Reviewer: Holly Waking the Beast by Lacey Thorn
Series: Awakening Pride #1
Publisher: Resplendence Publishing
Publication Date: 3/30/14
Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal Romance
Pages: 190
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Series Rating:
The legend of the Paka Watu...
Ever since she was a young girl, Abby Lane can’t resist the allure of a catshifter tribe forced to repress their beasts. On a trip to Africa, she discovers a coveted piece of information—the name the pride leader assumed when he left his home—and she traces his lineage to his descendent.
The sleeping lion...
Utah Pearce can’t keep his gaze off the woman who slips into the bar every night. Though not his usual type, she brings out the possessive instinct in him, making him battle with himself as he tries to stay away.
Mine...
Abby’s research never prepared her for the reality in front of her. The beast is waking, and Utah is changing in ways both exciting and terrifying. He is possessive and dominant, and when he finally claims her, neither of them will ever be the same.
This was a free download.
I’ve been wanting to read more shifters lately and I like the idea of trying a series before I buy it. The premise is really great, and it started out with a bang, but it lacked in execution.
The story starts out with the legend of the Paka Watu, an African tribe blessed by the Great Spirit and given spirit guides, which end up being large jungle cats they can shift into. Abby has been obsessed with the legend her whole life, and thinks she’s finally found the descendant of the original leader of the Paka Watu, Utah Pearce, a former Marine and current bar owner.
When they’re abducted by her uncle and Utah is forced to change, her suspicions are confirmed. Except it freaks her out more than she thought it would. Dreaming about finding a race of shapeshifters is one thing, actually discovering their real is quite another. Of course, her reaction is nothing compared to Utah’s. One day he was running a bar, the next he was acting crazy possessive of Abby and rumbling a lot in his throat.
As I said, the premise was good and I liked the legend of the Paka Watu. It fell apart fairly quickly, however. Utah’s strange reaction to Abby and her involvement in his abduction was sort of touched on, then ignored. He should have been suspicious and angry, but instead he just wanted her. This is kind of a case of fated mates, and those rarely work for me.
There were a ton of plot holes and silly inconsistencies that pulled me out of the story. Not to mention the sequel baiting. I wanted to start a drinking game every time a secondary character came on page and their back story was hinted at but never revealed. Scenarios like “So-and-so finally shared her story, which shed light on Abby’s current situation” were prevalent. The stories weren’t shared with the readers, so the book felt half-formed and ended up frustrating me more than not.
I’m kind of curious about the wolvves, so I may go back and read that story. As for this one, it could have been a stellar read but ended up leaving me feeling bored and mildly frustrated.
2 out of 5