Review: Pride & Puppies

Pride & Puppies by Lizzie Shane
RATING: 2.5 STARS 
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Just like many before, “Pride & Puppies” is a Jane Austen inspired modern-day romance featuring a MC who is well obsessed with… Jane Austen. Like almost every other page, ‘Darcy’, ‘Blingley’ and ‘Jane’ are mentioned obsessed. Was it annoying to the point you couldn’t help but roll your eyes when the forsaken three were mentioned? Ab·so·lute·ly.

Despite my digressions, Charlotte (“Charles” by her wannabe Darcy) is single again after dumping her cheating boyfriend, Jeff. After a wild night of venting with her best girlfriends with a strong bottle of liquor in her hands, she decides it’s time to swear off men… for six months at least and get a puppy that she always dreamt of and who would love her unconditionally—forming the Puppy Pact. Cue in her neighbor, co-worker and friend George—who has been pining for her since the moment he arrived at Pine Hollow—providing pet advice and being a shoulder to lean on as Charlotte rediscovers herself and what love should mean to her. Amidst that, George announces he’s contemplating a cross-country move which then spirals Charlotte's emotions out of whack and pushes her to realize she may have less than friendly feelings for him. Mixed emotions, miscommunications, should they shouldn’t they drama upfolds—leaving me much to desire.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to connect with either MCs—George and especially Charlotte. I found her to be pushy, messy and just plain annoying. In regards to the romantic components—the chemistry and flirting was practically non-existent. In all honesty, I truly didn’t believe Charlotte's feelings were genuine for George and the romance seemed too forced, especially after she discovered his decision to possibly move back home and her sudden ‘realization of her feelings’. They worked better as friends than lovers. Let’s not forget Jane Austen obsession and references were too much of the focal point of this novel.

All in all, a strong engaging start but once the wishy-washy back-and-forth with Charles and George began, I started to tune out. It gradually became worse towards the later half of the novel when Charlotte proclaimed she was in love with the real life Blingley. It just was not believable nor did the romance stand out. I was far more intrigued by the side characters and their stories. Nonetheless, not the worst Jane Austen inspired romance novel I have read but it could have been better.

Review: This Vicious Grace

This Vicious Grace by Emily Thiede
RATING: 2 STARS
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“This Vicious Grace” synopsis pretty much describes the plot to the T. Alessa, the main character, has gone through three weddings and three funerals to find the right suitor who does not die from her touch. With only weeks left until a hungry swarm of demons devours everything, Alessa, who becomes desperate to survive, hires the “Wolf”, the cringey nickname for Dante, an outcast marked as a killer, to become her personal bodyguard after a priest convinces the faithful that killing Alessa is the island’s only hope, pushing her own soldiers to try to assassinate her in her sleep.

Que in fantasy, dark secrets, betrayal, and romance (I could have done without) and we’re all left with “This Vicious Grace”. Based on the initial plot and characters, this YA fantasy had potential, but I had trouble wrapping my head around the curse. Barely any details were provided throughout the story and it left me wanting more.

In general, this novel left much to be desired. Besides what was mentioned above—the worldbuilding was MIA, the storyline was mediocre and far too predictable (and dare I say convenient?!), the god-divine magic system was vague AF, the dialogue was piss poor and the characters with their non-believable romance—blah. I can’t fail to mention the anticlimactic battle scenes. Ha. In all honesty, does the author really expect readers to enjoy this when we were left with the bare minimum? Probably.

All in all, this ‘high-stakes’ fantasy did absolutely nothing for me and reading the sequel isn’t even a possibility. But if you are looking for a cheesy YA fantasy romance smother with the overused grumpy bodyguard trope, give this a go. I’m sure you’ll love it.