Review: I wanted some more depth from the characters
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 03 14, 2014
Warning: This review might contain what some people consider SPOILERS.Rating: 6/10PROS:- The transformation that Luke undergoes through the story is sweet. He’s a weakling at the start, but by the end he’s thriving on the love of his mate and his family and the sense of community within their pack.- Some of the mating rituals are amusing, as are Brian’s and Luke’s unusual performances of them.- When Luke’s vulnerability is subtle (rather than slap-you-in-the-face-with-a-fish obvious), it’s endearing. Brian’s protective nature is well established.CONS:- I almost stopped reading very early on because of the abundance of werewolf stereotypes and unoriginality. Instamating, extreme possessiveness, a dude in distress… You get the idea.- The story is heavy on “telling.” Here’s a quote to illustrate: “All the wolves got to know one another, sharing meals, running through the woods as wolves, and talking as humans. It went well… The smaller puppies were intimated by their big cousins, but in a very hero-worship way that soon earned them a welcome. The women got along extremely well.” I want to see PROOF of this kind of stuff in a story. I want to *hear* the conversations they have, I want to *see* the puppies and their cousins interacting, and I want to *watch* the women spend time together and see HOW they’re getting along so well.- There are short descriptive phrases throughout (examples: “a strong yet gentle, manly touch”; “revealing his masculine figure curled small”) that seem designed to convince the reader how very masculine the two men are in spite of the stereotypically feminine things they’re always doing (crying, for instance). I didn’t find these phrases convincing.Overall comments: I liked the idea here; if it had been fleshed out, with some deeper exploration into the characters’ heads, I think I might have loved it. But it’s mostly told in a “this happened, this happened, this happened” format, rather than showing much exploration of the characters’ feelings.