Review: Struggled through it
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 07 28, 2011
Having read bothThe Mark of an Alpha (Pack Discipline)andThe Strength of a Gamma (PAck Discipline)I desperately wanted to read Talbot's story.  I've loved his character since Book 1. This book, though, took some willpower to get through. First, I agree with the review that says you need to read the prior books, Mark of an Alpha at least, to remotely care about this story. Without that you will probably feel zero connection to Talbot. I love his character and I still struggled.  I kept checking to see how far I was from the end. The book is bogged down with so much mundane detail, it seriously detracts from the overall story. Pages and pages of detailed descriptions of laundry duty and wall building. Why do we care?? I also agree that referring to the characters as 'the older man' or 'the beta' or 'the darker man'was distracting and lame. Just say his name already!! Even worse, the sex scenes were blah. Entirely too mechanical and lacking any heat.As for the Beta/omega, D/s element, the author went around in so many circles I was confused at the end. It's almost like she tried too hard to write the roles and ended up bungling them. The Strength of a Gamma suffered the same fate.  She didn't have this problem writing the alphas, even though one of them is a complete submissive. It's hard to believe that this is the same author. The last 2 books of this series pale in comparison to the first, which I have read at least three times. In The Mark of an Alpha, the voices there were clear, Bennett's struggle was believable and the sex was hot! Totally different feel compared to the last two. It's actually funny (not really) that the first book - strongest book of the series - is the least expensive. The subsequent 2 books are nowhere worth $6+.I kept with it till the end because I DO like Talbot, and it was obvious that the characters care for each other..plus any appearance by Marsdon and Bennett is worth a read...but I couldn't help but feel that Gunnar could have been better written and a more loving mate for Talbot.  Heck, Steffan is better with him.  It seems like the next book in the series will be Alfred/Caden's story, and though I dislike Alfred intensely this could be an interesting read if done right. Considering I've liked each book in this series less than the one before it, I might be setting myself up for disappointment but I'm willing to give this series one more try.Read this if you've read the first two books and want to read Talbot's story. As a stand-alone, you may be very disappointed.