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In Deeper Waters by F.T. Lukens | Discussion with Ely

Feb 20, 2022

Welcome back to Ely and I’s buddy read discussions. We haven’t done one of these in a while, but here we are. This year these are just going to come as they do. We don’t have much planned, but you will see a fair few this year.

Today we are talking about In Deeper Waters by F.T. Lukens. I have been wanting to read this one since I heard it announced. But let me tell you trying to get a copy of this one in Australia last year – was not fun. But anyway, let’s get into it. You can check out our other buddy reads here on Angel Reads and Earl Grey Books.

In Deeper Waters by F.T. Lukens

Pages: 320
Publish date: April 20th 2021
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
ISBN: 9781534480506
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

Prince Tal has long awaited his coming-of-age tour. After spending most of his life cloistered behind palace walls as he learns to keep his forbidden magic secret, he can finally see his family’s kingdom for the first time. His first taste of adventure comes just two days into the journey, when their crew discovers a mysterious prisoner on a burning derelict vessel.

Tasked with watching over the prisoner, Tal is surprised to feel an intense connection with the roguish Athlen. So when Athlen leaps overboard and disappears, Tal feels responsible and heartbroken, knowing Athlen could not have survived in the open ocean.

That is, until Tal runs into Athlen days later on dry land, very much alive, and as charming—and secretive—as ever. But before they can pursue anything further, Tal is kidnapped by pirates and held ransom in a plot to reveal his rumored powers and instigate a war. Tal must escape if he hopes to save his family and the kingdom. And Athlen might just be his only hope…

In Deeper Waters:

Angel: I didn’t know what to expect when reading this book. I haven’t read a YA book in a while, but I just want wanted to read it. And I’m so glad that I did. It’s the book that I needed. It’s sweet, heartwarming and I didn’t want to stop reading it. And it’s one of those books that makes you feel warm inside. I know that you felt a little different to me, so what were your thoughts?

Ely: I agree that it’s an incredibly sweet and heartwarming read, but I think that I was expecting something completely different than what we got. I enjoyed it, but I didn’t love it. I suppose I was expecting something to do more with an adventure with more action. While those aspects were there, I think this was more character-driven than plot-driven.

A: I have to agree why you for sure. It wasn’t what I was expecting at all. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It was just different. I also absolutely agree that this is more character-driven, which is why I think I loved it so much. I am a massive fan of character-driven books, so this one suited me so well. Talking about characters, what did you think of Prince Tal?

Photo by Kameron Kincade on Unsplash

E: I think for me it was partly a case of not the right book at the time. I was really looking forward to something fast-paced and filled with adventure when I picked this one up, so it just wasn’t quite what I was after. I liked Tal—he’s a character with a big heart and honestly, I could relate to the way he just kind of wanted to stay home. What about you?

A: Tal just made things better. You know those characters that you can just connect with right away. That is Tal for me. As you said, I loved that he just wanted to stay home. And while some of it may have to do with his magic. He also just wanted to be where he was comfortable and gosh I can relate to that. We don’t see that a lot in fantasy and I kinda enjoyed that a lot. His family play a big part in his life, what were your thoughts on them?

E: It’s definitely a rare thing to see in fantasy so I did really enjoy that aspect. I loved his family—they’re all really interesting characters and I loved the way they interacted with one another and the people around them. I do wish we’d gotten to see a little more of them, they were just such a fun part of the book.

A: Yes! I really wish we got to see them a little more. But from the start, you could see how much they cared for one another and would do anything to help each other and the family out. They also had amazing siblings banter. They would tease one another, push each other to the edge. But at the end of the day, they loved each other. The romance in this one is very simple. And I don’t mean that in a bad way. It was just very nice to see, something very sweet and easy-going. Yes, they had their troubles, but it wasn’t about them as a couple. What did you think of the romance?

E: The romance is ridiculously sweet, and I mean that as a compliment. It’s so rare to get an LGBTQ+ romance in YA without a huge amount of angst so I loved that this was just simple and light-hearted. As you said, they have their issues but on the whole, it was just very heartwarming. What did you think of Athlen?

Photo by Juanita Swart on Unsplash

A: Athlen was such a huge cutie. Like you said the romance was ridiculously sweet and Athlen is exactly the same. He just made me smile the whole time. He has been through a lot himself. But there is something that happens when he is with Tal and it made me so happy. As we said before In Deeper Waters is very character-driven, what did you think of the arcs of Tal and even Athlen?

E: I honestly couldn’t have picked where their story would end up at the beginning of the book. I was expecting it to go in one direction, but instead, there were a few twists and turns. I absolutely adored Athlen—as you said, he’s just a downright cutie and I loved him for it.

A: I think that is why I enjoyed this book so much I didn’t know what going to happen. There were a fair few things that surprised me and I really enjoyed that a lot. I also enjoyed the writing style of this one. Everything was easy to read, I didn’t get lost. Especially when I wasn’t expecting the world of this book to be what it was. What were your thoughts on the world here?

E: It’s definitely an easy read. I think there were a couple of moments where the writing needed to be a little bit stronger. I think worldbuilding was one of those times—Lukens created this really interesting world but then I don’t think they used it to its full potential. And I feel like there were lots we were introduced to that then never came up again.

A: I have to agree with you on that for sure. I felt that this book could easily become a series about the whole family and the world. I had the markers for that. As you said the world was really interesting, but I just wanted more. It wasn’t that it was lacking, but it could have been tighter.

E: I 100% agree with you there, it could definitely be stretched into a series following the different family members. I think it almost would’ve been better with fewer elements so that the really important ones had time to shine.

Photo by Jakob Braun on Unsplash

A: I think it would have also made for a fantastic series. As I said before I really enjoyed the family aspect of this book and being able to see their stories would have been really interesting. In saying this I am really excited to read FT Lukens new book coming out in a few months. I want to try more from this author for sure.

E: I think I’m going to wait and see your thoughts on their next book before jumping into it myself, but if you really enjoy it, I might end up giving it a go too!

A: Well thank you for joining me today. And don’t forget to check out all our previous discussions and I hope you check out some of our future ones soon.

And there we go! I hope you enjoyed us talking about In Deeper Waters by FT Lukens. Have you read it yet? Are you planning on reading it? Let’s Chat!

5 Reasons Why I Loved Electric Idol

Jan 27, 2022

Last year I read and adored Neon Gods by Katee Robert, the first book in her Dark Olympus series. I knew immediately that I had to keep on reading this series. So as soon as Electric Idol arrived in-store at work, I got it. And pretty much started reading it right away. And it came as no surprise to me that I absolutely adored Electric Idol. While I love writing full reviews, I also love sharing with you the reasons why I love a book. So today I thought I would share the 5 reasons why I loved Electric Idol.

If you haven’t checked out my Neon Gods post from last year, you can now. I also shared why I loved reading it so much. Now let’s get right into this post.

Electric Idol (Dark Olympus #2) by Katee Robert

Pages: 384
Publish date: January 18, 2022
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
ISBN: 9781728231761
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – QBD

He was the most beautiful man alive.
And if I wasn’t careful, he was going to be my death.*A scorchingly hot modern retelling of Psyche and Eros that’s as sinful as it is sweet.*In the ultra-modern city of Olympus, there’s always a price to pay. Psyche knew she’d have to face Aphrodite’s ire eventually, but she never expected her literal heart to be at stake…or for Aphrodite’s gorgeous son to be the one ordered to strike the killing blow.Eros has no problem shedding blood. But when it comes time to take out his latest target, he can’t do it. Confused by his reaction to Psyche, he does the only thing he can think of to keep her safe: he marries her. Psyche vows to make Eros’s life a living hell until they find a way out of this mess. But as lines blur and loyalties shift, she realizes he might take her heart after all…and she’s not sure she can survive the loss.

Electric Idol:

Trigger and Content Warnings include abuse (emotional, financial), body shaming (ch 1, 3, 31), murder (off-page), guns, explicit sex.

Electric Idol follows the story of Eros and Psyche as they try and navigate the world of Olympus. When Aphrodite becomes jealous of Psyche she tasks Eros to take her heart. But he can’t do that, but you know what he can do? Marry her. Now married Eros can protect Psyche in more ways than one. And what started out as a bargain turns into something much more dangerous. As one of my most anticipated reads of the year, I had very high hope and you know what? Katee Robert delivered.

The romance is hot!

The romance in Neon Gods was spicy. It’s off the page hot. I’m not just talking about sexy time. I’m talking about everything from the tension between Eros and Psyche to the small little things that they do for one another. From the start, the reader is able to see there is something between these two. They just hit it off with one another so well. It’s this great sense of our mothers hate one another, but hey you are hot. And then Eros is sent to kill her, but hey he can’t do that, so let’s just marry instead. And that creates this fantastic chemistry between the two of them that I didn’t want to stop.

It was steamy and sexy and just so right. Eros is feral but in a good way. I don’t know how to explain it, so it doesn’t sound weird. But he hasn’t felt love for any of this life. He has been trained to kill and do his mothers dirty work. But Psyche just grabs him and he is gone before he even knows it. The sexy time in Electric Idol is very different from the first book, but still very spicy and sexy. It’s this perfect combo of being kinky and heartwarming at the same time.

Photo by Tuva Mathilde Løland on Unsplash

Plus-size heroine

One of my favourite things about this book is that Psyche is plus size. I absolutely adore seeing plus-size heroines in my romances and Katee Robert has just made it so good. She doesn’t hide away from Psyche having insecurities about her body, but she also explores Psyche owning her body. It’s this fantastic combination that just works so damn well for me. The reader is also able to see Psyche grow more confident with her body and own it even more. While Eros isn’t the one to help her see it, he shows her how to love her body even more, by loving it himself.

I also really enjoyed that she was an influencer. I normally hate when any of the main characters are influencers in a novel. But it was really well done here. It didn’t take over the storyline. Psyche wasn’t made to be entitled and it actually fit very well with the story as a whole. Another thing that adored was that Psyche embraced fashion while also criticising it.

I have been told to kill you but I can’t, so let’s marry

Okay so I love a lot of different tropes and Electric Idol has a lot that I love, from a fake relationship to a marriage of convenience, and let’s try and make this look real. But one that I haven’t seen a lot that worked wonders here is ‘I’ve been tasked to kill you, but I can’t so let’s marry. It’s such a specific trope and oh was it done well.

Eros does a lot of what his mother tells him to do. And for most of his life, he never questioned it. But this time, he is told to take the heart of a woman that hasn’t done anything wrong. And when it comes to it. Eros cannot kill Psyche. And the only other way that he can think that might keep her safe, even for a little, is to marry her.

I really enjoyed seeing the dynamics of these two together. Not only did Electric Idol use the trope of fake relationship/marriage of convenience, but there was also forced proximity, I don’t like you, but you are hot. Let’s only have sex but only while we work this out. And they all just worked so well together.

Photo by Ash Edmonds on Unsplash

World Building

I talked about this before, but I loved the world that Katee Robert has built for this series. While it isn’t a classic retelling, I feel it still has the feel that I want from a retelling. But it’s not even that part that made me love the book. It’s the way that Robert has created this modern Olympus where the gods aren’t actually true gods. They are decedents or a person that the previous ‘god’ has chosen as heirs. It’s a really interesting concept that leads the novel to have a lot of court and political intrigue. which if you didn’t know I absolutely love.

We get to see it so much more in this book and I can’t wait to see it expanded as the series goes on. In the first book, everything is starting to build. But it hits some bumps in this book and we get to see more interactions with different gods.

Eros

I didn’t know how I was going to feel about Eros. I could have loved him, I could have hated him. What I didn’t expect was for him to be sort of soft. While he is a hard ass and has done a lot of horrible things on behalf of his mother, he has missed out on a lot of things. And it isn’t until he is with Psyche that he is able to see that. I think I loved his character development the most. The reader is able to see someone, who has done everything that his mother has told him to do, to finally stand up for not only others but himself. It took a lot of power to turn against his mother. And it wasn’t an easy trip. It took a lot out of him.

One of my favourite things about Eros is seeing how much he cares and how protective he is of Psyche. It’s the touch her and I will kill you kind of protection and I loved it. There is a scene where Psyche is getting some hate comments on her social media post and his reaction – damn!

Photo by zelle duda on Unsplash

Overall, I loved Electric Idol by Katee Robert. It’s hot, sexy and everything that I wanted it to be. Eros and Psyche are one of my new favourite couples and just make me smile. They lit up the page and I wasn’t able to put the book down. Electric Idol adds another layer to the Dark Olympus world and I cannot wait to see where it’s taken in the next few books. If you are looking for a Greek Mythology inspired series that is sexy and smutty, while also being very sweet. I’m so excited to continue this series that is for sure.

Dark and Mafia Romances | Mini Romance Reviews

Dec 23, 2021

I haven’t posted reviews in a little while so I thought I would share some mini-reviews on recent romances that I have read. Today I’m sharing my thoughts on Liars (The Triad #2) by Dana Isaly and The Sweetest Oblivion (Made #1) by Danielle Lori.

I really enjoyed both of these books a lot. They both have similar vibes but are also quite different from one another and that is why I really enjoyed them.

Please check triggers for each of these books. They are both dark mafia romances and each has their own trigger warnings. Some include; kidnapping, murder, gun and knife violence, graphic sex scenes, dark violence and more.

Liars (The Triad #2) by Dana Isaly

Pages: 208
Publish date: December 10th 2021
Publisher: –
ASIN: B094R92GLX
Purchase: Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

My boys found me, but a rift has formed.

Weeks ago I was steadily gaining their trust, finding my place in their lives and their beds. Now, it seems I’m the wedge driving the three of them apart.

I’ve been beaten, starved, and kept in the dark. All to come back to three men who can’t agree whether I’m an ally or a mole. But we have bigger problems to solve.

There’s a new player in the game.

The latest contender for the Dulca throne just so happens to be my favorite cousin. He was my best friend, my partner in crime. If I can get my boys to trust me long enough to keep them from starting a war, my family’s secret weapon could end up being the key to bringing our organizations together.

But I have no clue what Motshan is hiding up his sleeve, and we might not be able to come back from the carnage it could cause.

Liars:

I received an earc of Liars by Dana Isaly for review in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings.

I didn’t know what to expect when I picked this one up. The first book finished on a cliffhanger and I didn’t know where the story was going to be taken. And it started with a bang. After Scarlet is kidnapped, her boys need to work together more than ever to figure out where she is. And when they find her, there are lots of things that are different. And some things that are very much the same.

Scarlet is still as fierce and sassy, but I really wished that we got to see her more vulnerable. It was like she recovered very quickly. We saw a few hints of it here and there. But I really wanted some more of it. But that wasn’t a major deal for me.

Sebastian, Tristan and Elliot are all very different and I think we really were able to see that again in Liars. Sebastian while a goff ball at times, is… I don’t even know how to say it. But I wouldn’t want to meet up anywhere. Tristan is calmer and you are able to see how much he does care for Scar. And then were is Elliot, who intrigued me from the get-go. But we really get to see more of him in this book and I kinda loved it.

The plot for this one was really interesting. And while for the most part I really did enjoy it, I just wanted a little more. I was just sitting on that edge and never really went all the way.

Overall I enjoyed reading Liars. I think it was a great sequel and I am so not ready for the next book, I want it already. But I am also so not ready for what is going to happen. If you are looking for a new dark mafia romance series, give this one a go.

The Sweetest Oblivion (Made #1) by Danielle Lori

Pages: 384
Publish date: June 20th 2018
Publisher: –
ISBN: 9781721284443
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

She’s a romantic at heart, living in the most unromantic of worlds . . .

Nicknamed Sweet Abelli for her docile nature, Elena smiles on cue and has a charming response for everything. She’s the favored daughter, the perfect mafia principessa . . . or was.

Now, all she can see in the mirror’s reflection is blood staining her hands like crimson paint.

They say first impressions are everything . . .

In the murky waters of New York’s underworld, Elena’s sister is arranged to marry Nicolas Russo. A Made Man, a boss, a cheat—even measured against mafia standards. His reputation stretches far and wide and is darker than his black suits and ties. After his and Elena’s first encounter ends with an accidental glare on her part, she realizes he’s just as rude as he is handsome.

She doesn’t like the man or anything he stands for, though that doesn’t stop her heart from pattering like rain against glass when he’s near, nor the shiver that ghosts down her spine at the sound of his voice.

And he’s always near. Telling her what to do. Making her feel hotter than any future brother-in-law should. Elena may be the Sweet Abelli on the outside, but she’s beginning to learn she has a taste for the darkness, for rough hands, cigarettes, and whiskey-colored eyes. Having already escaped one scandal, however, she can hardly afford to be swept up in another.

Besides, even if he were hers, everyone knows you don’t fall in love with a Made Man . . . right?

The Sweetest Oblivion:

This book has been on my tbr for a while now. And I finally got around to it recently. The Sweetest Oblivion follows the daughter of a mafia head. But her sister is engaged to be married to Nicolas Russo, her life is once again thrown about.

I enjoyed this more than I was planning on liking it. While I say this, I was expecting it to be a little darker. It’s a mafia romance and there are a lot of questionable things that do happen. It just wasn’t as dark as I heard it would be. I think the later books get a little darker. I’m really intrigued and cannot wait to read more.

The romance in this one is intense but also so addicting. Elena and Nicolas are like fire and ice and it just works so well. I liked that there was heaps of tension between them, but it wasn’t instant love, attraction yes, love no. It really worked in this novel so well.

I also enjoyed both Elena and Nicolas as characters. I didn’t fall in love with them, but I really enjoyed getting to see them fall for one another. Elena comes across as innocent at first, but she has been through and seen a lot. And she doesn’t take shit from anyone. She is just very sly about it and she works up to it slowly. Nicolas is harsh and tries to hide what every he is feeling, but he would do anything for Elena. And I mean anything.

I’m really excited to continue with this series and read everyone else stories. I know they are going to be as intense, and excited as this one. Overall The Sweetest Oblivion was a great read. The romance was intense and hot, the plot made me want to keep on reading. And I am left wanting more from this world. While not as dark as some other mafia books I’ve read, it does have its triggers.

And there we go. Those are my thoughts on recent dark, mafica romances that I have read. Have you picked up these books yet/ Are you planning to? What are some books that you’ve read recently and enjoyed? Let’s Chat!