Review: Manhunt by Gretchen Felker-Martin

 

I read this book as a part of the trans rights readathon but had wanted to read it for a very long time. 

Manhunt is a horror novel that takes place in a post-apocalyptic version of the US, specifically the Northeast. The world has fallen apart due to a disease that causes anyone with higher testosterone levels to turn into animalistic monsters. This means that most men, transwomen not on estrogen, and other people with conditions causing higher testosterone levels have become these monsters. The story follows Fran and Beth, two transwomen who have to hunt these men and remove their testicles and other organs to keep their testosterone levels low enough to remain themselves. 

As if ravaging monsters that rape and eat people wasn't enough, terfs (trans-exclusive radical feminists) have decided to make it their duty to eradicate transwomen. Fran, Beth, and any other transwomen have to live in fear and caution to avoid being left to turn into a beast by the terf army. There's also Robbie, a transman living alone in the woods, killing off the men he can. Until his path collides with Fran and Beth, and he gets swept up into their lives. And there's also Indi, a doctor, a friend to Beth and Fran, and a fat woman. Even in the apocalypse, Indi always has to prove her worth and ability as a fat person to everyone else. Even as a doctor who makes estrogen, she isn't respected outside her friend group. 

This book is a lot. It's gruesome and violent from the get-go. Sexual intimacy is twisted by the backdrop of a dangerous world. The friendships and loves are desperate. The anti-trans sentiment is difficult to deal with when the world has ended. This is a great exploration of the possible extent that transphobes could go. It's an exploration of what it means to win. It is an exploration of what it means to be good in a world where goodness doesn't exist. 

It was everything I had hoped for and so much more. I was disturbed, heartbroken, and frightened. This is not a story for the faint of heart. It's not a story for everyone, and that's okay. This book's content warnings list is extremely long, but I will list the most notable. Transphobia is heavy in this book as well as violence, graphic injury, sexual assault, body horror, fatphobia, self-harm, and more. Please, please check out StoryGraph for a full list of these possible content warnings. For a book like this, it is essential to be aware of what you're getting into and make sure you have the emotional space to consume the content. Please be safe and kind to yourself when reading. 

Despite the intense nature of this book, it is still one I highly recommend. If you are a horror fan or enjoy queer literature, you should consider checking this book out. 

If you'd like to purchase this book, head over to Bookshop.org, an alternative to Amazon and where I get a portion of the sales made from my recommendations. 

As always, happy reading! 

Update!

For any lovers of my writing, I have a story up on Kindle Vella now. The first two episodes are available now, and another is scheduled to release on Friday. The first three episodes of Kindle Vella stories are completely free. The fourth episode will release Monday, 4/24/23. 

I would very much appreciate you trying it out and maybe even giving it a like. Writing is a big passion of mine, and I'm hoping to break into the field. 

Happy reading!

Review: Blood of the Orc Prince by Lionel Hart

 

This is the book that follows Claimed by the Orc Prince. There will be spoilers for the first book so if you don't want those, go ahead and skip this post. 

In this book, we are still following Zorvut and Taegan. However, now war has broken out between the Elves and Orcs. Zorvut wants to find his human father to see if he can train him to properly use his magic. The couple ventures out of the Elven kingdom and embark on a long journey to a port town where Zorvut's father lives. As Zorvut is learning magic, Taegan feels a strain on their relationship forming. He's worried and homesick which leads him to do something very stupid. 

I didn't like this book as much as I liked the first one. I still really like the relationship between Zorvut and Taegan, but this book dragged on. There wasn't as much plot/action until the very end of the book. It was a lot of Taegan talking about how lonely he was and Zorvut doing magic. With that being said, I still like this book and am planning on reading the last book in the series. 

I suspect that the last book will pick up on the plot and adventure given where this one left off. I'm excited to see what happens to this couple and finish their journey with them. I think I will also try some of Lionel Hart's other works because I did enjoy these books. 

For content warnings, this book does contain adult sexual content (there's not a ton of it in it, but it is pretty spicy), there is bodily harm, and more. StoryGraph doesn't have very many content warnings, but I do always recommend checking there before reading. 

If you would like to purchase this book and contribute to my reviews, you can purchase it from Bookshop.org where I get a percentage of your purchase. 

As always, happy reading and I will see you soon with more reviews. 

Review: Claimed by the Orc Prince by Lionel Hart

 

As a part of the Trans Rights Readathon I participated in at the end of March, I read this book and the second one. The author of this book is a transman. I believe he has three series all of which are men together. This book does not contain a transgender character, but I believe one of his other books does have a trans main character. 

This story follows an elven prince, Taegan, who is arranged to marry an orc prince, Zorvut. Taegan is apprehensive about this because he's been raised to believe he'd fight orcs one day, but now he's marrying one in order to establish peace between their species. Another issue is that Taegan has a lover who is very upset about this arrangement and unwilling to listen to Taegan and step back. 

Taegan and Zorvut get married and begin their life together. There's a lot of awkwardness at first and miscommunication. However, the two begin to grow closer to one another. They begin to engage in intimate relations (spice level I would say is moderate to high). They bond increasingly and realize that they are different from what they expected. 

Of course, as they are falling for each other, issues come up that threaten to pull them apart. 

I really enjoyed this book. I liked the fantasy elements in it. I really loved the sweetness of the relationship between the two as they grow closer (that's not a spoiler, this is a romance, that's what happens in romances). I feel like it's a very sweet, cozy romance. Although the ending does get a bit more intense. 

For content warnings, I would say sexual content, violence, discrimination based on fantasy species, and more. Be sure to check out StoryGraph for a full list of possible content warnings as provided by other readers. This book is available as of writing this on Kindle Unlimited as well as the other books in the series. 

If you'd like to purchase this book, you can do so and support me as well as a company that is not Amazon by buying it from Bookshop.org. 

As always, happy reading, and I will see y'all soon as I catch up on my backlog of book reviews. 

Review: Woman of the Year by Darcey Bell

 

Due to FTC regulations, I do have to disclose that I received this book from Simon & Schuster for free as a part of their Book Club Favorites program. I appreciate their sending me this book so I could read and review it for y'all. 

Some of y'all may already be familiar with Darcey Bell's work. Her book A Simple Favor was turned into a movie in 2018 starring Blake Lively and Ann Kendrick. I had not read this book or watched the movie prior to reading Woman of the Year. 

What intrigued me about this book was the description of a "crazy" cat lady bent on revenge going after a former college friend who received the Woman of the Year award. I was not expecting the wild ride this book took me on. 

This book follows Lorelei, a former psychology student, and current unemployed cat parent. We start with Lorelei after the events of her story have already occurred and follow along with her journey. The entire time I was reading this book, I couldn't figure out if I liked it. To be completely honest, I'm still not sure. I read it very quickly so it wasn't horrible. It was just strange and parts of it were way more interesting than others. In this book, Lorelei talks about the death of her former friend Holly who won the Woman of the Year award, but she didn't kill her (she says). She then jumps back and forth between the present and her college days as she explains why she had this hatred for her former friend. 

Lorelei had a relationship with a professor which she says led to her falling out with Holly and her eventual departure from college right before her last semester. I found the story of her college experience to be far more interesting than the rest of the book and in fact, would've much preferred that had been the focus of the story. It reminded me somewhat of My Dark Vanessa (another book I read and reviewed on the blog) which is a book that jumps between past and present detailing the inappropriate relationship a high school girl had with her teacher. The vibes were somewhat similar although Lorelei was an adult at the time of her relationship with her teacher. 

I won't give spoilers, but I will say that Lorelei believes her professor and Holly conspired against her and did something awful. However, it is very unclear if Holly actually participated in the act Lorelei believes she participated in. It's also unclear if Lorelei is actually a reliable narrator or if her mind has been too twisted by delusions to tell the real story. 

When I read the description, I thought the part about her cat would be something cute, but it seemed to take up way more of the book than I would have liked. Her only personality traits were her cat and wanting revenge which made her a very boring character. 

I will say this, the book was entertaining. The twist was unexpected which is what we want in a thriller. There were things that were said that made me a little uncomfortable and had me researching if the author had gotten in trouble for problematic behavior prior (as far as I can tell she hasn't). I think if you want a quick read that doesn't require too much thinking and you're okay with most of your questions being unanswered, this is a fun read. 

There are content warnings present in this book such as adult sexual content, mentions of sexual assault, mentions of animal abuse, mentions of immoral psychological experimentation, and more. As always, check out StoryGraph for a better list of content warnings as provided by other readers. 

Again if you use my Bookshop.org link to purchase this book, I do get a percentage of the sale. 

As always, happy reading, and I will see y'all soon. 

Review: That Time I Got Drunk and Yeeted a Love Potion at a Werewolf by Kimberly Lemming

 

This is yet another Kimberly Lemming book. Check out my review of That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon if you haven't already. 

In this book, Cinnamon's friend Brie finds herself getting unwanted advances from her neighbor and when he attempts to get her with a love potion, she accidentally throws it at Felix, the werewolf. Felix instantly falls in love with Brie thanks to the potion and declares she's his fated mate. The main problem is that the love potion is likely why he feels this way and they tend to do serious damage to the person who takes it. 

Felix is all over Brie, entering her home (kind of uninvited), and obsessing over her. Brie on the other hand finds herself starting to fall for Felix, but needing to break this love potion, she consults with her friends on how to break the curse. In their efforts to remove the spell, things get a little hot and heavy and a tentacle monster is accidentally summoned. As things get more complicated between the two of them, women are going missing in the village as well and it's up to them and their friends to figure out what is going on. 

Lemming is a hilariously funny writer. Her characters are relatable, her fantasy is interesting, and her sexy scenes are spicy. I found myself highlighting way more quotes in this book than I did in the last one as I laughed uncontrollably throughout the read. 

This book does contain adult content, bodily harm, kidnapping, and more. Please check StoryGraph for a full list of possible content warnings as provided by other readers. 

As always, happy reading. 

Review: The Death God's Sacrifice by Jenny Nordbak

 

I recieved this book with a Kickstarted I bought back in October. It's the Peculiar Tastes Kickstarter that Bonkers Romance did. If you'd like to see a video of the books and art I received, an unboxing video is available on my Youtube channel. 

This is the first Jenny Nordbak book I've read and I absolutely loved it. We follow Stheno, older sister of Medusa, and monster slayer. She has been tasked with killing a druid in order to save her younger sister from Medusa's killer Perseus. Stheno agrees to be a sacrifice to the druid, but is drugged with and aphrodesiac powder. She and the druid engage in adult relations before she is able to kill him. She fails her task because of this, but manages to turn him to stone and run off to try to save her sister. On her way back, she finds Perseus who of course fights her. But then the druid isn't as dead as she thought. He fights Perseus and returns Stheno to his home. He makes a deal with Perseus to get Stheno's sister back but it means she and the druid will be staying with each other for the next two days. 

As the two spend more time together, Stheno has to decide if she's going to let this man in. She's attracted to him, he's kind, but can she really let herself weaken for a man? 

I really enjoyed this book. I liked Stheno's badass character traits and feirce love for her sisters. The druid's Scottish accent was delicious as well and his protective characteristics very sweet. I enjoyed the story building and mythology present in this book as well. It was a very quick read for me, I finished over 50% of it in a day and the rest I finished the day after. If you're looking for something, quick, spicy, and interesting, I'd recommend this book to you. 

As always I would recommend checking content warnings before reading. Content warnings include but are not limited to murder, violence, blood, adult intimate relations, and more. I recommend checking out StoryGraph for a full list of content warnings as provided by other readers. 

Happy reading and I will see you soon.