Annalise Grey

Noooooo! A cliff hanger! *gasp* I don’t like cliff hangers!
OK, now that I’ve got that out of my system, I can review the book…


Howl is told in first person through the eyes of Sophie, a nineteen year old werewolf shifter of the Matthews werewolf pack.

I’m not much of a fan of books written in first person because more often than not, authors can’t create a good image of what the protagonist is like; the personality is often terribly bland. If the author does manage to create a personality through first person, the protagonist, usually a teenage female; is whiny, self-absorbed and I just want to smack her. Happily the author of Howl does none of this and Sophie comes across as a regular nineteen year old teenager on the verge of some major changes in her life.

The book blurb and other reviewers have already covered what the book is basically about and I don’t really want to spoil the suspense, which is very well done. Annalise Grey does a great job of keeping the pace moving along. Descriptions are just enough most of the time, except when there seems to be too much in describing the scenery or nature around Sophie which slows the action down.

The obligatory two males vying for Sophie’s romantic attention appeared in the story. One a human named Jaime that Sophie loved, the other Daniel a werewolf that she was very attracted to. I’ve never liked two male romantic leads; I prefer one because it’s always struck me as a contrived story line so I don’t get as much enjoyment out of a story as if the romance involved just one suitor. I suppose I’ll have to wait to see which one Sophie ends up with by the end of the series.

It's interesting that through the course of the story, Gavin and Thomas (the Alpha and his Second), wish to isolate the family in order to protect themselves from humans. In the end, it's other werewolves that tear their family apart, and it's a human that ends up helping them.

There were quite a few grammatical and spelling errors that slipped by the proofreader.

Overall I enjoyed this book very much. I’ll be looking forward to the sequels.



… (más)

I received a copy of Embrace by Annalise Grey from the Nexus group on Goodreads so thanks to the author and the mods for making this available. I had the opportunity to review the first book in the Kane Wolves series a few months ago and thoroughly enjoyed so I jumped on the chance to review this one.

This book takes up shortly after the last one left off, Sophie faces the challenge of being the only female alpha in what is very much a man's world. Sophie only wants to live her life with her family and be left alone, sadly some other alphas have different ideas. Sophie has to explore her family's past to survive her present.

I love the characters that Annalise has created Sophie is a kickass heroine who would do absolutely anything for her family and those she loves. Daniel is trying very hard to redeem himself in Sophie's eyes. The plot moves along at a good pace and I finished the book in an afternoon. There are lots of surprises to keep the plot fresh. I didn't realize that this would be the end of the series and that was disappointing I like getting lost in Sophie's world. I highly recommend this series but I do suggest that you start with Howl first.… (más)

Originally posted on my blog http://ufreview.com/2012/05/20/howl-kane-wolves-1/

Review:

I received a copy of Howl from the group Read it and Reap on Goodreads so of course many thanks to the group mods and the author for their hardwork in giving us these great books to review. I have to admit I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book, lately I have been into darker, more gritty urban fantasy, more explosions and gunfire and far less romance. In the end though this was a very well written book I enjoyed a great deal.

I have to admit it took a little while to get into this book but when I did I was hooked. The heroine Sophie is a werewolf and comes from a very very close knit family of werewolves and there are rules and expectations for her. First stay away from humans and second she is expected to find a werewolf mate and have lots of babies. She breaks both rules when she meets Jamie and begins a secret relationship with him, defying her alpha and the expectations of her family.

I really liked Sophie, she is a very confused 19yr old trying to live in two worlds, the human and werewolf. She tries to follow her heart with her relationship with Jamie while being torn at having to deceive her family. Daniel also expresses his interest in Sophie and her family is trying to push her in his direction as well, but that boy has some secrets of his own.

The story while fairly short moved along at a good pace and the climax was superb, if you are finding it slow at the beginning keep reading it gets very good very soon! I loved how the werewolves were more human, while they still had enhanced senses there was no immortality or supernatural healing. Yes there is the dreaded cliff hanger ending setting you up for the second book...there had better be a second book. All in all I thoroughly enjoyed Howl and will definitely grab book 2.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 4/5 A great read go grab a copy… (más)

Summary:
Nineteen year old Sophie Matthews is a line-walker between two worlds - human and werewolf. She lives around humans but is never truly part of their world. That is, until she is spotted by a hiker.

What should have been a passing glance becomes so much more as Sophie falls for the one thing she is forbidden from ever having: a human mate.

Adding to her stress is newcomer Daniel, the arrogant wolf on Sophie's tail.

Then several humans are killed by a mysterious and dangerous beast within the pack's hunting grounds. The humans begin whispering of wolf-men roaming the forest and the threat of discovery looms heavy around the pack.

Everything is falling apart and Sophie realizes just how little control she has over her future.

Will she risk everything - her heart, her family, and her safety - for a chance to control her own fate?

Review:
This book is a great read! Sophie is 19 and a werewolf. Her pack family has been living in secret from the humans, but what happens when she falls in love with one? Why are there suddenly humans being murdered near their home in the national forest?

There is also a male werewolf who is vying for Sophie’s attention and perhaps more suitable for her according to her family.

Will the family remain intact, or be torn apart? Can she follow her heart or her family’s wishes? Will the humans find out about the werewolves?

I highly recommend this book and can’t wait for the next one!… (más)