Wednesday, January 29, 2014

{Blog Tour} The Howling Heart by April Bostic {Review+ Giveaway}


*Received a free copy in exchange for an honest review

The Howling Heart by April Bostic
Publication date: August 8th 2013
Genres: Adult, Paranormal Romance

Synopsis:
Paige Donovan is an ambitious college graduate who aspires to reach the top of the corporate ladder. She’s climbing fast when given the promotion of a lifetime at a prestigious fashion magazine in New York City. Her bright future comes to an unexpected halt after news of her father’s death. She inherits his old cabin in the Colorado Rockies, and just when she thinks her luck couldn’t get any worse, she has a car accident in the mountains and awakens in the small, remote community of Black River.

Soon, she’s engulfed in the mystical world of Varulv—wolves descended from 13th century Scandinavia and blessed by Norse gods with the ability to appear human. Paige is desperate to return home, but never expects to fall for her rescuer, Riley Gray, a charming young werewolf from England who offers her an alternate future with his pack.

Now, she must choose between the career she’s always wanted and the love she’s always dreamed.

 Helpful Links: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

My Review

Paige's whole life has been haunted by wolves since she met the white wolf pup in the Colorado forest at the age of ten. But as an adult the wolves are just howls in a dream, that is until she returns to the Colorado cabin that started it all. Now the wolves are very much a part of her waking reality and she finds herself right in the middle of a world that she only thought existed in Fiction, when Riley the sexy werewolf offers her a different life.

When Paige goes back to Colorado to grieve and settle her emotions she finds herself again haunted by wolves and when she flees she get's into an accident that changes the course of her future as well as everyone around her. 

Paige is an independent, strong-willed woman who really has everything, well except love. With her recent loss and her cheating boyfriend, the last thing Paige expects to find in the middle of nowhere is love. But that is exactly what she finds. That and a lot of danger, pain, and lust. 

Riley is the beta male, next in line to be the leader of the pack. He is stubborn, strong, independent, and fights for what he wants; even when it threatens to tear his family and pack apart. But once Riley wants something he stops at nothing to get it. And I mean nothing. He will even face death to get what he wants. 

Though I did enjoy The Howling Heart I did have my share of problems with the story. First, I did not particularly like a certain element that the author approached concerning sex and an animal. In fact this moment made me cringe both on the inside and out. Now this is a completely personal thing and may not bother some people, but it was a complete turn off for me. I think that there were other ways to approach this without going there. I also didn't care for another event that happened towards the end of the book, unfortunately I can't tell you about it because it would give too much away. But I thought the moment seemed to be added as a second thought. I also did not agree with certain aspects of the love story. Part of it felt like insta-love, but I knew how the author explained it and it made sense, but part of me still felt it was too fast for the story. 

Now as I said I enjoyed The Howling Heart. And I did. In The Howling Heart you get all the elements of the werewolf story that you love, but with a twist. These just aren't werewolves, April Bostic has given us wolves blessed with the ability to turn into man, not the other way around. They don't share any telepathic abilities and are most definitely not shy (when you read this tale you will know exactly what I'm talking about). They have rules of the pack and die by those rules. Of course I thought some of them were archaic, but as the tale goes, so are the werewolves.

The Howling Heart was a book that brought me everything it promised, werewolves, thrills, adventure, action and love. April Bostic put a great twist on the age old story of the werewolf and brought back my love for the mystical creature. I loved the characters and understood what drove them, of course I think it would have been great to get in the mind of Riley. 

This is one of those books that you simply must judge for yourself....



About the Author~

April Bostic is a New Jersey-based, Adult Romance author who enjoys unleashing her creativity and letting her imagination run wild. Her love of romance books inspired her to become not just a reader, but also a writer. In December 2008, she self-published her first novel, a contemporary romance with a supernatural twist entitled “A Rose to the Fallen”.

Her first short story, “Right Here, Right Now”, released in January 2012, is an erotic romance with a dash of S&M. The following year, she released two more short stories: a romantic urban fantasy inspired by the Greek myth of Eros and Psyche entitled “Eros, My Love”, and a sexy romantic comedy entitled “Love Addiction”.

After five years, she released her second novel, “The Howling Heart” in August 2013, a paranormal romance that delves into the mystical world of werewolves and Norse gods. To end her busiest year in publishing, April will release her fourth short story in December 2013, a historical paranormal romance entitled “A Dark Scandal”.
Find Her: Website | Goodreads


Giveaway

Pandora Bracelet
Signed Paperback copy of The Howling Heart 




a Rafflecopter giveaway

4 comments:

  1. Great review, Danielle. I'm definitely intrigued by this one I really enjoy werewolf books and I haven't read one in a while. Not sure what I'd make of the sex + animal bit but you do have me curious!

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    1. If you love werewolf books this may be the one for you. It is definitely different which is good. Now there is only one way to find out if you like it, and that's to read it :)

      Thanks Giselle for hosting this tour!

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