Review: May have a few issues, but it's still ADDICTING!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 17, 2014
I liked The Pack or the Panther well enough. It had some issues, but I can definitely say that it was freaking addicting. So, my biggest issue? Mainly, humor. Now, most of the dialogue and inner monologue is really funny. I spent a lot of time laughing (or snickering) while I was reading this. However, there were some moments that were so unbearably cheesy. I think the book was trying too hard to be amusing. There were way too many one-liners, and some of them fell short. Really, really short. They should have been cut at some point in the editing process. Maybe it comes down to an issue of taste? I think the humor will be a big factor in whether people love or hate this book. It’s unfortunate, this was a recurring problem for me, and will come up again in this review. Also, the dialogue is a bit info-dumpy in the beginning of the book. It creates some awkward and clunky sentences. Makes the dialogue seem forced at times. However, despite all this, I could not put the book down. I was hooked from the beginning. I started right before bed with the intention of reading the first chapter, and ended up staying awake to finish it.I liked the story. It is melodrama at it’s finest, and I had a lot of fun reading it. Cole and Paris are all right. I didn’t become particularly attached to them (there needed to be more character development and growth for that to happen), but they are FUN. Especially Paris; I love the way he can make Cole go all flustered like. I don’t want to give the wrong impression. This isn’t fluffy, and the characters are not quite two-dimensional, although, at times they teetered on the edge. There is some character growth, and I appreciate the fact that Cole grows enough to quit being an infuriating doormat and stick up for himself. Even Paris has some important revelations. However, in his case they feel rushed. He has more of an instantaneous change. There isn’t a lot of self-reflection there, and that could be due to the fact that his POV isn’t as prevalent in the book as Cole’s. Both characters have strong, unique personalities. They have their sweet moments, and they have their supremely dense moments as well. It’s their flaws that make them unique, and so different from each other. Their interactions with one another are my favorite moments in the book.Cole is forced into an arranged marriage with a female werewolf from another pack. It’s a bit of political maneuvering he agrees to go along with, despite the fact that he is Gay, for the sake of his pack, and also because he’s maybe a little bit of a pushover who desperately wants his parents’ approval. His intended (who is also forced into the entirely lame situation) flees, leaving her brother Paris in her place, and the whole thing is thankfully way more complicated than that. I found the whole arranged marriage/werewolf politics part of the story very interesting, although Cole’s parents made me shake with rage. Ugh, they are just horrible blobs of horribleness. It’s a different spin on a common story. As far as shifter stories go this is one of the better ones, in my opinion. As I’ve said before, I want to love them, but they tend to drive me insane. Here, my retina was never in danger of detaching from eye-roll-abuse. I liked the way the mate thing was handled, and my pet peeves were allowed to remain in their restful slumber. So, there is that.Paris and Cole’s first kiss is hot hot hot. On fire, and up until that point they were delicious with all the steamy tension. Alas, while that kiss set my Kindle ablaze, their first sex scene… not so much. This brings me back to humor being a hit or miss. So many misses. I feel like some of the dialogue was there for comedic purposes, and it just didn’t mesh. (If I’m wrong and they weren’t meant to be funny, well then… damn). Anyway, the sex felt too technical. Combined with corny moments. The combination just made me uncomfortable. It was like the most awkward sex ever, I spent that entire scene hoping it would end quickly.Overall, this is a quick and fun read. I recommend it if you’re looking for something light and funny. Just, know that some of the funny may have gone awry. I’m giving this 3.5 Stars. I would have gone with 3 if it weren’t for the magical ability to captivate my attention that this book seems to posses. I had no chance of putting it down even though my eyelids were all droopy. I had no choice but to read on! Because, addicting.*ARC courtesy of Dreamspinner Press in exchange for an honest review.3.5 Stars