Title: Bitten By Deceit
Series: N/A
Author: Shawntelle Madison
Genre: Romance, Sci-fi, Fantasy
Blurb: Alpha wolf Emma Parker is loyal to a fault, even if it means losing the love of her life when he’s ousted from the pack. She’s never stopped needing him, and when a black witch curses the pack, she wonders if she’ll even survive. It’s a poison of the blood, and with each bite, the virus spreads, leaving the infected rabid and under the control of an evil Alpha.
Kyle Benton is starting over. He’s a lone wolf, betrayed by the only woman he’s ever loved. Until Emma barges back into his life, as gorgeous and determined as ever. He’s hell bent on resisting her, or at least making her suffer. But she needs him in a way that touches him to his very soul. Now he has to determine how to set her free, and if he can, how he can ever let her go.
Thoughts: Emma Parker’s alpha wolf leader, Liam has teamed up with a witch who has made it possible for him to infect others with nothing but a bite. Once bitten, the infected individual gradually falls further and further under his controlling command. Infected herself, Emma hunts down her previous love Kyle, whom she feels is her only hope to save what is left of their pack. Leaving her sister behind, she seeks out Kyle, who was driven out of the pack by Liam.
The found the storyline to be an unusual twist on the paranormal genre. The bite was reminiscent of a vampires, however it left the “victim” more like a mindless zombie, carrying out the orders of the alpha. As an avid fan of the paranormal, this caught my attention right away and left me intrigued with the path the author planned to take for the story. You really felt for Kyle when he was forced out of the pack. After all, he was set up for failure – literally. Liam, the alpha, as well as a bunch of his lackeys, ensured that Kyle’s knee was crushed before their “fight”. The connection with Emma was a bit harder – once he left the pack, she chose not to go with him. The reason boiled down to being because she was “scared” – yet she wasn’t “scared” when numerous pack members were being bitten and mind-controlled by a crazy alpha. It took getting bitten herself before she sought Kyle out. She also claimed it was because of her sister, then turned around and said that she had been making plans to follow him, but supposedly allowed her sister to convince her otherwise – even though she suspected the sister had a crush on him herself. Then she claims that because he “left” – after he lost a fight with the alpha – that it caused her to question if he really loved her or not. You just really didn’t buy into all the excuses Emma kept dealing out.
Overall, I think the length of the story had a lot to do with it. With such an amazing storyline, the shortness of it just really didn’t do it justice. Everything seemed rather rushed. You were also left with a lot of questions – for example, one that continued to bug me throughout the story was why the witch teamed up with the alpha to begin with? What did she have to gain from it? And the alpha already had the pack – why did he feel the need to bite everyone who was already submissive to him? Too much was left unexplained or left to be “assumed” by the reader. Great premise, but left you wanting more.
Rate: C
