I felt like this was very short but eventful. Superman is no longer neutralized, and he's madder than ever. Constantine is up to his scheming at maximum levels. I liked that this one had lots of magic in it. Injustice messes with my head, because Superman is a terrible and formidable villain. Wonder Woman as well. Ugh, her crush on Superman has made her into a terrible dupe. I am and always will be Team Batman, just saying. The body count is always high in this series, and I hate that people fall in with an authoritarian because he know how to manipulate fear (sounds familiar with the current situation in the US right now). I will finish this because I want to know how this ends. But I will be holding my breath and gritting my teeth the whole time.

This book is C-wA_A-a-Z-YY!

Feels like Times Square, honestly :D 

~~~

The sheer amount of cultural references is mind-boggling.
Praetor Judy made it into this book :)

And I kept comparing Kol'daar to Cass (no actual mention of Supernatural, darn it!) - a bad-ass when he wants to be, but cute and adorable and kind and sometimes clueless. 

Metaaaaaahlll!!!



Yes, Ozzy made it, too! And the Dove! 



And, damn, talking about Mr. Crowley on that album!



Anyway, the story was heading for full 11 stars when things started going south around the last 20%, or after the Final Battle to be precise. Maybe during it's final half-hour, too. That's when the author quit crazy and spontaneous, turned on a drone and started explaining and over-explaining and then ex-plai-ning-to-death and then some just to drive the final nail in. 

After the report filing at the gingerbread castle I skimmed through the rest of the pages. The story got sappy and it dragged out for more than it had to. 

In the end I was left feeling a bit unbalanced. The badassery turned to sap, the unpredictable and unexplained turned into dissecting everything under a microscope. I really didn't care about the Song or Music Magic or how Nunzio's disability worked.

ALSO - The Burrito Incident. Someone specifically targeted Nunzio. Why? Never explained.

So, I am cutting 6.5 stars off for all the un- and over-explained instances and giving this book 4.5 stars.

Recommended :D

 Cissy Salter is more than ready to shed Earth’s repression when she moves to the planet Kalquor. She leaps headlong into drinking, partying, and liaisons with young alien men. She would be having the time of her life if not for the disapproval of a certain rich, gorgeous Dramok she can’t avoid. She’d love to despise him, but her heart has other ideas.

Dramok Diltan sees the bawdy, unrefined Cissy as a thorn in his side. The last thing he needs is a woman who drives him crazy every time they meet. Yet the spark in her eyes kindles a fire he can’t ignore. His enthralled clanmates Wal and Rolat are determined to get the two to stop fighting, at least long enough to explore the possibility of making Cissy part of their clan. When they discover Diltan’s past misdeeds, Wal and Rolat issue an ultimatum: help them seduce the Earth woman or face punishment.

As Cissy and Clan Diltan discover each other’s true nature and love blooms, the long-hidden secrets of Kalquor’s leadership are revealed. An old conspiracy brought to light shatters Kalquor’s peace, driving the Empire apart ... and tearing Cissy from the arms of the three men she can no longer live without.

This book contains mild BDSM including discipline, Domination/submission, and bondage.

Review

This is a really interesting romance.

At its heart, it a love story that shows that you don't have to be perfect or overcome all of your flaws to be deeply loved.

One hero is ambitious and a bit stuck up. He tends to push hard for what he wants and judge quickly. He makes errors for judgement. But he has regret and sees his mistakes even if he keeps making them. The reasons he makes them come from a good place.

The other heroes are much more straight forward though the more passive judge is a lot of dirty fun.

The heroine is defensive and crass and really not self reflective. But she is super protective, fun and loving.

I don't really adore the characters but I don't have to do so to enjoy the book.

The series plot arc takes up a lot of space in the the book as does the BDSM erotic elements which leaves less time for the love story than I would like especially in a poly relationship where there is a lot to negotiate.

I was also sad that we get no time on the part of the hero's sexuality that is bisexual and focused on each other. It is weird that after many years together that would be absent in the sexy play.

So, interesting.

 Irredeemable, Vol. 7 by Mark Waid

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is still a four star because overall, it's very powerful reading. I am finding that any sympathy I developed for Plutonian has dissipated.  I am at the point now where I cannot feel sorry for him, despite the sad aspects of his life.  I think that it's clear that we all make choices and there is always a moment where we can say that what we do next is warranted and morally acceptable.  And even if that lasts a split second, we all have the imperative to consider all actions and to if we are doing something reprehensible, to stop.  Plutonian seems to be gleefully set on the course of wrongdoing.  This volume has a Great Escape meets Dirty Dozen feel as Plutonian allies with a few other prisoners to escape from Gehnom, the insane asylum planet where he's been imprisoned, but his allies soon learn he's not to be trusted.

As the story delves deeper into Plutonian's dark course, we learn more and more that the remaining Paradigm members might technically still be the good guys, they also have selfish motivations and actions that they need to be accountable for. 

I admit that sometimes I got Qubit and Modeus confused, probably because their personalities are quite similar to me.  Modeus is interesting in that he has a dark, twisted love for Plutonian that motivates many of his actions.

This isn't fun reading by any stretch, but it's compelling without a doubt.



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