Book Reviews - The Reading Cat

CRUEL WAR - DANI RENÉ

9/6/2019

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

WOW WOW WOW! I ABSOLUTELY LOOOOVED THIS BOOK! Yes shouty caps were needed!

This book has everything Im looking for in romance : angst, intrigue, an intricate past and PLOT TWISTS! René got all those in there and created a mysterious world of a secret society and took me by surprise at every turn of the page. I simply devoured this book!

The flow of the book is excellent and it reads effortlessly. The coherent and reinforced metaphors give the book unity and the relationships between the diverse characters are complex and unique. René has truly created something special with this book and series to come!

While a lot is revealed in the book, so much is still so mysterious that I am yearning for the next book! There’s just so much I want to know about and gosh I’m still reeling from the angst and suspense! What a great tension-filled book!

If ya didn’t get the gist, I LOVED IT, and FYI, Tarian is mine *wink*

JUPITER AND HER MOONS - B.L. MUTE

8/14/2019

★ ★ ★ ★

I received an ARC of this book from the author and I voluntarily reviewed it. Thank you B.L. Mute!

This is the author’s debut novel and it shows some great promise for her future books. Mute has some great flow and has an understanding of hardship that comes through as you read the novel. The plot is intriguing and and captivating.

This story is fast paced, and at times I would have wished the author took a breath and slowed down a little, but it’s speed is also what keeps your heart pumping at 100 miles and hour the whole way through. There is A LOT that happens in this book. Things that are unthinkable to happen to one singular person, but that I am sure have.

One thing that hooked me from the beginning was the premise and the set up of the novel. It was original and the author did a great job of keeping the time line easy to follow from past to present.

Overall, I cannot wait to see what else this author has in store for us!

DOYENNE - ANNE MALCOM

7/1/2019

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

This is a whole new side to Anne Malcom and I loved it. This unique story just pulls you in and intrigues you. It has this whole Noir vibe to it and I totally dig it!

What does truly make it an Anne Malcom book? A kick-ass strong and indépendant heroine. Wow, Charlotte is one power house. She is the personification of Power (yes the capital IS necessary) and epitome of Composure. She is also a very intriguing character. She has this inhuman aspect to her that peaks your interest. As you read though, you get to find out what is behind that carrera marble facade of hers.

The plot twists in this book blew my mind! I did NOT see those coming! Malcom took me by surprise and made my head spin. Gosh those are fun reads.

The two words that come to mind when I want to describe this book are Dark and Sophisticated. The darkness was handled with maturity and class, the pain in this book was real and represented respectfully. That doesn’t mean it was pretty, on the contrary, it wasn’t sugar-coated. It was as real as it gets, uncomfortably so, and THAT’s what makes this book special.

DEADLINE TO DAMNATION - ANNE MALCOM

6/21/2019

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

THIS is why Anne Malcom is a Queen. This book. No words. Whiplashing emotion at every turn of the page, nostalgia embedded between the lines, and thought put into every word. It was poised, well written and just so soul-touching.

The characters reverberated off the pages. Their histories, their demons felt real enough to touch. Their tension, their raw emotional state was so REAL, I wanted to comfort them. This story will absorb ever inch of your being. It will suck you in and hold you captive until you realize you’ve been there of your own volition all along.

I have yet to come across an Anne Malcom book I didn’t enjoy, and that is saying a lot about the quality of the genre-spanning author. There is an authenticity to her stories. A certain genuine aspect to them. It’s like every story os a piece of her. Kind of like horcruxes. With every book she writes she becomes immortal because her words will keep her essence alive forever. Don’t know if that’s dorky or morbid, but Harry Potter is universally cool *shrug*

Deadline to Damnation was one of my favourite SOT books. It had great complexity of plot - not complicated, but layered and basking in the grey area of life, and that was beautiful. Definitely make sure you read this one!

MALUM PART 2 - AMO JONES

6/13/2019

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Well hello Amo fucking Jones! Can I get a HELL YES for Malum Pt 2! This book, I mean, this series(!) is an intricate web of interconnecting plots, and revelations, and lies and truths, and (there are not enough ands and virtual breaths for me to finish that sentence). I’m floored. Every. Single. Time. How does she untangle her gordeon knot? How does she unravel the plot to simply put it back together the way it was meant to be seen all along? How does she have the power to manipulate us readers so completely? Simple : Words.

Words are her weapon and she makes out head spin and renders us unable to stop flipping the pages. She is a true word Queen.

Yes, this book is twisted and edgy, but if you look closely, there’s a softness to it. The little subtleties are what made the book for me. We all love our dark reads, but Amo weaved some lightness in it and created a beautifully complex work. She tackles hard subject matter with grace and lightness. She didn’t use it for shock factor. She didn’t capitalize on it. She did it because the story called for it.

Nate and Tillie made my heart beat at a million miles an hour and my stomach flutter for the entirety of the book, and I loved it! Their chemistry jumps off the pages and their back and forth will be so realistic it will be hard to remind yourself that they are fictional. Jones is able to create the most complex and layered characters and give them life with her words. Magic? I think hell yes. No way is Jones a muggle.

If you haven’t yet, you HAVE to pick up this book. TRUST ME.

THE MAFIA AND HIS OBSESSION : PART 2 - LYLAH JAMES

6/7/2019

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Lylah James is one hell of a talented author. There is something special that happens when you read one of her books. She writes magic, and it blows me away. EVERY. DAMN. TIME.

James has a very distinct style of writing. It has musicality, tempo, rhythm. She uses pauses expertly. She uses breaks to her advantage. She uses punctuation to create an ambiance and a mood. She is one of the best authors out there when it comes to that. I kid you not. Her use of repetition also adds to the rhythmic writing of hers. She goes from smooth passages to sharp sentences in a heartbeat, and it creates something special.

There were SO many twists in this story. So many times where your head would spin and your heart would ache. There are hard scenes, but necessary scenes. Life isn’t just roses and rainbows. No, it’s heartache and hardship too. Lylah James brings us both in this book.

It wouldn’t be a Lylah James book if it wasn’t also super damn HAWT. Omg, the heat she brings into this book is OFF THE CHARTS. Like excise me while I blush on the train. *tilts kindle away from all passengers* This book is basically the full package.

Do yourself a favour and READ THIS BOOK! And if you haven’t read Lylah James yet, then what are you waiting for??

AMONG ASH AND EMBER - DANI RENÉ

6/6/2019

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

This is, hands down, Dani René’s best work to date. HANDS DOWN. This story had it all, and the emotions had me a mess for most of it. It’s also important to note that I read this book twice, and the second time was just as impactful as the first, even though I knew what would happen... that is no easy feat at all, and shows the power of the writing in this book.

One thing that stuck out to me was the coherence and consistency of the flower and burning metaphors. The writing was poetic, the book read as a beautiful whole and unified piece, and is one of, heck, it IS René’s best compositions. There is no way you can read this book and be unmoved.

It’s books like these that make you realize the power of words. The most impactful moments in the book were a handful of words. But the weight and power those few words had? Unimaginable. René has tapped into something real and something heartfelt with this book, and it took my breath away.

Among Ash and Ember flowed so well while reading it. The words just string together so effortlessly and with such musicality that you cannot bring yourself to put the book down. What a great book by René that will stay with me for a long time.

IVY'S POISON - INDIA R. ADAMS

5/3/2019

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

I received an ARC of this book from the author and I voluntarily reviewed it. Thank you India R. Adams!

This was Adams’ first dark romance book. Let me repeat that. THIS WAS ADAMS’ FORST DARK ROMANCE BOOK. Okay, just wanted to make sure you got that, because as I was reading, I would forget. It was THAT well done. It had darkness, heck a lot of it, but it was also sexy, alluring with its subtleties and shocking with its twists. And most importantly, the characters were captivating and believable. It had everything I look for in a good, heck, a great dark romance.

Bors and Ivy are complicated to say the least. They are both SO much more than what you see at first glance. They have incredible depth, countless daemons, and yet still cary that glimmer of light within them - the India R. Adams signature.

The other Adams signature? Subject matter that is usually kept in the dark, but that must be brought to light for awareness. We unfortunately don’t live in this rose-coloured world we think we do. Horrible things happen right under our noses and we have no idea. Adams is trying to rip off those rose tinted glasses we have glued to our faces and make a change in this world.

Well that took a deep plunge! Anyways, if you LOVE sexy assassins, feisty heroines, lust-filled scenes and riveting action, this is for you!

BEAUTIFULLY BRUTAL - DANI RENÉ

4/4/2019

★ ★ ★ ★ ½

I received an ARC of this book from the author and I voluntarily reviewed it. Thank you Dani René!

What a great start to the series! Whatever pre-conception about what you think this will be, throw it out the window. You will be surprised by the twists, the turns, the darkness and the sweetness.

Lance and Giuliana are bot conventional. René does not write a trope. She creates her own story. She steps outside the box and writes a book that breaks the rules of “formula romance”. The story is unique and refreshing.

This is a story about lust and the forbidden. Be prepared for a buttload of delicious angst! Nothing is as simple as it seams and the line between good and evil is not as crisp and theorized.

I loved reading this book! Dani René is inventive and takes risks in this book that I believe paid off! I definitely recommend this book!

ENTHRALLED - GIANA DARLING

4/1/2019

★ ★ ★ ★ ½

I received an ARC of this book from the author and I voluntarily reviewed it! Thank you Giana Darling!

Wow! So many twists and turns in this book. As soon as you think you have one thing figured out, Darling flips the plot on its head and leaves you all dazed wondering what just happened.

Darling truly pushed her style of writing in the book. It was flourishing with metaphors and poetic passages. As always, I loved the references to Greek mythology and how they were carried out from the beginning of the story until the end. How to make Cat happy? Coherence and consistency.

I truly think this was Darling’s best novel in regards to character development. Cosima was such an interesting journey as a character. She is layered and complex. Heck, the whole PLOT is complex. My mind is still realign from what I just read!

So, of you like unpredictable and unputdownable dark romance, READ THIS.