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yodamom's review
5.0
It all started with a fake Alpha, a mean pedant, and mysterious portal.
This second book in the series was even more thrilling that the first. I found myself transfixed to this story of two worlds, two hearts, two realities with combined heartbreaks. These lives torn by necessity before they even got to connect, to share, to love as a couple. She is left with doubts about everything, including her, Hedi's place as Alpha by Proxy to this pack of wolves. He is in the land of the Merenwyn, his fate unknown. His return unknown, she can not open the portal. It's been six months of on the edge of the knife living this lie. Waiting for his return, for him to rescue her from this nightmare. Everything is a mess and it's only going to get worse. Karma is one nasty, evil master.*It had many snicker and snort moments with her dealings with Mr. (Ralph)Cordelia, Biggs, and Harry become Hedi's right hands. Cordelia, steps in as the friend to back her up and pin her up if needed. They guide her through the pack dynamics. There is so much to cover up with him being in Merenwyn. Covering her non scent with his to trick the pack into thinking he is still there is one thing that much be done. It is against the treaty to have sent him to the Merenwyn lands, it must never get out. The trio take over many of the details, meetings, and conflicts that arise. The cover up can only go for so long, word finally gets out and major trouble come to call. This trouble will cost them much pain and suffering. Life will never be the same.Just when things gets darker then black. A mysterious Fae, The Dark Mages Shadow, comes through the portal and he hands out darkness, lies, a horrible history and even more trauma to the mix. He has opened the portal and with him comes a shocking and heartbreaking surprise. Trowbridge, he's older and he's not alone, he has a young wolf with him a female that carries his scent. Hedi, at her lowest point is kicked down even lower, her life, her heart and even her position are in question.
What a nail chewing, heart thumping, hair pulling, tear inducing, heart warming, thrill ride ! I love Trowbridge and Hedi. She is a young naive, insecure, oh boy was she insecure* with good reason people be gentle with her. He is The Alpha, strong, steady, unwavering, loyal, sexy sexy, and looks mighty fine naked, which he is often. The supporting cast are quirky, lovable, hatable and laughable. The author did such a fabulous job writing them even the jewelry won me over. This series hits every happy reading happy button I have, twice ! She is on my list of authors not to miss. I can't wait for the next installment in this series.
This second book in the series was even more thrilling that the first. I found myself transfixed to this story of two worlds, two hearts, two realities with combined heartbreaks. These lives torn by necessity before they even got to connect, to share, to love as a couple. She is left with doubts about everything, including her, Hedi's place as Alpha by Proxy to this pack of wolves. He is in the land of the Merenwyn, his fate unknown. His return unknown, she can not open the portal. It's been six months of on the edge of the knife living this lie. Waiting for his return, for him to rescue her from this nightmare. Everything is a mess and it's only going to get worse. Karma is one nasty, evil master.*It had many snicker and snort moments with her dealings with Mr. (Ralph)Cordelia, Biggs, and Harry become Hedi's right hands. Cordelia, steps in as the friend to back her up and pin her up if needed. They guide her through the pack dynamics. There is so much to cover up with him being in Merenwyn. Covering her non scent with his to trick the pack into thinking he is still there is one thing that much be done. It is against the treaty to have sent him to the Merenwyn lands, it must never get out. The trio take over many of the details, meetings, and conflicts that arise. The cover up can only go for so long, word finally gets out and major trouble come to call. This trouble will cost them much pain and suffering. Life will never be the same.Just when things gets darker then black. A mysterious Fae, The Dark Mages Shadow, comes through the portal and he hands out darkness, lies, a horrible history and even more trauma to the mix. He has opened the portal and with him comes a shocking and heartbreaking surprise. Trowbridge, he's older and he's not alone, he has a young wolf with him a female that carries his scent. Hedi, at her lowest point is kicked down even lower, her life, her heart and even her position are in question.
What a nail chewing, heart thumping, hair pulling, tear inducing, heart warming, thrill ride ! I love Trowbridge and Hedi. She is a young naive, insecure, oh boy was she insecure* with good reason people be gentle with her. He is The Alpha, strong, steady, unwavering, loyal, sexy sexy, and looks mighty fine naked, which he is often. The supporting cast are quirky, lovable, hatable and laughable. The author did such a fabulous job writing them even the jewelry won me over. This series hits every happy reading happy button I have, twice ! She is on my list of authors not to miss. I can't wait for the next installment in this series.
raeanne's review
3.0
I received a free copy from Leigh Evans through Net Galley. After reviewing, The Trouble With Fate, she emailed me that it was a fair review and she appreciated it. How awesome is that? Especially when you've got reasons to fear salty authors and their fans these days (for years now actually.)
Unfortunately, I am not that awesome. This happened back in 2013 and I'm just now posting the review. No excuses. Shit happens, but I should've handled it better/differently. I did read it and wrote a review then but life got in the way. I've only edited it recently for clarity and grammar. Now, it's finally up!
TW: Transphobia. From douche weres and Heidi's response to ask both to shut up, including the victim defending themselves instead of telling off the fuckfaces. Ugh.
I've waffled on the rating for awhile. I want to give it 3.5 stars for being better than The Trouble With Fate as a book almost all around. Yet I want to give it 2.5 for Heidi being less than she was and the biggest hurdle this go around.
Recommendation: If you didn't like Heidi last time,...I don't know, I liked her before and think she got worse so YMMV. (But she def. Gets better, so much better in the third book)
Urban paranormal romance fans will feel right at home with a comfy variant of genre standards. It’s firmly tailored if you're looking for a dark hero or a minor transgender character. If you fell for their romance or don't mind the melodramatic, you'll probably fair better than me. But do not, under any circumstances, skip the first book.
The Good:
More mystalking in Threall
Exploring Merenwyn
Smoother, more refined and focused than The Trouble With Fate, incorporating threads that felt random and unsecure
Tons of action and drama
Heidi and Towbridge working on their relationship, actually talking.
Cordelia. Fucking saved most of the book for me.
The Bad & The Ugly
Transphobia
Some convenient events
Heidi
Heidi not defending Cordelia properly
Heidi not doing fucking anything
Heidi: Sleeping Beauty with lovesick blues instead of a magical curse, waiting to be saved and awake enough to whine about it.
Heidi only snapping out of it to defend her man. Fucking were pissing contests
Obviously, Heidi really pissed me the fuck off this time around. I cannot stress this enough. She's the reason I continued the series. There were so many issues but the interesting world wasn't it, she was.
I miss my dark hero that struggled and supported two people on her own. Instead of gaining some sense, she went from recklessly active to meekly stagnate. She made herself into a damsel in distress.
And yes, it's a fucking conscious decision. She knows it. She does it anyways. And she's been like this for 6 months! GRRRRRRR. She's aware it's wishful thinking and denial but doesn't change until it's too late. Waiting for “Balto to save her”. FUCK YOU. That's a great movie, I LOVE Balto and you don't deserve Balto. And Towbridge is NO Balto. HOW DARE YOU. (Tha'ts on page 197. Of a 400 and some page book. )
And now I'm crying. THAT'S how great Balto is. Get it right, Heidi. Get your head on straight. And no, I don't by your insta-love “can't live without him” fucking bullshit. UGH. The blurb is very honest and on point with this at least. I just didn't realize it'd last that fucking long nor irritate me this much.
**Deep Breath**
I swear to fucking gods if Cordelia wasn't there trying to smack some sense into her, I'd have quit. Of course, Heidi doesn't do right by her at all (GRRRR! Even if Cordelia wants to fight her own battles, she's the Alpha.). But I would not quit on Cordie. She kept on so I did too. I can't say it enough: Cordelia saved this book from being DNF'd. Even with everything else being better than The Trouble With Fate.
Sadly, if Heidi doesn't pull through, there isn't enough Cordelia to make me finish reading. I have hope Heidi will recover fully considering the end, but shit, I didn't think she'd pull this shit either so IDK. (Update: Read the third book, The Problem With Promises, and Heidi's good, so I'm good.)
At least Heidi and Towbridge talk and work on their relationship. It gains some depth. It's still insta-love and Heidi's response to being alone is fucking ridiculous but there's some forward movement with them. I may be too bitter to really appreciate it because of everything else but I recognize it. Good for them. But as a couple, they haven't won me over yet.
World Building & Plot:
I loved how interesting the world building was in The Trouble with Fate. From twists on standards and the new mystwalking and Asari. However, there was a lot of shit going on and it wasn't firm like cement that needed time to dry. Heidi's mystwalking felt random and shoehorned.
Thankfully, it's explored properly in The Thing About Weres and threads are incorporated fully. It's now a part of Heidi and the story instead of a freaky one-off. With no seemingly dead-end jaunts or bullshit moments that break immersion, it felt smoother, refined and focused.
Both books are over short periods of time and are bursting at the seems with things to stay preoccupied with. There are some surprises that are balanced out with convenient events leaving it solidly and entertainingly average.
And there's still more to this world and the Stronghold story that I'm excited to see. Now if Heidi can get her act together, this would be a highly recommended new urban paranormal series
Unfortunately, I am not that awesome. This happened back in 2013 and I'm just now posting the review. No excuses. Shit happens, but I should've handled it better/differently. I did read it and wrote a review then but life got in the way. I've only edited it recently for clarity and grammar. Now, it's finally up!
TW: Transphobia. From douche weres and Heidi's response to ask both to shut up, including the victim defending themselves instead of telling off the fuckfaces. Ugh.
I've waffled on the rating for awhile. I want to give it 3.5 stars for being better than The Trouble With Fate as a book almost all around. Yet I want to give it 2.5 for Heidi being less than she was and the biggest hurdle this go around.
Recommendation: If you didn't like Heidi last time,...I don't know, I liked her before and think she got worse so YMMV. (But she def. Gets better, so much better in the third book)
Urban paranormal romance fans will feel right at home with a comfy variant of genre standards. It’s firmly tailored if you're looking for a dark hero or a minor transgender character. If you fell for their romance or don't mind the melodramatic, you'll probably fair better than me. But do not, under any circumstances, skip the first book.
The Good:
More mystalking in Threall
Exploring Merenwyn
Smoother, more refined and focused than The Trouble With Fate, incorporating threads that felt random and unsecure
Tons of action and drama
Heidi and Towbridge working on their relationship, actually talking.
Cordelia. Fucking saved most of the book for me.
The Bad & The Ugly
Transphobia
Some convenient events
Heidi
Heidi not defending Cordelia properly
Heidi not doing fucking anything
Heidi: Sleeping Beauty with lovesick blues instead of a magical curse, waiting to be saved and awake enough to whine about it.
Heidi only snapping out of it to defend her man. Fucking were pissing contests
Spoiler
Only seeing the Heidi that won me over after Towbridge arrives towards the very endObviously, Heidi really pissed me the fuck off this time around. I cannot stress this enough. She's the reason I continued the series. There were so many issues but the interesting world wasn't it, she was.
I miss my dark hero that struggled and supported two people on her own. Instead of gaining some sense, she went from recklessly active to meekly stagnate. She made herself into a damsel in distress.
And yes, it's a fucking conscious decision. She knows it. She does it anyways. And she's been like this for 6 months! GRRRRRRR. She's aware it's wishful thinking and denial but doesn't change until it's too late. Waiting for “Balto to save her”. FUCK YOU. That's a great movie, I LOVE Balto and you don't deserve Balto. And Towbridge is NO Balto. HOW DARE YOU. (Tha'ts on page 197. Of a 400 and some page book. )
And now I'm crying. THAT'S how great Balto is. Get it right, Heidi. Get your head on straight. And no, I don't by your insta-love “can't live without him” fucking bullshit. UGH. The blurb is very honest and on point with this at least. I just didn't realize it'd last that fucking long nor irritate me this much.
**Deep Breath**
I swear to fucking gods if Cordelia wasn't there trying to smack some sense into her, I'd have quit. Of course, Heidi doesn't do right by her at all (GRRRR! Even if Cordelia wants to fight her own battles, she's the Alpha.). But I would not quit on Cordie. She kept on so I did too. I can't say it enough: Cordelia saved this book from being DNF'd. Even with everything else being better than The Trouble With Fate.
Sadly, if Heidi doesn't pull through, there isn't enough Cordelia to make me finish reading. I have hope Heidi will recover fully considering the end, but shit, I didn't think she'd pull this shit either so IDK. (Update: Read the third book, The Problem With Promises, and Heidi's good, so I'm good.)
At least Heidi and Towbridge talk and work on their relationship. It gains some depth. It's still insta-love and Heidi's response to being alone is fucking ridiculous but there's some forward movement with them. I may be too bitter to really appreciate it because of everything else but I recognize it. Good for them. But as a couple, they haven't won me over yet.
World Building & Plot:
I loved how interesting the world building was in The Trouble with Fate. From twists on standards and the new mystwalking and Asari. However, there was a lot of shit going on and it wasn't firm like cement that needed time to dry. Heidi's mystwalking felt random and shoehorned.
Thankfully, it's explored properly in The Thing About Weres and threads are incorporated fully. It's now a part of Heidi and the story instead of a freaky one-off. With no seemingly dead-end jaunts or bullshit moments that break immersion, it felt smoother, refined and focused.
Both books are over short periods of time and are bursting at the seems with things to stay preoccupied with. There are some surprises that are balanced out with convenient events leaving it solidly and entertainingly average.
And there's still more to this world and the Stronghold story that I'm excited to see. Now if Heidi can get her act together, this would be a highly recommended new urban paranormal series
lynseyisreading's review
5.0
Find this and other reviews at The Demon Librarian.
One true thing.
I don’t know if you know this about me, but I’m a bit of an Urban Fantasy fanatic.
You’re deeply shocked, I can tell.
Yes, I confess, I’ve read a lot of UF series. Or more specifically, I’ve read book one of a lot of UF series. And generally I always find at least something to enjoy in each one, but in many cases, not enough to entice me into reaching for book two.
Then of course I have my FAVOURITE UF AUTHORS OF ALL-TIME. The frontrunners. The trailblazers. The Big Cheeses. The Top Dogs. The—okay, you get it. Those select few authors whose imagination and creativity I find infinitely superior. Authors like Kim Harrison, Patricia Briggs, Karen Chance, Ilona Andrews...the list goes on. And here’s the point I’m trying to make: I see Leigh Evans joining that latter group of all-time favourite UF authors. In fact, at times during THE THING ABOUT WERES, I already found myself finishing a scene and thinking to myself, “Wow, that could have easily been written by Author X”, it was that good.
If you’re not familiar with the authors I’m referencing above (and you really, really should be), you might not realise what a ginormic compliment it is to be lumped (even if only in my mind) into that elite group, or just how happy it makes me to have discovered a potential new member. Because the really great writers of UF are so few and far between, it makes it ridiculously exciting to find one with something new to bring to the buffet, rather than just handing out the same tired old sausage rolls as everyone else. And new ideas is something Leigh Evans apparently has in spades. Whether it be her fantastically imagined realm of Threall, her new take on both the Fae and Were races, or her most awesome creation of all: Merry, the tiny-Fae-soul-trapped-inside-an-enchanted-amulet character. A character that is a necklace. A necklace character. I can’t even...
Okay. Moving swiftly on lest I make another food analogy.
Oh! Speaking of food and delicious things one might like to eat—and I have no idea how my brain made that leap of topic, honest—we have the equally gorgeous, equally irritating, Alpha of Creemore himself, Mr Robson Trowbridge. And I have to say, it’s a very different Robson Trowbridge that we meet in THE THING ABOUT WERES, compared to the man we met in THE TROUBLE WITH FATE. I just love how many risks Evans has taken with her characters in this series, and how fearless she seems to be when it comes to torturing them. Sometimes literally.
Well, when I say I love it... For entertainment purposes, I love it. But for the sake of my poor, wee heart and my overtaxed tear ducts, I guess shouldn't be quite so encouraging. I find myself actually wondering what else she can possibly do to these two characters to complicate things further. It’s only been two books and I already feel like they've run the gauntlet. There were some extremely emotionally fraught scenes in TTAW. Some chest-squeezing, heart-dropping, ouch-that-freakin’-hurts scenes. As well as some absolutely humdinger plot twists. (Actually, there was this one particular section—I think I updated my Goodreads status about 12 times during it— that made me absolutely frantic because I had to stop reading right at the point when everything was still all up in the air because it was daft o’clock in the morning and I had to be up for work the next day, and it was all I could think about at work. I practically raced home to finish it, not actually convinced I even wanted to know what was about to happen next!)
Of course, all of this heartache and drama is lived vicariously through our wonderful protagonist Hedi—we couldn't very well have a review without mentioning her, now could we? Hedi has progressed a lot as a character over the course of the series so far, and she's been faced with some pretty tough challenges, to say the very least. Sure, her age sometimes shows in her behaviour (she’s only 22), and her insecurities can affect her thought processes at times. But it’s because of these flaws that the growth we’re seeing, and her gradual evolution from timid introvert to... to whatever she’ll end up as, is so very enjoyable. I’m highly anticipating finishing the series and looking back on Hedi’s journey and just being like, “Woah. You freakin’ go, girlfriend”.
And finally. To sum up my thoughts, on the slight chance I haven’t made it completely clear yet in my seven-page review, let me state explicitly: I really enjoyed THE THING ABOUT WERES. The Mystwalker series is shaping up to be truly fantastic UF, with a great romantic backbone, wonderful secondary characters, well-thought-out back stories, and the worldbuilding? In a word: Phenomenal.
Now go check it out.
5 Stars ★★★★★
ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
One true thing.
I don’t know if you know this about me, but I’m a bit of an Urban Fantasy fanatic.
You’re deeply shocked, I can tell.
Yes, I confess, I’ve read a lot of UF series. Or more specifically, I’ve read book one of a lot of UF series. And generally I always find at least something to enjoy in each one, but in many cases, not enough to entice me into reaching for book two.
Then of course I have my FAVOURITE UF AUTHORS OF ALL-TIME. The frontrunners. The trailblazers. The Big Cheeses. The Top Dogs. The—okay, you get it. Those select few authors whose imagination and creativity I find infinitely superior. Authors like Kim Harrison, Patricia Briggs, Karen Chance, Ilona Andrews...the list goes on. And here’s the point I’m trying to make: I see Leigh Evans joining that latter group of all-time favourite UF authors. In fact, at times during THE THING ABOUT WERES, I already found myself finishing a scene and thinking to myself, “Wow, that could have easily been written by Author X”, it was that good.
If you’re not familiar with the authors I’m referencing above (and you really, really should be), you might not realise what a ginormic compliment it is to be lumped (even if only in my mind) into that elite group, or just how happy it makes me to have discovered a potential new member. Because the really great writers of UF are so few and far between, it makes it ridiculously exciting to find one with something new to bring to the buffet, rather than just handing out the same tired old sausage rolls as everyone else. And new ideas is something Leigh Evans apparently has in spades. Whether it be her fantastically imagined realm of Threall, her new take on both the Fae and Were races, or her most awesome creation of all: Merry, the tiny-Fae-soul-trapped-inside-an-enchanted-amulet character. A character that is a necklace. A necklace character. I can’t even...
Okay. Moving swiftly on lest I make another food analogy.
Oh! Speaking of food and delicious things one might like to eat—and I have no idea how my brain made that leap of topic, honest—we have the equally gorgeous, equally irritating, Alpha of Creemore himself, Mr Robson Trowbridge. And I have to say, it’s a very different Robson Trowbridge that we meet in THE THING ABOUT WERES, compared to the man we met in THE TROUBLE WITH FATE. I just love how many risks Evans has taken with her characters in this series, and how fearless she seems to be when it comes to torturing them. Sometimes literally.
Well, when I say I love it... For entertainment purposes, I love it. But for the sake of my poor, wee heart and my overtaxed tear ducts, I guess shouldn't be quite so encouraging. I find myself actually wondering what else she can possibly do to these two characters to complicate things further. It’s only been two books and I already feel like they've run the gauntlet. There were some extremely emotionally fraught scenes in TTAW. Some chest-squeezing, heart-dropping, ouch-that-freakin’-hurts scenes. As well as some absolutely humdinger plot twists. (Actually, there was this one particular section—I think I updated my Goodreads status about 12 times during it— that made me absolutely frantic because I had to stop reading right at the point when everything was still all up in the air because it was daft o’clock in the morning and I had to be up for work the next day, and it was all I could think about at work. I practically raced home to finish it, not actually convinced I even wanted to know what was about to happen next!)
Of course, all of this heartache and drama is lived vicariously through our wonderful protagonist Hedi—we couldn't very well have a review without mentioning her, now could we? Hedi has progressed a lot as a character over the course of the series so far, and she's been faced with some pretty tough challenges, to say the very least. Sure, her age sometimes shows in her behaviour (she’s only 22), and her insecurities can affect her thought processes at times. But it’s because of these flaws that the growth we’re seeing, and her gradual evolution from timid introvert to... to whatever she’ll end up as, is so very enjoyable. I’m highly anticipating finishing the series and looking back on Hedi’s journey and just being like, “Woah. You freakin’ go, girlfriend”.
And finally. To sum up my thoughts, on the slight chance I haven’t made it completely clear yet in my seven-page review, let me state explicitly: I really enjoyed THE THING ABOUT WERES. The Mystwalker series is shaping up to be truly fantastic UF, with a great romantic backbone, wonderful secondary characters, well-thought-out back stories, and the worldbuilding? In a word: Phenomenal.
Now go check it out.
5 Stars ★★★★★
ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
lizzy_22's review
4.0
More emotion and messy feelings in this second installment of the Mystwalker series as Hedi deals with the painful fallout from her precipitate decision in the first novel. She's in dire straights as the ramifications of shoving her true love, alpha Robsen Trowbridge, through the portal to Faerie come to a head when ties to the Were pack she is holding together by the most tenuous of threads unravel completely.
We see less of the side characters that I loved in the first book, Cordelia in particular and Merry most certainly, in favor of loads of time inside Hedi's head. I think that that was a bit of a mistake because while I was happy to share in her fantasies about the fantastically pretty (naked) Trowbridge it did start to become repetitive and the pace definitely suffered.
This time around, in addition to the battle she wages against her insecurities as a half Fae/Were hybrid, and as she shapes her destiny as a mystwalker and Trowbridge's mate, there are family issues which come back to haunt her. Dividing her loyalties and attention between Pack and Fae is never easy for Hedi and the decisions she must make this time around practically tear her apart.
I was glad to see the ending veer a bit unpredictably since I worried that that we would end up in a situation made worse by people not taking the simple step to TALK TO ONE ANOTHER. Instead I saw a refreshing leap of trust which will make the next chapter in Hedi's adventure much more interesting and exciting.
We see less of the side characters that I loved in the first book, Cordelia in particular and Merry most certainly, in favor of loads of time inside Hedi's head. I think that that was a bit of a mistake because while I was happy to share in her fantasies about the fantastically pretty (naked) Trowbridge it did start to become repetitive and the pace definitely suffered.
This time around, in addition to the battle she wages against her insecurities as a half Fae/Were hybrid, and as she shapes her destiny as a mystwalker and Trowbridge's mate, there are family issues which come back to haunt her. Dividing her loyalties and attention between Pack and Fae is never easy for Hedi and the decisions she must make this time around practically tear her apart.
I was glad to see the ending veer a bit unpredictably since I worried that that we would end up in a situation made worse by people not taking the simple step to TALK TO ONE ANOTHER. Instead I saw a refreshing leap of trust which will make the next chapter in Hedi's adventure much more interesting and exciting.
bunnerz's review
3.0
Ratings - abandoned series:
#1 The Trouble With Fate: ★★★☆☆
#2 The Thing About Weres (this book): ★★★☆☆
#1 The Trouble With Fate: ★★★☆☆
#2 The Thing About Weres (this book): ★★★☆☆
marierossi's review
3.0
Real rating is around a 3.5, only because I don't want to give it the exact same rating as the first one. Unfortunately, goodreads doesn't support half stars (why is that?!). Anyway, about the book.
In the beginning, I was confused. As a reader, you feel as though you just hit the ground running and for me, it took a while to get my feet under me. It's only been a few months since I read the first one in the series and still I would have appreciated a tiny reminder of what was going on, especially since the time gap between books was six months in the story. There were only two other things that bothered me about the book. One was the names of some things. Ms. Evans uses another world called Merewyn (sp?) and along with that comes difficult pronunciations of it's inhabitants. I find that even though the author might know exactly what it sounds like, the readers have no clue and mentally stumble over names such as ones used in this book.
The only thing I took issue with was Hedi's complete back and forth attitude about...well, pretty much everything. Wolves. Fae. Her brother. Trowbridge. Threall. She couldn't make up her mind about anything which is frustrating to the reader. Often times when I find myself doing this in my own work, it's because writer-me can't make up my mind about what the character is thinking. A little more stability on Hedi's book would have made her character less exhausting to read.
Don't get me wrong; this book (the series in general) is wildly entertaining and I found myself glued to the pages. Leigh Evans sure knows how to use her words. I'm not sure I understand the end completely, it seemed a bit rushed, but I'm sure I'll work it out. I'm looking forward to more Lexi in the next book because I think the three of them make a pretty kickass trio. Interactions between Lexi and Trowbridge were pretty much my favorite part of the book to read!
In the beginning, I was confused. As a reader, you feel as though you just hit the ground running and for me, it took a while to get my feet under me. It's only been a few months since I read the first one in the series and still I would have appreciated a tiny reminder of what was going on, especially since the time gap between books was six months in the story. There were only two other things that bothered me about the book. One was the names of some things. Ms. Evans uses another world called Merewyn (sp?) and along with that comes difficult pronunciations of it's inhabitants. I find that even though the author might know exactly what it sounds like, the readers have no clue and mentally stumble over names such as ones used in this book.
The only thing I took issue with was Hedi's complete back and forth attitude about...well, pretty much everything. Wolves. Fae. Her brother. Trowbridge. Threall. She couldn't make up her mind about anything which is frustrating to the reader. Often times when I find myself doing this in my own work, it's because writer-me can't make up my mind about what the character is thinking. A little more stability on Hedi's book would have made her character less exhausting to read.
Don't get me wrong; this book (the series in general) is wildly entertaining and I found myself glued to the pages. Leigh Evans sure knows how to use her words. I'm not sure I understand the end completely, it seemed a bit rushed, but I'm sure I'll work it out. I'm looking forward to more Lexi in the next book because I think the three of them make a pretty kickass trio. Interactions between Lexi and Trowbridge were pretty much my favorite part of the book to read!
littleread1's review
4.0
Really 3.5 - I like the story, it is super unique and certainly emotional, but I have a really hard time connecting with the characters, and sometimes even following the story. The big picture of the story I get, but how they get from point a to point b doesn't always make sense to me. I had to suspend more belief than I usually do in a PNR/UF story.
thenia's review
2.0
Frustrating and needlessly wordy.
Most of the things I liked about Hedi in the first book were either in my imagination or changed in between the two books. She was passive and pretty useless for most of her story, as if she was simply the narrator of events instead of a participant and I kept waiting for her to finally step up and do something. I'm also not very fond of the male lead's surname, Trowbridge, which is the only thing she calls him throughout the story, something I was hoping would change after they got closer but unfortunately hasn't.
Apart from that, the story has interesting points but is kind of slow to progress, or so it felt to me, and is a bit confusing at parts that I would have preferred were explained better.
I am not sure if I will read the third book in the series, [b:The Problem with Promises|17934405|The Problem with Promises (Mystwalker, #3)|Leigh Evans|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1375931660s/17934405.jpg|25142267], even though I am a bit curious about what happens next. We'll see...
Most of the things I liked about Hedi in the first book were either in my imagination or changed in between the two books. She was passive and pretty useless for most of her story, as if she was simply the narrator of events instead of a participant and I kept waiting for her to finally step up and do something. I'm also not very fond of the male lead's surname, Trowbridge, which is the only thing she calls him throughout the story, something I was hoping would change after they got closer but unfortunately hasn't.
Apart from that, the story has interesting points but is kind of slow to progress, or so it felt to me, and is a bit confusing at parts that I would have preferred were explained better.
I am not sure if I will read the third book in the series, [b:The Problem with Promises|17934405|The Problem with Promises (Mystwalker, #3)|Leigh Evans|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1375931660s/17934405.jpg|25142267], even though I am a bit curious about what happens next. We'll see...
brokebybooks's review
3.0
I received a free copy from Leigh Evans through Net Galley. After reviewing, The Trouble With Fate, she emailed me that it was a fair review and she appreciated it. How awesome is that? Especially when you've got reasons to fear salty authors and their fans these days (for years now actually.)
Unfortunately, I am not that awesome. This happened back in 2013 and I'm just now posting the review. No excuses. Shit happens, but I should've handled it better/differently. I did read it and wrote a review then but life got in the way. I've only edited it recently for clarity and grammar. Now, it's finally up!
TW: Transphobia. From douche weres and Heidi's response to ask both to shut up, including the victim defending themselves instead of telling off the fuckfaces. Ugh.
I've waffled on the rating for awhile. I want to give it 3.5 stars for being better than The Trouble With Fate as a book almost all around. Yet I want to give it 2.5 for Heidi being less than she was and the biggest hurdle this go around.
Recommendation: If you didn't like Heidi last time,...I don't know, I liked her before and think she got worse so YMMV. (But she def. Gets better, so much better in the third book)
Urban paranormal romance fans will feel right at home with a comfy variant of genre standards. It’s firmly tailored if you're looking for a dark hero or a minor transgender character. If you fell for their romance or don't mind the melodramatic, you'll probably fair better than me. But do not, under any circumstances, skip the first book.
The Good:
More mystalking in Threall
Exploring Merenwyn
Smoother, more refined and focused than The Trouble With Fate, incorporating threads that felt random and unsecure
Tons of action and drama
Heidi and Towbridge working on their relationship, actually talking.
Cordelia. Fucking saved most of the book for me.
The Bad & The Ugly
Transphobia
Some convenient events
Heidi
Heidi not defending Cordelia properly
Heidi not doing fucking anything
Heidi: Sleeping Beauty with lovesick blues instead of a magical curse, waiting to be saved and awake enough to whine about it.
Heidi only snapping out of it to defend her man. Fucking were pissing contests
Obviously, Heidi really pissed me the fuck off this time around. I cannot stress this enough. She's the reason I continued the series. There were so many issues but the interesting world wasn't it, she was.
I miss my dark hero that struggled and supported two people on her own. Instead of gaining some sense, she went from recklessly active to meekly stagnate. She made herself into a damsel in distress.
And yes, it's a fucking conscious decision. She knows it. She does it anyways. And she's been like this for 6 months! GRRRRRRR. She's aware it's wishful thinking and denial but doesn't change until it's too late. Waiting for “Balto to save her”. FUCK YOU. That's a great movie, I LOVE Balto and you don't deserve Balto. And Towbridge is NO Balto. HOW DARE YOU. (Tha'ts on page 197. Of a 400 and some page book. )
And now I'm crying. THAT'S how great Balto is. Get it right, Heidi. Get your head on straight. And no, I don't by your insta-love “can't live without him” fucking bullshit. UGH. The blurb is very honest and on point with this at least. I just didn't realize it'd last that fucking long nor irritate me this much.
**Deep Breath**
I swear to fucking gods if Cordelia wasn't there trying to smack some sense into her, I'd have quit. Of course, Heidi doesn't do right by her at all (GRRRR! Even if Cordelia wants to fight her own battles, she's the Alpha.). But I would not quit on Cordie. She kept on so I did too. I can't say it enough: Cordelia saved this book from being DNF'd. Even with everything else being better than The Trouble With Fate.
Sadly, if Heidi doesn't pull through, there isn't enough Cordelia to make me finish reading. I have hope Heidi will recover fully considering the end, but shit, I didn't think she'd pull this shit either so IDK. (Update: Read the third book, The Problem With Promises, and Heidi's good, so I'm good.)
At least Heidi and Towbridge talk and work on their relationship. It gains some depth. It's still insta-love and Heidi's response to being alone is fucking ridiculous but there's some forward movement with them. I may be too bitter to really appreciate it because of everything else but I recognize it. Good for them. But as a couple, they haven't won me over yet.
World Building & Plot:
I loved how interesting the world building was in The Trouble with Fate. From twists on standards and the new mystwalking and Asari. However, there was a lot of shit going on and it wasn't firm like cement that needed time to dry. Heidi's mystwalking felt random and shoehorned.
Thankfully, it's explored properly in The Thing About Weres and threads are incorporated fully. It's now a part of Heidi and the story instead of a freaky one-off. With no seemingly dead-end jaunts or bullshit moments that break immersion, it felt smoother, refined and focused.
Both books are over short periods of time and are bursting at the seems with things to stay preoccupied with. There are some surprises that are balanced out with convenient events leaving it solidly and entertainingly average.
And there's still more to this world and the Stronghold story that I'm excited to see. Now if Heidi can get her act together, this would be a highly recommended new urban paranormal series
Unfortunately, I am not that awesome. This happened back in 2013 and I'm just now posting the review. No excuses. Shit happens, but I should've handled it better/differently. I did read it and wrote a review then but life got in the way. I've only edited it recently for clarity and grammar. Now, it's finally up!
TW: Transphobia. From douche weres and Heidi's response to ask both to shut up, including the victim defending themselves instead of telling off the fuckfaces. Ugh.
I've waffled on the rating for awhile. I want to give it 3.5 stars for being better than The Trouble With Fate as a book almost all around. Yet I want to give it 2.5 for Heidi being less than she was and the biggest hurdle this go around.
Recommendation: If you didn't like Heidi last time,...I don't know, I liked her before and think she got worse so YMMV. (But she def. Gets better, so much better in the third book)
Urban paranormal romance fans will feel right at home with a comfy variant of genre standards. It’s firmly tailored if you're looking for a dark hero or a minor transgender character. If you fell for their romance or don't mind the melodramatic, you'll probably fair better than me. But do not, under any circumstances, skip the first book.
The Good:
More mystalking in Threall
Exploring Merenwyn
Smoother, more refined and focused than The Trouble With Fate, incorporating threads that felt random and unsecure
Tons of action and drama
Heidi and Towbridge working on their relationship, actually talking.
Cordelia. Fucking saved most of the book for me.
The Bad & The Ugly
Transphobia
Some convenient events
Heidi
Heidi not defending Cordelia properly
Heidi not doing fucking anything
Heidi: Sleeping Beauty with lovesick blues instead of a magical curse, waiting to be saved and awake enough to whine about it.
Heidi only snapping out of it to defend her man. Fucking were pissing contests
Spoiler
Only seeing the Heidi that won me over after Towbridge arrives towards the very endObviously, Heidi really pissed me the fuck off this time around. I cannot stress this enough. She's the reason I continued the series. There were so many issues but the interesting world wasn't it, she was.
I miss my dark hero that struggled and supported two people on her own. Instead of gaining some sense, she went from recklessly active to meekly stagnate. She made herself into a damsel in distress.
And yes, it's a fucking conscious decision. She knows it. She does it anyways. And she's been like this for 6 months! GRRRRRRR. She's aware it's wishful thinking and denial but doesn't change until it's too late. Waiting for “Balto to save her”. FUCK YOU. That's a great movie, I LOVE Balto and you don't deserve Balto. And Towbridge is NO Balto. HOW DARE YOU. (Tha'ts on page 197. Of a 400 and some page book. )
And now I'm crying. THAT'S how great Balto is. Get it right, Heidi. Get your head on straight. And no, I don't by your insta-love “can't live without him” fucking bullshit. UGH. The blurb is very honest and on point with this at least. I just didn't realize it'd last that fucking long nor irritate me this much.
**Deep Breath**
I swear to fucking gods if Cordelia wasn't there trying to smack some sense into her, I'd have quit. Of course, Heidi doesn't do right by her at all (GRRRR! Even if Cordelia wants to fight her own battles, she's the Alpha.). But I would not quit on Cordie. She kept on so I did too. I can't say it enough: Cordelia saved this book from being DNF'd. Even with everything else being better than The Trouble With Fate.
Sadly, if Heidi doesn't pull through, there isn't enough Cordelia to make me finish reading. I have hope Heidi will recover fully considering the end, but shit, I didn't think she'd pull this shit either so IDK. (Update: Read the third book, The Problem With Promises, and Heidi's good, so I'm good.)
At least Heidi and Towbridge talk and work on their relationship. It gains some depth. It's still insta-love and Heidi's response to being alone is fucking ridiculous but there's some forward movement with them. I may be too bitter to really appreciate it because of everything else but I recognize it. Good for them. But as a couple, they haven't won me over yet.
World Building & Plot:
I loved how interesting the world building was in The Trouble with Fate. From twists on standards and the new mystwalking and Asari. However, there was a lot of shit going on and it wasn't firm like cement that needed time to dry. Heidi's mystwalking felt random and shoehorned.
Thankfully, it's explored properly in The Thing About Weres and threads are incorporated fully. It's now a part of Heidi and the story instead of a freaky one-off. With no seemingly dead-end jaunts or bullshit moments that break immersion, it felt smoother, refined and focused.
Both books are over short periods of time and are bursting at the seems with things to stay preoccupied with. There are some surprises that are balanced out with convenient events leaving it solidly and entertainingly average.
And there's still more to this world and the Stronghold story that I'm excited to see. Now if Heidi can get her act together, this would be a highly recommended new urban paranormal series