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A review by lenoreo
Realms and Rebels by Chloe Adler
3.0
OVERALL:
22 stories -- DNF'd 2; didn't even start 6; 2 or 2.5 stars 5; 3 or 3.5 stars 6; 4 or 4.5 stars 3.
That's about 3 stars or less overall. There were a few that really surprised me, and have me looking into more books by those authors. But a lot that just weren't my cup of tea, or didn't even interest me. *shrugs* This is my first experience with Reverse Harem, but I'm not sure it's the genre so much as the different writing styles that didn't work for me.
SEE NO DEVILS by C.M. STUNICH:
2 stars -- To be fair, I should have DNF'd this one... It didn't capture me at all, and I was honestly just extremely confused about the plot and the world. To top it off I didn't connect with any of our characters. It just didn't work for me.
LIGHT THE FIRE by ELIZABETH BRIGGS:
3 stars -- This read fairly easily, but I wasn't really that drawn to any of the characters. I felt like I didn't really understand the world that well, and I only partially got to know any of the characters. Basically it was a good story, but didn't stand out. And I also have a pet peeve of reading books where the characters names change, or the spelling changes.
HER BIG BAD WOLVES by MARGO BOND COLLINS:
DNF'd @ chapter 5 -- I learned my lesson from See No Devils, and when I wasn't really intrigued by the characters or plot, and I was more forcing myself to continue reading, I figured I should cut my losses b/c this wasn't a match for me.
FIFTH SOUL by LAURA GREENWOOD & ARIZONA TAPE:
3.5 stars -- Yay! This one pulled me in more! I will admit that I was super confused about Rachel in the beginning, and while I should have understood what was happening, I didn't. Occasionally the attitudes of Lola and Todd didn't work for me, but all in all I enjoyed the world and the romance!
A NIGHTMARISH MYSTERY by L.C. HIBBETT & N.M. HOWELL:
2 stars -- Steamier??? Uhhhh... So I've never read any of the stories that this novella is connected to, but the introduction said that this could be read as a standalone and that it was written to give fans more steam for the characters from the series. The novella was 9 chapters, and for the first 7-8, the men barely made an appearance. So for me there was NO chemistry, and it makes me wonder what kind of romance is in the normal novels, b/c this was super quick at the end. Also, the plot was super confusing and I really didn't understand the elements at ALL, so I would say this does not read as a standalone. Probably better if you're a fan of the series.
TWISTED: A FAIRY TALE MASH-UP by LENA MAE HILL:
2.5 stars -- Well, I read it all. Honestly it was intriguing at first, but then I just got more and more confused. It seriously felt as though this one was edited and scenes were removed, leaving me missing super important parts. Like we'd be at one point, I'd turn to the next chapter and I would be so confused by where we were and what had happened to make that come to be (Oral sleeping with Cayenne for one). And then the ending! No apologies? No explanations about why he did what he did? And she just fucks him? WTF??? And what the hell was with Yvonne? And jesus, we really don't get any explanation. Nope.
RAVEN'S FALL by EVA CHASE:
4 stars -- Yay!! Another hit for me! It might have even been 4.5 rounded down, can't decide. I just enjoyed Munnin (I butchered that spelling) as our heroine. She was forthright with a bit of spunk, and it was interesting seeing her adjust to her new circumstances. And the boys were all adorable in different ways. I appreciated that they were each so different, each a bit damaged, but so very loveable. And wow, the steamy scenes, while short, were pretty hot. I actually felt the connection between them all. I might have to look into more by this author.
CHARMS OF ATTRACTION by JULIA CLARKE:
Didn't start -- the blurb just didn't interest me at all, and apparently I don't have the patience to try.
HELL'S CALLING by BEA PAIGE & SKYE MACKINNON:
3 stars -- I mean, it was okay. I had a harder time getting into it, I guess I just wasn't connecting with Ciera. And I wasn't that enamoured with Maro. I enjoyed Ceb though. Bit bummed that it was that long only to have no resolution, but I guess that happens.
TWISTED by AMY SUMIDA:
DNF in chapter 1 -- The term midget was used. Pretty sure that's not cool. I tried to go on anyways, but I wasn't connecting with Dorothy at all, so I bailed.
INCONCEIVABLE ORIGIN by CHLOE ADLER:
Didn't start -- the blurb just didn't interest me at all, and apparently I don't have the patience to try.
ON THE EDGE OF FOREVER by A.J. ANDERS & AMANDA PERRY:
3 stars -- This one had so much potential. I really enjoyed the world that was depicted, and I loved some of the moments of snark and teasing between characters. But then Remy happened. Remy was violent, abusive, a slut shamer, a mean girl. She could have been so much more, but she kept behaving appallingly and I was so disappointed. She kicked a guy in the balls when he called her "little". I do understand that some of the bond shiznit was making her worse, but the inherent meanness was still a large part of who she was because no one was that surprised by her behavior (not even her). Super bummer. Would have continued on otherwise.
ECLIPSE by ANGELIQUE ARMAE:
Didn't start -- I got lost just reading the blurb.
QUEEN TAKES JAGUARS by JOELY SUE BURKHART:
Didn't start -- the blurb just didn't interest me at all, and apparently I don't have the patience to try.
SOVEREIGN OF SOULS by CAIA DANIELS:
Didn't start -- the blurb just didn't interest me at all, and apparently I don't have the patience to try.
UGLY MAGIC by MAY DAWSON:
3 stars -- *sigh* This one was okay, but I started losing interest near the end and was skimming. I think sometimes Case's attitude rubbed me the wrong way.
AT WATER'S EDGE by L.A. KIRK & LYN FORESTER:
Didn't start -- the blurb just didn't interest me at all, and apparently I don't have the patience to try.
MY SOUL TO KEEP by JACKIE MAY:
3.5 stars -- This was the novella that brought this anthology to my attention, as I've read books by this author's other pen name and I love her. This was also my first read of the anthology, and as such my first official reverse harem story. I enjoyed it, for sure, but I had a hard time suspending my disbelief with how quickly Kinsey accepts her new situation. However, the world of purgatory was seriously intriguing, and I enjoyed all of the characters. All 3 men brought something different to the table, and to the relationship. I was less entranced with Pierce...I just didn't feel the attraction there beyond physical. But Gabriel was fun, flirty and sweet, and Cyrus was the surprise favourite for me: sweet, kind, gentle and caring.
BLINDED BEAUTY by CECILIA RANDELL:
4.5 stars -- Wow, this one caught me completely by surprise! I couldn't believe how this novella really ended up feeling like a complete story. Which is not to say I wouldn't love to read more in this world, but I felt satisfied with the plot and the relationship developments. I don't tend to read a lot of fantasy, and this was my first story with Gryphon shifters, but I fell in love. It had me on the edge of my seat, I felt things for the characters and situations, and I loved the world.
INDEBTED TO THE VAMPIRES by ERIN BEDFORD:
2 stars -- Oh...no... OK, first off if you're the kind of person that easily notices little errors, this one had some noticeable ones (like the part where it said melodramatic when I'm pretty sure it meant the opposite). Also, there is no romance. The ending was completely unsatisfying. For a reverse harem, I expect romance or at least a relationship. On the plus side, I liked that the vampires were not good people...that was kind of refreshing and more in line with normal horror. Essentially this one was not for me.
MOON ACADEMY by CATHERINE BANKS:
2.5 stars -- I almost DNF'd this one early because of the fat shaming...but for some reason I continued on. I guess I was curious where it was going to go. But the writing was pretty flat, as were the characters.
DEMON IN DISTRESS by A. AND E. KIRK:
4.5 stars -- Super compelling...like so compelling I went looking for the rest of the freaking story. And I have no idea where the rest of the story is. So rounding down, because it ends unfinished and there's no indication that the rest of the story ever came out. Which is a bummer, because I was invested. The characters were interesting, colourful, and the world was fascinating.
22 stories -- DNF'd 2; didn't even start 6; 2 or 2.5 stars 5; 3 or 3.5 stars 6; 4 or 4.5 stars 3.
That's about 3 stars or less overall. There were a few that really surprised me, and have me looking into more books by those authors. But a lot that just weren't my cup of tea, or didn't even interest me. *shrugs* This is my first experience with Reverse Harem, but I'm not sure it's the genre so much as the different writing styles that didn't work for me.
SEE NO DEVILS by C.M. STUNICH:
2 stars -- To be fair, I should have DNF'd this one... It didn't capture me at all, and I was honestly just extremely confused about the plot and the world. To top it off I didn't connect with any of our characters. It just didn't work for me.
LIGHT THE FIRE by ELIZABETH BRIGGS:
3 stars -- This read fairly easily, but I wasn't really that drawn to any of the characters. I felt like I didn't really understand the world that well, and I only partially got to know any of the characters. Basically it was a good story, but didn't stand out. And I also have a pet peeve of reading books where the characters names change, or the spelling changes.
HER BIG BAD WOLVES by MARGO BOND COLLINS:
DNF'd @ chapter 5 -- I learned my lesson from See No Devils, and when I wasn't really intrigued by the characters or plot, and I was more forcing myself to continue reading, I figured I should cut my losses b/c this wasn't a match for me.
FIFTH SOUL by LAURA GREENWOOD & ARIZONA TAPE:
3.5 stars -- Yay! This one pulled me in more! I will admit that I was super confused about Rachel in the beginning, and while I should have understood what was happening, I didn't. Occasionally the attitudes of Lola and Todd didn't work for me, but all in all I enjoyed the world and the romance!
A NIGHTMARISH MYSTERY by L.C. HIBBETT & N.M. HOWELL:
2 stars -- Steamier??? Uhhhh... So I've never read any of the stories that this novella is connected to, but the introduction said that this could be read as a standalone and that it was written to give fans more steam for the characters from the series. The novella was 9 chapters, and for the first 7-8, the men barely made an appearance. So for me there was NO chemistry, and it makes me wonder what kind of romance is in the normal novels, b/c this was super quick at the end. Also, the plot was super confusing and I really didn't understand the elements at ALL, so I would say this does not read as a standalone. Probably better if you're a fan of the series.
TWISTED: A FAIRY TALE MASH-UP by LENA MAE HILL:
2.5 stars -- Well, I read it all. Honestly it was intriguing at first, but then I just got more and more confused. It seriously felt as though this one was edited and scenes were removed, leaving me missing super important parts. Like we'd be at one point, I'd turn to the next chapter and I would be so confused by where we were and what had happened to make that come to be (Oral sleeping with Cayenne for one). And then the ending! No apologies? No explanations about why he did what he did? And she just fucks him? WTF??? And what the hell was with Yvonne? And jesus, we really don't get any explanation. Nope.
RAVEN'S FALL by EVA CHASE:
4 stars -- Yay!! Another hit for me! It might have even been 4.5 rounded down, can't decide. I just enjoyed Munnin (I butchered that spelling) as our heroine. She was forthright with a bit of spunk, and it was interesting seeing her adjust to her new circumstances. And the boys were all adorable in different ways. I appreciated that they were each so different, each a bit damaged, but so very loveable. And wow, the steamy scenes, while short, were pretty hot. I actually felt the connection between them all. I might have to look into more by this author.
CHARMS OF ATTRACTION by JULIA CLARKE:
Didn't start -- the blurb just didn't interest me at all, and apparently I don't have the patience to try.
HELL'S CALLING by BEA PAIGE & SKYE MACKINNON:
3 stars -- I mean, it was okay. I had a harder time getting into it, I guess I just wasn't connecting with Ciera. And I wasn't that enamoured with Maro. I enjoyed Ceb though. Bit bummed that it was that long only to have no resolution, but I guess that happens.
TWISTED by AMY SUMIDA:
DNF in chapter 1 -- The term midget was used. Pretty sure that's not cool. I tried to go on anyways, but I wasn't connecting with Dorothy at all, so I bailed.
INCONCEIVABLE ORIGIN by CHLOE ADLER:
Didn't start -- the blurb just didn't interest me at all, and apparently I don't have the patience to try.
ON THE EDGE OF FOREVER by A.J. ANDERS & AMANDA PERRY:
3 stars -- This one had so much potential. I really enjoyed the world that was depicted, and I loved some of the moments of snark and teasing between characters. But then Remy happened. Remy was violent, abusive, a slut shamer, a mean girl. She could have been so much more, but she kept behaving appallingly and I was so disappointed. She kicked a guy in the balls when he called her "little". I do understand that some of the bond shiznit was making her worse, but the inherent meanness was still a large part of who she was because no one was that surprised by her behavior (not even her). Super bummer. Would have continued on otherwise.
ECLIPSE by ANGELIQUE ARMAE:
Didn't start -- I got lost just reading the blurb.
QUEEN TAKES JAGUARS by JOELY SUE BURKHART:
Didn't start -- the blurb just didn't interest me at all, and apparently I don't have the patience to try.
SOVEREIGN OF SOULS by CAIA DANIELS:
Didn't start -- the blurb just didn't interest me at all, and apparently I don't have the patience to try.
UGLY MAGIC by MAY DAWSON:
3 stars -- *sigh* This one was okay, but I started losing interest near the end and was skimming. I think sometimes Case's attitude rubbed me the wrong way.
AT WATER'S EDGE by L.A. KIRK & LYN FORESTER:
Didn't start -- the blurb just didn't interest me at all, and apparently I don't have the patience to try.
MY SOUL TO KEEP by JACKIE MAY:
3.5 stars -- This was the novella that brought this anthology to my attention, as I've read books by this author's other pen name and I love her. This was also my first read of the anthology, and as such my first official reverse harem story. I enjoyed it, for sure, but I had a hard time suspending my disbelief with how quickly Kinsey accepts her new situation. However, the world of purgatory was seriously intriguing, and I enjoyed all of the characters. All 3 men brought something different to the table, and to the relationship. I was less entranced with Pierce...I just didn't feel the attraction there beyond physical. But Gabriel was fun, flirty and sweet, and Cyrus was the surprise favourite for me: sweet, kind, gentle and caring.
BLINDED BEAUTY by CECILIA RANDELL:
4.5 stars -- Wow, this one caught me completely by surprise! I couldn't believe how this novella really ended up feeling like a complete story. Which is not to say I wouldn't love to read more in this world, but I felt satisfied with the plot and the relationship developments. I don't tend to read a lot of fantasy, and this was my first story with Gryphon shifters, but I fell in love. It had me on the edge of my seat, I felt things for the characters and situations, and I loved the world.
INDEBTED TO THE VAMPIRES by ERIN BEDFORD:
2 stars -- Oh...no... OK, first off if you're the kind of person that easily notices little errors, this one had some noticeable ones (like the part where it said melodramatic when I'm pretty sure it meant the opposite). Also, there is no romance. The ending was completely unsatisfying. For a reverse harem, I expect romance or at least a relationship. On the plus side, I liked that the vampires were not good people...that was kind of refreshing and more in line with normal horror. Essentially this one was not for me.
MOON ACADEMY by CATHERINE BANKS:
2.5 stars -- I almost DNF'd this one early because of the fat shaming...but for some reason I continued on. I guess I was curious where it was going to go. But the writing was pretty flat, as were the characters.
DEMON IN DISTRESS by A. AND E. KIRK:
4.5 stars -- Super compelling...like so compelling I went looking for the rest of the freaking story. And I have no idea where the rest of the story is. So rounding down, because it ends unfinished and there's no indication that the rest of the story ever came out. Which is a bummer, because I was invested. The characters were interesting, colourful, and the world was fascinating.