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What should have been a romantic frolic in the evening air with her mate, Michael, turned out to be a nightmare for Josie De Luca. When Michael ends up dead from a hunter’s bullet, Josie wants nothing more than to get away before the hunters can kill her too. However, her flight is halted by Shawn Reardon, a zoologist in the area, who rescues her from the hunters. What will Shawn do when he realizes the wolf he rescued is the beautiful Josie, a werewolf, and that as a result of her bite, now he may be one too? While the premise of Josie was one that intrigued me enough to make me read it, I was left wanting at its conclusion. While I understand the constraints upon an author’s flexibility when the story is so short, I still want the story to satisfy me. Josie felt to me like it would have worked much better as a longer story, not necessarily full length, but even as a longer novella. The hints behind Josie’s origin, how she knew Michael and why he saved her were fascinating and I wanted to know more. However my biggest issue with the story, Josie, is her emotional commitment to the dead Michael and her intense physical response to Shawn. In less than 12 hours, she goes from severe grief over losing her mate Michael, the man she has loved her entire life, to trying to seduce Shawn into bed, after pointing out to him that her kind mates for life. While the physical need is explained away, it still just didn’t sit right with me, considering the depth of devotion wolves have to their mates and Josie’s own declarations about her feelings for Michael. I do applaud Shawn for his ability to resist the temptation of Josie, as much as he desires to give in to lust. He is very strong in his convictions, knowing that while it may feel good for Josie at the moment, she could regret it in the morning. Lora Darling does a wonderful job of bringing her characters to life in Josie, and in so few words, bringing the setting to life. Scent, sound, and touch are realistic and easy to envision. I felt the grass, saw the twinkling stars, smelled the wind. I would love to see how the author does with a longer story where she can follow more than one sequence of events to give us a richer, deeper story. |
Black Rose: Josie Rating:
Posted January 2010 |
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