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Wolf Appeal #1
Alpha Turned
Not all men are bad…
Strong, independent, and happy on her own, Hillary has grown from the naïve person she was four years ago after a brutal rape turned her into a werewolf. The normal life she’s made for herself is only upset once a month when the moon calls to her and she has an uncontrollable urge to turn furry and chase small creatures. And she doesn’t need a man for that. Until she finally meets another werewolf, this one a gorgeous, sexy guy who is determined to change her mind about one furry man in particular–him.
No, some men are very, very good…
The minute Zach scents Hillary he knows she’s the mate he’s been searching for. Though both the wolf and the man are itching to claim her, first he has to convince her that he’s one of the good guys, and that there are certain benefits to being an alpha werewolf. And there’s no better way of making Hillary see that, than giving her himself—body, mind, and soul.
Please note: This book was previously released by another publisher. Only minor editing changes have been made.
Alpha Turned can be read by itself. It is not necessary to read the series to enjoy this book.
Wolf Appeal Series:
Book 1 - Alpha Turned
Book 2 - Challenge Accepted
Book 3 - Going Deeper
Strong, independent, and happy on her own, Hillary has grown from the naïve person she was four years ago after a brutal rape turned her into a werewolf. The normal life she’s made for herself is only upset once a month when the moon calls to her and she has an uncontrollable urge to turn furry and chase small creatures. And she doesn’t need a man for that. Until she finally meets another werewolf, this one a gorgeous, sexy guy who is determined to change her mind about one furry man in particular–him.
No, some men are very, very good…
The minute Zach scents Hillary he knows she’s the mate he’s been searching for. Though both the wolf and the man are itching to claim her, first he has to convince her that he’s one of the good guys, and that there are certain benefits to being an alpha werewolf. And there’s no better way of making Hillary see that, than giving her himself—body, mind, and soul.
Please note: This book was previously released by another publisher. Only minor editing changes have been made.
Alpha Turned can be read by itself. It is not necessary to read the series to enjoy this book.
Wolf Appeal Series:
Book 1 - Alpha Turned
Book 2 - Challenge Accepted
Book 3 - Going Deeper
214 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 21, 2009
About the author
K.B. Alan
18 books122 followersKB Alan lives the single life in Southern California. She acknowledges that she should probably turn off the computer and leave the house once in a while in order to find her own happily ever after, but for now she’s content to delude herself with the theory that Mr. Right is bound to come knocking on her door through no real effort on her own. Please refrain from pointing out the many flaws in this system. Other comments, however, are happily received through her email or website.
Email: [email protected]
Email: [email protected]
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 183 reviews
December 22, 2010
It was alright I guess.. I don't know why, but I don't think I was expecting it to be erotica, so take that into account when you look at my rating.
What worked for me:
*I love "fated to be mated" stories.
*I also love stories where the hero/heroine was turned against their will.
*I liked that the rest of the pack accepted her so easily
*The secondary romance between Stephen and Alex made me smile.
What didn't work for me:
*Holy cow they jumped straight into the ILY's! I prefer for my FTBM stories to have at least a little more than a 5 minute resistance to the whole "mated for life" thing, kwim?
*I wish there'd been more hesitancy about sex for Hilary -- she lost her virginity in a brutal gang rape (which, sensitive readers should be aware is lived out in mildly explicit detail) that left her so traumatized she hadn't so much as gone to dinner with a guy for four years, and yet, had absolutely no issues with jumping right into the sack with our hero. AND, Zach whispered the exact same words to her that her rapist had whispered, both during the act of sex, and it didn't even phase her? Yeah, that was a little hard for me to swallow (no pun intended *snerk*)
*The confrontation with "the bad guy", even in the words of Hilary, was anticlimactic.
*The kid. There was absolutely NO POINT to having her in the story AT ALL, and then to make her an "empath" was just too much.
Overall? I'd say not a total waste of time, but not something I'd suggest running out and spending money on. Wait until it goes on sale.
2 1/2 Stars.
What worked for me:
*I love "fated to be mated" stories.
*I also love stories where the hero/heroine was turned against their will.
*I liked that the rest of the pack accepted her so easily
*The secondary romance between Stephen and Alex made me smile.
What didn't work for me:
*Holy cow they jumped straight into the ILY's! I prefer for my FTBM stories to have at least a little more than a 5 minute resistance to the whole "mated for life" thing, kwim?
*I wish there'd been more hesitancy about sex for Hilary -- she lost her virginity in a brutal gang rape (which, sensitive readers should be aware is lived out in mildly explicit detail) that left her so traumatized she hadn't so much as gone to dinner with a guy for four years, and yet, had absolutely no issues with jumping right into the sack with our hero. AND, Zach whispered the exact same words to her that her rapist had whispered, both during the act of sex, and it didn't even phase her? Yeah, that was a little hard for me to swallow (no pun intended *snerk*)
*The confrontation with "the bad guy", even in the words of Hilary, was anticlimactic.
*The kid. There was absolutely NO POINT to having her in the story AT ALL, and then to make her an "empath" was just too much.
Overall? I'd say not a total waste of time, but not something I'd suggest running out and spending money on. Wait until it goes on sale.
2 1/2 Stars.
April 11, 2019
This book was ok. I didn't like the first pack at all and the second one was really accommodating and sweet. There was one part that just didn't line up for me. These are shifters so when faced with a potential threat I don't expect them to go all OK Corral and start using guns. They can turn into wolves for heaven's sake. There were some editing issues but they were minimal so I overlooked them. Overall, an ok book but needed something more.
June 28, 2019
This started out pretty darned good, but once they got together it quickly went downhill. I'm pretty sure the only trope missing was the kitchen sink. A note to the author/publisher: some things need to be included in either the synopsis or as a tag. If I wanted to read bdsm, lgbt romance, or any other particular part of a story that plays a major role, a reader should have the option to make that decision on their own, not find out incidentally. 1.5 stars
October 22, 2021
DNF @ 36% because Alpha Turned is a perfect example of how not to handle a story that involves rape.
Level with me here. "Mates" are fated, right? And the protagonist was turned during a gang rape. So... the implication is that the rape was fated, surely? That's straight up offensive.
The heroine has, as far as I can tell, never had consensual sex. So to have the protagonists have sex a couple of days into their relationship and never address how that might go or how that might make her feel makes no sense whatsoever. Then to have her initiate a sex chase... come on! Has anyone considered how triggering that would be?
She trusts so easily, for anyone, but especially for someone who was attacked by her boyfriend. I don't want to see her accept a a few days into a relationship. That's not romantic. It's ludicrous.
I'm troubled by the depiction of the two packs as well. It's so polarised - evil and perfect, with no middle ground. Life isn't like this. Real issues deserve realism in their depiction. I'm angry that the evil pack is repeatedly referred to as crazy. Uh, no. Depraved, certainly. But evil and crazy are not synonymous and it's upsetting to see them portrayed as such.
I stand by this - if you're going to tackle hefty topics, you have a duty to do so sensitively.
Level with me here. "Mates" are fated, right? And the protagonist was turned during a gang rape. So... the implication is that the rape was fated, surely? That's straight up offensive.
The heroine has, as far as I can tell, never had consensual sex. So to have the protagonists have sex a couple of days into their relationship and never address how that might go or how that might make her feel makes no sense whatsoever. Then to have her initiate a sex chase... come on! Has anyone considered how triggering that would be?
She trusts so easily, for anyone, but especially for someone who was attacked by her boyfriend. I don't want to see her accept a a few days into a relationship. That's not romantic. It's ludicrous.
I'm troubled by the depiction of the two packs as well. It's so polarised - evil and perfect, with no middle ground. Life isn't like this. Real issues deserve realism in their depiction. I'm angry that the evil pack is repeatedly referred to as crazy. Uh, no. Depraved, certainly. But evil and crazy are not synonymous and it's upsetting to see them portrayed as such.
I stand by this - if you're going to tackle hefty topics, you have a duty to do so sensitively.
February 13, 2022
Loved the h, turned brutally by evil shifters. It forced her to live a limited life, and not move beyond certain boundaries. By chance she meets another shifter and he knows she has a wolf. Loved the plot, brutality was well written. Lots of steamy scenes, maybe too many but I did like some of their kink. I thought she lost some of her edge and her independence, and everyone was a little too perfect.
July 22, 2020
Hillary had thought her boyfriend was just taking her home to meet his family but once there things took a violent turn. She was assaulted by not just her boyfriend but some of his family members as well. She was bitten and turned into a werewolf against her will and when she didn't shift, she was left outside to die. But she did shift after everyone had left and now years later she's making furniture in a small town and holding her own.
Aaron Jenner orders a custom table from Hillary for his brother and when he comes to her shop to take a look at it, she can smell right away that he's a werewolf and is instantly angry and fearful. He can smell what she is as well but is confused by her reaction. They agree to meet somewhere else to talk but when they meet they are both ready to change forms and run...or fight if necessary. It doesn't take long for Aaron to figure out what happened to her and figure out why she's so wary and isn't part of a pack.
Aaron goes back to his alpha who is also his brother and tells him about her. But as soon as Zach smells her scent on his brother, he knows that Hillary is his mate and that changes the entire situation. Aaron and his mate are so nice and try to answer all of her questions and make her feel safe with them before meeting other pack members. Zach is sweet, gentle and takes things slow with her even though Hillary can feel the pull of the mate bond right away. It takes only a couple of days of getting to know Zach to know that he's nothing like the monster that turned her. Because he's her mate and she feels it and feels somewhat safe with him they fall into bed pretty quickly. Meeting the pack and starting a life as an alpha packmate is all new territory for Hillary but she does great.
Then they have to contact the werewolves in charge and let them know what happened to Hillary and how she had been turned. Those in charge make sure to find out what's going on in that pack and make sure the member's of that pack are brought to justice.
This book was so good. Yes, right from the beginning there's a terrible assault and if that bothers you, then don't read this but the book is really about Hillary and Zach finding each other and making a life together and dealing with the other pack.
Aaron Jenner orders a custom table from Hillary for his brother and when he comes to her shop to take a look at it, she can smell right away that he's a werewolf and is instantly angry and fearful. He can smell what she is as well but is confused by her reaction. They agree to meet somewhere else to talk but when they meet they are both ready to change forms and run...or fight if necessary. It doesn't take long for Aaron to figure out what happened to her and figure out why she's so wary and isn't part of a pack.
Aaron goes back to his alpha who is also his brother and tells him about her. But as soon as Zach smells her scent on his brother, he knows that Hillary is his mate and that changes the entire situation. Aaron and his mate are so nice and try to answer all of her questions and make her feel safe with them before meeting other pack members. Zach is sweet, gentle and takes things slow with her even though Hillary can feel the pull of the mate bond right away. It takes only a couple of days of getting to know Zach to know that he's nothing like the monster that turned her. Because he's her mate and she feels it and feels somewhat safe with him they fall into bed pretty quickly. Meeting the pack and starting a life as an alpha packmate is all new territory for Hillary but she does great.
Then they have to contact the werewolves in charge and let them know what happened to Hillary and how she had been turned. Those in charge make sure to find out what's going on in that pack and make sure the member's of that pack are brought to justice.
This book was so good. Yes, right from the beginning there's a terrible assault and if that bothers you, then don't read this but the book is really about Hillary and Zach finding each other and making a life together and dealing with the other pack.
March 12, 2010
2 1/2 stars because 2 seems too harsh.
Every so often, I've read comments from people who hate the whole destined mate concept. I've always liked that theme but in Alpha Turned I finally got some of the complaints. Within a day of meeting the Alpha werewolf, Zach, Hillary not only trusts him, has sex with him and romps with him as a wolf but is exchanging declarations of undying love with him. This is in fact a mushy Werewolf romance.
Much of the story lacks tension because as soon as Hillary is mated, she immediately adapts to Werewolf life and is a powerful wolf with fantastic instincts so not much of moving into the pack is hard for her. She and Zach are in lurve and agree on everything, so no tension there. There are some very bad guys. Hillary becomes a werewolf at the beginning of the book when she is viciously attacked by a different pack of weres. These bad guys need to be dealt with but they are distant for most of the book and when the showdown occurs, it is not especially suspenseful.
I probably wouldn't have finished this book if it wsn't relatively short, to be quite honest. The werewolf world is well developed and thought-out. There just isn't enough of an actual plot. This could have been a musical werewolf love story with lots of time having the wolves just dinking around, howling "Getting to Know You" instead of getting on with the story. Oddly, I like musicals but not so much when I read.
Every so often, I've read comments from people who hate the whole destined mate concept. I've always liked that theme but in Alpha Turned I finally got some of the complaints. Within a day of meeting the Alpha werewolf, Zach, Hillary not only trusts him, has sex with him and romps with him as a wolf but is exchanging declarations of undying love with him. This is in fact a mushy Werewolf romance.
Much of the story lacks tension because as soon as Hillary is mated, she immediately adapts to Werewolf life and is a powerful wolf with fantastic instincts so not much of moving into the pack is hard for her. She and Zach are in lurve and agree on everything, so no tension there. There are some very bad guys. Hillary becomes a werewolf at the beginning of the book when she is viciously attacked by a different pack of weres. These bad guys need to be dealt with but they are distant for most of the book and when the showdown occurs, it is not especially suspenseful.
I probably wouldn't have finished this book if it wsn't relatively short, to be quite honest. The werewolf world is well developed and thought-out. There just isn't enough of an actual plot. This could have been a musical werewolf love story with lots of time having the wolves just dinking around, howling "Getting to Know You" instead of getting on with the story. Oddly, I like musicals but not so much when I read.
March 28, 2019
I only finished this (wth EXTREME skimming) because I wanted to know what happened to the bad guys... It wasn't really worth the effort. There was one little surprise when they finally got there, but again, small part of the story and may one day figure into another book maybe, and wth writing as (sorry) bad as this... Not worth the effort.
The ideas and base characters are all fine, but the writing is so supa dupa posed and fake. The conversations are stilted and awkward most of the time and trying in the extreme to be 'psychologically' correct that it's all just awful. Given the h's situation, some 'psychological stilted conversations' would have actually fitted in, but it was all just everywhere!
0319
The ideas and base characters are all fine, but the writing is so supa dupa posed and fake. The conversations are stilted and awkward most of the time and trying in the extreme to be 'psychologically' correct that it's all just awful. Given the h's situation, some 'psychological stilted conversations' would have actually fitted in, but it was all just everywhere!
0319
May 11, 2016
Soooo there were some unpleasant surprises in this book. The dialogue was pretty stilted which made it somewhat awkward to read.The conversations often didn't make sense. They would focus on one aspect of something they were explaining and go into immense detail but wouldn't spend much time on other aspects. And most of the time the thing they were explaining so much about was not asked about by another character. This often made for lengthy, informative, repetitive discussions.
March 13, 2010
Overall a good read that I enjoyed. I liked the take on Pack, the family ties and justice being done. With a couple of tweaks Alpha Turned could have been very, very good.
I'm a big fan of the recognize ones mate scenario. I have no problem with that, but to throw "love" into it without even a decent "lets get to know each other" conversation was a bit too much even for me. As was the wild sex right from the get go. Considering what her first and only experience had been it would have been much more plausible to have gentled her into that aspect, at least for the first time.
I'm a big fan of the recognize ones mate scenario. I have no problem with that, but to throw "love" into it without even a decent "lets get to know each other" conversation was a bit too much even for me. As was the wild sex right from the get go. Considering what her first and only experience had been it would have been much more plausible to have gentled her into that aspect, at least for the first time.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 18, 2020
Woodworker Hillary has been avoiding just about everyone since the traumatic day when her college boyfriend raped and bit her to try to turn her into his werewolf mate (while his family watched). He left her for dead, but she survived, becoming a strong werewolf herself. She's avoided all other werewolves until the day one walks into her shop, and then introduces her to his brother -- her fated mate, Zach. Slowly, with the help of Zach's pack, Hillary learns what it really means to be a werewolf, before they (and the national werewolf council representatives) go after the evil, rogue pack that turned her.
Alan doesn't skimp on the PTSD after Hillary's horrific experiences, even as she uses the werewolf pack magic/fated mate love to help her heal. The characters are compelling and the story line is great. The supporting cast members each get their chance to shine, which is rare in book of this length. It's a great introduction to the Wolf Appeal world.
Alan doesn't skimp on the PTSD after Hillary's horrific experiences, even as she uses the werewolf pack magic/fated mate love to help her heal. The characters are compelling and the story line is great. The supporting cast members each get their chance to shine, which is rare in book of this length. It's a great introduction to the Wolf Appeal world.
June 22, 2022
It’s a DNF for me.
The story premise in the first 3 chapters is that a college girl with no family is brought home to her boyfriends house. There they use weird words like alpha and mate and in general act weird toward her.
Boyfriend attacks and bites her then she blacks out only to wake up to him and his family basically gang r*ping her. She escapes and lives a cozy quiet life as a werewolf.
I could live with this. The trauma was a bit excessive but if it fits the story and there is tact in how it is played out and used in the story I understand. This was not however. I made it a few chapters in and the character (who has never spoken about her incident and hides from it) spills the beans after meeting a pretty face in the first hour of knowing him. There is no tact and no development. It’s just it happened, this is the first time I’ve cried about it, you are really pretty, let’s do it.
I couldn’t. I don’t think the attack itself was handled well or the characters growth and acceptance made any sense to anyone with any type of trauma.
The story premise in the first 3 chapters is that a college girl with no family is brought home to her boyfriends house. There they use weird words like alpha and mate and in general act weird toward her.
Boyfriend attacks and bites her then she blacks out only to wake up to him and his family basically gang r*ping her. She escapes and lives a cozy quiet life as a werewolf.
I could live with this. The trauma was a bit excessive but if it fits the story and there is tact in how it is played out and used in the story I understand. This was not however. I made it a few chapters in and the character (who has never spoken about her incident and hides from it) spills the beans after meeting a pretty face in the first hour of knowing him. There is no tact and no development. It’s just it happened, this is the first time I’ve cried about it, you are really pretty, let’s do it.
I couldn’t. I don’t think the attack itself was handled well or the characters growth and acceptance made any sense to anyone with any type of trauma.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 14, 2021
I got to 21% (seriously) then started skimming (which I wouldn't have done if I could have counted it toward a reading challenge in one of my groups without doing so) when I realized the main character's convictions were basically going to be non-existent in a very concerning, not-at-all-real way. And honestly? Not a single thing I pseudo-read was unexpected. And most of this book was sex... then some more sex... and some more sex at what seemed a strange time to me... then some more sex. This book, in my opinion, had no redeeming qualities. The characters were flat and, sorry to be crude, but basically written sex dolls for the reader's entertainment. 100% do not recommend this book for any sort of quality reading. Wish I hadn't wasted my time since most things were unoriginal and generally terribly written not to mention lacking any sort of depth (again, in my opinion).
November 10, 2021
Yeah, I'm not buying it.
It started out good with the characters doing and saying the right things to help someone deal with trauma. Then suddenly the whole mate/ soulmate is a magical cure for trauma and we can just start banging like animals. Not to mention, the main character is supposed to be a strong, independent woman who has survived trauma and then she suddenly turns around and says, "Well, I guess I have to give up everything I've worked for to be with this guy's I just met."
Nope. Not working for me.
Plus, even the main character points out in Ch12 the ending is anticlimactic, yet somehow the author manages to write two more chapters of nothingness.
It started out good with the characters doing and saying the right things to help someone deal with trauma. Then suddenly the whole mate/ soulmate is a magical cure for trauma and we can just start banging like animals. Not to mention, the main character is supposed to be a strong, independent woman who has survived trauma and then she suddenly turns around and says, "Well, I guess I have to give up everything I've worked for to be with this guy's I just met."
Nope. Not working for me.
Plus, even the main character points out in Ch12 the ending is anticlimactic, yet somehow the author manages to write two more chapters of nothingness.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
February 1, 2014The storyline was very similar to one other book I've read. The girl was turned the same way,had the same profession, met her mate the same way, but the bad shifters never stopped looking for her like in this book.
Despite that, it wasn't a bad read.
Despite that, it wasn't a bad read.
September 21, 2013
This is a good book. A really really good book
I'm excited for anyone who is about to read it because it is AMAZING!!
The Story
So this story starts off with Hillary (AKA Larry or Hill) who is going with her boyfriend of 4 moths to meet his family at a barbeque. Aww. At the start, her boyfriend Jeff was really sweet and I actually liked him seeing as though I already knew he wouldn't be the hero of the book. Anyway, when she meets the family they are all really weird and creepy, but she goes along with it.
...She kinda zones off and next thing you know the word mate - key word here chicas, kept getting thrown around. And she gets attacked by a pack of wolves (of Jeff's family) and gets bitten and raped :( Definetly hating Jeff at this point.
At this point I was kind of meh because this book had such potential. I mean really it could have been 5 star worthy. It was the damn...urgg where do I start??
1. The rape scene was over and done with quick. Nothing very moving. To be honest, it broke my heart but I was expecting myself to be really engaged and be on the verge of tears and anger and frustration at Jeff etc. but I was annoyed by my lack of connection and feeling with it. There was no empathy or anything. I don't know it was kind of bland.
2. When Hillary finally meets Zach our hero :) there is a total lack of clarity. I don't actually understand what is going on and all the links with other people and I am soo confused!!
So for the benefit of my fellow readers I will clear this up for you:
*Pack Alpha's have their female mate who is also referred to as Alpha as well
*How strong a wolf is, is measured by how long they can withstand the urge to turn into a wolf
*There are gay wolves
*After Alpha, is Second (as in second in command hehe)
*They can have sex in wolf form (hmm interesting)
*Alpha's can send telapathic links to other members of the same pack, so if someone is feeling blue, send them a wee boost :)
* Wolves (as humans obvs) touchy feel each other a lot, even unromantically between others (I'll discuss this is more detail later)
So there you have it! Hope it helps because even though it is explained, the author sometimes rambles before explantion, as if we should already know some stuff.
The characters
Let's start with Zach first of all. I'm sorry but he was quite a wimpy wimp of an alpha.
Expectation:
Strong, savagely beautiful, fierce, loyal, protective. When I here Alpha in romance novels I expect a hard on the outside, soft on the inside, tough, badass, 8-pack hottie. Not...
Reality:
Cute, adorable, sweet and such a cutie. But I wasn't feeling the spark. He was more cuddly and precious than what I would expect for an alpha. Like he was more Clark Kent than Superman, I don't know.
He wasn't exactly over protective, possessive and scrummy like that ;P but he was still nice. Nice, yup. Really...nice.
A lot of the wolf communication stuff meant that there was a lotta touching each other. I just thought that should be limited to HERO AND HEROINE thank you very much. I understand why but at the same time, other heroes and alpha's I've read about are totally cavemen, my woman no-touching off-limits kind of thing. I felt like saying PAWS OFF, in place of him.
Sorry if I'm being picky but he is an Alpha for crying out loud! Man up! Jeez...
Hillary I really respected and admired because she suffered and survived. I don't know how I felt about her as a whole though. She was always just there, y'know. She wasn't bringing anything more to the book. No sass, spunk, humour. I don't mind a heroine who is nice and perfect, but she was too right, if that makes sense? She lost her sense of self in my eyes.
Her personality = no personality
I liked her. But that was all. And just to like a heroine in a book isn't enough for me :(
Before I go onto the good parts, I have to make sure you are aware of what you're getting into. Expect INSTA LOVE.
BOOK :
ME :
BOOK :
ME :
For the amount of criticism I have given this book, I did still like it.
First up, my favourite part would have to be the tour of Zach's house. My only qualm would be it was all very rushed and the author didn't build the sexual tension but apart from that :)'s all round
In the future I must not have such high expectations
And I pray that one day I will find the perfect couple when reading romance novels who are neither wusses nor spineless or boring. The perfect balance, dear Lord, is all I ask for
September 22, 2024
DNF 40%. It was boring. The way the blurb is written, I expected a lot of angst, a lot of cajoling and seducing on his part, to convince her and to help her heal, but none of that happened. Instead, we get the longest conversations about the most boring worldbuilding elements in the weirdest of moments. Like when they start talking about pack loyalty in between rounds of fucking.
The way they used crazy and evil like they were synonyms didn’t sit well with me, and the way he made her responsible for his feelings was grating. It was subtle, but it was there.
We’re told over and over how powerful and fierce she is, but all I saw was a scaredy cat. She was skittish and hesitant most of the time. And I would understand that, since she was a “victim” of rape (that’s the way the characters talk about the situation), but she did act skittish and hesitant from page one, before the abuse happened.
Which leads me to the rape. This needs major trigger warnings, because absolutely nothing, in the blurb or anywhere else, made me believe the abuse happened on page. Which it did. It was kinda graphic, too. Not too graphic, but enough to be triggering. And Hilary’s recovery wasn’t handled well, in my opinion. It was as if years of trauma disappeared because she met the right man. They talk once in person, once over the phone, and that’s enough for them to be in love, and for her to get over all the trauma.I like instalove, but this was ridiculous, especially considering her circumstances. I find it hard to believe that a survivor of SA would jump into bed with a virtual stranger, fated mate or not. And the wolf sex needs another trigger warning. Luckily I saw several reviews mentioning it, so I was somewhat prepared and skipped a bunch of pages when I saw it coming. Also, he called her Larry during sex, and I found it annoying, since all the time it was Hillary did this, Hillary said that, and then he calls her Larry and I kinda felt he was making love to someone else.
So I had enough. I wasn’t entertained, and there were way too many eye-roll-worthy moments, so I’m calling it quits. Life’s too short to read this kinda crap.
The way they used crazy and evil like they were synonyms didn’t sit well with me, and the way he made her responsible for his feelings was grating. It was subtle, but it was there.
We’re told over and over how powerful and fierce she is, but all I saw was a scaredy cat. She was skittish and hesitant most of the time. And I would understand that, since she was a “victim” of rape (that’s the way the characters talk about the situation), but she did act skittish and hesitant from page one, before the abuse happened.
Which leads me to the rape. This needs major trigger warnings, because absolutely nothing, in the blurb or anywhere else, made me believe the abuse happened on page. Which it did. It was kinda graphic, too. Not too graphic, but enough to be triggering. And Hilary’s recovery wasn’t handled well, in my opinion. It was as if years of trauma disappeared because she met the right man. They talk once in person, once over the phone, and that’s enough for them to be in love, and for her to get over all the trauma.I like instalove, but this was ridiculous, especially considering her circumstances. I find it hard to believe that a survivor of SA would jump into bed with a virtual stranger, fated mate or not. And the wolf sex needs another trigger warning. Luckily I saw several reviews mentioning it, so I was somewhat prepared and skipped a bunch of pages when I saw it coming. Also, he called her Larry during sex, and I found it annoying, since all the time it was Hillary did this, Hillary said that, and then he calls her Larry and I kinda felt he was making love to someone else.
So I had enough. I wasn’t entertained, and there were way too many eye-roll-worthy moments, so I’m calling it quits. Life’s too short to read this kinda crap.
April 5, 2021
2.5
I liked the hero and heroine, the premise, and some of the minor characters. I certainly enjoyed the book enough to finish it. The villains were a bit extreme and one-dimensional, but the author pulled them off as evil. I just would have preferred some more suspense and conflict with them. Given what the heroine went through, I thought she jumped into bed with the hero too quickly, even accounting for the mating pull. I would have liked to have seen a bit more relationship development there. The second half of the book also got bogged down with too many characters, to the point I had trouble keeping track of everyone. The character of Alexis, especially, seemed like she was jammed into the end of the book simply to set things up for a future book in the series. That being said, I liked the book well enough to start reading the next one in the series.
I liked the hero and heroine, the premise, and some of the minor characters. I certainly enjoyed the book enough to finish it. The villains were a bit extreme and one-dimensional, but the author pulled them off as evil. I just would have preferred some more suspense and conflict with them. Given what the heroine went through, I thought she jumped into bed with the hero too quickly, even accounting for the mating pull. I would have liked to have seen a bit more relationship development there. The second half of the book also got bogged down with too many characters, to the point I had trouble keeping track of everyone. The character of Alexis, especially, seemed like she was jammed into the end of the book simply to set things up for a future book in the series. That being said, I liked the book well enough to start reading the next one in the series.
December 29, 2023
Just wasn't for me. The pacing from the beginning to the time skip was jarring. And the romance just fell so flat. Someone else could absolutely love this story, just not me. There is plenty of smut if that's what you're after.
Trigger Warning: Rape and they fuck as wolves. Kind of needed a better heads up for the latter one. Be really cool for this book to have a trigger list somewhere.
Trigger Warning: Rape and they fuck as wolves. Kind of needed a better heads up for the latter one. Be really cool for this book to have a trigger list somewhere.
Want to read
June 13, 2020🎁 FREE on Amazon today (6/13/2020)! 🎁
January 3, 2020
It's OK. Nothing really unique in shifter romances, with a lot of the usual fated-mates sort of details. Not bad, but not my favorite, plus a few points that I actually outright didn't like.
I actually liked the characters, the leads and the side characters both. Todd and his wife were a little underdeveloped, but otherwise, I enjoyed the characters. The leads were intelligent and there wasn't any TSTL miscommunication. It was really the plot where I had more issues - we'll come to that.
Trigger warning. I don't usually include this one, but I felt it deserved a note here. Hilary was raped, and while that's not uncommon in romance novels as a character's backstory, we actually go through it with her. Not brutally graphically detailed, but definitely more than in a lot of other books I've read. Could be an issue for some.
Also, if you have an issue with LGBTQ relationships, the side romance is between two males. I personally liked it (Alex and Stephen were really pretty sweet!) but as it's not specifically labeled as an LGBTQ romance, it might surprise some.
Bigger issues for me:
* Really, really fast insta-love. I know that's kinda usual with fated-mates sorts of stories, but man they moved right along! She goes from freaking out about other werewolves finding her, almost straight to ILY and Forever After. I really wish there'd been more hesitancy about sex and relationships for Hilary. Would have been a great chance to Zach to show what a good character he was, being actually patient and healing, instead of this racecar romance. Hilary's first and only sexual experience - her first boyfriend, even! - was pretty brutal - gang rape and assault (aside from the whole werewolf issue). She doesn't date and avoids quite a lot of humanity in general. Yet, the insta-love means she hops into bed with Zach super fast. To make things weirder, during their time in bed, Zach was saying the exact same words to her that her rapist had, and she had no response to it?? I was uncomfortable with that one! To have no response from her was just weird! Would have really loved to see her and Zach using the bond to help her heal, instead of the instant healing that happened. "Hey, traumatic past? Just have sex with the right guy and it's all better!"
* Aaron wasn't an alpha, but he could tell that Hilary was Zach's mate? The first meeting that Aaron and Zach had after Aaron had found Hilary just struck me as odd. It sounded like Aaron could already tell that Hilary and Zach were mates. It felt like he knew that it was not just an abused alpha lone wolf in their territory, but a special one, especially special to his brother. Did I miss something?
* The Big Show Down at the end was... lacking. Even Hilary found it anticlimactic.
* The kid. WHY??? What was the actual point? She didn't bring anything to the story, and then making her empathic on top of it? It doesn't lead into the next novel (which focuses on the National Alpha) and doesn't add anything to the main plot either. It was just this weird little tangent through the last couple chapters. Seriously why was she even there??
Alternating 3rd person POV. No cheating, no OW/OM drama, no love triangle nonsense. Pretty straightforward SPN romance. Not bad, but not great either - just a lot of weird little details and plot points that bothered me. HEA and no cliffhangers.
Would I read more in the series or by the author? Probably not. At least it wouldn't be one I seek out. Maybe if it's another Kindle free find, but not something I'd purposefully look for.
I actually liked the characters, the leads and the side characters both. Todd and his wife were a little underdeveloped, but otherwise, I enjoyed the characters. The leads were intelligent and there wasn't any TSTL miscommunication. It was really the plot where I had more issues - we'll come to that.
Trigger warning. I don't usually include this one, but I felt it deserved a note here. Hilary was raped, and while that's not uncommon in romance novels as a character's backstory, we actually go through it with her. Not brutally graphically detailed, but definitely more than in a lot of other books I've read. Could be an issue for some.
Also, if you have an issue with LGBTQ relationships, the side romance is between two males. I personally liked it (Alex and Stephen were really pretty sweet!) but as it's not specifically labeled as an LGBTQ romance, it might surprise some.
Bigger issues for me:
* Really, really fast insta-love. I know that's kinda usual with fated-mates sorts of stories, but man they moved right along! She goes from freaking out about other werewolves finding her, almost straight to ILY and Forever After. I really wish there'd been more hesitancy about sex and relationships for Hilary. Would have been a great chance to Zach to show what a good character he was, being actually patient and healing, instead of this racecar romance. Hilary's first and only sexual experience - her first boyfriend, even! - was pretty brutal - gang rape and assault (aside from the whole werewolf issue). She doesn't date and avoids quite a lot of humanity in general. Yet, the insta-love means she hops into bed with Zach super fast. To make things weirder, during their time in bed, Zach was saying the exact same words to her that her rapist had, and she had no response to it?? I was uncomfortable with that one! To have no response from her was just weird! Would have really loved to see her and Zach using the bond to help her heal, instead of the instant healing that happened. "Hey, traumatic past? Just have sex with the right guy and it's all better!"
* Aaron wasn't an alpha, but he could tell that Hilary was Zach's mate? The first meeting that Aaron and Zach had after Aaron had found Hilary just struck me as odd. It sounded like Aaron could already tell that Hilary and Zach were mates. It felt like he knew that it was not just an abused alpha lone wolf in their territory, but a special one, especially special to his brother. Did I miss something?
* The Big Show Down at the end was... lacking. Even Hilary found it anticlimactic.
* The kid. WHY??? What was the actual point? She didn't bring anything to the story, and then making her empathic on top of it? It doesn't lead into the next novel (which focuses on the National Alpha) and doesn't add anything to the main plot either. It was just this weird little tangent through the last couple chapters. Seriously why was she even there??
Alternating 3rd person POV. No cheating, no OW/OM drama, no love triangle nonsense. Pretty straightforward SPN romance. Not bad, but not great either - just a lot of weird little details and plot points that bothered me. HEA and no cliffhangers.
Would I read more in the series or by the author? Probably not. At least it wouldn't be one I seek out. Maybe if it's another Kindle free find, but not something I'd purposefully look for.
August 31, 2018
This is really at least 2.5, but I just couldn't see giving it a full Goodreads 3, since I've been stingy lately, rounding down a number of 3.5 reads. I picked this short novel (Amazon says 169 pages; Goodreads says 212. What's up with that?) because the biggest "complaint" was that the hero was too perfect. I wasn't really a fan of some of the behavior of the leads in the last story I read, so I needed a "palate-cleanser".
I can see what they mean, but I don't think it's impossibly idealistic to believe a man can be both strong (an Alpha) and yet sensitive to and prepared for the emotional needs of someone they care about, and I'll take Mr. "Too Perfect" in a romance any day over Mr. "Alpha-hole". I did like both the H & h here, and they shared humor as well as trust and passion. Hillary had her own strength, and Zach respected it.
However, what was more than a little too easy was the heroine's quick acceptance of the powerful mate-bond-induced desire between her and the hero, despite her having been brutally raped when she was still a virgin, then having metaphorically worn a big "Stay away; not interested" sign ever since. In other words, she had no personal good memories associated with sex, yet within days, she was doing just about everything with him (yes, it got a bit kinkier than I'd expected, though fully consensual; I think item descriptions should clearly forewarn of such content) without even a flashback or hesitation.
There were more pages occupied with sexual activity than really necessary, IMO. I'm not sure where the line is between erotica and romance, but there was also plenty of story here, re. Hillary's meeting Zach's pack; re. both leads' supporting the rather sweet m/m mate-bond that occurs in the second half beween Hillary's friend and one of Zach's wolves; and of course re. the too-long-delayed justice for the twisted pack that abused her. Alpha-power did make all of those events (especially the last) a bit simpler and quicker than the routes that might have been chosen for a really dramatic, intense book, though.
I have to say, I do wish the author hadn't chosen to have Hillary nicknamed "Larry" by a friend (she supposedly thinks it's silly, too), with Zach happily using it even in romantic moments. It felt a bit jarring.
I only caught one real writing error, a syntax mismatch ("I tried to blame the fact that this whole group of people were evil because they were wolves," which obviously needs to be reworded "blame ... on [their being wolves]" or "believe [] ... because"), but there were also a handful of formatting goofs: line breaks mid-paragraph (mid-utterance) and non-indented paragraphs.
I haven't decided yet whether I'll try another story by this author, though I won't be paying full price. #2 in this series, Challenge Accepted, is currently $4 for somewhere between 150 and 168 pages, and considering how many of those pages are probably just sex ... Oh, and it seems likely that I'll find that there's an excerpt of another book for its last 5% there, too, like in this one.
I can see what they mean, but I don't think it's impossibly idealistic to believe a man can be both strong (an Alpha) and yet sensitive to and prepared for the emotional needs of someone they care about, and I'll take Mr. "Too Perfect" in a romance any day over Mr. "Alpha-hole". I did like both the H & h here, and they shared humor as well as trust and passion. Hillary had her own strength, and Zach respected it.
However, what was more than a little too easy was the heroine's quick acceptance of the powerful mate-bond-induced desire between her and the hero, despite her having been brutally raped when she was still a virgin, then having metaphorically worn a big "Stay away; not interested" sign ever since. In other words, she had no personal good memories associated with sex, yet within days, she was doing just about everything with him (yes, it got a bit kinkier than I'd expected, though fully consensual; I think item descriptions should clearly forewarn of such content) without even a flashback or hesitation.
There were more pages occupied with sexual activity than really necessary, IMO. I'm not sure where the line is between erotica and romance, but there was also plenty of story here, re. Hillary's meeting Zach's pack; re. both leads' supporting the rather sweet m/m mate-bond that occurs in the second half beween Hillary's friend and one of Zach's wolves; and of course re. the too-long-delayed justice for the twisted pack that abused her. Alpha-power did make all of those events (especially the last) a bit simpler and quicker than the routes that might have been chosen for a really dramatic, intense book, though.
I have to say, I do wish the author hadn't chosen to have Hillary nicknamed "Larry" by a friend (she supposedly thinks it's silly, too), with Zach happily using it even in romantic moments. It felt a bit jarring.
I only caught one real writing error, a syntax mismatch ("I tried to blame the fact that this whole group of people were evil because they were wolves," which obviously needs to be reworded "blame ... on [their being wolves]" or "believe [] ... because"), but there were also a handful of formatting goofs: line breaks mid-paragraph (mid-utterance) and non-indented paragraphs.
I haven't decided yet whether I'll try another story by this author, though I won't be paying full price. #2 in this series, Challenge Accepted, is currently $4 for somewhere between 150 and 168 pages, and considering how many of those pages are probably just sex ... Oh, and it seems likely that I'll find that there's an excerpt of another book for its last 5% there, too, like in this one.
December 16, 2021
DNF %63
Bored out of my mind with this one
Bored out of my mind with this one
December 16, 2022
Ugh. This was almost a DNF, but I opted to skim. I typically love paranormal romance, and a good wolf shifter story will have me ready to howl at the moon. Here, I just howled in frustration.
The plot idea is good, don't get me wrong. But it relies too heavily on the worst of the shifter trope. It starts off with Hillary's turning, the result of a horrific, days-long attack. (See content warnings at the very end of this review.) It then jumps four years into the future, where she's made a very successful life for herself as a custom woodworking artisan (all by the age of 24, no less, barely more than a pup). She meets Zach and--here's the trope fail I referred to earlier--thanks to the mating instinct, they fall in love and mate all within a week and without knowing a single thing about each other. Fated mates, gah. It's common in paranormal romance, but all too often, it feels like a cop out to me. Like, the couple has no need to work hard at the relationship because there's never any conflict within the relationship. Because fated mates.
Their intimacy is graphically described to the point of it being erotica, and it goes on for pages and pages. And pages. More than once. If that's your thing, you'll adore the novel (and I mean that sincerely). I like me some sexy time, but I find that less is more; I'd rather the allusion than a graphic description of every fold and flutter. In this particular story, such a fast and thorough debauching is more problematic than just being overdone. After everything Hillary went through when she was turned, I feel like intimacy between her and Zach needed to be done with more delicacy and finesse.
Overall, there's just no story here. Where Hillary's attack should have been the vessel driving the story forward, it takes the backseat in lieu of sex and lengthy discussion of alpha power.
So, this story wasn't for me. That doesn't mean it isn't right for you.
I received a free copy of this book from BookBub. I'm writing this review voluntarily, and it reflects my honest opinion. Thanks!
Content warnings: Gang rape, abuse, captivity, violence
The plot idea is good, don't get me wrong. But it relies too heavily on the worst of the shifter trope. It starts off with Hillary's turning, the result of a horrific, days-long attack. (See content warnings at the very end of this review.) It then jumps four years into the future, where she's made a very successful life for herself as a custom woodworking artisan (all by the age of 24, no less, barely more than a pup). She meets Zach and--here's the trope fail I referred to earlier--thanks to the mating instinct, they fall in love and mate all within a week and without knowing a single thing about each other. Fated mates, gah. It's common in paranormal romance, but all too often, it feels like a cop out to me. Like, the couple has no need to work hard at the relationship because there's never any conflict within the relationship. Because fated mates.
Their intimacy is graphically described to the point of it being erotica, and it goes on for pages and pages. And pages. More than once. If that's your thing, you'll adore the novel (and I mean that sincerely). I like me some sexy time, but I find that less is more; I'd rather the allusion than a graphic description of every fold and flutter. In this particular story, such a fast and thorough debauching is more problematic than just being overdone. After everything Hillary went through when she was turned, I feel like intimacy between her and Zach needed to be done with more delicacy and finesse.
Overall, there's just no story here. Where Hillary's attack should have been the vessel driving the story forward, it takes the backseat in lieu of sex and lengthy discussion of alpha power.
So, this story wasn't for me. That doesn't mean it isn't right for you.
I received a free copy of this book from BookBub. I'm writing this review voluntarily, and it reflects my honest opinion. Thanks!
Content warnings: Gang rape, abuse, captivity, violence
January 7, 2022
Hillary is surviving the awkward meet and greet with Jeff's family until they reveal themselves as werewolves. Raped and bitten, Hillary staves off the change of the full moon until the Cage pack leaves her for dead. Hillary races off on four paws and hides in the small town of Slade. A few years pass before another were walks into her woodworking shop and confronts the rogue about not checking in with the local packmaster. Aaron feels her immense power, learns of her forcible change, and resolves to prove not all werewolves are evil. He goes to his brother Zach, the local Alpha, to start her integration only for Zach to catch Hillary's lingering scent and declare her his destined mate. Now Hillary must confront her past and deal with the added bond to a man she doesn't know.
This is a relatively short straightforward read. There are a few nice ideas in the world building, but honestly we do not spend much time with any of it. This is more erotica than supernatural romance. Simply put there isn't any conflict in this story. Our protagonist is attacked, changed by magic, and forced to abandon her life as it was. Yet she has no problems staying fed, earning money, starting a business, making friends, and replacing identity paperwork. She never struggles to control her new powers or is triggered by her traumatic experiences. The pack easily accepts a stranger into their ranks and the eventual confrontation with the bad guys is pretty lackluster. Further, she accepts the "Fated to mate" trope and agrees with Zach on almost everything instantly. What is weirder is they maket this commentary on how they will take it slow for her but only wait two days before they bang, get engaged, exchange I love yous, and contemplate adopting a special needs child. It's comically ridiculous. The characters are likable enough but sparse. To recap, you won't find laugh out loud dialogue or deep philosophy here. The sex scenes are varied and presented in very non judgmental way, although I wasn't a fan of some of the word selections or repetitious language. Wasn't what I was looking for but definitely a quick divergence.
This is a relatively short straightforward read. There are a few nice ideas in the world building, but honestly we do not spend much time with any of it. This is more erotica than supernatural romance. Simply put there isn't any conflict in this story. Our protagonist is attacked, changed by magic, and forced to abandon her life as it was. Yet she has no problems staying fed, earning money, starting a business, making friends, and replacing identity paperwork. She never struggles to control her new powers or is triggered by her traumatic experiences. The pack easily accepts a stranger into their ranks and the eventual confrontation with the bad guys is pretty lackluster. Further, she accepts the "Fated to mate" trope and agrees with Zach on almost everything instantly. What is weirder is they maket this commentary on how they will take it slow for her but only wait two days before they bang, get engaged, exchange I love yous, and contemplate adopting a special needs child. It's comically ridiculous. The characters are likable enough but sparse. To recap, you won't find laugh out loud dialogue or deep philosophy here. The sex scenes are varied and presented in very non judgmental way, although I wasn't a fan of some of the word selections or repetitious language. Wasn't what I was looking for but definitely a quick divergence.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 20, 2010
Surprisingly good paranormal romance
I am a big fan of paranormal romance, and at this point have read hundreds of books in the genre. I struggle to find new authors and series that I haven't read yet. I was very pleasantly surprised by this book. The cover is cheesy and not representative of the book, so don't let that put you off. The book offers a good romance, interesting characters and story that pulls you in. I loved the world building and the details around werewolf life, pack structure, etc.
Hillary is attacked and raped by a crazy werewolf pack, turning her into a werewolf. She barely gets away and runs for her life. She sets up a shop in a small town well away from werewolves and works hard to move on. Four years later, she meets her first werewolf following the attack--this time a good guy--who is stunned to see her living in the town. She's a technically a rogue and should have asked permission of the regional pack to live there, but of course she doesn't know anything about werewolf laws, pack structures, etc. At first she is afraid of him, but eventually she determines he seems like a good guy. He encourages her to meet his wife and his Alpha Zach, the leader of the regional pack. When he meets with Zach to tell him about Hillary, Zach is stunned at the scent on his brother and thinks there's a good chance that she will be his mate. He is interested to learn how strong she is, and that she is likely an alpha herself. The story focuses on their relationship, her acceptance into the pack, and then working with the national council to deal with the evil pack who attacked her. A very entertaining read!
In case you don't want to pay printed book pricing and don't have a Kindle, I ordered this from the publisher's web site as an ebook (PDF) for only 5.95.
I am a big fan of paranormal romance, and at this point have read hundreds of books in the genre. I struggle to find new authors and series that I haven't read yet. I was very pleasantly surprised by this book. The cover is cheesy and not representative of the book, so don't let that put you off. The book offers a good romance, interesting characters and story that pulls you in. I loved the world building and the details around werewolf life, pack structure, etc.
Hillary is attacked and raped by a crazy werewolf pack, turning her into a werewolf. She barely gets away and runs for her life. She sets up a shop in a small town well away from werewolves and works hard to move on. Four years later, she meets her first werewolf following the attack--this time a good guy--who is stunned to see her living in the town. She's a technically a rogue and should have asked permission of the regional pack to live there, but of course she doesn't know anything about werewolf laws, pack structures, etc. At first she is afraid of him, but eventually she determines he seems like a good guy. He encourages her to meet his wife and his Alpha Zach, the leader of the regional pack. When he meets with Zach to tell him about Hillary, Zach is stunned at the scent on his brother and thinks there's a good chance that she will be his mate. He is interested to learn how strong she is, and that she is likely an alpha herself. The story focuses on their relationship, her acceptance into the pack, and then working with the national council to deal with the evil pack who attacked her. A very entertaining read!
In case you don't want to pay printed book pricing and don't have a Kindle, I ordered this from the publisher's web site as an ebook (PDF) for only 5.95.
September 25, 2024
Four years ago, Hillary Abbott, aka Larry, had one of the most horrific things happen to her when her college boyfriend took her home to Arizona to meet the parents. Attacked, raped and left for dead, Hillary survives against the odds and starts a new life far away from the nightmare. When Hillary decides to open her new business in Slade, far away from any sign of werewolves, she is stunned when one walks into her shop.
Does it sound like this is going to be a good read? It wasn't for me. Ten percent of the above is the context in the story. The rest is sex, sex, sex once Hillary and Zach Jenner, the alpha of Mountain Pack, mate. After that, the touchy-feely stuff begins. Not just with Hillary and Zach, but with every hierarchy member of the pack. With all the touching, you'd think when it came to shifting these wolves would strip down in front of each other and run. Not these domesticated wolves. They each go to their private place and undress and then join each other for a run.
After I finally accept that these are the tamest wolves I've ever read, the author goes on a power trip, literally. Every other paragraph is about how powerful Hillary is or how powerful Zach is or how powerful they are together yet I find them both to be pretty weak in the sense of being alpha.
I enjoyed the first couple of chapters of the book until Chapter 5 when things started downhill and continued. I didn't like the rest of the uneventful story and am moving on. On my Were Scale of Hotness, 2 stars.
Does it sound like this is going to be a good read? It wasn't for me. Ten percent of the above is the context in the story. The rest is sex, sex, sex once Hillary and Zach Jenner, the alpha of Mountain Pack, mate. After that, the touchy-feely stuff begins. Not just with Hillary and Zach, but with every hierarchy member of the pack. With all the touching, you'd think when it came to shifting these wolves would strip down in front of each other and run. Not these domesticated wolves. They each go to their private place and undress and then join each other for a run.
After I finally accept that these are the tamest wolves I've ever read, the author goes on a power trip, literally. Every other paragraph is about how powerful Hillary is or how powerful Zach is or how powerful they are together yet I find them both to be pretty weak in the sense of being alpha.
I enjoyed the first couple of chapters of the book until Chapter 5 when things started downhill and continued. I didn't like the rest of the uneventful story and am moving on. On my Were Scale of Hotness, 2 stars.
January 22, 2020
I would have given this book a 3-star rating but I just couldn't because of one thing. There was no warning in the about section about the rape. Oh I know some of you are saying but there was a warning, Alan saying rape period in the blurb is the warning. No sorry, it's not. I've read a lot..some would say too much, and I've come across many books over the years that had rape in it. Almost always if the rape is detailed inside the book there is a trigger warning for those of us who have PTSD or simply can't handle it. There is no trigger warning however when they simply just say oh the mc was raped a few years ago (there doesn't need to be a warning) but there should be one when the rape happens during the reading and in some detail. Even if it's a small warning just saying hey the rape does happen during the reading and there is detail reading about it for a short period. I had to put the book down because it caught me off guard and almost gave me an anxiety attack because I didn't have time to prepare myself (to be ready to skip a couple of pages even). I don't care that I might be the only one to have this issue with the warning but I just think it is something Alan overlooked and hopefully works on when needed.
March 10, 2024
Boring and lazy
Why is this about werewolves?
They don't act like werewolves, they're domesticated, civilized people, really. They don't follow werewolf lore. Hell, you just have to tell people to stop, and they stop. They don't even roll out as wolves for their missions.
This was incredibly lazy. Instalove. Not once, but twice.
I had thought with how this started, there was going to be a lot of trauma to unravel. Nope. Not really. That's handled easily with the instalove. I don't know that Zach was even actually described to you outside of what his wolf looked like. And the wolves didn't really belong in the story. This should've just been about people since werewolf nature was just shit all over anyway.
If they existed, they'd be offended by their portrayal in this book.
Beyond that, this book was empty. Nothing happened. There was no plot. I can't imagine why there needed to be one book in this series, let alone any more.
Hillary didn't actually have any character development at all. She just was what she needed to be at that moment. Zach, too, for that matter. They were hollow.
Needless to say, I won't be reading further.
Why is this about werewolves?
They don't act like werewolves, they're domesticated, civilized people, really. They don't follow werewolf lore. Hell, you just have to tell people to stop, and they stop. They don't even roll out as wolves for their missions.
This was incredibly lazy. Instalove. Not once, but twice.
I had thought with how this started, there was going to be a lot of trauma to unravel. Nope. Not really. That's handled easily with the instalove. I don't know that Zach was even actually described to you outside of what his wolf looked like. And the wolves didn't really belong in the story. This should've just been about people since werewolf nature was just shit all over anyway.
If they existed, they'd be offended by their portrayal in this book.
Beyond that, this book was empty. Nothing happened. There was no plot. I can't imagine why there needed to be one book in this series, let alone any more.
Hillary didn't actually have any character development at all. She just was what she needed to be at that moment. Zach, too, for that matter. They were hollow.
Needless to say, I won't be reading further.
April 22, 2017
Easy to read, quick and fun. The plot was minimal though, but overall easy to follow. Not too huge of a plot line pretty fast paced in the relationship and a nice tidy bow. Hillary who btw goes by Larry, weird since I never thought of that as a nickname for a Hillary, is a lone wolf due to the traumatic events surrounding her change, but that all changes when she meets Aaron, who introduces her to his brother Zach.....who turns out to be her mate. Anyways the scenes are ok not too steamy but good. What I disliked about this being a wolf/shifter book was that there was a lack of aggression I've seeing in other books particularly surrounding the mating of Alphas. Other than that the book was decent....
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