Rating: 2 stars
Buy Links: Amazon | All Romance
Length: Novel
In search of the wolf who brutally slaughtered his family, Jaylen DeWallis has spent his life hunting Denton, the Alpha of all werewolves, with no regard to the lives of the wolves in his path. When Jaylen finally tracks Denton to a small Midwestern town, he vows that this will be the end. Jaylen’s arrival in the small town brings several deaths at his hands, but it doesn’t matter to Jaylen because they are all beasts. The town is crawling with werewolves and, to Jaylen, the only good werewolf is a dead one.
Westley is not the average omega. He refuses to take a mate and insists on living on his own like an alpha. He hates his baser nature, hates that he’s not normal. And by normal, he means a human who doesn’t shift into a wolf. By drinking a tea of his own creation, Westley has been able to keep from shifting for several months. Studying in the library to better his homemade tea, Westley meets Jaylen, a stranger passing through town. And for the first time in his life, Jaylen is inexplicably drawn to a man, a man who also happens to be human.
When the discovery of the deaths of two townsfolk brings out Denton, the hunter becomes the hunted. Westley, certain that he wants Jaylen in his life, does everything he can to protect the human. And when Denton uses his abilities to corrupt Westley’s pack, Jaylen is not the only one in danger. Denton and his new followers begin destroying a town of human and wolf alike. A truce is struck between Jaylen and the new alpha of the pack, a truce that has them working together despite jealousies and fears to take down their common enemy. And when their nightmare comes calling, Westley and Jaylen’s lives will never be the same.
Okay. I’ve been thinking about how to say this, but I’m not sure that there is an easy way to do it. So I’m just gonna go with it. I didn’t like this book. The reason I gave it two stars and not one is because it is a creative story, not my kind of creative, but creative nonetheless. And there are two things I did like about this story of a vengeful serial killer. Those two things? Westley and Tom.
Westley is not your average omega. He’s the size of a linebacker and more rebellious than any one omega has the right to be. I love his heart. Regardless of his desire to be normal, he is the perfect caring, protecting omega. He wants to see everybody that he cares for happy, so he works to make that happen.
Then there’s Tom. Tom is probably my favorite character of this book. In love with his best friend, Westley, for as long as he can remember, Tom will do anything to make Westley happy. He is unbelievably supportive in the face of confusion and the worst moment of his life. His patience, his heart, his empathy – he’s a great character. I absolutely adore Tom. Though one thing I didn’t like about Tom’s role in this story is that it’s a surprise. He’s part of the story from the beginning, but as a secondary character. To bring in his point of view near the middle of the story after only having Jaylen and Westley’s POVs was a little strange. Like I said, I like Tom the most in this book; maybe it could have been better with more of Tom’s story. I don’t know.
So probably my biggest issue with this book is Jaylen. When I read a story, I want to at least like the main characters. I found it very difficult to like a character that kills with no remorse and hates blindly. He is prejudiced and mean. I mean, I get that Jaylen had a trauma that changed him, but even the fact that he’s so broken didn’t make me like him. I’ve read several stories that have had killers (mostly hired, contract killers) but the difference is that there are redeemable qualities about those characters. I didn’t find any of those in Jaylen. Even in the end when his mind was changed, I felt like it was only because he was hurt and forced into something he never wanted. I didn’t like him at all.
I mentioned the creativity of this story. The world is very unique. It’s a dark world, a world of things that go bump in the night. This is a world of vicious animals. Most of the wolves are not sentient. It’s a world of murderous hunters and vengeful witches. It’s a unique world, but not very easy to like. I tried. It just isn’t my kind of dark.
The storyline…well, again, not my favorite. It’s dark and a little off-putting. Not to mention misleading. It’s a story of vengeance and hate. Don’t get me wrong, there’s love, or at least warm feelings, but it doesn’t balance out the hate. The relationship between Jaylen and Westley is complicated and strange. I don’t understand it really. And then there’s the ménage. Yes, I said ménage. That’s the best way I can describe it. It’s not the traditional ménage, but I was caught completely off guard. Now, I am a fan of ménages, but this one is just strange.
So, really, there’s not much I can say in the positive when it comes to this book. This is only my opinion, you may like it way more than I did. That’s the beauty of diversity. So, unfortunately, I can’t recommend this one.
