THE ULFRIC'S MATE, Book 1 in the War of the Weres series by Leona J.
Bushman, combines traditional werewolf lore and a Romeo and Juliet themed
romance with some other shape-shifting species added for variety. I give the
book 2 stars; it was a fairly enjoyable take on a time-honored theme – what
happens when you fall in love with your enemy – but several issues distracted
from my overall enjoyment of the book. I would definitely read the next book in
the series in the hopes that greater attention to detail results in a more
satisfying read.
THE ULFRIC'S MATE details the meeting and mating of
Nolan Littlefield, detective and alpha of the Wahpawat pack of werewolves, and
Alexandria George, doctor and healer of the Lupin pack. While Nolan is out
tracking a killer of pregnant females in his pack, he is saved by Alex from an
attack by Boris, the alpha male of Alex's pack. Alex is half-human, and since
her mother has hidden Alex's abilities, neither Boris nor the rest of her pack
know that Alex has the ability to shape-shift and hear others' thoughts.
Alex and Nolan are immediately attracted to each other and learn that
they are both telepathic. Because of Alex's medical knowledge and inability to
sit around a police station all day with nothing to do, Nolan enlists her help
with his investigation into the murders. Soon Alex and Nolan learn that they are
mates, and both accept this fact with aplomb. Through their investigation, the
characters learn more about the rivalries and alliances among several groups of
weres in the area. The rivalry between the Wahpawat and Lupin packs, though, is
the main focus in this story, and the mystery of who is betraying who
deepens.
The development of the relationship between Nolan and Alex was
done fairly well. Despite the fact that their relationship developed at the
speed of light, it is still carefully crafted to comport with the human side of
their characters. The way Nolan approaches Alex is careful and considerate. He
is not the domineering alpha male that is stereotypical of the genre. Especially
in the beginning of their relationship, he asks questions and seeks permission
instead of just taking liberties to order her life. Additionally, there is a
stated species-specific reason that explains why they are mates and feel the
attraction they do. These details make the romance between Nolan and Alex
believable. The love and sex scenes are explicit, but few in number and
appropriate in context. I'm not sure what criteria the publisher used to give
this a level 2 heat rating, but the book contains fairly explicit nudity and sex
scenes. Granted these occur later in the story, but still…
For the most
part, I thoroughly enjoyed the mystery aspect of this book. I was elated that I
did not guess at the outset who the traitor was, but I was disappointed that the
mystery element of the book fizzles out towards the end of the book. It seems
like there is this big build up about who the traitor is, and then the reader is
left thinking, "Oh – was that it?" Likewise, the conclusion of the book is also
a bit anticlimactic. I suspect that if the last scenes involving Roxy and Boris
after the fight were moved to an epilogue, then the Alex/Nolan relationship
portion of the storyline would more smoothly resolve itself and the
anticipation/ suspense leading to the next book in the series would be
resurrected.
The storyline, however, is impeded by certain forced scenes
and illogical actions on the part of the characters. When Nolan and Alex are
discussing the killer's motives, it takes an extremely long time for Nolan to
grasp Alex's hypothesis, even though he has just stated the same conclusion only
a few minutes before. He says he has a hard time understanding the killer's
motivation, but later straight up says that he would understand a human's
motivation. Since the killer's motivation is power, that whole analysis seems
forced to give Alex some added value to the situation when it is entirely
unnecessary. Situations like this made the book a tad difficult to read at
times. At this particular scene in the beginning, I put the book down and
wondered if I really wanted to keep reading.
The rhythm and tempo of the
book could also have used some more attention. Several things made the book a
bit choppy. Connections between characters' actions were off. (On stage it's
referred to as blocking; on screen you would notice that an actor's hand is
raised and in the next frame, it is down.) There was a lack of cohesion in
places where the character does one thing, and then in the next sentence the
action is reiterated a bit differently. While surely this technique can be done
for emphasis, none was appropriate in the places I noticed it. Rather, it seemed
like the sentence was reworked and the old sentence not removed. Also, at times
it seemed like new topics/subjects were introduced without any finesse, and I
was left wondering, "Did I miss something?"
The indication of time
passage was also vague. I wasn't sure how much time elapsed between scenes - if
something happened on the same day as another, or if it was a couple days later.
Add to all of that misspellings of characters' names, e.g., Mary instead of
Marty, and errors in comma usage and subject-verb agreements, and these
technical issues added up to distract from the storyline.
Overall, I
liked the premise and am definitely looking forward to what happens next in the
storyline, but I hope that the second book leaves the distracting technical
elements on the cutting room floor.
Review originally written for The Romance Reviews at http://erotic.theromancereviews.com/viewbooksreview.php?bookid=6524
