Review: Mated to the werewolf king by Alena Des

My first impressions of this book was I like the concept but the writing is a bit clunky. You know a sentence that is just a little too long and the flow of the scenes fit together like puzzle pieces that aren't supposed to be next to each other. And this is going to sound hypocritical as I am terrible at writing dialogue but I thought the dialogue could do with more or maybe less as not all of it was needed to get an idea across. Saying all that it didn't stop me from reading the book it just made it harder to read.

Also I'm not sure the author knows what delirious means. She uses it a few times and not in the right context. Some heads up there is swearing, which is a little jarring as the rest of the tone of the text doesn't lend towards the swearing.

I didn't like either of the main characters at the start. The girl is a bit whiny and the King is just a jerk. The girl comes across a bit Mary Sue-ish and I've never liked the jerk love interest stereotype. Women shouldn't have to put up with macho douche bags and books like this minimize the serious damage these kinds of men actually do. The violence from the king makes the whole love story feel a little like Stockholm syndrome with a hint of rape. As a love story it didn't convince me.

There is one group I think would like this story and that is people who adore Beauty and the Beast. The main character is even called Belle and she keeps calling the king a Monster. This is a Beauty and the Beast go on an adventure together kind of story.

I think I would have forgiven all of this except for the padding. There is so much to the story that doesn't need to be there. Fights and quests and challenges that don't add to the story. You can skip over them and not miss a beat with the story. I mean they literally spend more than half the book separated. And by the end I still didn't like the king.

Three stars because it is a good yarn but needs some serious rewriting.