A review by inkerly
The Eternals: Her Forbidden Immortals by Smauggy

slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

A new favorite series of mine

Overall šŸ“–Plot 3/5  šŸŒ¶ļø Spice 4/5
Another tantalizing read from Mrs.Smauggy. Opening a new book of hers feels like opening up a new present on Christmas except I can do it year round. Sheā€™s always pumping out novels and Iā€™m always reading them. Her writing, character development, world building, and cyberpunk and scientific world elements are amazing. 

Now some things to get off my chest: first off I canā€™t count how many female MCs in love trysts are named Tessa Marie. I have no issues with Tessaā€™s character per se but she comes off like any other self insert Y/N character with a basic name and personality. With the exception of her disability ( I liked the fact she was a disabled but genius student ), she was overly characterized as the ā€œinnocent sheltered virginā€ . It sometimes made it hard for me to take her seriously. But I peep we will see a big character transformation for her.


Cicero, Cassius, and Kal-El I all enjoyed. Iā€™m sad that in order for them to shine, Kennyā€™s character essentially had to take a backseat. But each of them had their own unique traits that helped me distinguish them by personality . The spicy scenes were very enjoyable and the more the merrieršŸ˜Š 

One thing to note is honestly , I donā€™t even think the BDSM aspect or Age- Gap aspect was relevant to this story. Take away that, and the sex scenes probably couldā€™ve gone the same way due to Tessaā€™s inherent nature. Thereā€™s some formal recognition of BDSM practices and customs but nothing hardcore. Still, I enjoyed myself with this bunch.

Plotwise I felt there were a lot of subplots that got pushed to the wayside for the spiciness but then built back up towards the end. But Iā€™m more than willing to see what book 2 brings. If I had to rank her books Iā€™d say this one is my 3rd favorite, behind ā€œLove an Angel, Screw a Demonā€ and my all time favorite of hers, ā€œMalevolenceā€. The way the book ended, now I definitely have to read Book 2. I already have a bunch of theories in my head about how Professor Dwyer, Tessa, and the 3 Eternals are all connected but I guess Iā€™ll have to wait until next year to confirm it.