Review: Oh My Gosh! I thought IT WAS HORRIBLE!!!!
Rating: 1 out of 5
Date: 01 17, 2013
Oh my gosh!! I thought it was horrible!! It was about the worse book of this genre, that I have ever had the "displeasure" of reading, and before this, I thought I had read some doozies! As many books of this genre that I have read, I have found that there are many more in the shifter, M/M love sub-genre, that I don't even want to know about, let alone read!! I would give this story NO STARS, if I could. I did NOT even WANT TO GIVE it "ONE" star! It was that bad to me! Before I get started though, it is what it is. People like what they like, and are allowed thus. Oh, and there are definitely SPOILERS! When I like a story, I don't put in spoilers usually or when I do I try to keep it to a minimum, but I always warn first. I hope this helps!  :-)In my opining, If you are looking for a M/M love story, with MORE than hot sex, but a good story, with love, romance, understanding, trust and compassion - equality amongst partners, THIS IS NOT IT! I recommend that you STOP NOW! before you end up like me, with your feelings hurt while and then after reading it. Why didn't I stop reading it, if if was so horrible? I thought - okay, hoped and gave it the benefit of the doubt, that it would get better. It didn't. In all fairness, in the end, Rory was left with a little hope, but not enough for my tastes to think Casey wasn't a monster still, because in the mean time, he was still on a leash and had to keep the hope to himself for who knows how long, and not being able to share it with his mate, the one person, he should have been able to share it with, if anyone else. So yeah, to me, in the end it was still bad.Before I tell you why it was HORRIBLE TO ME, I will say one good thing. It was rather decently written as far as the actual writing technique.Eecwh! Where to begin? I disliked so many things about this story! If I had to sum it up quickly, the main reason I did not like the story, is because in this universe, in every blood-mate pairing, their is always a Dominate and a Submissive, and they don't mean that in the way that it's just in the bedroom or in private time, a personal thing between mates that is decided equally between couples on a case-by-case bases, depending on what works best for both parties involved. Nope, because that would involve both parties being treated like adults, and like they are of equal worth and importance. Instead, they mean, everywhere within their society, one is the dominate - he makes all the rules - Submissive - he follows the rules that are set by him by his "mate" or he gets punished by the mate, as is the right of the dominate one, as if the sub is a child and slave or something and the dom is his master. Have I said, "Eecwh" already? Well Eecwh again! Basically, unless the submissive is at home, anytime he's in public or around other wolves, unless they are like close family or maybe close friends, HE IS ON A LEASH! Submissive are second class citizens in this society. No, WAIT!! To be considered a second class citizen would be an improvement in status. They were considered and referred to as pets! PET'S! No matter how many times, I read it, I am still not down, with one of the mates being a pet, and it is not a choice to be a pet, the pet is chosen.Oh sure, at the end, one of the pack members, told Rory of how, it was with him and his wife, how he had actually loved and cherished her and treated her as a equal. But that was not the rule, that was the exception and solely by his choosing. The dominate has the right to treat the submissive however he chooses, and there is little, if anything that anyone can do about it, except perhaps the alpha, and he doesn't have too.The subs are expected and made to kow-tow to and just willingly and gladly whatever the dominate mate decides, with no input what so ever form the submissive unless the the dominate wants it. Plus unmated were-kin, those of the species, that are born without the inability to shift, without a wolf, are not allowed to were shirts in public. Really? Can you say "degrading"? They are publicly degraded and it's a law or rule of this wolf society in this universe to do so. Up until this story, all wolves (those that could shift, has a wolf) are the dominates and they always, always, only have a bondmate, which fate chooses, not them, who is a submissive. A submissive is the werekin with no wolves (the second class cititzens) or can be humans, who can be turned to just werekin, not wolves, at least up to this volume, thus also second class citizens. But wait, their is more, the submissive is a completely kept wolf, once mated, they can't talk to other wolves, unless they are like family members, so if you had wolf friends, no more hanging out, once mated, and they can't have jobs, unless the dominate says so. In the end, Rory is no longer able to have the friends he once had because of it. He can not just go out and hang out with his friends freely any more, because he is a kept wolf - which he did not want to be. Seriously?! I thought we were out of the dark ages. This is horrible. I supremely dislike the idea of women being treated that way, and just because they were, and it was horrible, and there were men who thought it was the height of civilized society, which has only gone down hill sense, does not mean, I would care to be in, or read about a society where men - "certain" men at that - are treated the same way - as if that is a good thing and the way it "should" be - and there is nothing that he can do about it.And to add insult to injury, in the end, I nearly cried, poor Rory, was broken it my opinion he was not even trying to resist the unfairness and cruelness of it all, he had just become resigned to his fate like it was really okay, when it really wasn't. Marco actually took Rory back from Casey, when he learned of how bad Rory was being treated. And I was like yeah, Marco! But then, Rory just went right back to him, but Marco did threaten to  intervene if there wasn't some improvement in the treatment of his nephew. Sad!! Very SAD!! I don't do SAD endings!!!Now, at first, I liked Casey, I liked him a lot, and then I found out who he really was, and I was still okay, until, I "he" found out who Rory was. And despite Rory being his bondmate, meaning he couldn't actually kill him, like he had planned on doing to the wolf who had killed his brother, for revenge, he consciously and purposely,  planned to torture and abuse Rory in every physical, mental and emotional way that he could think up and could actually do, short of killing him, sense he couldn't actually do that, in order to degrade and break Rory, which was a lot of things. One of the things he planned was to put a leash on Rory. Poor Rory! I also nearly cried at that part. Here the man was planning on how he could BEST HURT HIS "OWN" MATE. I do not understand how anyone can get off or relish or enjoy in anyway, this sort of thing happening to a even a fictional that didn't do anything close to deserving such a fate. I CAN NOT. He decided to and than did, force Rory to mate him, by persistently doing things to push Rory toward him, some of which were unkind, of course, as Rory, on the other hand, tried desperately to stay away from Casey and the terrible fate that awaited him if he mated with Casey. At some point it occurred to Casey that he could kill Rory's wolf, and he thought it was a smashing idea, and when he thought that is what had happened, he was satisfied and happy that his mate was suffering. Do you know what that is like for a shifter? That's like, in human terms, if someone tore out "HALF OF YOUR SOUL" forever! And then - as in Rory's case with Casey - did so because that person thought you deserved to literally be "torn" into half of what you were, never to be able to be whole again! Who the heck, does that to someone, unless you hate that person, let alone someone that you are supposed to love and cherish at least as much if not more than your on life. Who does that?Suffice it to say, Rory didn't know exactly what would happen if he mated Casey, but was positive that it would not be good and he really would not like. He even suspected he might lose his wolf or something of the like. And thus - and I really didn't blame him in the least, I whole-heartedly agreeed for him and rooted in van for him to succeed - Rory had took to resisting Casey like the plague. Unfortunately for me and Rory, he did not succeed.Why was Casey behaving or rather planning to behave like a an evil bast**d toward his own one true fated mate, that in all other such stores that I have read, is a most sacred, and blessed thing, and if you are so blessed to find one, you love, cherish "and" respect him as your equal, at the very least? Well, his brother, had previous decided to break several wolf laws or codes, any of which could have brought on severe punishment to him and any who aided him in anyway, and for some of those infractions, killing the offending wolf was well within the rights of the wolf or wolves who were wronged. His brother and alpha decided that he would sneak into the territory of Marco, Rory's alpha and uncle, and try to invade them when he thought that he had the advantage. After the brother did that. After which, he instead kidnapped the "ALPHA'S" mate and one of the alpha's nephews, Rory's little brother, to trade for Marco's territory than left the territory.Well Rory and Marco, went after him, but Rory was the first on the scene. Now, if you have never read one of these, you do NOT under any circumstances, so much as insult, let alone cause any harm or put any type or put in any kind of danger, the alpha-mate! That is a  sure, quick way - to get you dead! And "all" wolves, especially alpha's know this. Well Rory, did try negotiating with Casey's brother, but he would not be reasonable, instead he threaten to rape the alpha-mate and make him, his instead. So long story short- Rory attacked and killed him, saved the hostages, they all went home safely, the end.However, unfortunately for Rory, Casey had been told by his brother that he was not going to harm either of the hostages and was just going to offer the other side - whom he had transgressed against, keep in mind - a trade. Then Casey was sent away by his brother before the exchange was to take place, and thus did not witness his brother threatening the alpha mate with rape. Thus when his brother didn't return he learned of his death, Casey thought, that his brother had simply kept his word and done no harm to the the victims and attempted to verbally make the negotiation, but the others pack simply had not cared to talked and just attacked and killed him. Thus he considered it murder, instead of what it really was, the other pack rightfully defending or taking justified retribution for their pack members who had been "severely" wronged. It was no small thing, what the brother had done. Now here's the kicker, Casey's brother was not a good guy, nor a particularly good alpha, and Casey knew that. Before that fiasco, Casey pleaded with his brother not to do what he was planning, because if it went wrong and he strongly believe there was a very good chance that it would, the brother would get them both and any others of their pack that helped, killed by the other pack. But as I have stated, his brother would not listen. And Casey knew it was a bad idea, and they both would likely be killed, but it was his "brother" whom he loved and his alpha, whom had given he an order, so he did what he was told to the best of his ability.So in conclusion, Casey's brother, SOOOOO had it coming, being killed. He was the one COMPLETELY in the wrong. There was no right in what he did nor how he did it. And Casey knew his brother was completely wrong and if things didn't go right for them, either one of them and most likely bother of them could be killed and he knew it would be the right of the other wolf pack to do so. They, at the very least were trespassing.  And depending on the circumstances that alone could get a wolf killed. Then when it happened, that the "poo" hit the fan, Casey's brother ended up dead, Casey wanted revenge as if he was justified in seeking retribution for what happened to his brother, when he was not. And when he does find what he believed was the right pack of the wolf who killed his brother, he didn't bother to try to learn the other side of the story. He just wanted to hurt his "bondmate" as badly as he could, short of killing him. Where was the love and forgiveness? Don't know!I tried, very hard to like Casey, after all of the facts were in, but after he did use the strong pull of the bond to force Rory to mate him, and then how he treated Rory afterwards, and how in the end, Rory just gave in as if it was all right, I simply could not. Rory thought his wolf had died, it was horrible for him, but Casey was glad. He. Was. Glad!!! THAT IS NOT LOVE! There was no forgiveness from Casey, just revenge and once achieved he was satisfied. He treated Rory like he was less than himself.Yeah, I am not a big fan of M/M romance, when one of them "forces" his mate, against his mate's will into a life long bonding and then proceeds to treat him as if he is a second class citizen in the name of protection and/or putting him on a pedestal, for none others to approach, only to taken out and played with whenever he wants and than put back, as if the one treated that way should be happy to be treated so well, as if it is some grand privilege. But if it's so great, than why does the "alpha" type never want to be treated like that? And if it's a privilege, than why isn't the submissive, given a choice? Why have laws, rules, codes, etc. that govern their society that say the submissive mate, will be treated as such, whether he or she wants to or not, if it's such a good thing, that one would gladly choose anyway? EXACTLY!!! It's a load of stinky poo! It should be one's choice as to what power he wishes to give another over him. And between life-mates, it should be a choice freely given, by both parties one to another and should never be one-sided, and never forced upon one by society. And fiction or no, their are somethings, that I despise so much, that even in fiction it puts me off. There are things I refuse to condone even in the name of fiction and creative expression. How submissive mates were treated in that universe was one of them.If Casey had been the enemy, then I would have been okay with his behavior toward Rory, because as the enemy it would have been expected for him to behave badly. That's what bad guys or enemies doe! And thus, his behavior toward Rory would in no way have been condoned by the forces of good, who would have thwarted his evil schemes and saved poor Rory from his terrible fate, by the end, and Rory would have had a happy ending. As it was Casey was not the enemy, but he was the antagonist, because he was definitely not on Rory's side nor was he trying to help him in anyway. Your mate should not be your antagonist.I do NOT intend to read any more of the Dark Hollow Wolf Pack. And I do NOT, have NOT and WILL NOT RECOMMEND it to anyone.