Affichage des articles dont le libellé est Shawntelle Madison. Afficher tous les articles
Affichage des articles dont le libellé est Shawntelle Madison. Afficher tous les articles

jeudi 17 septembre 2015

The Hunter’s Moon ( Windham werewolves 1) by Shawntelle Madison

Hello to all!

                        The week didn't go as planned at all  so while i joined Tressa read- a-thon i'm still  far behind my goals as i just finished one book for it and while i'm working on the review you will get soon i decided to tell you about what i had read just before.

Serials have become quite numerous and  it doesn't fit well with the kind of reader i am ( after all i hate cliffhanger so much among other things).
However  i do admit that when we can get the first episodes free it can help us make discoveries we would perhaps have missed otherwise. It's how i came accross this series that i hope to continue one day

 So without more delay, here is my opinion on The Hunter's moon from Shawntelle Madison

Happy Reading!
Publisher: Shawntelle Madison
Publication: 2014
ASIN:  B00PJHEI9S
Genre: paranormal romance
Violence: mild

Language: mild
sex: mild
Public: 18+
Source: free promo


Short description from goodreads :

This is the first story in the Windham Werewolves series. Episodes will be released once per month. This is not a standalone story.


Kaden will do anything to protect his pack, including saving a dying werewolf hunter. But Cynthia would rather take him down than become his mate.


My opinion:
          I really dislike this new serial trend because one episode only isn’t enough, in most case, to get a real opinion on a story. Now this first episode really made me want for more, it sounds really promising but at the same time I’m missing too much info, character’s background to fully enjoy it.
We get a universe like ours but where werewolves are known and hunted like monsters….

Kaden is an alpha, a doctor too, and he is hell bent on protecting is pack. To reach that goal he made a bargain with an hunter to save his dying sister in exchange for such protection … however we ignore in what form: an alliance, information that’s left to be discovered. I really liked Kaden , we can feel his compassion and need to protect, he is really an attentive doctor but often to be able to study and practise he had to hide his nature.

Cynthia is dying from a cancer, before that she was a talented wolf hunter with her brother…since little she has been taught that werewolves were monsters, eating people and other things by her parents so she never questioned that teaching. When she wakes up in a cabin with an werewolf her first instinct is to try to kill him….slowly she learns that her brother is being her presence there but still she doubts Kaden’s intentions and doesn’t make it easy for him.
I’m still not sure what to think of her….. I hate the fact she did never try to question what she was told, and it doesn’t help that I don’t really understand the hunters’ structure yet. So far we gather that they are organised in clan with some freelances but what are the clan really ( extended family? Group of people without blood link, what about the hierarchy etc)… She does seem worried because if her presence was to be known by other hunters she would be hunted as well….

This first episode is short but it’s evident the author wanted to catch the reader’s interest which is working but only if the rest of the story answer those questions…. So far we have a little idea of what hunters believe werewolves to be to nothing on the real habits of werewolves (safe that they can change without the moon)
The relationship moves up a little too quickly for my taste as well but I understand it as being part of the serial conditions.

Do I want to read more? Yes definitively but I’m really relieved that the complete story exists in print already because no more serial for me for a time, it’s too frustrating. The print book is only available on amazon though so not that easily easy for me to obtain but I do have hope for the future as I really want to learn more about this universe and I like the author’s writing style

Score:  3,5/5

Disclaimer: All opinions are my own and no compensation was received in exchange for this review


Challenge:

jeudi 25 octobre 2012

Collected ( Coveted 0.5 ) by Shawntelle Madison

Hello to all,

                 today will be a bit special because i've decided to share with you my opinion on two novellas, one from a universe i know and love and it will be in the next post, and a novella, this one, under the title Collected a prequel to Coveted a book i really hope to get one day. Both will be short reviews since i want to avoid too much spoilers.

I discovered Shawntelle Madison thanks to some reviews of her first book Coveted and it caught my interest. I've tried  i don't know how many contests to get it but so far luck wasn't on my side but i still followed her blog to keep me updated. Book 2 " Kept " will soon be released  but meantime she has released the prequel called " Collected" and at the moment it's even free so don't hesitate and give it a try! She is really an accessible author.


Happy reading!

Publication: 2012
Asin:  B009MQJ6HG
Genre: urban fantasy,romance
Violence: mild

Language: normal
sex: none
Public: 16+
Source: free novella 



Short description from goodreads :

 Natalya Stravinsky, the charmingly neurotic werewolf from Coveted, is featured in this prequel novella. Before Thorn Grantham returned to South Toms River, New Jersey, Natalya lived alone with her stash of holiday trinkets. Her life takes an interesting turn when she faces a difficult challenge: to find a stolen figurine she'd recently won from a magical creatures auction website. It should be simple, just demand for it back from the pesky thief. But a set of events occurs that puts not only her life at risk, but her family's as well.



My opinion:

        A surprising prequel. Coveted is a series that caught my interest months ago but so far I haven’t had the opportunity to read Coveted, book 1, I just enjoyed excerpts so when a few days ago, I saw Shawntelle offering the prequel for free I jumped on the occasion.

This prequel can be read without any knowledge of the world Shawntelle has created, it’s a funny introduction to it. Natalya is a werewolf really different from others first she lives alone apart from the pack, not that common, and she has quite a lot of compulsions: she is afraid- to say thing lightly- of germs, dirt, filth and collects trinkets in a compulsory way too, spending big amount of money of them . It(‘s the first time I come across a shifter  so maniac and clean, one who doesn’t like blood I knew – like Dali from the Kate Daniels series, white tiger , she faint or become frantic when smelling or seeing blood- but one like Natalya never.
Even more curious, it seems that she wasn’t always like that even though we don’t get a lot more information in this novella. I really would like to know more about that. This dichotomy between her wolf part: for which running in the wild is fun and great, and her conscious traumatized by the idea of touching something dirty gives us at least a smile if not a full laugh

We also learn that she is not completely over her ex, Thorn, who left her and it seems to be one of the reasons she choose to live alone.  She is a bit independent but is responsible enough to know when to ask for help even if her reasons can seem futile, with her personality getting that thing was a priority. No matter the risks.
However, those psychological flaws aside, she is not a werewolf like the others; she seems to be attuned to magic when her brother and his friend are completely blind to it.  I think it will be something capital in the future like the aquatic creature made an allusion to it.

I really spend a good time and I recommend it to fan of urban Fantasy, if you have read Coveted it will give you more insight in Natalya and if, like me, you still have to discover it, this prequel makes an excellent introduction. So enjoy it .



Score:  4/5

Disclaimer: All opinions are my own and no compensation was received in exchange for this review


If you liked this review and want to try this novella you can find all the links to retailers HERE


Challenges:
This book enter in the Romance and Me Challenge