K.J. Jackson

I liked the idea behind the story and the author shows signs of possible growth as a writer.
There were times though where I felt the need to send them a thesaurus, as the mentions of thundering eyes and wispy girls got to be a bit much at times. The book would have benefited from another run-through or two before finishing. There were also times conflicts between the two main characters felt a bit forced.
However I did enjoy the core of the story, and I think Jackson has built an interesting setting for her characters, and a nice lead in for sequels starring supporting characters.
I would read the follow up if it came my way.… (mehr)

(33% in) Imagine marrying a man you love, having him take your virginity, and then dump you off on a far-flung estate after a cruel conversation where he makes it crystal clear that he doesn’t care about you. Then imagine living at that estate for a year, spending months writing letters he never responds to, only for him to show up suddenly with his mistress and give you the boot to London. On what planet would this be a logical thing to say to him?

“What, was making love to me too much for you? Too genuine? Because I know you felt it. I don’t know a damn thing about men—that much is obvious—but I know you felt what I did that night. And you’re a blasted imbecile to deny it.”

I wanted to like this more because Reanna is one seriously downtrodden heroine, but the angsty drama was a bit over the top in some ways. Not that that is necessarily a drawback to me, but at times it felt like the story was trying too hard to incorporate too many drama tropes. Like, the heroine is a bit of a Mary Sue and of course stunningly beautiful, but then there’s a line or two that implies she doesn’t think she’s pretty when there is no reason for her to be insecure about her appearance. You can’t have it both ways! Same too with the repeated betrayals and trials and tribulations; I felt like Reanna was supposed to simultaneously be an abused martyr waif AND a plucky, determined firebrand. And I was super excited for some extended groveling, but it seemed like sex was used as a shortcut to intimacy. None of this is particularly damning, but that in addition to the modern language (peppered with what I think is some invented cant - “piss whipper”??) made it hard for me to really lose myself in the characters. Brilliant angsty set-up though (2.5 stars)… (mehr)

I liked this quite a bit, despite the heroine’s scars not being a super prevalent plot point. How she got them is integral to the plot, but aside from a couple brief dashes of insecurity, she’s largely untroubled by them (despite the fact that it would have been a miracle for her to have survived back then, and it would be more realistic for her to have been wheelchair-bound tbh). The hatred dissolves into lust a bit too quick for my liking, and I don’t know why she trusted him so fast, but I did really like this couple. The swashbuckling plot was fun and only slightly overshadowed the romance at times. This is steamy af and has one of my favorite types of scenes - the hero forcing the heroine to look at herself in the mirror while he shows her how beautiful she is to him. An enjoyable read, even if there pretty more modern sensibilities (she would be UTTERLY RUINED setting foot on that boat without a chaperone, widow or not). (3.5 stars)… (mehr)