Tag Archives: PNR

Coexistence

Book Review of Coexistence (Human Hybrids #1), by Clare Solomon

Clare Solomon sent me a copy of her novel Coexistence for review. There is also a prequel available on her website and a second book available if you sign up for her newsletter.

Description from Goodreads:
Scientists have genetically engineered five human hybrid races known as werewolves, vampires, dragons, sensers and wendigoes. The first four races coexist with humans in relative peace. The fifth one wants to butcher the others and they are getting stronger.

Jaspal ‘Pal’ Khatri is nearly killed and forced to leave his home with a werewolf pack in Oxford, England when the local HyCO group leads a mob of anti-hybrid rioters against them. He travels to the Highlands of Scotland for a fresh start and meets Brand, a werewolf still grieving after the murder of his lover, Kye, a year ago. He and Brand find a dead vampire and Pal is suddenly in the nightmare situation of being accused of the murder. There is a link between this death and that of Kye and Brand works for another branch of HyCO so, to prove his innocence, Pal must join the organisation he loathes and try to ignore his growing feelings for Brand as they work to uncover the real killer. Can they solve the case in time or will they become the murderer’s next victims?

Review:
Umm, no, this did not work for me. It’s too long, provides the same information over and over again, is far too heavy on the tell vs. show, has a ‘love’ that is rejected for ridiculous reasons and then has a sudden and unbelievable turnaround, a mystery that is solved with far too much ease and a second that drags on eternally, a doctor that never doctors and a world with five types of humans that isn’t really explored beyond wendigos bad everyone else good.

Solomon has a good idea here and I liked the characters. The book even starts out really well. But in the end the writing, editing, pacing and plotting wore me down and I was just glad to finally finish it.

Dark Wolf Adrift

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

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

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.