Meat by Lizzy Bequin

2 Stars

I have loved most of the books I have read by this author. I detested this one. The writing and editing of this novel was clean in the ARC version of the manuscript. The world building was competent, though not especially vivid. The characterization was okay, with the heroes and heroine being pretty well described even if none of them were at all sympathetic. *Trigger Warning* The heroine eats a sentient being in this novel, which I found really, REALLY gross. Also, the villain aliens eat humans, which I was less disturbed by since they are the villains. *End Trigger Warning* The development of the romantic relationship was more the development of a sexual relationship until quite late in the novel. The plot and pacing was tight, so I read it quickly, at least. There was low angst and very high stakes in this novel, which I typically prefer in my romance novels. This novel used the Breeder trope and the Reverse Harem trope. The characterization and development of the romantic relationships were three stars. The world building, plot and pacing were four stars. However, I gave this novel a combined score of two stars because of two elements; the ending and the behavior of the heroine in the trigger warning above. This was a dark romance and it had a really dark ending. The Happy Ever After ending is especially important in a dark romance, in my opinion. The ending of this novel showed that the heroine had become almost as evil and ruthless as the villains, which was a downer of an ending. I do not think I recommend this novel to other romance readers. I would recommend any of this author's other novels much more highly than this one. I hope the author does not turn this book in to a series. I do not plan to buy myself a keeper copy of this novel.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Purchase Link: Currently Unavailable