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Half Cast (Helheim Wolf Pack Tale #4)
Half Cast (Helheim Wolf Pack Tale #4)
Lauren Dawes | 2018 | Paranormal, Romance
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
slipped a bit from book 3!
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.

This is book 4 in the Helheim Wolf Pack Tale, and you really SHOULD read all three previous books before this one. There is MUCH that is referenced, but not fully covered here from those books. MUCH. So, don't say I didn't warn you!

We met both Alex and Saskia in book 3, and they met too. They fell in love over a single kiss and now Saskia is mated to another, and Alex is now Bitten.

So, in my review for the third book, I said things were beginning to make sense, and I could kinda see where this was all going. You read that, right? I said it?? Well, now? I lost it all again! I still got an inkling, but I've lost something in the couple of months since I read book three, I really did and I didn't pick it back up here, not fully.

To that end, I didn't enjoy this as much as book 3.

However, I don't think that me losing whatever I did is the full reason. There is more, and it revolves around what Alex and Saskia did, to Ezekiel, in their home. They both felt guilty about that, and well they should but it didn't sit well with me! I would like to see Ezekiel happy in a later book, he needs some happiness now.

Saxon (Saskia's brother) meets HIS mate, but this book ends on a cliffhanger about that. Brax is smitten by someone he meets but not sure where thats going.

As usual, everyone important has a say. And you really do need that here, more so than in the other books.

Like I said, I lost something, and didn't quite get it back and whatever it is, I missed it!

Books one and two got 4 and 4.5 stars respectively. Book 3 is by far my favourite of them all so far and got 5 stars. We've slipped a bit here, and so....

4 solid stars

**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
  
Now Comes the Dark (Basic Instincts #1)
Now Comes the Dark (Basic Instincts #1)
Thom Collins | 2025 | Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Mystery, Romance, Thriller
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
solid 4 star start to series
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.

This is book 1 in the Basic Instincts series, and I am reading it AFTER I already book 2, Nothing but The Night, 5 stars and book 3, Beyond The Darkness, 4 stars. I think this might have skewed my enjoyment a little, since I know what happens in future books. That said, reading this book has answered some questions! So, I would recommend you read them in order, but not strictly necessary.

Roman just wants to get laid, and Mallon catches his eye. But Mallon goes off with someone else, and Roman finds himself wandering the streets to get home. Not a good idea, given as there is a murderer on the loose and the police aren't doing anything. Mallon saves him from a beating. Roman falls hard and fast, but Mallon is keeping secrets, and that murderer is closing in on his latest target.

Since I read books 2 and 3, I knew about the killer and what happens. I just didn't know how things are bought to a head. And, as in the other books, Collins pulls a blinder of a twist, as to who that was. However, I think I saw that coming, or I picked the clues up from previous books. Not that it mattered, I loved watching it all play out.

It does carry some violence, both Roman and Mallon suffer here, but I do think it is necessary for the story.

Steamy, too. But I'm finding these books are more about the crime aspect, that the smex and I do like that!

I liked that the secrets that Mallon were keeping weren't quite what I expected, but it was dealt with very well.

The majority voice is Roman's. Mallon gets a couple of chapters but not as many as Roman. AND!! We get the bad guy. I do love hearing from the bad guy!

4 very VERY good stars (but had I read them in order, it would probably be a 5! Sorry!)

*same worded review will appear elsewhere
  
Furthermore (Furthermore, #1)
Furthermore (Furthermore, #1)
Tahereh Mafi | 2016 | Children, Fiction & Poetry
6
7.3 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
"I don't hate it, I don't love it. I don't like the writing style, I don't dislike the writing style. I'm not sure if I like it, but I can't seem to stop reading it. I'm very confused. Also, this book is giving me huge 'Alice in Wonderland' vibes!"

As you can see from the update I have copied and pasted, I wasn't quite sure what to think of Furthermore. In fact, I felt a bit like Alice, lost and confused, a bit stiff in what I like to read. I'm not certain if I should give Furthermore 3 stars or 4 stars; then again, I also wonder if I should give it 2 stars. I have never, in all my life, been so confounded. Even now, after having finished it and trying to come up with a review three days later, I'm left speechless. It wasn't "edge of your seat" exciting or "page turning" mysterious, but there's just something about the story that makes me refuse to say I didn't like it - even if I'm not quite sure I did. The story as a whole was pretty entertaining, though there moments I felt just as confused as Alice was and I didn't quite appreciate that (of course, that was most likely Tahereh's point). I would promise myself to stop at the next chapter, because as I read it, I wanted to stop. Yet, when the next chapter would come, I found myself unable to quit. I suppose you could say the magic of Furthermore wrapped itself around me and compelled me to finish the book.
Because I have never had such a reaction to a book before - and because I was actually excited at the prospect that there may be another book, what with the way this one ended - I think I'm going to give it a 3.5 rating. Because of my doubt, uncertainty, and unwillingness to decide if I truly liked it or not, I can't give it 4 stars. So, there you have it. Do what you can with the mess that lives inside my brain whenever I try to figure Furthermore out.