Review: Interesting storyline, but I felt the mystery could have been handled better
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 10 18, 2012
Warning: This review might contain what some people consider SPOILERS.Rating: 6/10PROS:- There's an interesting supernatural/paranormal/fantasy element in addition to the werewolf plot element. (see cons below also)- I like that Theo still has some canine features even when he's in human form. We get to see quite a few little insights into his awkwardness and disconnectedness from the human world. There's one point, for example, when Theo "walked at the back of the pack [of people] so he could measure if he was walking too quickly."- There's not a lot of outright humor in the book, but I found the whole situation rather amusing at times, if only because it's preposterous if you think about it logically. Yet the characters just go about living their lives, accepting the reality of the environment in which they live. This is one of my favorite lines: "Fortunately he wasn't afraid of the dark. With a very few notable exceptions, the things that went bump in the night just wanted to chat."- The writing is...strange. But not in a bad way. There are unusual metaphors throughout that made me pause and think, "now that's an interesting way of putting it." Here are some examples: "The living room wasn't exactly out of control but clearly fought the reins"; "This brought not only cool air into his lungs, but a whole symphony of scents as well, set to the key of `kennel'."CONS:- The plot is intriguing, but it's not as deep as it could have been. Little hints about the mystery keep coming up, but they're essentially the same little hints that we've gotten before: it's not like the puzzle comes together piece by piece and we get to put it together ourselves. Early on, we find out something weird is going on, but then we don't get much more than "the weirdness is continuing..." until the end, when the whole explanation comes tumbling out all at once.- The use of sex (rather than talking) as a solution to every misunderstanding irritates me.- It felt to me as though Max was simply playing with Theo much of the time, even after Max realizes that Theo is more invested in the relationship than he is. And the men's emotional reactions to each other--anger, confusion, hurt--confused me because I didn't often understand where those emotions had come from. It would seem as though things were fine, and then in the next sentence one of the men would be upset about something and they'd be arguing.Overall comments: The action starts on page 1 and continues full throttle throughout the rest of the book. It does have a few slow moments, but they don't last long. Overall, I appreciated the non-stop pace of the story, although everything seems to happen just a bit too quickly: conversations are brief, scenes are clipped, etc. I didn't love the characters here, but if you're looking for an intriguing paranormal story, especially one with quite a bit of sex, this might be a good one for you.