2.5 Stars

I thought this was a decent introduction to the series. Set in a world where shifters and magic practitioners alike hide who they are, two cops are paired together, each not knowing the other's "secret".

A series of unexplained events force Seth (a seer) and Conner (a werewolf) to reveal their true nature in order to find out what mysterious entity is causing other supernaturals to lose control of their powers. Unfortunately Seth and Conner are not immune themselves. Such close proximity and dangerous situations ignite the underlying attraction these two have for each other, where neither can stay away despite personal reservations.

This story ends with the mystery still unsolved but with these two forming a tenuous truce about their romantic relationship. Like I said, this was a decent intro to a new paranormal series. Nothing new in shifter lore is introduced but it had some nice "mate" issues and adequate steam. It also doesn't hurt that this was a freebie. ( )

I was given this book to read by the author through the M/M Romance group, thank you.

Connor Sharp is a rogue wolf shifter and has been on the run from his past for the last six years, a past where his pack attacked him and left him to die. He’s now scared physically and emotionally and finds it impossible to trust anyone until he meets Seth Alwen, the partner at his new job as a detective in Haven City.

Seth Alwen has problems of his own. He’s a seer and was unable to stop his previous partner’s murder. His guilt and the PTSD over not preventing Heather Brady’s death are affecting his abilities to ‘see’ the future. Now he is also very much attracted to his new partner and feels guilty for moving on with his life. Both Connor and Seth try to track down the people responsible for the various murders among the shifters, healers and other magic users, also known as ‘shadow people,’ while trying to overcome their own personal issues and the growing attraction they have for one another.



I always enjoy stories with shifters and magic users and thought this book had a good story line. But somehow it fell a bit flat. The story was told in alternating viewpoints from Seth’s and Connor’s eyes and both of their voices were almost exactly the same. Their voices left me feeling distant from them and I wasn’t able to get a good handle on their personalities. I got a good idea of their insecurities and what their thought processes were like, but couldn’t identify with them. I couldn’t connect with them because it felt like both characters were telling me what was going on rather than showing me their feelings.

The author did a good job of separating the character’s viewpoints into separate chapters. Readers won’t have to worry about getting confused with who is speaking.

It felt like there was too much going on in Shadow Scars with little dangly bits everywhere, but not much said about any of them, especially the criminal part of the story. There really wasn’t any depth or complication into the murder investigations. It was drop a clue here and there but no complex twists or turns that compelled me to stay interested in what was going on. That’s probably way I felt like the story was reading in fits in starts rather than flowing smoothly together from topic to topic.

Another thing I didn’t like, were the constant references to Connor saying Seth was lying, but only infrequently would realize he was also lying by not telling Seth about his own past. The author had Connor bring up lying, trusting, and not being able to have a mate quite frequently. The author almost always used the same phrasing every time the topic was brought up so that it became quite annoying. I don’t need to be repeatedly reminded that a character thinks a certain way. It’s like pointing and saying ‘Look! See! This is important! This is the drama and angst part!” I get it; I don’t need to be reminded to excess.

There are explicit sex scenes in the story. For the most part they aren’t bad although I didn’t find them all that sizzling probably because they were so long. I ended up finding my mind wandering quite a few times and that doesn’t usually happen when I read sex scenes.

Shadow Scars had a good idea behind the story and I think the characters were decent. If the characters’ voices were each more unique and they had more personality, along with showing their emotions rather than having it a cerebral experience, I would have liked this book a lot more. Also if the investigation had more depth and complication it would have been more exciting. Instead this story is too flat for me. I give it 2.5 stars. Half a star for the story line, but lowered to 2 stars because the other issues keep it from being three stars.


( )

Story: 7
First MC: 8
Second MC: 8
Secondary characters: 6
Mystery: 7
Sexual tension: 7
Humor: 5
Hotness: 7
Product placement: 4
Ridiculousness: 2
Annoying: 2
Audio: 6 (6h 48min)
To re-read: 6

Who says “brushing a piece of pale blond hair from my forehead”?if I’m talking about myself I won’t say I brushed my redish hair, because who has this inner monologue? Hmmm moving on
There is a story here, a mystery. lots of interesting characters, though we didn’t get to know them well. Rogue wolf and a pretty face who sees visions.
The style of writing is not my favorite. However, more details on would have made the book much better. The ending was abrupt, I guess because we have a series here. So much to explore, so much unanswered.
Rouge wolf, sloppy blonde, fire breathers, invisible boss, hot sex, and creepy visions

i want to read book 2 ( )