Katie's Hellion (Rhyn Trilogy #1)- Lizzy Ford

Katie is having a terrible day. First she gets pulled over for driving two miles over the speed limit, and then she gets in trouble for not taking care of a son that she knows she doesn't have. According to everyone around her, she has amnesia due to a rape, but Katie knows that this can't possibly be the case. Her suspicions are confirmed when it turns out her "son", Toby is actually an eons old angel and a mysterious man named Gabriel shows up at her house claiming to be something called a 'Death Dealer'. Apparently, Katie's blood is special and it has something in it that makes her immune to immortals and therefore an immortal's mate. However, she isn't just an immortal's mate, she's an ancient's mate (which is like a step above an immortal's mate). By all rights, she should go to the eldest Ancient, but instead she is claimed by the outcast half-breed, Rhyn who rescues her from the depths of Hell.

Overall Merit: The problem with this book was that there were way too many things going on at the same time. Since the books were short, I read the whole trilogy, but the problem was consistent throughout. There were a million things going on and it was difficult to keep a firm grasp on the storyline. The characters were strong, which is always a plus, but I felt like the story was going in like twenty different directions at the same time and I found myself confused by what was going on and where the plot was going. I think that the other book by Ford that I scored (Damian's Oracle) was a much stronger book. Score- 6

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Characters: Rhyn is interesting. He is definitely a typical bad boy stereotype, but centuries in Hell have made him bitter and at times cruel. He was my favorite character if only because Katie wasn't nearly as solid. Her character tended to waver at times and I didn't get a good sense of who she really was. I do rather detest the annoying sister. I feel like this is an oft used character who is remarkably irritating. True, she can act as a foil for the heroine, but more often than not, she overstays her welcome and starts to get in the way of an enjoyable reading experience. There is a good reason everyone hates their siblings at one point or another. I already hate my siblings, I don't need to hate someone else's too. Score- 6

Blush Factor: To be honest, there wasn't a ton of romance in this book, that didn't come until the later books in the trilogy. I mean you know who's going to end up together from the start and I was a bit disappointed that Rhyn and Katie never really resolved their feelings for each other until later on. Even the end result of their romance was disappointing (by the third book). Not my favorite part, I liked the romance much better in Damian's Oracle. It wasn't horrible, it was kind of just nonexistent. Score- 6

Structure: Nothing new here in terms of writing style. I think Ford's problem is that she tried to cram a ton of information into a small amount of pages without giving the reader a chance to let it all sink in. She could have made the book a lot longer and structured it better so that all the plot lines had a chance to naturally converge. Instead, the writing seemed hurried as if she wanted to get a crazy amount of story down without developing the world or the conflict well enough. Score- 5

Plot: As I've said several times--way too much going on at once. I was incredibly confused. Ford needed to pick one or two subplots max instead of having twenty going on all at once. Also, I kept reading and reading waiting for Katie and Rhyn to get together, but she dragged it out horribly so that by the time I got to the end of the book I basically didn't even care anymore. This book had potential, but I wasn't seeing the necessary execution. Damian's Oracle takes place under a similar premise, in a similar world so go for that instead of this one. Score- 6

Vervain says: "There are seven Ancients, but most of them are dead."

Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn #1)- Brandon Sanderson

In a world where ash rains from the sky and flowers are an impossibility, the skaa toil in misery and live in fear. The Lord Ruler reigns over this world as a 'sliver of infinity', a piece of God. He is invincible and immortal, at least according to most. Hope is such a foreign concept that it has nearly been forgotten until a heart-broken, half-skaa named Kelsier escapes from the Lord Ruler's prison and decides to use his talents to overthrow the Lord Ruler. He recruits the elite of the underworld to help him in his endeavor, but it isn't until he discovers the half-skaa urchin named Vin that his plan has any real hope of succeeding. Kelsier must teach Vin to harness and master her vast powers and to learn to trust again after years of abuse have left her skittish and afraid.

Overall Merit: READ THIS BOOK. Please. Sanderson is a genius. The world is vibrant and original and I found myself incredibly attached to the characters. I had only one small gripe with the story (the romantic sequence), but that was not nearly enough to deter my enjoyment. If you are a high/epic fantasy fan and you read one book this year, make it this one. Yes, it is long, and yes it is a hefty read, but please take the time; it is well worth it. Score- 12

Characters: The characters are phenomenal. They are fresh and real and have the depth and struggles of real people. Vin is captured masterfully and you watch her grow from scared and paranoid to confident and capable. Kelsier grows too in spite of himself as he teaches Vin what he knows about allomancy and learns to care about someone again. Even the side characters have their own story and they feel real as well as opposed to cardboard cutout space fillers, which seem to be employed in so many novels. Even the villain was refreshing. The Lord Ruler was typically wicked, but I've never seen an entity like him in terms of abilities. Score-13

Blush Factor: My one gripe was this category. The romance wasn't bad per se, it was just minimal and the little I saw didn't ring true for me. The romantic leads spent so little time together and then magically woke up and were like "OMG I'm in love with him/her", which is fine, but I really would have liked to see a more realistic progression of feelings. However, I did like the coupling of personalities so this category won't get a horrible score. Score-7

Structure: Vin's perspective was refreshing. I've never met a character quite like her and I was pleased to make her acquaintance. The beginning plodded a bit, but once the action started it was non-stop and kept me reading for hours on end. My favorite part was his new type of "magic"--allomancy it takes brilliance to create an effective new superpower/form of magic and Sanderson did just that. Bravo to him. Score-11

Plot: Wow, talk about an original world and concept. Sanderson's imagination must be boundless for him to have come up with something like this. The story was incredibly complex and must have required an extensive amount of planning on his part. It was an original take on the battle of Good Vs. Evil in a world where Evil originally won out. The ending came as a surprise to me, which seldom happens so kudos for that. I can't wait to read the Well of Ascension (Mistborn #2). Score- 12

Vervain says: "Allomancy is the ingestion and internal combustion of metals. Each different metal allows the user to access a different power, for example, pewter gives the user advanced strength and agility."

Hazy Shade of Winter (Unbound Series #1)- Jessica Bradshaw

Jude can see ghosts, which is okay by her for the most part, but it puts her guardian angel Samuel in a tizzy. Her main concern is the incessant bullying she faces at the hands of her peers in school--it it so bad that she is forced to transfer at the end of the year. Samuel is with her all the way; not that he has a choice. Usually, a guardian angel, or sentinel has access to their charge's 'book' and through that they can keep tabs. However, in Jude's case, Samuel isn't allowed to see her book, which drives him crazy and makes it so that he has to spend every waking moment watching her in person. As luck would have it, Samuel is falling in love with Jude in spite of himself, and more than ever he wants permission to fall so he can be with her, but it seems his supervisors have other plans.

Overall Merit: I didn't like the story so much as I really liked the afterlife structure. I'm a huge fan of all things afterlife (the more twisted the better), but seldom do I find anything unique. This book relied heavily on the concepts of reincarnation and made Heaven seem very bureaucratic, which again was something I hadn't seen before. Bradshaw's writing is skilled and captivating--another plus for the book. However, both Jude and Samuel were moderately annoying characters and I didn't really care about them all that much. Score-7.5

Characters: I didn't find the supporting characters realistic--they were too 'cliched high school sitcom' I felt like I was in a scene from Mean Girls while Jude was still in the U.S. Jude annoyed me also because her character wasn't consistent. She's portrayed as this geeky, socially awkward girl, but then once she gets to the U.K. she's cool all of a sudden? I think in trying to make Jude unique, Bradshaw went overboard and made her kind of obnoxious and pathetic. Samuel is consistently self-described as a 'cad', but I didn't get that impression at all from him. This is a risk that writer run too often. If a character describes him/herself as being something they should be that something unless it is obvious that they are delusional about their self-image. Not the case for Samuel. I mean she sort of tried to throw it in in his flashbacks, but I really wasn't convinced. The characters weren't awful, but neither were they people who I would love to meet in real life. Score- 7

Blush Factor: Eh. That's all I can really say. Eh. I mean I guess it was sort of romantic with Samuel running around whining that he wanted to be with Jude. And I mean it was a decent attempt when Jude temporarily dated one of her friends, but to be honest the romance was weak--especially since you knew what was coming due to a poorly placed prologue. (I am not a fan of prologues at the best of times, but especially not when they're Twilight-esque and give away the ending before the damned story even starts.) I'm not going to lie I was bored and read the second book...Bradshaw needs to work on her romance. It's as if the characters go through the motions, but I DON'T FEEL THEIR BURNING, FIERY PASSION!!!! Score- 5

Structure: As stated earlier, I had gripes with the prologue, but then again also the ending. I felt like Bradshaw wrote the ending first and then manipulated the story so that it would culminate where she wanted it to. I don't like this approach for several reasons, the main one being that it locks the story in and doesn't allow nearly as much wiggle room as if it were left to flow to a more natural close. The technical writing was very good however, so I have to give some kudos for that. Score-7

Plot: Like I said, it was kind of like a bad high school rom-com with angels. The plot wasn't anything so innovative, and I know Bradshaw was hinting at some demonic activity, but I didn't see nearly enough of it to really consider it part of the plot. I felt like she made too much of an understatement with it and either she should have brought it to the forefront more or excluded it completely, rather than weakly hinting at it every now and then. Score-7

Vervain says: "Sentinels can petition to fall--meaning they gain a human body and get to spend that lifetime in mortal form."

Bonded (Law of the Lycans #0.5)- Nicky Charles

Brandi is a recruit at Lycan Link Academy with hopes of becoming a member of the Disaster Control Unit (DC). She couldn't really do anything else of course because she only passed her physical defense class out of pity. However, Brandi thought she could ignore this fact until one day she is volunteered to help Reno, an Enforcer (a werewolf equipped to use physical confrontation to break up dangerous situations) , do a demonstration for some of the newer recruits. True, she is pummeled, but she also discovers an unexplainable attraction to this near-rogue were. Enforcers and DCs are notorious in their inability to get along, but under the circumstances, Reno and Brandi may not have a choice. 

Overall Merit: Nicky Charles is officially up there with some of my favorite paranormal/fantasy romance novelists (Anne Bishop, C.L. Wilson, Jacqueline Carey). She earns a spot because Charles knows how to tell a story. There are sex scenes, yes, but that's a characteristic of the genre--what sets writers apart is their ability to hook me with the story. Sex scene after sex scene gets boring as hell. (I haven't read Fifty Shades of Gray, but people keep telling me I should). I've read her entire Law of the Lycans series and another thing that struck me was how different she managed to make all her characters. Major kudos to her for that! It is definitely difficult to make alpha males different people and too often authors will botch it and the male leads seem exactly the same. The only thing I didn't like about this book was the twist at the end. It was so out of left field that it wasn't believable at all, Charles needed to plant more indicators earlier on in the story for it to work properly. Either way, Charles is a powerhouse. Read her stuff! Score- 9.5

Characters: Brandi is great, she's a definite alpha female and the only type of personality that could counter the over-macho Reno. I liked Reno too, he was a stereotypic powerful male, but there were moments when you could see that a lot of his manliness was bluster, but it wasn't in your face so as to be obnoxious. Little things, like him playing with children were enough to show this facet of his personality. I also enjoyed 'cult leader' Victor, he was creepy and underhanded, a very good villain in my opinion. Strong characters, strong category. Score-10

Blush Factor: This was pretty standard Charles, but there wasn't as much explicit sex in this book as in the others in the series. It was fine, I needed a break from all that and it seems like she did too. The romance was there and the tension was great, but if you're looking for more heart-pounding sex scenes you'd be better off with books 2 or 3 of the series. Score-9

Structure: Same style as her other novels, it switches perspective in third person between Brandi and Reno for the most part. Solid narrative, but nothing new was done here. The only thing about this book that threw me was the ending (more the resolution, really) where blame is placed somewhere that doesn't make any sense. Score-7

Plot: Like I said, this was mainly a plot driven book and for the vast majority of the novel I was quite pleased with the fast-paced action and the subtle build up to the climax, but the resolution to the main problem was definitely disappointing. I was kind of upset that Charles copped out the way she did because usually her solutions are much tighter and more believable. Score-8

In summation: Read this book for the paranormal thriller aspect, not for the sex.

Vervain Says: "Lycan Link usually has a problem with purist Alphas weeding out any half-bloods from their pack and either killing or forcing them into servitude." 

Inexpensive Book Slush Pile

If you haven't noticed my recent trend, I've been trying to scour the free (or very inexpensive) book section of online book sources to see if I can find anything good. Mostly because if I'm somewhat broke and still need something to read without going to the library. Sifting through that mess can be a ridiculous hassle, so I'll try and point you in the right direction if you find yourself library-less and semi-broke like me. The ones I post on here are the palatable ones I find, meaning the ones I actually finish because there is some saving grace in the work.

*Not every single book I post will be discount

Energy- M.J. Schutte

Brighton and Lilian live together in their peaceful mountain town, but it is not long before Lilian's past catches up with her and she is snatched away. Brighton devotes his life to searching for her and hoping that she will return, even after he is told she is dead. At the same time, he must develop the enormous and unique power he has been given--the power to manipulate energy. The world is governed by people gifted with the ability to steal energy from other things, but Brighton's gift is different and this makes him a threat. Brighton is the only one who can save the kingdom from the tyranny of the energy-thieves, but first he must learn how to harness his unwieldy and terrifying abilities.

Overall Merit: When I saw this book online for $ 0.99, I figured it would probably be cliched and stupid, but I was bored so I decided to read it anyway. I was pleasantly surprised. I should warn you that it's very long and the beginning is kind of slow, but once you get into the story the action keeps you on the edge of your seat. Obviously there were still some things that bothered me (aren't there always?). One thing that annoys me in books is when people get resurrected a million times (sorry if this is a spoiler, actually I'm not, I don't really care if I spoil things for you). Once I'll buy, but more than that it's kind of like "Ok, really?" Anyway, it's a good read and definitely worth it if you have a bunch of time on your hands. Be patient though, it takes a while to get into. If it's any indicator, I have plans to read the sequel. Score-9

Characters: Strong characters definitely. They had distinct personalities and I definitely sympathized with them, which doesn't happen very often since usually I want to clock the whining female protagonist on the head with a sledgehammer. Brighton and Lilian were both complex and Schutte did a good job with the supporting characters as well, which is also unusual. This part of the book was very strong and for that Schutte has my commendation. Score-10

Blush Factor: This was sweet, I was a little skeptical at the beginning when Brighton (16) had the hots for Lilian (13), but it was pretty innocent so I didn't mind all that much. Their relationship is sweet, once they finally get back together, although I thought their whole "I've been waiting for you, love at first sight" was a bit much. Schutte should have given them a chance to get acquainted again after a few years of separation before they fell head-over-heels. They had a solid relationship though and it wasn't overly gushy or an overpowering factor in the novel, so I was pleased enough. Score-7.5

Structure: The perspective is third person close, following  Brighton and Lilian for the most part. Nothing unique was done here with perspective or narrative, but it was a solid quick-paced read. My main gripe, as I said earlier, was the slow beginning. Also, the concept of "death" was not as concrete as I would have liked. Score- 7.5

Plot: I loved the world that Schutte created and the magical abilities, while not entirely original, were refreshing. I enjoyed following the characters on their journey, I mean it was a pretty standard fantasy journey, but the fact that there was such conflict on the matter of good vs. evil was a new thing for me. Definitely worth reading if you have the time. Support self-publishing authors! Score-9

In summation: Read this book, please.

Vervain says: "Brighton can take energy from living things and channel it for his own purposes."

Score Tags

Hi, imaginary readers. To make things easier, I'm going to add a score tag at the bottom of each review so you can look at my cloud and pick reviews to read based on the score (I'll go off the score in the Overall Merit category). I'd imagine this will save you time and angst. (This way you'll only have to read my angry rant reviews if you so choose). Hope this helps :)

Snails and Puppydog Tails,

Lady Adriana Ivy

Demons at Deadnight (Divinicus Nex Chronicles #1)- A&E Kirk

Aurora has always seen demons, but it didn't become  a real problem until recently when she moved back to Gossamer Falls. Now her sightings have grown more frequent and far more lethal--something nasty definitely wants her dead. And why do the demons keep calling her 'Nex'?
In walk her old childhood friends: The Hex Boys. They are secretive and notorious for their destructive capabilities. However, they are the only ones strong enough to protect her from the demons. Aurora and the Hex Boys will have to work together to figure out why she is being targeted before it's too late.

Overall Merit: I don't understand why young adult authors always feel the need to harp on how unattractive the female protagonist thinks she is. I mean I get that it's a device to help the reader identify with the character, but I find it annoying. If you must comment, do it once, not a million times. Also, who decided that tall on a girl was unattractive? I've read a lot of books recently where the girl complains, "Oh, I'm so tall, that must mean I'm awkward and ugly." Umm no? Sorry, back to the important stuff. Anyway, so this book was meh, for lack of a better word. I didn't hate it, but the protagonist was annoying and Kirk( A&E are two separate people, but I'm going to refer to them collectively) tried to make the Hex Boys funny, but more often than not I found myself cringing instead of laughing. The plot was not as focused as it could have been and I felt like the characters didn't pick up on things that should have been obvious. Not horrible, but not great either. Score- 7

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Characters: Like I said before, Aurora was annoying. She was awkward and whiny and not a character I enjoyed following very much. The Hex Boys were funny at times and I did like them to a certain extent, but sometimes their personalities blended and I had a difficult time telling them apart--that's the danger of having a lot of characters with a similar function. Also, I didn't buy a lot of the drama it was too overblown and some of the boys came off as caricatures more than characters. As a rule of thumb if there are a lot of supporting characters you have to commit to making them just as real and unique as the protagonists or risk confusing the reader. Also, one character who irritated me to high Heaven was Gloria (you'll meet her if you read this book), she was an obnoxious little twit and I thought Kirk would have done better to eliminate her. One thing I did like was that the families were in the picture and Kirk did a good job with this (you know blackmailing siblings, "I'll tell mom", all that good stuff). Score- 6

Blush Factor: This was again nothing that interesting, I did appreciate that it wasn't the wham-bam instantaneous romance that usually happens in YA, but I didn't feel a ton of chemistry between Ayden and Aurora. Sure he was hot, but all the Hex Boys were so that didn't do all that much for me. It was a slow build up and well I don't know if I could even consider romance a legitimate part of this book. Score-7

Structure: Nothing new here. Aurora's perspective throughout with a few side glimpses into the antagonists. The main issue here was that there wasn't a clearly defined villain, which bothered me. I wanted to know exactly who was out to get Aurora, not just a vague idea. Also, there was a group called the Divinicus, but I didn't understand the underlying structure and hierarchy, which is always a problem. Writers tend to forget that while they know everything about their world, a reader does not. Score- 7

Plot: There was a plot, but it was patchy and not well connected. I felt like there were a lot of little things going on at the same time, but the underlying thread to link them together was frayed. Again, there wasn't any major innovation here and to be honest the story was hum drum predictable and somewhat cliched. Also, I'm going out on a limb and saying that it sounded suspiciously like the anime Pretear. Score- 5

In summation: I'm going to suggest that you don't bother with this book, unless you're like me, and need an inexpensive ebook, and have WAY too much time on your hands.

Vervain says: "The Divinicus Nex is supposedly a person with the power to sense and locate demons. Aurora is the first female Divinicus."

Dragon Bound (Elder Races #1)- Thea Harrison

When Pia, a half wyr (shapeshifter) half human is blackmailed into stealing something from Dragos Cuelebre, she thinks that changing her name and appearance will be enough to hide herself from his wrath. Of course, hiding from an extremely powerful and wealthy dragon shapeshifter does tend to be a bit of a challenge--especially if he's after your head. Under any other circumstances, Pia would likely be dead, but it turns out that Dragos is intrigued and amused by the fact that she was able to get past the powerful warding spells on his hoard. So instead, Dragos claims her for his own and intends to explore the curious desire she sparks in him as well as her secret abilities.

Overall Merit: This was a class A romantic fantasy as in it followed the cookie cutter format that brings lonely, single girls temporary happiness everywhere. Well, at least the ones who aren't jaded like me. Pretty much: boy meets girl, boy feels very protective of girl, girl pretends she doesn't like being protected even though she secretly does, boy and girl have sex after like twenty pages, girl ends up getting pregnant with magical and illicit baby, girls tries to hide this from boy, boy finds out and becomes even more protective, girl admits she loves boy with all her heart, boy and girl live happily ever after for the rest of eternity. The end. Wow, because who doesn't want a super-rich boyfriend who puts his private bodyguards up to babysitting you? I mean sure all the girls in these books protest, but they love the attention, we all know they do. If this is your thing, and I'm sure it is for many people then go for it. I'm going to give this book two scores: one based on my fed up and jaded brain, and the other based on the average 20-some-odd-year-old lonely and sexually frustrated romantic (LSFR).
Me-6 LSFR-11

Characters: Pia was plucky, I liked that, but it seemed like all her spark was doused as soon as Dragos took his shirt off. Come on, be realistic, when was the last time you felt lightheaded and lost all coherent thought because a hot guy took his shirt off. Yes, I know I hate everything, but still. While Pia had potential, Dragos was such a stereotypic alpha-male that it made me kind of nauseous. (For a much better alpha-male dominated romantic fantasy check out the Tairen Soul series, that one had a phenomenal plot.) He basically got angry if anyone touched Pia except him and went all dragon on their ass. Also, he was supposed to be an ancient "Elder wyr", but I wasn't getting that impression from him, he acted young and hotheaded so I didn't buy his supposed age. Score- 7

Blush Factor: Oh my was there sex here. Keep the children away. You know when Pia describes herself as being "destroyed" that there's a hardcore male dominance thing going on. The problem was, there wasn't any real 'romance' here, just Dragos constantly smothering Pia, rescuing her from falling/walking into things, and then throwing her onto the bed and ravaging her every 20 or 30 pages. All romance was further destroyed when she was like, "Omg I'm preggers with a dragon baby!" Why does Pia have to get pregnant to finally admit that she loves Dragos? Pregnancy shouldn't be a contract of love, it certainly isn't in real life, but in this book it definitely felt that way. Harrison tried to make this better by having Pia seem like a 'mystery' to Dragos, but to be honest I'm pretty sure he was the only one who thought anything was even vaguely mysterious about her. Score- 6

Structure: The mythology behind books like these is essential to having a smooth story, but somehow it is always forgotten. It seemed like Harrison was inventing the rules of the world as she went along, rather than having a firm idea when she started writing. I didn't quite understand the structure of her "Other World", which seemed like it would be important and also, the wyr, half-wyr structure confused me. Other worlds are difficult to pull off, for sure, and the main issue is they tend to be too ephemeral and difficult for the reader to envision. The scenes that took place there were difficult for me to follow because it was tough for me to orient myself within the new world. Score-5

Plot: Books like this often spend too much time focusing on the romance (sex) as opposed to the plot line. There was a story going on, but it brought me to a lot of dead ends. For example, there was something brought up about Pia having a relation to the Elves, but after the initial mention, Harrison never mentioned it again, which would be fine, but I know this book doesn't have a technical sequel (it has companion books). I can also understand that Pia might not want to know about her past, but there definitely should have been more curiosity there if not from her, then at least from Dragos. I felt like Harrison didn't know exactly where her story was going because it sort of faded in and out of focus and the conclusion seemed too simple and didn't really work that well. I wasn't pleased. Score- 5

In summation: if you're looking for a good romantic alpha male smut book then go for it. Otherwise, you'd best seek your fantasy fix elsewhere.


Vervain says: "In this book, names have power, but when it comes time for Pia to reveal her true name, we never actually find out what it is! That seems like a cop out to me."

The Mating (Law of the Lycans #1)- Nicky Charles

Elise comes home from a run one day to find out that her father is mating her with a complete stranger in order to form an alliance between their (werewolf) packs. She is forced to uproot and join her new mate, Kane's pack. When she gets there, most are welcoming aside from one female named Marla who seems to be vying for all of Kane's attention. Elise must adjust to her new pack and assert her position as Alpha Female. At the same time, she has to navigate and try to put a stop to Marla's advances and manipulations so she can form a proper bond with her new mate and ensure the stability of the pack.

Overall Merit: This is the first time I've seen something like this done in paranormal fantasy. Charles combines paranormal romance with a crime novel, which I found fascinating. The plot isn't overly complicated, but it keeps you on the edge of your seat trying to guess who is friend or foe. The characters were all strong and Charles created a phenomenal villain--something I haven't seen in a long while. I think that if you have the time, this book is actually worth your while. Not to mention, it's free for e-readers so even if you don't like it, no harm no foul. Score- 9

Blush Factor: There is definitely R-rated content in this book so keep the kiddies and overzealous young adults (12-15) away from this. Kane and Elise's relationship feels natural, which I really liked and I think their chemistry is great. Charles really nailed this aspect of the book. The sex scenes are there, but they're tastefully done and not excessive. Score- 10

Characters: Talk about a kick ass villain. Marla is priceless, she is manipulative and sneaky and as a reader sometimes I couldn't even tell what she was up to. Elise is a strong protagonist and I enjoyed her story and her perspective. Kane was a solid character as well in that he frustrated me sometimes in his inability to see what was right in front of his face. This was a good thing. Too many times a protagonist is designed to please the reader instead of challenging them to see a different perspective. Very solid. Score- 9

Structure: This novel was very well structured and kept me turning pages. Once I got to the end I had to flip back to earlier pages to get a full perspective of how all the parts fit together. The suspense was well crafted and Charles writes with finesse. Score- 10

Plot: There wasn't anything super innovative here, but it was the suspense that kept me reading. Charles mastered the plot twists, which made me excited even in a story that was essentially mundane. She did a lot of describing pack tradition and structure and the action was isolated mostly to the end of the novel. Nevertheless, it was a strong book overall. Score- 8

Vervain says: "In this book, being a werewolf was a hereditary thing rather than a curse forced upon an unwilling mortal."