighting Destiny (The Fae Chronicles, #1) by Amelia Hutchins Review

This review contains some mild spoilers for Fighting Destiny at the beginning of the review. The remainder of the review does not contain any plot spoilers. Please read with discretion.

I was looking for a little fantasy palate cleanser after reading a lot of romance books, and came across this in the free section on iBooks. From the short description, I figured I would give it a go and see how the series began -- I went into this series not knowing anything more about the plot besides what was included in the description, so I was not exactly sure what I was getting into before reading.

I most certainly did not expect one of the first scenes in this book to be basically an assault scene. From my understanding, this prince that these characters loved talking about to so much, along with the rest of these fae, can literally sleep with people and turn them into dissociative zombie-like people? Honestly it really threw me off because it happens so fast that you do not even realize what is happening until it's basically over.

Synthia, our main character, is headstrong and seems to argue with every person that breathes in her direction. The entire time I was reading this book, the only thing playing in my head when I read her name was the slam poetry scene from 22 Jump Street - "Cynthia. Cyn-thi-a. Jesus died for our Cynthias. Jesus cried. Runaway bride." Then we have Alden and Adam, who I could barely tell apart while reading and kept switching their names up so much I am not too entirely sure who is who anymore. Ryder, our lovely little demon fairy prince, is literally one of the most unhinged characters that I have come across - I don't know if it is because of the way he talks, but this boy literally screams red flags to the tenth degree, yet I eat it up.

This book is giving sex club owner meets paranormal fantasy meets assassin/spy plot - it is set in the very modern world, and our main character even has an apartment and a roommate who avoids paying rent yet has time to go on shopping sprees. I have to say that I was not a huge fan of this book being set so modern - the descriptions of every character wearing jeans and button ups and watching reporters on the news while also talking about a fae's organs being removed gives you a bit of whiplash. There are a decent amount of song references in the book, and you can definitely overlook them as they don't hinder the plot by making the references too modern, but they are there and Synthia does mention them throughout the book.

It honestly took a few chapters for me to finally start to get into the book - probably about one third of the way through I began to like the characters more and the plot seemed to become more concise and flow better. I definitely started to like Ryder a lot more than I originally did, and that may just be because I'm a sucker for a dark and brooding male character. This book certainly does not come without its twists and turns, and I won't be the one to spoil those here, but I will say that if you pay enough attention, you'll be able to piece everything together right before it is revealed.

Larissa and Adam as side characters started to annoy me in the sense that they constantly keep information from Synthia until it's too late or she has already gotten hurt. I understand that they are working some type of mission, but they are shown to consistently put the cause over Synthia's wellbeing, when Synthia is the one doing all of the work. Everyone is always telling her what she has to do, but no one actually understands the predicament that she is actually in.

I recommend this book to fans of the enemies-to-lovers trope and dark-themed romance. It has action, sex, and fae - a read that will certainly keep you entertained and a plot that isn't riddled with unnecessary characters or confusing lore.

Fighting Destiny is available to download for FREE on iBooks and Kindle. You can add Fighting Destiny on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to date on publications and releases.

 

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Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov Review

Reader discretion is advised for Lolita, and I highly suggest reading up on potential trigger warnings if this content is not something that you are comfortable reading about in the book or in this review. This review does contain mild spoilers for Lolita.

Lolita's reputation for decades has been followed by controversy, taboo, and intense conversation. The novel's film adaption did not help this discussion, as Humbert's thoughts and narrative should have been kept to the page - creating a film of the very topic made Humbert as an unreliable narrator turn into something that Nabokov never intended for this story.

I have to say that I was definitely on the fence about even owning this book, let alone reading it, after hearing for years about the debate that has been going on for decades - does this book romanticize the "relationship" between Humbert and Dolores? We begin the book with Humbert in jail, for crimes that we automatically assume must be related to this character, Lolita, whom we have yet to meet but already have an idea of who she is - except for her name. Humbert's thoughts and storytelling are contradictory and calculated as he describes what his life has become and recounts his life before Dolores enters it, and how he came to be involved in her life.

Right off the bat, we know that Humbert is a character that we are rightfully disgusted by - he tells the reader of his various encounters with young girls and the obsessive thoughts and feelings he has towards them. Nabokov has Humbert cut right to the chase of what type of person Humbert is, and as a reader, you are find yourself struggling to get through these early pages of description and detail of Humbert's thoughts. The way that Humbert describes the girls he encounters and the girls he only sees in the streets or in passing has the reader questioning if they should even continue with the story, hoping that whatever they're about to read about Humbert and Dolores does not cross into this territory with a twenty-foot pole. 

Dolores is a young, twelve-year-old girl who is quite the opposite of the "nymphet" that Humbert constantly refers to her as - she is simply a child with a child's attitude and outlook on life. Humbert takes everything that Dolores does and warps the meaning behind it to fit into the narrative he has created in his mind. Dolores is acting out towards her mother and delays their picnic? Humbert believes she is doing this to tease him. He creates these encounters in his mind in which he and Dolores are living a life together and doing unspeakable things together. Nabokov writes Humbert with the ability to speak directly to the reader, where he attempts to justify his thoughts and tries to change the reader's view of his actions. But with the knowledge that we have about Humbert, it is impossible for us to ever see his side, because it is simply wrong in every way. He deserves no remorse, no compassion, and certainly no justification.

Humbert agonizes when Dolores is away from him, and blames everyone, even Dolores at times, for when his plans are thwarted from going his way. Her mother wants to send her to school far away, and Humbert does everything in his power to change this course of action. So much so, that he ends up marrying her to ensure that he stays close to Dolores. When Dolores's mother passes away, Humbert does not even initially tell her what has happened, he instead takes her away to a motel or something like the such, and prolongs telling her so that he may live in a world where it is just him and Dolores in his own fantasy.

After the reveal of her mother's death, we see Dolores change in character - or do we? Our unreliable narrator tries to paint a picture of an antagonizing Dolores that provokes Humbert at every chance, along with being sexually suggestive towards him. In reality, the reader knows that this is not actually happening, that it is Humbert combining the reality that he and Dolores live in with the fantasy of her that he has spent months formulating and building upon. 

We get very few fleeting moments of Dolores actually acting as a character rather than the object of Humbert's obsession, and even when we do, her words are not her own. They are the words that Humbert has given to her in order to satisfy his thoughts. This was expected, as the reader is only being fed information through Humbert, and while he tries to plead his case and give explanations for what he believed to have happened, it is obvious that anything that Dolores says or does once it is only her and Humbert is not actually Dolores, but Humbert's mind.

Seeing Humbert slowly fall into an even deeper obsession with Dolores once she becomes older was deeply uncomfortable to read. He continues to talk directly to the reader, consistently telling us that it is in fact Dolores who is responsible for the way he is, instead of himself. While Humbert does acknowledge in the beginning and end of the story that these thoughts are his own, he spends the almost the entirety trying to convince the reader that Dolores is responsible for his responses. His obsession with Dolores is doomed from the start - it is not only deeply disturbing and unsettling, but watching it unfold into some type of cat and mouse chase at the end makes the reader hope that Humbert will never see Dolores again. Even the idea of him knowing what is going on in her life was too much for me to imagine - he does not deserve to know what becomes of her and her future.

Nabokov's writing style, filled with French phrases that only emphasize the story and its characters, is able to create such an unlikable character out of Humbert. We know he is the unreliable narrator and that we should not believe a word he says, yet we continue to "listen" to the story he is telling us - we have to know what happens to him in the end. I obviously do not condone the way Humbert acted towards Dolores and the lengths that he took to stay in her life - he is a gross human being and no redemption for him is in his future.

A controversial classic, Lolita captivates the reader as we try to untangle Humbert's thoughts and decide what is true and what is obsession.

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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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Praise (Salacious Players Club, #1) by Sara Cate Review

This review contains spoilers for Praise (Salacious Players Club, #1) by Sara Cate. Please read with caution if you have not already read the book.

We are immediately thrown into Emerson's world with the first sentence of the book -- which makes it all the more intriguing, as I went into this read with very little known details about the plot. I was looking for a fun, quick read as I make my way through my TBR pile, and was instantly intrigued by Praise. Emerson, our resident 40-year-old father who definitely does not seem old enough to have an adult son, has particular interests in what he wants in a woman and in the bedroom. Charlie, the now ex-girlfriend of Emerson's son, certainly stumbles into his world hoping to get her security deposit back without a hassle, and ends up in a precarious situation.

I love the immediate connection that Emerson and Charlie have -- not the first time they meet, but rather, when Charlie is hired as his secretary and they visit the club together. They are already forming their own dialogue with each other, and we are thrust right into their blooming dynamic as Emerson continues to show his interest in Charlie and his fascination with the way that she conducts herself in new situations. She has little to no knowledge of what she is getting herself into, even with her rabbit-hole searches she conducted after finding out what Emerson does for a living.

Charlie is over here living the dream with Emerson telling her that she does not have to wear shoes when she comes into the office/his house -- what I would give to be open to take my shoes off at my desk while I"m at work!

Their dynamic is so great to read - it moves quickly, and you're not stuck reading through endless pages waiting for something small to happen. Go big or go home was definitely in the author's mindset, because when Emerson and Charlie start being involved, even with the basics, we are put right into their building relationship. I absolutely loved seeing the dual POVs as they begin to figure out what they want and the opposing sides of Emerson being so experienced and Charlie being so incredibly new to the club and to Emerson's life.

I love the relationship that Garrett has with Charlie -- it's nice to see her interacting with people that are not Emerson or her sister, but it's also good to see her enjoying her life. They give off this big brother-little sister dynamic, full of teasing and joking, and definitely getting on Emerson's nerves.

The way Beau keeps showing up into Charlie's life -- whether he's actually seeking her out or if he is there to see his father -- had me throwing the book across the room. He did not appreciate her in the beginning, and his phone call to her was no better. From the short scenes that he is in, we get this picture of him being this man-child who didn't know what he had and doesn't know how to keep it. The distaste he has for his father's sexual endeavors is now getting placed on Charlie, and yet he continues to want to be in her life but not his father's -- but he'll take his money. He definitely won me over -- maybe just a little bit -- by the end of the book, especially when he finally decides to own up to the mistakes that he has made and they way that he treated his father and Charlie.

I would definitely recommend this to fans of Fifty Shades of Grey -- while the age gap is a little more jarring in Praise, both have similar circumstances in a general sense. I definitely enjoyed this read -- it's quick, it's fun, and it's finally nice to see a main character that knows her worth and what she wants.

You can add Praise on Goodreads now, as well as the rest of the series, and follow the author to stay up to date on publications and releases.

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People Kill People by Ellen Hopkins Review

 

This book contains discussions of gun violence, death, attempted suicide, and sexual assault - reader caution is advised. Mild spoilers for People Kill People are mentioned in this review.

I have to say that I already was a fan of Ellen Hopkins' writing and poetry, and this book did not disappoint. When it comes to approaching such a topic, Hopkins is able to derive emotion where many would see just an inanimate object. The structure of the book works very well in order to take breaks from one character's story to another, while also including breaks that allow the reader to digest what they just read and apply it to the broader issues of gun control and violence in today's society.

It is an unfortunate time in our society that I read this book as mass shootings continue to skyrocket in the United States, with white supremacists using guns and violence to cause terror among communities. There is no excuse for using such violence in our world, and we should be speaking up against these individuals that use their unnecessary hatred to inflict pain onto others and take lives. Hopkins does an excellent job showing the consequences and heartbreak that gun violence brings upon to not only the people directly effected by these disgusting acts, but to the communities and overall population in which they occur.

The change in POV between the select characters shows an interesting dynamic on the mentality that they all hold on political views and attitude towards gun use and ownership. We are shown atrocious, bigoted views of several characters, while transitioning to the acceptance and hope from other characters, many of which who have been directly effected by gun violence or sudden death. Characters that begin with alt-right views begin to question their beliefs towards the end of the book, but only when they are finally confronted with the realization that arguments and violence will get them nowhere. Ashlyn has such an extreme mindset, that is riddled with alt-right ways of thinking, and when she finds herself arrested after pepper spraying a number of people at the rally, she begins to question why she is has this mindset and how this will play out.

Other characters we see experience traumas that are not directly related to gun violence, but allow them to use their experiences to work towards fighting against hatred -- Noelle was in a serious car accident, and begins to use her energy towards fighting for immigrant rights, through the encouragement of her sister. We see Cami, after being involved in the robbery at Denny's and her arrest for marijuana, begin to fight for herself, her child, and her life at the age of 19-years-old as she begins to confront the fact that her life is not going in the path she she saw for her and her family. Rand, Cami's husband, has experienced a brutal sexual assault, as we see how it impacts him and how he begins to view his relationship and his worries that Cami is slipping away from him -- just as Daniel begins to believe that Grace is going to leave him once she begins to spend more time with her sister and build a better relationship with her.

The absolutely heartbreaking reality of children getting ahold of a poorly contained gun, resulting in an accidental death haunts the ending of this book. So many stories in the news detail the unfortunate deaths caused by parents not properly locking up firearms, and in combination with curious children, lead to tragic deaths, many of which are of children themselves. Hopkins provides readers with resolutions for nearly all characters -- some of which are left uncertain, but are shown how acts of violence forever impacted their lives.

I highly encourage everyone to read this novel -- Hopkins is able to show the realities of what gun violence, among other atrocities, does to individuals and how mentality can change once something is experienced first-hand. Despite this being fiction, this is a major reality for so many people, especially in the United States, that has constantly impacted society and government response. These scenarios are very much a reality in today's society, and education on gun reform and public action are some of the many ways that our communities can work together in order to make our lives safer. No one should ever have to experience the grief of losing a loved one by firearm misuse and hatred -- we must come together and find a way to ensure that this stops from happening.

To those who have been impacted by gun violence and bigotry, I send my deepest sympathies and urge everyone to be aware of what is happening in your country. Violence is never the answer, and we must hold people accountable for these disgusting acts of violence.

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Breach (Catalyst Moon, #2) by Lauren L. Garcia Review

 

I would first like to thank Inkitt for providing me with a copy of Breach to review - after reading Incursion (Catalyst Moon, #1) through Inkitt, it was amazing to have the opportunity to give an honest review through them once again.

You can read my review of Incursion, the first installment of the Catalyst Moon series here.

This review contains minor spoilers for Breach - please read with caution if you have not completed the book.

I was so excited to finally get back into the Catalyst Moon series, and the second installment did not disappoint. Garcia does an excellent job at world-building and character development, so much so that you can clearly see what is happening during each chapter, and you can feel the emotion behind the dialogue and inner thoughts of the characters. Stonewall and Kali are such a unique pairing, and as we saw in the first book, their bond forms significantly more from their initial meeting. We get to see so much more of their relationship take shape as we experience the complexity of their stations unfold, and the romance really takes off in this second installment.

When Kali was healing the woman in the village along with other mages and soldiers, I knew something was going to happen and did not anticipate that in trying to heal this woman, she actually ended up killing her. It was heartbreaking to see the aftermath of that scene, but great to see people standing up for Kali to prove that she did not intentionally mean to harm that woman.

I really enjoyed how we see the storylines begins to merge towards the end of the book - everything starts coming together and brings you so much anticipation on how everything will either be resolved or left to us to find out more in the next book. In my opinion, this installment has a quicker pace to it than the first book, which I believe compliments the story and gives both world-building and action their own spotlights, respectively. Things are much more high stakes in Breach, and it adds to the tension between Kali and Stonewall's romance, as well as to their own individual journeys throughout the book and series. It definitely builds upon what we saw in Incursion, and doesn't gloss over any information that we needed more details - it is excellent character development all around.

I can't wait to continue on with this series and see what Lauren L. Garcia has in store for us next!

The latest installment of the Catalyst Moon series, Sacrifice (Catalyst Moon, #5) was released on August 30th, 2021. You can add Breach and the rest of the Catalyst Moon series on Goodreads, and follow the author for more updates.

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Vanishing Twins: A Marriage by Leah Dieterich Review

This review contains mild spoilers and details for Vanishing Twins: A Marriage. Please read with caution.

I admit, I did not know a lot about this book when I first opened it - it had been sitting on my bookshelf for some time, and I have finally been able to start tackling my never-ending growing TBR pile. But right off the bat, the description on the back cover caught my eye. A list of things that we, the readers, will learn from this book: Alternate reading of the myth of Narcissus? How to smoke a novella? The mysterious equations of distance, difference, desire, and love? Consider me intrigued!

The use of ballet comparisons and writing style is captivating - you can feel her pain, her resentment, and her utter confusion and longing for understanding through the page. She explores her triumphs that turn into defeats, her attachment to Eric as though they are one and the same, and the struggles of their relationship through both separation and exploration of both of their sexualities.

Her relationship with Elena showed a side of Leah's struggles of having Eric understand her need for flourishment and her own personal growth, while at the same time not telling Eric about their relationship for some time and then still only letting him in on a little information. However, Eric is also going about the country on business and various retreats where he tells Leah of his sexual encounters and revelations, so I cannot blame her for wanting to keep Elena to herself, especially when Eric wasn't up much for the throuple idea that was initially on the table.

Her twin left her behind. Then ballet was gone. And now, Eric was in New York for a year, away from Leah, leaving her left behind once again.

We see Eric start to explore a life outside of Leah once he goes to New York - he sleeps with a woman with a serious resemblance to Leah, and then tells her that he has been seeing a psychoanalyst for some months. It is interesting to see how Leah becomes upset at this confession - while they are in an open relationship, she has been "hiding" the extent of her (then) relationship with Elena with telling Eric only some of the details, but gets upset when he is seeing another man or just having casual sex with people he encounters.

She does not want to "murder their relationship," but does not understand how it could continue as is while they live together again after a year of what was a significant shift in their relationship and their own self discoveries.

Overall, I have some mixed feelings about Vanishing Twins: A Marriage. I feel myself content with the ending of Leah and Eric's story, yet wanting to see them beyond their final cohesion back together at the end. They were separated for so long and are finally back together under the same roof, yet to me, they feel oceans apart. I do recommend this book for readers looking for an interesting approach to self-reflection and discovery through a nontraditional writing style for nonfiction.

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