Tuesday, May 28

Rivals and Retributions: Book Review

Rivals and Retributions

13 to Life #5

Shannon Delany

St. Martin's Griffin
August 7th 2012
Young Adult | Paranormal
Werewolf
Official Blurb - 
In Rivals and Retribution, the fifth book in the 13 to Life series by Shannon Delany, Pietr and Jessie will find themselves caught in a pack war with a new breed of werewolves.


Jessie Gillmansen is in trouble again and she's in for the fight of her life--and Pietr's! With Marlaena’s dangerous wolf pack putting more pressure on the Rusakova family, change is inevitable and when it comes, it brings a heavy price that forces Alexi into action to save his youngest brother's heart, head, and life. In the stunning conclusion of this celebrated paranormal series two werewolf families fight for control of the small town of Junction, control of each other and--most elusive of all--control of themselves.

Someone drained all the fire and passion out of this one. After the last one being dull I was actually happy to see Pietr being a bit of a jerk. I wanted it to blow up in his face. Give me some fire but it was denied me. Instead there was understanding and compassion.

There were far too many mentions of Twilight and similar pop culture for my liking. It just felt like it cheapened the story. As if it couldn't stand on its own without help.

The end was a very fast wrap up. The worst part being Pietr in jammies. I don't think Pietr and jammies should ever be used in the same sentence. Just not manly but then none of the male characters seemed as masculine in the last two books as they were before. Bit of a let down. But back to the ending. Everything wrapped up a bit too conveniently and quickly. For one I wanted some small proof Pietr did not turn into the geek again. Yuck! Plus, as a geneticist I have a really hard time with the genetic cure. it just seems so preposterous that after a few twitches Pietr has the best of both worlds. Oh well fiction, right?

Content:
Language: Moderate