I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Also, this review originally appeared on Hot Stuff for Cool People.

'Blowing Smoke,' the fifth book in Rory ni Coileain's SoulShares series, focuses on Lasair, the fae master of the hounds, who is about to be banished from the fae realm to the human one. He winds up in the basement of Bryce, a man who's been cruel and rude and pretty much just all around terrible to everyone around him, for his whole life. But what Bryce and Lasair don't realize is that, when Lasair crosses into the human world, his soul is ripped in half. And the other half ends up lodged in Bryce. Suddenly, Bryce realizes how awful he's been to everyone. And at the same time, he's fighting a growing attraction to Lasair, which Lasair seems to return.

I'm kind of in love with this series. Unfortunately, I haven't been reading it in order. So, although Bryce was a character in another of the books, I hadn't read that one, and I didn't know about what had happened to him. It ended up not mattering too much- even though this is definitely part of a series, everything that was going on was explained well, all the character gradually reintroduced, so I didn't feel like I was missing too much. It was easy to follow the plot, and, at the same time, nothing felt like too much of an info dump.

And I just really enjoyed the book. There was a lot that went on with the fae who were living in the human world- it's actually a plot filled with a lot of excitement and action- but I felt that the story really revolved around the growing romance between Bryce and Lasair. And I think this is really where the author excels in her writing- her romances are sweet and intense and they draw you right in. The book, and the romance, are totally engaging. I didn't want to put it down. It's fun and dramatic and, almost where you least expect it, sincerely touching.

I can't say this is a perfect book. Although I adored the romance and thought it was just about the sweetest thing ever, it does feel a bit rushed. Since it take place over just one day, saying it only feels a bit rushed is probably pretty good- it should feel really rushed, and unbelievable, but it doesn’t. I do, as usual, wish the author had gone into a bit more about the sharing of a split soul. Maybe she’s done this in another book I haven’t yet read and I missed it. But it seems like such a complex thing, and, at the same time, honestly feels a bit narcissistic. I mean, would Lasair have loved Bryce even if his soul hadn’t split? Or did he only love him because Bryce had something of his? I just feel it deserves a bit more attention. But I still liked the romance! Don’t get me wrong. I just wanted a bit more explanation.

I also felt like some of the action-y bits that were happening were a little… convoluted. Not that I couldn’t follow, but I didn’t always understand, exactly, what was happening or why. It’s quite possible this is because I’ve missed a couple books, and really, it didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the book at all. But I do remember thinking, with the last book in this series I read, that sometimes things, action and excitement and conflict, happened without an explanation for why they were happening, and were resolved in a similar manner. This particular book is much more straightforward, but I feel it could still be clearer. The same goes for some of the dialogue and inner thoughts of the characters- there were a few places where the characters were really trying to get at something, explain something, and I could tell they were trying, but whatever they were attempting to get across was just a bit too choppy to make it.

On the other hand, a lot of the flaws or minor issues I’d had with previous books, especially the first book in the series, were fixed. The plot, and the romance, were neater and tighter. The book didn’t ramble- it was a straight, clear shot from beginning to end, fast paced, and completely addictive. The characters were real and alive and their motives were also very clear. And they stayed in character for the whole book.

Overall, this was just sweet and fun and I loved it. I loved the characters, I loved the way they cared for each other. There were definitely a few moments, amidst what is a relatively light story, where what was happening between Lasair and Bryce, or what one of them was remembering about their past, really struck me. Mixed in with the sweetness of the romance and the excitement of the action, there were some very deep thoughts, and it was a nice balance. I look forward to not only going back and reading the books I’ve missed in the series, but reading anything else the author writes.

This review was originally posted on Hot Stuff for Cool People.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

Fae, magic, romance, soul mates (of a sort)- what’s not to love? That’s why I originally requested this book for review. But I hadn’t heard very much about this book, and I’d never read the author before, so I didn’t go into it with too many expectations. I just wasn’t really sure what I was getting into.

Turns out this book wasn’t really what I expected at all. It starts with one of our main characters, Tiernan. He’s a fae who, right in the first couple of pages, is accused of murdering his brother and is exiled to the human realm. When he’s exiled, his soul splits in half. The other half of his soul… I don’t know, spins off into the ether? Kind of. And Tiernan knows that half of his soul will eventually come to rest in a person, but Tiernan doesn’t know who it will be, and is pretty dead set against finding that person.

The other half of Tiernan’s soul goes to a human, Kevin. And the two meet in a club one night and Tiernan realizes right away what’s happening, while Kevin starts to fall for Tiernan. But things get even more complicated when an ancient enemy starts trying to get to Tiernan through Kevin, and Kevin starts encountering some pretty serious problems at work.

I really thought this story was going to be about the complexities of falling in love with someone who, literally, shares half of your soul. I thought it was a really interesting concept and I wanted to read about how Tiernan and Kevin navigate that. But the book wasn’t really much about that at all. It was about them falling in love, but it also had a really action-y, exciting plot that I wasn’t expecting at all. And I guess… I was a little disappointed. Which is my fault, not the book’s fault, for expecting it to be something it wasn’t. I just thought the soul sharing deserved a bit more consideration, especially since it felt… a bit narcissistic to me. But again, that’s really my problem, and not the book’s.

What the book actually was, though, was… surprisingly great. I say surprisingly because there are a lot of flaws here. Big ones, small ones. And this was one of those books that I felt a bit guilty reading, because it was kind of like stuffing a big piece of cake in my mouth. It was really good cake. I guess I felt like I probably should have been eating something more nutritious than cake, though. I mean, sometimes the things that were going on just… didn’t make any sense to me- action! But I don’t know why the action is happening! Trauma! But I’m not sure what happened to cause it! …Things like that.

But… but I love cake. Cake holds a valuable place for me. And this book did, too. Who needs more nutritious books? This was sweet and not light, really, at all, but a bit fluffy in places, and sometimes things happened that were wholly, as far as I could see, pointless and solved nothing, but who cares. It was fun and exciting and completely entertaining.

To be fair, there were some things that really did bother me. First, sex stuff- no spoilers, but if you don’t want to read about this… Tiernan and Kevin never use condoms. I know, I know, condoms are annoying, and Tiernan does say at one point that because he’s fae, he can’t carry or get any diseases. But if I was Kevin, I would have absolutely insisted, at the very least during the first time before they ever talk about it, and it bothered me that he didn’t even think about it. Also, I’m pretty sure that… oh god, someone hand me a paper bag for my head… I’m pretty sure than anal sex isn’t… that easy. This couple never uses lube, they never do much prep, and this… just doesn’t sound like fun sex to me. It sounds uncomfortable at the least and, in reality, probably extremely painful.

Moving on. More nitpicking. I’m pretty sure it’s winter on the East Coast of the USA when the story takes place, but both men tend to… not wear shirts. Ever, if they can help it, it seems. Even when they go out. And hey, all right, maybe you don’t want to wear a shirt at a club, but wouldn’t you probably put one on just to get there? So you didn’t freeze to death?

Finally, I was really bothered by the way the author constantly referred to both characters as males. Not that they weren’t. I mean, it was the context. “Tiernan replayed the other male’s last utterance…” “Not the behavior of a male who was trying to keep deep dark secrets from his lover.” “How many times had he begged this male not to love him?” I just… It sounded very clinical. And kind of animalistic. I just didn’t understand why the author didn’t use the word ‘man’ instead.

But honestly, these were all things that, for this book at least, I pushed aside, because it was so entertaining. I actually couldn’t put it down. I did feel that, at the end, Tiernan became a bit of a different character, but perhaps that’s excusable within the context of the story. Either way, I’d definitely read more by this author in the future. It was too enjoyable not to.

First of all, I got this story from my Secret Santa from Secret Santa Gift Exchange group, whom at this point of my writing this review, have NOT reveal himself/herself. Thank you so much, SS. Will adjust with your name later if you decide to tell me who you are ^^

All right, now onto the story.

I was quite 'shocked' when I encountered quite violent scene after being eased into the story with the tone of a gentle fairy tale narration. Of course, the story was set in contemporary Russia and there were clues about the horrific LGBT issues there, but I didn't really pay any attention to the early reviews regarding this element and wasn't prepared for it. Literally, my jaw dropped when I read it. It was nice to be surprised but still... whoa!

It was a very strong beginning and I loved the narrative. The Russian setting was also vivid; it came alive in this book, including the scenes in the forest with the snow and Volyk (as wolf) creeping in.

UNFORTUNATELY, then it ended up as another insta-love with the overused "be my mate" theme in shifter stories. It was such a let down for me, because I thought it could be so much better (or maybe longer?) story for Ilya and the wolf to connect and to understand each other without having to insert instant sexy times just for the sake of making it a 'romance'.

Sigh....

So 4 stars for the strong start and 2.5 stars for the ending (and I'm rounding it down to 3-stars).