Engrossed Reader > Recent Status Updates

A month dipping in and out of this book and it's a DNF. I can't stand both main characters, or care about their crumbling marriage and the dog can't save this book on her own. The premise: divorcing couple, cute dog custody issue sounded good, eventually I wondered why they married in the first place.
Not War of the Roses' level of toxicity, but the relentless bickering and slow pacing killed interest.

Lee admit it, you practically live in subspace.
That is not shaming, it acknowledges your Stockholm syndrome. It happens 🤷🏾‍♀️

"But Eral and Ronet always seemed to know when to push him. They’d make him bend, but not until he broke. They always monitored him, he reminded himself, so Lee hadn’t been in any real danger. If they’d seen true distress, they would have come in. They would have stopped it."

Am I glad that the 'good' kidnappers have rescued Lee and they are heartbroken at his treatment by the 'bad black market kidnappers'. Obviously yes I am but he's still not free. Who longs for servitude?

What is freedom when he can't return to life before the Dresht?

Is sexual slavery bearable when you're pampered to within an inch of your life by a couple rather than a succession of relentless johns?

Probably

Charming and funny mystery that I enjoyed immensely. The illustrations were also delightful.

Bareback butter sex, who knew that was a thing. FYI I have at least 4 oils in the kitchen and no butter.

Anyway back to the plot. We have neighbours grumpy Stone who takes a dislike to sunshine Dare, leading to early morning pranks, lots of pounding on doors and furious encounters. Throw in Stone's dog who likes to roam, especially in Dare's house and you have two guys eyeing then eventually feeling each other up

I've moaned before that this ARC, a protected epub, accessible on a random app download to my laptop, has impacted engagement.

But back to the story.

So far it has been delightful. The mystery is just unfolding and I too feel aggrieved that the birthday chocolates have been stolen. J. Algernon Pickle, beaver is new to detective work, in fact this is his first case. Fortunately Jacob the narrator, human is savvy.

Four months ago I paused this at 77% and purposely forgot about the enforcer who baked bread. I wonder if I can manage the last 20% or finally DNF?

Yeah I'm out.
Really can't be bothered with this relationship that came out of nowhere and is focused on how much bigger, older, mature, dominant the other guy is.

If you want to lose the will to live, then enjoy 🫴

"We share everything we keep," Boone said.

Honestly I have the perseverance of a saint. This book 😖🙄

"It's short ribs," Dez said, which meant yes, and meant hurry back, and meant a man could be tracked by what he'd eat when he surfaced. All of Dez's sentences had other sentences inside them. I'd gotten fluent without noticing."

Call me picky but where was the discussion about ass?

Jesse agrees to pay off his brother's debt to the crew, and you would expect that means money or doing something in their sketchy business?

So how did that jump to working down the debt with ass? How comes they're already talking safe word?

Who does that? Takes on a debt and immediately says will pay booty style?

I cannot take this book seriously.

This is likely to be a DNF because the writing style is getting on my last nerve.

I really don't know why I'm doing this to myself. I read the sample, dropped this book and picked up another by this author instead. Finished that one, which was along the same annoying lines and now back to this!

"I got there at ten minutes to ten, because early is the only reference letter I carry,"

Who talks like that?

"Took you long enough," he said. "Both of you." That was all. That was the lads' position in full, formally stated, and it was worth more to the pair of us than any speech, and he was already at the bar ordering before either of us could answer, which is of course why he did it that way, because he is, when it matters, the best of us at exits.

This writing style is perfect imperfection. I hate it.

Books on unrequited love do my head in.12 years of waiting, of loving, wedding imminent and now they decide it's time

"Third year," he said, conversationally. "Summer ball. You went and found his jacket at four in the morning because he was cold, and you put it round him, and you did the button. One button, at the collar. And I watched your face while you did it and I thought, oh.There's the rest of Baz's life, then

Caesar Potts is a saint hiding behind the guise of a debauched devil "... but it was a weak man who panicked in the face of the unknown when someone desperately needed help."

Is there nothing he can't or won't do? 🙄

"And so it was that Jasper Black, noted bachelor and avowed avoider of commitment, found himself having luncheon with not only White, but his three younger brothers."

2% in and I think Kayla's either an idiot, manipulative or looking to sue because a dog has no place on a construction site.

You're on a third date with a guy, saying how much you'd love a dog but can't because you work long hours as a dental hygienist. However he has the space and opportunity at his job! Make it make sense. The miscommunication is resolved: “Well, I guess we can cross that bridge after the wedding

It's 1am and I've stayed up to finish a book that is all kinds of sad: obvious, unexpected, precise and devastating.

It was worth it.

Even though I will fall asleep soon and themes will continue to swirl around in my subconscious and likely create disturbing dreams.

It was worth it.

It's relationships and people that matter, more so when the world is coming to an end.

And that's really everything.

"Mars is gone. The moon is next, and then it's so long, thanks for all the fish."

When the end is nigh, when time is running out, what do you do? What really matters when death is at touching distance?

Ok, it's too early to be reading, I should be asleep but I've finally managed to organise my reads for Sept and that's an achievement. Yay, me!

Rambling aside, what I want to say is that I think this book will destroy me in all the right ways. End of the world, secrets, tension, and characters who are perfect in their imperfection.

The discomfort and latent dread invoked when the MMCs met the family was palpable

NetGalley, please. If you say it’s a password‑protected PDF, don’t hand me an LCPL file I’ve never heard of that needs an app I don't have to, read this book. Spare me the NetGalley app - it was buggy last time - and the e‑reader in the browser took as long to open as downloading Thorium Reader app. This mystery had better be worth the hassle already involved. Moan over. The book does look ace

Underwhelmed. This is like when someone fakes you out with a sugar free product. They don't tell you in advance and after you take a bite you can tell from their face that they were desperate for you to like it. But it's the worst artificial taste that confuses your taste buds. Personally, you never eat sugar free because the taste is too weird to stomach, either too sweet or nothing like it's supposed to taste.

I'm sure I've read Riley Hart books before and enjoyed them but this one is meh all the way.

James: professor and Sub has a casual hookup relationship with Colton: mechanic now student and Dom. James is control, control, I'm in control until he's in a scene when he becomes the perfect submissive for his Sir. Inexplicably, despite the checklist of all the key tropes, reading this is a chore and has me skipping pages.

This book is such a mish mash of ideas that don't blend well. Is this sci-fi or is it medieval or steampunk or trash
Yet another insta lust starting with the MMC getting reamed and liking it

"The camp had gone quiet around us. Heads turned. I felt every stare. Nocil’s voice dropped to a growl “Grab your spear. We duel. The one thing that will bring me pleasure aside from my chosen’s ass is watching you finally die”

Today is one of those days going down a rabbit hole of craziness

“He slipped on my peel and fell all the way down,” the banana informs me. “I tried to pull him out of the water but it was just too late. That’s when I decided to become a lifeguard.”

This excerpt is from Two time Hugo Award finalist Chuck Tingle, a man I'd never heard of before today.

“Wasn’t he a serial killer?” McDermott asks suspiciously, then moans. “Don’t tell me he was another serial killer, Bateman. Not another serial killer.” “No, McDufus, he wasn’t a serial killer,” I say, turning back to Van Patten, but before continuing turn back to McDermott. “That really pisses me off.” “But you always bring them up,” McDermott complains. “And always in this casual, educational sort of way."

Arc read, Why Choose
I dislike this FMC. She irritates me something fierce. The men are one dimensional with identifiers such as silver rings or German accent and the other one who I can't even remember what made him standout.

Massive sigh.

Almost done

The last 25% is the reason that the rating will drop hard for this book. "A few weeks passed" to indicate lots that had happened which the author didn't want us to know about or conversely to gloss over the fact that there's no substance.
Plus if I read "mansion" one more time I will literally lose it. There are other words and phrases to describe a large house.
Underwhelmed because it should have been good but isn't

There's a surprising lack of depth in this book. 69% in and I still don't know who these characters are. I know what they do, what they say but really who are they? It's as if they live in a void, barely go to school, parents uninvolved. Dimitri is a bratva prince and yet has all this time to pick flowers with new boyfriend Rei. What is Rei's deal? Where is his brother? It's all very surface level.