Judith’s rev
iew of Lying with Wolves by Cynthia Cooke.
Only her powerful magic can save the Colony and the man she loves…In the wake of a betrayal, Celia Lawson, the last of a preeminent magical bloodline, is building a new life for herself outside the security of the Colony. Meanwhile, demon raiders have breached the protective barriers of the compound and are threatening everyone she loves. When she learns of the tragedy, Celia races home to help mount a magical offensive–and finds comfort back in the arms of the shifter who broke her heart….
Risking exposure for all that he’s done, Malcolm Daniels wants only to redeem himself with the pack and win back Celia’s trust. But as demon forces invade, Celia’s magic–and her own conflicted feelings for Malcolm–will be tested in ways neither of them ever would have imagined.
I don’t remember the last time I read a book by this author but I found this new novel on Net Galley and chose to review it. I have liked paranormal/shifter romance for a long time and have found that most of the Nocturne series of stories from Harlequin to be quite good.
I am sorry to say that I did not find this one to be one of the really good ones. There was romance and emotion, hope and hurt, family and friendship, and lots of stuff that is usually found in a romance novel. But I can’t say it any other way: that indefinable something, that “wow” factor that makes a novel pop, that compels the reader to want to go back and start all over when reaching the ending just wasn’t there. In fact, there were times when the drawn out angst with the heroine’s cousins, the shock and surprise and upset over discovering their shifter heritage became tedious and the momentum of the story lagged badly.
On the other hand, the story was constructed just fine and testified to the fact that this author certainly knows how to put a novel together in fine fashion. I think the fault for me lay in the action of the story, the sense that the leadership of the pack was never demonstrating that sense of power that alpha wolves traditionally display, the silliness of council members who are so out of touch, and the fact that the hero sought to cement his leadership of the pack with manipulation rather than with good leadership. All this may have more to say about me than about the story, and I am willing to own up to the fact that having read so very many paranormal romances has made me somewhat jaded. The writing was good; the editing was fine–I have seldom found any publications by Harlequin that have not been up to a pretty high standard in this factor. The story was just not up to snuff for me–it just fell short and I guess that’s the best I can do. I would urge you to read the book for yourself. It may be that you will be impressed with it far differently than I.
I do want you to know that I am going to go back and read something from this author to check out her work as a comparative study. I think she wrote well. I want to encounter some of her work that really excites me.
I give this book a rating of 3 out of 5
You can read more from Judith at Dr J’s Book Place
This title is available from Harlequin Nocturne. You can buy it here or here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.