I was recently in the mood to read some paranormal/urban fantasy and decided to pick up the prequel novellas to several series. All were available though my library's Overdrive app (two on audio and one ebook) so it was easy to give these series a test drive without committing to full-length novels. The results were decidedly mixed. Read on to find out my thoughts.
ALPHA AND OMEGAPatricia BriggsSeries: Alpha & Omega #0.5
Anna Latham never knew werewolves existed, until the
night she survived a violent attack... and became one herself. After three
years at the bottom of the Chicago pack, she's learned to keep her head down
and never, ever trust dominant males. But when she discovers wrongdoing in her
pack, she has to go above her Alpha's head to ask for help.
Charles Cornick is the son — and enforcer — of the leader of the North American
werewolves. Now his father has sent him to Chicago to clean up a problem there.
Charles never expected to find Anna, a rare Omega wolf — and he certainly never
expected to recognize her as his mate...
*****
This series was recommended to me when I mentioned I was
looking for an urban fantasy series along the lines of The Others by Anne
Bishop. I was drawn into this story from the start. Anna is in a precarious
position and that’s only exacerbated when she makes a call that brings Charles
into her life. It was so interesting to learn about the pack hierarchy and the
machinations that were going on behind the scenes. And I'm definitely curious about The Marrock, the leader of all the packs in North America. The instant connection
between Charles and Anna was a little hard to go with but I get the feeling
that the mated thing is pretty common in shifter stories. At roughly 70 pages,
there was only so much that could happen, but I’m curious to see where this
story goes. This felt like a really good introduction to a series that could be
addictive.
Rating: 3.5
Will I Continue the Series: Definitely
Kresley Cole
Series: Immortals After Dark #0.5
The Warlord
Nikolai Wroth, a ruthless vampire general, will stop at nothing to find his
Bride, the one woman who can “blood” him, making his heart beat and filling him
with strength. Coldly interested only in the power his Bride will bring, he can
hardly believe when Myst the Coveted awakens him body—and soul.
The Seductress
Famed throughout the world as the most beautiful Valkyrie, Myst has devoted her
life to protecting a magical jewel and to fighting the vampires. Wroth provides
her with the perfect opportunity to torment her sworn enemy—for with his new
heartbeat comes a consuming sexual desire that can only be slaked by her.
Denying him, she flees, struggling to forget his searing, possessive kiss.
The Hunt is on...
She eludes him for five years, but he has finally chased her to ground and
stolen her enchanted jewel, giving him absolute power over her. Now that she’s
his for the taking, he intends to make her experience first-hand the agonizing,
unending lust she subjected him to for half a decade. Yet when Nikolai realizes
he wants far more than vengeance from Myst and frees her, will she come back to
him?
*****
I was a bit lost at the start of this one and it took me some
time to kind of find my bearings in this world. The time period wasn’t made
clear and I was certain at first that it was historical. When I finally
realized the setting was in modern times I really had to shift my thinking. Beyond
the initial confusion, I really enjoyed the world building. There were vampires,
Valkyries, demons and more and it was interesting to figure out the specific
lore and abilities. Wroth started off as cold and domineering but he came
around. Myst was a character I never could get a handle on. I couldn’t figure
her out – her motivations, her decisions, her end game - so that was a bit of a
struggle. And the sex scenes were a little cringey. I know it’s sounding like I
didn’t enjoy this one but overall, I really did. Novellas can be tricky anyway
and setting up a new world in under 200 pages is even more so. But I was
intrigued and I liked the apparent set-up for the characters featured in the first
full-length novel.
Rating: 3
Will I Continue the Series: Maybe at some point
Christine Feehan
Series: Drake Sisters #0.5
"Sarah's coming home."
Ever since Damon Wilder sought refuge in Sea Haven, he's heard the same
breathless rumor pass the lips of nearly every local in the sleepy coastal
town. Even the wind seems to whisper her name - a reverie so powerfully
suggestive that it carries the curious Damon to Sarah's clifftop home, and
seeks to shelter him there.
But Damon has not arrived alone. Two men have tracked him to Sea Haven, and
into the shadows of Drake House, where Sarah hides her own secrets. And danger-
as well as a desire more urgent than either has ever known- is just a whisper
away...
*****
Oof. This just wasn't good. Everything
about it felt surface-level. The plot, the characters, everything. There
were no explanations for anything. No background about the
sisters, no background about Damon other than an extremely vague mention of a
hush-hush government job that "bad guys" were willing to kill him
over (which made no sense – since he was no longer working or developing
anything what could possibly be accomplished by killing him?), and no explanation
of the "magic" the sisters seemed to have.
Worst of all, there was no explanation for the insta-love between Damon and
Sarah. I was told constantly about how strong their feelings were, but I
couldn't understand why. They were virtual strangers and everything seemed to
happen in matter of days. Very little was shared about the time they spent
together, how they got to know one another, or where these intense feelings
came from. It made no sense.
The big "prophecy" seemed to boil down to this: Sarah would fall in
love with Damon because the gate unlocked for him. Yeah, that was it. That was the
big prophecy. Pretty freaking weak as far as prophecies go. Having never read
anything by Feehan before, I don't know if this was not her best, or if this is
just her style. Either way, it really wasn't for me.
Rating: 2
Will I Continue the Series: Not a chance
HAVE YOU READ ANY OF THESE BOOKS?
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