pantsreadsbooks's reviews
995 reviews

Very cute sci-fi western romp! A little bit instalove for my tastes, but I’m intrigued by the penal colony’s circumstances and the Future MCs within. A+ frying pan action.

I love Julie Anne Long’s writing so much and her quirky side characters are amazing. But this is the second Palace of Rogues book in a row where the MCs are rando guests and semi-typical romance archetypes, and they just aren’t working for me. I hate the Duke. Hate him. And Mariana is great in her interactions with our faves, but then she’s wondering why she’s so drawn to the Duke and SO AM I. Not even wondering why, just firmly in the camp of she shouldn’t be. He’s judgy and awful and doesn’t deserve for her to give him the time of day, let alone an explanation of this horrible trying period in her life. Screw that guy. I really want JAL to write a story without an alpha male hero or a beautiful intriguing heroine. I think she could do a quirky atypical romance amazingly. I was listening to this one in the car with my kid, but he seems like he’s over it too now, so for that reason, I’m out. 

Ehhh. This was a Stuff Your Kindle Day purchase and it wasn’t bad, some of the story elements were minorly problematic, but the writing is solid. It’s also an interestingly different look at a BDSM relationship dynamic. But you know how so many BDSM-focused stories totally skip or underplay the negotiations/discussion part of entering such an arrangement? Yeah this one was ALL negotiation. Plus the MMC was so in his head about the whole thing, but also KEPT harping on the same issues over and over— to the extent that I felt like some of the information was supposed to be new, but we’d been told it already. And I didn’t especially like either of them enough to deal with boredom in my erotica. 🤷🏻‍♀️

There were things I really liked about this one— the set up is really great and it’s fun to see the Spindle Cove gents get up to shenanigans on the side— but Dash has really been spectacularly awful to Nora and doesn’t properly make up for it. His grand gesture is… okay. But for him to put her through all the bullshit he does in the beginning when he ALREADY owes her a massive grovel is just appalling.

For the audio: I’m not sold on Kaminsky as a narrator. Her highborn ladies are too haughty across the board (for example, Charlotte sounds eerily similar to her mother, so I hope she doesn’t narrate her book). She’s currently firmly in my “tolerable” narrator tier.

I loved this one so much. I always get surprised by the ones I wasn’t especially looking forward to— Pauline we meet only in passing in Beauty and the Blacksmith, and Griff’s guest appearance in A Week to Be Wicked didn’t exactly recommend him as a MMC. (I do still question not giving a book to a side character with a heavier role, like Sally Bright.) But they absolutely hold their own in the greatest class difference divide since Alf got with a royal duke in Maiden Lane. Absolute My Fair Lady feels here, but like if Eliza got with Pickering (and now I want more of that? 🤣) Plus I feel like Tessa Dare upped her smut game here, this is seriously one of the hottest books I’ve read by her. (And I forgot, but the recommendation of one scene in particular was actually why I picked up this whole series to begin with. 😉😉😏😏)

And the conflict is good. It’s so believable that he genuinely couldn’t marry her even though he wants to, I didn’t feel like they were standing in their own ways for no reason. Big massive CWs for his backstory/personality shift, it’s super sad but handled well and that scene in the cab killed me.

I did end up bailing on the audio— we’ve switched narrators and Eva Kaminsky is fine? I liked her at Pauline’s accent in the beginning, but I preferred reading Dare describe Daniela’s speech impediment. I meant to go back, I’d be interested to hear how Pauline’s accent progresses, but I just got too drawn into it, lol. I’ll give her another chance with Lord Dashwood.