Coveted
Series: Coveted #1
Author: Shawntelle
Madison
Publisher: Ballantine Books/Random House Publishing Group
Genre: Supernatural, Adult/Young Adult—Barely any sexual
content
Release Date: April 24th 2012
Pages: 320
Format: ebook
Source: Received from publisher for review
Rating: 
Reason chosen:
I saw someone review it on their blog and I was
interested in reviewing so it was fantastic when I received it from the
Publisher
SOMETIMES WHAT YOU COVET IS IMPOSSIBLE
TO KEEP.
For werewolf Natalya Stravinsky, the
supernatural is nothing extraordinary. What does seem strange is that
she’s stuck in her hometown of South Toms River, New Jersey, the outcast of her
pack, selling antiques to finicky magical creatures. Restless and recovering
from her split with gorgeous ex-boyfriend, Thorn, Nat finds comfort in an
unusual place: her obsessively collected stash of holiday trinkets. But
complications pile up faster than her ornaments when Thorn returns home—and the
two discover that the spark between them remains intense.
Before Nat can sort out their
relationship, she must face a more immediate and dangerous problem. Her pack is
under attack from the savage Long Island werewolves—and Nat is their first
target in a turf war. Toss in a handsome wizard vying for her affection, a
therapy group for the anxious and enchanted, and the South Toms River pack
leader ready to throw her to the wolves, and it’s enough to give anybody a
panic attack. With the stakes as high as the full moon, Nat must summon all of
her strength to save her pack and, ultimately, herself.
Review:
You hear about people that have OCD, but this book
smacked me in the face with reality. I’ve thought multiple times that I have a
small form of OCD, and I might, but Natalya has a whole other level and it is
crazy. Throw in the fact that she is werewolf and her pack sees her as weak and
BAM I’m done like Christmas dinner. In the beginning I felt like her OCD took
the front seat to her life, but as I kept reading I realized that that was the
point. It was over taking her life, and it wasn’t until a couple of chapters in
that you learn more about Nat and start to see her wanting to change. I wasn’t
100% sold on Nat at first because she is very submissive and does not stick up
for herself, but that is something that comes as a side-effect to her
condition, thankfully it does start to change when she realizes the things that
are important in her life. And she tries to change for her own good. She goes
on an extremely awkward date, invites an old friends into her home, and gets
completely confused by her ex-boyfriend. That’s ok cause he confuses the heck
out of me too. Many times while I read this novel I questioned whether or not
Thorn actually liked her or if he was just conflicted because of his
responsibility to the pack. Oh, Thorn…you’re pretty hot. I can tell. Oh, and
then she starts to get funny feelings from Nick (another supernatural creature
who is very persistent-me likey). I feel a love triangle come on. So, that
being said the characters were awesome and interesting, but the writing was
very awkward and hard to follow in this novel. That is the only thing that made
me give it a four out of five. For one, I felt like things didn’t really get
explained very well. Some things did, but unless I’ve missed something I felt
like it as never really explained why Thorn left five years ago and never came
back. I also found her relationship with Aggie to be confusing at first. She
seemed cold to her at the same time she said she as thankful that Aggie was at
her door, and I also felt like it was never really explained how her and Aggie
lost touch (I’m assuming it was because Nat moved from New York). Then there is
the transformation. I got very very confused about when people were in wolf
form or not, and near the end of the novel it stated that only older powerful
Werewolves could stop the transformation in the middle of the change, so
sometimes when she was talking about her claw, pouncing, sniffing, and nipping
at people’s heels then stated that the same person talked or was in human form
I had to re-read a page or two to make sure I hadn’t missed something.
Otherwise, if it wasn’t for the confusing non-explanations and writing style I
really enjoy this novel.
Good:
Nat—She really grew on me and I’m proud of her. A
fictional character…I know, I know.
Thorn—He’s interesting and I want to know more
Nick—I like Nick. He makes me smile and I think he might
be good for Nat.
Aggie—She’s funny.
The Cover—I know, I know a weird thing to like, but to be
honest that is exactly how I picture them! Sometimes you read a book and you
realized that the cover characters were not exactly how you pictured them…well,
I had no complaints this time. That is Nat, and that is Thorn to me.
Bad:
Thorn—I’m confused of his intentions. I don’t know if
maybe that is what Shawntelle Madison wanted, but she got it.
The writing—A lot of things we not explained, or
explained correctly (although I hear the reason behind Thorn leaving is in her
Novella, I may have to check it out). And many times I was confused about what
exactly was going on.
Overall (Writing style, story line, and general):
Overall the book was enjoyable. It felt like a mixture of
Sookie Stackhouse (the brother, and multiple different Sups after her), Alpha
& Omega (a scared and damaged female wolf), and Mercy Thompson series (an
independent and lone wolf). Its definitely a good story and one I plan on
continuing with (in fact I’ve requested an ARC of Kept), but I hope the
explanations and writing gets better in the second book because it sort of did
drive me a little crazy.
Quotes:
Click here for some of my favourite quotes
Previously in the Series:
Next in the Series:
Kept (#2) ETA: November 27th 2012
Viewer Type Recommendation:
If you are a love of Werewolves, the supernatural,
romance, and damaged but kick-butt heroines then this is for you.
If you liked this you'll probably love:
Read Completely:
Yes
Alternate Cover(s):
Author Website/Blog:
Twitter: @Shawntelle
