Lost Wolf by Stacy Claflin

Before I give you the summary, let me tell you a few things. First, as a writer myself, I sign up onto a lot of authors' mailing lists, usually via giveaways. Second, I remove myself from most of those lists early on, usually within the first couple emails. I don't know why Stacy Claflin stood out compared to the others. I clicked on an email out of courtesy. . . and I was hooked. As in, I downloaded the book instantly and read it over the weekend.

Lost Wolf has two main characters. First is Victoria, a college freshman just settling into her new life as a student--until she realizes that she remembers absolutely nothing about her life before arriving on campus. She doesn't know who her parents are, where she's from, anything. Then there's Toby, a werewolf leader who takes a job as a math professor in Victoria's college. The catch? Toby and Victoria were lovers years ago until she died tragically in his arms.

Yeah, it's YA werewolf paranormal romance. There's nothing shockingly new or different. The twists are easy to predict, the elements the same as we've always seen them. As Lost Wolf is the first book of a series, there were plenty of mysteries still unsolved by the last page and questions about the plot and characters that I still had.

But I loved it. Page one to the end. I couldn't stop reading this book. It ranged from fun to playful to heart-wrenching to dangerous, all so fluidly that I honestly didn't care that I already knew where it was going. The fun was in watching it all play out.

Lost Wolf isn't for anyone, but hopefully this review can give you an idea if it's worth taking a look at. And I absolutely say yes!

*****

Deception by Stacy Claflin

Another YA Supernatural Romance (seriously, this and the last one are the only ones I've ever read--my tastes are much broader and--I believe--more sophisticated!). This is indie author Stacy Claflin's debut novel, the first in a series about an ordinary teen girl who discovers that she's a vampire princess and must use her newfound powers to forge her own destiny and protect the ones she loves.

I have very mixed feelings about this one, so let's start with the good. It was a fast read, filled with excitement and drama. The dialogue was so smooth I often found myself reading it out loud for the fun of it, and I couldn't tell how it would turn out in the end. The story itself was actually pretty good.

But there were problems. So. Many. Problems. A few technical errors sprinkled around (I'm a stickler, I know). The main character was every inch a Mary Sue, her personality generic and shapeless, liked by the heroes and hated by the villains. There were so many cliches that I had a hard time immersing myself in the novel--the dramatic vampire love triangle, the magic powers ex Machina. While I enjoyed the story, a good portion of the plot was dedicated to conveniences. Main character Alexis' vampire friends refuse to tell her anything about her identity or vampire life, for no reason. Other than maybe she wasn't "ready" yet, whatever that means.

The suspension of disbelief was another problem. Granted, I've gotten the exact same complaint for some of my own stories, so maybe I'm more sensitive to this than most. But for some reason Alexis had only the slightest bit of hesitation believing that her family's memories had been altered to make them think she was theirs when actually she was a magical vampire princess who was only starting to turn into a vampire.... I'd be a far cry from believing that even if my teeth suddenly turned into pointed fangs. Not only that, but others believed it readily as well.

There was also a distinct lack of emotion. There was a love triangle, a tragic death in the end and several close calls before then--but I didn't bat an eye. I didn't feel attached to any of the characters. I didn't know them well enough, and they were mostly sterile and devoid of personality, just like Alexis.

There's an audience for this book, and I'm sure the books that Ms. Claflin has written since are likely much improved as far as writing goes--I'll keep my eyes out for a free copy to see if I'm right--but frankly, I wasn't impressed. I wanted something new and immersive, something that balances on the fine line of reality and fantasy. This just didn't do it.

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