Werewolf Wednesday #10

Welcome to Werewolf Wednesday where the moon is always full and I am howling. Every single Wednesday I will be profiling a new werewolf from books, TV or movies. I might also mix it up a bit some weeks and throw in some other furry fun!! Please feel free to join and howl along with me every week!

This week for werewolf wednesday I am going to give you a book review!!! But not just any review…. a review of a werewolf book! LOL.

If any of you follow my Shelf Candy Saturday posts you will know that I recently profiled a book titled Unleashed… well, I was so excited to read this that I bought it straight away and thats what I did, I read it!!

But, in the FIRST time of Werewolf Wednesday history….. 

 I met a werewolf I am not real sure I like.

Frankly I think I might weap. Does anyone have a tissue????

Want to know what I have to say about this book? Get to reading!

Title: Unleashed (Wolf Springs Chronicles #1)

Authors: Debbie Viguie  and Nancy Holder

Format: Print and Ebook

Genre: Paranormal YA

Publisher: November 22nd 2011 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers

 Synopsis (courtesy of GoodReads)

Katelyn McBride’s life changed in an instant when her mother died. Uprooted from her California home, Katelyn was shipped to the middle of nowhere, Arkansas, to her only living relative, her grandfather. And now she has to start over in Wolf Springs, a tiny village in the Ozark Mountains. Like any small town, Wolf Springs has secrets. But the secrets hidden here are more sinister than Katelyn could ever imagine. It’s a town with a history that reaches back centuries, spans continents, and conceals terrifying truths. And Katelyn McBride is about to change everything.

Broken families, ageless grudges, forced alliances, and love that blooms in the darkest night—welcome to Wolf Springs.

 

My thoughts:

When I saw this book, read the synopsis and watched the awesome trailer I was hooked. I expected a book that would make me swoon and leave me wanting more, I kind of expected a Twilight but with all werewolves.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t what I thought it would be. So let me say, that I wanted to like this book, I tried to like this book… you all know my feelings about werewolves… but I am really sad and regretful to say that this book fell short of my expectations.

There are elements that I did really enjoy. I liked the setting, Wolf Springs is a tiny town nestled in the mountains, picturesque and full of charm. It’s a little far removed from surrounding areas and it moves at a slower pace. I liked that there were woods, houses out in the boonies and the weather was kind of dreary and foggy.

The plot started out good for me (but typical) when Kat loses her mother to an accident and becomes an orphan (her dad also died years before) and is uprooted from her life to move to the mountains with her grandfather who is little more than a stranger to her. When she arrives in Wolf Springs it is clear that the town isn’t at all what it seems. Harsh warnings about NOT going out at night, staying inside and locking the doors really piqued my interest. I was settling in for a bad a** werewolf read. Then a good looking guy named Trick came a long and he drives an awesome old mustang… (oohh – la –la). He was a mystery that I just wanted to unravel.

I read and read wanting to know why she couldn’t go out at night (obviously it was because of the werewolves) but I waited for her Grandfather to tell her that. I mean, if you are bringing a girl who grew up in posh L.A. her entire life and dropping her in the woods with a werewolf control issue and girls are dying around you – wouldn’t you hammer home the “stay indoors” rule with the cold hard facts?

He never did. Instead he taught her to use a gun. But she never carried it with her….

Her grandfather acted like he knew that the wolves were out there, he seemed to know a lot more than what he said… but he never said anything. Ever. It was beyond frustrating.

I kept reading and reading, wanting answers, wanting to be intrigued and I got nothing.

Trick was a mystery that was never ever solved. His odd behavior, his odd reputation nothing was ever said about it. I felt like a windup toy that no one ever let go of.

Then there was the main character Kat. I liked her at first because she seemed brave in the face of a new place, a new life and the loss of her mother. She didn’t seem whiny and I liked that. I thought what a strong character! She was talented and had dreams, she knew what she wanted out of her life. Then she got to Wolf Springs and all her dreams seemed to fall away. She never once worked out or trained (she was a dancer and a gymnast) and she just let everything she wanted and dreamed for slip away. She became friends with a girl, Cord, who I thought was odd, jumpy, strange and mopey. I will say about Kat, that she never needed a boy to come in and save her, she always managed to take care of herself and I liked that.

However, when something happened (important plot point that I will not detail so as not to spoil the plot) to her she reacted in a way that I thought was really silly and immature (not at all how I thought she was) then she confided in that strange girl who clearly lied all the time. Why would take the word of a liar??

Then there was Justin. He’s the heart throb of the book, I guess (though personally, Trick is my favorite). He is hot, rides a motorcycle and has some kind of animalistic draw to him. Nice. But he was never developed at all. The reader never got to know him. Whenever he was in the scene him and Kat made out all the time… or thought about making out. It was so weird. They didn’t even know each other. I didn’t find it romantic or think, “wow, they are really attracted to each other maybe its love at first sight”. To be frank it grossed me out.

I mean, get some control people!

And then the way he behaves at the end of the book is completely weird and he makes an excuse for his “attraction” to Kat that is completely flimsy.

And what is up with Cord’s dad?? It made no sense. Yes, his behavior was explained but I still found it really weird and almost convenient.

For a werewolf book it wasn’t really about werewolves. I mean it was but I really thought that since the town was called Wolf Springs that people would know about them, people would whisper, we would be introduced to a bunch of fantastic werewolf characters. I thought that there would be two werewolf packs in the same area, feuding. I thought it would have intense action and awesome fight scenes. I also thought that there would be a great romance. Instead we got a sort of love triangle (that was gross and made no sense), no questions were answered, there were no fights (maybe one), and the entire town acted like they didn’t know that werewolves roamed the woods…even with all the howling.

Well maybe they do know… but the reader was never told about it.

There will be more books to this series, maybe all questions will be answered then. Will I read it? I have to say that I am curious about some things. Like Trick. I was sincerely frustrated by the lack of information and answers the reader was given. So of course I am curious but I won’t buy the next book. I paid 10.99 for the Ebook and I hardly ever pay that much for an Ebook and now I am mad I spent so much.

I truly don’t mean to sound so negative. I write this review with a heavy heart because I truly wanted to like it. But this is an honest review. I respect the authors and their talent with writing. I would love to ask them about their process on writing a novel together, which I think would be difficult.

 Unfortunately this book just wasn’t for me. Perhaps you will like it, as many others have.

So there you have it. My opinion.