from Goodreads "What would you do if a simple errand takes a deadly twist, turning you from cautious prey to dangerous predator?
When Darcy's outing takes a turn for the worst and tests her to the point of breaking, she struggles to maintain her humanity. Where loyalty and pack mean everything, she surrenders to the inevitable and only an act of complete trust can touch her. When all is said and done, with memories flooding her mind, Darcy holds tightly to the only thing that makes sense - it was all a dream. Or was it?"
Where to start with this one? Well I picked this up as a freebie on Amazon. It is the first installment of a three Novelette series. After looking on Amazon today it appears that all three have been combined into one novel under "The Mystic Wolves".
So lets start with the good. What I liked was that Belinda Boring had decent character development considering the length she was dealing with. In reading "Without Mercy " it felt more like a large excerpt than a stand alone story so I'm guessing combining all three was a good idea. The author was able to establish her werewolves and get across to the reader what it meant to be a werewolf in her world. gain a pretty surprising feat considering the short amount of time she had to express it.
What I thought could use a little improving was Darcy's actions once shifted into wolf form. Now its important to note that Mrs Boring's werewolves seem to have an internal struggle, similar to Patricia Briggs werewolves where both wolf and human seem to reside in the same body. Now since I enjoy Patricia Briggs version of the werewolf this two halves fighting is not what bothered me. *Spoiler* My concern was that when Darcy was so wrought with rage and the wolf took over instead of just killing her prey Darcy played with him. Her behavior was far more cat like than wolf like. Which would be fine but if you go to all the trouble to talk about the importance of the pack structure and wolf behavior than I think you need to go the extra mile and have the wolves act like wolves. Chase him down, rip his throat out etc.. Don't taunt him like a cat playing with a mouse.
Anyways overall I'd give this short story a 2 1/2 out of 5 stars. If the other two novelettes apear for free I may pick them up, but this is one I'm sure I won't buy.
So lets start with the good. What I liked was that Belinda Boring had decent character development considering the length she was dealing with. In reading "Without Mercy " it felt more like a large excerpt than a stand alone story so I'm guessing combining all three was a good idea. The author was able to establish her werewolves and get across to the reader what it meant to be a werewolf in her world. gain a pretty surprising feat considering the short amount of time she had to express it.
What I thought could use a little improving was Darcy's actions once shifted into wolf form. Now its important to note that Mrs Boring's werewolves seem to have an internal struggle, similar to Patricia Briggs werewolves where both wolf and human seem to reside in the same body. Now since I enjoy Patricia Briggs version of the werewolf this two halves fighting is not what bothered me. *Spoiler* My concern was that when Darcy was so wrought with rage and the wolf took over instead of just killing her prey Darcy played with him. Her behavior was far more cat like than wolf like. Which would be fine but if you go to all the trouble to talk about the importance of the pack structure and wolf behavior than I think you need to go the extra mile and have the wolves act like wolves. Chase him down, rip his throat out etc.. Don't taunt him like a cat playing with a mouse.
Anyways overall I'd give this short story a 2 1/2 out of 5 stars. If the other two novelettes apear for free I may pick them up, but this is one I'm sure I won't buy.
I have this one to review too. Its no longer on Amazon or Smashwords - strange...
ReplyDeleteYou did a great review though, lets see if I pick up on the things you did too.
Charlotte xx
Thanks Charlotte :)
ReplyDelete