Book Review Styxx by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Two stars! Two stars! I have to give it two stars. Styxx by Sherrilyn Kenyon didn’t start at two stars, like all books, it started it at four and found itself being dragged down by the immense word count and a thin idea. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Dark-Hunter series, at least until No Mercy. No Mercy hurt, but Sundown and the Guardian killed me and I stopped reading the continuation of the series due to it. The only reason why I picked up Styxx was because some review said it was as good as Acheron. Acheron, in my opinion only ranked at three stars and heralded the fall of this series. But I enjoyed the early life of that book, so I figured, why not and bought it.

For the first half of the book, I truly enjoyed the read. Styxx’s life was just as hard as Acheron’s- neglect, beatings, rape -the only difference in the two was that Styxx was more stoic about it. I love stoic characters. Continuing on, he meets the love of his life who happens to be a half-Egyptian and Atlantian goddess.

Slight spoiler, she is the daughter of Set and that makes her Seth’s half sister. She is also black, a fact Ms. Kenyon added to the story, possibly due to the flack she got for making Seth a ginger in the Guardian. I don’t care about skin color.

I have an issue with her making a certain gay character straight in her other series, but that’s just due to a pitifully weak reason and the fact what  happened in the end ruined the continuity of the series.

Following that, Styxx’s story proceeds to go downhill as it goes through the motions of ‘adding more back story’ pulled from earlier books- Night Pleasures, Acheron, etc. After that boring dreg, the pace picks up to a rate it becomes like a piece of ice floating in a stream of water. The ice is the plot, the water is what is.

Overall, Styxx started out really well, I actually stayed up to read it, but fell hard towards the end. The series is still a read for me; I’m just going to skip all characters that aren’t Artemis, Noir, Azuara, Jaden and his friend whose name I can’t recall.

Book Review Beneath the Neon Moon by Theda Black

Beneath the Neon Moon by Theda Black opens up a bit like Saw movie; chained, bound to another and not even the foggiest idea of what is going one. “I wanna play a game,” except with wear-wolves.

From there, it stays dark but the characterization of Zach and Mal, though limited, brings a light to it.

Beneath the Neon Moon is a fantastic read, four out of five and I want a sequel.

Book Review Drain Me Dry by Leigh Wilder

Truth be told, I was surprised by how much I liked this story. It was procured during a binge run on Amazon a couple of months back as a free read. I figured gay vampires and a few BDSM elements, why the hell not?

Drain Me Dry by Leigh Wilder tells the story of Jamie and his desire to escape his situation of an abusive, alcoholic father and a crap job at the local fast food joint, preferably by dying by the bite of a vampire.

 A violent way to die to be sure, but plans as stupid as that one rarely unfold as expected and Jamie is at the mercy of a vampire.

As stated before, this is a story about gay vampires and there are strong sexual elements in it. They aren’t porn level, well the description is vivid, but I meant little plot, loads of sex. As for the plot it is there, but the characterization is what’s truly impressive, especially considering how short the story is. I personally believe that Drain Me Dry is just set up for the sequel.

Overall, I give the story a three out of five and just need to review the sequel.

Book Review Attracting Anthony by Amber Kell

If it wasn’t for the writer in me, Attracting Anthony, book one of the Moon Pack Series by Amber Kell would have been more enjoyable. With that said, I did somewhat enjoy the story I just didn’t like certain aspects of it.

Anthony is talked into going to a club with his best-friend, Steven, but in order not to outshine his friend, he casts a glamour that makes him look less attractive then he is, showcasing how good of a friend he is.

In those same pages, the death of Anthony’s lover is mentioned and the glamour for friendship is downgraded to a twofer.

The issue I have with the beginning is due to the way it was worded. Hundreds of words could have been cut if the scenes describing the effects of the glamour and the conversation between Anthony and Steven had been merged into one. It also would have been less jarring.

Once passed the first chapter, the story unfolded and proceeded to become more interesting. The love interest is named Silver Moon, an alpha were-wolf and owner of the club, which apparently remains unnamed, that Anthony is visiting. As it is a short story, the romance unfolds quickly and I truthfully don’t mind that. What I mind is the lack of conflict between the two of them or an outside force opposing their love. Anthony’s parents would have been an amusing opposition, or the vampires reengaging on the deal.  I don’t really care, I just wanted conflict. Honestly, anything would have been beneficial two crank this story up to a full three rather than two and a half.