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echoesoutloud's reviews
2225 reviews
The Crack at the Heart of Everything by Fiona Fenn
4.25
"He wasn’t a hero. He’d never asked for this power. All Orpheus had ever wanted was to find a shred of happiness in a world that had been cold and harsh."
This book is such a unique take on a villain redemption story. For years, Orpheus has done everything he can to help his one friend, Lore, achieve her goals. As a sorcerer, he has access to magic that other people don't and he plays a key role in helping Lore unite her empire. But when the consequences of his magic causes harm to those in the palace they live in, he's banished and sent out to live on his own. Outside of the gilded walls for the first time in his life, he starts to understand the role he's played and how his actions might be more villainous than he expected them to be.
"It was too easy to paint an enemy in flat colors when you held the vantage of power, to overlook the humanity of what you destroyed and see simply a means to an end."
I love the way this story plays out. As an outside perspective we get to see the cracks and holes in Orpheus' life before he starts to realize them. There's so much he's blocked out from his own life and as his secrets unravel, it gives him the chance to choose his own path forward for the first time. Experiencing the way his very foundation breaks as he realizes some harsh truths is so heartbreaking. But it also helps him find his true strength and the way he builds himself back up and sets out to right his wrongs is truly admirable.
"Fenrir held Orpheus there, tucked into the crook of his shoulder, fingertips digging and dragging, a slow circling into his scalp that calmed Orpheus in a way nothing ever had."
And by his side through it all is Lore's ex-general and his nemesis, Fenrir Rawkner. Fenrir is the sunshine to all of Fifi's grumpiness. (Yes, Fenrir does call Orpheus "Fifi" and it's just as adorable as it sounds!) Regardless of all the dark things he's seen out there and all the battles he's fought, he manages to hold onto his hope and optimism and it's what keeps them going every time the world tries to bring them down. Of course, his undying love for Fifi is not to be forgotten.
"He refused to look at Fenrir again. Refused to confront his stupid blush and his stupider grin and all those stupid muscles."
The moment when Orpheus realizes that their years of bantering and pranks has just been a form of flirting is one of my favorites. And the way Fenrir is always their with open arms to comfort him is so sweet and made me swoon every time. These two are so cute together and after everything that's happened, I just need them to be happy.
“Fifi,” Fenrir said, voice so raw it broke, “I would have waited until the world ended all over again if that’s how much time you needed.”
The mix of hell beasts and magic, along with relics of the past makes this world really intriguing. Especially the combinations of magic, technology and nature. Those are things I'd like to see more of in the future. While this book could stand alone, I'm glad we're getting more from this world and its people. I feel like there's so many more ways in which it can be explored and I can't wait to see where the author takes the story to next!
This book is such a unique take on a villain redemption story. For years, Orpheus has done everything he can to help his one friend, Lore, achieve her goals. As a sorcerer, he has access to magic that other people don't and he plays a key role in helping Lore unite her empire. But when the consequences of his magic causes harm to those in the palace they live in, he's banished and sent out to live on his own. Outside of the gilded walls for the first time in his life, he starts to understand the role he's played and how his actions might be more villainous than he expected them to be.
"It was too easy to paint an enemy in flat colors when you held the vantage of power, to overlook the humanity of what you destroyed and see simply a means to an end."
I love the way this story plays out. As an outside perspective we get to see the cracks and holes in Orpheus' life before he starts to realize them. There's so much he's blocked out from his own life and as his secrets unravel, it gives him the chance to choose his own path forward for the first time. Experiencing the way his very foundation breaks as he realizes some harsh truths is so heartbreaking. But it also helps him find his true strength and the way he builds himself back up and sets out to right his wrongs is truly admirable.
"Fenrir held Orpheus there, tucked into the crook of his shoulder, fingertips digging and dragging, a slow circling into his scalp that calmed Orpheus in a way nothing ever had."
And by his side through it all is Lore's ex-general and his nemesis, Fenrir Rawkner. Fenrir is the sunshine to all of Fifi's grumpiness. (Yes, Fenrir does call Orpheus "Fifi" and it's just as adorable as it sounds!) Regardless of all the dark things he's seen out there and all the battles he's fought, he manages to hold onto his hope and optimism and it's what keeps them going every time the world tries to bring them down. Of course, his undying love for Fifi is not to be forgotten.
"He refused to look at Fenrir again. Refused to confront his stupid blush and his stupider grin and all those stupid muscles."
The moment when Orpheus realizes that their years of bantering and pranks has just been a form of flirting is one of my favorites. And the way Fenrir is always their with open arms to comfort him is so sweet and made me swoon every time. These two are so cute together and after everything that's happened, I just need them to be happy.
“Fifi,” Fenrir said, voice so raw it broke, “I would have waited until the world ended all over again if that’s how much time you needed.”
The mix of hell beasts and magic, along with relics of the past makes this world really intriguing. Especially the combinations of magic, technology and nature. Those are things I'd like to see more of in the future. While this book could stand alone, I'm glad we're getting more from this world and its people. I feel like there's so many more ways in which it can be explored and I can't wait to see where the author takes the story to next!
Christmas Beau by Amy Aislin
4.0
"Scott hadn’t dated in years, hadn’t even really thought about it, and now here was Hank, putting all sorts of ideas in Scott’s head just by existing."
Christmas Beau takes us back to the idyllic town of Christmas Falls, where Scott, a single father, is crushing on the director of the community hockey center, Hank. Both of these men are in a phase of transition in their lives, with Scott trying to figure out what he wants to do with the rest of his life, and Hank, who recently moved to town after his second divorce. These two may not be in the right place to start a new relationship, but the attraction between them is strong and they end up falling headfirst into it.
"“Scott,” Hank said so fondly that it made Scott want to both preen and melt at his feet."
This book gave me all the feels you expect from a holiday romance. It had joy and laughter and though these two had some tough moments to wade through, the book maintained a lightness to it even then. One of my favorite things in single parent romances is the relationship between the kid and the parent, and Scott and Teddy had such a wonderful bond. It was also kind of refreshing to see that there was no trauma associated with Scott becoming a parent. So often we see characters becoming single parents because of someone dying or there's some major drama with an ex. It was nice to see that Scott just wanted to be a dad and chose to adopt Teddy when the opportunity arose.
"This man was going to kill him, Hank was convinced of it. The way Scott enjoyed the little things in life was so charming that it made Hank want to spend more time with him, just so he could steal a little bit of that joy for himself."
I loved how Teddy wasn't afraid to tease Scott about his crush on Hank and encouraged him to date him. Scott constantly puts his foot in his mouth and ends up saying the most ridiculous things in front of Hank, and Teddy probably got the most enjoyment out of it.
"Hank’s smiling mouth met his, and there was something about that smile that tugged at Scott’s heartstrings. There was something . . . soft about it, almost awestruck, sending nervous flutters through Scott’s belly."
I also liked how Scott constantly managed to find the silver lining in things. He's going through some major upheaval in his professional life but he didn't let it bring him down. He managed to find joy in the little things and helped Hank do that too. These two are very much grumpy and sunshine, but it works out very well for them. They support each other and are always there with a shoulder to lean on when things get rough.
"Scott was the very definition of cheerfulness. He was sweet and funny and caring and so open, and when he looked at Hank, every doubt Hank had fell away until all he saw was Scott’s smile."
The only thing that I would have liked more of is some more content before the epilogue. They both had some minor family drama to deal with and as soon as it was handled, we skipped straight to the epilogue. The epilogue was really good and we got some adorable relationship and family moments in it. But I would have liked to see a little more relationship building before that. The jump felt a little abrupt to me, but I guess the book is supposed to be like a Hallmark movie where everything is sunshine and roses after the problems have been solved.
“Fallon,” Scott whispered fiercely as Hank shook Santa’s hand and began to lead his incredibly well- behaved dogs toward Scott. “You’re going to make us look bad in front of the hunky hockey director and his NHL dogs.”
Apart from that, I enjoyed this single father, opposites attract, small town romance. Oh and I completely forgot to mention the NHL dogs! Hank named all his dogs after queer hockey players. So if you've read Amy's other books, you'd probably enjoy these references because I sure did!
Christmas Beau takes us back to the idyllic town of Christmas Falls, where Scott, a single father, is crushing on the director of the community hockey center, Hank. Both of these men are in a phase of transition in their lives, with Scott trying to figure out what he wants to do with the rest of his life, and Hank, who recently moved to town after his second divorce. These two may not be in the right place to start a new relationship, but the attraction between them is strong and they end up falling headfirst into it.
"“Scott,” Hank said so fondly that it made Scott want to both preen and melt at his feet."
This book gave me all the feels you expect from a holiday romance. It had joy and laughter and though these two had some tough moments to wade through, the book maintained a lightness to it even then. One of my favorite things in single parent romances is the relationship between the kid and the parent, and Scott and Teddy had such a wonderful bond. It was also kind of refreshing to see that there was no trauma associated with Scott becoming a parent. So often we see characters becoming single parents because of someone dying or there's some major drama with an ex. It was nice to see that Scott just wanted to be a dad and chose to adopt Teddy when the opportunity arose.
"This man was going to kill him, Hank was convinced of it. The way Scott enjoyed the little things in life was so charming that it made Hank want to spend more time with him, just so he could steal a little bit of that joy for himself."
I loved how Teddy wasn't afraid to tease Scott about his crush on Hank and encouraged him to date him. Scott constantly puts his foot in his mouth and ends up saying the most ridiculous things in front of Hank, and Teddy probably got the most enjoyment out of it.
"Hank’s smiling mouth met his, and there was something about that smile that tugged at Scott’s heartstrings. There was something . . . soft about it, almost awestruck, sending nervous flutters through Scott’s belly."
I also liked how Scott constantly managed to find the silver lining in things. He's going through some major upheaval in his professional life but he didn't let it bring him down. He managed to find joy in the little things and helped Hank do that too. These two are very much grumpy and sunshine, but it works out very well for them. They support each other and are always there with a shoulder to lean on when things get rough.
"Scott was the very definition of cheerfulness. He was sweet and funny and caring and so open, and when he looked at Hank, every doubt Hank had fell away until all he saw was Scott’s smile."
The only thing that I would have liked more of is some more content before the epilogue. They both had some minor family drama to deal with and as soon as it was handled, we skipped straight to the epilogue. The epilogue was really good and we got some adorable relationship and family moments in it. But I would have liked to see a little more relationship building before that. The jump felt a little abrupt to me, but I guess the book is supposed to be like a Hallmark movie where everything is sunshine and roses after the problems have been solved.
“Fallon,” Scott whispered fiercely as Hank shook Santa’s hand and began to lead his incredibly well- behaved dogs toward Scott. “You’re going to make us look bad in front of the hunky hockey director and his NHL dogs.”
Apart from that, I enjoyed this single father, opposites attract, small town romance. Oh and I completely forgot to mention the NHL dogs! Hank named all his dogs after queer hockey players. So if you've read Amy's other books, you'd probably enjoy these references because I sure did!