Sivon

While I enjoyed reading this book, and felt the action side of the book was good I don't think I'll be going out and buying the next book in the series. I was hoping for more with Clary and Jace. Not that I was expecting or needing love scenes, but at lease more affection between them after 3 books.

I've read other wolf like stories before and really loved them. This book was okay, but what really brought it down was the sometimes *high school* pack mentality (teasing, sneering, etc). I expect pack mentality with a wolf story, but the juvenile prodding and over excessive swearing really isn't the nature of a wolf. Wolves are quiet, dominate, protective, and gracious, sometimes anxious – but never hyena like. This really struck me as a book geared for a younger audience.

I really got a laugh out of Dominic and Dante though. Sometimes they said really stupid and inappropriate things, but a good addition to the book overall.

This, so easily could have been a 5 star book. I've read a few books lately that were poorly written or aimed at a younger audience, so after cozying up with this book I was happy to find I had finally found a book that was *good*, and well written. I loved the characters, and Sparks had me wanting to keep reading.

I was a bit disappointed in the middle of the book, I'm not a fan of affairs and don't like it when stories include them - thankfully Amanda thought better of an affair with Dawson or leaving her husband Frank, and the star couple parted ways. I was hoping that the author would resolve the story by pairing the couple back together later in life by the death of her husband or some other way that wouldn't paint the soul mates badly - but instead, Sparks killed off the hero, Dawson...

I would have voted 4 or 5 stars for my review, but killing Dawson at the end killed it all for me. It feels like Sparks was playing a cruel joke on his readers by building up such a great feeling about this couple, and what a great guy Dawson was, and then writes in Dawson's murder at the end. The only thing Sparks left out was a "Muahahahaha....." at the end, because after reading this book it feels like that's what Sparks must have been thinking when he finished writing this book.

As for the narration, I would have preferred a female narrator because men never seem to be able to master the mushy tones of a romance, or do the female voices as well. But Sean Pratt did do the best narration of a romance I've ever heard a man do.

Overall, the book was just long-winded, and seemed geared for a younger audience. I liked the personalities of the characters, but during the dramatic moments, they became stupid and unrealistic.

Another big problem was the monolog and main characters internal talk; it was just o-ver-kill... The author should have quit over-describing every detail of Tru’s thoughts, Jake, and the set up scenes, and move along with the story. The basic plot wasn't bad, until the author kind of wrecked the story with all that mind numbing brain chatter.

I wasn't a big fan of the narrator either.

I'm not sure why this book had such good reviews. The author rambled on and on with details that didn't matter. The plot could have been great, but the story just wasn't put together well at all. I restarted the book over a few times in the beginning thinking I missed something, only to find I hadn't. The author kept that up through the whole book, going overboard on staging, lacking in story line, making it almost impossible to follow. I just couldn't get into this book at all.

Separately, I don't think the narrator helped much either (although the book would have still been awful without her). It wasn't that she read in monotone, but just flat.

This book bombed on all accounts.

This just wasn't my cup of tea. I love romances, but this one just didn't click with me. I also love Natalie Ross's narrations usually, but this book she seemed to have a different style of reading that I didn't love so much either. The book struck out on both accounts I guess.

This is such a great read, I loved it! I picked it for the romance, but it turns out the romance is really more of a back story. The main focus of this book is more on Wanda and her "host" Melanie - and all about how they learn to live with each other. The human group eventually finds Wanda a new "host" body where the human had already faded, and Melanie was able to have her own body and life back. It's a great story with a good ending, that leaves room for a second book. If Stephenie Meyer writes a second book, I'll definitely read it.

The Host has also been made into a movie, which was terrible. Stick with the book, don't waste your money or time on the movie.

Natalie Ross is a great narrator, and the story line had potential upon reading the plot summery but that's about where it ends. The author just drabs on and on and on. This is not a love story that makes you swoon, it's a love story that makes you want to bang your head against a wall until rendered unconscious.

The last half of the book picks up a bit, but not enough for me to ever recommend it.

I read a different book of Linda Howards earlier this year and loved it, hoping to find another great hit I ran down the list of her books with high ratings and chose this one for my next read.

There is a short short scene in the book where one of the side characters has sex with her father, and if that's not bad enough, she's married to her cousin. The cousin later marries the main character, who is his *other* cousin...

This did a lot to drag down the book. Incest just isn't my thing.

Even if you ignore the incest which is only brought to your attention a few times, I just didn't think this had a great story line. The narrator Natalie Ross was great as always though.


I would recommend skipping this book altogether and checking out Linda's book "After the Night"

I love this series. It's right up there at the top of my favorite romances. Vlad and Leila, their abilities, powers, personalities, and the fact that there's a really interesting story-line all come together to make the perfect romance series. The narrator is well chosen and compliments this series as well.

I hope the author hurries up and writes the next book!

At first I was a bit bummed to discover the female lead was snarky and a bit jaded - I really don't like that attitude in a gal. But I stuck with it and was pleasantly surprised to find a fairly good read. The story line was interesting and I enjoyed the characters.