the_rabble's reviews
112 reviews

ADHD-coded board game designer with incredibly supportive family tries to help out a friend and gets marriage trapped to a duke's kid. She hates that idea. Swoony shenanigans ensue.

2 POVs, 3rd person, past tense, 1870s, main couple are early 20s and late 20s, spicy, very mild kink.

This is a cute (and hot) one. I was thoroughly charmed by both characters. Pandora is an excellently filled out character, Gabe starts out really well done and lovely, but he loses a little depth in the second half of the book. He continues to do interesting things, even if we aren't getting additional internal movement.

Kleypas gives good banter, but fucking gold stars all over Pandora's dialogue and Gabriel's responses. 

Lots of feminism and healthy masculinity, with a few stressful exceptions where we remember "oh yeah, even a sweet ally-bro in 1870s was stewed in sexism- bias deprogramming takes a while."

Themes of trust and acceptance are rampant in this book and it slaps.

Continuity - third book in Ravenels series- if you've read the first Ravenel book and are cool with some spoilers for Book 2, you'll be alright reading this one. Additionally, one of our protagonists is the child of the couple from Kleypas' Devil in Winter. I hadn't read that, but the parents are super charming and do pop up through the novel.

There are a few moments where what feels like a thing that will become plot-relevant is actually a call back to DiW. 

Narrator - Mary Jane Wells kicks ass. She does all 'The Ravenels' audiobooks and it'll be one of the reasons I finish the series.

Epilogue - Really, really appreciate an epilogue that does something different than

"babies. babies. babies."

This one felt

satisfying and true to the couple.

Friendly widow is rescued from becoming the most dangerous game by the duke who's been lightly stalking her. 

Like the ninja turtle, Raphael is here to bring the angst. Iris... has forgotten she cracked a challenging cypher in like 4 hours in the last book. She still has moments, but god damn, lady. You nailed it all last book- spotting and solving mysteries from jump- and this one couldn't seem to solve any mysteries.

This one is dark. I don't think I'd recommend it. The prose is tough- trauma isn't just presented, it's belabored. Stressful vibe is stressful.

2 POV, "biokids baby fever" vs "childfree 4eva" couple, characters around 30, spicy, 1740s England, TRAUMA-TRAUMA-TRAUMA.

This feels like some of the ideas from Duke of Sin (Montgomery's book) didn't fit his character and got smashed together here. Pretty early in this novel it feels like the real hero of the story is indeed our favorite blonde blackmailer from two books ago and his [Duke of Sin]

casually stabbing Raph's dad until he died- then continuing to stab neerdowell bystanders.

Maiden Lane - the only series characters we see are from the last book. None are from St. Giles (which is wild- a major plot point is

about avoiding having biokids

and there's usually a whole ass orphanage in play.) None are recurring, though

Alf

is mentioned. You get a lot more Lords of Chaos stuff, which is fine, but heavy on the [content warning]

murder and child abuse

which absolutely sucks and- stylistically- is very heavy handed.

Sex scenes - Has some of Hoyt's more creative sex scenes, but the overarching plot and intracouple angst makes it challenging to be amped. The intimacy is hard to get excited about when the parade of terribles is around every corner.

Fugitive gardener meets lady playwright in 1740s London pleasure garden that's been horrifically & summarily burned down. Trauma bonding and secret identities ensue. ROMANCE.

Spicy, historical romance, 1740s, London, characters late 20s, 3 POVs (main couple and a protagonist from the next book.) 3rd person, past tense.

I was really looking forward to a bantery Apollo, especially when he's paired with a comic actor that's been teased for several books.

That doesn't really happen. Stage named Robin-real name Lilly starts off on a foot that's either ableist or rude to non English speakers and I don't know that she nails down a personality at any particular point.

Strong and interesting start, but Hoyt's heroines have a tendency to not pay attention to the murders their paramours are trying to solve- which is a weird vibe. Instead it's no fewer than two rambles down the "Will we get married? Am I his mistress? He said he loves me but does he like me?" vein. During the peak of the "who's the murderer?" plot.

Valid concerns, but as a group, I worry about their situational awareness as soon as the first sex scene hits.

It's a skosh awkward.

Plot's still pretty strong. Apollo is still interesting. And we meet some new characters via the Duke of Montgomery who are very fun. 

Narrator - Ashford McNab returns after 2 books off. Her pacing is dramatic and leaves a lot of space. Generally fine until someone is spiralling in their internal monologue or a sex scene hits. Her Phoebe lisp has me concerned for the next book.

Parallel Story - each of the Maiden Lane chapters start with an interlude that's a section of a in-story fairytale, fable, or myth. This one is "the Minotaur" and it's tough to get amped about, especially when it cuts up some emotional beats.

Stiff loner vigilante duke bonds with the steely poor cousin of the rich society darling he's courting over nature walks and siblings.

Spicy, multiple POV (focus on 2 MCs & Apollo), characters are lates 20s & early 30s, 1740s London.

So far these two are my favorite characters in Hoyt's bingeable Maiden Lane books. Still a lot of gin related moral panic by Maximus, but his POV has some of Hoyt's strongest lines. [Character arc]

He also becomes increasingly unhinged during this book and it's 4/5 times pretty funny.

Artemis is a refreshingly practical, wry main character with a fantastic brother introduced in the last book. She deals with some real shit while Maximus tangles with his own societal hang ups.

Bedlam scenes, like any scenes of incarceration or british mental health institutions, are fucking rough but Apollo slaps and his relationship with Artemis is very sweet.

Strong characters and dialogue. Plot wobbles a bit, but the mystery and big moves are fun. Ending is [vague vibe spoiler]

a bit abrupt- def a set up for the next book more than primarily resolution or revelry for Maximus and Artemis.

Hoyt leaves a couple unaddressed threads from previous books (e.g. Maximus bashing Artemis behind her back in the last book is never addressed.) 

Narrator - Claudia Harris does a good job. Style choices skew more theatrical than conversational for Maximus, which is a very valid choice if you read him being a bit of a drama queen as his leading characteristic. Excellent voicework on prose and dialogue.

Sex scenes - we have some initiating consent issues with kisses and at least one of a few sex scenes. It's immediately made clear both parties are down, but there's a few uncomfortable seconds. Otherwise hot, but generally hits that "dominant dude wants to be dominant" note over and over. 

Artemis taking the reins or running forward into conflict in an asserting "yes, but you're doing this bc I allow and want it" way are the most interesting moments.

Roommate romance, with longtime friendship pining, contemporary supernatural NYCers- NYU prof + artistic guardian angel.

This is the best one of these Supernatural Singles books thus far- seems like Asher hit a sweet spot with the prose.

I'm excited for the next one.

2 POV, 3rd person, past tense, spicy.

I guess I'm into [sex scenes]

piercings (nipples and intimate)

and good guy angels now. Unexpected personal twist. No regrets.

Smart, warm take on Frankenstein.

I was hesitant to start this, but couldn't put it down once I did. This book slapped.

POV - 80% Angelika, 2-3 chapters someone else, epilogue is a 3rd person. Historical supernatural romance. Spicy. 3rd person, past tense.

I think the ratings on this book are lower than they should be bc Sally Thorne fans didn't love this. If you're expecting 99% Mine, but historical, this isn't it. It's totally different, explicitly genre, and optimistically funny. Plus, reanimated corpses, which isn't going to be for everyone.

The protagonist is super open about everything and it's a really refreshing way to ride shotty while she reacts to the insane situation she's created.

Thorne continues to write really interesting siblings and friends. Her play with prose and themes and descriptions of people are what keeps this from being gnarly as hell and allows the romance to be full of life and romantic and sexy. This was a tough premise and it's well done.

Narrator: Moira Quirk voices all the "the Ninth"/Locked Tomb books and is why I picked this book up. No regrets. 

She does a great job with madcap moments and scenes that take you to dark corners. The voices are great.

Rock god tells a likeably inquisitive trans soldier-bro a couple stories about being a rock. And a god.

Meanwhile, soldier-bro is having a hell of a time keeping his bros in line (My. LORD.) while political intrigue runs rampant. The rock has thoughts about this.

"Can you hear me?"

1 POV - two points in time, 1st & 2nd person, past tense, god-focused high fantasy.

This is a similar structure to Leckie's Ancillary Justice with a current thread and a "here's what I used to be up to" thread. The second person narrative is different and well done. I liked it a lot. Delivered on some spooky direct-to-camera moments.

One thread is all worldbuilding and "what's up with gods?" while the other follows a series of mysteries. Leckie plays with language and tech while including small gods and transactional faith in things she noodles on. The other thread pulls on those elements to build a series of mysteries.

[Ending vibes]

The ending is a little flat/abrupt but also makes you cheer a bit. It's an interesting, if not satisfying moment.

Narrator: Adjoa Andoh does a great job. She remains impeccable and plays the stone god in a particularly endearing and powerful way.

Extensive discussion of death  sprinkled with a light supernatural contemporary romance about NYCers-who-work-in-the-publishing-industry and visit a rural town.

The book's death discussion hones a fun vibe and hits the "death happens and is normal," which is valid. [Style choice]

Poston says "Dad is dead." "He's dead." "My dad is dead." A lot.

But it's ever present, just in case you think this shifts to a fun ghost romp. 

The discussion as a surface level convo about death's normalcy is an odd comparison to the grief-fest of Poston's Seven Year Slip or other stories that dig into endings, regrets, rebuilding, or new viewpoints spurred by the death convo- particularly in romance. But this book also does a lot of other stuff (protagonist is sorting out all her relationships, a ghost, her ex, her writing career, a work deadline, her hometown, and planning a funeral.)

Low spice, 1 POV, first person, past tense, lots of meta references

Emotional beats in this are really good. You don't learn as much about the love interest as I would have liked (bc there's so much other stuff) but the emotional progression is believable and sweet.

Characters are all pretty charming. There's a lot of punning, which is great.

Narrator: Eileen Stevens does a great job. She's a gifted voice actor who has some spectacular laugh, cry, snort moments in both dialogue and prose.