I liked this more than expected, but I agree with other reviewers in that I could’ve done with a few less sex scenes and a bit more plot. The humor waI liked this more than expected, but I agree with other reviewers in that I could’ve done with a few less sex scenes and a bit more plot. The humor was very juvenile (as was warned by the author), and while I had fun, it did eventually become too much and crossed into the "um what" territory. I’m still invested in the characters, however, so I will continue with the series once I’ve cleansed my palate with a few more serious books, I guess. ...more
This Princess Kills Monsters is labeled an "affectionate" satire, but I wouldn’t call it a satisfying one. The aim of satire is to highlight and critiThis Princess Kills Monsters is labeled an "affectionate" satire, but I wouldn’t call it a satisfying one. The aim of satire is to highlight and criticize societal issues through humor. While the book does point to the ridiculous expectations of gender in the original The Twelve Huntsmen and the kingdom of Tailliz, its criticism isn’t particularly new, clever or constructive. Yes, women are valuable members of society and should have an active role in it – and? We already know this. Moreover, I feel that the actual satire already happens in the prologue, which is a humorous and over-the-top recount of The Twelve Huntsmen, and the rest of the story adds nothing substantial to it. The choice to tell the story from Melilot’s POV also adds very little. Her romance with one of the huntsmen is cute but pretty superficial, and the relationship with the king’s sister is an exaggerated bait for readers interested in sapphic romance. Sadly, This Princess Kills Monsters puts such a focus on its thin, rarely truly clever humor that the plot is rendered flat and nothing remarkable is achieved by the end of the story. At its highest points, it’s a fun romp, but I expected more. And for a title like that, Melilot does a disappointing amount of monster killing, and every kill is basically accidental. ...more
tbh i expected to rate this higher. the main characters, romance and smut were all decent (count me pleasantly surprised), the whole milking2.5 stars.
tbh i expected to rate this higher. the main characters, romance and smut were all decent (count me pleasantly surprised), the whole milking farm concept was interesting enough (if you read erotica and monster romance, that is, i guess the average reader would be clutching their pearls the whole time), but the story needed a bit more structure, methinks. it just got so boring once they got together and there was no real ending. i was already getting bogged down by all the typos and painfully long paragraphs, so making it to the end was a challenge. and don't get me started with that one british character's accent ...more
Unfortunately, I was very underwhelmed by this novella. I felt that all the promised parts of the story were there, but they were rather surface-levelUnfortunately, I was very underwhelmed by this novella. I felt that all the promised parts of the story were there, but they were rather surface-level. The sapphic relationship and queerness in general were barely explored, even though they seemed to be in direct conflict with the traditions of the world and therefore fitting to factor in Carmine’s journey of retaking her agency. Also I didn’t think the novella was going to follow the original "Little Red Riding Hood" so closely in Carmine’s backstory. In this retelling, the wolf disguising himself as the grandmother made no sense and was so ridiculous that it honestly took me out of the story. ...more
The story was very intriguing and captivating in the first half but became far too convoluted and inconsistent in the second half. Valentine 2.5 stars
The story was very intriguing and captivating in the first half but became far too convoluted and inconsistent in the second half. Valentine and Devere were pretty weak and surface-level characters, and their romance didn’t feel consistent or believable. This would’ve been helped by showing more what their relationship was like in the past, I think. That being said, the biggest sin the book committed was completely breaking its own logic to the point that it became unclear how anything had been able to happen in the first place....more
**spoiler alert** I picked up Silk & Steel mainly due to people comparing it to Captive Prince, which is one of my favorite series of all time. Alread**spoiler alert** I picked up Silk & Steel mainly due to people comparing it to Captive Prince, which is one of my favorite series of all time. Already around the 30% percent mark I sensed that the similarities between the two series are at best surface-level and at worst completely misplaced. Both series are chiefly known for their slow-burn enemies-to-lovers gay love stories (not straightforward "romances", which is an important distinction to make considering the dark circumstances of both stories) and significant amount of (sexual) violence. While the love story in Captive Prince starts developing only in the second book, Prince’s Gambit, the relationship between Damen and Laurent is still captivating and ripe with emotional conflict in book one. In Silk & Steel, however, there is no real chemistry between Eroan and Lysander, which is exacerbated by the lack of depth to their characters. Damen and Laurent are characters that are independently interesting; both are intelligent, capable, and proactive in their own ways. With Eroan and Lysander, I couldn’t sense any strong personality, motivation, or strategy. I didn’t feel like either character was particularly clever or good at anything. Lysander is claimed to be an excellent fighter, but it’s never utilized in the story in a meaningful way (like sure, he can apparently beat several opponents without breaking a sweat, but why doesn’t he lead the army?). Eroan’s primary goal is to assassinate the Dragon Queen, Lysander’s mother, but he never presents a strong and believable plan to do so. Since Lysander wants his mother dead, there is an obvious opportunity for him and Eroan to strike up an alliance, and yet it never happens. Moreover, the Dragon Queen dies already in the first third of the book, sucking out the intrigue and tension that Silk & Steel could’ve had.
Regarding the sexual content and sexual violence in the book, it has to be said that, unlike Captive Prince, Silk & Steel handles them with a complete lack of care, nuance and purpose. Captive Prince is not perfect, but the sex and sexual violence in it typically communicate something about power, character motivations or character relationships. In Silk & Steel, nearly all sex scenes are non-consensual, which in itself is fine, but the problem lies in the amount of sexual assault scenes the book has and how it tries to romanticize them as they happen between Eroan and Lysander in particular, who are, you know, supposed to be really in love later. There are several references to Lysander wanting to take Eroan and make it "pleasurable" for him, even if Eroan doesn’t want it, which I found to be completely unnecessary and an ill foundation for their future relationship. I’m not faint-hearted when it comes to this type of content, but I did find it disturbing that the narrative tries to claim that Eroan had actually liked the sexual assault that had been done to him during captivity. I honestly don’t have enough trust in the author to believe that this is a trauma response that will be diligently dealt with in the sequels.
I also wasn’t a big fan of the worldbuilding in Silk & Steel. The book failed to give a clear understanding of the land, the elven and dragon cultures, why the two peoples were fighting in the first place and how long this war had been going on. The vagueness about the dragons was especially aggravating because the book offers very little information about how they operate as a people and society. For some reason, the author decided to portray them as a savage people that only squabbles, conquers, kills and rapes between themselves and other peoples. As I mentioned above, I was having doubts about this book and series already around the 30% mark, so I looked up some reviews for the sequels, and concluding the series by apparently making Lysander an Überdragon and defeating the "bad" dragons through mind control and genocide is… certainly a choice. ...more
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