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A review by lemon_
Then, Earth Swallowed Ocean by Shiloh Sloane, Shiloh Sloane
4.0
It's tricky to review this one. For the first 70% of it, I would have given it a near perfect 5 stars (with just a little bit of the story dragging in the middle portion).
I've never really liked this genre - werewolves, fated mates, etc. But this one broke the mold for me, in a good way. The way its written really gives the impression of each character's humanity. Their thought processes are sometimes incomplete or broken. For the men, their thought processes feel more instinctual - which makes sense as they (Ridge in particular) are complete slaves to their werewolf instincts and drives. This is the first book I've read in this genre where it doesn't feel like the author created stupid sexy guys who are "dangerous" because they turn into wolves. In this one, the werewolves really do feel like monsters who will first r*pe and then eat you alive. Aspects of this book felt much more like a horror / suspense than a romance book.
I like that the book didn't give all the answers. Who was the "devil"? What was the "devil" ? Was it an actual enemy, or just a manifestation of all three main characters' inner demons? For the last 20-30%, I wasn't really sold on the devil as a villainous character until one important thing happened: Ridge and Wright proved completely incapable of truly damaging the devil. Two men who have always been the most powerful predators are knocked down as incapable and weak. Meanwhile, soft and gentle Sadie faces the devil and is able to defeat him. Because it's truly Sadie's story about overcoming her inner demons, not being rescued from them.
I still haven't entirely wrapped my head around the love triangle and I'll probably read Wright's book (if it ever comes out) to see if that changes how I felt the love triangle was handled in this one. After thinking on it more, this book feels less like a love triangle and more like by witnessing Ridge and Sadie's matehood, Wright remembered everything he's missing out on. It's less that he loves Sadie in that way and more that he wishes he had that bond for himself again. But I guess we have to wait for book 2 to see how that unfolds!
There were a couple instances where I feel a small editing eye would have been helpful. The first that comes to mind is after Ridge has been knocked unconscious by the devil and Wright is being tempted by the devil in Sadie's form.... where does the devil go? One second he's giving Wright a bj and the next .... Ridge wakes up and there's just no more mention of the devil who was in the room a second ago???
I've never really liked this genre - werewolves, fated mates, etc. But this one broke the mold for me, in a good way. The way its written really gives the impression of each character's humanity. Their thought processes are sometimes incomplete or broken. For the men, their thought processes feel more instinctual - which makes sense as they (Ridge in particular) are complete slaves to their werewolf instincts and drives. This is the first book I've read in this genre where it doesn't feel like the author created stupid sexy guys who are "dangerous" because they turn into wolves. In this one, the werewolves really do feel like monsters who will first r*pe and then eat you alive. Aspects of this book felt much more like a horror / suspense than a romance book.
I like that the book didn't give all the answers. Who was the "devil"? What was the "devil" ? Was it an actual enemy, or just a manifestation of all three main characters' inner demons? For the last 20-30%, I wasn't really sold on the devil as a villainous character until one important thing happened: Ridge and Wright proved completely incapable of truly damaging the devil. Two men who have always been the most powerful predators are knocked down as incapable and weak. Meanwhile, soft and gentle Sadie faces the devil and is able to defeat him. Because it's truly Sadie's story about overcoming her inner demons, not being rescued from them.
I still haven't entirely wrapped my head around the love triangle and I'll probably read Wright's book (if it ever comes out) to see if that changes how I felt the love triangle was handled in this one. After thinking on it more, this book feels less like a love triangle and more like by witnessing Ridge and Sadie's matehood, Wright remembered everything he's missing out on. It's less that he loves Sadie in that way and more that he wishes he had that bond for himself again. But I guess we have to wait for book 2 to see how that unfolds!
There were a couple instances where I feel a small editing eye would have been helpful. The first that comes to mind is after Ridge has been knocked unconscious by the devil and Wright is being tempted by the devil in Sadie's form.... where does the devil go? One second he's giving Wright a bj and the next .... Ridge wakes up and there's just no more mention of the devil who was in the room a second ago???