Prohibition New York | Mirrigold: Mutterings & Musings

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A real sense of menace throughout this fabulous urban fantasy

Posted on April 14, 2020 by Mirrigold

Full review later when I’m at the laptop.

***

This series is shaping up to be among my favourites, not only on the historical front, but also the urban fantasy/paranormal side of things.

I absolutely love the world-building and sense of magic that Allie has created with her series, it’s 1920s Prohibition New York but with a very definite twist in the tale (yes I spelt that one right 😉 )

This absolutely is not a standalone book, it picks up pretty much where book one left off with Rory and Ace still settling into their new relationship, dangers all around and the same sense of impending menace on the horizon.

This book does suffer a tiny bit from a lull in pace towards the middle part of the book as things become a little bit bogged down in the details of Ace and Rory dealing with the surprise arrival in New York of British peer Lord Fine. Who just happens to be Ace’s wartime ex.

But once the bad guys show up, it rockets into an action adventure which, for me, had a very real sense of foreboding and menace which kept me up reading until the early hours so I could make sure all the characters I love survived the danger.

I also love how Allie is twisting around the actions of the villains from book one, who here turn up and act very much to the benefit of Ace and Rory’s lives.

Finally, while I absolutely adore these books and I totally respect the author’s right to craft a book in their own way, I really, really wish Allie would put more elements of the intimacy aspect of Ace and Rory’s relationship on page.

There’s lots of passionate kissing, and lovely sweet declarations of feelings, but for me, personally, I feel like I’m missing out on a key aspect of their relationship because there is zero heat.

I’m not asking for explicit erotica, but I’d just love to see more of the trust element which comes from being sexually intimate with someone, reflected on page.

That’s my one niggle and it’s certainly not enough for me to be put off reading, and re-reading, this series, the rest of the narrative works hard to make up for the lack of emotional connectivity outside of the snogging 😁

Now I’m gutted I have to wait until next year for book three!

#ARC kindly received from the author in return for an honest and unbiased review

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Reviews: LGBTQ+

An exceptionally good debut from Allie Therin

Posted on June 20, 2019 by Mirrigold

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Spellbound by Allie Therin

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

This book is exceptionally good.

It hit pretty much every note I’d expect in a historical paranormal mystery romance, from a great sense of the time period, to a unique interpretation of magic abilities, to a decent set of villains and some sweet relationship development.

My only criticism, and it comes down to personal taste only, is that I really dislike fade to black or sex scenes referenced as happening off page.

It takes away an aspect of relationship development – that of the trust which comes with a sexual exchange – from the reader and, again in my own opinion, means you have a slight disconnect between the affection happening on page and that layer of build-up.

This is especially important to see for me as a reader in a period where homosexuality was not only frowned upon but could, in certain parts of the world, still mean imprisonment or death, as it demonstrates the emotional connection between two men in spite of the dangers.

That said, it really is my only niggle, because everything else just absolutely worked. I adored Rory and Ace, the secondary cast of both heroic accomplices, and villainous former friends, were brilliantly outlined and detailed.

The magical world is New York with a twist, it has a steampunk feel to it while mostly being rooted in the 20s Prohibition Era and I loved the paranormal elements.

Annoyingly for me, book two isn’t due out until next year because we’re left with a sort of cliffhanger and a lot of loose story plot ends which will be running through the series and I’m dying to find out more!