Review: Sequel Takes On An Unlikeable Character in the first book and Makes Him the Unlikely Hero
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 16, 2013
This was the second book in the Arcada series and I was so glad that it took up the story of Blacque's younger brother, Travis, who seemed so lost in the first book.  This brings me to mention that I would recommend reading the stories in order because of the series spoilers that would be revealed in the second story and because Travis Feris story began in the first book.Travis Feris, son of the alpha wolf, but also an omega mother is a lost angry, hurting and rudderless soul.  He deliberately baits people into beating him down physically, he takes chances and he always hides his fear and loneliness.  The story opens with him standing up to much more powerful wolves of the pack to protect his gentle mother, but then afterward he needs to blow off some steam so he heads to the local bar outside of town.  Little does he know that his actions fall in perfectly with someone else's plans.Dylan Ryve, is an old fae being, who is enslaved under a geas to perform contract kills and captures for another until he reaches the magic number that will free him.  He is on his last job.  He is to bring in someone who is living in the enchanted town of Arcada, but the town itself rejects him and won't let him enter.  He has to find a less direct means to find his quarry and that just means waiting for a citizen of the town to come out to him.  He is a dream walker so he can use the person's dreams to locate the other.  His plan starts to go awry when the first resident of the town he encounters is the wild wolf, Travis who immediately grabs his attention and challenges him to start having emotions that he hasn't felt in many years.  He rescues Travis from an attack after the wolf was drugged and keeps Travis with him until he heals.  In the mean time, the two lonely hurting souls who seem all wrong for each other make a connection.  Dylan struggles with the betrayal he is about to do when he discovers through Travis' dreams that the one he must capture is Travis' friend and Dylan plans to use Travis to do it.A rogue wolf attack complicates matters, but it does give Dylan the in he needs to get into Arcada.  Now he just needs to decide if this last grab that will set him free is worth what his actions would do to others.The story line for this one has a different pace.  There is a lot more worldbuilding and build up necessary than the first book had because Dylan is a complicated person with a complicated past.  It is very necessary to introduce his skills in depth like that because they play a big part in the build up and climax of the story.  Travis is young, but his life is no less complicated.  He doesn't feel a contributing member of his pack, he doesn't feel a connection with his family and he really doesn't see his own worth well at all.  Travis would have come off as just a bratty kid acting out if things hadn't been taken slowly like they were.  I guess what I'm trying to say is be patient and give this one a chance to build because it does drag a bit in the beginning as it sets things up.  This one explores motives and not just actions.  I like that sort of thing so I didn't mind.  Not that it is lacking in action or romance, those are both there, but they take some time to come about.  Once they do get together for the romance, there are light BDSM elements that are more a reflection of a need for control on Dylan's part and structure and rules on Travis' than for a lifestyle.  I do have to add that I enjoyed that recurring characters from the first book were present in this story.All in all, it was an enjoyable read and I would gladly read more in this series.Thank you to Netgalley for providing the book for review purposes.