joyreads2024's reviews
101 reviews

I LOVEDDDD the start of this book, and then they had sex (which is normally a good thing in books) and IT GOT VERY MEH and then the ending scenes made me tear up sooo it’s a 4 I think LOL

Look😭 it’s good, I guess, but to me this is the weakest most disjointed book in the series

Look. I skim read the start of book 4 and omg did that turn me off. Did the characters also being 17 at the very start make me not wanna read it because i’m 21 and feel old? Yes. If I was younger, would it have been good? Absolutely. And the sudden change in Ever’s personality was too blunt. And I even have the books signed 😭

This book would be stunning without the continuously annoying Don and now Madigan. Don's attitude is actually why I find this series so annoying to read at times - if we removed him and just had all the other characters, this would be even better but NOOO. We have to have Don. It appears any character development he had over the series went bye bye like his body dear god. And don't get me even started on Madigan - Justina improved so we needed another asshole?? omg. 

I will say though that the twists and turns and the plot twist at the end were unexpected and I wasn't prepared for it. The other characters make this book what it is. The story itself was really interesting with there being three parts: (1) Don being back and being stuck as a ghost (2) Madigan being a twat and what his end goal is (3) Kramer, a ghostly, psychotic witch hunter who becomes solid once a year on Samhain to torture and kill three women a year. The first one dropped off pretty quickly, the last was the focus, and Madigan was the annoying asshole. 

There were some other slight issues with this book like having a stereotypical Lafayette from True Blood character, but Tyler did absolutely rock in this book so at least he wasn't a 2 dimensional character; and a very minor plot hole about where the pets were lol.

Magic Bites is HILARIOUS. Kate Daniels inner dialogue really makes this adventurous book what it is, with her witty thoughts and even funnier actions that screams "eh, I can't be fucked."

Kate is a mercenary who, after the death of her guardian, is hired as a temp by the Order of Merciful Knights to figure out who, and what, killed him. Kate finds out that someone or something is trying to start a war between the People and the Shapeshfiters. This book contains a variety of mythology framed in a world that alternates between being magic-filled where tech doesn't work, and vice versa. This is prime Urban fantasy with a hint of romance.

Hilarious, adventurous, bloody, so good omg. WARNING THOUGH: AT THE END OF THE BOOK, CONTAINS SOME HORRIFIC RUSSIAN MYTHOLOGY.

Naked in Death is set in a futuristic America where prostitution is legal and guns are banned. After a legal companion is brutally murdered, Eve is put on the case to capture the killer, who is rapidly becoming a serial killer. Along the way she meets billionaire Roarke who has a dodgy past but is soooo charming. 

I really enjoyed reading this crime romance by J.D.Robb, with multiple twists and turns that made the story really engaging. 

There were so many things wrong with this book that I had to keep checking if it was written by the same author who wrote Steel World. The main character, Kyle Riggs, loses both his children to a horrific alien invasion ship, and does he care after the first like 2 chapters? No. Why? There's a hot tan babe on board the ship who was also captured, and who btw is a decade younger than her and meant to join his class next year as his student. It is plain icky and him not caring about his dead kids for more than 25 pages combined in this text sets the mood for the whole book. What makes it worse is there is not a single likeable character in this book, with Captain Crow being one of the worst offenders. That man's egotistical, power-hungry ramblings throws off this entire book. 

Now, the actual premise behind this book is good. There are about 70+ alien ships circling land on earth looking for worthy ship commanders who have to pass a series of tests to be able to live and take control of these ships. These ships are made out of nanobots which allows Riggs, Crow, and the rest of the successful commanders who band together under the "Star Force" banner, to see where enemy ships might be in contrast to the fleet's location. Riggs, due to his computer science background and apparent military background, takes control of the Force's Strategising and engagement with Earth (much to Crow's annoyance). The bad news is that alien machine spider-thingos called macros are currently killing their way through South America and the only way to kill them is to use nuclear technology, or, as Riggs realises, alien technology (who made this alien technology is unknown, but we do know that they aren't blue). Riggs sets up shop on an island in the Caribbean near South America, builds a whole bunch of weapon and ship manufacturing factories and starts training an elite force of marines

who he injects with an alien serum that makes them faster, stronger, harder to kill

. They eventually win the on-ground assault and force the Macros into a confrontation in space which occurs between Riggs and one of the ships. The result? The Macros will stop attacking earth in exchange for an Earth army for the next unknown time period. I hated that fucking ending. The end. 

The way I can’t even write a proper review rn after finishing it. I am so confused, so sad and so lost. The end

This is the first sci-fi book I’ve ever read and omfg it’s hilarious as a starting point. My favourite character was Centurion Graves because not only does he repeatedly sacrifice himself, but he can be so sassy/sneaky - love him for that. Harris and McGill are a close second in iconic with many McGill quotes highlighted in my kindle - but also, poor Carlos 🤣 the poor bugger is so annoying but also keeps getting dragged into virtual suicide missions - and normally ends up dying. This book’s themes of war in the understanding that it’s rare to experience perma death was so interesting, as was the aliens and how they operate. The portrayal of women in this book is somewhat lacking (probably because it’s meant for the male gaze) with the only notable women: Vivi (horny), Natasha (horny but  smart and becoming a tech), Anne Grant (a bio specialist who has her head on her shoulders), Primus Turov (hate that fucking bitch), Centurion Thompson (also hate that fucking bitch OMFG). I did like that the author put consenting statements in the book (the bar is in hell guys). Will be reading the second book sometime this year as it’s good for a laugh 🤣

Picts, Gaels and Scots is an interesting, informative, well-written and concise text on the archaeology of Early Historic Scotland. This book provides a broad summary of stone sculptures, artistry of Picts, the buildings and structures, Christian belief and military might of Early Historic Scotland. This was a very interesting read, however one that requires prior knowledge.