Review: Book Review from Hampton Reviews
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 28, 2011
Shapeling Trilogy:  Roth: Book One: Protector is fantasy romance novel (without the stereotypical sex scenes). It follows the story of Roth, who is a member of the Shapeling species and can shapeshift into a wide-variety of animals, and Rainey, a human woman that is in charge of a scientific experiment with the potential to change the world. They are introduced to each other when Roth's ruling council assigns him to guard Rainey and Rainey's dad hires Roth to be her bodyguard. Rainey objects at the presence of another bodyguard and sparks ensue.The editing quality of this book is good. The formatting is professional looking and comes complete with a copyright page and a dedication page. There are some typos throughout the book (one missing word and a few wrong words, such as using the word make instead of take) and the occasional error with missing or additional quotation marks. However, while they are certainly noticeable, they do not pull the reader out of the flow of the story.The plot was clearly well-thought out and planned. The glimpses of Roth's Shapeling society were intriguing and leave the reader looking forward to learning more about it in the last two books of the trilogy. Shifting from one event to another was a little abrupt, with no real transitions from any of event to any other event. The fact that this book is about an heiress on the verge of a scientific breakthrough who requires protection, however, means that this lack of transitions actually fits the book.The characters were also rich and thoroughly developed. Roth, as both a bodyguard and a Shapeling, is a strong man with a strong personality. It fits and works well with the plot and his role within the story. The author does a good job of keeping his actions and personality consistent throughout the story. Rainey is stubborn and, surprising for her role as a scientist, narrow-minded. She also has a high degree of focus. Her personality allows her to stand-up to Roth, but at times makes her seem young and naive. The personal growth of the characters, much like the plot, makes some abrupt jumps forward and, while it does not actually detract from the story, leaves the reader wishing just a little more time was spent in transitioning the characters. This is also true of the relationship between Roth and Rainey.The descriptions in the book--especially those of locations--were thorough and provided a good picture in the reader's mind. It was simple to imagine where the characters were, what was happening to them, and what they looked like. Some of the locations seemed too good to be real and it was nice that the author added a note about their actual existence at the beginning of the book.The author's writing style was easy to read and made for an enjoyable escape. The book moved along at a good pace, without actually feeling rushed, and told a lot of story in a concise manner. When the book finally draws to a close, the reader is left eager to know what happens to Roth and Rainey and ready to move on to the second book in the series.I would recommend this book for anyone who enjoys books such as Christine Feehan's Carpathian novels.[...]