What the what?! I wasn’t expecting that ending at all and NOW I have to run to Amazon and download the next one. This was absolutely the perfect book to read on my mountain vacation. I even saw a Luna Moth while lounging around reading.

There are possibly some trigger warnings for some: abuse, sexual assault, violence

Enemy to lovers trope, touch her and 💀

I loved it!

After hearing/seeing the hype surrounding this book, I wanted so badly to love it. Unfortunately that just wasn't the case for me, I think it just sort of fell flat. I felt the pacing of the story fell short; some scenes felt incredibly long and then others felt rushed. I feel like it had the potential to be so much more, but unfortunately it just wasn't a high star read for me.

3/5 stars

The writing was a little choppy and boring for the story line but the smut was top notch. I am ANNOYED at the ending but it was a good set up for the next book. I did not expect the plot twist!

I really liked the thought behind this book. It was intriguing. I liked the world it was set in. I thought the FMC was pretty killer. She was strong and didn't let anything bring her down. I always love woman in stem.
The only issue I had was the relationship dynamic between the FMC and MC. I didn't see the connection or the defining moment for them.

Thank you to bloom and NetGalley for the arc.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

OK, the concept of this book was great, and the title and cover reeled me in. This could have been so much more than it was; the writing was almost juvenile, and the rapid switch of the MMC's hatred for the FMC to an instalove gave me whiplash. It would have been so much better if the author had eased that in. A slow burn would have been perfect, and built so much anticipation! Also, the twist at the end almost felt disingenuous... almost as through the FMC had been denying things even in her inner monologue, but then the twist at the end was in direct conflict with the rest of the book. Any number of small tweaks could have made this at least three stars, but unfortunately this just wasn't a hit for me.

I finished this book a couple of days ago and I am still trying to figure out exactly how I feel about it. While I saw some aspects of the ending plot twist coming, the most shocking pieces of it I did not see coming. This is because so much of the FMC's inner dialogue goes against what happens at the end of the book. It didn't narratively make sense.

The sudden switch in the MMC's feelings toward the FMC also didn't necessarily make sense. He went from trying to kill her over and over again to being madly in love in the span of seconds. While I am all about an enemies to lovers trope and dark romance does not bother me, this flip flop in Mendax's emotions seems improbable at that time in the book.

But that said, the plot twist does make me intrigued for the next book. I also give author O'Riley credit in that she wrote a book that I am still thinking about days later. 3 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a complimentary ARC. These opinions are my own.

Yes yes yes! I need book two asap! This book was a wild ride but I was hooked from page 1! I love Callie so much and Mendax was so mysterious and cruel, but I still loved him too! Already bought the physical copy!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloom for the ARC!

Callie Peterson, a biologist tracking the elusive Luna moth, falls into a portal to the faerie world right on top of Prince Mendax. The prince has nothing but hate for the human he believes was sent to kill him and decides she must die. Somehow she keeps getting under his skin and making him feel something other than hate so he offers her the chance at freedom through 3 trials that will probably end with her death instead.

I've seen this book talked about a lot on BookTok so when I saw it was available for request, I decided to give it a try. I have solidly mixed feelings about this one. I somehow didn't realize that this is more of a dark romance so please be sure to check content warnings before you jump in! I did end up reading this book in about a day because the story was definitely intriguing and different. In some ways, though, the story seemed a bit confusing and underdeveloped. There is also a pretty big twist at the end that I didn't see coming. Overall, if you know what you're getting into, this can be a fast and interesting fantasy read.

- Dual POV, but mostly FMC POV (1st person)
- Open door romance
- Dark romance
- Ends on a cliffhanger

Overall, I enjoyed it. The beginning was slow; I was bored. But once the action started, I was hooked.

I wish there was more development between the main characters, especially regarding the sudden shift in the MMC's feelings.

I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Not at all for me. Take heed of the trigger warnings, the on page SA is gruesome, and I could not move past it.

As for the twist, I see how some will love it. I personally felt like it was more like gaslighting. To provide multiple points of view, and make them all unreliable for the sake of a “twist”, is not good writing in my opinion.

I will not be continuing with the series, and could not recommend it personally.

I really enjoyed How Does It Feel? This is the first novel I have read by this author. I would definitely carry on to read book two to see how things continue to unfold between Callie and her dark faerie Prince. This book was very original in its plot. I did not expect the end twist so I’m glad the author did a good job outsmarting me. It gave dark fantasy romance- enemies to lovers vibes. It also got spicy ;) I loved how the characters became unhinged when they are around one another. I would say this had one of my favorite smutty scenes to date. I would recommend this if you like faerie smut- it definitely delivers. I would rate this a solid four out of five.

P.s. Love the updated book cover and that it looks more subtle. This ARC was provided by NetGalley in exchange for a honest and fair review.

How Does It Feel is about a woman who is a biologist, allegedly. This woman studies moths and butterflies, which is a lepidopterist, not a biologist, and has accepted a job in the rural mountains of god knows where. While attempting to find a mushroom that has a type of antidote to help the Luna moths she’s studying, she leaves her microscope in the forest. She blows off dinner with her friend and rides through the forest on her lawn mower (or tractor depending on the sentence your reading) to attempt to find her microscope when she falls into a hole leading to the fae world of the forest.

This book is not good. The grammar and sentence structure are about as good as a third grader’s. This is marketed as an ADULT fantasy but has sentences like “What the fork?”, “Tuna-teeth!”, and “Mother forking crap on a cracker”. These are direct quotes from the text. If I could do a study on this book, which I will not waste my time doing, every bit of me would believe if this book came back as AI generated. How did this make it past editing??

This was a complete “paragraph from the text: “I struggled to open my eyes, my body holding tight to the lingering feeling of falling. I opened my eyes, but it was too dark, and I could see nothing.” How is this not being discussed? I had to stop reading this book. There are no redeeming qualities with the writing, the plot, or the characters. This book needs to be completely re-edited before publishing. This gained a 1/5 stars from me.

I was so so excited to get this book, and a physical copy, but to be honest, it just kind of wasn’t my thing. It’s definitely a me thing, it says nothing about the book!

I personally loved the this one. Between the FMC trying to help this species of moth, and the way she inevitably falls into the lions den this novel offers a lot along with an unreliable narrator that blurs the lines between truth and lies.

This book takes you for a wild ride as truths are uncovered over time. After reading the second book, it’s almost hard to write a review without any Easter eggs or spoilers thrown in due to the nature of how everything intertwines over time, and how many things begin to make more sense with the second novel.

Callie though, that girl did go through it. Between the unbelievable sights, the eventual accidental fall into the Unseelie realm and dealing with the ‘shadow daddy’ himself it sometimes feels like this would be a one book series. Mendax was written as this beautiful, vicious and incredibly dangerous Fae prince and I loved the view into his own flaws and issues through the dual POV.

Overall, this novel may not be everybody’s flavor, but this enemies-to-lovers novel did not miss its mark for me.


Thank you to Bloom Books, Jeneane O’Riley and Netgalley for the eARC!

I am not quite sure where to start with this book. I didn't hate it, but I definitely didn't love it.
The story had a lot of potential with the 'shadow daddy' trope, enemies to lovers, it had a really good twist at the end and the potential for a really good world.
But it lacked cohesive writing, a well planned plot, and likeable characters. I think Jeneane was trying to go for the 'unreliable narrator' style of writing but it came across as a definite miss. Some of the major plot twists didn't make sense because the characters' inner monologue was a complete 180 from what was happening. While that might sound like standard 'unreliable narrator' writing, the lack of planning/execution meant some the major plot twists didn't quite hit their mark and just didn't make sense.
The main character is also a scientist, and while that in itself is obviously not a bad thing, the author keeps throwing in these strange scientific facts/jargon/words etc that lend absolutely nothing to the story (unless you yourself are a scientist and can understand whatever it is she's trying to explain).
I will be honest and say that even though the writing did not engage me much at all, it caught me enough to pick up the second one almost immediately just to see how she's going to pull it all off. It's not a book I will recommend but if someone mentions to me they are reading it/wanting to, I'll be happy to talk about it.
I received a free reading copy from NetGally but this review is 100% my opinion.

A kind nerd biologist, falls into a cruel world that wants to break her or kill her.
A fae prince decided to kill this human, an assassin after his life.

Highlights 📖
A trickster dark fantasy romance that will try to lure you into wrong judgments.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ of 5
🍆🍆 of 5
@ ARC (this is my honest opinion)

Genre 📖
Dark Fantasy romance #1

Summary 📖
My Achilles is a nerd scientist that sees beauty in nature and is obsessed with solving its puzzles. This book gives me all that and more, since it takes its time to introduce us to Callie and her daily life as a biology researcher.
But when she falls into the Unseelie Fae prince, time warps. He set out to kill her, to accuse her of being an assassin. And then the darkness kicks in. Don’t read it if you like to fall for the MMC on the first book. This will be a delicious slow burn series.

Feels 📖
Well, you could call Callie a snowflake, or a nerd trying to find a place to fit in. You can call the fae king a monster or start to believe in him. Or you can just enjoy the ride and watch the cliffhanger dropping with a smirk on your face.

Content Warnings 📖
Violence, deæth of family member, scientific community patriarchy (this a trigger of mine), torture, etc.

Series 📖
Series, #1

POV count 📖
2 (audio w/ 2 narrators)

I think that this book suffered from trying to be too dark and mysterious at the detriment of a well thought out plot. We spend the first 20% of the book just hearing about Callie and her research and obsession with winged bugs with a dash of her memories of maybe seeing a fairy as a kid. Then we get thrown into a dark and violent fae realm where the evil prince believes she was sent as an assassin. I didn't love how mean and violent Mendax is and then suddenly he has this turn where he wants to save her but also still hurt her? Confusing. The whole time we get these vague mentions of her friend Eli and her family only to have a giant plot twist dropped at the end that didn't feel appropriate at all. The trials she has to go through also felt very generic for a fantasy story and low stakes because obviously she is going to survive them if he is now all googoo eyed for the weak human. *sigh*

Obviously there are lots of trigger warnings to look out for and this is solidly in the dark fantasy romance genre. I think if there had been more foreshadowing of the "truth" I might want to continue the story but for now I will be stopping here.

Also what is up with the moths???? do we even learn?

Thank you to the author and Bloom Books for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The enemies to lovers was amazing in this book. It was a true enemies to lovers where he tries to kill her multiple times. He wanted her dead. Then they turn into infatuated lovers. I can see why there is such a hype with his book. The ending was WOW. I need book 2 now.

Thank you NetGalley and Bloom Books for the arc of this book.

I really don't feel like this was marketing well, because I had NO idea what I was getting into when I picked up this book.

The writing was iffy, I don't think that it was particularly well written. In addition, the romance was not built up to, it came out of nowhere.

I can't recommend this. It just wasn't enjoyable.

Diving into "How Does It Feel?" I found myself caught between two worlds: the enchanting yet perilous land of the Unseelie Fae and the familiar reality of a human biologist. This book offers a classic enemies-to-lovers storyline, complete with deadly challenges and forbidden desires. While the concept intrigued me, the execution left me feeling mixed.

The characters' journey from disdain to deep affection is at the heart of this story. However, the transition felt rushed, making it hard to fully invest in their relationship. Additionally, the dialogue initially tried too hard to establish the villains, edging towards cringe-worthy at times.

Yet, the book wasn't without its merits. The plot twist towards the end was genuinely surprising, injecting a fresh dose of excitement into the story and somewhat redeeming the earlier shortcomings. It left me curious about the sequel, despite my reservations.

My experience with "How Does It Feel?" was a rollercoaster. While it didn't fully meet my expectations, especially with comparisons to giants like ACOTAR floating around, it wasn't a complete letdown either. It sits comfortably in the realm of an entertaining, if not groundbreaking, fantasy romance.

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟

In the end, "How Does It Feel?" is akin to a guilty pleasure read - not something I'd fervently recommend, but not a waste of time either. It's for those moments when you're looking for an escape into a world of magic and tumultuous romance without diving too deep.