REVIEW The Captive Merman's Promise (Peculiar Tastes #5) by Zoey Castile

The Captive Merman's Promise (Peculiar Tastes #5) 

by Zoey Castile 
Rating: 2.5 Stars
Release Date: October 4, 2022
Format: eBook (Kickstarter)
Publisher: Bonkers Romance

The Captive Merman’s Promise by Zoey Castile (the pen name Zoraida Cordova uses when writing romance) is a unique novella-length tale with a strong premise. A sort of loose reimagining of The Little Mermaid, Amada is a young bruja looking to break a curse that has plagued her family for generations. When she arrives at the Shadow Market and seeks out the Grand Master of the Abyss, she’s surprised to find merman warrior Ronan locked in a tank. Their chemistry is instantaneous, but Ronan’s existing bargain with the Grand Master (and Amada’s pending one) become a barrier to their happily ever after. 

Unlike some of the other couples in the Peculiar Tastes series, I struggled to become invested in Amada and Ronan’s story. Sure, it’s a classic taste of insta-love and steamy sex scenes. However, I didn’t really get enough background for either of them to care about whether or not they got a happily-ever-after ending. A full-length story (instead of a novella-length book) would have been better in this case, as it would have allowed time to go into the history of the curse as well as develop their relationships more. I wanted to learn more about the Grand Master! I wanted to learn more about Ronan’s background, and Amada’s family. Sadly, there wasn’t enough time to do everything in the pages provided and the story as a whole suffered as a result. 

The highlight of the book was the dynamic of Amada and Ronan’s relationship. Both of them are lost and in bad situations when they run into each other, and they’ve both given up on the ability to find love at this point. It was nice to see characters that don’t start out as confident and to see a relationship where it doesn’t involve one party saving the other. Despite this being a monster romance of sorts, I also appreciated how their intimacy didn’t rely on rutting or animalistic behavior you see in other similar books. It was more of a gentle relationship, and it fits their characters and what we know of their backstories well. 

Overall, The Captive Merman’s Promise was another short enjoyable monster romance book. It wasn’t quite long enough to be fully satisfying, but it does the job and it's an easy book to knock out in an afternoon. I still have two more books to go in the Shadow Market/Peculiar Tastes series, so I’m excited to read some other new to me authors. If you’re looking for a quick and easy mermaid monster romance, this one's for you. However, if you’re looking for a more in-depth tale (complete with lots of worldbuilding and character development), I’d suggest looking at the other books from this Kickstarter (especially The Demon’s Bargain and The Death God’s Sacrifice). 

About the Book

A merman meets the bruja who will change his life...

The women in the Palacios family are cursed to always lose their love. Until one day, Amada Palacios uses all her magic to transfer the curse into her own body. Now, Amada wanders the world alone, never getting too close or too intimate with anyone who might have the misfortune to love her. But when the curse begins to ache in ways it never did before, she's desperate to end her agony. Amada travels to Scotland in search of the Grand Master of the Abyss who is said to have a cure for any curse…for a price.

Rónán is a merman warrior of a dead kingdom. For decades he’s been held captive by the Grand Master—Ronan is the main attraction in the Grand Master’s oddities exhibit. Every night the captive merman weeps tears of pearl and sings the call of the deep. Every night he holds on to a sliver of hope that one day his captivity will end.

As Amada and Rónán’s fates intertwine in the nights surrounding Samhain, their monsoon romance unravels a secret that will bind them together forever, or forsake them into the endless abyss.

About the Author

Zoey Castile was born in Ecuador and raised in Queens, New York. She started writing in her teens and pursued that love in her studies at Hunter College and the University of Montana. For nearly a decade, she worked as a bartender, hostess, and manager in New York City's nightlife. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram @ZoeyCastile. You can also email her at ZoeyCastile@gmail.com

REVIEW Blue Bloods (Blue Bloods #1) by Melissa de la Cruz

Blue Bloods (Blue Bloods #1) by Melissa de la Cruz
Rating: 2.5 Stars
Release Date: May 1, 2006
Format: Audiobook (Borrowed from Library)
Publisher: Hyperion Books for Young Children

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Melissa de la Cruz’s Blue Bloods is the opening installment to a universe that now spans more than 10 books and multiple series. Some of the series have even been made into live-action adaptations, like the Witches of East End tv series on Lifetime. I was very curious going into this read, as I’ve heard many different opinions on the book (and the series as a whole). Unfortunately, the book didn’t quite live up to expectations and I was left disappointed as a result. 

The premise was cool. The idea of fallen angels coming to Earth and living as vampires was so unique; that aspect was largely what convinced me to read the book in the first place. I was also quite intrigued by the different “blood colors” - blue bloods are vampires and red bloods are your average run-of-the-mill human. I really enjoyed the diary entries from Plymouth that were periodically featured - I wish the author had spent more time on that and less time in New York prattling on about various brand names and designers. To me, it made the characters seem shallow and took away some of the nuance the author tried to weave into the story (this could just be a case of the book not aging well or me not being the type to care about that thing, I’m not sure). 

The romance in this book was odd. I’ve never been a fan of the “insta-love” trope, and the budding feelings between Schuyler and Jack are definitely that. Instead of “insta-love”, I feel like the author could have just as easily gone with something along the lines of “fated mates”. Another aspect of the romance I was very weirded out by was how possessive and territorial Mimi was of her twin (and no, it wasn’t just a case of “no one’s good enough for my brother”). I understand that there was a special type of ‘angelic’ bond involved, but it was just too weird for my tastes and ended up negatively impacting my enjoyment of the read. 

The point of views were also a bit weird in this book. It rotates between three of the female main characters in the book; Schuyler, Mimi, and Bliss. The three characters couldn’t be more different on paper - one’s an orphan, one’s old money and a longtime member of the popular crowd at school, and the final one’s a new student at school who’s also old money. Despite the differences, I had trouble keeping track of who was narrating at any given time while listening to the audiobook, and this ended up negatively impacting my enjoyment of the read as well. 

Overall, Blue Bloods was a mildly entertaining book with some major issues that affected my overall enjoyment of the read. Kudos to narrator Christina Moore for her great performance in the audiobook! I don’t necessarily regret taking the time to read it, but this is a case where I’m very happy I chose to borrow it from the library instead of buying it directly. I am curious to read about what happens next, but I’m also hesitant to commit to continuing the series with the number of books and the risk of subsequent installments having the same problems. If you’re a fan of fantasy and you love stories in the style of Gossip Girl or Twilight, then I think this book might be worth giving a chance. If Twilight was not your cup of tea (but you’re still a fan of young adult vampire romances), I recommend looking elsewhere for your next read. 

About Melissa:

Melissa de la Cruz is the author of the #1 New York Times best-selling Descendants series, as well as many other best-selling novels, including Alex & Eliza and all the books in the Blue Bloods series: Blue Bloods, Masquerade, Revelations, After Life, The Van Alen Legacy, Keys to the Repository, Misguided Angel, Bloody Valentine, Lost in Time, and Gates of Paradise. She lives in Los Angeles, California, with her husband and daughter.

 

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ARC REVIEW: The Grimrose Girls (The Grimrose Girls Book 1) by Laura Pohl

The Grimrose Girls (The Grimrose Girls Book 1) by Laura Pohl

Rating: 2.5 Stars

Release Date: October 26, 2021

Format: eARC

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

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The Grimrose Girls by Laura Pohl is a dark spin on fairytales that the Brothers Grimm would be proud of. The book is a solid choice for those who are fans of mystery and dark academia - but might fall short in the eyes of fantasy readers.

At the start of the story, Ella, Yuki, and Rory are returning to the ultra-exclusive Grimrose Academy in the mountains of Switzerland. Things will not be the same, however, as they are missing the fourth member of their group Ariane. Some think Ariane committed suicide or simply drowned, but her friends believe someone killed her and are determined to find out what happened. After new girl Nani finds a mysterious book of fairytales in Ariane’s closet, things get even stranger and they must race to solve the mystery before it’s too late. 

While reading, I was reminded of the Once Upon a Time tv show. Both Once Upon a Time and The Grimrose Girls leave you wondering which fairytale corresponds to each character. Some of the fairytale relations were fairly obvious (Ella) while others were hard to pin down (Yuki). I enjoyed figuring out who was who - this aspect was my favorite part while reading. 

It was a little hard at times to connect the fairytale retelling aspect to the dark academia. Admittedly, these two genres are not commonly crossed. The atmosphere definitely felt dark and the author did a great job building the setting. I had no problems envisioning the academy, though I did wonder at times why they set it at an academy if they barely covered any school-related issues or scenes. 

However, the fairytale aspect was where the book fell flat. I felt like I was missing something in explanations on why things were happening, and I think that made it harder for me to connect to the story as a heavy fantasy reader. This book is supposed to be part of a series, so I'm hoping the author leans more into the fairytale aspect for the second installment. Despite giving this book a low rating, I would still consider reading the next installment as the author did enough to make me curious about what happens next for the foursome. 

Thank you to the author, NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for allowing me to read an early copy of the book. I appreciate the opportunity. 

About the Author

Laura Pohl is the New York Times best-selling author of The Grimrose Girls. Her debut novel, The Last 8, won the International Latino Book Awards. She likes writing messages in caps lock, never using autocorrect, and obsessing about Star Wars. When not taking pictures of her dog, she can be found curled up with a fantasy or science-fiction book or replaying Dragon Age. Her favorite Disney princess is Cinderella, and her favorite Disney prince is Kylo Ren. A Brazilian at heart and soul, she makes her home in São Paulo.

A Whole New World (Twisted Tales Book 1) by Liz Braswell

A Whole New World (Twisted Tales Book 1) by Liz Braswell

Rating: 2.5 Stars

Release Date: September 1, 2015

Format: eBook (Kindle Unlimited)

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

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The Twisted Tales series explores alternate, darker versions of Disney’s most famous fairy tales. In A Whole New World, Liz Braswell takes us through what would happen if Aladdin never rubbed the lamp in the Cave of Wonders. 

It was kind of weird to me how the book seemed to copy parts of the movie exactly (I think parts of the dialogue were the same word for word). The storyline diverges at around a quarter of the way into the book into the “What if” scenario. I can see where people are coming from when they remarked that this book reads like a fanfiction of the movie. 

My favorite part of this book is how Aladdin never pretends to be something he’s not (Jasmine knows he’s a street rat/commoner from start to finish). My issues with the book (and why the rating is so low) stem from the age difference in the plot and violence level versus the character interactions and writing. Violence and the plot were YA-level while character interactions and writing were middle-grade level. For example, there were multiple scenes filled with humorous banter and sarcastic remarks which didn’t really fit the mood and what was happening in the scene.  

With this in mind, I don’t think I would be comfortable recommending it to younger middle-grade readers. I think it would be more suitable for an audience of young adults. I’m unsure whether or not I’ll be reading the other books in the Twisted Tales series if they turn out similar to this one. 

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Rating: 2.5 Stars

Release Date: June 30, 2020

Format: Audiobook (library)

Publisher: Del Rey

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 “So I’ll be wed in the church of the Holy Incestuous Mushroom?”

I can see why people enjoyed Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, but this was not my cup of tea. If you are considering reading this book, I highly recommend taking a look at the trigger and content warnings. I would not want anyone to go into this book unprepared. I enjoyed the “gothic” aspect of this story, but the “horror” aspect of the book was too much for my fantasy reader’s tastes. 

Noemi is sent to High Place by her father to check in on her cousin Catalina after he receives some troubling letters that cause him to question her safety and sanity. After she arrives, the Doyle’s seem to be a fairly average English family with some strange family dynamics but there is a lot more going on than first impressions might indicate. 

The Doyle family is creepy as hell, and I don’t think I’ll ever look at mushrooms the same after reading this book. Howard is such a revolting and creepy old man, I would not get near him with a ten-foot pole. I was beyond grossed out. The only redeemable one in the whole family is Francis. I commend Noemi for her bravery because after one day in High Place I would have run away screaming for help.  

Whether or not you will like this book depends on how much you enjoy the gothic literature genre and the horror literature genre. I would say it’s more horror than gothic, but I’m also a big chicken so I recognize that I generally don’t vibe with horror novels in the first place. I can see why horror fans sing the book’s praises. Silvia Moreno-Garcia is a master of genre-hopping but I don’t think this book is for everyone. 

TRIGGER AND CONTENT WARNINGS: Racism and White Supremacy (including discussion of eugenics),  Attempted Rape, Incest, Discussion of Suicide, Miscarriage, Stillbirth, Alcohol Consumption, Recreational Drug Use (Smoking), Hallucinations, Cannibalism, Murder, Death of a child, Discussion of the death of a parent and family members