xxivo's reviews
323 reviews

Nightingale is back!

After being gone for the past few books we have a sighting of our main villain again. But more importantly, this means that Lark is seeing her too. And gosh do I enjoy the way these two interact. There is so much history between them that every word said has so many extra layers. A "thank you" is not simply two words, it's a painful thing to say, a hard thing to say. But to say "I hate you" instead is just as impossible. They're at this impasse where both hate and love doesn't feel right. And gosh it makes for this delicious book where they interact from start to finish.

I also greatly enjoyed the labyrinth this takes place in. The challenges thrown their way were a great way to learn even more about all of the characters in this book. I love learning more and seeing deepest secrets come to light. Which is exactly what the labyrinth forces them to do, to admit their deepest truths to the challenge crystal, but also to themselves (and to us as readers). Most of this book is from Lark's POV, but we switch to Wren and Reverie for a short moment too. I greatly enjoyed these little snippets following their story. I just love Wren so much and seeing more of her is always great, especially when they started talking queer topics too.

In this novella there are also some revelations about book 1 and what happened there and OH MY GOD I need the next novella like right now! I want to know everything that is going on with how it ended but I'll sadly have to wait. So wait I'll do, while simultaneously tell my friends to read this series too so we can scream about it together.


I received an eARC and this was my honest review.

This book was an automatic press on the request button on Netgalley and it totally delivered.

While indeed I did immediatilly request it when I saw it on Netgalley, I had forgotten quite about it when it rolled into my inbox. This made it so that when I started reading this book, I went in quite blind. And honestly in a way I do like that. It gives me a book without spoilers that still can go in any direction.

This book was a very emotional book. Both men had deep struggles within their relationship from the start. Laurie has a long history that brings him a lot of pain that keeps coming back during the book. Slowly the book uncovers what happened in his past when he shares it with Toby and I felt so strongly for him. But at the same time the way he was closed off towards Toby wasn't fair and caused both Toby and me a lot of pain. 
This means they fight from time to time and these were emotional and big. When reading I felt like I was right there, crying with them. It was expertly written and it hit me right in the feels. But then at the same time the moments of joy were so intense too that I greatly enjoyed. These moments of joy were a great contrast to all their pain which made the book even more intense.

Then of course we need to talk about the kinky aspect in this book. As a simple guy who is also into that kind of stuff I loved this book. The submission of Laurie was absolutely beautiful and sweet. It absolutely made me swoon for him. At the same time the way Toby doms is just absolutely amazing. He's a natural, without it being unrealistic and thus still has struggles too. But the way his rush of domming is written felt just so good to read as someone who also sometimes doms and it made me instantly connect with him. Next to the fact it was also absolutely hot.

Concluding this book is a must read for kinky mlm lovers that love deep relationships with equally deep struggles.


I received an eARC and this was my honest review.

Monster girls are really my jam.

This series is so much fun. Reading monster smut with hot monster men is great, I love it. But reading monster smut with girl monsters is totally it's own kind of awesome. It's great to see girls being the big scary monsters protecting the guys in need of help.

This book has Oona who is a swamp monster living alone. And gosh did I feel for her. She is, while being a monster, very relatable in her loneliness and this was written incredibly moving. I felt for her and wanted her to find some companionship. Nick basically falling on her doorstep then makes for a very welcome surprise. Nick is absolutely helpless in the swamp though, and him basically becoming a pet just following her around is quite funny. But regardless of that, them spending time together and getting to know each other was great and seeing them get closer until it blossoms into something romantic was just so sweet. They fit really well together and them being in sync was just amazing to see.

The book kinda feels like it has two parts. The first part is when Nick is dumped in the swamp and they live there together, and the second part is when they realize Nick can't properly live in the swamp and take action on that. I loved the sweet romance of the first half and I greatly enjoyed the action in the second half. Together it makes for a varied story that has a little bit of everything in the right amounts. 

The smut itself was also really great. Definitely hot and just sexy as fuck. Russo can write these scenes so good and keeps delivering with every book she writes. They're the kinda scenes that I go back to when I'm alone and having some "fun" if you get my vibe. 

Concluding I would recommend this book to anyone wanting great smut with a sweet story where the girl is the monster.


I received an eARC and this was my honest review.

This short story collection is absolutely fun and adorable.

This collection of smutty short stories blew me away. While definitely being erotica, there is a lot of sweetness and tenderness to these stories that made them really amazing. In every story there is care for each other, making sure that each partner is doing okay and being cared for. Consent is handled well and clearly upfront and people check in multiple times if everything still is okay. This made it be a collection where everyone is respected including me as the reader and that's totally awesome.

I really fell in love with the characters in them as well. Jamie and Vance are absolute sweethearts. I loved their meeting and the following fun they had. They both were really having a good time which was transferred to me as the reader. Their joy became my joy. And this theme of joy continued into the following short stories. Because there was such a good base of communication everyone just kept enjoying themselves, and damn did I love that. Just some uncomplicated fun for queer people is so healing. I loved how it included all kinds of people with different gender identities, different sexualities, different relationship structures and just all together a good bunch of varied people. This made every story different and good to be enjoyed.

The smut itself was also very hot and really gave me a good blush. Things were sexy, things were intense and I really felt this as a reader. The amount of smut was good balanced with the amount of more casual parts and I felt like it vibed really well like that. 

Concluding I would really recommend this for any queer monster erotica lover.


I received an eARC and this was my honest review.

This book felt like a proper slow burn in the best ways.

This book is only about 200 pages so I would not expect the slowburn to be this well. But it did so good. I kept yearning for them to be closer. And they kept dancing around each other, wanting more but being unable to. It was so good. John is troubled and wants distance and a peace of mind. He is a closed guy that doesn't open up much. Isamu is open and kind and slowly drags out more and more out of John until they can't deny things anymore. That moment where they openly talk about wanting each other? Chefs kiss.

I loved it how Isamu was a very good partner to his guide dog towards others. He kept good rules about not distracting the dog and taking care of them. But also the dog took great care of him and seeing that in action was amazing. As someone who has a friend who has one and another friend who trains them for a living it is great to see a guidedog and human pair work as they should.

On Isamu needing help from the dog I felt like the scenes where he was triggered were written in a way that made a lot of sense. I felt his panic and anxiety really deep and that was well done. 

I also want to mention that this is the first book I have ever seen transgender bottom surgery mentioned and that gave me a smile. Most books I've read the trans character didn't have bottom surgery nor talked about it. Which is valid and I have many friends of mine that feel like that, I think the majority of our community doesn't. But personally as I'm pursuing that myself it was fun to at least see it mentioned as a thing we might do. 

Concluding this book would be a great recommendation if you like gay slow burns with PTSD rep.


I received an eARC and this was my honest review.

So to start I'll have to admit I requested this ARC a bit ago and didn't remember much about my reasoning anymore. When I then opened the book and saw it was in verse I had a small moment of confusion as I really had no idea it would be. But I think this book has convinced me I really love novels in verse. I love how the story flowed and used it's format in a way that felt incredibly emotional. I felt so very moved by the feelings of the main character and felt I was really in the middle of it all. It illustrated the story so well that I could picture everything in my head, surrounded by this wonderful story. This being in verse was exactly what the book needed and made it amazing.

The character relations within this book were so amazing too. Their romance was at the center of this story, but it wasn't a romance book. The romance and characters get established fast but it felt fitting in the way it was written, and then the story moves on to the bigger plot of Liora in coma. In the underworld their love was so clear for me as reader. Renee really takes care of Andres, and Andres also of Renee in his own way. But both are always focused on Liora making it feel that all three are always in the picture of the story. 

Those first few chapters really felt fast paced but nowhere it felt rushed. Then when we get to the point of going to the underworld the tone of the book changes and magic is everywhere. It feels there is a very distinct division of "before the underworld" and "in the underworld." Both parts have their charm. Before the underworld there is love and joy rooted in reality, while in the underworld anything can happen and the world is full of magic. Before the poetry felt full of Andres pain but also his joy in Renee and Liora. While in the underworld the poetry really shined in the way it could write the magical things happening. Both were done amazing and made me really fall in love with this book.

Concluding I think this book is absolutely amazing and would recommend it to anyone who likes queer books in verse.


I received this eARC through Netgalley and this was my honest review.

This book was so interesting and worth a read for every gay guy out there.

With this book we get a look into the gay life of a Syrian refugee. This was a perspective I have never read anything about and it was great to be able to follow such a story. It gave me insights on things I haven't much thought about before. It was clear as well that this book was very rooted in reality and the authors own experiences in life.

This book was also extremely sexy in a way I'm not really used to. I read a lot of erotica, but it felt like the vibes of this book were very different from most I read. It didn't use the same stories as popular erotica is doing at the moment and that was a very fun fresh wind. Don't get me wrong, I love the way erotica is done in the moment by a lot of big indie names, but having totally different vibes to the story was very fun too.

The way the story is told with chapters that don't continue into each other was actually very enjoyable. I usually like linear stories a bit better as I'm easy to confuse things, but that was not the case for this book at all because every chapter felt very distinctive. There was a chapter centered around a cemetery that touched me deeply, but other chapters full of hot moments were a big favorite too. Honestly there wasn't a chapter I didn't find interesting or enjoyed.

All together this book is a must read in my opinion and I will be sure to recommend it to my friends.


I received an eARC through Netgalley and this was my honest review.

This book took some time to get going but when it did it was so tense!

So like I said, this book took a while before I felt invested in the world. It made it that it took me very long to reach the 50% mark of the book. When I was past that point though I read that in 1.5 days. I was so curious to see where it would lead and couldn't put it down. From that point I enjoyed the book a lot and was very invested to see where it would lead. This ending half was full of suspense, new discoveries and intense moments and I ate it up.

I loved Veaer as a main character a lot. She is a character who isn't always fully in control of what she does and I do like that in a dark academia book. Sometimes she just can't say no to things, these often relating to Elise and that inner turmoil was amazing to read. She just followed Elise around without being able to do anything about it while sometimes inside she was screaming "Why am I doing this?!"

I also really loved the friendship Veaer had with Hairwin and Adair. This friendship felt like a true chosen family of three. They cared so much for each other and would change the world for them. But at the same time like every family there will be moments you'll clash and that happened in this book too. These clashes were big and eventful and really pulled me into the book. Then the love that flows from that following such conflicts is absolutely the best and warmed my heart. I love them to bits.

Concluding this is a lovely sapphic dark academia for people who love messy queers.


I received an eARC and this was my honest review.

 This book taught me a lot on bisexuality and myself.

First I want to say it was very refreshing to have this book being extremely trans positive. As a trans person I have had troublesome interactions with the cis queer community and always get a bit afraid with cis queer books that they might end up being negative of trans people. This book however outright acknowledged us and took us into account. In the part with dating tips there is even a section about dating trans people that was perfect and spot on with the tips how to treat us. I haven't even seen such a good "how to date trans people" before yet and I was very happy to see that in this book.

This book obviously isn't about trans people at all and was not the focus in the slightest. The book focuses on a lot of different sides of bisexuality, the struggles it can bring and gives many great self help tips for that. There is a chapter about unlearning biphobia and I learned a lot about that. It spoke about how sometimes people hide they are bi by saying they're just gay or instead straight. And oh boy was I called out by that. Then continuing the book showing that bisexuality is a spectrum and leaning heavily to one gender is totally valid to be bisexual, really made me think on my own identity. I usually say I am gay, not bi, even though I'm also into women. I don't think I made the choice for doing that very conciously, but a part of "not being bi enough" definitely had a play in it when I looked deeper at my feelings. Since then I have been changing the way I identify more to a proud bisexual than gay hiding it away. And to be honest it has felt great and I am grateful this book brought me that.

The book also talks a lot about the authors life and the intersectionality of being bisexual and a black man. The self help parts were less relevant to me as a white bisexual man, but I learned a lot from the experiences the author shared and I feel like my understanding of that perspective of life is better now than it was before. I fully believe that the self help parts here are useful too, but for that I would recommend checking out another reviewer who's black on their opinion if you want to know more about that.

Concluding I learned a lot about this book and I am sure that other bisexual men will as well.
I received an eARC and this was my honest review. 

This next novella in Catastrophe Incoming shows this series is getting better with each book.

Oh how I loved this book. Wren was already a favorite character of mine in the previous books and I am so happy she gets the full opportunity to shine in this one. Seeing more of her thoughts, her wants and all that she feels was so much fun making me wish this was twice as long. Wren is a character that struggles with her self worth and this is one of her biggest struggles in this book. But with this it's so great to see Lark have full support in her and Reverie as a new friend being there for her too. Together they made for an amazing support team that made me feel all happy inside.

Wren also grew as a character so much in this story. I love good character growth and she really showed that. There was a lot of mental struggle for her at the start, and there still is at the end. But she also grows a lot and slowly gets a bit more comfortable with being loved and complimented. This was amazing to be a part of and made me love her even more.

The story this time takes place in a village they come across while trying to find Nightingale. The setting of a small town was really fun as a setting and gave great atmosphere to the story. It was also a lot of fun to read the interactions with the local villagers. They really were a supportive community and those kind of places always warm my heart. Wren, Lark and Reverie doing everything they can to help them makes this story full of kindness between people (except for Ferdinand, he's always a menace).

I also want to mention that I absolutely love this cover and the way Wren is brought to life in the illustration. 

Concluding I feel that this is the best book in the series so far and I cannot wait where the story continues onward to.


I received an eARC and this was my honest review.