June 2018 Buddy Read of The Frost and the Flame

[Andrea AKA Catsos Person]

Melita wrote: "Well, my spoiler did not work. I give up."

Melita,

The problem with yr spoiler attempt is that you included the asterisks. Do it without the asterisks.

[Mel]

Thank you, will do so. Have read last night and will do so some more today, I hope.

[Hot Mess Sommelière ~ Caro]

p. 274

that moment when (view spoiler)[ the hero and heroine's first sex scene gets less detail than all the rapes (hide spoiler)] Really?

[Andrea AKA Catsos Person]

Yep, I guess so Caro!

There are some problems with this book.

I finished last week.

[Hot Mess Sommelière ~ Caro]

"some" might be an euphemism . . i'm nearly done but currently too annoyed to continue.

[Hot Mess Sommelière ~ Caro]

I actually dreamt that one of my fb friends had randomly acquired the paperback version of this for a hundred bucks and I was so distraught I actually messaged them right after waking up going like "what have you done???? This book is crap!" Only to realize it was just a dream *_*

[Andrea AKA Catsos Person]

Thank heaven nobody paid $100 for this!

[Andrea AKA Catsos Person]

Here’s my review Caro:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Mel]

Up to Chapter 26, P256

It is a struggle to finish, I just don't have much empathy for the H/h, especially the H.

(view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)]
Anyway, the side characters are more interesting than the main ones, the love story is boring and there is no spark. /spoiler>

[Mel]

Sorry, don't know what happened there.

[Mel]

I just realised what I did wrong.

[Doris]

I dropped out of this discussion a bit ago. I did buy the book (paper/$6.00) but even having spent money, I just couldn’t read it all the way through. I skipped to the end just to confirm what the author had “telegraphed” early on about Katia’s parentage.

Here’s a question about spoilers though: why are spoilers removed? I’m reading the comments and some don’t make sense because the spoiler is removed. Who removes them?

[Mel]

I think it must be mine, which are done wrong. I think I got (view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)]

[Mel]

[Hot Mess Sommelière ~ Caro]

THIS BOOK! I was done with it long ago but now it is finally done with me. I can't begin to fathom how I will justify giving this 1 star in my review because tbh I'd like to slap the author for writing it.

Ending: (view spoiler)[ is she for real with this sappy, stupid and unrealistic happily ever after not only with alexei but her father as well??? What else, jesus (hide spoiler)]

And the revelation of Katias parentage (view spoiler)[ and her poor excuse of a mother's revealing appearance was pure TRASH. How on earth am I supposed to believe katia even went to see that ho? And then going all mushy like the 300 pages of incestuous rape never happened? Good lord (hide spoiler)]

And Alexei (view spoiler)[ actually came back after getting a later that ~ finally revealed the whole truth ~ and made him realise that Katia would be a great bed bunny after having been a rape survivor for 99% of the book (hide spoiler)]

And Oleg (view spoiler)[ arguably the flattest and least intelligently written villain in the book, whose puppy-eyed confused rapery is completely ignored by everyone except Katia has 95% of the screen time, leaving Alexei to dwindle in his lofty political schemes (hide spoiler)]

Meanwhile the well researched backdrop disappears completely as our least favorite aunt dies while still spewing words after words and gobbling up the attention and stupid characters do and talk stupid bullshit at each other ... just another flat, er, romance? Katioleg forever my ass

[Andrea AKA Catsos Person]

Caro,

Re Oleg:

(view spoiler)[I kind of like that the author did not try to give a reason for why he was the way he was. I like that he was pure, unmitigated evil. (hide spoiler)]

Villains in more recent HR seem to be written to try to get at a “reason” why they are bad/do evil deeds. I like that Oleg was evil for evil’s sake.

Btw, I have woman on my flist who was born in the USSR, (but live in US for 30 years) who says that The name Katiana Donova are not Russian names! After all of that painstaking backdrop, a faux Russian name!

[Mel]

I agree with Caro, Oleg got too much screen time in book compared to Alexei.

[Gurl]

I, like Doris, dropped out early. The characters weren't showing much depth and cliche character types were emerging and I got bored. Also some of the authors scenarios, especially action sequences were kind of chaotic and hard to follow. Maybe I will skip ahead too ; )

[Andrea AKA Catsos Person]

Re Alexei’s lack of page time: long separations between the heroine and the hero are often the case with bodice rippers, though not across the board.

[Mel]

The only one I really liked and author who did it well was Con Sellers in Marilee. Even though they got separated, there was sexual tension and they met enough times in their journeys so that their relationship grew and their characters matured. Sellers managed to keep me interested in both H/h.

[Mel]

Also story was much more interesting.

[Blondie]

I finally finished and I think if the author would not have skipped some of the Oleg / Katia drama and fleshed out the ending better I would have liked the book so much more. I hate a rushed ending that doesn't sum up everything.

[Mel]

I have given up.

[Caroline]

It wasn't bad.