Sweet Spot Sisterhood: #Review FEAST OF SPARKS by Sierra Simone

FEAST OF SPARKS (Thornchapel #2) by Sierra Simone Release Date: August 1st Cover Designer: Hang Le Photographer: Regina Wamba

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START THE SERIES TODAY WITH A LESSON IN THORNS (Thornchapel #1)

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Blurb:

I’m an outcast and a loner, named for death itself. Fate wasn’t supposed to have plans for me.

But then she came back—the girl I once kissed in a thorn-covered chapel in the woods. She came back, and I could no more resist her than I could pry out my own heart. And by some trick of fate, she wants me as much as I want her. The only problem? She also wants the man who owns Thornchapel, Auden Guest.

And so do I.

Eight years ago, I did something to Auden, something terrible. He hurt me back the only way he knew how, and so here we are: our hatred seasoned with pain and my loneliness seasoned with longing. The only thing we can agree on is Proserpina Markham, and she wants us to find a way to be together—all three of us.

If Auden wants to earn her as his submissive, then he has to earn me as well.

But with the discovery of bones behind the altar and the carnal revel of Beltane fast approaching, it’s becoming clear that Thornchapel’s secrets are much deeper and older than any of us could have ever guessed. And no matter how bright and merry a feast of sparks may be, it’s always followed by ashes.

And darkness.

2 of 5 stars

Well that was not entirely what I hoped for or expected. I'll be honest- I saw that "bomb drop" long before it hit. I also think its just a way to draw extra tension into the mix. I may not agree with it but I'm not the author.

Let me backtrack. Feast of Sparks starts where A Lesson in Thorns ends. You must read A Lesson to have any chance of understanding what's happening. However, that's not guaranteed either. LOL. Feast isn't as full of the flowery descriptions as A Lesson was but it isn't without them. What it has in spades though is raunchy, hedonistic sex even I was like "that's a bit much."

I think one of my biggest issues to overcome was the liking of pagan practices to the church. Using the rituals as proof that the church is just a copy of the pagan practices...While its not wrong historically, its also not in full context. Most people wont be squeamish about that but it bothered me. Trying to liken their clearly pagan rituals to worship of God made me twitchy.

My second issue was that we seemed to have completed downgraded into orgy mode. Yes it was obviously coming :) but it seemed to be the focus of this book instead of a high point -if you will. I've lost the plot. Is Thornchapel supposed to be about the mystery and history or solely about getting our rocks off?!

The third issue which to me isn't so much as an issue because I think it will be disproven at a later point would be the bomb drop. The bomb drop, as I like to call it, that everyone is freaking out about ( I may have read a few other reviews.) will clearly be discussed at some point in the next 2 books. The trouble is it felt like superfluous cliffhanger. With the other holidays needing to be celebrated, we knew there was going to be something to grab our interest. I just don't know why the author chose this. With Poe's mother's bones and the mystery of her death still unanswered, we had plenty of possibilities. The bomb drop almost felt like an easy out. A salacious way to try and bait the reader. The question is...

Did it work?

To be honest, not for me. Feast of Sparks was a huge let down. I actually considered asking friend for the cliffnotes version because I was having such a difficult time staying in the story. After the slow and at times excruciating build up in A Lesson in Thorns, I wary to read Feast. It took roughly 75% of Lesson before I was legit invested in the characters. I knew all the ground work had been laid in Lesson so I assumed it would be smooth sailing. I appreciated finally learning what broke Auden and Saint but was so angry over the reasoning for the rift. The only reason this book wasn't a DNF was because I needed to know why Saint and Auden were fighting. Now that I know, I think I'm going to pass on the rest of the series or maybe wait for some reviews before I consider it. I feel like I'm cheating by not completing the series but at this point in time I just can't scrounge up enough determination to fight for it.

This Sierra Simone fan is going to pretend that this didn't happen and patiently await her next series.

* * *

Excerpt:

Shame, hot and prickling, needles everywhere at my face and chest and belly as I begin to bend down to the floor. The cool air that caresses my pussy is now everywhere as the position begins to expose my most secret flesh, and there’s no pretending away the reality of what I’m doing. I’m doing something I’ve never done before, I’m offering up the filthiest part of me for inspection, and despite everything the three of us have shared in the past twenty-four hours, I’m flooded with shame. It’s real shame now, not play-shame, and my safe word floats to the top of my mind, a buoy in the clear waters.

Convivificat.

I don’t want to safe out right now, I’m nowhere near the edge, but it’s nice to have it there all the same. Reassuring. There’s nothing they can do that I can’t stop.

And anyway, this is who I am—who I’ve been growing into ever since I found the words to define it.

About the Author:

Sierra Simone is a USA Today Bestselling former librarian (who spent too much time reading romance novels at the information desk.) She lives with her husband and family in Kansas City.