Review: enjoyable
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 11 15, 2012
The main problem of this M/M werewolf romance, for me, is that it comes after "Wild Horses".It shares most of its commendable traits but, unfortunately, they are not as fully accomplished. Furthermore it is true that Mr River twists and turns the werewolf genre into new and interesting ways but he does not manage to shed all its constraints and those that are left cage the story.Let us get into details.The setting is sound: an alternate world where supernaturals have been in contact with humans for centuries establishing some sort of balance gives the book an urban fantasy flair and diverse situations, beside being good for possible sequels.The idea for the plot is sound and good because it makes werewolves outsiders -I shall not give spoilers detailing why they are-, mysterious and scary creatures, even in a world used to the non-humans.Unfortunately pace is a bit slow: the book never actually drags but it is not exactly action driven. There were several moments that could have actually been developed further.This might be because of the great attention given to character interaction but even in this Wild Horses was superior: Tucker and Ryder talk a lot, saying a lot of romantic and meaningful things and yet their love does not manage to feel as tight and compelling as the romance was there.Unfortunately Mr River accepts two stereotypes of the genre, the dominance-submission and the mating. True enough, they are based on real-life wolf-packs but this is fantasy, after all, and they could have been denied just as well.First, the mating thing is -for me- less interesting than simply giving the newly bitten leads a more urgent sexual drive and see things (that is their friendship) develop from there.Second, sex scenes are well done but having the two encased in rigid roles is less interesting than having them switch. It could have been a good compromise to have them go all Dom/Sub when in wolf-mode but having them switch when human. Luckily enough, Ryder has quite a backbone and he does not come out as girlish.While the leads are nicely and fully rounded, the side characters feel a bit underdeveloped and could have use more attention.Writing is generally good and fluid, but there are a couple of grammar mistakes.Trey's sister is said to have short hair the first time we meet her but has a braid later on. Ryder remembers meeting Jean-se and Se-jean before when he actually just "saw" them during his first trip to Little Avalon.Little things, but they should be corrected.The novel is perfectly self contained but has many openings for further instalments. While I do not love it as much as the other one I still deem it to be highly enjoyable and fairly original and I would love to get a series.P.S. Mr River and I really differ about models to be used on book covers: I disliked the one on Wild Horses' and neither am I happy with these two. The brunette is not rugged enough for Tucker and the blond one is average looking, not the beautiful imp I picture myself as Ryder.