My Book Rating System

My book rating system is based on 5 stars. The book must be rated at least 3 stars for a review.

3 Stars: Good story, good plot, good writing.

4 Stars: I was wowed, but something about the story fell short of perfection.

5 Stars: I was either drooling, on the edge of my seat, or falling in love.

If you would like me to review your book, please contact me at 00ibitz@charter.net.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Book Review: The Mating, by Nicky Charles

Elise, a werewolf and daughter of the Alpha of her pack, is mated suddenly to a total stranger, Kane. The marriage is one of strategic alliance, as Kane is the newly appointed Alpha of a neighboring pack. When Elise arrives at her new pack, most are ready to accept her as their Alpha's mate, except for Marla. Besides the awkwardness of Marla trying to insinuate herself in the middle of Elise and Kane's budding marriage, other nuisances keep getting in the way of the two establishing and reconciling their new relationship, mostly in the form of mishaps plaguing the pack's land. These mysterious mishaps are attibuted to Kane's brother, Ryne, who had left the pack when he lost the challenge for the Alpha role to Kane.
The story has most elements of a romance: two strangers thrown together into a relationship, forced to make the most of the situation, both beginning to have feelings for the other yet unable to communicate as much, and a climatic resolution that brings them together.

What's missing from this story action. It's rather domestic, most of the story revolving around Elise trying to establish herself as the Alpha's mate in her new pack. Because this is a paranormal romance, I was expecting a little more danger, darkness, mystery, and grit. The erotic scenes were very well written, but the set-up for the mysterious happenings around the pack's land and who is involved is a little predictable. There was only one twist at the end that I didn't see coming.

Even the werewolf aspect of the story, which I had expected to be fraught with danger and mystery, was tame, and the story read more like a description of pack life. The last quarter of the book had more of what I was expecting, and I found myself eagerly turning the pages.

If you are looking for the elements of a romance novel, this one is almost there, though the relationship needs to have a little more edge to it. If you're looking for a dark, paranormal romance, this one lacks in that regard.

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