Tag Archives: Paranormal romance

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.

Hungry Like the Wolf

Book Review of Hungry Like the Wolf (SWAT: Special Wolf Alpha Team #1), by Paige Tyler

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Hungry Like the WolfI picked up Hungry Like the Wolf, by Paige Tyler, as an Amazon freebie. It was still free at the time of posting.

Description from Goodreads:
The Dallas SWAT team is hiding one helluva secret . . . they’re a pack of wolf shifters.

The team of elite sharpshooters is ultra-secretive—and also the darlings of Dallas. This doesn’t sit well with investigative journalist Mackenzie Stone. They must be hiding something . . . and she’s determined to find out what.

Keeping Mac at a distance proves impossible for SWAT team commander Gage Dixon. She’s smart, sexy, and makes him feel alive for the first time in years. But she’s getting dangerously close to the truth—and perilously close to his heart…

Review:
Pretty standard alpha shifter finds his destined mate PNR. But pleasantly, Gage wasn’t an A-hole about it and, though spunky reporter gets her man is one of my least favorite characterization, Mac was far more self-sufficient that a lot of such PNRs let female characters be, so I rather enjoyed it. I wouldn’t call this outstanding in any fashion, but it really wasn’t bad either. Worth picking up, at the very least.

I did think it was overly long. In fact, three separate times I thought I’d reached the end, only to have the plot pick back up again. I also thought there was too much sex…or not so much sex, as not all of it is on page, but the characters have too much sex. The amount of time dedicated to setting up the scenes contributes to the too long book, I think.

But again, it’s worth a read. I didn’t consider my time wasted.

Dark Warrior Unleashed

Book Review of Dark Warrior Unleashed (Talions #1), by Alexis Morgan

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Dark Warrior Unleased

I posted about Dark Warrior Unleashed, by Alexis Morgan, a couple months ago, when I picked up four Morgan’s books at a second hand story and was shocked to see them autographed and dedicated to Mom & Dad. How did the end up in a charity shop? I, of course, don’t know. But it intrigued me. I gave the first a read.Alexis Morgan signature 2

Description from Goodreads:
The rough and rugged Talions, sexy warriors who stop at nothing to deliver justice, star in this steamy new paranormal series from Alexis Morgan.

He’s on a mission to annihilate the enemy. 

A Talion enforcer, Ranulf Thorsen has served his people for a thousand years, delivering the eye-for-an-eye justice by which his kinsmen live. Weary of the centuries-long fight, the fierce warrior with icy blue eyes has secluded himself on a mountain far from the chaos of the modern world below. Now he’s been summoned to face the most dangerous battle of his life — and the fate of his people is on the line. But when he meets the beautiful woman he has sworn to defend… 

Ranulf and his bitter rival, fellow Talion Sandor Kearn, must find the rogue Kyth who set a violent fire in a nightclub. The near-deadly blaze’s unlikely heroine, Kerry Logan, is also a Kyth, possessing the ancient Nordic people’s unique ability to manipulate human energy. She just doesn’t know it yet. …who will protect his heart? 

Kerry finds more than comfort in her warrior’s embrace, and Ranulf hungers to both defend and claim the petite powerhouse for his own. But with time ticking away and their lives on the line, will Kerry believe the wild tale he’s telling her, and master her powers…before it’s too late?

Review:
Pretty bog standard, unimpressive paranormal romance. Not bad, just not in any way special or impressive. I appreciated that the heroine stood up for herself frequently and often got her own way. She seemed smart and determined.

But honestly, the villain was evil for no reason except that he was evil and he was a pretty cliched baddie too. The attraction between the H and h was almost instant. The Talions are supposed to be a group but no other Talion is ever actually mentioned. In fact, it felt like there was a whole dearth of people in the world. Like Morgan couldn’t be bothered to flesh it out.

Worst of all, though ,was that there was very very little tension in the book. We’re told frequently that this was the hardest mission of Ranulf’s long life and that the villain had to be hunted, etc. etc. But the characters went dancing, ate, made love repeatedly and then the climax was brief and uninspiring. After all the villain’s grandstanding your never shown his realization that he’ll be defeated. Meh

What I’m drinking: Iced, cold-brew chicory. Chicory is a habit I picked up when I last gave up caffeine (cold turkey, even) and needed something more robust than herbal tea. Chicory tastes enough like coffee to sooth the beast and, hey, it happens to be good for you too.