Unquietly Me

Disturbingly violent

Revisado: 02-28-24

Disturbingly violent, poor kids are so traumatized especially Lee. Way too young to be military leaders.

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suspenseful & emotionally intense! loved it!

Revisado: 09-25-20

This series got better and better with each book. Blue on Blue was so suspenseful and intense. It was fraught with tension, had all the feels and all the angst, and I loved it.

The narrator Gary Furlong totally inhabited the characters he gave voice to. His narration communicated Will’s emotions so convincingly I couldn’t help but cry at times.

This novel, like the previous books in the series, was deftly plotted, and all the plot twists made sense, although it was easier to guess this time around who was the real “villain.” I really liked how the villains were complex characters, and the heroes were flawed characters.

This book is a direct sequel to Object of Desire, which told Will and Tom’s love story from Tom’s perspective. In this book, their story is told from Will’s perspective. It was so interesting to learn what Will hadn’t said and what he had been hiding from Tom.

Though Will didn’t show it, his feelings for Tom were incredibly intense, and I completely sympathized with what he was going through in both his relationship and his job. Will went through so much stress not knowing which of his colleagues he could trust.

So, I really loved how Will and Jamie became cop buddies. I also loved how Ben got some closure, how Will and Tom figured things out, and how their relationship developed.

Will and Tom were such a passionate couple. The sex scenes were amazing, smoking hot, and emotionally intense, with a touch of tenderness and vulnerability. In a word, glorious.

This book was so damn good & unforgettable. I look forward to Dal Maclean’s future books.

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this m/m rom-com had all the laughter & the feels!

Revisado: 08-19-20

This was very entertaining, incredibly romantic, and often laugh-out-loud funny. But it was also heartfelt and emotional and made me cry at times.

Luc and Oliver were likable, complex, sensitive characters, whose vulnerabilities and imperfections won me over as much as their strengths and fearlessness. Luc was perfectly snarky and awkward, while Oliver was perfectly polite and composed, for the most part.

I loved how they didn’t instantly fall in love. Though the attraction was there from the start, they fell in love over time, as they got to know each other as as their fake relationship became more real.

I loved how honestly the author portrayed the various stages of falling in love, the giddiness and awkwardness, the fear of opening up to another person and getting hurt, the anxieties and complications.

For most of the novel, I couldn’t put it aside. But somewhere near the end, it started to feel a little too long. I liked Luc and Oliver’s friends, but I didn’t like all of Luc’s colleagues/donors. They just seemed to exist to be funny.

Not to mention, the beetle ball/fundraiser that Luc had needed a fake boyfriend for turned out to not be that exciting except to show how Oliver was such a great guy and boyfriend.

However, the meeting with Oliver’s parents was really interesting and got me invested in the story and the relationship all at once. It showed a side to Oliver that I hadn’t expected, and was really well-written.

There were many scenes that reminded me of a ‘90s Hugh Grant rom-com. With the carload of friends. The aging rock star. The Bridget-Darcy opposites attract, Darcy the upstanding barrister and his way with words when he told Bridget he liked her. The inappropriate mother.

I also loved Joe Jameson' expressive, intimate, and sensitive narration. He was just so good. He got Luc and Oliver’s voices so right. I felt like he really was Luc, taking to me, totally inhabiting Luc's character, feelings, and experiences, and not just reading from a book. The book was good but the audiobook was even better and definitely worth my Audible credit.

I could totally see this as a movie, which would be good because it would cut down on some of the scenes that went a bit too long in my opinion. Even with the parts that dragged, I could listen/read this all over again. Though the sex scenes weren’t explicit, they were sexy, meaningful, and sweet.

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magical, thrilling, and romantic series conclusion

Revisado: 05-26-20

A magical, thrilling, and romantic conclusion to the Darkest Court series, the Iron Crown centers on Lugh, the youngest prince of the Unseelie Winter Court, and Kieran, his longtime companion and protector.

I completely enjoyed their journey from a platonic friendship to a greater love and sexual intimacy, and I loved how they became true equals in the end. They had a truly special relationship that was built on long-standing trust, friendship, and loyalty. From the moment Lugh found Kieran, they were inseparable.

I was fascinated by the pair’s magical abilities, which turned out to be more awesome and important to the main plot than I first thought. And I liked how their partnership was so vital in identifying and defeating the main villain.

I liked how the villain and the princes’ mother Queen Mab were complex and interesting characters as well. And I liked how the brothers came through for each other and their family, while treasuring and fighting for their found families.

I hope the author writes more fantasy m/m romance, because I enjoyed this series very much. John Solo's narration was perfect!

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Best book I’ve read/listened to in 2020 so far

Revisado: 05-09-20

The more I think about this book the more I don’t know what to think about it. At the same time, I have so many thoughts about this book I don’t know how to express all those thoughts without writing a whole essay, because this is the kind of book that I believe asks for critical thinking and analysis to get a solid understanding of what it’s saying and what it means.

I can say for certain though that this is the best book I’ve read/listened to in 2020 so far. Unfortunately, I’ve only read 13 due to Covid making it hard for me to concentrate and sleep. I can also say that this book made me cry a lot and feel a lot of things. I can’t say it gave me “all the feels,” because I didn’t feel the happiness and elation a romance novel would produce. But I loved how this book made me feel big emotions and think about it days after I’d finished reading it.

I liked the ambiguous ending. I don’t know if Alex or Elisha should be together, but I do think Alex won’t ever hurt Elisha again. I think Elisha should take as much time as he needs to be a full human being and fully self-aware. What he went through was so sad and heartbreaking, yet I also felt Alex’s angst. I do understand how trapped Alex felt, but I hated how Elisha had to suffer because of Alex’s cowardice.

So, yeah, I think Alex was a coward. He was addicted to his privilege and afraid of his father. In the end, he may have stood up and fought for Elisha, freeing himself at the same time. It was a win-win for him. He wasn’t impoverished and he wasn’t “imprisoned” or institutionalized. He may have lost his job, but it wasn’t the end of the world for him. I kinda hated that his voice was stronger than Elisha’s in the end, that he got the last word, because it meant that Elisha wasn’t completely free and wasn’t completely able to speak for himself. But I think that was the author’s point.

I really liked the freedom and joy Elisha felt when he was with Onyx and their uncomplicated friendship, though their relationship began in such a disturbing setting. This book contained moral ambiguity in a horrifyingly one-dimensional, regimented world.

I feel so sad for Elisha, what happened to him and how he became, and hope he does regain complete self-autonomy and agency. The author did such a good job communicating what Elisha and Alex went through and how they felt that I couldn’t help but sympathize with both of them.

This book is like a horror story in some ways and could perhaps provide a lens through which we can view our own world and circumstances especially here in the United States during Covid. Where some Americans are forced to work in unsafe and life-threatening conditions just to survive, while others on the frontline are working in unsafe conditions due to poor public policy and a corrupt administration, whose only goal is to win re-election, stay in power, and enrich themselves, their donors, and their cronies.

Finally, I have to say, the audiobook narration completely sold the story to me and bumped my review up to 5 stars.

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satisfying conclusion to the series

Revisado: 01-10-20

Though Kings Rising was a satisfying conclusion to the Captive Prince series, I felt that the novel dragged a little in the middle. Most of the action took place in the beginning and the end, and most of the plot was about Laurent and Damen doing what they needed to do to get their enemy factions to work and fight together, to be allies, and repairing their relationship after Damen’s identity was revealed.

But first they had to decide if they wanted a relationship at all. Damen did, but Laurent was resistant for reasons. Damen had killed his brother in the war, and Laurent was scared of physical and emotional intimacy. To me, all the signs of trauma was obvious, and it didn’t make sense that Damen who was so observant of Laurent’s idiosyncrasies didn’t suspect even a little the real reason Laurent was so tense when they were intimate.

Either Damen’s ignorance was a character flaw or the author just wanted to show his reaction to the truth at a specific moment for dramatic impact and to hit a specific plot point. The action in the novel seemed more plot-driven than character-driven. Similarly, the two scenes in Laurent’s POV were included to show how clever Laurent was, since Damen wasn’t there to see it.

The ending was both satisfying and abrupt. I kind of wanted an epilogue but I also felt that this novel was overlong, intense, and exhausting. There were a few surprises and strange outcomes in the end. Damen had some knowledge that seemed to come out of nowhere. Laurent didn’t have an especially brilliant plan. But I did like how the ghosts of their past were put to rest in the end, and how Laurent showed how much he truly loved Damen.

I enjoyed Damen and Laurent’s story. The angst, sex, romance, and camaraderie between them were entertaining. I loved their courage and greatness, their strengths and vulnerabilities, their passion and compassion. But I didn’t really like the world they lived in, the slavery, hypermasculine requirements for leadership and kingship, and hereditary rule for that matter, so I’m glad that Damen turned out to be a bit progressive in the end. His experience as a captive prince changed him. Which goes to show that the privileged don’t really get it or care until it happens to them.

In any case, this series was really entertaining, and I will certainly consider buying this author’s future books. The audiobook narration again was good, though I got impatient when the action slowed down in the middle. I think I could have gotten through the book faster if I had read the ebook instead.

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So much better than the first!

Revisado: 01-07-20

Prince's Gambit is the second book in the Captive Prince series by C.S. Pacat. It is an erotic m/m romance set in a Western European, medieval, fictional universe, and is so much better than the first. There was more development of characters, relationships, world building, and plot. This book was as much about revealing Laurent’s deceptions as keeping Damen’s secrets.

This book had more substance than the first. Laurent and Damen’s feelings, personalities, and experiences were much more complex and detailed, and their interactions were so filled with tension, angst, as well as excitement and anticipation.

There was more action, though there were at times more telling than showing of the action. And there was adventure, as Damen accompanied Laurent on his reckless, risky schemes.

There was suspense and betrayals and unpredictable plot twists, but the best part of course was seeing the trust, intimacy, and feelings that grew between Damen and Laurent. They brought out the best in each other.

I loved how Damen came to Laurent’s rescue time and again sometimes with superhuman strength, will, and determination. I loved how Damen tempered Laurent’s anger and willful personality and stood up to him, and how carefully he treated Laurent. How sexy the consent!

I really wonder if there was more going on with Laurent’s perceived frigidity, if it was more than self-preservation, self-defense. It was the one thing that irritated me, it was too ambiguous, but Laurent’s reactions and tension were so strong I don’t know why Damen didn’t wonder about it too. Maybe he didn’t want to confront it. Maybe they both didn’t want to. Or maybe it wasn’t there. But either way it can’t continue to be this ambiguous, and I hope in book 3 it’s put into perspective.

I didn’t think the extra chapter after the end of the book was necessary, so I can see why it was probably cut from the text. The scene didn’t tell us anything we didn’t already know about Damen and Laurent Sometimes, less is more.

Not a big fan of the narrator’s performance in book 1, but I got more comfortable with his voice in book 2. I didn’t want to stop listening to the audiobook and couldn’t wait to find out what would happen next. Apparently, most reviewers felt that book 2 was the best in the series. I’m very curious to see how I’ll feel about book 3. This feels like a series I could read or listen to all over again.

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Interesting but not as good as the hype

Revisado: 12-31-19

This wasn’t as good and the politics wasn’t as sophisticated as I anticipated, but the story was interesting enough to hold my attention. I do want to know what’s gonna happen next and if/how the romance will develop between Laurent and Damen. The narrator and author both could have done better in telling the story.

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Addictive

Revisado: 12-05-19

This series is so addictive. I can’t wait to start book 10. Agent Bayne is as good as the rest though not quite 5 stars. Since the cast was limited without Con and Lisa and with Crash taking on a more minor role, it was pretty easy to figure out who the killer was. It was a bit hard to believe that it took Vic so long to figure it out himself. But the most interesting mystery was what happened to Vic’s memories. And I can’t wait to find out more about his past.

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Cripes!

Revisado: 11-06-19

I loved everything about this. Learning more about what went on at Camp Hell and Vic’s talent and seeing more character development for Jacob, as well as growth in their relationship, which was just so sweet and sexy. Jacob is such a good boyfriend. So dreamy. The cop drama and paranormal elements as always were exciting, and I couldn’t wait to find out what would happen next. Not to mention Gomez Pugh’s narration was excellent as usual. Though I missed Lisa in this one. It’s fun seeing how Vic solves his cases and the crazy adventures and characters he runs into. Crash is so entertaining. The ending was the best so far & tugged at the heartstrings. Love this series. So addictive!

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