3 stars Averaged together, my rating should be 2.3, and it would make sense to round to just 2 stars, but I’m feeling generous. Isaac and Foster make this collection worth reading, followed by Blaze, Ciaran, Benjamin, and Josh. Milo and Grimm were okay. I wouldn’t bother with Silas, Asher, Terrance, Kaden, or Deacon. You can read below to get reviews of each individual book, in the order in which they appear in the collection. Silas - Bella Roccaforte 1 star A book has to be really bad for me to stop reading it. This was one of those books. I found that there was a lot of telling without enough showing and far too many cliches. I read a couple of chapters and gave up, moving on to the next book in the collection. Asher - AK Michaels 1 star I started and then skipped this one too. There's more to fixing a run-on sentence than simply inserting some periods and capitalizing the next word. After only a page or two, I couldn't stand the inconsistency of verb usage any longer. Blaze - SJ Pierce 3 stars I like Susan Pierce's books and this one was pretty good. Simple premise: human single mom meets wolf/man, he saves son from kidnapper, they are fated mates, HEA. Because it was so short, it didn't evoke any particular emotions. Scenes were clearly described, character motivations were believable, and the plot pacing was just about right. It’s memorable and I enjoyed it but it won't be going on my list of "best books." Ciaran - Pia Milan 3 stars The plot for this story was unexpected and exciting. I was hooked from the beginning and the more I read, the more I wanted to find out more of the details. The pacing was good, mysteries being revealed a little bit at a time, keeping me engaged. I’m perplexed by the title because each chapter was entitled either Ciagan or Leira, but it’s hard to think of title names so I’ll give the author a pass on that. I wish the proofreading had been a bit more thorough because I kept finding verb tense errors and other mistakes, like listed instead of listened, hatches instead of hutches, and innocents instead of innocence. The biggest problem for me, though, was the author’s tendency to tell emotions rather than show them. A couple of times, characters shared looks of “admiration,” and at one point, one character’s “eyes filled with encouragement and admiration.” Also, there were a few times when Ciaran thought he saw flames in Leira’s eyes. This led me to believe her eyes must be an amber color. In chapter 16, I read that her eyes were green. I think this should have been revealed earlier to avoid confusion. At one point, Ciaran “slunk slipped out from beneath the camouflage and crawled into the brush…” I got a chuckle out of the phrasing. Overall, although I was pulled from the story by the author’s intrusions, I enjoyed it, for the most part. Benjamin - Tami Lund 3 stars This story was fast-paced with a few surprises. I liked the characters of Ben and Hannah and the development of their relationship. The build-up of suspense was done well, but the fight was a bit of a let-down. Overall, it was an enjoyable, complete story. Milo - Susan Griscom 2 stars At times, this story was told in a way that had me convinced the writer was a male. I don’t have a specific reason for that; it’s just a sense that I sometimes get from certain writers. Part of it, I think, is that sex scenes seem more like the kind of thing I’d expect to read in Penthouse Forum than in erotica directed at women. The story was pretty good, but the sex scenes made me uncomfortable. The mystery of the story was decent, though not outstanding, and Skye’s hesitancy to trust anyone seemed a bit exaggerated. Nevertheless, I was drawn into the story’s action and continued to read because I wanted to find out what would happen. I did not feel much for any of the characters, which was unfortunate. Grimm - Elaine Barris 2 stars Characters had little depth and conversations were stilted. I liked Grimm and his backstory but it wasn't enough to power the entire plot. Lacy's backstory was interesting, if skimpy, and necessary for the conflict of the plot. Some details seemed unnecessary, like mentioning there wasn’t a shower or toilet in the cave and Lacy’s intentions of asking Grimm “about the facilities later when she needed them.” She never needed them, so I don’t know why this observation was included. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't terribly well told. (Also, tittering should have been teetering.) Terrance - Lia Davis 1 star Maybe this one deserves 1.5 stars, but since it ended abruptly without a true conclusion, I'm rounding down. A new paranormal-type character, Vicky, is introduced. She’s a vampire and a “Gifted,” and apparently, Terrance’s mate. From the beginning, I suspected I wouldn't like it because there was too much expository writing, explaining relationships and histories. Even so, the explanation of Mary's living arrangements was unclear. There were silly details like Samira and Luca transforming into identical wolves, except she had a heart-shaped white patch on the top of her head. Sentence fragments caused me to puzzle the meaning the author was trying to convey, and misused homophones (& other somewhat similar-sounding words) abounded: to instead of too, pass instead of past, your instead of you're, shuttered instead of shuddered, bare instead of bear, since instead of sense, and arched instead of arced. And there were plenty of typos and confusing verbs, too. I was relieved to reach the end. Kaden - Cora A. Murray 1 star Ugh! This one starts off with confusing and inconsistent verb usage, from present to past perfect and back, causing whiplash. Why are verbs so hard?! Sometimes they would contradict one another mid-sentence. What’s worse is that the story also changed POV without warning, mid-chapter. Chapters were told from the POV of Gianna or Kaden and the name at the beginning of each chapter let the reader know who was talking. However, at times within a chapter, the POV would change without notice. This, within a chapter titled Kaden, was one of the worst examples: “I let my wolf out. He strikes without hesitation. When her blood fills his mouth, a growl rumbles in his chest. Mine, his wolf says gleefully, as Kaden thrusts deep, spilling his seed inside her.” I think what happened here was it started in first person (Kaden), then switched to third-person. Other times, it might switch from Gianna to Kaden, or vice versa, totally ambusing me and leaving me shaking my head, trying to figure out what had happened. It was a difficult story to read, not only because of the grammar, but also because it just wasn’t very good. What a disappointment. Deacon - Robbie Cox 1 star Thankfully short, this was another candidate for Penthouse. Okay, so maybe not, but the sex scenes were certainly similar. Frankly, I got sick of all the honey dripping out of Purity. Foster - C.D. Gorri 4 stars Hey, this one was pretty good! I enjoyed the storytelling style which included humor and emotion. Lydia has escaped an abusive wolf-shifter spouse and Foster was imprisoned for a crime he did not commit. After an inauspicious first meeting, things move along rather quickly once Foster realizes Lydia is his mate and she realizes how attracted to him she is. Lydia has a little girl, Skylar, who is about five years old. Unfortunately, the author makes the mistake of thinking an independent kindergartener would drink from a sippy cup. Other than that, the story is believable (as far as paranormal stories can be) and I enjoyed it. Josh - Skye Jones 3 stars This one was pretty good. I liked the characters of Rebecca and Josh, and I sympathized particularly with Rebecca’s history. There were some great descriptions of the feelings these mates had for one another. Josh experienced this: “Colors flashed behind his eyes as he closed them to relish the taste of her. Oh Goddess, he’d heard finding your mate was good, but this? He’d fallen from the earthly realm surely and now walked in heaven.” Rebecca experienced this: “...she’d never had sex quite like that. Mind blowing, body pleasing, soul fracturing sex. The kind of sex that you started as one person, and finished as quite another.” I enjoyed the story, except for one small thing: Rebecca “filled the tub to the brim, added bubbles, and climbed in with a contented sigh.” I can’t be the only one to know that if you fill a tub to the brim and then get in, you’ve got water all over the floor. I know it’s silly, but it bugged me. Luckily, it did not detract from the story as a whole. Isaac - Rosalie Redd 5 stars The last book in this collection turned out to be the best one. Having been introduced to Isaac in previous books (Milo & Kaden), this was an interesting alternative view of him. Funny how Gianna (Kaden) didn’t see him as particularly sexy or attractive because he wasn’t her mate, whereas Chloe couldn’t see him any other way. There were a few things that I liked about this book: the author’s use of metaphors and symbolism (the recurring flashlight falling over), the descriptive words she uses to describe scenes and characters, and her ability to convey the feelings felt by Cloe and Isaac. There were a couple of silly things that stood out to me: 1. Chloe called herself a divorcee. Who uses that term anymore? 2. Her best friend Brooklyn finally reached her on her cell phone and confessed she had been frantically calling for hours. She should have just called the motel directly and she would have been connected with the room. Don’t worry, the mystery surrounding Samuel is revealed at the end. It’s not a surprise, but it would have been disappointing if the author hadn’t tied up that loose end. Overall, I enjoyed this story a lot and I’m glad I continued through this collection until the end. June 11, 2020
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Elizabeth J ConnorWriter. Editor. Proofreader. Archives
September 2022
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