Story: 6
First MC: 8
Second MC: 7
Secondary characters: 6
Mystery: 4
Suspence: 4
Sexual tension: 5
Humor: 3
Hotness: 6
Product placement: 6
Ridiculousness: 7
Annoying: 4
Audio: 8
To re-read: 6 ( )

Well, damn it. I was really looking forward to reading this book, and it was just okay.

So this is Jon's book. I didn't like Jon at first; I think that was the whole point of the character's introduction (he was hired to seduce and use Roman in the first book), but I warmed up to him in the second book, and I ended up feeling quite bad for him. He met his true mate, Kelvin, who was a werewolf, and Kelvin pretty much told him that he's not attracted to guys and he was promised to a werewolf anyway, so there wasn't going to be anything between them except some awkward longing.

My problems with this book were many, so prepare for a long review. ;)

The first was how Jon was treated, especially by Linus, at the beginning of the book. He was pining for his mate, which is understandable - the mating bond is portrayed as almost irresistible. It got a hyena and a stag together, for pete's sake, so it has to be pretty damned strong. But Linus pretty much told him to get over it, and I felt bad for Jon, because previously in the series, it was pretty strongly shown that you don't just "get over it" when it comes to the pull of your mate. I can understand Linus' reasoning - Kelvin had made it pretty clear that he and Jon were never going to happen in the previous book, and Linus just wanted Jon to protect his heart. But Linus' way of not-exactly-saying-that made him come across as a total dick to Jon.

But then Kelvin did a complete 180 once he and Jon came into contact again, and then it was just all over. I understand that there is a deep pull from a mate, but...I just wasn't buying it. Kelvin later made it clear that he, too, had been pining for Jon, but to go from "I'm straight and honoring my obligations to my alpha" to "I want to bone you so bad and fuck everything" in just the span of a few pages was just...nope. The first time Jon and Kelvin have sex is also pretty ridiculous - Kelvin had been on the receiving end of blowjobs before, but he'd never given one, and he was deepthroating Jon like a champ. Which, I mean, okay, I'm not saying that Kelvin had to be clueless about it, but I was expecting him to at least gag or SOMETHING before he inhaled Jon's cock like a pro.

I just never got attached to the character of Kelvin. His accent was difficult to understand, and he kept lapsing into Gaelic, which usually turns me off in a book. Plus, I'll be honest, I'm just not enamored with Scotsmen like a lot of romance authors are, apparently. And then there was some discrepancies between how the character was portrayed at different parts of the book, and it felt like the author was changing her mind (and directions) as the book progressed. Kelvin stated that he had received blowjobs (and, inferred, aplenty) before, but then, a third of the way (ish) into the book, all of the sudden Kelvin is viewed as a big hairy ugly beast who no one wants to be with in the pack (or whatever the hell they're calling themselves) and it's a huge chore to have him around and he's just more animal than man and he doesn't deserve to be treated with humanity. Okay, that's fine...but who, exactly, if he's so repulsive and disgusting (to the point that his "mate," once she has produced an heir, is allowed to leave him AND the kid and just pretend nothing ever happened), is giving him the blowjobs? None of that made sense. Obviously, if he's getting some action, at least SOME in his pack (or in his travels, or whatever) find him attractive. But Kelvin is SO FREAKING SHOCKED that Jon (or, even, ANYONE) can find him attractive. This does not compute.

The difference between how Kelvin and Enoch were treated just shows this disparity. Enoch, who has been promised to a werewolf in his pack and has been officially handfasted with her, finds Sheridan, his true mate, at L'Ange and immediately goes for a mating bond and everything - and it's TOTALLY COOL. No one gives a shit that he's promised to be with someone else, that Sheridan is a dude AND a fox (not a wolf), etc, etc. But as soon as Kelvin says that he, too, has found his mate - it's time to kick his ass, whip him, stab him, and possibly hunt him to death. WTF? None of that ever was explained to my satisfaction.

There was also a lot going on with Quade and Roman and Linus and Arman, and it was just TOO MUCH crammed into this book, and it got to the point that I was having trouble keeping up with the plot. So Roman's mom is a jaguar shifter - surprise! - and Quade took some of Kelvin's punishment because he will be Kelvin's alpha and Jon had to take some of the rest of Kelvin's punishment and GAHHH too much! Also, the hunt was pumped up as something super scary and life-threatening and horrible and Jon would never survive it, and he didn't have a problem at all. The hunt came across as pretty stupid, to be honest. Linus ran around for a while, Jon kicked ass, and then the wolves came back tired and wet. Total letdown.

Also, as an aside, I am totally sick of reading about someone's "blown pupils." LOL Sorry not sorry.

I really liked the series up until this book, so I left feeling pretty bummed out about this installment. There's room for more books in the series if the author is so inclined (as L'Ange is now a shifter sanctuary), and I will definitely read those if she writes them, but this book just felt sloppy to me, and I was wondering if maybe it was because she was trying to tie up all of the loose ends and just finish the series into a trilogy. ( )