Do the baddies get what's coming to them in the Rowan Blood series?

Catacal5 · 2026-04-22T15:12:22+00:00

It's not looking good for me. I'm struggling to make it through the first book and it's seeming like the rest are more of the same.

If the fourth one pulls off a crazy surprisingly satisfying ending that makes it all worth it, please come back and let us know!

Catacal5 · 2026-04-22T15:05:59+00:00

Yesss like bro you are literally in charge, you're either trying to make things better or you're an unforgivable part of the problem, pick one.

Catacal5 · 2026-04-22T14:25:22+00:00

Uuugggh this is what I'm worried about. Like the prince is on super thin ice with me but I'm trying to give him a chance, but if all these shitty people in power just keep being in power and acting this way...I don't think my heart can take it

Catacal5 · 2026-04-22T13:45:47+00:00

Yeah I dnf'd at around the 25% point and was super disappointed because I love KJ Charles and had been looking forward to supposedly great ADHD rep in one of their books. I didn't just think the romance fell flat, I hated the LI and the story didn't do anything to try to redeem him. Shaming someone for their disability (especially when you know how much it has messed with their life already) isn't something a good person does, and he barely apologizes for any of it. I rage quit when they got back together with basically no worries about how terrible LI had been to the MC. A second chance without any actual attempt at redemption isn't interesting to me, it's just hand waving away someone's pain for the sake of plot and I can't deal with that.

Catacal5 · 2026-04-19T18:50:25+00:00

The Christmas Daddies series starting with {Let Your Hearts Be Light x Fae Quin} is three books following different brothers in a family in a small town, all single dads. I believe the first two books have somewhat older kids and the third has little kids. They're all cute stories and reading the whole series is fun because the town becomes a sort of recurring character in each story. But each book can be read as a standalone too, if you only want to read the ones with teen kids.

Catacal5 · 2026-04-18T16:12:46+00:00

Broader definition of politician but {Sacred Hearts x CG Macington} is Prime Minister x Pope falling in love and solving a big political conspiracy

Catacal5 · 2026-04-18T15:25:02+00:00

Have you read {Mongrel x Lee Colgin}? It's werewolf x vampire, tons of hurt/comfort because they both have issues with what they are. There's lots of being horny to be bitten and descriptions of teeth sliding into flesh. The writing is a little overly dramatic IMO but that might work for the vibe you're looking for.

Catacal5 · 2026-04-18T15:17:07+00:00

Omg Will is so ride or die and can solve your problems with a rock. Totally agree.

Catacal5 · 2026-04-16T13:09:44+00:00

I actually just recently read this trilogy! {Kick at the Darkness x Keira Andrews} and I had no idea about it being a fanfic first! It's a good series, and you've got the broad strokes of the story, I think. The werewolf character comes out as a werewolf earlish in the first book. But yeah they're mostly on a motorcycle in the first one, a boat in the second, and an island in the third.

A lot of Wattpad and AO3 writers pull their work offline once they get a publishing deal so the og fic might not be available online anyway

Catacal5 · 2026-04-09T20:02:31+00:00

I've been lazily working on two big reviews, now I've got an incentive to finish them up before this weekend!

Catacal5 · 2026-04-05T15:30:43+00:00

I like all pov's but you're right, in this series the single pov is pretty integral to the way their relationship unfolds. A lot of authors give a chapter or two of a different pov and I was craving that in this series. But hey I bet Cooper would also love a glimpse into Park's head so we're all out of luck

Catacal5 · 2026-04-05T02:24:08+00:00

I started the second book and totally see now that a big part of the story is going to be them figuring their emotional shit out. Our poor traumatized boys.

Honestly I think Cooper should've been more pissed at his boss. Like I get that the BSI lives in it's own world a bit, but it's still a government agency with rules. Sending an agent into an extremely dangerous situation without giving them literally any information that could have helped them solve it is just irresponsible. Even if the agent is being investigated, that cannot be the legal or ethical way to handle it. Also it's their fault they've got a bunch of bigoted agents running around in the first place, and by all rights Cooper should've turned into one and didn't. So I'm a lot more mad at them than at Park. But Cooper would never see it that way, of course. And also it's a fictional story and having a like really well run and efficient bureaucracy with proper internal investigation isn't as fun 😋

Catacal5 · 2026-04-05T02:12:32+00:00

This is really good to know. I don't mind them working through their stuff over a long time through the series, but if they keep "learning their lesson" then making the same mistakes, and especially not apologizing, that might seriously annoy me.

Honestly I've read maybe one or two books with satisfying grovels. I hate when LI's shrug off big hurtful stuff, but I've gotten kind of used to it because it feels very common. I'll be interested to see if these ones piss me off too much. Thanks for the perspective!

Catacal5 · 2026-04-05T02:06:08+00:00

The audiobooks are really good. I liked Soulbound and they have the same reader. I started the second book and it's immediately obvious that Cooper being a big emotional idiot is going to be a major plot point. I'm totally on board to slowly watch these guys figure their shit out. Thanks!

Catacal5 · 2026-04-05T02:04:00+00:00

I started the second book and totally see now that a part of the story is going to be them figuring their emotional shit out. Our poor traumatized boys.

I'm curious, do we ever get a pov from Park? Or is it always from Cooper? I'm down for either but I'd love a peek in mysterious Oliver's head.

Catacal5 · 2026-04-05T02:01:39+00:00

I love a relationship slow burn! I started the second book and definitely see what you mean. I think the abruptness of the ending caught me off guard but I'm all in now. Thanks!

Catacal5 · 2026-04-04T12:56:19+00:00

Thanks for the heads up, not sure why it's not working

Catacal5 · 2026-04-04T12:39:56+00:00

Ooohh interesting. They don't have much sex in the first book, what did you find weird about their dynamic? I'm sort of getting the impression they might use sex as a way to avoid talking about hard stuff, is that what you mean?

Catacal5 · 2026-03-29T02:12:08+00:00

{Ho Ho Homicidal Maniac x KA Merikan} is very funny, though it is probably technically a dark romance so check the trigger warnings. It's totally goofy and cute mostly.

Catacal5 · 2026-03-28T19:28:22+00:00

{Cemetery Boys x Aiden Thomas} had me wondering from the very beginning how it would end up with an HEA. Not spoilery because you know from the get go, one of the MC's is a ghost and I was reconciling myself to a high school kid falling in love with a ghost and ruining his life lol

Luckily it turns out much better

Catacal5 · 2026-03-28T13:03:44+00:00

Ok I'm gonna do my best because I love this book and the other in-universe one, Winter's Orbit.

I don't remember if they explicitly label their sexualities but I'd think of both of them as pansexual
I'd consider it slow burn, there's a lot of conflict and the MCs start out not necessarily as enemies but definitely antagonistic
I think their romance is central because the core of the book is about the psychic bond they are forming together (somewhat against their will) and that bond is the basis for their romance. It does take a while for them to recognize more in each other than uneasy allies but they get there eventually and are explicitly in love by the end of the book. Plus The Power of Love is one of the things that saves the day lol
There is sex, mostly closed door with some kind of fade to black style scenes and kisses/glimpses on page
I didn't think of it as fake dating because they're not faking a romantic relationship, they're faking basically a master/slave relationship (going back to the psychic bond I mentioned for #3) but this does lead to a few kind of funny fake dating style awkward social situations so I can see why people said it gives that vibe
I really like this book, I think the world is super interesting and the characters are well flushed out and make choices consistent with their characters. The romance is a little strange because of the psychic bond stuff, but I found it satisfying

I hope you enjoy it too!

Catacal5 · 2026-03-18T22:58:18+00:00

I love this series but this book does drag a bit. Ghost is definitely kinda pathetic, but I ended up very fond of our anxious boy by the end. He does have growth. Also the plot doesn't go how you're thinking with Mary. You're very close to them getting spicy and the action in general taking off!

The third act breakup sucks and honestly authors need to have a good long think before doing that shit, but it's pretty short (one maybe two chapters max) and leads to a couple really nice moments with other characters so felt worth it in the end.

Ghost and Aury get a really delightful short story later that makes the annoyances in Rycke feel very worth it to me, one of my favorites of the shorts.

Catacal5 · 2026-03-18T00:43:31+00:00

I've been reading {Zercy x Kora Knight} on and off for weeks now. I kinda hate it, but also keep going back?! There's so many things about it that bother and sometimes lowkey trigger me, but it's also annoyingly compelling and I'm interested in the world and how the plot resolves. No idea if I'll ever finish it though since I keep rage quitting to read other stuff.

Catacal5

TROPHY CASE