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."
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.
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