Tag Archives: shifters

wolf hunter

Book Review: Wolf Hunter, by Linda Thomas-Sundstrom

I won a signed paperback copy of Linda Thomas-Sundstrom‘s Wolf Hunter.

wolf hunter linda thomas sundstrom

Two enemies fated to be supernatural lovers… Only a few people know about the Weres hidden deep within Miami’s underground. Those few either embrace the wolves, or seek to destroy them. Cameron Mitchell has sought to protect his kind. But one beautiful woman may be his undoing. Born into a family of wolf hunters is one thing. But when Abby Stark actually meets one, she is immediately drawn to Cameron Mitchell. Abby knows she and Cameron have no future. Yet walking away from him, and from the danger he represents, proves to be impossible.

my review

Welp, this was not at all what I expected. I’d seen this labeled New Adult. And to be fair Abby is 23-24 years old, so New Adult age. And while I know plenty of New Adult titles do have sex in them, they don’t usually have the characters sexing it up within about 10 minutes of first meeting, after having exchanged about 10 sentences, which is what happens in Wolf Hunter. I’ll grant that Thomas -Sundstrom did a good job of establishing that there was some sort of magnetic, paranormal draw at play. But it definitely required that I re-calibrate my expectations. (I also didn’t realize it’s 4th in a series, but that took much less mental adjustment. It stands alone pretty well.)

I don’t actually have any problem with the book being more erotica than romance. In fact, I can’t really say there was any romance at all. The attraction and loyalty and love was all based on the characters being fated mates and the go-go-go of the plot never allows them to actually speak and get to know one another. So, I’ll re-phrase. I don’t have any problem with this being erotica (or erotica-like, since I wouldn’t quite call the sex graphic enough to truly qualify), instead of romance, as I expected. Especially since the little bit of plot that the sexy-times hang on is entertaining, the writing is easily readable, and the editing clean.

Thus, as long as you go into this with appropriate expectations it’s perfectly enjoyable. I’ll probably even look up those earlier books that I apparently skipped.

wolf hunterwolf hunter signed


Other Reviews:

Paranormal Romance Guild

 

the hunter and the spider

Book Review: The Hunter and the Spider series, by E.M. Jeanmougin & Jay Wright

I picked up copies of E.M. Jeanmougin and Jay Wright’s Strangers in the Night and Friends in Low Places (The Hunder and the Spider series, #1 & 2) when they were freebies on Amazon. I’m afraid of spiders, so the idea of an MM Urban Fantasy with a werespider both horrified and intrigued me!


Where there’s demons, there’s bound to be demon hunters and in Brooklyn there’s no shortage of either.

Jasper Craig is a hunter at New York’s secret St. James Academy, and he’s one of the best. With superior strength, agility, and a handy ability to sense demonic energy, it’s like he was born for the job. Since he was orphaned at a young age, his parents took the secret of what, exactly, he is to their graves. And if his adoptive father knows, he’s not telling.

Loyal to the cause of keeping the mortal world safe from the evils of demons, there isn’t anything Jasper wouldn’t do. So when his father and superior officer tells him to go undercover to trick a rare and dangerous werespider, Jasper agrees.

Crimson Apocalypse is one of New York’s oldest residents and the only known werespider in the north eastern United States. He’s the sort of guy who lives as fast as he talks and talks as fast as he drives, and if Jasper wants to get closer to the werespider he’s going to have to keep up.

But getting closer might be dangerous in more ways than one and what Jasper learns may not be what he expects.

my review

This had a strong start, sagged in the middle, and then ended well. Now, don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed all of it, even the saggy middle. I liked Jasper and Crimson (and Al and Max) a lot and loved the slow-SLOW burn of their relationship. But the book doesn’t have one over-arching plot or villain to defeat, etc. It’s mostly two people who meet, are given a reason to be thrown together, and then go about their daily lives together. It just so happens that those lives are quite exciting. It just felt like the middle went on a little too long and got a little too creative (ridiculous) before finally tapering off to a cliffhanger ending. I am jumping right into book two though, so I obviously liked it (even if I’m afraid of spiders and therefor a little horrified by the giant werespider).

strangers in the night


friends in low places

No one ever said being a Hunter would be easy, but Jasper Craig is finding it much more difficult these days.

Following the events of an eye-opening summer spent in the field, Jasper is back within the walls of St. James Academy – New York City’s world-renowned Hunting agency and training school.

And he’s hating every minute of it.

Unfortunately, the only way out is through, and so, with all eyes on him, Jasper once again rejoins the ranks of Hunters keeping the city “safe” from demonic threat.

But St. James’ dogma has lost its luster for Jasper. Not every demon deserves to die due to their inhumanity. Jasper’s (ex?) boyfriend, Crimson Apocalypse, taught him that.

Speaking of Crimson, when a series of mutilated corpses bearing Jasper’s name begin showing up around town, the Hunters suspect the three-thousand-year-old werespider may be to blame. Even worse, there’s plenty of evidence to support the claim. Only Jasper, who knows the man within the monster, believes otherwise. But can he slip through St. James’ iron-clad grip and catch the real culprit before it’s too late?

my review

I enjoyed this, though not as much as book one, and more in the second half than the first. The problem, for me, was that the two main characters aren’t together in the book until the 55% mark. They are apart and miserable that whole time, and it felt longer than need be to make the point it was making. However, once they got back together and the pace picked up, I was a happier camper. The whole thing wrapped up satisfactorily, but with several open threads. I look forward to finding out what happens in the next book (whenever it comes out).

friends in low places

the awakening by christine feehan

Book Review: The Awakening, by Christine Feehan

I wanted a shortish audio book to listen to while I did chores this afternoon. While I have audio books I could have listened to, I decided to see if I could find one to download from the library that was on theme for my March reading challenge, which I have named the Awakening Challenge. I set out to read eight books titled Awakening. But, like with this one, I’ve been adding books. here and there I call them Bonus Awakenings. They may not meet the challenge criteria I set out exactly, or even if they do, I picked them up after I set the initial challenge. Christine Feehan‘s The Awakening is one such book.

the awakening Christine Feehan

Maggie returns to the place of her birth and her world suddenly turns into a sensual, but dangerous delight. The rainforest holds secrets of her birthright and a mysterious man, as predatory as any of the animals, waiting in the very heart of the jungle for her arrival.

Under the blazing heat of the Borneo sun, a beautiful naturalist’s dream comes true – to live among the feral jungle creatures. But an untamed, irresistible beast of another sort forces her to explore her own wild side.

This was fine for what it is. But it should be kept in mind that what it is is a bit of erotic fluff written over a decade ago. The Paranormal Romance genre has come a long way since then, but Feehan’s The Awakening is an example of what it used to be. Heroes were meant to be predatory and virginal heroines swooned and became ‘aware of their femininity’ (code for sexuality) in their presence. It tiptoes awful close to the men-writing-women meme sometimes, even though it’s obviously something else entirely. But the descriptions of all but anthropomorphized breasts can comes close.

There’s not much to this honestly. The plot is just a backdrop to paint the angst and eventual sex on. The relationship is based on sexual attraction and the mythical shifter mate bond. It didn’t light me on fire in any manner. But, again, it is what it is and should be judged accordingly.

awakening feehan