renpuspita's reviews
1361 reviews

House Andrews (HA) put their own twist to the classic enemies to lovers trope ala "Romeo and Juliet" but set in space. A very delish read that make my romance heart soar in delight! 

An anthology that consist of Kinsmen novella Silent Blade and Silver Shark, and a short story, A Mere Formality

Silent Blade (Imelda "Meli" Galdes and Celino Carvanna) - 3 stars

Too short for my taste, can be better. Beside I'm not that sold with Meli and Celino's romance. Celino is just a plain jerk with almost no redeeming quality and Meli's infatuation to Celino is almost painful to read. I mean, the revenge part is a little bit weak and I can see that Meli actually is still obsessed to Celino. The writing is the saving grace as always and at least Meli is still have HA's heroine trademark and the story end up with HEA. The steamy factor is plenty, for HA books, I mean #heh

Silver Shark (Claire Shannon and Venturo Escana) - 5🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

THIS. This is House Andrews writing that I know of! Stellar world building (the bionet description is a delish to read), a heroine whom war-weary, a refugee that need to hid her ability as psycher (people who can read and also attack another's people mind) and a hero to die for. The story happen 10 years after Silent Blade, so we will get to see Meli and Celino too. I really love reading how Claire's story unfold and how her relationship with Venturo blossomed. Much better than Silent Blade! The sexual tension is also chef's kiss! 👌

A Mere Formality (Deidre Lebed and Lord Nagrad) - 2 stars

Apparently not part of Kinsmen Universe and I read somewhere that this short story is part of Kozlov universe? Also this is a free read from HA website, so I don't know why they put this one in this anthology. The story also a lil bit confusing and full of sex jokes. The last part actually is very funny to read although there's no actual sex scene.

If you are Ilona Andrews fans, this collection is at least worth to read. Silent Blade is weak, A Mere Formality seems to written just for shit and gigles despite its serious content about planet and colonization (think Star Trek), but Silver Shark is the diamond on the crown. 

 Still on binge reading for manga adaption of Lords of the Underworld series by Gena Showalter.  Like its title this one is adaption from The Darkest Passion, which is one of my favorite LOTU book because Aeron is... le sigh. And also if you had read it, you will know how the ending is one of the best (even too similar with another book in LOTU). 

I know that I read the manga adaption backward, but it's because I had read the book. If you new to LOTU and want to read the manga, better to read the first book, The Darkest Night that I will review later. Since The Darkest Passion have same illustrator with The Darkest Prison, I already familiar with Earithen's manga style. Aeron, despite in my mind conjured as a brute, in this one he's still brute but a pretty brute, lol! His tattooes didn't show in his body, maybe because I know that draw a intricate tattooes over and over can be exhausting. What make me gigling is how Earithen draw Galen, the archenemy of the Lords. Because his hair is long but with curl in the end, lol! Lysander also drawed by long hair, and I can't remember at all that he have a long hair. Must be because all men in LOTU book covers have short, military and choppy hair. But don't worry, Lysander, Aeron, the rest of all Lords are pretty, but still look manly.

Not like its predecessor, The Darkest Passion just have 1 volume and I think it's the best. Of course there are some part that didn't make into manga (like when Aeron meet Baden), but so far all of the important event in the book already described in manga. If you are a manga lover and also fans of LOTU, or even you are never read manga before but a big fans of LOTU, you may want to read the manga version. Not sure yet? Kobo provided free 50 pages preview, so you can decide if you want to read the rest or not. But I suggest, just read it. This is fun! :D 

 Cuma satu kata yang bisa gue rangkum buat novel kedua (bukan debut ternyata :P) Akiyoshi Rikako ini:

BANGKE!!!! 

Pardon my French...tapi perasaan abis baca Girls in the Dark ini mirip - mirip abis gue selese baca And Then There Were None. Jika Barat punya Agatha Christie..maka di Jepang ada Akiyoshi Rikako. Tentunya ini bias gue, karena gue ga banyak baca novel misteri, tapi SUMPAH novel ini ngeselin! In a good way tentunya. Twist yang ada di ending, sedikit bisa ketebak awalnya, tapi ternyata masih ada twist lagi? Luar biasa! Dan gue baru nyadar itu pas gue chat sama Alvina (aka Ipin, panggilan kesayangan), dimana gue nanya:

Ren (disingkat R): Itu akhirnya jadi xxx ga xxx xxx (maklum berusaha ga spoiler :P)
Alvina (disingkat A): Bentar Ren, agak lupa ceritanya (maklum sudah lama bacanya)
R: Ya, xxx endingnya begini.
A: Itu yang endingnya begitu kan, yang mereka...
R: (pake emot orang kaget)
R: Lah masa sih? Bagian mananya Ipiiin? Apa kelewatan yak? Jangan - jangan...
A: (emot ngakak)
R: Asem! Jadi baca lagi kan. Kirain kiasan doang 

dan keluarlah lagi omongan "bangke" dan semacamnya itu XD.

Untungnya sudah punya The Dead Returns dan Holy Mother. Banyak yang bilang Dead Returns drama aja, tapi Holy Mother juga banyak twistnya. Wow, semoga sama bagusnya (atau lebih bagus lagi :D) 

 Buku yang membosankan dan bahkan bikin ngantuk. Like, awal-awal ceritanya emang beneran bikin pengen tidur 🥴😴. Mungkin cocok dibaca kalau pas insomnia #heh 🤪.

Gue berharap ada penjelasan yg cukup oke dari sikap Constance dan Merricat. Baca2 wiki, We Have Always Lived in the Castle ini ternyata kayak penggambaran penulisnya, Shirley Jackson, yang agoraphobia. Masalahnya, agoraphobianya Constance ma Merricat sebenarnya karena apa? Karena tewasnya keluarga mereka 6 tahun lalu setelah diracun? Atau karena Constance trauma? Bahkan setelah tahu kebenarannya, alasannya apa diracuni semua? Keluarga yg menyebalkan? Atau apa? Please, enlighten me 🥲.

Dibilang gothic..ga berasa. Creepy? Engga juga. Sempat ngira kalau Merricat beneran hantu gara2 komen Paman Julian, tapi ternyata engga juga, hahaha. Merasa uneasy gara2 atmosfirnya atau merinding? GA JUGA BESTIE! Gue malah nguap berkali-kali baca Constance masak atau bersih2. Merricat minimal masih mending sih, sikap antagonisnya sangat terasa bahkan saat dia ga suka ada Charles di rumah. Pun Charles kelihatan banget money-grabbingnya. Kelihaian Jackson untuk menjadikan Merricat sebagai unreliable narrator memang cukup oke. Tapi..setelahnya ya itu saja.

Endingnya emang yang oh..gitu yah. Gue ga merasa puas, ga merasa seneng juga. Ngantuk sama bingung sih iya 🤣. Sampe baca2 review yang lain..bingung juga apa gue yang ga paham nih, atau buku ini saking metaforanya gue sampe ngawang. Atau ciri buku klasik kayak gini. Prosanya sangat berkembang bak ranting pohon sampe gue kehilangan arah..Idk.

Mungkin karena gue ekspektasinya baca buku ini jadi misteri yang cukup bikin penasaran dan ternyata endingnya gitu aja, so ya gue rating segini aja (gue jarang ngerating dibawah 3*). Terjemahannya ya cukup oke lah, tapi jadi mikir kalau baca versi Englishnya apa mungkin lebih dapat feelnya yah? We Have Always Lived in the Castle mestinya dijudulin Constance Playing House. Because that what she did. Kalau emang mau ngejabarin agoraphobia dan rasa tidak nyaman, sayangnya yang gue dapet hanya rasa bosan dan bertanya2 "ini sebenarnya gue baca apaan?" 

Honestly, I'm very conflicted to rate this one. I'm a House Andrews (HA) fans and have been for many years. But, true to HA's words on their web, Alphas: Origin is their most controversial novellas to date. It's also the darkest, grim and deal with questionable moral values. I want to give just 3 stars, but I enjoy this much compared to my previous title that I only rate 3 stars. Dammit, this is why I really want half-star rating!

Written first in 2011, for Angels of Darkness anthology (my copy still borrowed by friend, and she apparently forget to give it back), the novella were republish in a separated novella in 2016. I would said the beginning is pretty confusing, and the length of the story as novella also didn't help either. For a starter of a series, it left many unsolved thread and questions. But, the dark tone also make me understand why HA didn't plan to continue this one and I have a hutch that this novella need a really BIG overhaul. It's like HA write this novella to match the theme of Angels of Darkness. There must be an angel or angel-like appearance but the story tone must be dark. This is, imho, darker that their usual books, but I'm not finish Kate Daniels series yet and don't read Hugh book yet, so I'm not sure. 

The genre for this novella rather than urban fantasy, deal more in science fiction. There is interesting concept that connected with DNA, a concept that I'm familiar with in Hidden Legacy. There is Houses, pretty much like Hidden Legacy, and the whole of colonization, universe and multiverse whatchamalit remind me of Innkeeper Chronicles. The concept behind the Alphas is pretty interesting with all the member of the House of Daryon have interesting designation with their skill tied up to that design and they also have special term for that skill, like Demons (more like shapesifter), Wither, Mind Bender, Ripper, and etc. The only difference with another HA's novels is the heroine, Karina Tucker, is an ordinary woman with a child. I don't usually like children characters in adult novel, but I liked that Emily, Karina's daughter is far from spoiled brat. Karina is a widow, and the reason why she choose to live with the stranger that kidnapped her is to spare her children's fate from being killed and alone in the world. As for main love interest (?), Lucas, he feels like Curran, or maybe Rogan, but more alpha and broken in some ways. There are another characters like Daniel, Henry and the enigmatic Arthur as part of House Daryon that also Lucas's House. From all the characters, I like Henry the most because he remind me of Kaldar Mar. 

If I can summary my thought of this novella, is like this novella is far from finished. The idea that toyed with kidnapping and stockholm syndrome is sketchy at best. Lucas is shown interested to Karina in sexual way in the most darkest tone. He amused to himself that if he touch Karina, for him it's flirting, but for Karina (and reader too, I supposed), his action can be considered as rape. Karina herself cooperate to Lucas because she have no choice and constantly said that her freedom are taken from her, since she's a donor that can produce substance that will help Lucas. I did think that this "kidnapping then end up fall in love" trope was executed best in Nevada's novel, Burn For Me, but that's because there is a room for improve. Alphas: Origin didn't have that luxuries, therefore I said that if HA want to continue this one, it's need overhaul. The beginning that feel confusing also just explained in the end, and when Karina finally stand up to herself and prove that she is far from ordinary, is also happen in the last chapter. 

True to HA's style, there's no HEA. I think it's not HFN either, and I'm not thoroughly sold for Karina and Lucas become together just because of their close proximity and maybe, just maybe, Karina indeed get a stockholm syndrome, lel. The action also happen late, and so many things left unsolved. So,yeah, while I want to know more about the world of the Alphas and their enemy, the Ordinator, I can accept why HA didn't want to write more or maybe wait for some years to overhaul the series. Beside, they already have plenty in their palate with Kate Daniels, Aurelia Ryder, Innkeeper Chronicle. Not forget to said, Arabella's books! (still waiting hahaha) 

 3 stars

Fantasy romance is one of my favorite genre, and while I never read Gaelen Foley's book before when I see she have one of fantasy romance titles I decide to buy the ebook in Kobo (that now the title only available through Amazon). While I do enjoy the adventure of Wrynne du Mere with her Paladin lover (later, husband) Thaydor Clarenbeld and their merry comrades, I feel some things are lacking, since for a fantasy novel, the world building is not that strong. Some aspects also grating my nerves especially the way Foley describe the religion in the Kingdom of Veraidel. Basically there are several religion, with main religion is Ilian, they worship the God of Light, Ilios, in which their believer describe as a VERY GOOD persons, like goody two legs. No kidding. Both Thaydor and Wrynne constantly chastised another religion and think that another religion -like the worshiper of war god Xoltheus (the Bloodletter), the goddess of prostitute Fonja (that remind me of myth of Innana/Ishtar), the Dark God Okteus that is the antithesis of Ilios, and the hermaphrodite god/goddess Efrena that prefer harmony of all things, - are beneath their Ilian's religion. Too blatant for my taste, too BLACK and WHITE. I know that evil vs good trope is staple in fantasy, but I don't like how they presented in here. It make the conflicts are just too simple, too straightforward. 

I do enjoy Wrynne but found that Thaydor is just so-so. While I know he's a paladin that stay true to his path and oath, I think he's a boring fellow of sort. Why, even the author herself assert that Thaydor is boring as stick. And even one of their comrade, Jonty the Bard said that both Wrynne and Thaydor is holier-than-thou, lel. I find myself more interested to another characters, like Jonty himself, then Thaydor's rival, the grumpy Sir Reynulf and the enigmatic sorcerer that follow the dark God as opposed to the Ilian, Novus. I also find that Wrynne and Thaydor fallen in love too fast, but eh, I'm not stranger to insta love. True to their holiness attitude, although both Wrynne and Thaydor can't take their hands off of each other, they decide to consummated their love (aka having sex) after they were married. How delightful, how charming ☻️😌. Their relationship is too perfect to my taste at first, although the challenge that Foley throw to both MCs in the last part of story make their interaction improved. Just a little bit, like how Wrynne amend her past judgement especially to the follower of the Fonja. 

Sadly, there's no female friendship found here, and the amount of slut-shaming is plenty. The only friendship Wrynne had is with her fairy comrade, and the fact that I forget the fairy name speaks volume because the fairy itself just have a minor role. Another female characters either just describe as a side character (like Wrynne's sister and mother or Thaydor's sister) or a very evil and nasty person, like the King's mistress. Too said this book is full of testosterone since Wrynne is apparently the only female that have ability here is an understatement, but when I see the date when this book was written which is in 2015, maybe that's why. Maybe it will be different if written in circa 2020'-ish. I said that the world building is not that strong, because I don't have a clue in where this Veraidel kingdom located. There's a mention of Highlander and Jonty's accents is pretty much Scottish. So is this a Britain-inspired kingdom or just a mismatched world with medieval setting? Although its have some exotic and mythical beast like the Urmgoth that pretty much remind me of orcs, dire wolves and rocs birds. 

Although not that good, this book is not that bad either and somehow remind me of a good ol' fantasy book. Sadly, even though Foley said that she envisioned this series to have 3 books more after Paladin's Prize to at least give Jonty, Sir Reynulf and Novus their respectively HEA, she said that she had postponed to write the continuation. It had been 8 years after this book released, so I don't know if she will be back to the Kingdom of Veraidel world. I so want to read about Jonty, from the blurb of Muse of Fire that Foley provide in the end of the Paladin's Prize book. At least Jonty is interesting enough, he's one of my favorite character to date and without Jonty's antic or Reynulf's redemption and Novus's help despite he's a sorcerer that dab in dark magic, I might DNF'd this book. 

Oh well, if you like a fantasy romance that not heavy on world building also okay with the amount of preaching about religion (that in my mind, hit too close to reality) and like the Dungeon & Dragons archetype character, this book might be your forte. 

 

Pas baca - baca review gue untuk Sudut Mati, ternyata gue pas ketemu Tsugaeda sekitar tahun 2014-2015an pernah nodong "lanjutin ceritanya Makarim Ghanim dong!". Gue ga ngira, lima tahun setelah ngomong itu, di tahun 2020 Tsugaeda beneran dong nulis tentang Makarim lagi! Memang di sinopsinya tidak ada clue yang mengarah kalau Makarim akan jadi salah satu karakter dengan role cukup besar di buku ini. But, I'm still surprised, nonetheless! Buku ini emang jedanya cukup lama setelah Tsugaeda merilis Sudut Mati dan juga diterbitkan oleh penerbit yang berbeda. I know Tsugaeda personally (sama-sama 1 sekolah di SMA dulu), walau sayangnya kami jarang ngobrol karena Tsugaeda lebih banyak di IG, sementara gue anak Twitter. Tapi gue tetap ngikutin karya - karyanya Tsugaeda, termasuk tentunya Efek Jera ini.

Ditulis dari sudut pandang pertama tokoh utama, yaitu Dio Prasetyo. Anak jalanan but book smart and street smart, yang lalu direkrut oleh Sarjono atau kerap dipanggil Om Jon, untuk melakukan investigasi ke salah satu maskapai di Indonesia, yaitu Penida Airways. Dimana salah satu pilot Penida melakukan bunuh diri, tapi Om Jon curiga kalau si pilot ini aslinya dibunuh. Bekerja sama dengan Makarim Ghanim dan seorang angel investor, Om Jon membuat start up yang tujuannya untuk memberi efek jera pada badan - badan/pengusaha yang merugikan negara. Maka Dio pun jadi ikut terseret saat melakukan investigasi ke Penida Airways, dan mau ga mau membahayakan nyawanya sendiri karena ada orang2 yang ga mau penyelidikan ke Penida Airways dilanjutkan.

Lucunya, atau ironisnya, Penida Airways yang mengusung slogan LCC (Low Cost Carrier) ini pasti mengingatkan pembaca sama salah satu maskapai beneran yang ada di Indo. Bahkan salah satu dialog pemiliknya:

 

Ring any bells, huh? Di luar skema LCC, ketidak adilan Penida Airways ke pilot2nya ini juga ngingetin kita ke issue salah satu maskapai dengan logo warna biru (I don't need to explain, lol). Gue masih inget berisiknya Twitter saat itu dimana banyak issue-issue bertebaran sampai akhirnya jadi heboh. Yah, Tsugaeda emang selalu memasukkan kasus aktual ke dalam bukunya. Tentunya kisahnya sendiri tetap dibuat fiksi. Tapi kalau kamu ngikutin kondisi politik dan sebagainya, pasti bakal langsung ngeh. Sarkasmenya Tsugaeda emang ga ada lawan, gue bisa ngerasain sinisnya dia dari sosok Dio. Emang sangat blak - blakan, walau gue juga cukup setuju sama pandangannya.

 

Berbeda dengan Muslihat Berlian (yang gue baca duluan, meski rilisnya setelah Efek Jera), Efek Jera ini cukup down-to-earth ceritanya dan cukup related sama dunia nyata. Gaya nulisnya Tsugaeda masih enak dibaca, apalagi ini pake sudut pandang orang pertama. Cuma nih, cumaaa...ini layout bukunya berasa kayak boros kertas. Emang nyaman di mata, tapi gue merasa ini agak - agak boros kertas deh hahaha. Jadi walau bukunya ada 300 halaman lebih, tapi sebenarnya bisa cuma dibawah itu. Mungkin karena pace ceritanya juga cepet, gue juga ikutan cepet bacanya. Sayangnya, bagian terakhir - terakhir jadi lumayan kedodoran, pun eksekusi terakhir terkait nasib Penida Airways rasanya agak...terlalu gampang yah? Beberapa bagian pun menurut gue cukup deskriptif sehingga mungkin agak mengorbankan porsi aksinya. Pun Dio agak berasa "wuih hebat bener, ini seriusan baru 19 tahun?" Tapi yah, mungkin karena Dio udah lama di jalanan dan pun dia itu aslinya anak pinter cuma nasibnya buruk aja. Despite my complaints, buku ini tetep seru sih buat diikuti, apalagi gue emang suka sama gaya nulisnya Tsugaeda.

Efek Jera menambah satu lagi judul novel karya penulis lokal untuk genre thriller-suspense yang cukup jarang ditemui di Indonesia karena gempuran novel - novel romansa. Gaya nulis yang lugas dan pace yang cepat, tapi sekaligus juga menyentil isu-isu yang akan tetap relevan sampe saat ini, bikin buku ini cocok dibaca dalam sekali duduk. Petualangan Dio sebagai salah satu agen investigasi dibawah arahan Om Jon dan Makarim Ghanim ternyata masih berlanjut di Sisi Liar. Jadi ga sabar pengen baca, walau sejujurnya ketimbang Dio, gue lebih sukaan Dinta sih hahaha. Plus penasaran sama Om Jon yang hebat banget, tapi tetep agamis (ini gue merasa konten agama di buku ini cukup lumayan, wkwkw, dimana Om Jon selalu mengingatkan Dio buat ga ninggalin sholat X)) ).

 

 bausastra : kamus

Jadi Bausastra Lelembut ini ya..kamus tentang lelembut atau dedemit atau makhluk gaib. Lentera Nusantara sendiri membuat kamus lelembut ini dari game mereka yaitu Ghost Parade. Gamenya sendiri sudah ada di PS5, Switch dan Steam lho (lho, kok malah promosi), walau ya gue belum sempat ngecek karena ga punya PS5 dan Switch walau punya akun Steam. Terus nanti kalau main game, gimana kabar timbunan gue, hellooow??

Walau dibilang lelembut, tenang aja, buku ini cukup kids-friendly. Tidak semua lelembut dibahas di buku ini, jadi makhluk2 seperti wewe gombel atau grandong (kalau kalian dari Jatim, pasti tahu lah hahaha) tentunya tidak ada. Lelembutnya sendiri cukup bervariasi dari Sabang sampe Merauke berjajar pulau - pulau, walau mayoritas lelembutnya dari pulau Jawa dan Bali, serta beberapa dari Sumatra, Sulawesi dan hanya 1-2 wakil dari Maluku dan Papua. Menariknya, untuk yang dari Bali, dengan mengecualikan Leak dan Barong, sebenarnya ga tepat juga dibilang dedemit (karena dedemit itu kan kesannya makhluk menakutkan yah) dan lebih ke makluk hampir seperti dewa-dewi yang sangat jelas merupakan asimilasi dari agama Hindu. Banyak juga jenis dedemit yang gue ga tahu, jadi baca kamus ini cukup membuka wawasan pun bisa dibaca dalam sekali duduk, karena isinya yang dominan ilustrasi. Tentunya ilustrasinya juga imut - imut, jauh dari kesan seram. Mungkin karena itu ga ada grandong yha 

Jadi kamus ini cocok kalau kamu penasaran sama apa aja dedemit yang ada di Nusantara ini, tanpa harus merinding disko kalau misalnya kamu penakut. Bisa juga jadi ide untuk cerita lho, siapa tahu mau bikin Pokemon tapi isinya dedemit atau penangkap hantu versi lokal.

P.S: Ada yang lucu waktu gue baca buku ini, karena pas baca pas di dekat suami. Suami yang buka halaman berisi dedemit bernama Enak Encho, terus ketawa keras saat membaca deskripsi si dedemit yang kalau disentuh orang akan spontan berkata "ena, ena, ena, ena.". And just like his species, ofc there were dad jokes. Dimana suami gue pas buka halaman tentang "Jurig", dia bilang "wah ini kan yang ada di film, itu lho yang judulnya Conjurig". Sometimes I wonder why I married him in the first place because of his "dad jokes". Still love him, though. 

 A Lot Like Adios start with a rocky bump but end up with a (little) stronger note compared to the first book in Primas of Power series, You Had Me At Hola. Honestly, at the start I'm not impressed with the way our heroine, Michelle meet her childhood friend, Gabriel aka Gabe that left her 13 years ago. I got that she was pissed off, but I hate when she didn't respect Gabriel wish and lie to him. Rather than bring him to her apartment, Michelle bring Gabe to her OWN home, near to his parents home, while it's clear that Gabe didn't want to met his parents because of his fight with his dad and the reasons why he left New York in the first place. Sure, Michelle then admit her mistakes, but I start this book, albeit, with a sour note.

However, this book have many tropes that totally my catnip, so the liked outweighing the sour note. A Lot Like Adios have:
- Childhood friend turn to lover. One of my ultimate favorite trope, beside enemy/adversaries turn to lover;
- Fake dating (just a little bit);
- Diverse characters (mostly latinx community) and also diverse in sexuality for some side characters.
- Bisexual MCs, although I think this fact just written as a little tidbit, since Daria didn't discuss much about both Gabe and Michelle past lovers or flings;
- Sisterhood support, in form of the Primas of Power, Jasmine and Ava, much like the previous book
- A love letter for fanfiction community, because both Gabe and Michelle is a scifi soap opera nerd;
- The scene when...Gabe's dad apologize to Gabe for his treatment to him when Gabe was teenager and he was informed by Gabe's nieces & nephews that it's toxic masculinity. Le gasp! Honestly? This part left me dumbfounded because I keep singing Queen's lyrics "Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Caught in a landslide, No escape from reality", in my head. I mean..it's feel unreal, lol. I guess that Latinx community is just like Asian community, just like mine had, the elders can be annoying as hell, the parents is hard to their children just because their parents also treat them the same way. But, the fact when parent apologize for the way they educate their children is the same with if Lochness monster is really exist. Aka...in your dream, lel.

Just like You Had Me at Hola, A Lot Like Love written with more than 40 chapters, so it can go on and on. Like, actually the problem is very simple but Daria keep prolong it with "will he leave me again" or "but I love Michelle, but I have no future with her" that keep me rolling my eyes. Sometimes I feel like both Mich and Gabe act as teenager while they already in their 31's. Or maybe because they are know each other from the start, they feel comfortable but also afraid to go pass friend, aka to be a lover. Why, they just said love in the end of the book, while Gabe's feeling is already obvious from the start. However, I do like how Daria address both Mich and Gabe's anxiety and personal anguish. Mich was described to have a burnout from her work and also seen consume her meds. Gabe itself need to face his fear of his parent's disapproved of his way of life. 

I do like how Mich and Gabe are both passionate characters. From their sharing love about fan fiction and how they passionate about their work. This is when the part of the book really shines. I enjoy the way Daria describe Mich's creative process for branding and marketing. I liked how she describe Gabe's struggle to maintain his gym business. I know narrating about working process can be boring, but like in You Had Me at Hola that describe production process in television series making, this book also show how the business process in both maintaining the business that on going and how to marketing and branding your business to your potential client. Yeah, I know, I know. It can be boring of sort, but like I said, I thoroughly enjoyed. Another of my favorite is the chapter that have Gabe and Mich's chat when they brainstorming their fanfiction "Celestial Destiny". I really can feel their excitement and Daria really show they are really best friend.

I said that this book end with a (little) stronger note compared to its previous books, because I see how both Mich and Gabe develop to be a better version of themselves. Yeah, there are angst, there are some drama and inner turmoil, but surprisely the fight that happen is not that big or maybe because Mich didn't want her heart to be broke again and Gabe himself still struggle with his need to proved to his parents. So, the character development is pretty well written in this one. As for the steamy factor, yeah, pretty much hotter than the first one. Pretty fun too, practice safe sex (the scene when Gabe buying a lot of condom and to see his dad see him buying it is my favorite scene to date because of the hilarity ensues) and full of consent, beside both Mich and Gabe is best friend so their sexual tension is off the chart. However, while first or second (or maybe third) sex scenes is wowza, it's become almost boring in the end. I feel myself just want to skimmed and read the next one.

A Lot Like Adios have its up and down, and like I state at the first, I start the book with a sour note and expect to just rate it in so-so rating. But, since the trope, the dynamic, the way Daria write business process, the brainstorming session between Gabe and Mich while writing their fanfic and also how the story end with strong character development is winning my heart, I end up finish this book with a satisfied sigh. If you search for contemporary romance with diverse characters and friend turn to lover trope, A Lot Like Adios may up to your alley.