Review: Really liked the Hero!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 23, 2012
Merrick is tied with Sylvan as being my favorite Kindred male. Incredibly but believably rough around the edges yet still with a bit of Kindred honro. I really liked the character of Elise as well.  I especially appreciate how Anderson dealt with the stepfather - thank you for not doing the usual politically correct "oh let's take the high road with him" and instead giving him his just reward.Also, thank you Ms. Anderson for making your books so affordable!Why not a 5 star?  Well, I found the side stories Rast/Nadiah, Lissa, Lauren/Xairn too distracting.  I do appreciate in past books that there is a "where are they now" kind of chapter and a little bit of set-up for the next book (clearly Lissa's story will be next at bat).  But the Lauren/Xairn one felt like too much of a departure although I can see it's part of a larger story arc.  Also, the gal pals (Sophie, Olivia, Kat, Lauren) were kind of getting on my nerves.  I felt like they were too intrusive into Elise's life for not having any early ties to her.  And sorry, but I always thought the "womb mate" nickname was cheesy.  Of the gal pal gang, I'd probably want Kat's story the most to be revisited because she's such a firecracker.  Lastly, I felt like there should have been more description of the bonding scene between Elise/Merrick - what was there was good, but after the bite, I wanted to hear more! : )