The Strength of the Pack by Jorrie Spencer

TITLE: The Strength of the Pack
AUTHOR: Jorrie Spencer
PUBLISHER: Samhain Publishing
LENGTH: Novel (roughly 64k)
GENRE: Paranormal romance
COST: $5.50

Werewolf Seth Kolski leads a solitary life, haunted by his sister’s disappearance. A chance encounter with his teenaged crush, the recently divorced Jamie Buchner, leads to more complications than he anticipated – her reciprocating feelings, a five-year-old boy in desperate search of a father figure, and a future he can’t allow himself to believe in. When the past rears its ugly head, it threatens to tear apart everything he loves. Including Jamie and her fragile family.

I almost didn’t buy this book. The cover kind of creeped me out a little bit, and since werewolves aren’t necessarily my favorite paranormal, I was prepared to skip the blurb. But I did, and then I read the excerpt anyway and liked it enough to give this one a go. I am so glad I did. This is one of the most compulsively readable books I’ve had in quite awhile. The first few chapters were the usual stop and go I get with books, but by the time I was halfway through, I didn’t want to walk away from it.

Seth is sexy, complex, and haunted, painted with a deft brush throughout the story. It was completely understandable why Jamie fell for him, even with his half-hearted attempts to keep her at arm’s length. I found myself caught up in his personal drama, anxious for Jamie to get through to him, eager to see him get some happiness. I credit Seth for my inability to put the story down. He was wonderful.

Where Seth’s characterization excelled, Jamie was a bit of a letdown. Her behavior was erratic, and while I suspect the author would argue her physical state as the reason for that, it was too much for me to buy. Her indecision didn’t bother me – in fact, it was to be expected – but emotional flipflops multiple times within a single scene got to be a little much. I still liked her, just not as much as Seth. It would have been nice to know why she wasn’t working, though.

While maybe not the freshest plot around, Ms. Spencer’s even pacing and commitment to her hero more than compensate. She could have done more in regards to building the history and world of Seth’s werewolves, but what she does have is engaging and doesn’t leave a reader asking too many questions. Maybe it was my adoration of Seth that made me want more. I only wish the upcoming book in this series was more of Seth. I’ll buy it anyway, though. Ms. Spencer has a new reader in me.

Readability	9/10 – Compulsively readable. Mostly great pacing and professionally presented.
Hero	9/10 – Heartbreaking and three-dimensional. Loved Seth.
Heroine	7/10 – Likeable, but uneven
Entertainment value	9/10 – Couldn’t put it down, though it took me a little bit to get into it.
World building	7/10 – When it came to Seth’s world, very believable, though I would have preferred more detail/explanation to better enrich it.
TOTAL:	41/50