Review: I have no clue...
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 06 10, 2013
WARNING: minor spoilers ahead so stop before the next paragraph if that freaks you out. For those who do not want to read below I'll sum up for you, this was quite different from the previous two books, which I gave 5 stars across the board, and my head is still spinning. That may be a good thing for some of you or a bad thing, but suffice it to say, as much as I adored the previous works, this, the third book of the series, is my least favorite. Too many unbelievable flaws. The rest of you feel free to continue reading.I have no clue how to truly rate this. I absolutely adored the two previous books in this series and was ravenous to devour this one the instant it was released. The author has proven herself an amazing story teller and story weaver, but this does not follow in the same "feel" as the previous books. While the writing is still good, for the most part, you could just tell something was different. As the story began, it was spot on in continuing the previous books, same feel and texture, if you will. However, then it went way off the previous target. My first thought was seriously, is the author on some mind altering drug or is she peeved at the world? Or perhaps someone else wrote this because it is just so not the same. It was just so...different or more...primal, for lack of a better word at this moment. I seriously feel like my brain is mush right now.I get the rituals of werewolves would obviously be more intense than that of humans, but it just seemed over-the-top brutal for friends to do the things they did and supposedly what the fox went through was much tamed down compared to the norm. Yes, they are weres and yes they heal faster, but I gotta say, if friends of mine did or threatened some of those things, they would likely not remain friends for long. Furthermore, would you really subject someone known to have PTSD issues because of wolves to such barbaric customs, especially with little to no warning? I think not. To further my issues with this as unbelievably F'd up, when the fox warns Angel the hair/neck twist thing could kill her, what lower on the totem pole teenaged wolf would continue, even with the slight alterations she made, and risk the Alphas wrath for hurting or killing her mate? However, I could have gotten past all that, (if I tried really hard), but it went on for like 30% or so of the book & just when we, the readers, thought things would get back on track, the fox had her past memories invade her mind & take her out of the realm of sanity for a while. Not that we can't understand how their barbaric ritual could have caused this. I mean we all knew she had a backstory, but for real? Ok, so I guess even that would have been ok as we knew she had past issues to face and deal with, but all together & back-to-back was just exhausting. It's also just not believable. Michaela said from the start, a fox is not a pack animal. They are independent and require freedom to survive. Her past with wolves was already shaky and now they have taken away all her freedoms. She's been made a member of the pack, although with some leeway, but also they have taken her independence, her job that was important to her, money and now her treasured house. Come on!Then the ending left us ready to endure some of the same rituals to be repeated for no other reason than it's your anniversary and here's your chance to redeem yourself now that we know you can heal fast. I suspect the author expected there to be some fall-out for this change in tone due to the note from the author at the end. I'm not totally sorry I read this and I will continue to support Robin as an author, but after reading her explanation at the end & knowing she knew she had gone a little off base, I just think it might have been better to take a break, sleep, recharge and then continue on with a clear head before publishing?I just miss the fox using her sly and clever mind to help with pack problems and so on. Each book has a few flaws that were a little unbelievable, but I'm not reading English Literature here so I don't ask for or expect perfection, but this was so far out in left field I might have had trouble recognizing it as the same series if all the names & setting weren't the same.And for Gods sake what was the deal with the house? I get perhaps they wanted the fox to prove her love for the alpha by giving up something important to her, but really? It's certainly not like they had any need for the house so I hope it is further explained and has a good reason behind it in the coming book/books. I'm looking forward to the next in the series, but I really hope it gets back to the tone of the previous books. Every author is due a lapse in judgement. Suffice it to say this is Robin's. If not back to her usual by the next book, I'm not sure I will want to continue the series and that pains me because it was SO GREAT. Now lets get back on track and move on.