Solstice Heat by Leila Brown

TITLE: Solstice Heat
AUTHOR: Leila Brown
PUBLISHER: Loose Id
LENGTH: Novella (roughly 30k)
GENRE: Paranormal erotic romance
COST: $4.99

Once the alpha of his pack, Jason now lives on the periphery, trapped in his wheelchair, desperate for a mate. He thinks he’s found her in the woman he’s been talking to online, but appearances are not what they seem. Gio discovered the correspondence her little sister has been having with a stranger online and vowed to face this sexual predator, once and for all. At Jason’s house, however, his wolf sees her verbal attack as a threat and before either one knows it, he’s bitten her…

I often find myself at a loss with some of the crazes that sweep through published fiction, mostly because they don’t hit my kinks. A few I’ll read anyway if a story sounds good enough. Werewolf stories fall into that small category. I can take them or leave them, and honestly, nine times out of ten, I leave them. I don’t swoon at the idea of forever mates, or insta-mates, and most of my experiences with werewolf stories have been with authors who use these genre tropes as shortcuts to real storytelling or genuine character growth. This novella stood out with its promise of a handicapped hero—a kink I do have—and I bought it in hopes of getting a story about a man struggling to come to grips with the conflict between his disability and his alpha nature, with some hot sex along the way.

That’s not what I got.

It starts out that way. Jason wants to find a mate who doesn’t remember him from the way he was before, a woman who will want him for the man he is now, trapped in his chair. He’s been corresponding with a woman online for the past three months, and now, he’s finally had the nerve to ask her to come see him. His goal is to make her fall in love with him so he can take her to the pack’s solstice ceremony and turn her. The pack’s laws dictate that once a human knows about them, they have to be either turned or killed, so he wants to make it so that this woman wants to be turned. There’s a problem, though. The woman who arrives at his front door is not the one he’s been writing to. It’s her sister, who is pissed off and convinced he’s a sexual predator. Her verbal attack sparks him into an unexpected shift, and he bites her and forces her to submit before it’s too late to stop him.

That’s where the story changes. See, once a woman gets bitten, she goes into heat. She needs to have sex to ease it, or go mad as a result. And because Gio has been bitten by an alpha, that means even more sex and an even stronger reaction. So instead of a hot tale of a hurt man learning to love again, it’s basically a fuck-or-die story. Gio needs to have sex with Jason as soon as, and as often as, possible, or risk going out of control. Because she’s such a strong personality, she fights it. All good, right?

Up to this point, it wasn’t that bad. The prose is simplistic, and the characterizations lack any sort of nuance, but I still had hope. Then it got to this point. Now, I’m not a fan of the fuck-or-die scenario (yes, in this case, she doesn’t literally die, but the intent is pretty much the same since the circumstances if she doesn't are still dire with a capital D), but I will, and have, read some done well. It might be because the prose was just too hot to ignore, or I loved the characters, or there was a fascinating psychological approach taken to the scenario. This story had none of those. Then it got worse. I can tell you the exact moment this story lost me. My jaw dropped, and then I laughed out loud at how ridiculous it was. It’s inevitable Gio and Jason have sex, right? At the end, I read this: Then she felt it. His essence flowed into her, making the fire deep inside cool. That essence is his come because they can’t use a condom (Jason says so). And when she tries to get up… “No. If you stand up, my cum will leak out, and the heat will return…” His come literally turns the flame down (not quite douses, Gio realizes, but she feels normal again).

There is zero subtlety there. Zero nuance. This typifies the work in other areas, as well, from the shallowly written bad guys, to the not hot at all for me sex scenes. Gio redeems herself slightly when she faces off with Jason’s ex, but when her abrasive attitude isn’t directly warranted, she came across as unnecessarily angry and shrill. Jason fares slightly better, but even he lacks any kind of depth.

I don’t read enough werewolf stories to know if this is typical. It might be, for all I know. Fans of this type of shifter very well could have different reactions than I did. But from a non-rose-colored glasses perspective on the genre, this story fails to deliver a coherent romance, genuine emotion, or interesting world-building.

Readability	6/10 – Simplistic with a lot of redundancies
Hero	5/10 – Lacked any sort of nuance to make me fall for him
Heroine	4/10 – I liked how she kicked ass when it was necessary, but when it wasn’t, she felt angry, abrasive, and obnoxious
Entertainment value	2/10 – It lost all credibility when his come literally puts the fire out inside her
World building	6/10 – Though some attempts are there to create an interesting world, it’s presented haphazardly and leaves a lot of important questions unanswered
TOTAL:	23/50

A Wolf at Her Door by Kate Willoughby

TITLE: A Wolf at Her Door
AUTHOR: Kate Willoughby
PUBLISHER: Ellora’s Cave
LENGTH: Novel (roughly 45k)
GENRE: Paranormal erotic romance
COST: $5.20

Paige Mahoney never expected the wish she made on a drunken night with her two best girlfriends to ever be granted, especially since it involves a werewolf. But get it she did, and though it’s a week until the full moon and his monthly shift, nature photographer Adam Jaeger goes along with it. The attraction they feel ends up extending longer than their initial twenty-four hours, but how much longer can it last when they come from different worlds?

This short novel is the second in Willoughby’s Be-Wished series, following the novella, All In. While the first one was barely paranormal – only in the granting of the wish – this one does more than dip a toe in. Both characters dive headfirst into the paranormal deep end, with Adam’s shifting a core element within the story.

The humor I love so much about this author is prevalent yet again, in the light, natural banter between Adam and Paige, between Davina and anybody she interacts with, between Paige and her girlfriends. It’s not the driving force, however, as this longer work allows more room for exploration and depth within the relationship. The one drawback to getting it, however, is that we have to get past the initial rush of sex first, the first twenty-four hours, and then their encounters until they actually start the work on the suggested collaboration. That takes the first half of the story, and I’ll admit, for a little while, I thought it was going to be the focus and was mildly disappointed it was going that route. There seemed so much more potential than that.

And then it switched gears. As soon as they start the real work on their collaboration, it becomes more about the people and not their body parts. This is where Adam and Paige really come to life, through their interactions with each other and those around them, and the complications that are introduced then are infinitely more interesting than the casual sex/attraction that dominates the first half of the story. In terms of being realistic, I buy into this kind of arc completely. Many relationships start out with that rush of desire, and time blurs by as the couple can’t keep their hands off each other. In a book, however, it ends up being a lopsided read, and ended up dragging down my overall enjoyment of the story.

Not that that was by far. I was so absorbed in the author’s humor and voice that I finished it in what felt like record time. The shifter world the author creates is interesting and rich enough to merit further exploration, and her characters, as always, sparkle. I’m looking forward to the last of the girl’s wishes. The hints offered at the end of this of what was to come promise another great read.

Readability	10/10 – Over so fast, I was barely aware I’d spent any time on it.
Hero	8/10 – Charming and funny, though I didn’t fall head over heels for him
Heroine	8/10 – Resourceful and independent
Entertainment value	8/10 – I actually enjoyed this a lot more once I got past the initial twenty-four hours of sex
World building	8/10 – There’s some fascinating possibilities in her shifter world; she provides just enough detail to make it plausible and tempt you into wanting more
TOTAL:	42/50

Lone by Rowan McBride

TITLE: Lone
AUTHOR: Rowan McBride
PUBLISHER: Amber Quill (Allure)
LENGTH: Novel (roughly 57k)
GENRE: Gay paranormal erotic romance
COST: $7.00

A trip to DC to speak at Georgetown for Seth Anderson is meant to be a little vacation as well with his lover of three months, Rafe Dirisio. But a random stop at a pool hall for a game ends in a bloodbath that leaves Seth standing and everyone else bloodied or dead around him. Rafe has questions, but when he learns the answers are more supernatural than he first expected, he needs to figure out how to deal with Seth’s other nature, and whether or not it’s worth it…

Rowan McBride writes damaged heroes like nobody else. There is always something unique about them, something so utterly broken that it seems impossible for them to be fixed, and yet, almost always, he finds a way. The case is the same in this, too. Seth has lived his entire life as an omega wolf, but even more, he’s an abomination that is usually put down at birth. He spent his childhood in the system and then tried to get a life for himself, but hunters always manage to track him down, and he always manages to destroy them before escaping. He manages to eke out a life for himself by getting his degrees via correspondence, and moving around a lot. His most recent move settled him in Brier, Iowa, at a small college and with a man who took him in almost from the start.

Seth is not a large man, only 5’5”, with the appearance of someone much younger than his thirty-two years, while his lover Rafe is 6’6” and as imposing as it gets. Rafe has always assumed he’s the one with all the physical strength in this relationship, a misbelief Seth is more than willing to foster, so when he learns the truth about just how powerful Seth is – and has to experience it for himself – it’s as much of a shock as learning about werewolves and the supernatural. His diligence as he struggles to come to grips with it riveted me to the page, and all my favorite parts of the book are most likely due to him. He is the one to show emotional vulnerability first. He is the one who keeps repeatedly making all the efforts. I liked Seth, but not to the same degree as Rafe, mostly because except for defending Rafe, Seth ends up coming across as rather passive. That’s a result of who and what he is, and is certainly understandable and explained well throughout the story, but that’s not the kind of character I always respond strongest to. It’s far easier to get involved with Rafe because of his attempts to actually do something, even – or especially – when they fail. Seth’s regression after his true nature is exposed is heartbreaking to read, but it wears thin even while I understand why it’s happening. If he’d only been a little more active a little bit sooner, it might not have been that way.

The sex is erotic and often lyrical, and the emotional moments heartfelt, but my absolute favorite part of the book – hands down, without a doubt – was the time they spent visiting Rafe’s family. Dialogue was natural, the people were real, and the whole section read like a true family. I wanted to be a part of Rafe’s family as much as Seth craved it. This cemented my feelings for Rafe.

While Seth’s angst and reversal of nature into a more primal state is a tad heavy-handed and repetitive, Rafe’s characterization and the author’s easy, lyrical voice more than made up for it for me. There’s a reason I like this author so much. Rafe is yet more proof of it.

Readability	9/10 – Some of Seth’s angsting gets a little much, but otherwise, utterly engrossing
Hero #1	7/10 – The angst wears thin as the novel progresses, but he’s still a poignant figure much of the time
Hero #2	9/10 – Absolutely adored Rafe and his attempts to come to grips with everything
Entertainment value	8/10 – While Seth’s angst weighed it down, my engagement with Rafe and his involvement more than made up for it
World building	8/10 – I loved the different take on the werewolves, it freshened what could’ve been a run of the mill story
TOTAL:	41/50

Heart of the Winter Wolf by Dani Harper

TITLE: Heart of the Winter Wolf
AUTHOR: Dani Harper
PUBLISHER: New Concepts Publishing
LENGTH: Novel (roughly 111k)
GENRE: Werewolf romance
COST: $6.49

Veterinarian Jillian Descharme has dreamed of a white wolf nearly all her adult life. When the opportunity to take a job that seems too good to be true arises, she takes it and moves across Canada, hoping that she’ll eventually get the opportunity to study wolves in the wild. She is surprised to soon discover that the wolf of her dreams has followed her – literally. An encounter on a hike has her grateful for his continued presence, but along with it comes an encounter with the reserved James Macleod, the long-lost brother of her boss. What she doesn’t realize is that the wolf and James are one and the same, or that her life is about to change forever.

I think the key word for this review is “otherwise.” In thinking over the various elements, I find myself facing flaws in most of them, flaws that I’d consider serious in other stories, but then almost immediately qualify it with an, “…otherwise…”

The prose, for instance. Harper’s writing is dense with detail, and her pacing is slow and even. It draws you in for a languorous comfort read, but then, out of the blue about halfway through the book, there’s a section of headhopping and just such poorly edited prose that it jars you out of the story. But it doesn’t last long, thankfully, and then you’re drawn back into the story, falling in love with the characters when…it happens again. There are a few instances of this scattered throughout the latter half of the book, and the quality of those chapters is so distinctly lower than the rest of the story that you can’t help but notice. Otherwise, it’s rich and vivid, a serious, thorough approach to a tale that demands such attention.

Then there’s the hero. James has suffered tragedy. His wife and unborn child were murdered for being married to him, and he was too late to save them. Injured himself, he retreated into his wolf persona for decades, only coming out when Jillian enters the picture. Now, the author takes her time drawing all this out, giving his tragedy the time it needs in order to heal. James is understandably withdrawn and reluctant to enter another relationship, but I’ll be honest. The constant flipflopping – I can’t be with her followed by a wonderful moment of some sort followed again by James withdrawing – gets tedious after awhile. I’m not saying it’s not warranted. But when the middle section is all about character/relationship building and not action, it gets to be too much for me. Otherwise, James is solid and attractive, worthy of any romantic hero mantle.

Now Jillian is my favorite part of the story. This is a woman who’s had her own share of tragedy, but rather than wallow and retreat as James did, she took the comfort she received from her white wolf and used it to forge a better future for herself. She doesn’t falter in the face of difficulty. If anything, it makes her stronger. She’s independent, almost too independent sometimes, but not without her feminine side. There’s a lot to really like about Jillian, and like her I did.

In spite of the obvious flaws, I was fully prepared to absolutely love the story until the ending let me down. Oh, don’t get me wrong. It’s romantic, and an HEA, and anybody wanting closure is absolutely going to get it. What didn’t work for me was just how perfect it was. Because ultimately, what I was getting throughout the story was that the world wasn’t perfect. That bad things happen. That it’s okay for things not to be perfect as long as you stick together and work through it and hang in there for the other side. I loved that realism – even if it was an unreal world of werewolves. I guess I’m disappointed slightly because the ending – to me – didn’t stay true to the tone of the rest of the book. It was too much goodness, if that makes sense.

Otherwise, it was a very satisfying read. Thank you, Teddypig, for the recommendation!

Readability	7/10 – A few sections in serious need of editing and a midsection that drags hinder otherwise very readable prose
Hero	8/10 – Maybe he angsts just a little bit too much, but in light of what he endures, it’s understandable. Otherwise, he’s solid and attractive
Heroine	9/10 – Strong and intelligent, without forgetting she has flaws.
Entertainment value	8/10 – An ending a little too sweet for the tone of the rest of the story mars what was otherwise a really enjoyable read.
World building	10/10 – The detail in this is thorough and nicely painted, without leaving questions unanswered in the end.
TOTAL:	42/50

Marked by Joely Skye

TITLE: Marked
AUTHOR: Joely Skye
PUBLISHER: Samhain Publishing
LENGTH: Novel (roughly 50k)
GENRE: Werewolf gay erotic romance
COST: $4.50

Alec isn’t looking for a relationship. He’s looking to hide, which means taking a minimum wage job at a library, never going out at night, and avoiding most social contacts. When a socially awkward child coming to the library latches on to him, he gives his friendship, but meeting Ira’s older brother turns his world into chaos. Liam is beautiful and enigmatic, but the attraction is undeniable. What Alec doesn’t know, however, is that Liam is a werewolf, a fact he is desperate to hide once he discovers Alec has been marked as prey by a pack of rogue wolves. The truth always has a way of coming out, though…

Though the name is different, this is the same author who wrote The Strength of the Wolf and The Strength of the Pack, two werewolf books I really enjoyed. When I saw that this one was set in the same world as those, I was very eager to read it. As Jorrie Spencer, I really liked this author’s voice, devouring both of the previous books in mere hours. Unfortunately, the voice in this particular installment is quite different from the first two, and as a result, my enjoyment is less, much to my chagrin.

Though technically solid, the prose maintained a rhythm mirroring that of its main characters’ moods. Where they are tense and agitated through the vast majority of the book, the story is as well, jerking along in spurts so that reading it is much like being in a car that is constantly stopping and starting. The story itself doesn’t stop, however. It hurtles along at a breakneck speed, leaving me absolutely no room to stop and catch my breath. In fact, halfway through the story, I wondered what I had missed. Much of the backstory in this read like it had occurred in a story that happened between the first two books I read and this one. Many times when details were provided, it felt like I was only getting half the story. But when I went back to check the author’s sites, I couldn’t find indication that there was another book set in this world. Maybe I’m missing something, but as it stands, if this was the book I had chosen to introduce myself to this writer, I might not have come back for more.

Where the author excels is world-building. I really like the world she’s created with these werewolves, and not just because I loved Seth and then Veronica. There’s a lot of potential in the way she presents her characters, their interactions, their histories. There’s even potential with Liam and Alex, but I just couldn’t ever get a grasp on the rapid mood swings these guys had, or understand Alec’s continuing need to be so physical. Well, that’s not entirely true. Once I learned about Alec’s history, it made more sense, but it always seemed to come completely out of the blue, and it was very difficult to follow along when it occurred. I think I would have ended up liking this story much more if they’d never had sex, actually. That was when the worst of the fighting and mood swings happened. Take out those scenes, and the story works quite well. The problem is, they’re in there. More than once. And I walked away from the story feeling as agitated as either one of the guys.

As far as HEAs go, that’s not really my favorite way to end a book.

Readability	6/10 – Disjointed and not nearly as fluid as the previous stories
Hero	5/10 – I never really grasp the violent swings in temperament, which combined with the rough prose makes it difficult to get a full handle on Alec.
Hero #2	6/10 – Liam’s edginess is mirrored in the prose, though I found it difficult to connect with him.
Entertainment value	6/10 – I finished the story feeling punchy and anxious, much like the characters. I’m not sure I particularly like feeling like that.
World building	8/10 – A fascinating world she’s created, though the history that is introduced makes it feel like there should have been a book between this one and the last two.
TOTAL:	31/50

Night Wolf by Karen Erickson

TITLE: Night Wolf
AUTHOR: Karen Erickson
PUBLISHER: Amber Quill Press (Amber Heat)
LENGTH: Short story (roughly 12k)
GENRE: Paranormal erotic romance
COST: $4.00

Romance novelist Amanda has been widowed for two years, retreating to a quiet country life for peace and privacy. Hearing howling at night has her writing a werewolf hero for the first time in her career, but when a naked man shows up on her porch, injured with nowhere to go, she takes him in to help him anyway, unaware that he’s a werewolf. The attraction between them is instantaneous, but with a rogue pack determined to kill Dane, indulging in it might be dangerous.

I’ve been reading a lot of short stories lately because of the busy time of year it is. Some of them have been not so good, while others are passable. Some of them read so fast, I wonder where the time has gone. This story was one of those.

The story itself is far from original. Romance novelist heroine? I’ve read three of those just in the past month. An alpha werewolf who’s found his mate? I’m not even touching that one. Yet, I was able to look past those devices in this story. The author’s prose is simple and sound, making it easier to lose time when she very effectively builds on her two characters’ UST. This isn’t a story where they fall into bed together in the first 1k. The author actually takes a little time within the story’s short construct to build the attraction between Amanda and Dane, enough so that I was able to enjoy it. Quite a bit, actually. Dane is very, very alpha, and the brief descriptions of Amanda’s reactions to him hooked me into wanting him, too.

One thing I’m not sure I understand is why authors feel the need to do HEAs on short stories. Frankly, I’d be happy with a happily for now if it meant the plot and emotional development wasn’t rushed. This need for an HEA ends up hurting more of these short stories than it helps, mainly because I’m usually left disbelieving that such a thing could actually happen in such a short time period, especially when the characters are meeting for the first time in the space of the story. If one or the both of them know the other before the story starts, that’s easier to believe and buy into. But for this reader, love might happen at first sight, but a lifetime together takes more than one night of amazing sex to succeed.

Still, this story works better than some others of its length, because the author commits to building the tension – very effectively – before allowing her characters to hop into bed together. It goes a little downhill from there, but thankfully, there isn’t much more after that. For a nibble, this was worth it.

Readability	8/10 – Simple and easy, I read this in one sitting.
Hero	6/10 – I think the jump from shifters to humans as partners was too swift to be believable, but a nice alpha hero all the same
Heroine	6/10 – Nothing too objectionable, but nothing all that memorable, either
Entertainment value	7/10 – The UST in this made it worth it for me.
World building	6/10 – I wanted to know more about the pack stuff, but for its brevity, it mostly worked.
TOTAL:	33/50

Fiends with Benefits by Johnny Peregrine

TITLE: Fiends with Benefits
AUTHOR: Johnny Peregrine
PUBLISHER: Phaze Publishing
LENGTH: Novella (roughly 35k)
GENRE: Paranormal erotic romance
COST: $5.00

Ben Watts is having a rough time. First he gets bitten and turned into a werewolf. Then his local pack gets called into Columbus by the vampire Master of the City – who turns out to be a Mistress, instead. When his pack leader gives him to Valda, Ben has no choice but to find a new life for himself. But it’s hard being a redneck werewolf in the big city. And especially hard when your Mistress feeds off you regularly, sends mixed signals galore, and expects you to protect her with your life.

I’m beginning to wonder how Phaze handles its editing. This is the second story I’ve purchased since starting this blog, and it’s the second story to make me cringe with all the mistakes in it. The author is in love with run-on sentences, with phrases being strung together with commas instead of semi-colons, or sometimes with nothing at all. It’s very difficult to tell sometimes when it’s internal observation rather than external – especially since the story is in 1^st person. His spelling can sometimes be unfortunate, as well; for example, cummerbund becomes “cumber bun.” Beyond obvious author errors, however, are the glaring editing issues. There is more than one paragraph where a sentence is repeated in different places, and one of them is clearly meant to be removed, while sentences like this – I even played with her fangs with my tongues which she found amusing and pulled back with a smile – just mean that nobody was paying that close attention to detail.

Struggling with all that makes it next to impossible to sit and actually enjoy the story. I did have another issue early on, in that it wasn’t the story I was expecting. The excerpt as given on the website is the first half of the first chapter, when Valda wakes Ben up and clearly has something for him to do. However, then the author jumps back in time to before Ben got turned into a werewolf and proceeds from there. We don’t hit the present again until ¾’s of the way through the story, and honestly, that wasn’t the story I wanted to read. I didn’t really care about how they hooked up together. I was more interested in what Valda clearly had in store for him. While I’m certain this affected my overall assessment of the novella, it doesn’t account for any of the technical issues that make it so hard to read. If anything, it just compounds an already existing problem.

Is there anything good about the story? Yes, a couple things. It’s refreshing to see vampires act like vampires, feeding off multiple people and not worrying about who they kill. Ben was mildly entertaining as well. I liked his kickass attitude, even when it got him into trouble. The secondary characters were relatively distinct, too. You don’t always get that, especially in novellas. But in the end, it’s just not enough. Maybe if someone had taken the time to really go through this and correct it, it would stand a fighting chance. Right now, it’s down for the count.

Readability	2/10 – Riddled with editing mistakes, run-on sentences, and spelling errors, this was a nightmare to try and muddle through
Hero	5/10 – In spite of the weak prose, I kept wanting to like Ben.
Heroine	5/10 – Nice to see a vampire being a vampire, but there’s not enough of her in this to get a well-rounded picture
Entertainment value	3/10 – All the technical issues made it impossible to read this story for pure enjoyment.
World building	6/10 – It’s a valiant effort, but ultimately, unbelievable. Details don’t always a world make.
TOTAL:	21/50

Something Wild by Sable Grey

TITLE: Something Wild
AUTHOR: Sable Grey
PUBLISHER: Cobblestone Press
LENGTH: Novella (roughly 24k)
GENRE: Shapeshifter historical erotic romance
COST: $4.99

Jack the Ripper is on the loose, and Detective Baden Sikes has been called in to solve these grisly murders. What the officials don’t realize is that Baden has his own dark secret, one he hopes he won’t have to unleash in order to find the Ripper. When he catches a would-be thief on the street, he takes her home in a gesture of good will. Cora is a survivor, and he responds to her innate goodness in ways that surprise him. But can he resist the temptation she presents before it’s too late? For either of them?

Before I say anything about the story, I have to say that this cover is one of the scariest I’ve purchased this year. Scary bad. I know it’s supposed to be Baden, but to me, it’s a frightening cross between Johnny Depp and Michael Jackson. It freaked me out enough when I first saw it that I almost didn’t read the blurb. It took everything I had to block the image out as I read the book, so that I could give Baden a fighting chance.

I know Cobblestone has had this Shifters series for a while, but this is the first one I’ve bought. I always thought that they were standalone stories, with a shifter as its main character, but after reading this, I’m not entirely convinced of that. To start, there’s a prologue on the front of this story with Baden’s housekeeper witnessing a scene with an old blind woman. I waited the entire story for this to play into the primary plot, but it never happened. A rune of destruction is mentioned, but none of that is ever brought up again, which, for someone new to the series, is a massive flaw. It left me questioning more than I should, and when I go back to look at other stories, I just don’t see how they can all be connected. They run the gamut in regards to genre. And yet, if this isn’t related to the series, what in hell does it have to do with anything else?

Those kind of questions don’t come until after I’ve finished the story. For the most part while I was reading it, I enjoyed myself. The prose is simple and clean, and nothing jars too much as being out of period. I was even able to tolerate the couple instances of headhopping. Baden is likable, in spite of being a little brusque, and if Cora is a little too good to be true, I’m mostly okay with that. The author builds the romance between them realistically, without anything happening too fast, so that when passions finally do explode, I believed it. The erotica is simple but direct, not overwhelming in the least, nor unfortunately all that memorable. The focus is more on the romance, which somehow seems right for these two.

When things began to unravel was the final chapter and resolution of the story. I won’t spoil what happens, but I finished the story completely disbelieving how it could have finished the way it did. Oh, it’s an HEA, no doubt about that. But the success of the plot’s solution relies on one fact – that the heightened sense of smell Baden has, and utilizes throughout the story even in human form, fails him. I don’t buy it. At all. Maybe if there was explanation of his shifting abilities, or less attention paid to his heightened ability throughout the story, I could’ve believed it. As it was, the entire ending of the story failed to work for me so utterly that I didn’t even care about the romance anymore. It’s a shame. There was actual potential in this short little story. In spite of its godawful cover.

Readability	8/10 – Mild head-hopping only slightly detracts from mostly readable prose.
Hero	7/10 – Solemn and mysterious, his enigmatic appearances intrigue enough to keep my interested.
Heroine	6/10 – Not a damsel, but I’m never completely sure why all the men fall for her.
Entertainment value	5/10 – I was actually rather enjoying myself with this, until the ending disappointed me enough to drag this score down.
World building	7/10 – The world of late 19th century London is believable, though I have no clues at all about the paranormal aspects of it.
TOTAL:	33/50

The Strength of the Wolf by Jorrie Spencer

TITLE: The Strength of the Wolf
AUTHOR: Jorrie Spencer
PUBLISHER: Samhain Publishing
LENGTH: Novel (roughly 60k)
GENRE: Paranormal romance
COST: $5.50

Being a werewolf isn’t Veronica’s biggest problem. Being a werewolf with amnesia is. She is ready to find someone human to latch onto in hopes of surviving another winter when a wolf trap snares her. The kind David Hardaway rescues her, and Veronica decides that this is the man she wishes to be human with, at least for a little while. She seeks him out the following summer, but David doesn’t know what to do with this strange woman who has golden eyes that look all too familiar. He’s got his own problems, like the fact that his nephew’s hacking has gotten him into serious trouble. That doesn’t matter, though. Because David’s not about to turn his back on her, even when good sense tells him he should.

There is something about Jorrie Spencer’s writing that completely sucks me in. I start reading her work, and all too quickly, I find myself unwilling to stop, even when real life demands that I do. It helps that Samhain books always seem to be some of the best edited out there, because I get the chance to actually get lost in the story instead of being jolted to reality by an overload of spelling errors. And I did get lost in this one. Much to the annoyance of my family.

One of the contributing factors was how much I liked David. This is a man much like some of the single men I know in real life – hard-working, isolationist, dependable with good intentions. I believed him from the second he decided to free Veronica from the trap, and I kept on believing him because he acted rationally and intelligently throughout the story. When characterization is this consistent, it’s easy to invest in the story. I understood his frustrations with his family and Veronica so well that by the end, I was a little ticked at Veronica for not coming to him sooner. Silly me.

There’s a definite tragic undertone in all his interactions with Veronica, understandably so. She lives on the edge, and as a reader, I felt like I was right there with her. Sometimes, that pulled from enjoying the story more, but I plowed through that to get to the next David POV scene. Those were welcome reprieves.

The story is the sequel to The Strength of the Pack, but this can be read completely as a standalone. The one drawback to that, however, is that any explanation of the werewolf mythology is lacking. Because of Veronica’s amnesia, there is never any exploration into her animal world, beyond her firsthand experiences in the book. It doesn’t detract from enjoying the story, but a reader going in needing that should be prepared to be disappointed.

I really enjoyed this story, enough that I’m looking forward to seeing what this author does next. The action and characters are solid, and David will linger for me for awhile. I strongly recommend this to anybody looking for a winning blend of romance and drama, with just a dash of heat.

Readability	9/10 – The style sucks me in and professional presentation keeps me there.
Hero	9/10 – Solid and dependable, as realistic as I’ve found and still romance-worthy
Heroine	8/10 – It got a little tiresome dealing with extreme paranoia all the time, but consistent and worthy of my attention
Entertainment value	8/10 – A solid read
World building	7/10 – The nature of Veronica’s amnesia restricts this throughout most of the book, and adding more detail on the wolf mythology gets ignored in the end in favor of the romance
TOTAL:	41/50

The Call by Jourdan Lane, BA Tortuga, & Emily Veinglory

TITLE: The Call
AUTHOR: Jourdan Lane, BA Tortuga, & Emily Veinglory
PUBLISHER: Torquere Press
LENGTH: Anthology (roughly 65k)
GENRE: Gay paranormal erotic romance
COST: $5.95

A trio of novellas, featuring gay romances where at least one of the partners is a werewolf.

The first story in this anthology is “Instinct,” by Jourdan Lane. In it, construction firm owner Ethan is a reluctant werewolf, scarred by the whole experience by the man who turned him, Jake. He meets Noah, another wolf, who’s interested in some work done at his pack’s home, and surprise surprise, the two fall in love. Like…right away. Seriously. Within minutes of meeting, they’re having sex on the floor of Ethan’s office. There is very little time to actually get to know Noah before they’re supposedly mated, which completely disengaged me from getting emotionally involved in the story. Worse, 24 hours after reading it, I couldn’t even remember what this story was about without going back and skimming it. That’s never a good sign. Pass.

The second story is called “Son of a Bitch,” by Emily Veinglory. Small town werewolf Nate works midnight shifts at the gas station, supplements his income with various online activities, and is hiding out from the pack he ran away from, trying to make his own place. Human Steven breaks down outside the station one night, and Nate falls in lust. Veinglory is the one author of the bunch with an original voice; she has characters that leap off the page with their eccentricities, and her turns of phrase are some of the most vivid I’ve seen in recent months. Unfortunately, she’s also the author with the most mistakes riddled throughout the story. There was at least one on every page, and often, more than that. It gets very distracting, and pulls me out of a story faster than headhopping when it’s that prevalent. Which is a shame, because hers was the story I actually wanted to like, simply because I enjoyed her main characters so much. How can you read a story that doesn’t even look like it’s been proofread? The answer is with a lot of difficulty.

The final story in the anthology is “Home Fires,” by BA Tortuga. Werewolf Houston stumbles into his mate Jackson’s home after having been held prisoner and tortured for the past two years. Together, they have to try and get over the pain of their past, as well as heal Houston’s physical and mental wellbeing. By the time I got to this story, I didn’t have high hopes. The first two had been disappointing at best, so when this story grabbed me by the shirt collar with the opening page, I was delighted. I got sucked into the hurt between these two men, enthralled by the rather vicious sex that happened as they came back together. There weren’t nearly the same number of typos or errors in this story that afflicted the others, which made it easier to enjoy it. Unfortunately, that enjoyment didn’t last. What started out with a sucker punch – easy prose, heartwrenching emotion – turned into more of the same, over and over again, as the story progressed. Sex, lots of mate talk, angst from Houston. Sex, lots of mate talk, angst from Jackson. Sex, lots of mate talk…well, you get the idea.

While a good idea in theory, the execution of this anthology of gay werewolf romance falters under its own weight. There are too many technical problems with the editing to believe it a professional presentation, and at least one of the stories has zero believability in regards to romance. I’m all for werewolf mates, gay or straight, but there’s a balance to be struck that none of these authors found. Unless you’re a fan of one of these authors, or don’t care about spelling errors, wrong word choices, or missing words in prose, don’t bother with this one.

Readability	5/10 – Riddled with typos that make even the most engaging voice difficult to read
Romance	5/10 – I was invested in only 1 of the 3 romances, and 1 not at all
Characterization	6/10 – This gets saved by Veinglory’s story; hers is the only one with full-fleshed, interesting characters
Entertainment value	5/10 – This would have been higher if I didn’t have such a headache trying to work my way through all the technical errors
World building	5/10 – Each tries to build its own unique werewolf world; each only marginally succeeds
TOTAL:	26/50

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