Devils & Rye (Top Shelf, #4)

by Alta Hensley

[Eve1972]

 
 
~WRITING - PLOT - PACE~
So where do I start? Sigh...OK, so I enjoyed this one for the most part but as this series goes on I am left feeling like I need MORE from these stories and these characters. They are just way too short to feel fully developed and the heroes that when first introduced seemed like they were going to be these twisted f-cked up alpha men have gotten weaker each book. I do really love this author's writing, and this one was marginally better than the last, but something was again missing for me.

Like I mentioned above this was a short book that basically took me less than two hours to read. It was told in a dual POV format which is my favorite. The plot was pretty engaging and kept me turning the pages. That said, everything went at breakneck speed. The switch from MaKayla thinking of Alec as "Uncle Alec" to wanting to f-ck him was incredibly fast considering she never even thinks about him that way ONCE until she is drunk. The same with Alec, then they are exchanging "ILYs" hours later. In fact, the entire book takes place over just a couple days. I also thought the whole ritual thing was a bit anti-climactic after Alec made it sound like this "horrifying they'll be lucky to survive" thing. 


~HERO~
ALEC...He was OK. His character came across a bit weak to me. I guess I wanted a more twisted and kinky type of hero. 


~HEROINE~
MAKAYLA...Lord was this chick too stupid to live. I honestly didn't see what Alec wanted with her other than she was pretty and a virgin. She was unbelievably naïve. She was twenty years old but was scared when she started to have an orgasm (save me). I sort of understood from the way she was raised...but ya, I just never warmed up to her.



 


~SECONDARY CHARACTERS~
There were basically no secondary characters in this one. Some baddies and MaKayla's Dad pops up briefly, but the focus is on Alec and MaKayla. P.S. I am still holding out hope Tennessee gets a book of his own.


~HEAT LEVEL~
Medium. There was a handful of suitably sexy scenes in this one. Some spanking. Some forced exhibitionism. Anal. Personally, I wanted to see a kinkier Alec, but it was what it was.


~ANGST LEVEL~
Low. There was very little in the way of angst in this one. It's VERY insta everything in regard to the romantic relationship. There is some angst because of the ritual they have to take part in, but that turned out to be pretty tame and never really cause any issues. There wasn't any OW drama or OM drama either.


~IN THE END~
It was OK. I DID enjoy it for the most part. I know my review may not sound like I did, but I did. That said, I feel like these books have the potential to be better. The elements are all there. The plots are intriguing and original. I think they are just too short for me to fully connect with the stories and/or the characters. In any case, I am still hanging in to see what guy we will have the pleasure of meeting next (I am hoping ROMAN the Prince.) And yours truly is going to give this a thumbs up.