First, I have to start with review by saying that these are fun books. They’re ridiculous books, but they are fun books. This is the second book in a series about a wolf pack in Alaska. Instead of centering on a woman who marries into the pack, it focuses on a woman in the pack, the love interest from the first book’s sister. There is a little drama. There is a little mystery. There’s an unbelievably hot scientist. There’s a happy ending. You know the drill. Amanda Ronconi who narrates the audiobook does a nice job. So, if you’re into fluffy, paranormal romance or if you’re looking for something light, I recommend you give this a go.
Potential Spoilers Ahead.
And now that I’ve said that, I need to talk about something that bothered me so much in this book. The werewolves are infertile with anyone but the partner they’ve bonded with. I can’t imagine that there is any evolutionary benefit to this. At all. It seems like the stupidest design feature of a creature ever invented and it also perfectly explains why werewolves as a species are dying out. I’d get it if werewolves were monogamous and pretty devoted (possibly to the point of being creepy) to their partners. I mean, I wouldn’t want it, but I’d get it. And, there’s evidence in the animal kingdom of some animals mating monogamously and/or for life (easier done when life is only a few months or years, I’d venture to guess.) But, being fertile with only one partner forever? Whu?? What kind of testing apparatus would the body have to have internally to be able to tell one partner from another? And, what about close genetic matches? I couldn’t stop either questioning how that worked or feeling completely flabbergasted that it happened at all.
Anyway, this featured heavily in the plot and it took me right out of the narrative because it was ridiculous. So, if you like fluffy paranormal romance but you also like at least a modicum of believable scientific accuracy, this book is not for you.
This book is my audio book selection for the Diverse Stacks, Diverse Lives Challenge.
***Spoilers Ahead***
Let’s be honest this series is nothing but fluff, not that is a bad thing or anything. We all need a little fluff in our lives. It was entertaining but I’m glad that this was the final book because I’m not sure what more they could do. That being said it was definitely left open for a spin off series. The mermaids or merls (I’m not going to miss the cutesy sea inspired words) have finally regrouped with their talismans and take out Sera’s uncle and the evil mage Orfeo and his monster. Sera, Neela, Ava, Ling, Becca and Astrid have all overcome their own trials to get to this point and worked together to win. Astrid had the biggest arc of the ladies. She started off as standoffish and refused to help but after being shown kindness from the other girls, she knows that she has to help. She sets off to find Orfeo in hopes of getting his talisman. She expects to hate him but she finds that she starts to like him. He does something that no one has been able to. Give her back her magic and her pride. He shows her the love and caring that has been denied to her since she lost the ability to sing. Will she turn against her new friends? Of course not but there were times that I really couldn’t blame her if she did. Sera grew from a girl fearful of not living up to her mother’s standard to true leader. Becca learned to give up some control and trust others to help. The others helped but had little to do throughout the series. So yes it was fluff and not the greatest story of all time but it had it’s moments. Anyone looking for a series to read on their summer vacation this isn’t a bad pick, as long as you don’t mind all the cutesy words.
I think this is really more a political drama then anything else. Kiersten White re-imagines the origins of Vlad the Impaler as if he had been born a Lada, a girl, rather then a boy. Lada is fierce, passionate and ruthless. She is far more interested in fighting and ruling then she is anything else. From a young age, she knows that she will never be taken seriously as a girl unless she is the smarter, faster and stronger then those around here and does everything she can to make it that way. When she and her brother are left as hostages to the Ottoman Empire as a way to secure their father’s throne of Wallachia, she becomes enraged of her lack of power. Felt betrayed by her father for leaving her there, where any misstep by him, forfeits their lives. She uses her time to learn all that she can from her Ottoman captors to use in her vengeance one day. Things go a little sideways when Lada and Radu meet Mehmed, the son of the Sultan. He becomes their friend and third point to their triangle. Radu is the polar opposite to Lada. While she is strong and aggressive, he’s quiet and conservative. He has the charisma that Lada lacks. Lada has the strength that Radu lacks. They are not the closets of siblings but they are all each other has so when push comes to shove, they are there for each other.
