Pack and Coven
3.5 Stars

Harry Smith enjoys his life as a lone wolf until he is targeted to become the co-alpha of the local pack. Harry's only choice is to escape, but he cannot do it alone. Help comes from a most unexpected source - June Travis, owner of the local tea shop and a witch concealing her true nature. As Harry and June hide from his pursuers, they find their mutual attraction can no longer be denied even if it costs them their lives and their love.

While the basic remise of the story is not unique, the conceptualization of pack dynamics is original and the secrets kept by the coven are very intriguing. Nevertheless, the pacing is slow at the start, and there is too much focus on the characters' internal ruminations regarding their choice of lifestyle. The action picks up once Harry and June are on the run and their romance steams up the pages.

Although Harry and June are likable enough, there are some minor issues that put a damper on their relationship. First, Harry has a bad habit of not listening to June. She provides him with useful information and makes important suggestions, which he promptly ignores to their detriment. Second, June is a very willing partner in the sexcapades, but she is fuzzy on the "no" versus "yes" distinction.

The villain is definitely one of the more despicable I've encountered in recent times and Wallace does an excellent job with his malicious and sadistic characterization. The climax and resolution are exciting and satisfying.

In sum, the compelling world building and sexy romance make this a fun read, but the drawn out pacing in the beginning and toward the end is a distraction. ( )

Check out my review and two teasers here: http://frommetoyouvideophoto.blogspot.com/2012/02/made-grade-pack-and-coven-by-j... ( )

Pack and Coven is a sweet paranormal romance with a bit of a (non-sexy) thrill. I liked (but didn't love) both of the lead characters: Harry is an adorable loner and June is a rather prim witch who's been in love with Harry for quite some time, even though he only knows her as Sadie, the sweet older woman who owns the local tearoom. She's forced to reveal her true self and the fact that she's a witch when the female Alpha of the local werewolf pack, Bianca, tries to force Henry into becoming her new male Alpha. Henry has absolutely no interest in participating in the pack, let alone becoming one of its leaders, but he can't escape thanks to a lockdown. June and Henry are thrown together as she tries to help him avoid Bianca and some werewolves from his old pack, who have come down to try to claim the position Bianca wants to give to Henry.

There's some great world building in Pack and Coven. The differences between werewolves and witches are quite interesting and I really liked that witches knew about werewolves but not vice versa. Jody Wallace did a great job of putting her own spin on existing supernaturals. In fact, I think the world is my favourite part of the novel.

That being said, I wasn't hooked by Henry and June's story. I enjoyed reading it but I wasn't desperate to find out how it would end. Pack and Coven is a solid paranormal romance but it's not on my must-read list.

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Originally posted at http://ufreview.com/2012/02/15/pack-and-coven/

Review:

I received an ARC of Pack and Coven from NetGalley in exchange for a review. Harry is lone wolf living in pack territory when half of the alpha couple heads off to jail the pack tries to replace him with Harry. Harry wants no part of pack life so June helps him try to escape. June is a witch who has been living as an elderly lady and has never shown Harry her true form despite them being friends for years. June tries to fight off her attraction to Harry because if they sleep together she could lose her magic. The storyline was very good and I really liked the connection between witches and wolves, that was well thought out and gave the story some originality.

Now the characters, there was a clear line between the good guys and the bad and the bad guys were really bad…like homicidal maniac bad. You really wanted to see something bad happen to them and see the good guys win. The main characters, however drove me nuts. Throughout the book you are told Harry is an alpha however he doesn’t particularly act like one, while June on the other hand was creative and pretty resourceful at getting them out of some sticky situations. The dialogue between them at times could be ridiculous though, two examples come to mind the first is June correcting Harry’s swearing. If you’re being chased by a homicidal maniac intent on raping and killing you it’s a pretty justifiable time to say fuck. The other is the sex scenes…”he rubbed against her privates”… seriously? ! A hot female lead sounding like an 80 year old school teacher just didn’t work for me. Overall I did like the story and with a little bit of polish it could be very good. I rated it 3/5.



♥ ♥ ♥ 3/5 It was ok wait for the paperback. ( )

ARC received from NetGalley.

Book Description:
Harry Smith is a lone wolf, and he likes it that way. When he's targeted to be co-alpha of the local pack, there is only one thing he can do to maintain his freedom: flee. But it'll take a miracle to stay a step ahead of shifters in their own territory. June Travis has been in love with Harry for years, but he doesn't know her real identity. He sees her as the sweet owner of the local tearoom?the facade June presents to humans and werewolves to keep them from finding out she's a witch. She may not be able to offer Harry a miracle, but she can help him escape. Harry is drawn to this new side of June, and not just because he's grateful for her help. With her magic temporarily hiding Harry from his pursuers, the witch and the wolf explore their mutual attraction. But there are consequences for witches who bed down with wolves.

My Thoughts:
This book rates between 2.75 to 3 stars so I will round up to 3. The story was interesting and very solid. I liked the twist of the shifters/witches being branches of the same genetic tree. Where that was an interesting concept, the book failed to deliver a substantial impact because of its characters. The story would have been more compelling with different characters, specifically the hero, Harry. He lacked the necessary something to connect me to him or prompt me to truly rave about the story. In the story he was constantly regarded an alpha yet I failed to see see the persona expressed in his actions. It was almost as if the reader had to be reminded that he was as alpha because it was often noted that he was using his alpha power. In reality, I found him to be as weak and anemic as he was perceived by Bianca. June expressed more alpha than Harry did. In fact, she was the true hero of the story because she frequently saved him from trouble using her magic. She was clear, precise, clever, and strong-willed.

Overall, this was a very decent story...well written and conceptually sound. ( )