corvinascloud's reviews
874 reviews

this book had everything to be perfect, and it almost was, except if it weren’t for this plot hole that frustrated me to no end. i mean, the writing was more mature and nuanced that the previous book, the characters had organic chemistry and tension between them, the flow was well paced and balanced between romance and action, even the side characters were jumping off the page and gripping my attention with their potential. also, I really appreciated the way queerness was so normalized, how all identities and representations sprinkled out during the story were neither the rooted in trauma/presented an issue to anyone nor made into a big spectacle, it just so happened that people were queer. but then there was this one detail i just couldn’t get past, it truly made no sense whatsoever, at least not to me. and that was the setting up for the “seemingly” plot twist, which in my opinion wasn’t even one because the writing was on the wall, the call was coming from inside the house; it was all there from the start, it wasn’t just little hidden clues or a red herring. i don’t know if it was a creative decision to go in that direction that i missed the point of, or if i’m just too particular (read: trust issues), but i truly can’t grasp how it escaped through the cracks, especially consider who this fmc is and what she stands for/represents – it felt so out of character for her that it wasn’t conceivable to me.

* i was sent an arc by the author in exchange for a honest review

 well, it would appear that alongside my newfound obsession of patient x psychologist romance, i also appreciate the gynecologist variation of doctor play. this reminded me of “mind to bend”, albeit not nearly as dark, yet still unhinged. i love a downright boy obsessed stalker that goes to unthinkable lengths to be near the object of his fixation. 

 “princess, you’re the one who saved me. in more ways than one.” 

did i enjoy this? absolutely. did i also felt it was all over the place? yes. the pace of the book, especially in the beginning with all the time jumps and very short chapters was a bit choppy. i know the relationship between the mmc and the fmc’s stepsister was shown a lot more in the previous books, but i think it shouldn’t have been dismissed right away in this one. the tension the reader was supposed to feel alongside the actual couple of the story wasn’t there because he broke up with his ex in the first chapters. i wanted more mutual pining and longing, that forbidden aspect was what’s missing from this. i still liked the overall story, which is a given when this duo writes it. and the couple was probably my favorite so far.

 not me starting this book with a sense of relief for finally being done with the rinaverse (which i still am) and it turning out to be one of the best stories in it. the fact this reminded me of xanderkim and adrianlia, my favorites, is perhaps why i enjoyed it so much. she made me eat my words because this was anything but predictable, and not at all what i expected. leave it to rina kent to once in a blue moon write a good book, to the point where i gaslight myself into thinking i might actually like her books. not only that, but, and i can’t believe i’m even saying this, changing my opinion about a king? there’s no love lost between me and this author, especially with how she plays favorites. and said favorites are the king family, which i’m not a fan of, aside from jonathan, and now eli. don’t get me wrong, this book was comical half of the time due to the ridiculousness of these grown ass boys still behaving like high schoolers (the old generation managing to be almost worse than the kids) and rich problems, but the mental illness of it all really touched me. i saw a lot of my struggles in the fmc, and spent the last 20% of this sobbing uncontrollably, hiccups and all, at 4 in the mourning. that’s how much i could relate to her fears and demons. which is why i appreciated eli of all people, the way he treated and handled her mental illness spoke to my yearning of having a partner who will try to understand me and see me. but overall, i’m glad this universe is over, even though the author couldn’t help herself and leave crumbs of a book she has repeatedly say she has no plans of ever writing (it being one i wouldn’t actually be mad to read, of course).

i've never read a true slow burn before and a novella no less. but it speaks to the compelling writing and enthralling storytelling that even when the romance wasn't at the center of the plot, i was still deeply invested. this was written after not only my queer heart but also my academic mind. no detail was overlooked when it came to the heist, and the tension was so well crafted. i would love for this to have been a full-length novel, or at the very least, to get a sequel of their thefts together.

can't go wrong with a quick and smutty sapphic novella, and this one felt very grounded in the sense that it was realistic

let me preface this by saying this book wasn’t bad at all, i’m the problem; it were my own expectations of what shae’s story would look like that didn’t let me enjoy this book as much as it deserved. there was nothing wrong with it, i’m not trying to dismiss neither main characters nor the plot itself, and the writing was on par with what this author has come to deliver every time. but i just couldn’t fully connect with it. i’ve wanted shae’s story since the first time she appeared in the previous series, a badass woman within the mafia ranks, and sapphic on top of that? my dream come true. did i want her to end up with a woman? yes, as a lesbian myself of course i wanted her to date another woman. but that wasn’t my “issue”. i expected her story to be action packed and chaotic, no pun intended, just like she is. at first that’s exactly what this book was but then it mellowed down, the pace was so slow and personally it felt like it was dragging. when all i wanted was for her to kick ass and show men how it is, which she did, just not in the most satisfying way for me. i will say, however, i really appreciated how the author tackled her different multitudes. the way the book alone started was not only refreshing but empowering. throughout the story, how she was portrayed, her argument of viewing fashion through a lens of functionality but still embracing her femininity – couldn’t have been more obsessed. that is, up until the villain was revealed and her hypocrisy and double standard felt like character decline, rather than growth. and i wished that had been handled a little bit better and the credit due to the villain wasn’t overlooked based on their gender and motive slash execution; shae found power in embracing love but the villain doing it for love garnered pity? it rubbed me the wrong way. overall, after that twist at the 65% mark the book was tainted for me, just wasn’t a fan of the mmc. 

* i was sent an arc by the next step pr in exchange for a honest review

“the first time i saw you dance, you captured me under your spell, and not a day has passed where i haven’t fallen more and more in love with you.”

this was the furthest thing from any ballerina x mafioso dynamic i've ever read. unexpectedly refreshing, the more romance oriented plot, albeit not lacking action or darkness per se, was a welcoming change of pace from the rest of the series. it just further proved how michelle heard continues to showcase different facets of the mafia, without being afraid to explore the grittyness of the criminal underworld nor the beauty that can be found within it.

* i was sent an arc by the author in exchange for a honest review