Tag Archives: shifters

Double the alpha title

Book Review of Double the Alpha, by Amira Rain

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Doubel the Alpha audio coverI came across an Audible code for Double the Alpha, by Amira Rain at some point earlier this year. It’s narrated by Meghan Kelly and I listened to it as I did housework today.

“She knew she could handle one alpha, but could she handle TWO?”

In an apocalyptic future, Ellie Miller realized that the only way to keep her people safe was to do a deal with the nearby wolf pack.

In exchange for protection, she would offer them the only thing she could offer…

Herself.

And that was something that the alpha Eric McCormick would gladly accept.

However, when Ellie arrived at the pack she found there was a twist. Eric had joined forces with another alpha named Ryan.

Now Ellie must be mated to both of them or the deal was off….

SPOILERS!!!!

This failed on so many levels, but the biggest one is as a romance. The next is as a menage, then as an attempt at erotica, and also as an attempt at not-zombie-but-might-as-well-be-zombie apocalyptic fiction and fantasy.

Let’s start with the romance and menage aspects since they are entwined. [I’ll warn you again, SPOILERS.] You CANNOT introduce the reader to two mates, spend 3/4 of a book building this relationship up and then suddenly have the female decide she doesn’t actually love both men and one man conveniently turns out to be a treacherous betrayer (all within some shockingly short amount of time). It WILL leave the reader feeling disconnected and dissatisfied at the end. I hadn’t been given the chance to truly engage with and come to have any feelings about the couple. NONE. Which meant the ending hit the ground with a giant splat. What’s more, if that’s the way an author wants to play it, they shouldn’t put “menage romance” on the cover because that’s not what it is when all is said and done

Further, the sex scenes were stale and pitiful. The sex was spoken about as if it was sooo transgressive and kinky, but literally, the female felt “filthy” and kinky because she liked being called a “naughty girl” and having sex on her knees. There isn’t anything wrong with relatively vanilla sex in a book, but to have the narrator talk about it like it’s something else always jars me. It’s like a nun trying to titillate. It just clashes and they don’t have any real grasp of how little they know. (Or I should say the stereotype of a nun, because in real life they may all be porn addicts for all I know.)

Then there were the not-zombies and fantasy aspects of the book. The not-zombies were literally just window dressings, there but of no real importance. The same can be said for the wolf aspect. The men could have been alpha-like soldiers and the book would have read exactly the same. What’s more, the author gave the main character a superpower and then left her home baking cupcakes, never giving it purpose.

Actually, as much as I complain about the sex scenes or ridiculous plot drift that resulted in the menage being reduced to a couple, my biggest irritant about the book was how the “males” were always being spoken about as active in protection, and work, and decisions, etc and the “females” were never truly included as anything but after-thoughts—pretty little baubles to be left at home while the men-folk were out being important.

Lastly, the author needs to do a search of her manuscript for repeat words, “community” and the phrase “or something” especially. Every character says “or something” constantly. If it was one character I’d call it a character quirk, but as it’s all of them it’s just noticeable and annoying repetition in the writing.

All in all, I’m awful glad to not be listening to this anymore.

Her Shifter King title

Book Review: Her Shifter King, by Bailey Dark

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her shifter king audible coverI picked up an Audible code for a copy of Her Shifter King, by Bailey Dark, somewhere along the way. It’s narrated by Sommer Hines.

A past she can’t remember. A secret he must keep hidden. A passion they never saw coming.

Ten years ago.

That was the last time I knew peace, family, sanity.

But after they came for me – everything changed.

Now, I live my life as an outcast, hiding among the shadows of each new city. Every move I make is a risk, and I’m fully aware that I’m only one wrong turn away from certain death.

When I find myself trapped between an enormous wolf and the monstrous shaded creatures that have been hunting me for the last decade, it seems my time is up.

Except, it isn’t.

My beastly savior shifts into a not-so-mortal man. He claims to be King Alpha of the Blueblood pack in Detroit, and he has a deal for me: Marry him and become his mate, and he’ll offer me more freedom and protection than I could ever have on my own.

Sounds too good to be true, which usually means it is, but I’m in no position to refuse this overbearing, dominant, ridiculously handsome warrior.

So, I make a choice.

On the surface I’ll play his game and be his wife. But behind the scenes, I’ll use his resources to find out the truth behind who I am and what he really wants from me before he can get it.

I guess this was ok. Listening to it got me through a tedious day of stripping wallpaper (and the narration by Summer Hines was fine). But nothing about it stood out as exceptional in any real way. None of the characters were particularly well fleshed out, though I did like several of them. The world felt half-hazard and pieced together, though it had interesting elements. The plot was paper-thin, but not uninteresting. Unfortunately, it does end without anything being concluded. Some might call that a cliff-hanger, I call it just half a plot. But that’s semantics. All in all a true “Meh” read if ever I saw one, neither horrible nor excellent. I might continue the series if I came across the next book for free, but I wouldn’t spend money on it; if that tells you anything.

of-spells-and-fur-banner

Book Review: Of Spells and Fur, by Valerie Evans + Giveaway

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Of Spells and Fur
by Valerie Evans
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance

As the only known survivor of a horrific massacre years earlier, Molly Hastings has rebuilt her life as a dedicated member of the Anberlin sentries. It’s her job to protect and police the supernatural citizens who call the town home, but the discovery of several bodies has put everyone on edge with no suspect in sight.

Further complicating matters are a call from the home she left behind and the sudden arrival of a werewolf motorcycle club with ties to her past. An unexpected ally is found with Parker Hayes, a hunter facing down his own demons and searching for a future not based in bloodshed, who inspires feelings she hasn’t felt in years.

Amidst the clash between her past and present, Molly finds herself questioning everything she knows about not only those she’s meant to protect but the Sentries themselves. Could everything she’s been taught be a lie, and if it is, can she protect those she cares about?

*Le sigh* Before I can even truly get into reviewing this book I have to say AGAIN, this book is part of a series and that information was not readily apparent. So, I picked it up without knowing it was part of a series, and without having read the previous books. I am SO SICK of having this happen! I’d guess this is probably book 4 of The Anberlin Chronicles. Maybe the author will call it a spin-off but it read like a book 4 to me. It is readable on its own, but you definitely feel that you are missing past information and investment in characters.

Outside of that one big detraction, I thought this was pretty sweet. I liked that The hero and heroine were both full adults, no chosen teenagers here. The inclusion of parenthood was a nice change. The fact that XXX let YYY take the lead in most decisions was appreciable and I thought the plot interesting. I did think the author took the disappointingly predictable easy out with the ex-husband and I had really hoped for something more/better. But the moral dilemma he presented was an interesting one up until that point.

I read an Advanced Readers’ Copy, which usually comes to reviewers pre-final edits. So, I can’t speak to the copy editing. But, there was a habitual simplicity that popped up noticeably and could have been addressed and smoothed out. Sentences like, “A nod was given with her words…” “A pause was made beside a tree while…” “A pause was taken to lean back in…” “A mental checklist was gone through…” “A deep breath was taken before…” “A bit of water was poured into the cup beside the bed before…” “A final check was done on Natalie before…” “A purple crayon was removed before…” “A question was raised about desert…” “A pause was made to drop off…” I imagine you get the point. The repetition of this particular sentence structure to move scenes alone was hard to ignore.

All in all, however, I liked the book enough to be interested in going back and reading the series from the beginning.

 
 

Valerie Evans is a modern fantasy addict living in Georgia who finally took the plunge to self-publish her first novel after nearly seven years. She is the author of The Anberlin Chronicles series and the forthcoming Wolves of Worsham series. In her free time, she likes to read all genres with a focus on fantasy, entertain her very clingy dog, and collect Funkos pops plus journals.

 
 
 
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