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Carissa Broadbent is just mean

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
4 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 06-22-25

Poor Tisaanah and Max. Poor Aife and Caduan. Even Nura breaks my heart. They all really went thru the grinder in this one. Even tho I am rereading this series (on Audible for the first time) its still gripping, and emotional, and just plain distressing at times.

But the 2nd book in a trilogy is often like this. The author has to drag their cast into hell before they can possibly grow and change for the better in the finale. It was a tough listen, but exciting all the way thru. Heartwrenching at times, bittersweet other times, and often very acrion packed.

Onward to the finale now. Even returning to this series, I am excited to experience everything Tisaanah and Max must go thru to have a chance at their peaceful garden.

My biggest beef with this series (on Audible) is the male narrator, whom I not-so-affectionately think of as Breathy MacBreatherson. He makes my teeth grind. I listen almost solely thru ear buds and if I didn't already struggle with misophonia, this heavy breathing, whispery man would give me a new complex. I cringe just thinking about it. If the books weren't included on Audible Plus right now, and I didn't already know how good the series is, I might not be able to deal with this guy's reading. The worst part is that his voice is actually nice. I don't know if the recording studio had his mic all wrong or if he is using some weird voice for affect, but... Ugh. The female narrator, as ever, does a phenomenal job. But the dude kinda ruins Maxantarius for me.

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Great series

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
3 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 06-15-25

I read these in ebook format when they were first published. They were good then. Now, because they are temporarily included with my Audible membership, I am reading them again - and I generally never read a fiction book twice. Never as good the second time thru.

But this one is. Its a unique plot and world, highly detailed and engrossing. Better yet, the characters all have immense depth, and its easy to lose yourself in Tissanah and Max's worlds. Easy to suspend disbelief as their minds, hearts and magical powers grow and shift thruout the narrative. The romance feels as real as any true relationship. Its awkward at times, comical, raw, and moving without being grotesque and over-the-top like so many books are these days.

Just FYI: This is a dark series , dealing with hard topics like slavery, cruel death and s.a. Its not an easy read full of magical butterflies and fields of wildflowers... Oh wait, yes it is actually. Just not only butterflies and wildflowers.

My biggest beef with the audio vsn is the male narrator.The female reader does a phenomenal job, but he...well, as other reviewers have noted, is breathy and has a strange cadence and expression.Its incredibly offputting and kind of ruins Max's chracter. The male narrator sounds rather effeminate in the way he reads and Maxantarius is anything but.

Regardless, its still worth reading, especially for mature audiences. As some of the topics covered are not for the faint of heart. Highly recommend, if not this audio edition, the series overall.

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TSTL female lead, but otherwise entertaining

Overall
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 06-08-25

Saber never grew on me. If anything, her increasingly obstinate, unreasonably aggressive and blithely idiotic demeanor thru-out the story only solidified my dislike to flat out disgust. Seriously, she is insufferable as a person, but worse, she is useless as a main character. At least in this book. All she serves to do is to drag others into trouble that they then must save her from. Time and again. The only scene in which she does anything besides 'grip her switchblade', snipe and quip at others, and whine about the situation she got herself into, is when she is fighting a foe armed only with a boxcutter. Anyone with more than a boxcutter? She's all mouth and useless little switchblade. Nothing more.

On the other hand, the druid is ok. Interesting, with a bit of depth at least. The fae, too, are interesting. I am curious where all that is heading (and the next few books are available without spending a credit) so I will read on. But, yeah, if Saber disappeared and a new FMC showed up in the next book it wouldn't bother me at all. In fact, that would be really nice. If this series cost a credit? There is no way I would go on.

Maybe Saber will have a redeeming character arc later? I sure hope so. Her compassion for animals is literally her only redeeming characteristic so far. Lets hope...

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Such a sweet and fun story!

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 04-10-25

This was a nice escapist fantasy romance. Very sweet, clean, and innocent. I loved it. A happily-ever-after little adventure for any age.

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That ending was... Odd

Overall
3 out of 5 stars
Performance
4 out of 5 stars
Story
3 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 04-07-25

Clearly I nmissed some things somewhere in the book, but I won't spoil it. Just... What on earth was that ending? The big fight was disjointed and somewhat ridiculous. The very end was just blah.

Initially the story waz interesting and easy to follow, but the last few hours felt like a different story or something. The romance was unbelievable. They went from mortal enemies to madly in love, and I have no clue how they got there.

I had planned on going on with the series, till the last hour. Not anymore.

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So so

Overall
3 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
3 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 04-05-25

I couldn't finish. All the tension was gone with an hour and a half left. Everything seemed resolved. Why keep reading? It was just meh.

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Won't be reading more of this author.

Overall
3 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
3 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 03-30-25

Its a fine book. Formulaic to the enth degree. The narrator is outstanding. But the female lead turns into a blithering idiot fast. Her stupidity drives the plot into the climax, a trope that I hate. Nothing ruins a book like taking a fascinating premise and then letting the main characters wander naively into trouble, at the end when a character ought to be growing, learning and maturing. Meg was an interesting character early on, smart, savvy, independent. Then she fell in stupid, I mean, love.

The male lead, Caden, is all the romance tropes. Burly, a leader, tough but with a soft spot for the vulnerable... He is fine too. Not particularly interesting, just... Fine. Typical.

Mild spoiler of a very predictable plot point coming up...




Where my patience snapped was when the pregnancy trope kicked in. As soon as there is even a whiff of maternity, Meg is wrapped in proverbial bubble wrap by the husband. She becomes utterly worthless except for her value at birthing babies for the brute. I genuinely hate that trope. Enough that I will not be reading any more from this author.

If you like that stuff, this book is just fine.

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Get this version

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 01-05-25

I listened to the first few chapters of this same book produced more recently and with fancier cover art and editors notes. Do yourself a favor and skip that one. This one is no frills and no fuss, just the authors words read clearly by the narrator. He uses a different voice for 'the devil' that makes my throat ache just to listen to, but he does a good job nonetheless.

That said, this is an interesting book and I did learn some things. Maybe all the online hype had me expecting mindblowing new material (tho, of course its a very old book), but I am not sure this is quite the life-changing book I was bracing for. That said, its very good, engaging, and fairly brief. It gave me a few things to chew on and some different perspectives, which is all I can really ask for with a book. Either way, it's worth a read.

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Juvenile and melodramatic, but still entertaining

Overall
3 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
3 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 06-24-24

This book is often silly, usually juvenile, and always melodramatic, but its not bad. Not really. Especially not if included with Audible Plus for free; then its just plain escapist drama.

The characters speak and behave like they are all of 15 years old. Luka, a vampire that is supposed to be hundreds and hundreds of years old, and hibernated for the past 85, gets into brawls and talks like a highschool kid. How he has been asleep since before the last world war, but knows all the juvenile slang is anybody's guess.

Then you have Vivienne, who spends the whole book clueless about everything. She isn't a horrible Fmc, just also not the most interesting either, and is often cliché.

Regardless, the story is reasonably entertaining. If you are just looking for some simple light reading with an unserious premise and a HFN, this book can give you that.

Btw, the narrators do a great job. The one who narrates for Luka has a phenomenal voice and nice cadence. The female who narrates Viv can be a little over-the-top (but so can the character), but she does a good job anyway.

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Not sure how this book is so populat

Overall
3 out of 5 stars
Performance
4 out of 5 stars
Story
3 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 06-04-24

Maybe it is just not my style or taste? I found the Fmc to be whiny (and the narrator did her no favors on that front), melodramatic, and self-absorbed. I get that she has this terrible trauma she is trying to work thru (or rather, run from). C-PTSD is no joke, truly. But... the girl has serious mental health challenges that need some serious therapy. Instead she lashes out at anyone who even remotely resembles a trigger, and spends a great deal of the text wallowing, when she isn't being nasty. Its terrible that she has been so abused, but that doesn't mean she is excused to be abusive.

And the Mmc seems like a great guy, but his near instant love was not exactly believable for me. Clearly he (and many other men) are instantly attracted to Emma, she must be quite the looker, but it seemed more obsessive than genuine, and the poor guy just gets kicked around by his love interest. He is nice and patient and something of a doormat, while also being portrayed as this uber-tough special forces vet who spends all his time being perfect. Its a nice fantasy, but it doesn't really feel like a fully fleshed out person to me, more a characature of the 'ideal boyfriend.'

Anyway, this is a dnf, if only because eventually the narrator's whiny tone whenever she read Emma's dialogue started to grate. But it seems everyone else in the world loves this book, so again, maybe its just me. But I did not enjoy the first half of the book whatsoever, so I won't be reading anymore Molly McAdams personally.

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