MSB’s Reviews > By the Horns > Status Update

Not as impressed so far, as I was with the first book. Gwemma doesn’t feel as interesting a character– she feels like just any other typical sassy/cold but determined FMC.

Don’t enjoy the hypocritical sexual harassment from Raptor. He tries to protect her from harassment by others and is hence portrayed as a good person but wtf he’s a perpetrator too. The double standard is frustrating. Also, why is he so obsessed with Sayra? I get that she was a good lay, but he’s like OBSESSED, and honestly pretty presumptuous. He feels guilty for not looking for her harder, as if he’s betraying a lost wife or something, not someone who, to him, is a sex worker that wants nothing to do with him. Make that make sense. He can fantasize about her but this just feels weird and creepy.

Gwemma keeps fantasizing about Raptor giving her the best orgasm of her life but it didn’t even seem that great to me? Like he’s big, fine, but he didn’t do that much to pleasure her in particular. Wish it focused a bit more on Raptor taking care of Gwemma.

Also, Gwemma’s relationship with Aspeth just feels so dry now. So in the previous book, Aspeth convinced all her friends to essentially betray the guild (tho for good reason), causing them all to almost get kicked out, and instead become repeaters. But now she got her cushy dream job and life is GREAT for her and she seems to forget all of her BFFs who even got her to that place? She doesn’t feel at all responsible for all her friends having to struggle for possibly years being housemaids or repeaters because of her actions? This just makes me lose respect for her as a character and for the first book altogether. Felt like a forgotten detail, honestly.


Overall, I’m still enjoying this book, but I do find it less enjoyable than the first one. I’d give it maybe 4/5 stars

Can’t stand the “mucking” verbiage littered everywhere in the book. Like they already say “fucking” as an adverb, the exact way “mucking” is used. And they’re not prim characters that avoid swearing. There aren’t that many words that are replaced with versions in their world. It just feels out of place.

He’s not even in love with her (as if that’s possible from one short, blindfolded hookup). He’s just lusting, and at the IDEA of her. He doesn’t know anything about “Sarya”. Like as an erotica, this loose ass plot is fine. But after all the excellent world and character building in the first book? Wtf is this.

I love Kipp. He’s my favorite character.