Unpopular opinion. A Light in the Flame by Jennifer L Armentrout. When sex should be the cherry on top and not the whole cake.

Synopsis

The only one who can save Sera now is the one she spent her life planning to kill.

The truth about Sera’s plan is out, shattering the fragile trust forged between her and Nyktos. Surrounded by those distrustful of her, all Sera has is her duty. She will do anything to end Kolis, the false King of Gods, and his tyrannical rule of Iliseeum, thus stopping the threat he poses to the mortal realm.

Nyktos has a plan, though, and as they work together, the last thing they need is the undeniable, scorching passion that continues to ignite between them. Sera cannot afford to fall for the tortured Primal, not when a life no longer bound to a destiny she never wanted is more attainable than ever. But memories of their shared pleasure and unrivaled desire are a siren’s call impossible to resist.

And as Sera begins to realize that she wants to be more than a Consort in name only, the danger surrounding them intensifies. The attacks on the Shadowlands are increasing, and when Kolis summons them to Court, a whole new risk becomes apparent. The Primal power of Life is growing inside her, pushing her closer to the end of her Culling. And without Nyktos’s love–an emotion he’s incapable of feeling–she won’t survive her Ascension. That is if she even makes it to her Ascension and Kolis doesn’t get to her first. Because time is running out. For both her and the realms.

Audiobook Review

WARNING: SUPER UNPOPULAR REVIEW

2,5 stars (1 star for the first 60% and 4 stars for the last part).

Let me first tell you that I have been a big fan of Jennifer’s stories for many years now! From the Lux series to be precise.
So giving that book such a low rating is a total surprise for me and it pains me. But this is how I personally experienced that book.
So here we go.

The first 60% of the book was a big filler with sex! They were boning each other or fantasizing it or remembering it all the time!!!!
I’ll give you that, the sex scenes are hot and…long!
When a narrator is reading a sex scene for nearly nine minutes, that gives you an idea! Said narrator deserves a medal as she read and acted like a champ, throaty voice, sigh and all! And I am not being sarcastic when I write it, I truly admire what she did!

I reckon that the chemistry was there and that Nyktos is my new book boyfriend
BUT
I feel that it was just too much for me. Too much sex and no content. Nearly nothing happened to develop the story. And 60% of 650 pages (or more than 25 hours of narration) is a looooong time! I was fast forwarding all the time!
I get that people love smut. And I have nothing against a well written spicy scene. But sex must be the cherry on top, not the whole cake! Not the main plot or it’s called porn. And that’s not what I want nor expect from Jennifer Armentrout. Or Sarah J Maas who seems to be veering in that direction in her last two books.

Yes sex sells. But sex overdone will lose me and I bet other loyal followers might get lost too. It will also gain new ones who are all for endless sex scenes so maybe the authors won’t change their method. It’s their business after all, not mine. *Shrug*.

Once we reached the 60% mark, that’s where the plot really began to live and be interesting. That’s where Jennifer Armentout finally caught my attention. And what she gave us was good! Really good!
Great plot, twists and turns, betrayals, a prophecy, a wonderful female character who is brave, selfless and stabby.
And an incredible hero with Nyktos who reminds me so much of Rhysand because of all that he has sacrificed to protect others. And because he is powerful, has wings and is sexy as hell!

But you know what? Once it became interesting it ended on a huge cliffy! And now I’ll have to wait months or years to get the sequel! So not cool Jennifer!
I honestly don’t know if I’ll read the third book. I think I’ll ask friends to tell me if we have the same pattern as this one. If so, I’ll pass.

Anyway, you got that it really disappointed me but if you loved it, that’s wonderful! I am happy for you! Just keep that in mind before insulting me for not sharing the same opinion. 😉

Thanks for reading.

Sophie