2.5 out of 5 stars
Books include:
- Spell Cat – 2 stars
- Brush with Catastrophe – 3 stars
- Cataclysmic Shift – 3 stars
Likes:
- Aloysius as a cat.
- Most of the characters, individually.
- Good smut.
Dislikes:
- Non-con.
- Rape.
- Non-con and rape wasn’t addressed.
- Lack of world building.
- Lack of magic.
- Not good rereads.
- Bland romance.
- Many characters lacked maturity.
I would not recommend this series. It’s from an author that I usually enjoy, and the basic idea of the series is interesting, but the final product is deeply flawed.
There isn’t really a standout book in this series. Usually, at least one book will shine even if the others don’t. That didn’t happen this time. With all three books, my dislikes outweighed my likes by a mile.
Individually, most of the characters weren’t bad. They were different and diverse, and all had something likeable about them. Too bad they had raging cases of insta-lust, clichéd pasts, and didn’t act like powerful witches.
The basic idea of the overarching plot wasn’t bad, but the world building was almost nonexistent and the magic was sparse. It didn’t feel like a lot of thought and attention had been put into fitting all the pieces together. When I finished each book, the inconsistencies and plot holes were huge, even if I didn’t notice them as I was reading.
Two of the three books had instances of either rape or non-consent that was never addressed. The bad guys weren’t punished for their transgressions. It bothered me a lot, partly because the bad guys did get punished for other things, making it feel like the rape was so minor it didn’t even get mentioned. But also because this is not the first time Tara Lain has included sexual assault in her books without addressing it later on. It’s because of the sexual assault and how it makes me think negatively of Lain, that I’ve decided to step away from reading her books for a while.
Lastly, as I discovered, these books don’t make for good rereads. The plots all have mystery elements that drive the action forward. Once the mystery is solved, it’s obvious how shaky the romance itself is.
I had high hopes for this series. There are good urban fantasy romances out there, but The Aloysius Tales isn’t one of them.
Love is Love Reviews 