★★ ½ #DuskUnveiled
Diving into book 2 without reading book 1 may have been a mistake. I recommend reading perhaps the first book to get a better grip on the numerous characters in this book. New to me author Ms. Ryan's paranormal romance doesn't quite do it for me. I see many others love her writing.
Since I didn't read the first book, trying to figure out what this "curse" is and why Laurel is in so much pain was not fun. The concept of this story seemed to be good. In some ways, this book reminded me of Yasmine Galenorn books. But this story couldn't quite pull me in like Ms. Galenorn.
There were honestly way too many characters for me to keep track. Usually I'm pretty good with many secondary characters. In this one, it felt like they were all fighting for the limelight. Is this story about Laurel and Jaxton or was it about Rowan? Or was it about Ash? Maybe it was about Sage, then again it could have been about the goth/emo mermaid sister of Jaxton. I am not sure. What I do know is that other than Laurel and Jaxton, I remember the mermaid but can't remember her name. This does not bode well for me. Why? Because rather than follow along with the story, I'm constantly trying to match up the names of the secondary characters to what they do and how they relate to the main characters. By the end of the book, I believe I mostly figured it out but I'm also exhausted.
I also lost interest in the plot listening to Laurel whine so much about why she couldn't take the risk to create a mate bond with Jaxton. This went on for a little too long for my comfort. If they weren't fated mates, I'd have told Jaxton to "hit the road, Jack" because this woman isn't worth it. Unless Laurel did some amazing things in the first book, there is very little here to show me why I should care about her. She's a downer with a poor defeatist attitude. She drags the whole coven down not because of her curse, but because she can't communicate and she's stuck in her own little world of "I think I can't; I think I can't". There is very little about Laurel that is admirable. Although I will give her some moxie points back for what she turns into at the end.
One can only hope the next book is better. I suspect it will be between Ash and Rowan. Let's hope these characters are more developed and can work together instead of constantly pushing each other away. This paranormal romance is recommended to readers who enjoy dysfunctional relationships between fated mates.
* An ARC was provided by Give Me Books
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