Review: Heartwarming, entertaining
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 27, 2014
PizzyGirl's review at Mrs Condit & Friends Read Books: As I as reading this story, I discovered that the plot has two sections. The first half was what I will call “The Relationship”. This was a typical shifter tale with the instant love connection, it was also atypical in that the story showed the relationship struggles after the initial mating. Sex did not equal and automatic HEA and it was not an easy journey. Luke continually put up roadblocks and Brian tried his hardest to overcome them all. But it showed that a lasting relationship takes compromise from both sides.I loved Brian and his internal monologues. His thoughts were random, funny, and often snarky. In his mind, his wolf ran the show and did whatever it wanted. The author held nothing back, including thoughts that were not flattering to Brian’s new mate. I found myself laughing out loud on more than one occasion.On the flip side, I didn’t care for Luke at first. He was annoyingly fragile, needy, and scared of his own shadow. I kept waiting for Brian to slap him silly and tell him to grow-up or get out! I also didn’t like that Luke was willing to sleep with Brian right away even though Luke thinks he is a violent werewolf cult leader. He was OK with anything sexual, but got extremely moody when he had to do anything else. It was a big turn off for me.The second half I will call “The pack” as this part of the story showed the development of Brian and Luke and their ever increasing band of misfits. Pack dynamic came into play and the author showed his ability to easily twist a fun loving tale of personal growth and acceptance.Luke finally came out of his shell and turned into the glue that held the new pack together. His transformation into a stable pack Alpha allowed Brian to step back and become more of the pack provider/elder. Luke became the caregiver and handled the daily leadership needs. I found I began to respect Luke, he was indeed a good match for Brian. The men discovered that they complimented each other, each with different strengths and weaknesses, but together they formed the perfect Alpha pair. Each new pack member needed a chance at life, needed to be loved, and with Brian and Luke’s support, they all became a family by choice, not by blood. It was endearing.I really enjoyed this story! There are some serious elements but the writing style was clever giving the whole story a fun and easy feeling. The author used words like “smote, sponger-offer, bosom, Ick, and killer volcano habanero sauce.” I recommend this for anyone looking for a heartwarming yet entertaining read.