Review #117: Toil and Trouble by H.P. Mallory

Hello again my dear friends. Here is another review for y'all, enjoy!

Toil and Trouble is the second book in the Jolie Wilkins series by H.P. Mallory. Goodreads says:

The Underworld in civil war.
The cause? A witch who can reanimate the dead.
A sexy as sin vampire determined to claim her.
An infuriatingly handsome warlock torn between duty and love.
Who says blonds have more fun?

After defending herself against fairy magic, Jolie Wilkins wakes to find her world turned upside down—the creatures of the Underworld on the precipice of war. The Underworld is polarized in a battle of witch against witch, creature against creature, led by the villainous Bella, who would be Queen.

While Jolie has one goal in mind, to stake the vampire, Ryder, who nearly killed her, she also must choose between the affections of her warlock employer, Rand, and the mysteriously sexy vampire, Sinjin. And as if that weren’t enough to ruin a girl’s day, everything Jolie knows will be turned inside out when she’s thrust into the shock of a lifetime.

For my review of the first book, Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble, click here.

Honestly, this was a decent second book, but there was a glaring issue. Like the first book, TAT, Jolie once again spent too much time on the looks of all the men around here, even judging them by their looks this time. Like I said in my review for TAT, it's fine to think about now and again, but doing it this much just got in the way of the story, and was just plain ridiculous and uncomfortable (I don't need to hear how sexy Rand's legs are Jolie X_X). It was just too much. I will admit the last quarter of the book threw me for a f***ing loop. It just was so unexpected, yet I also couldn't picture this book going any other way. The twists that went on in said last quarter also were genius/threw me for a loop. I loved every minute of it. 

Jolie definitely had some good growth, despite some childishness that she exhibited. I've already addressed the issue about how she viewed every guy she came in contact with, so I won't repeat it. Her journey was fun to watch, and I loved some of the lines she had. Rand was still wonderful, although he took on a bit of an overprotective persona that got annoying quick. I could tell he truly cared for Jolie, and I loved their relationship and how it evolved. Sinjin was still randy (oh the puns!) as ever, but he definitely had wonderful growth and heart which melted my own heart. I loved him even more in this book, as well as the relationship he shares with Jolie. Some of the other characters, like Odran (Ugh another accent that was hard to understand X_X)took a backseat to the love triangle going on with Jolie, Rand and Sinjin, and just in general didn't really get many moments to shine. 

Ms. Mallory once again built up her world, still kept me interested for the most part. I do have to say: Ms. Mallory, please, for the love of all that is good any holy, PLEASE do not include so many descriptions of all the gorgeous men and please do not let Jolie judge the men she meets based on looks. I know there are people who appreciate all those descriptions, but it just took away from a cool story and just was not necessary. Thank you.

I'll next be reviewing Diamond in the Rough by India Lee.

Until next time, viva la literature!