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A review by emilyberrios
The Beast in Him by Shelly Laurenston
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Jess, the female lead, is a wild dog (a breed which had a dying out and is now rare), an orphan who grew up in the foster system, a geek, wildly successful in computer security, and alpha of her pack of wild dogs.
Smitty, the male lead, is a wolf, Mace's friend and business partner, left Tennessee to get away because he viewed his hometown as backwards and violent, and moved to New York as the alpha of a new pack.
Jess and Smitty knew each other as teens, when Sissy (Smitty's sister) used to bully Jess and he tried to protect her. There were a LOT of characters in this book and it was very hard to keep everything straight. That said, while I liked Jess most of the time, I didn't care for Smitty at all. She's funny, geeky, successful, and a good leader. He came across as one dimensional, crass, pushy, and judgmental. Smitty's inability to listen to Jess, accept her answers, or respect the pace she was setting was troubling. It was not consent and very regressive. I didn't perceive them as having chemistry. I assume the author was gunning for the opposites attract trope, but for that trope to work there has to be a willingness to meet in the middle... not Smitty's *big sigh* "You're always so weird" attitude while Jess wanted the realest version of him even if it was violent. That female self-effacing or self-sacrificing bull crap role is so... old.
Also, author was trying really hard to be funny and it felt unnatural. Oh, and turns out Jess is Black, again, this was irrelevant to the story and the author seemed to throw this detail in just to... check a checkbox. Not my favorite entry in the series, but I like the world and sometimes the author writes really likeable characters so I'll keep reading more in the series and hope for the best."No is a challenge not an answer" trope. That was this book in a nutshell.
Smitty, the male lead, is a wolf, Mace's friend and business partner, left Tennessee to get away because he viewed his hometown as backwards and violent, and moved to New York as the alpha of a new pack.
Jess and Smitty knew each other as teens, when Sissy (Smitty's sister) used to bully Jess and he tried to protect her. There were a LOT of characters in this book and it was very hard to keep everything straight. That said, while I liked Jess most of the time, I didn't care for Smitty at all. She's funny, geeky, successful, and a good leader. He came across as one dimensional, crass, pushy, and judgmental. Smitty's inability to listen to Jess, accept her answers, or respect the pace she was setting was troubling. It was not consent and very regressive. I didn't perceive them as having chemistry. I assume the author was gunning for the opposites attract trope, but for that trope to work there has to be a willingness to meet in the middle... not Smitty's *big sigh* "You're always so weird" attitude while Jess wanted the realest version of him even if it was violent. That female self-effacing or self-sacrificing bull crap role is so... old.
Also, author was trying really hard to be funny and it felt unnatural. Oh, and turns out Jess is Black, again, this was irrelevant to the story and the author seemed to throw this detail in just to... check a checkbox. Not my favorite entry in the series, but I like the world and sometimes the author writes really likeable characters so I'll keep reading more in the series and hope for the best.