HappyCow

Good start but gets slow midway

Reviewed: 03-26-25

It started out interesting in the first few chapters but then the themes got repetitive midway. The main characters just keep thirsting over each other and talking about how other men keep thirsting over the woman. They engage in mundane conversations and then thirst over each other some more. It's been going on and on like this for the last three hours or so of story. I'm starting to get bored and considering skipping through some parts but I will give it another half hour of reading before I make up my mind.

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Post-apocalyptic paranormal romance (light spoilers)

Reviewed: 05-27-24

if you're looking for paranormal romance with actual story, this is one of them. It's light on the smut which I'm fine with. The voice actors are great and versatile to cover multiple characters. My only gripe is that some of the events are a little corny and just silly. For instance, humans who've never seen a six legged ugly insect like alien robot killing people before, realize he's friendly and their first thought is to find out of he's single...? In another part, bad guys make a deal with a betrayer, murder him in front of everyone, then offer a deal to whomever betrays the group again, and someone immediately falls for it.........? Too many eyerolling moments too close together puts the story at a 2.8. It's fine for some but I wasn't intrigued enough to continue the series.

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Not bad, not as good as the first

Reviewed: 03-31-24

I'm glad the saga continues with the second Duskwalker we met in the first story. His innocence and ignorance are quite charming. Writing wise, I think the author's only misstep was revealing the FMC's controversy too early in the story. It removes the element of mystery that we got used to with Rea in the first book. I also don't like the amount of filler content this installment seems to have. There's lots of explaining rather than storytelling. It doesn't make the story bad by far, it just robs the reader of forming questions that keep them on the edge of their seat.

The only unforgiving issue is the way the new female voice actor portrays the FMC. I don't know why she decided to go with a squeaky, whiny child's voice. The character is a grown woman whose married and done many adult activities, yet this VA has her sounding like a weak, little girl. The squeakiness in her voice limits her ability to convey emotions during serious parts and it makes the sex scenes less sexy. Wolfgang is wonderful as always.

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3 people found this helpful

Steamy Love Triangle

Reviewed: 03-31-24

One thing you don't see a lot of in these paranormal romance stories is love triangles. The author really put in a lot of work to create a paranormal universe for all of these characters to come together and coexist. This isn't just some thrown together romance novel to have any excuse to write sexy parts. It's really well-thought out to make an actual story. There's an element of mental health involved which I think is a really nice touch. All three voice actors are amazing. This novel and it's sequel are definitely worth the credit. If you can get the box set, go for it.

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3 people found this helpful

One for the Masochists

Reviewed: 03-31-24

This one is kinda raunchy and rough in the romance department which is likely the reason for the overall rating it has. It might be too much for some people. Paranormal? Yes. Romantic? .... It takes some time. Does that stop sex from happening? Nope. Does the abuse continue throughout the story? Yes. It's definitely not a bad story but it does have some strong themes. The author does a wonderful job bringing this paranormal world to life. Despite all the things happening to the FMC, I truly enjoyed this one. The steamy scenes are absolute fire. Gregory does a wonderful job altering his voice to cover an array of male characters. Auri also reads very well.

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Original

Reviewed: 03-31-24

This story kept popping up in my recommendations and I kept ignoring it for the longest time. The sample clip isn't that great and I'm not sure why they used that part of all things to advertise it. The story is much better than I was expecting. After running into a few duds written by other author's I was about to lose hope. Opal restored my faith that there's more out there to explore. This is quite an original setup. No "fated mates" premise (so far, I'm not done with the series yet). It's just the lives of a bunch of mythical creatures living in a world with humans forced to adapt. The main characters are likeable and their romance grows slowly and organically. The lead male doesn't just touch the FMC once and she's instantly into him or anything silly like that. I couldn't stop listening. Wolfgang's voice is crazy deep but his acting and pacing fits the character very well. Elise is a good pick and perfect for the role.

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Very Well Done

Reviewed: 03-31-24

Admittedly, this is the best series I've read from this author so far. Honest review, I've encountered a few that weren't very well-thought out. However this story has all the right elements in it: realistic themes, sexiness, action, mafia business, and just the right amount of emotion that doesn't take away from the more serious parts of the story. There's no whiny characters that make you cringe. It was all very much golden. Something I also enjoyed is that the FMC isn't some secret mafia princess that these far-fetched stories like to throw in. She's just a normal every day person which makes the main pairing all the more delicious. I will never tire of Walker William's voice. Both he and Laura work very well together in these romance novels. They can make anything sound good.

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Blunt and Honest

Reviewed: 03-23-24

I purchased this because of the reviews but I am having doubts that I'll finish it. The characters behave unrealistically and the plot devices aren't believable enough to justify their actions. There's lots of unnecessary misunderstandings and delayed reactions to situations that are transpiring in front of them. The lead male is a broken record who only talks about sleeping with the lead female. His supposed "love" appears to be all physical. Any man looking her makes him want to turn into some alpha lion and kill that person even if they're related. He's out to the destroy the world and she is his. Yada yada. It gets a bit eyerolling and repetitive in places. The lead female gets heartbroken and "there's a hole in her heart" and then the next few paragraphs go on to reiterate the same message using different words. I can't help but feel like it's all filler,

The voice actors can only do so much with the material. I think my biggest issue is the way the female VA reads. She doesn't project emotions in her voice very well and the words come out sounding whiny. She's not a bad reader but I know she can do better. It's a bit of a struggle to finish but I doubt I'll be continuing the series.

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Leading Lady is a Hard Sell

Reviewed: 03-13-24

One mistake any author can make is by attempting to confuse the reader by selling childish, bratty behavior as a strong personality trait, I can accept a few eyerolling moments here and there because no one is perfect and people do silly things under stress. As long as there's growth, I can take a trip up in judgement. Humans can learn from their failures and mistakes. If there's a levelheaded person close to them to call them out on it, that's even better. I discovered this author with the Oryolov series and became intrigued by how well-written and believable the story was. I was expecting more when I started the Solovev brand. What I got was a whiney weakling of a female lead whose emotional outbursts get praised and glorified like she's some sort of secret warrior princess. Terms like fighter, bite, and strength are used to describe a character who is more of a whiney, ignorant crybaby.

In the beginning, I figured this would be temporary. As I said earlier, nobody is perfect and she has the perfect guide to help her mature and grow. However that maturing moment never came. I thought she'd eventually sober up and get a clue. I thought she'd actually show more of the qualities that the lead male constantly praises her for, but nope. She continues to stupidly push back for no reason other than to just say no to someone, usually to the only hope she has to get out of whatever problem she's having at the time. Even with all this self-made drama and, often ridiculous, school yard back and forth bickering, the heroine continues to prove she's a complete dimwit, This fact makes it difficult to get into the steamy scenes because she carries on about how great he makes her feel just to revert back into a twelve year old, while the male lead goes raves about how magnificently "perfect" she is. Meanwhile I, as a reader, am left scratching my head wondering how.

The two voice actors work amazingly well together and they know how to make a story sound good. However this leading female is too much of a turnoff to make me want to pick up Book 2. I'll continue to read a different mafia series from this author because I already know she's capable of writing better characters.

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2 people found this helpful

Basic

Reviewed: 03-02-24

If there ever was a series to use as an example of a base standard for all decent paranormal romance novels, I'd say this is the one. Hot guys, monster appendages, self-sufficient women, and flourishing hormonal impulses that predictably lead to an intergalactic romance based on fate; it uses all the standard ingredients to make a semi-decent alien love story. Sticking with the usual isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I did find myself becoming bored by the time I got toward the middle of Book 2 and I believe that mostly has to do with having read several other novels prior to reaching for this one. Newbies to the genre may love it and rave about it however.

One feature these type of stories can use is a good twist. Book one is straight romance, Book two has a little action in the second half, but nothing to keep me on the edge of my seat. I'm not expecting more than the basics out of Book three which would usually include worldbuilding but I have my doubts. The sex scenes are short and basic as well as the tension building leading up to it. They aren't the most titillating setups but about as expected as they can be. Overall, the story isn't terrible, there's just nothing uniquely interesting about it to make it stand out as a top contender. That's not to say this bookset isn't worth the credit. The voice actors are favorites and can breathe life into even the most dullest of stories. It's great starter for people who are new to the genre,

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