Category Archives: books/book review

Dark Wolf Adrift

Book Review of Dark Wolf Adrift (Alpha Underground), by Aimee Easterling

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Dark Wolf AdriftI downloaded a copy of Dark Wolf Adrift, by Aimee Easterling, when it was free on Amazon.

Description from Goodreads:
Hunter Green attracts territorial shifters like moths to a porch light. Sick of beating up on pups who don’t have the sense to back down from a challenge, the alpha finds peace as a warrior in the human-only military. 

Unfortunately, his strong inner wolf isn’t content defusing bombs and battling sharks. Instead, the beast emerges, nearly tearing the limbs off a poaching shifter before setting its sights on Hunter’s human dive mate. 

No longer able to trust his animal half among defenseless humans, the outcast alpha struggles to reenter shifter society. But will his tenuous grasp on werewolf politics be enough to stand up against backstabbing pack leaders intent upon expunging Hunter’s last shred of humanity?

Review:
It’s not horrible, but, um, it’s not very good either. It just felt really rushed, unsupported, AND UTTERLY RIDICULOUS. A wolf fights a shark. I’m just gonna drop that in here and let you imagine it. OK. Right. Moving on.

Having an uber-alpha who is worlds more powerful than any other wolf tell you in first person how awesomely powerful he is didn’t work. The whole premise of leaving the Navy because his wolf decided someone had betrayed him didn’t make sense, as the person pointedly didn’t betray him. The main character is super powerful, but like a puppy in seeking praise and his attitudes flip flop as he finds information he should have simply sought in the beginning. Lastly, the solution he found to a culture-wide social problem was so simplistic as to be ineffectual. It wouldn’t actually solve the problem and does nothing for the vast majority of victims who don’t happen to be ‘pack princesses.’

The idea of the bloodling was interesting, but I didn’t think it was well integrated into the story or explored very deeply. If I found the sequel free, I might read it. I wouldn’t pay for it.

Illegal Alien

Book Review of Illegal Alien, by Carrie Harris

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Illegal AlienAuthor, Carrie Harris sent me a copy of her novel Illegal Alien.

Description from Goodreads:
Toledo police detective Audrey Vorkink has a rep for getting things done. She might look like a middle-aged soccer mom (complete with bobbed hair), but she works hard and unwinds even harder. One night, as she’s meeting with her edgier-than-it-sounds knitting group, a hit-and-run accident turns deadly right outside the building. But something’s fishy about the missing driver, something positively…inhuman.

Audrey can run down any criminal, but what if this one’s from another planet? Can she bring the bad guy to justice? Is she going insane? Will she ever manage to get a decent haircut?

Review:
This was almost a four star book. Almost. It was a snarky, fun read. I loved that the main character was a full adult, with an adult child. You just don’t see 40ish-year-old women as leads all that often. She’s a cop and good at her job. She had female and platonic male friends. And she was appropriately skeptical when aliens came onto the scene. It’s really a great set up.

For most of the book I was leaning toward a four star rating. Four, not five, because it felt a bit too slow. I just kept waiting for the pace to pick up and it didn’t, until the very end. And it’s that ending that lost it the further half a star. The book kind of ends where you’d expect the real story to begin, leaving the reader feeling abandoned. And while that’s a great hook to pick up the next book, it feels manipulative to readers (or this reader). We’ve all become familiar with this technique, as we see it all the time in free prequel novellas to series and, though a bit too long to be a novella, it has that same not-a-stand-alone feel to it.

It’s well-written and fun. So, I don’t consider my time wasted. I do have a major gripe about the over though. I know it’s a small thing, but it annoys me. The book started with the main character being mocked for her soccer-mom bob and this became a bit of a running gag. It’s a thing in the book until she got it cut even shorter. It’s even in the blurb………So, the long ponytail on the cover is wrong. And the ship too…

In Vogue

Book Review of In Vogue, by Lucia Laurent

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In VogueI won a copy of In Vogue, by Lucia Laurent through Goodreads.

Description:
King of New York fashion and editor-in-chief of the prestigious Couture magazine, Miles Brodeur loves his demanding job and a routine that means he always knows what’s coming next. Deeply involved in the magazine’s content and culture, Miles doesn’t have the time or the desire for a relationship.

Alexander Mackenzie is a former model turned magazine editor who is just learning about the politics that exist at the intersection of high fashion and publishing. He’s always dreamt of turning Miles’ head and one night, at a glamorous party, his fantasy becomes reality. But Miles’ workaholic nature conflicts with Alexander’s belief that “there’s more to life than what’s printed on the pages of a magazine.”

Despite their fundamental differences, Alexander can’t help but follow Miles back to New York, and once there it becomes clear their association could be addicting–and possibly life-changing.

Set in a world where the beauty of art and the written word collide, Miles is confronted by a fundamental question: is someone ever worth slowing down for?

Review:
This book is 428 pages long, with a plot that might have successfully carried 128. It is faaaaar too long and, well, dull. And over-written. And purple. And largely tell, as opposed to show. And written in third person, present tense, which provides and uncomfortable distance between the reader and the characters. And cluttered with brand names/outfit descriptions, which ok, it’s about fashion. But man did I get tired of it. Plus, while I know fashion can be out there sometimes, some of the outfits sounded ridiculously not sexy, like shorts and cowboy boots…together.

Then there was the sex. The scenes were too long and too frequent and every one was spitting and drooling in all of them. One messy scene could have made a point, but every one? I got grossed out eventually. Plus, the author used the same phrases over and over again to describe them.

Then there were the POV issues. The book is predominantly, like 90% from Miles’ point of view. But every now and again Alexander’s would get thrown in, and instead of feeling deliberate, it felt like a slip, simply because it was so rare. Conversely, there were times that if both POVs were meant to be shown, Alexander’s were sorely missing.

The book has a great cover and some of the passages are quite pretty, but I basically just had to skim the last bit because I just couldn’t take any more. I didn’t connect with the characters. I didn’t enjoy the flood of clothing. I didn’t think Miles’ behaviors or change of heart felt natural. All in all, this one was a fail for me. Many people like it though.