M. L. Ryan

*I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review*

The premise of this book was intriguing. It originally grabbed my attention because the protagonist was a fellow book lover. While the story has enough interesting details to keep you reading, it's a bit of a letdown.

Hailey is a chinchilla milker (of all the random things!) and a divorcee. who hasn't been on a date in three years. She has a small group of friends, but mainly keeps to herself. One day, she buys a kindle, and is the recipient of an unintended download, of the soul of a magical being named Sebastian from an alternate dimension. Alex, also a magical being, tracks her down, and they have to go on an international hunt for Sebastian's body. Some action and romance ensue.

The concept as a whole is unique, but for me the writing style really threw me off. Hailey's style of speaking seems forced and unnatural. There are a lot of filler phrases. I wanted her to be more direct and more empowered, to align with Sebastian's perception of her.

Another thing that really took me out of this were the awkwardness of some of the more sexual scenes. In one, Hailey wakes up touching herself, at the gentle suggestion of Sebastian's thought direction, to satisfy his "needs." I don't have a problem with sexual scenes in books, this was just strange and unnecessary. In another sex scene, between Alex and Hailey the forced writing and language really detract from the scene itself. It was enough to make me cringe.

There is a good deal of action and some world building that kept me interested. I ended up more interested in the relationship between Alex and Sebastian, and the Coursodon world rather than the relationship between Alex and Hailey. I'd be interested to explore more of the Coursodon world itself, but I honestly don't know if I would really enjoy it all that much.… (more)

This is one of the books that as I click to read, I don't remember why it is on my kindle. Was it a mad 1-click fest that left me with most of the books on my kindle? This is one of the times, it was worth the surprise.

There are a few instances that I thoroughly enjoyed, but occasionally M.L. Ryan info dumped on the reader, and those times really made me irritated. Don't treat a reader as dumb.

I will say the peculiar job, and the interactions with her cat were just the tip of the iceberg. I seriously think my kindle must be broken; mine didn't come with a hunk. lol.

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