4.5 fairy-tale-stars

Huh, I did so not expect it, but I loved this book!

It's a very unique twist on Jack and the Beanstalk, one I enjoyed very much. It starts out with a lonely young man, Jack, shunned by his village, treated horrendously by his family, and on top of it all, losing the only real friend he ever had. Which, btw, made me cry and ache like I was right there with him.

With nothing left to loose, Jack decides to climb the beanstalk, find the treasure hidden there and leave his home forever. What he gets though, is not gold and diamonds, but Rion. An euqally lonely, tortured "giant", who lives his life trapped by his own promises and history.

This is an excellent example for an enemies-to-lovers story, full of conflict and guilt, emotional encounters, some soul searching and - surprise - pretty hot smut. It's dirty, it's gritty, it's absolutely wonderful. All of this gets perfected with a little action/suspense-cherry on top.

Absolutely wonderful, and a memorable new fairy tale. Definitely recommended if you like romance, magical stories and raunchy smexy times - what a combination.

4.5 stars for Whyborne and Griffin


The third book in the series brings us to a place where I personally never wanted to go - the asylum. And it was bad, reading about the pain and memories Griffin has to go through, the awful things he is forced to rememeber while investigating a murder. But I loved reading about the love and support continuing to grow between Whyborne and Griffin. I do have to admit though that the dise-characters (except for Christin of course) distracted me a little. I was particularly not fond of Griffin's parents. But that had more than one reason, so I'll chalk it up to personal issues. Also, Whyborne's father and brother are way beyond words for me. A-holes, both of them. Put them both into a bag and beat it with a stick - you'll always get the right one.

One thing I always have while reading books in this series, is a tiny little well of dread in the pit of my stomach. Because I'm always wondering what on earth Jordan L. Hawk will spring on these two guys this time. Her creatures and villains are never just your average bad guys and monsters. They are evil, they are nasty, and they make me shudder every damn time. But it's still good to read, and I always end up enjoying her mysteries, the connections between everything and everyone, but most of all the love and devotion growing between Whyborne and Griffin. It's a pleasure reading about their lifes and their adventures and I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

Me and Andrew Grey? We really aren't not a match made in heaven.

Red, a police officer with a tragic past and the scars to prove it, meets Terry, beautiful lifeguard. After some awkwardness in the beginning, they get closer fast and overcome some obstacles and so on. You know the drift.

That probably sounds bad, but I really don't mean it that way. It's just... The love -thing? Kinda insta. The awkwardness and problem in the beginning? Just felt fabricated to me, because IMHO Terry really wasn't the epitome of shallow, and people got on his case in a way that was way over the top.

The mystery wasn't bad, the story itself solid and interesting, just not groundbreaking.

My biggest problem was the writing. Andrew Grey has a style that feels awkward, stiff and artificial to me. To much cheese, my feelings get all wrong and I loose my focus, cringe and have to start over. It doesn't klick, it doesn't flow, it doesn't work for me. But I think that is my issue, because the story is good and others seem to enjoy the writing, so this might actually be just about my own specific tastes. It's sure worth giving a try.