Coveted by Shawntelle Madison
Book #1 in the Coveted series
Publication Date: 24 April 2012
Review Copy Provided by Netgalley and Ballantine Books
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.
Christal’s Review – 4 Skulls – B+
I went into COVETED knowing very little about it and I was pleasantly surprised. Shawntelle Madison has created a unique and engaging world that I am excited to learn more about.
Natayla Stravinsky isn’t like most UF heroines. Even though she is a werewolf, she is considered useless by her pack and has been kicked out. Nat suffers from extreme OCD and she copes by excessively cleaning and hoarding Christmas ornaments. She is a wounded, flawed character but I enjoyed her spirit and sense of humor. She is really trying to change her life and make it into something she can be happy with.
Ms. Madison has assembled a varied but interesting group of side characters around Nat. Sometimes I really hated her family, but at other times they were great. I loved Aggie, Nat’s best friend and housemate. She was spunky and helped keep Nat upbeat, even while she was dealing with her own problems. The therapy group Nat attends was filled with kooky, cool characters such as Tyler the oversized Dwarf, Heidi the water-fearing mermaid, and Abby the muse. They had very small parts in this book, but what they did was show Nat that she wasn’t alone and she did have people that cared about her. The other wolves in the pack weren’t really discussed, but the ones we did meet were pretty horrible. I don’t know if I would want to rejoin the pack if I had to be with people like them. Hopefully we will see a different side to the pack in the next book to help redeem them and to show why Nat would really want to belong with them after how horrible they treated her.
The two main men in Nat’s life are Thorn and Nick. There wasn’t really a love triangle her per say, but they are definite possibilities on both fronts. While Thorn is Nat’s college love and they have a lot of heat between them, I think I am pulling for underdog Nick. The wizard definitely cares for Nat and has shown that he will do just about anything to protect her. Plus, he is infinitely more available than Thorn at the moment and can relate to her on a different level as he also shares her hoarding tendencies. I think they would be stronger together.
All in all, I think Ms. Madison has crafted a great debut novel. The plot was steadily paced, the characters interesting, the heroine very likable, and just enough threads left loose to make you want the next book RIGHT NOW! I will absolutely be checking out her second novel, KEPT.
Rating:
Series Reading Order:
1. Coveted
2. Kept (Expected publication: 27 November 2012)
Thank you to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for a review copy of this book!
© 2012, Badass Book Reviews. All rights reserved Please do not copy reviews or content from this site
Share and Enjoy
Christal
Hi everyone, I’m Christal. I am married to a wonderful guy and work in the education field. Reading is my preferred hobby and I never leave home without a book or my e-reader. I will read any book that catches my eye, but my favorite genres are urban fantasy, paranormal romance, fantasy, steam punk, historical fiction, and dystopian/post apocalyptic.
Hi Christal… I am now intrigued by this book. I will find a copy of this and read. I think the novel is great! Thanks for sharing your views regarding this book.
Greta recently posted..Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes
Thanks Greta, I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did.