Review: Not bad, but it doesn't stand out
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 07 11, 2012
Warning: This review might contain what some people consider SPOILERS.Rating: 6/10PROS:- I often criticize novellas for failing to convince me of the connection between characters. I didn't have that problem here, probably because Dare does a good job of establishing that the men have been wanting each other for months.- Talbot is very sweet: submissive in just about every word, thought, and deed. I've wanted him to find a mate ever since I read the first story in this series.- The wolf pack depicted in these books runs like a machine: the men all have their individual duties, and this makes for a nice sense of community among them.CONS:- I wasn't crazy about the character of Gunnar. He's brash and moody, he snaps at Talbot for things that Talbot has no control over, and he seems to be incapable of making any expression other than a scowl, even when "enchanted" by his mate: "Gunnar glared down at [Talbot], more than a little bit enchanted by the simple submission in the smaller wolf's every movement."- The source of conflict for Gunnar felt a bit contrived to me. It's not that I wasn't told why Gunnar wasn't supposed to have feelings for Talbot; it's that I didn't buy into the reasoning. The pack is run by two alphas who are in a "love match," so why wouldn't they want Gunnar to have the same? He holds on to the idea of an arranged mating far too tightly in my opinion.- There are no breaks in the text to indicate that a new scene is beginning, so sometimes there's a rather jarring jump from one character's point of view to the next.Overall comments: This one's definitely not for you if you don't like small, effeminate bottoms or pushy Tops: Gunnar is gruff the majority of the time, and although he attempts to prove to other secondary characters that his mate is neither weak nor entirely helpless, Gunnar still thinks of Talbot as "a sweet little thing" and insists on treating him like a child at times--like when he dresses Talbot after they've had sex because Talbot isn't quite capable of doing so himself. I thought it was okay, but it won't be a re-read for me.