Review: Good Follow-Up to Unacceptable Risk
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 3, 2013
Very solid and enjoyable follow-up to #1 in the Hidden Wolves series Unacceptable Risk. Whereas the first book focused on werewolf Simon and human Paul, this one focuses on alpha Aaron, who is struggling on running his new pack, protecting Simon and Paul from those who think gay wolves should be eradicated, and dealing with the fact that his developing feelings for a young pack member is making it even harder to keep himself in the closet.Even though the focus of the story is on Aaron and the developing relationship with Zach, this is not a standalone book, and if you want to check out the series, you should hit book 1 first. There's a lot of stuff that happened in book 1, including explaining the packs, their politics, mate bonds, etc, so if you slide into book 2 without that knowledge, you'll be way more confused. There are also a lot of side characters, and you'll get introduced to them in book 1, whereas in book 2, there's not a lot of introduction for them.For those who enjoyed book 1, especially Simon and Paul's relationship, you'll be happy to know that they are major supporting characters in this one, so even though you're not in their heads, they still have a lot of time on page, and there's even some relationship progression (but viewed from Aaron's POV.) His alpha view, and his ability to feel his pack through his alpha bond was a nice way to gain access to characters feelings, even though their POV wasn't the focus.Besides being Aaron's book, the other big difference is that this one is told from Aaron's first person POV only. (Book 1 balanced both Simon and Paul's third person POV.) This was kind of a big change, but I think it worked overall since with Aaron's POV, you get both the restrictions of only his viewpoint, but also his access to the alpha bond and pack members' feelings allow him (and the reader) a better understanding of what's going on with other characters.Overall, the story was a lot of fun and the second half was very action-oriented as Aaron, his pack, and a neighboring pack join forces to bring down a threat. The only downside is that there were a lot of side characters that pop up, and I didn't always feel very connected to them (so if something bad happened, it didn't have as much weight), but all-in-all, it was still a fun read, and I didn't want to put it down.I dug Aaron's and Zach's developing relationship, and the way they bounced off each other. They had sexy-sweet chemistry, and it was nice to watch Aaron's slow fall into something that he didn't think was good for the pack, but in the end, was what he really wanted.For nervous readers, the ending is a very solid HFN. As alpha, I don't think Aaron can take anything for granted or assume everything will work out perfectly, especially with so much uncertainty about the pack's safety going forward, but he's very much enjoying what he has right now.Overall, I think book 1 is still my favorite, but this was a good follow-up, and I'm still very much on the Hidden Wolves train if/when future books come out. I think Harper really excels at creating engaging characters and relationships that you want to read about, so I look forward to where things go from here.My one caveat is that it's been almost a year since I read book 1 and I forgot a lot of stuff. I think it might be better to read them closer together, or else, do as I did and go in with a "go with the flow" approach. There is not a lot re-explained from book 1 (which is fine by me--fewer exposition dumps keeps the pace tighter) but it means some things might be more confusing if you're not coming off fresh from book 1.In the end though--fun read; hopeful for more. (And as a Simon and Paul fan, I was definitely happy with their moments. I wouldn't mind more of them and Aaron and Zach in future books.)And for those interested, there's a free novella "sequel" or Unexpected Demands 2.5 on Smashwords. I just finished that too and there's more Aaron&Zach; story there. (A definite read before Hidden Wolves #3 since it's pretty plotty for a novella.)