Review: So much potential...
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 05 16, 2011
The first thing that struck me was the cover: a sinister-looking man with reddish eyes dressed like something out of the Old West. The next thing that got me was the Bloodhound emblem underneath the title.I was immediately intrigued.Okay, here we go. I'm not going to rehash the blurb or anything like that.I just have to vent.Wilder's Mate has the required romantic storyline with the hero and heroine meeting, clashing, sexing, beating up the bad guys and saving the day. Its good in that way. I don't have any complaints about that at all.What my issue with this is that Ms. Rogers had the perfect opportunity to blow this book apart with her world building and she didn't do it. I can't think of another book that has man-made Bloodhounds who are Vampire-Killers set in a Steampunk-style western frontier.Seriously?Sure, Satira and Wilder are supposed to be the main focal point but I wasn't too concerned about their interaction. Yes, she's feisty and intelligent, he's sexy and dangerous. You already know what's going to happen with them.I was more interested in the bits of back-story that popped up every now and then. You've got brothels, prostitutes, ghouls, vamps, a secret society that creates the Bloodhounds, steampunk machinery, all kinds of crazy stuff and it is barely touched upon.How were the Bloodhounds created? The New Moon madness idea is perfect. Can Bloodhounds become murderous fiends if not sexually satiated? What's the Guild all about? Where did they come from? Who's in it? How does one become a Bloodhound? What about the inventions that Satira and Nathaniel were working on prior to his kidnapping? How about Orphelia? What about Levi and Ada? Where did Wilder come from? How did Archer do what he did if he's only a Bloodhound (a little spoiler, sorry)There are so many unanswered questions that its not funny. Judging from a few of the reviews I've read, I'm not the only one complaining about the world-building. Ms. Rogers has to turn it up a notch, for real.Let me put this out there. This is not a shot at the author or anything. This is about a story that could have been so much more. It has all the makings of becoming a series that people will go crazy over. I'm curious enough to see what happens in the next installment (Hunter's Prey, due out in 2012). I sincerely hope that Ms. Rogers opens up the Bloodhound world much more than she has.I know Ms. Rogers has a fan base and I'm happy for her but you can't drop an original idea like this on people and leave it as it is. Your fans and potential readers deserve better.3.5 stars