Saturday, July 9, 2016

Review: Tempting the Dragon by Karen Whiddon

Rance Sleighter is a photo journalist. He promises his very ill step-daughter that he will get a photograph of a lake monster for her. He has investigated some of the other lakes rumored to have monsters and is now in the small town of Forestwood, New York hoping to finally end his search.

Jade Burnett and her family have a witchy reputation with the town. And some of the Burnetts have indeed been guardian to a lake monster over the years. Townspeople tell Rance to go talk to Jade about the lake monster rather than wasting their time.

Rance and Jade meet in a restaurant in town and get off on the wrong foot.  Of course this will not be the only thing to get in the way of their developing a loving relationship. Family and fae will too, for a minimum.

Rance and Jade are both shifters, but of different sorts. This too inhibits their relationship because they aren't supposed to talk about what kind of shifter each is and more.

I wasn't thrilled with what comes off initially as insta-love, but really is more insta-lust. Their loving relationship has to be built over the course of the book. And Rance just isn't very good at it. Despite what he is doing for his step-daughter, he is somewhat self-centered and very much into protecting himself from hurt.

The subplot of dealing with the fae is good. It was very straight forward. My only objection to this part of the book was that things seemed to be settled too easily.

The pace of the book is good and the characters are interesting. There is suspense as to whether or not Rance will be allowed to meet the monster as well as a few other things. I found myself reading quickly to find out what happens next.

This is a standalone novel. I thought this was a good story. It's well written. I give it 4 stars out of 5. It's good, but not great. Still, if you enjoy books about shifters, fae, and romance, then this would be a good book for you. It would make a good beach read too.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

No comments:

Post a Comment