Brightly Burning by Alexa Donne

Title: Brightly Burning

Author: Alexa Donne
Genre: YA, Sci-Fi
Series: N/A
Publication: May 1, 2018 by HMH Books for Young Readers
Source: Personal Library
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Seventeen-year-old Stella Ainsley wants just one thing: to go somewhere—anywhere—else. Her home is a floundering spaceship that offers few prospects, having been orbiting an ice-encased Earth for two hundred years. When a private ship hires her as a governess, Stella jumps at the chance. The captain of the Rochester, nineteen-year-old Hugo Fairfax, is notorious throughout the fleet for being a moody recluse and a drunk. But with Stella he’s kind.

But the Rochester harbors secrets: Stella is certain someone is trying to kill Hugo, and the more she discovers, the more questions she has about his role in a conspiracy threatening the fleet.

Brightly Burning was another book that has been sitting on my TBR pile for forever. One of my goals this year was to read more from the TBR stash in addition to review books. Brightly Burning piqued my interest with the comparison to being ‘Jane Eyre in Space’. I love all things Austen and was looking forward to this sci-fi spin on Austen’s classic.

I certainly saw the similarities. In Brightly Burning, the creepy manor is now a creepy spaceship and ‘Rochester’ is a nineteen-year-old boy named Hugo, whom is shrouded in mystique and secrets. Our heroine, Stella is young, savvy and very inquisitive…very much like Austen’s Jane. Donne pretty much did a play by play of Austen’s novel but swapped adults for teens and a rural countryside setting for space. I felt like it was a good attempt for a YA Science Fiction novel but everything from the characters, plot to the world-building fell a bit short. In my opinion, I didn’t care much for the characters nor found them likeable. Stella was kind of annoying and Hugo was oddly off-putting…I just can’t exactly put my finger on the why. And the supporting characters were also underdeveloped and unmemorable. The plot as I said was a play by play, so it unfortunately made everything very predictable. I thought the world-building could’ve been better realized but Donne was more focused on the romance aspect of the novel. All the boys were oddly interested in Stella who was pretty much described as a plain Jane. Super cliché, special snowflake syndrome there. Not a fan.

I initially thought the voice activated technology/ A.I. Rory was cool but then I realized, it’s not so sci-fi because it’s something we have right now with Amazon Alexa or Google Home. But I do like that Donne used the depopulation idea which is relevant to what is happening today in the news. I had high hopes for Brightly burning but unfortunately it didn’t meet my expectations. If I can sum the novel up in one word, it’d be: underwhelming.

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

Title: The Kiss Quotient

Author: Helen Hoang
Genre: Contemporary
Series: The Kiss Quotient #1
Audiobook, Unabridged
Publication: June 5, 2018 by Dreamscape
Source: Personal Library
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Stella Lane thinks math is the only thing that unites the universe. She comes up with algorithms to predict customer purchases — a job that has given her more money than she knows what to do with, and way less experience in the dating department than the average thirty-year-old.

It doesn't help that Stella has Asperger's and French kissing reminds her of a shark getting its teeth cleaned by pilot fish. Her conclusion: she needs lots of practice — with a professional. Which is why she hires escort Michael Phan. The Vietnamese and Swedish stunner can't afford to turn down Stella's offer, and agrees to help her check off all the boxes on her lesson plan — from foreplay to more-than-missionary position...

Before long, Stella not only learns to appreciate his kisses, but to crave all the other things he's making her feel. Soon, their no-nonsense partnership starts making a strange kind of sense. And the pattern that emerges will convince Stella that love is the best kind of logic...

I’ve had The Kiss Quotient on my TBR list since it’s made its way around the blogsphere years ago. I’m not a big romance reader but it’s certainly a genre I want to read more of, and I thought there’s no time like the present to start now. Bonus its by a Vietnamese author. Which is cool, of course, but at the end of the day I’m just looking for a good story and good writing. I honestly feel the whole “need” for more diverse writer and representation is getting tiring and old. Can’t we just read a book because it SOUNDS GOOD? People check it off their list to meet a requirement or something. It’s silly. And when it becomes required reading, then you know it anit fun anymore.

The Kiss Quotient was inspired by the author, Hoang’s own journey with autism.  Which from what I know is far and few in the romance/general book category…I was intrigued. Stella, our main heroine is 30-years-old and has never been in a real relationship. But like most things in her life, it can be learned. So, she thinks. Which is where Michael comes in. Michael is a for hire escort, and Stella has hired him to train her to be better at sex and relationship.

I really like Stella and Michael. I thought they were adorable together and loved how they brought out the best in one another (minus the jealousy part lol). I also liked the supporting characters such as Quan and Michael’s big family (5 sisters y'all!), a good support system while shining a light on the importance of family. Hoang must be somewhat of a foodie too because there were no short supply of Vietnamese cuisine popping up left and right. It made me hungry! The writing was superb, which was no surprise and kept me engaged throughout the entire book.

However, the story wasn’t unique as I'd hope. Its been done before in Pretty Woman and The Wedding Date, I definitely kept getting the feeling as though I already read this story. And my only other critique is that the plot, while plausible was not realistic. Michael was overly understanding when it came to Stella, maybe too much since his younger cousin Khai is also autistic but in today’s world, most people would condemn you for being ‘different’. They’re more likely to comment, sneer and judge before lending a sympathetic ear.  Horrible and as harsh as it may sound, it’s true. Kind folks are out there and all but there are unfortunately more unkind than kind.

Overall I enjoyed The Kiss Quotient and am looking forward to reading the companion novels! I should warn you, this book was way steamier than I thought. Not for the faint of hearts!

 

Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin

Title: Serpent & Dove

Author: Shelby Mahurin
Genre: Paranormal, YA
Series: Serpent & Dove #1
Audiobook, Unabridged
Publication: September 3, 2019 by HarperAudio
Source: Personal Library
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Two years ago, Louise le Blanc fled her coven and took shelter in the city of Cesarine, forsaking all magic and living off whatever she could steal. There, witches like Lou are hunted. They are feared. And they are burned.

Sworn to the Church as a Chasseur, Reid Diggory has lived his life by one principle: thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. His path was never meant to cross with Lou's, but a wicked stunt forces them into an impossible union—holy matrimony.

The war between witches and Church is an ancient one, and Lou's most dangerous enemies bring a fate worse than fire. Unable to ignore her growing feelings, yet powerless to change what she is, a choice must be made.

And love makes fools of us all.

I’ve been waiting for a good witch/witch hunter story for ages! Serpent and Dove sounded like the perfect remedy. The synopsis had me right off the bat; a witch marrying a witch hunter? Hell yes, sign me up A.S.A.P! The story started off very promising with the hustle and bustle of the city life as readers are introduced to Lou and Reid our main characters. But suddenly the story took a hard left leaving me lost and confused. It wasn’t till the very end that the story started to get better but honestly, it wasn’t enough to redeem itself from the haphazard middle/execution.

I’m going to start off with what I enjoyed. I liked that the story was centered only on the witches and chasseurs (witch hunter). There were no monsters, vampires, or werewolves to crowd the storyline, just two distinct factions. Although the witches were divided into specific covens, depending on their abilities. In Serpent & Dove, we were introduced to the Dame Blanc and Dame Rouge was briefly mentioned (which will be seen in-depth in the sequel). I also liked that there were many laugh-out-moments. Reid’s reactions to Lou’s outgoing, wild nature was priceless.

Unfortunately, the flaws outweighed the good. With so many amazing reviews, I was expecting to be blown away, or at least get buffy vibes. I got neither. The writing, world building and characters all fell short and left me feeling underwhelmed for most of the book. The writing left much to be desired, it didn’t flow nor have that captivating spark seen in most debut novels. I felt the writing needed more time to develop and given more time I’m sure it would’ve been better. The world building was a hot mess, or lack of a world building. While Mahurin never stated the time period, it isn’t too farfetched to assume that the story took place during the 16th century (time of the witch trials) or latest 17th or 18th century which is when the word, chasseurs was coined…or at least around those time frames. The descriptions of the setting also supported this assumption. Then there was the dialogue…things turned messier. Lou and Reid's vernacular kept bouncing back and forth to 16-17th century and present day. I’m pretty sure they didn’t have words like F*ck or B*tch back then. I could be wrong. I don’t have an issue with curse words, it’s all gravy. But my point was it didn’t sound right. Mahurin should have picked and stayed in one lane because the combination of the setting and language timeline/style was ridiculous and took me out of the story on more occasions than I can count. 

And finally, we have the characters. I’m not a fan of Lou or Reid as you can guess by now. Perhaps Mahurin was going for an independent feminist in Lou but Lou wasn’t likeable, period. She’s vulgar in the worst ways, the kind of girls you see drunk and belligerent at the bars. Which many can imagine, low-class (ironic, since she's the coven princess) trashy and annoying. Reid wasn’t any better. He was all about rules, rules and more rules. He had a stick so far up his ass, I was surprised he was able to run at a drop of a hat at the mention of a witch nearby. Reid apparently had no clue Lou was a witch till the very end. ZERO. I find that unbelievable, especially when it was said countless of times that witch magic gave off an unpleasant odor. And Reid and Lou got personal so many times, I lost count. Give me a break, I didn’t buy any of it.

Serpent & Dove fell way below expectations. The cover, while beautiful and eye-catching did not match with what was inside the book. And if you haven’t read this novel yet, avoid it, especially the audiobook. The audiobook had one of the most annoying narrators I’ve ever listened to. With that said, do yourself a favor and skip Serpent & Dove, this isn’t the witch story you’ve been waiting for.