Review: Wonderful Beginning
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 6, 2014
I would've read this book anyway, regardless of the fact that I've become friends with the author, because… Yes, people, you know it. It's a shifter book and gawd I love 'em! I don't know why that is, except maybe that I like animals way more than most people. Animals don't manipulate or lie, everything they do is based on instinct and I respect that. Granted, shifters are different in that they're both human and animal, but I still like to see the basic instincts at work. With that said, and another explanation of my love of shifters, this time for the benefit of JJ Black, since this is my first book of hers, let me just say that I can highly recommend 'Accepting the Alpha'.Ahhhhh, Eli, I do love a man conflicted about his sexuality. Especially when he doesn't know he's conflicted, but he's checking out the hotties on the dance floor! *grins* I've got to admit, the author's physical descriptions of Eli and Kellan really brought a picture of these very gorgeous men into my mind. Since Eli's birth pack seriously frowned upon same sex unions, and Eli's best friend, Jai, was thrown out of their pack because he was gay, it's no wonder that the thought of being with another man has never occurred to Eli. At least until he meets Kellan, his fated mate. I really enjoy shifter stories that involve the concept of fated mates, so I guess there's a bit of a hopeless romantic inside me.Eli and Kellan can barely get started on the getting to know you part of being mates before Eli's past hunts him down. Eli left his previous pack even though he was Beta and second only to his father, who was Alpha. Apparently his father went off the deep end and when he tried to force a marriage onto Eli with a very underage girl, Eli decided enough was enough and left the Pack. However, as Eli is now discovering that's the least of his father's sins and when Eli's older brother, Noah, is attacked by his own pack members, Eli and Kellan can't allow this to continue. What they discover happening in Eli's birth pack is seriously deranged and it'll take them working together to defeat the threat.Not only is this book my first read of a JJ Black, but it's also the author's first published work. I have to give kudos for a job well done. Yes, there is predictability, and, yes, there are some inconsistencies, but, there is far less than I've seen in some established authors’ work. The characters are fleshed out, and although there isn't a whole lot left to the imagination, the story also didn't lead me by the hand as if I were a child. The story was well paced and the secondary characters were very good and I'd like to see more of Jai, Dylan, Noah, Dax, and Ryker. The heat between Kellan and Eli was intense and I loved it.I very much enjoyed this book and I'm looking forward to more by this author. Her writing is very gripping and, in my opinion, can only get better. Since I was pretty darned impressed with her first effort, I can only imagine how she'll grow. Great job, JJ!NOTE: This book was provided by Totally Bound Publishing for the purpose of a review on <a href="[...]"I would've read this book anyway, regardless of the fact that I've become friends with the author, because… Yes, people, you know it. It's a shifter book and gawd I love 'em! I don't know why that is, except maybe that I like animals way more than most people. Animals don't manipulate or lie, everything they do is based on instinct and I respect that. Granted, shifters are different in that they're both human and animal, but I still like to see the basic instincts at work. With that said, and another explanation of my love of shifters, this time for the benefit of JJ Black, since this is my first book of hers, let me just say that I can highly recommend 'Accepting the Alpha'.Ahhhhh, Eli, I do love a man conflicted about his sexuality. Especially when he doesn't know he's conflicted, but he's checking out the hotties on the dance floor! *grins* I've got to admit, the author's physical descriptions of Eli and Kellan really brought a picture of these very gorgeous men into my mind. Since Eli's birth pack seriously frowned upon same sex unions, and Eli's best friend, Jai, was thrown out of their pack because he was gay, it's no wonder that the thought of being with another man has never occurred to Eli. At least until he meets Kellan, his fated mate. I really enjoy shifter stories that involve the concept of fated mates, so I guess there's a bit of a hopeless romantic inside me.Eli and Kellan can barely get started on the getting to know you part of being mates before Eli's past hunts him down. Eli left his previous pack even though he was Beta and second only to his father, who was Alpha. Apparently his father went off the deep end and when he tried to force a marriage onto Eli with a very underage girl, Eli decided enough was enough and left the Pack. However, as Eli is now discovering that's the least of his father's sins and when Eli's older brother, Noah, is attacked by his own pack members, Eli and Kellan can't allow this to continue. What they discover happening in Eli's birth pack is seriously deranged and it'll take them working together to defeat the threat.Not only is this book my first read of a JJ Black, but it's also the author's first published work. I have to give kudos for a job well done. Yes, there is predictability, and, yes, there are some inconsistencies, but, there is far less than I've seen in some established authors’ work. The characters are fleshed out, and although there isn't a whole lot left to the imagination, the story also didn't lead me by the hand as if I were a child. The story was well paced and the secondary characters were very good and I'd like to see more of Jai, Dylan, Noah, Dax, and Ryker. The heat between Kellan and Eli was intense and I loved it.I very much enjoyed this book and I'm looking forward to more by this author. Her writing is very gripping and, in my opinion, can only get better. Since I was pretty darned impressed with her first effort, I can only imagine how she'll grow. Great job, JJ!NOTE: This book was provided by Totally Bound Publishing for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews