Location: Finland
Member Since:
Jan. 02, 2023
Atarnus
Atarnus' favorite authors on Smashwords
Smashwords book reviews by Atarnus
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Green Tea and Pink Apples
on March 15, 2023
This is one my favourites from R.Cooper. The story happens during one night but there is several years of history with these characters. The rambling thoughts and awkwardness of many of Cooper's characters really works well in this story. It's a magical evening, beautiful and comforting story.
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Lies and Consequences
on Oct. 17, 2023
4+ stars A contemporary gay romantic thriller, and a great one. I had to suspend my disbelief a bit with all the coincidences but that wasn't too hard. There's a great mix of romance, suspense, action and drama here. I notice some complaints about too much action but it felt right for me, already at the first chapters we have a bar fight which sets the tone for action thriller. And the "slower" parts are for relationship development and catching your breath. The main couple are great characters and totally hot together. The relationship develops kind of fast but it's still pretty believable considering the extreme circumstances. I really liked the theme of lying. I am very honest and have a hard time understanding how much people lie, so I could definitely feel for Ian, but then again Chris was such a darling.
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Team Phison
on Oct. 17, 2023
4+ stars I'm pretty sure I'll love everything from Chace Verity, this is my 3rd MM book from them. Team Phison is a contemporary romance with a huge age gap, and it's just as sweet and funny as the ridiculously lovely demons from 'Loved by the Demon' series. Phil's a grumpy man whose insecurities almost destroy the relationship but he's man enough to apologise properly. Tyson is a ray of sunshine. They game and they work in restaurants, and are just lovely together. I'm so happy there's another book about them for me to read.
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Team Phison Forever
on Oct. 17, 2023
4- stars The sequel for delightful Team Phison is a lot heavier than the original. It's told by the Tyson's POV and we delve into his family issues, which are plentiful. Our ray of sunshine is actually depressed and has just awful parents. Which is not suprising, really, some of the kindest and shiniest people I know irl are depressed. It also rings true how even the douchiest douchebags aren't always terrible towards everyone. The book is pretty sad with some cheerful and warm moments, we get to see Phil being supportive and Tyson struggle with his demons. Team Phison prevails.
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Secrets and Scrabble Box Set
on Oct. 17, 2023
Murder at Pirate's Cove - 4⭐ Secret at Skull House - 4⭐ Mystery at the Masquerade - 4.5⭐ Scandal at the Salty Dog - 4⭐ These books seem to have a consistent quality, they are fun and cozy with dark small town secrets and a slow burn romance. Sometimes it's a bit too slow burn but there is enough interaction between the main couple to keep remembering this is a MM mystery. I'm not a fan of excessively long series but I can see this one going strong for a couple of more titles. The books are pretty short and have coherent cases of their own while still continuing smoothly to the next one and being a chapter of a longer story. Obviously one has to suspend their disbelief for all of these murders happening in the same small town but that's just normal for the genre.
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Treasure
on Oct. 17, 2023
Very enjoyable quest fantasy with two romantic pairings. There are forgotten legends and secrets to uncover during a sea journey filled with dragon magic and bloodthirsty mermaids. I actually prefer to read tales without world saving proportions and 'the chose ones' but sometimes legendary tales hit the spot. Derr spins intriguing fantastical stories but often doesn't quite execute them perfectly. There are 4 PoVs in the book and sometimes I am left with the feeling of watching the events unfold from a wrong perspective. There's also a lot of untapped potential as well as some editing issues. Still, I was completely sucked in and will definitely continue the series.
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An Intimate Charade
on Oct. 17, 2023
4.5 stars. Fake boyfriend with aliens. Lovely.
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Stylite: Mystery
on Oct. 17, 2023
The story has an interesting premise of an art student obsessing over an old building and the recluse living in it. The story is told from the 1st perspective of the art student in a conversational style, which suits the character but feels sometimes a bit weird to me as a reader (there are constant additions like 'you know' or 'sue me' etc.) It seems like a nice story but after reading the first book of the trilogy, I don't see why it is cut up in pieces. I did not see a reason to end the book at this point, there was no coherent wholeness to it. The romance is barely budding and the mystery is also just begun unraveling.
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A Christmas Secret
on Oct. 17, 2023
I've read a bunch of these cute short stories from Yolande Kleinn and this was my favourite so far. These stories are a bit too short for my tastes, but I felt that this one worked well. There was a lot going on but in the end all the necessary parts were there, leaving me happy and satisfied about this little glimpse to Charlie and Drew and their lives. Not that I wouldn't happily read a whole novel expanded from this.
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Take It, Boy
on Oct. 17, 2023
Completely silly though thoroughly entertaining body cavity search with Officer Sir Daddy and Charlie the twink, who is a character if there ever was one. I would have wanted to read the next scene too.
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Free Pass on Halloween Night
on Oct. 17, 2023
Steamy taboo smut. I'm not an expert on this field 😉 but this was well written smut, also a pretty funny and even sweet story. I enjoyed it very much and will remember this author in the future for smutty cravings.
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Powered by Ghosts
on Oct. 17, 2023
4+ stars. A solid continuation to 'Marked by Death'. The guys have a ghost clearing gig out of town that turns out to be a new bigger mystery. Darien is trying to find his place in the world and with Silas, and there's a new cute addition to the team. This was different than the first book but very enjoyable. I really like how things are developing, and I think we see more of Silas' personality in this book. Hopefully I'll have time to continue the series soon.
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Marked by Death
on Oct. 17, 2023
4+ stars. A strong starter for a paranormal series. Interesting world with magic, familiars, ghosts and demons. I really liked the descriptions of magic. And Darien is a great character, a punk in the midst of stuffy old wizards. I like when a character brings a new perspective into old traditions and maybe even has some unique skills while still not being a complete Mary Sue. The romance is pretty fast but it makes sense in this world and the familiars are cute.
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Jay Moriarty Violates the Official Secrets Act
on Jan. 14, 2024
4+⭐ I definitely have a soft spot for heists and hackers but I was still pleasantly surprised by this short story from a previously unknown author. The plot is engaging and the story wraps up nicely within these 50 pages. I've always thought these kinds of stories are suffering from a severe lack of gay men. Just lovely. I'm sure to read more from this author. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.