Title: The Mane Event
Series: Pride #1
Source: Library
One of the hottest new voices in paranormal romance, Shelly Laurenston knows how to do it all, delivering tales that are wickedly funny, action-packed, and scorch-your-fingers sexy. With The Mane Event, she proves just how delicious love can be once you unleash your inner beast...
I heard this series was rather humorous, and so wanted to check it out. The first book in this series is actually to separated stories with two separate couples; one just happens to take immediately after the other, sort of a continuity.
I didn't care for the second story (featuring Brendon and Ronnie Lee) too much, but I do think that the first story epitomizes all that fans say is good about this series.
Mace and Dez's story: 3-3.5 stars
It started off strong and was laugh-out-loud funny in several places, making it unique, to me at least (I don't often come across PNR that's this funny). I liked Mace a lot, and I thought the idea of the shifters Ms. Laurenston had created were great. I liked the characteristics she gave them: lions usually grew up in a pride, the males grew a mane, literally. They had to cut their hair almost daily or they'd had a shaggy ole mop on their heads, the hyenas were brutal....just little quirky things that reminded me of the animals themselves.
Then it all goes downhill from there. Believe it or not, I didn't realize this book was classified erotica before I started reading it and had gotten well into the first story. And while I have nothing against erotica apart from it's not really a genre I read, this was one instance where I felt that the story was hindered by all the smexing. Before it started, we were being treated to a rather funny story of a shifter trying to woo his childhood friend, whom he'd loved all his life. Then the smex started and wouldn't stop. Every blessed passage they were going at at like rabbits. All the emphasis on sexual gymnastics took the focus off the romance - at least for me it did. I really felt the story would actually have been so much better if the intimate scenes were...well, intimate, instead of so hot and heavy... anyway, they fell flat for me, and since they dominated the story once they began, the rest of the story fell rather flat for me too, spoiling all the fun I'd been having. The story moved from four to three-ish stars.
Brendon and Ronnie Lee's story: 2.5 stars
Unlike Mace and Dez's, I didn't find much romance in this one to begin with. the focus was pretty much on body parts from the get-go, and beyond that, there wasn't much to go on. The side characters were pretty much annoying in this one, and the things that were cute in the previous story quickly became annoying here. Yes we know: cats are tricky; wolves can't hold their tequila - we get it all; we don't need to be reminded every two pages. I didn't much care for Brendon or Ronnie either. Meh.
Final thoughts:
All in all, it was an okay book. I think I would have enjoyed it far more if I'd only read the first book, and if it had sensual intimacy instead of the gymnastics, but we don't always get what we want, :) I'd recommend the book, the first story, at least. It really is funny and wonderfully written. And who knows, you might find it hot too :D.
I don't think I'll be reading more in this series, but I'll definitely be checking out Ms. Laurenston's work as G.A. Aiken, and I'll make sure to find out if it's erotica before I start!
★★★
OTHER BOOKS IN THIS SERIES:
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