Judith‘s review of Transcending Darkness by Kate Steele

Is it possible to start a new life with a bang–or rather, a spanking? For Owen Connors that’s just what it takes. He’s about to embark on a journey filled with change, including a new job, a new home and something he never thought he’d have–a man who offers him everything, including the opportunity to become a creature steeped in legend–a werewolf. All Owen has to do is accept Sam’s love. Too bad that’s an emotion he abandoned a long time ago.

For werewolf Sam Sterling, change begins within himself. Vowing never to become like his father, who took pleasure in cruelty and brutality, Sam has learned to be calm, kind and passive. That works just fine for him until he meets the man he would take as his mate. When Owen ignores him in favor of a strong and charismatic alpha werewolf, Sam realizes that it’s time for a change. For Owen, he’ll take charge and become the dominant, decisive lover Owen needs.

To start, I must own up to the fact that there is a plot and some sub-plots in this book that are very engaging. The reader will encounter MM romance, paranormal werewolves, broken people due to social rejection and abuse, and so much more. This book is really about reclaiming lives and redeeming the worthwhile in human and paranormal characters.

Owen is a broken human being . . . abandoned emotionally by his dad at a very young age, loved but emotionally abandoned by a mother that saw to his physical needs but had little time for anything else, sexually abused for years by a man brought into his mother’s bed and Owen’s too, and thus growing up with a skewed view of human relationships that make him believe that he was worthless and human trash. His abuser even went so far as to state that it was Owen’s mother that suggested he would be available for this man–when Owen was 13 years old, and that she thought that ‘s about all he was good for. Needless to say, Owen was a broken person who supported himself as a male prostitute.

Sam was a huge and gorgeous werewolf who was immediately attracted to Owen who was also a very attractive man. (It was one of the reasons he was so successful as a male prostitute.) Yet Sam’s attraction was one of those werewolf things — he was immediately sure that Owen was his soul-mate and thus Sam pursued him with determination. Sam was a member of the Stone River Pack, a group of male werewolves who had been systematically excluded from their packs of origin because they were gay. Thus this small pack of weres was the perfect place for Owen.

But beware–this would be great if it were the end of the story, but all is not well in “pack-ville.” Owen doesn’t even pay any attention to Sam. Instead, he goes after the Alpha who is already in a committed relationship. Through lying and deceit, Owen attempts to separate the Alpha from his mate and Owen’s welcome mat was hastily withdrawn. Now what is Sam to do as he tries to bring Owen away from his street life but back into the pack?

This novel is crafted around worthy themes and it is a journey of discovery both for Owen and for Sam. It is also an exercise in forgiveness for the pack itself. Owen must learn how to feel–perhaps for the first time in his life. He must recognize genuine caring and affection, not as manipulative facades but rather as the sharing of hearts and minds and not just bodies.

Kate Steele is obviously a writer of some experience. Her list of credits is not small. She has a number of other works that have been published by this same publishing house. Yet while I applaud the themes around which this book is built, I found it difficult to read. I felt the action was very slow and the sexual encounters occupying way more of the pages than the story supported. Now I understand that this is erotic romance, but come on . . . give me a break . . . I felt that the eroticism was a bit over the top. I did appreciate that Sam and Owen were developed well as characters, but Owen’s betrayal of the pack, while certainly an important part of the story, was forgiven far too easily by creatures who, at least in the legends, held grudges for nearly their entire lives. So I just had the feeling that the plot was good but it was more a vehicle for erotic encounters rather than the background and backbone of a really good story. I finished this book with as many negative feelings as positive. In the end, I was uplifted by some of the directions in which the story moved, but turned off by what I came to believe was an unbalanced treatment of all the aspects that needed to be present to make it a really special read.

Thus I have given it a 2.75 out of 5.

You can read more from Judith at Dr J’s Book Place

This book is available from Ellora’s Cave. You can buy it here in e-format.