Scan barcode
gorybmovie's review
2.0
I had a difficult time getting through the first couple of chapters that read like a prologue and I felt covered material that could have been included as backstory later in the book. The plot is very original and interesting though. Brown has done things with the werewolf myth that I have not read before particularly the idea of werewolves as pets. Also, author is a fireman/paramedic by day and it showed in his interesting and well-written descriptions on medic procedures and day-to-day life. I gave this book three stars because I would have liked more character development particularly in regards to what the characters looked like since there were not any physical descriptions. I would have also liked to see the character's relationships developed a bit more. I did like the author's choice of third person point-of-view. This helped me to see the motivations of the characters. I particularly liked how these character perspectives converged between Christine and Aiden and then Steven. If you are looking for a new twist on the werewolf novel with lots of action, I recommend reading this book.
pine_wulf's review
3.0
I thought the premise behind this book was very interesting. Werewolves as pets! And somehow I thought going in, I didn't realize that this novel would be horror - the action kind of horror. I suppose I thought it would be more about psychological horror - like in the realization that my pet is an actual person or in society finding out what the Werehouse has been actually doing to people. There is one scene that kind of deals with it on a personal level, but it seemed to get turned into a really corny love scene.
As strictly horror goes, it was done fairly well. I had tingles up and down my spine during the scene at the Expeditioner's club for instance. The villain was little more than evil though. He's driven by profit, OK I understand that, but I didn't understand at all why. It seemed like it was only included to show that 'Hey, this guy is really evil.' and not actually be something that he would do for any other reason.
Overall, I did enjoy this book. It is a fast-paced read. I was just disappointed in the ending.
As strictly horror goes, it was done fairly well. I had tingles up and down my spine during the scene at the Expeditioner's club for instance. The villain was little more than evil though. He's driven by profit, OK I understand that, but I didn't understand at all why
Spoiler
he killed his wife and tried to kill his sonOverall, I did enjoy this book. It is a fast-paced read. I was just disappointed in the ending.
Spoiler
Namely, that Christine sets out to expose the Werehouse and never actually does. Yes, she shuts them down, but it seems people never realize what was really going on. They never find out what the wergs are.tiffanytcole's review
5.0
*Giveaway Bonus*
If you enjoy the review below and would like to win a bookmark and either a print copy of Tamed by Douglas Brown or Legends Reborn (The Light of Epertase, Book One) by Douglas Brown, all you have to do is comment by February 25th, 2012 at Reader's Den (http://www.readers-den.com/2012/02/tamed-by-douglas-brown.html).
*************************
It all started in 1993 when Bernard, a young, ambitious CEO, brought a team of mercenaries to a small village with only one goal in mind - bring back one male and kill everyone else.
Eighteen years later, Bernard's merciless massacre has made him a billionaire. The one male he brought back was all he needed to start a whole farm of werewolves, or wergs, that he could sell to the public as pets or guard dogs. The werepets are on commercials, discussed on late night shows, and in people's homes. They're more powerful than a dog, yet less beastly than a werewolf...well, at least when they've been trained and reprogrammed, and being trained doesn't always mean they'll remain domesticated.
The public has no idea that the wergs are humans.
Christine, a devoted paramedic for the fire station who originally wants no involvement with werepets whatsoever, soon finds out the hard way about all of the WereHouse's lies when she is attacked by a rogue werg on what she and her partner figured was just a routine EMS call. Though the werewolf didn't bite her, enough of its blood mixes with hers for her to feel all the tell-tale changes of transformation.
The day she transforms, her world changes. It's up to her and her new rogue hunter companion to put an end to Bernard's crimes and bring those crimes to the light, but Bernard is forever the survivor. The goal will be far from an easy one.
When I do book reviews, the stars don't really mean anything to me. I generally give all my reviews a 4-star because I generally like all the books I review. If I don't like the book, I'll give it a 3-star. I've just never been a 1-2 star person because I haven't read many stories that I feel are that terrible. Plus, I'd rather people focus on my review and not the stars. Anyway, what I'm getting at is that I haven't clicked 5-stars in a while, but I knew I'd give this book 5-stars when I was about 50 pages from the end.
Tamed is a story that jumps between four interconnecting POVs. It's a good balance that serves the purpose of showing the story from a variety of different angles. We get to see the rogue hunter lifestyle, the training and reprogramming lifestyle, the mastermind's lifestyle, and the lifestyle of a normal, hard-working woman who gets dragged into the conflict by chance. When POV switches are well-done, all the plots foreshadow and complement each other until, at the very end, they've all matched up and ended. These POV switches were masterfully done.
I despised, yet even felt sorry at points, for the characters that Douglas wanted the readers to despise. I cheered for the protagonists, my favorite being rogue hunter Aiden. He became one of my favorite characters soon after he was introduced. I don't know what it is with rogue hunter characters and me, but ever since Pip became my favorite character in the Hellsing OVA, I've just had a soft spot for these rough hunters whose lives only revolve around murdering their targets even though they would like something more. My second favorite character was Billy, Christine's humorous partner.
The whole story was wonderful throughout, but the climax and ending was awesome! I loved how the villain was taken care of. As much as I disliked Bernard, I had to give him kudos for being such a damn smart survivor. I'm tired of stupid villains. Sure, I want them to get what they deserve, but I love it when the protagonists have one hell of a job getting him down. Oh, speaking of protagonists having one hell of a job....
Douglas Brown was not afraid to harm his characters, both mentally and physically. That's also an extremely refreshing sight. I felt genuinely like the protagonists' adventure and journey was an arduous, deadly one and I respect them all the more for getting through such an ordeal.
In fact, I've come to respect Brown's skill as a storyteller altogether. I will definitely be reading his other books, that's for sure.
If you enjoy the review below and would like to win a bookmark and either a print copy of Tamed by Douglas Brown or Legends Reborn (The Light of Epertase, Book One) by Douglas Brown, all you have to do is comment by February 25th, 2012 at Reader's Den (http://www.readers-den.com/2012/02/tamed-by-douglas-brown.html).
*************************
It all started in 1993 when Bernard, a young, ambitious CEO, brought a team of mercenaries to a small village with only one goal in mind - bring back one male and kill everyone else.
Eighteen years later, Bernard's merciless massacre has made him a billionaire. The one male he brought back was all he needed to start a whole farm of werewolves, or wergs, that he could sell to the public as pets or guard dogs. The werepets are on commercials, discussed on late night shows, and in people's homes. They're more powerful than a dog, yet less beastly than a werewolf...well, at least when they've been trained and reprogrammed, and being trained doesn't always mean they'll remain domesticated.
The public has no idea that the wergs are humans.
Christine, a devoted paramedic for the fire station who originally wants no involvement with werepets whatsoever, soon finds out the hard way about all of the WereHouse's lies when she is attacked by a rogue werg on what she and her partner figured was just a routine EMS call. Though the werewolf didn't bite her, enough of its blood mixes with hers for her to feel all the tell-tale changes of transformation.
The day she transforms, her world changes. It's up to her and her new rogue hunter companion to put an end to Bernard's crimes and bring those crimes to the light, but Bernard is forever the survivor. The goal will be far from an easy one.
When I do book reviews, the stars don't really mean anything to me. I generally give all my reviews a 4-star because I generally like all the books I review. If I don't like the book, I'll give it a 3-star. I've just never been a 1-2 star person because I haven't read many stories that I feel are that terrible. Plus, I'd rather people focus on my review and not the stars. Anyway, what I'm getting at is that I haven't clicked 5-stars in a while, but I knew I'd give this book 5-stars when I was about 50 pages from the end.
Tamed is a story that jumps between four interconnecting POVs. It's a good balance that serves the purpose of showing the story from a variety of different angles. We get to see the rogue hunter lifestyle, the training and reprogramming lifestyle, the mastermind's lifestyle, and the lifestyle of a normal, hard-working woman who gets dragged into the conflict by chance. When POV switches are well-done, all the plots foreshadow and complement each other until, at the very end, they've all matched up and ended. These POV switches were masterfully done.
I despised, yet even felt sorry at points, for the characters that Douglas wanted the readers to despise. I cheered for the protagonists, my favorite being rogue hunter Aiden. He became one of my favorite characters soon after he was introduced. I don't know what it is with rogue hunter characters and me, but ever since Pip became my favorite character in the Hellsing OVA, I've just had a soft spot for these rough hunters whose lives only revolve around murdering their targets even though they would like something more. My second favorite character was Billy, Christine's humorous partner.
The whole story was wonderful throughout, but the climax and ending was awesome! I loved how the villain was taken care of. As much as I disliked Bernard, I had to give him kudos for being such a damn smart survivor. I'm tired of stupid villains. Sure, I want them to get what they deserve, but I love it when the protagonists have one hell of a job getting him down. Oh, speaking of protagonists having one hell of a job....
Douglas Brown was not afraid to harm his characters, both mentally and physically. That's also an extremely refreshing sight. I felt genuinely like the protagonists' adventure and journey was an arduous, deadly one and I respect them all the more for getting through such an ordeal.
In fact, I've come to respect Brown's skill as a storyteller altogether. I will definitely be reading his other books, that's for sure.
makomom's review
4.0
First of all, I would like to say thank you to the BookSirens for the opportunity to read a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Oh my goodness! I did not expect this book to be what it was, I really enjoyed reading the story. Of course, I’m biased, I love werewolves, so that’s that.
Oh my goodness! I did not expect this book to be what it was, I really enjoyed reading the story. Of course, I’m biased, I love werewolves, so that’s that.
shai3d's review
3.0
One of the downsides of purchasing or reviewing ebooks is that you are never quite sure just what you are getting into. A great blurb can lead to a boring book and vice versa. I consider myself lucky when an interesting blurb leads to an interesting book. And TAMED is an interesting book.
It has be one of the more unique books that I have ran across in the paranormal/werewolf genre. Rather then having the weres be a proud people, they are pets that don't remember their past. There are those occassional rogues but they are taken care of quickly before they rock the boat. That is until Christine is infected while out on an emergency call.
I enjoyed both of the main love interests in TAMED but I don't really feel as though I got a chance to really get to know them because there were so many different story lines happening in this book. All the story lines do get wrapped up by the end of the book but I think that I would have enjoyed the book more if Mr. Brown had instead concentrated on just a couple. That would have allowed more time for the characters to grow. As it stands now, I find that the love between the two main characters just wasn't that believable.
That being said, I did enjoy TAMED and will be keeping an eye out for future works from Mr. Brown. I do recommend this book to any of my readers looking for a new take on the werewolf legends though I do want to impart a gentle warning about the violence in this book. I rate this book a 3.
*** I received this book at no charge from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions expressed within are my own.
It has be one of the more unique books that I have ran across in the paranormal/werewolf genre. Rather then having the weres be a proud people, they are pets that don't remember their past. There are those occassional rogues but they are taken care of quickly before they rock the boat. That is until Christine is infected while out on an emergency call.
I enjoyed both of the main love interests in TAMED but I don't really feel as though I got a chance to really get to know them because there were so many different story lines happening in this book. All the story lines do get wrapped up by the end of the book but I think that I would have enjoyed the book more if Mr. Brown had instead concentrated on just a couple. That would have allowed more time for the characters to grow. As it stands now, I find that the love between the two main characters just wasn't that believable.
That being said, I did enjoy TAMED and will be keeping an eye out for future works from Mr. Brown. I do recommend this book to any of my readers looking for a new take on the werewolf legends though I do want to impart a gentle warning about the violence in this book. I rate this book a 3.
*** I received this book at no charge from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions expressed within are my own.
chrystalclearwpg's review
mysterious
fast-paced
5.0
Douglas has written quite a story. I never saw this one coming. He took a mythical creature and spun it in a way that really makes you see werewolves in a different light and also took the ugliness of some of our human counterparts by putting them on display. I was completely drawn into the lives of Christine, Steven and Aiden to the point where you really wanted and needed to see them survive to the end. The description was just enough gore to make you put a hand to the mouth but not enough to make you want to gag. I am giving a 5 star rating for keeping me on the edge of my seat and for the fact I did not want to stop reading for anything. Can't wait for installment 2. Great work!!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
arthurbdd's review against another edition
2.0
Interesting concept at first, but execution leans into more or less all the unfortunate racial implications you might expect. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/2012/07/12/kindlefluff-2-domesticating-brown-people-and-ignoring-murder-suspects/
lenoreo's review
4.0
Wow, soo sooooo good! Totally didn't see the wee little twist at the very very end coming...a nice surprise! It took me a while to get into the book...there were a lot of different characters and at times it was hard to get them all straight...in the end, it all tied up perfectly, and once you got into the meat of the story it was easier to remember everything. A lot more gorey than what I usually read, but great characters, intriguing, if horrific, premise and fabulous action. :)
thaisdematte's review
5.0
This is a interesting take on werewolves. Even though I knew that before hand, still was a pleasant surprise to read about this new kind of pets. The twist in the middle just made it even better. This novel is told in a non-linear way, it jumps from character to character and not always in the in the same timeframe, but everything get together in the end, This and the romance were something that didn't blow my mind, I got a little frustrated with both,
I liked the narrator. He was able to do a good female voice and some really creepy and annoying voice for the villain.
I liked the narrator. He was able to do a good female voice and some really creepy and annoying voice for the villain.
gloriousbooks's review
3.0
Full review up on the blog: http://gloriousbooks.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/review-tamed-by-douglas-r-brown.html
When I read the summary of this book I just had to read it. Pet werewolves that turn on their masters? The chance to read a book where werewolves are the horrific, gruesome creatures they were first portrayed as before they became cuddly, romantic beasts? Yes please.
I really liked the different take on werewolves in this book. I do enjoy the occasional mysterious, hot guy turned werewolf love story as much as anyone but there's a bit too much of it out there nowadays. I thought this version was refreshing and it kind of made me love werewolves again.
What surprised me was the level of horror. I thought there would be some but what I found was nothing like I was expecting. There were little moments in the story that actually made me wince and for me ( I've read a lot of horror) that's unusual. They were few and far between but when they came around it surprised me which was great.
What I found annoying with this read though was how the characters were introduced. The first part of the book is all to do with introducing individual characters in a one character per chapter kind of way. At first it was a little overwhelming because there were quite a few and then they would just disappear so it felt a little like there was no point to them. After a while, when all of the characters had their say, the story changed completely. When it did change, I found it really predictable. It was pretty obvious what was going to happen half the time so I ended up getting a little frustrated.
That being said, Brown really did a great job of keeping the read exciting. There was loads of suspense and chair gripping moments. I couldn't take my eyes off the pages and I stayed up well into the morning to finish it.
When I read the summary of this book I just had to read it. Pet werewolves that turn on their masters? The chance to read a book where werewolves are the horrific, gruesome creatures they were first portrayed as before they became cuddly, romantic beasts? Yes please.
I really liked the different take on werewolves in this book. I do enjoy the occasional mysterious, hot guy turned werewolf love story as much as anyone but there's a bit too much of it out there nowadays. I thought this version was refreshing and it kind of made me love werewolves again.
What surprised me was the level of horror. I thought there would be some but what I found was nothing like I was expecting. There were little moments in the story that actually made me wince and for me ( I've read a lot of horror) that's unusual. They were few and far between but when they came around it surprised me which was great.
What I found annoying with this read though was how the characters were introduced. The first part of the book is all to do with introducing individual characters in a one character per chapter kind of way. At first it was a little overwhelming because there were quite a few and then they would just disappear so it felt a little like there was no point to them. After a while, when all of the characters had their say, the story changed completely. When it did change, I found it really predictable. It was pretty obvious what was going to happen half the time so I ended up getting a little frustrated.
That being said, Brown really did a great job of keeping the read exciting. There was loads of suspense and chair gripping moments. I couldn't take my eyes off the pages and I stayed up well into the morning to finish it.