seakinklets

The first half is a 4.5 out of 5, but I cant in good faith recommend this to anyone. Any praise about its characters and the exploration, of their disorders and trauma is dropped in the second half to focus on a love story between a child rapist and his victim, with everyone except one of the dual protagonists being totally ok with it. Oh and said protag is treated as an asshole for it by the narrative. All characterization from the first half? Trashed. Same names, barely connected. Plot points? Dropped. Graceful and careful handling of the subject in a respectful and realistic way? Blakes autistic traits disappear and Erith's system is a plot device for drama. The first half is so good it gets 2 stars, but it falls apart. I left a spoiler filled review about how the child rapist character who the second half revolves around ruins the story on the final chapter.

Honestly? I'm just disappointed. In the beginning I was hooked on the concept, I'm autistic and the idea of exploring D.I.D. in a story where they weren't vilified or pitied for it was super interesting. The first few chapters had the spark of something unique and good, but it just went nowhere. Blake's autistic traits and routines were phased out, and Erith's system and how he copes with it felt more like a plot device for drama rather than a realistic portrayal. Erith and Blake's... romance? Was both rushed and drawn out. The legitimate conversations about coping with their trauma and disorders and the impact that would have on their relationship was SO interesting. It felt so good to see frank discussions of stuff like that because that's something I can relate to, only for that to take a back seat. The hospital interlude was 100% pointless except to give points to Adam for.... not leaving Erith to be tortured to death? Adam as a whole is just... such a shitty character. He's introduced as a child rapist going after his victim... and never evolves past that point. His only goal, his only motivation, is wanting to get his victim back. At no point did he ever come off as anything but a selfish child rapist, but the narrative seems to treat him as reformed and nice. He only got therapy after he was caught. After that, he IMMEDIATLY chased after his victim, kidnapped the victim's friend/love interest to stop him from interfering, and acts like a dick when people are rightfully wary of him. Dr Martin is supposed to be Blakes guardian I guess, and seems to have no objections to Blakes childhood rapist wanting to come back into his life. Blake seems to have no suspicions of literal strangers saying "Hey I'm your rapist's friend, put on this blindfold and get in my car". The whole plot there is so messy, and actively disgusting. Adam's every action shows he has not changed a bit, and is only saying things to gain Blake's trust. The whole thing took an interesting story and ruined it. We didn't get an exploration of Blake's trauma, or forgiveness, or change, or accountability. We got a love story about a child rapist getting their victim back, and only one person objecting. Everyone became eithrr faceless "friends" or completely differnt characters to fit this plot. It reads as so sympathetic to pedophiles in a way I know is unintentional, but the sloppiness of it means any actual analysis of it comes off as far more caring about Adam's wants than Erith's feelings. They should not be on the samelevel. Honestly ALL my complaints lead back to Adam. Why you thought having Blake fall in love with his childhood rapist was a good idea to push the story's focus to is beyond me. I really liked the first half, the second half is a sloppy shitshow that delivered on nothing and upsets me at killing the potential of the first half. The rough prose, the pacing issues, the lack of detail, all overlooked. I liked it, a LOT. I looked past the superficial flaws. I shouldnt have, and getting invested in these characters, their lives, their stories, was a mistake. I would give the first half a 4.5 out 5, but I cant in good faith recommend This story to anyone.

I was honestly confused at the start as to what was going on. By the time the narrator told us how Erith was in that situation, he was out of it. It feels like theres a missing chapter with Erith's experiences. With them immediately finding him, the whole mental hospital abuse thing seems arbitrary and pointless. By the time I start feeling dread about whats happening he was 2 paragraphs from being free, and 10 from being rescued. The pacing has always felt a bit rushed in the series but its just so jarring here, I don't know why what feels like a major plot point is skimmed over, and the narrative convinience of the keys and Adam and them straight up passing him on the road makes everything that happened feel really hollow.

I truly believe everything and everyone is capable of change. I also think if Adam really understood, and didn't put his selfish desires first, he would have stayed far away. I suppose how much he actually believes the words he says out loud will remain to be seen, really the point of my,original comment was to give insight to how a reader might view the events. I know how easy it is to know events and characters in your head in a way that doesn't translate to the page, and since the series is ongoing I wanted to give you that feedback *just in case* that was what was going on. My intention was always to talk about a hypothetical direction the series could take, not necessarily assuming that was where you were headed.

I havent read any of the author's other works, and since this isn't categorised in a world I didnt think I needed to, and so far I've been following along mostly fine. Also, that's a thermian point there. It doesn't matter how its justified by worldbuilding and lore, Adam is still a child rapist. He was introduced as a child rapist. He wants to be with the now grown person that he raped as a child. No amount of "But werewolves!" will change that on an in universe or meta level. I don't know how mates work but Blake said he wanted Erith to be his mate. Erith did not rape Blake as a child. If Blake ends up together with his childhood rapist, most readers will not be happy regardless of flimsy excuses.

Listen ill just say this now; If you plan on Adam being at all sympathetic, you should not have introduced him as a pedophile who raped Blake and claims to want him as a mate. Specifically, that Adam wanted Blake, the child he just raped, as a mate, and just carried that torch. Blake having those feelings towards him makes sense, he was an island in his sea of abuse, but if Adam ACTUALLY got better, ACTUALLY cared about what he did being wrong, then he would have stayed away from the child he raped. He knew it was wrong, he knew he committed atrocities, but he still wants his victim. Maybe we're supposed to think all that. If so, good job. If not, there is no way any audience with half a braincell is going to think Adam isn't someone who actually thinks his actions were as bad as they were and are. Idk if you plan your stories out but if this ends with Adam in any sort of positive light with him only paying lip service to guilt, people are going to be upset. *I'm* going to be upset. Once more, if this isn't the place the story is headed, then good job and I'm looking forward to more.

I feel like I'm missing something here, why does Blake trust Adam so much? To be blindfolded and driven to a strange place? Not hating him because he was the only nice molester is a natural response to what's been hinted at, but Blake seems WAY too trusting based on what I've seen of his chatacter in the story, maybe that's just me though. Also how the hell is it legal for Adam to kidnap Varen/Erith like that. Seems a little fucky.

Honestly thank the stars, the earth, the sea, and the trees Mathias is a hermit. If humanity had to interact with his daily he'd be considered among history's greatest monsters. Also the tattoo and necklaces were really cute. Fitting for the two and incredibly sweet. And I love the idea of were's taking X-bane to get high. The recreational drug industry specifically for shifters is something I love when it's explored, especially when regular drugs don't work on them.

Same, I figured after they all came he'd at least give him a solid hook, give him a nice shiner for however many hours it would last with the were-bear healing

Wow, Matthias is even worse than I thought. He somehow found an even worse varient of "I'm emotionally and physically abusing you to toughen you up", its honestly impressive.

I wonder if Elon Tusk also got his money from apartheid emerald mines? Does were-tesla also use child slaves? I take it this Elon actually makes things, instead of paying engineers with daddy's blood money and taking the credit.

Woah, a Japanese shop who's name is a pun/wordplay? What a unique and rare thing!

Huh, what an impersonal and almost disappointing ending. The main character was bland, and the truth was bland. There was no great emotional effect, and the whole story was just thing that happened. A weird and interesting week that started, happened, and stopped, with no real effect moving forward. Hollow. And yet somehow that works, because the mystery aspect was well written enough. We could reasonably put together who did it, the conclusion made sense. It wasn't even really about Stanly, it was about analyzing the main character with Stanly being a reflection. A somber piece, and quite interesting. I love the psychological angle. I think the story might have been boring to read(still debating) but interesting to think about. As entertainment it was weak, as art it really is quite good.

You fucker, you and your LITERAL cliff hangers

Very nice story, loved the handling,of the genuine problems with having disabilities while not acting like its the end of the world. Also who the fuck spells Vladimir with two D's? Seriously Sandra-Anne? I think Tyson was in the right on that one

Took the words right out of my mouth!

It really feels like the fact that a grown ass father getting so mad at a mourning 15 year saying mean words to him he proceeded to beat the shit out of him, MULTIPLE TIMES, is being swept under the rug. Really hope that's not dismissed, cause while I'm not surprised that a cop got mad that everyone didn't conform to his will and decided to beat his family(considering its 40%, and that's just reported cases), it would suck if the story just does not adress it.

That seems like a very sudden shift in character for Christopher, considering he was literally complaining about not getting to murder children 5 minutes before. Seems strange that he would almost brag about wanting to murder kids then apologize for all his actions and cry in the span of 5, maybe 10 minutes.

Ok, not gonna lie, this one had me bawling like a baby. Blow my nose, wipe the tears running down my face, my throat hurts, everything short of sobbing. Incredibly heartwarming and sad at the same time, I loved it and wanted even more. The recordings downright killed me man, that went right to my heart.

I figured, just poking a bit of fun 😜

"He is mine" oh holy fuck the cavedog actually used a preposition, that's how you know things are serious! And I'm seriously only half joking on that.

I'm trying, I'm trying so hard to take this climactic scene seriously, but literally everyone is talking like a cartoon 5 year old. Why do the animal sides not share memories? Why do they talk like 5 year olds? It feels like a parody, a tense and dangerous moment where the people talking refuse to say "is" or "will" or "your" or any other preposition. Theyre communicating complex ideas in language that's both below how a toddler talks and also above it in that weird way people write kids talking without actually understanding kids talk and it just ends up being cringy. I like the story! I really wanna feel the emotions! But I can only wead dis in widdle baby speak. Or ough oog big cave man talk good.

No spoilers until the warning. I've made it clear I wasn't a fan of the first book, but I still finished it after reading the premise for this one. I'm glad I gave this book a chance, because it was far more enjoyable of a read. Every criticism I could have for this story stems from it's narrative framing, that being that it's a journal written by the protagonist ostensibly to his therapist. This, compared to a third person perspective, is inherently limited. Chris, the protag, is only going to write so much and only about certain important things. This however is also a strength; there was no filler. Everything felt relevant, everything was something he wanted to say and felt he should. Chris was an antagonist of the previous book, little more than a sadistic lackey for the main villain. Here it's clear just how much of a victim he is. The abuse he suffered, the grooming at the hands of his supposed friend, the trauma he faces because of it, it hurt. I truly felt for this character, and it really felt good to see him begin to turn his life around. To work towards redemption. I can safely recommend this book, with the caveat that discussion of sexual assault, abuse, and a whole lotta horrific shit is in here. Primarily in one chapter, but this is about a character going to therapy to deal with that trauma, and boy is there a lot of it. At some points I wanted more detail, to see the subtleties of how his trauma affects him and to see those points of pain lessen, but I think the fact that it's a brisk 20 relatively short chapters really works in it's favor. I think I just enjoyed it enough that I wanted more, to get even more immersed in this character. I struggle to decide whether I like this or the third book more, but going over it again for the review I think this one is my favorite in the series. It's just good fiction. Spoilers here so I can praise some specifics. The guilt is palpable, especially when it comes to shifting. The conversation between Chris and Enforcer Hanson was so telling to how internalized his guilt his, how he really thinks he deserves to suffer. Him saying that if he had went with Micheal he would have deserved being abused at their hands, but that he didn't and therefor doesn't deserve that really helps show his growth in forgiving himself. Everything surrounding his rape, and his violence towards others as a hollow attempt to reclaim agency and his masculinity is just fantastic, especially when he highlights that it was hollow. He knows it was pointless. Honestly it was amazing. He really felt like a scared kid who's world fell apart and he's the reason why.

Oh no, to be clear, I liked books 2-4. 3 was my favorite, followed by 2. I liked bits of 1 and really just felt it was brought down by the main characters primarily, I hope that came across in my long review

Note: No spoilers until the warning. Running With the Pack as a series has interesting points and potential, but is built on the weak foundation known as Ethan Scott and Aiden Jacobs. The first book has 50 chapters, perhaps 20 of which are plot, and the rest are filler/slice of life sections involving the two that I could not for the life of me care about. The story begins fine, with Ethan being sympathetic and having a difficult backstory, Aiden being a knight in shining armor figure, and a clear antagonist that has mostly defined goals. Micheal wants to be Alpha, is GOING to be Alpha, and wants Ethan gone. His reasoning and actions are consistent, make sense given his world view, and are a constant driving force throughout the story. His characterization expands and builds on the hints we're given in a simple yet appreciable way, and his obsessive drive towards something that will clearly bring his own downfall is interesting to watch. Seeing him never truly give up, and doggedly chase something so clearly unobtainable with seemingly no moral boundaries in achieving it makes him perhaps the most interesting character to read. The same cannot be said for our two protagonists, which is the primary reason I disliked the story. The plot itself makes sense, each event leads to the other in a mostly natural way. The overall story is interesting enough, and the outline is good for a romance story. The what is mostly predictable a few chapters ahead, which is a good thing because it means that things follow a natural and logical progression based on character motivations and reasonable outcomes. Not to say there weren't unexpected events or plot twists, but that there was never a random thing out of left field that leaves the story feeling off kilter and imbalanced. The how of the events is where things start to fall flat. Without going into specifics yet, certain tense or hype moments were boring or mediocre in their execution(partially due to other foundational issues), or just sorta happened. Lots of characters were introduced, many for one scene and then a cameo later, which lets the plot progress without characters actually having to think or plan. How will they convince this group of the problem? Oh a new character will be on their side for a reason. How will they handle this danger? Oh new characters or faceless hunters, or more likely Ethan ex Machina. There was so little tension, so little stakes, that it felt like things just happened with no real impact or lasting impression. Flat. Ive danced around it enough; Spoilers ahead. Ethan is a nothing character. He's a nice boy whos also the most powerful person who can do anything the plot needs him to at that moment. He read fantasy books, likes werewolves and dragons I guess, but he stops reading those after chapter 4. He got kicked out of his home and lived on the streets, was an underaged sex worker, and had no friends. He was used and abused to survive for several years, before packing up and living in the wild for weeks. He planned on living there long term. Ethan should not trust fucking anybody, and even says as much. In chapter 5 he flat out says it will take time for Ethan to trust Aiden, his magic soul mate who he loves immediately cause he smells good, and by chapter 7(literally 2 days later) he says he "it isn’t easy for me to trust anyone even though for some reason I really do want to trust you and I think I do trust you". Other than sympathy points, the fact that Ethan was an underaged sex worker fucking pedophiles for cash so he can survive is never relevant. He immediately trusts the Tucker family, the Alpha, and basically everyone else except the literal murderous rapist who wants him dead. He should be traumatized, but it never affects him beyond the first maybe 10 chapters, if that. Other than being nice, and forgiving, I cannot name any character traits. I guess he's a pervert, which him being hypersexual from his trauma and defaulting to using sex to make people like him or to get what he needs could have interesting and would have made sense, but honestly hes just a horny teenager surrounded by hot people. He's not even shy! You would think he would be withdrawn, but he talks more than Aiden does! Aiden is similarly flat. He's a leader, has morals, and is physically strong. He's only a bit aggressive with Ethan in terms of romance cause magic mate smells, only gets angry at appropriate times, isn't jealous or controlling, and has no real flaws(other than being a cop). He likes sci-fi a lot. That's all I got. I'd criticize his backstory but other than being a bit of a trouble maker(which I believe is only really shown in the second book that he isn't in), and his dad moving away a few years ago we know jack and shit. Maybe I missed or aren't remembering it, but if that's the case its given in the chapter 30+ range. For some reason however, these two love each other. Why? Cause they smell good. They're true mates, which means they're in love as soon as they meet no matter what. What does Ethan love about Aiden, what actions or mannerisms or quirks that only Aiden has that endear Ethan to him? Aiden saved him, helps protect him? That's gone by chapter 13, at which point Ethan is more powerful than Aiden. What about the reverse? What is so interesting or special about Ethan? Other than magic musk, there is no clear reason why these two would love each other. The characters are bland, they love each other because they do, so is it any wonder that by half way I was skimming the solo bits between them, and by 40 I was outright skipping them? They take up most of the work, despite being the most boring part. It's literally Twilight. The two main characters, the romance, are the most boring and bland part. The world building however, is interesting. We get one big exposition dump for all the backstory. Half a chapter devoted to telling us where all the shifters come from and a bunch of other stuff in chapter 12. Heres the problem, it was written by Fantasyboy69 for his series Homestead. I have some criticisms for that series and for the worldbuilding(lycan literally means wolf in greek, why the fuck is everything called a lycan I didn't take 4 years of Latin to deal with this nonsense), but in the first book a lot of that information is spread out over chapters and chapters. It's introduced as the character(who isn't a born shifter and is thrust into the world) learns and asks questions, as it becomes relevant. We didn't need all this information, and having it all dumped looses so much of the impact of having questions form and then later answered. Why are we learning about Lupus(male wolf in Latin) and Lunaris(moon in Latin, but a weird declension) when we don't meet a lunaris for like 10 chapters? Why are we hearing about Solaris(solis is sun in Latin so this is clearly changing lunar to solar)? Also why are we told about other types of shifters and the story of Artemis? It made sense in Homestead why it was explained when it was, but its clearly being put in here simply because it was in Homestead. This is clear in the fact that Solaris are considered a myth or extinct to some. That was the case in Homestead, exceedingly rare and even when they became more known due to events, of the maybe 12 we see in the whole series 4 are family members. The issue here is that Solaris are major leaders in South America and Australia off the top of my head, with ranks equal to and as well known as the Lycans(Lunaris should be the term for lunar tied shifters and it should be lupus/lycan for the wolf distinction but whatever). This is something new in RWTP, which is my main point. Everything was copy pasted from Homestead, but the new or changed aspects don't fit in with the lore. This is an example of contradiction. Another example is when they run Ethan's blood and find hes part Celtic(not gonna get into the psuedoscience of determining race and ethnicity by blood here), they assume he might be a druid or that it would play a role. This presents many questions. 1) Are druids a thing? Are there magic users? The rest of the series would say no, but Homestead does have several magic users and it is a known but extremely rare thing. A recurring character is a shaman and is going to be a flock leader in books 3/4, while in RWTP they're never brought up again. 2) Are all Irish and Scottish and Welsh people druids? Celtic is a language, did you mean Gaelic? This clearly implies it's hereditary, and Ethan knows who and where his family is. Should this not be checked out perhaps? No seriously, you think he might be magic cause of his ancestry but even the idea of looking into his familial ties is never brought up. The additions are sloppy. I like Homestead's worldbuilding because of how unique it was, while also being so far in the past that it's unclear if that's just legend or what actually happened. The way the series is written here however makes it seem more likely that every major pantheon is actually real, and a big part of that is the Elementals. For starters "Most references to Elementals were in very old texts that had been translated and posted on less than credible websites. They only contained vague descriptions handed down from legends or the occasional rumor. The World of Warcraft wiki site had one of the most detailed descriptions of Shamans and Druids" got a chuckle out of me, I liked that. The whole concept, however, feels like the most cliche chosen one trope here. Elementals can do magic, and at first Ethan can only do water magic. The glowing eyes thing is also cliche as hell and would have been fine if it wasn't so emphasized, maybe give it more mystery so its not super obvious Ethan is freezing shit at random. Ethan's use is tied to his emotions, and at first is fine. The minor uses done subconsciously are fine foreshadowing, and even him using it against the wolves on the bridge is acceptable. You could say he was in a rage and was fighting for his life, and clearly doing so took a lot out of him considering he passed out right after. Him beating an adult wolf with a stick, or punching a wolf with his bare hand actually doing damage is a stretch however, and why his powers made him physically stronger or if that's even what happened is never touched on. Where things start to go downhill is the feral incident at the lake, where Ethan makes a mist cover and kills a super tough feral Lunaris with giant icicles. If Casey or Aiden got hurt, that would provoke his emotional state enough that perhaps I could buy it. It really felt like a rehash of the scene from Homestead where the protagonist is told to hide in the lake from a feral, his wolf boyfriend protects him, but the protag damages the feral before passing out in the lake. In Homestead all he managed to do was stab the feral while it was distracted, buying time for the boyfriend and assisting him before running back into the lake and passing out from hypothermia. Here nobody got a scratch on them. Then more ferals are drawn to Ethan and surrender, a first in history, before he visits and heals them. This part is actually interesting. Ethan being able to heal, and drawing in ferals, is an interesting and unique idea. Them surrendering also makes sense, because hunters kill them on site. This might just be the first time someone has tried to talk to them. Ethan giving them the kick they need to escape being permanently wolfed out, basically forcing them to shift back to human, is a reasonable power that fits with his limited characterization and even fits the trope of water magic being connected to healing. It takes very little time and no shown practice or training before he's able to control the water at will, regardless of his emotions, and doing so without any trouble or mistakes. He's just naturally perfect at controlling it after discovering he can in like not even a month. Then shit goes off the rails. He goes from having water powers, to being the fucking avatar. He not only shifts to a hybrid, before shifting to lupus on his first night, he's also super duper special cause he's got fur marks that look like special tattoos(which are identical to a Maori warrior from long before the english came, I get that he's implied to have been an elemental but having a white American with identical markings is not a great look for a lot of obvious reasons). While shifting, he controls water, earth, fire, and air. Also life, apparently. He can control plants now. A few chapters later, he then boils two kidnappers alive, and catches the crashing car he's in by manipulating the surrounding trees to his will. He also makes a wall of roots with spikes, meaning he can make plants not only move but literally change shape at his will. None of this tires him out. Small uses not making him pass out make sense, but this is far more than the bridge incident with Micheal that had him passing out on the spot. What changed? Who cares. The only thing that tires him out a little is healing ferals, for example when he heals like 10 at a time. He literally grows magic flowers, and later grows wolfsbane, from nothing. He is able to create life at will with no cost. Aiden by virtue of being the other main character is also special. Based on what we learn of Jean Pierre later, his chats make sense and dont feel like bullshit everybody likes me cause Im the main character like it does with Ethan. However, Aiden now is a fire elemental. He roasts like 10 dudes with a burp and passes out, then the next time he uses it he has complete control at no cost. He takes literally 47 bullets and is fine. Every wolf whos not on the cartoonishly evil side is also fine, Ethan heals the silver poisoning and does more magic nonsense for the various ferals. Later when they casually overthrow the werewolf government it's retconned that an asshole was just being mean cause he had silver poisoning, and Ethan heals him secretly with a handshake making him piss out the silver. When they have the big wedding shifters from all over the world come over(including the solaris mentioned earlier that are totally a myth or super rare btw) and everyone loves Ethan and Aiden. Genuine question, who doesn't like Ethan and Aiden? Micheal doesn't like Ethan cause he wants Aiden(revealed in the second book). So other than the murderous rapist whos edgy disney villian levels of evil, who dislikes them? Who finds them annoying, or weird, or creepy, or just doesn't want to be around them. Hell, who talks to them and doesn't immediately like them? Is there a single character that talks to them and is at least neutral? A girl only named once literally ran up to them and offered to have their baby after Ethan was there for like a week. Why, other than because theyre the main characters and such special boys, does everyone like them? For the sake of time I'm going to end this on three examples of good characterization that made them feel more real. Darius was a nothing character, indistiguishable from the rest except physically, until the solaris spy was caught. Darius talking to him, realizing how similar they are, and the back and forths they had were interesting. It made them change, understand each other, and let them introspect. It's literally only relevant to like 4 conversations and plays no role in the rest of the series, but in those conversations I was interested in Darius and Paul; Why they were similar and different, what circumstances led them here, how they connect as brothers of the sun on seemingly opposite sides in a conflict. Another is John. John was a generic good guy leader, but Micheal being a real mover and shaker and also his son made him actually interesting. How do you balance the safety of the pack when the son you thought you raised well turned into an arrogant monster with no regard for anyone else. His attempts to help Micheal as best he can, his inner conflict at what to do with his son, and him resigning himself to having to kill Micheal by his own hand was intriguing. Micheal was the son of the alpha, untouchable in most regards, put on a pedestal, and he knew it. He became arrogant and self serving. John tried to teach him that he was just like everyone else, but clearly only put in lip service. The nice guy act Micheal put on was enough to fool him, showing how little he actually paid attention to his son. Him realizing that(and it being implied rather than overt), and attempting to rectify his mistakes made him feel very human. He fucked up so much, and his plan with exiling Micheal was the best possible solution. Knock him off his pedestal, and get him into counseling. If he had went along with it, Micheal could have very well changed. The fact that he didn't, and the fact that John held a trial for him yet again when everyone knew he would be sentenced to death says a lot about him. Jackie, Micheal's mother, the mother to the pack, the mate of the Alpha, executing Micheal was perhaps the most impactful moments in the book. She kept to the background by design most of the time, and we really don't know a lot about her. She was perhaps the most torn up about the incidents. The fact that as Micheal walked down the court isle after the first hearing, before sentencing, and with one slash ripped his throat and snapped his neck says a lot. Nobody knew she could partial shift like that. She broke down and had to be led away, but everyone was silent for her. Everyone moved away and gave space for her to be quietly led to a private room. Everyone talked quietly outside, and when she was finally driven home they simply held candles as a way of honoring her. She had one child, she carried and birthed him, raised him. She brought him into this world, and she took him out. She's the mother of the pack as well, and for its wellbeing she had to put down her only child. Now THAT is some emotional shit. Jean Pierre and the various cured ferals(particularly the one taken when he was like 5) were also interesting, and sadly didn't get as much time in the spotlight as I would have liked. Jean Pierre was quite enjoyable, even if he did some heinous shit. Overall, there are no stakes. Ethan or Aiden will solve the problem either by being magically likeable or with magic magic they have perfect control over and can do whatever the plot needs it to do. The other characters are either indistinguishable in personality if they have one at all. The romance happens cause they plot says it does. The worldbuilding was either done by someone else, and done better, or doesnt fit with the rest. These really bring down what would have been an interesting plot. If anything, seeing the potential in the story makes the vast majority that much worse, because we see what could have been. Luckily, the other books are all better, but still suffer from these issues if to a lesser degree. I honestly think it's not worth reading this, since I skimmed more than 60% of it, but if you feel the need to understand what lead to the sequels that's understandable. I do however think those are worth reading, even if theyre still pretty rough.