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Strength of the Pack

Book Review of Strength of the Pack (The Tameness of the Wolf, #1), by Kendall McKenna

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Strength of the PackI grabbed a copy of Kendra McKenna‘s Strength of the Pack on a day it was running free from the publisher (which is a bit of a miracle since it’s normally $8.99).

Description from Goodreads:
A Marine werewolf and his commander bring legends to life while surviving combat deployment in Afghanistan.

Lieutenant Lucas Young doesn’t know much about shifters. When Sergeant Noah Hammond is assigned to Lucas’ platoon, the Marine Corps’ True Alpha werewolf challenges the Lieutenant’s authority and his self-control. As Lucas learns to dominate and command Noah, he struggles against a strong attraction and deepening emotional bond. During their combat deployment to Afghanistan, Lucas and Noah begin mirroring legendary partnerships. Their bond and their power grow as they survive dangerous combat and ambushes. When one of them is wounded in battle, they both must embrace the strength of their bond before they lose each other forever.

Review:
I’m disappointed. I was really looking forward to reading this book and it started off so well. For close to half of it, I was loving it. I thought both Lucas and Noah were damn sexy. I thought the sexy-scenes were hot (even if there was no actual sex). I thought the set up to go to war was interesting. I happen to have a special love of scenting in fantasy romance/erotica and there is a lot of that here. I was truly enjoying the experience.

The problem is that the book then had its second half, which pretty much just felt like the first half on repeat. It takes far, far, far too long for the relationship to progress. In the mean time, the characters keep doing the exact same things over and over and over again. The author even uses the same phrases to describe the same actions a lot of times. So, honestly, it just feels like the exact same sexy scene again and again (but still no sex until the very end).

I was annoyed by that, but I would have tolerated it. What finally snapped my patience was the fact that the two men had a psychic bond. They were literally in each-others’ heads, hearing thoughts, sharing emotions, etc. So, I find it 100% and absolutely unbelievable that Lucas could go sooooo long without realising Noah’s true feelings or that his situation was not just a professional one. It was beyond the realms of reasonable believability, therefore extremely frustrating to watch the relationship stagnate because one character hasn’t figured something out that I can’t understand how he couldn’t see. Plus, he’d practically been told more than once by more than one person. Gah!

Then there was the whole Dominant of the True Alpha thing. For the first half I understood it (even if I had to force myself to overlook the obvious contraction of it). Lucas was shown to be…well, dominating of Noah. But by the second half he had fizzled out to the average mm romance ‘bottom’ and any domination that might have been happening was not by him. So, it lost all significance for me. Let’s just call a mate a mate and stop trying to dress it up as new and unusual.

The writing was fine. The editing was passable. I noticed a few mishaps, but not enough to bother me. All in all, an OK read that felt far worse than it was because I had such high hopes, but also really was not as good as it could have been, for fairly obvious and easily fixable reasons.

Steal the Light

Book Review of Steal the Light, by Lexi Blake

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Steal the LightI downloaded a copy of Lexi Blake‘s Steal the Light from the Amazon free list. At the time of posting, it was still free.

Description from Goodreads:
When dealing with demons, the devil’s in the details…

Stealing mystical and arcane artifacts is a dangerous business, especially for a human, but Zoey Wharton is an exceptional thief. The trick to staying alive is having friends in all the wrong places. While having a witch and a werewolf on the payroll helps, being partners with a vampire really opens doors.

Zoey and Daniel were childhood sweethearts until a violent car crash took his life and left her shattered. When Daniel returned from the grave as a vampire, his only interest in Zoey was in keeping her safely apart from the secrets of his dark world. He has vowed to protect her, but his heart seems as cold as the night he calls home.

Five years later, a mysterious new client named Lucas Halfer offers Zoey a fortune to steal the Light of Alhorra. The search for the Light leads Zoey into the arms of an earthbound faery prince. Devinshea Quinn sweeps her off her feet, showing her everything the supernatural world has to offer, but Daniel still calls to her heart.

As the true nature of the Light is revealed, Zoey discovers Halfer is a demon and much more than money is at stake. Per her contract, she must give him the Light or spend an eternity in Hell. What’s a girl to do except fight for her soul…and her heart.

Review:
There were certain aspects of this book that blew my socks off. The most important one (to me at least) was the very real sense of longing between Zoey and Daniel. This is highlighted even more by the fact that the author states in her forward that these books (the series, I suppose) were the ones she wrote while waiting for someone to return to her. Thinking the emotions I felt in the book might be an echo of her very real ones was almost excruciatingly beautiful.

I also really liked the characters. Zoey was strong and sarcastic, without ever becoming suicidally mouthy. Daniel was the silent type, but he had a surprising vulnerability to him. There were also saucy side kicks, sexy bits on the side and even a beautiful bouncing baby.

I did find the book quite repetitive. We are told the same things over and over again. I really can’t abide by love triangles (and honestly, it’s the triangle that makes me consider not continuing the series) and I don’t AT ALL understand Zoey’s decision at the end of the book (I was a bit infuriated by it.), especially since she knows Daniel is coming back.

I also found the tone of the sex scenes inconsistent with the rest of the book. By this I mean that while the whole book is soft, hazy, true love the sex is of the raunchy, gritty, fuck-you-into-the-mattress kind. Now, I like that kind just fine, but it didn’t at all fit the rest of the book or the characters outside of the bedroom.

All-in-all, I found it a well written, funny fantasy romp.

The Ruins of Mars

Book Review of The Ruins of Mars, by Dylan James Quarles

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Ruins of MarsI snagged a free copy of Dylan James Quarles‘ The ruins of Mars from the Amazon free list.

Descripton from Goodreads:
Set against the turbulent backdrop of the near future, The Ruins of Mars opens on the discovery of an ancient city buried under the sands of the red planet. Images captured by twin sentient satellites show massive domes, imposing walls, and a grid work of buildings situated directly on the rim of Mars’ Grand Canyon, the Valles Marineris. With the resources of Earth draining away under the weight of human expansion, a plan is hatched to reclaim Mars from the cold grasp of death. A small band of explorers, astronauts, and scientists are sent to the red world in mankind’s first interplanetary starship to begin construction on a human colony. Among them is a young archaeologist, named Harrison Raheem Assad, who is tasked with uncovering the secrets of the Martian ruins and their relation to the human race. Aided by the nearly boundless mind of a god-like artificial intelligence; the explorers battle space travel, harsh Martian weather, and the deepening mystery of the forgotten alien civilization.

Review:
I’m a bit torn on how I feel about this book.  It’s obvious that the author put a lot of thought into how the mission should be run. But the pages and pages and pages dedicated to ship specifications, food processing, genetic alterations, AI design and development, etc is, honestly, dull.

The crew doesn’t reach Mars until the start of part three, 60% in. And almost all of the previous 60% is dedicated to pseudo-science lectures and crew soap-opera relationships (not so much romance, but who shacks up for the four month journey through space). Very, very little is about the alien race or the amazing discovery that Mars had been populated. And even then, after reaching Mars, due to circumstance, nothing happens to progress the plot until about 90%.

Viewed as the first 200ish pages in a series that looks to break 1,000 pages, I suppose it’s pretty good. Certainly, an interesting plot is set up, all that techno-babble might become important to know eventually. But as a single book, read alone…the honest, unvarnished truth is that I was bored.

What the book feels like, despite being 200+ pages long, is an extended prologue. The characters are introduced, the plot established, the mystery outlined and then it ends on a cliffhanger just when thing are set to finally get moving. Frustrating to say the least.

I found the dialogue stiff, partly because there are multiple nationalities speaking second (third, fourth…tenth) languages and AIs. I understand that, but it’s still stiff. The single sex scene was very purple. However, beyond these two complaints the writing was very good and I only noticed a few editing mistakes.

So, while I didn’t hate it, wouldn’t be opposed to finishing the series at some point, I didn’t fall in love either.