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mrdan's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
hijinx_abound's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting beginning this a series.
It’s not often that there is a female alpha who is also a pack enforcer.
I loved that her mate shows up at an inconvenient time and he just wants to eat his damn mushrooms.
These two are really broken outcasts who do not fit in their worlds in a traditional way.
I like a good switch from n a book and this one has some surprises.
There are some holes in the story but not enough to ruin the series.
It’s not often that there is a female alpha who is also a pack enforcer.
I loved that her mate shows up at an inconvenient time and he just wants to eat his damn mushrooms.
These two are really broken outcasts who do not fit in their worlds in a traditional way.
I like a good switch from n a book and this one has some surprises.
There are some holes in the story but not enough to ruin the series.
lynn_the_greyhound_mum's review against another edition
5.0
Great start to what I believe will be an amazing series. Love the depth of the characters.
unrulyshoggoth's review
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
iammread's review
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
Loved the turn of the tables most shifter books have the guy in control to a weak female MC. Loved it
karend's review
4.0
I feel like it's been a while since I read any paranormal and Bleake's Geek had been on my Kindle waiting for me. The world just clicked for me and I finished it and got the second in the series right after and read it, too.
slc333's review
Dnf. Hated it. While I loved the idea off a female alpha and her geeky beta mate I found the execution offensive. It doesn't matter to me whether it's m or f when the power differential is so unbalanced and one disrespects the other so completely I don't find it romantic sexy or amusing. I am just turned off.
see_sadie_read's review
2.0
1.5, round up for competent mechanical writing
This was recommended by someone in a fantasy readers' group because a member had asked for books in which strong women protect nerdier guys. I loved the idea and when I saw it was free on Amazon I picked it up and read it soon after. The problem is that, while it fits the description of strong woman protecting nerdier guy, it doesn't actually subvert the patriarchal, women as the weaker sex script and suffers greatly for it.
Let me be clear. If I pick up a book about an female alpha werewolf falling in love with a nerdy, vegetarian university professor, I want her to be the stronger party. I want it to actually subvert, not just flip the gender dynamic. Bleacke's Geek doesn't even try.
Dewi is the only ever female Prime Alpha (the alphas' alpha), stronger than even normal alphas and even more unable to submit to others. Excerpt...she's really not. Dewi, sweet special Dewi, really just wants to submit to her weaker human husband (something no male prime would ever do, even to another alpha), cries a lot, and ALL the men in her life coddle and protect her. They keep information from her to keep her safe and unstressed. Information they tell Ken immediately so that he too can protect her from it.
I found the whole thing worse that being given a weak heroine. Here we were promised a strong one and then it was taken away. But I'm not supposed to notice.
Then there is the abuse problem. One of the things I complain about most in reviews is the easy use of abuse of women as a plot device. Here we have Dewi's parents murdered, her mother raped in front of her first. Dewi almost killed as a child. Dewi kills a man who has sold his daughter into sexual slavery and has plans to do the same with the other two, she saves a woman whose husband has tied her up and is beating her, Ken's mother is murdered in a bout of domestic abuse, and the man who killed Dewi's parents shows up to rape and murder her. That's a lot of unrelated cases of abused women in less than 200 pages. I think I'm justified in wondering if Richardson simply can't think of a single other plot device to use, because that is some pretty weak storytelling.
Additionally, the ONLY other women in the book are faceless waitresses and the co-ed students in Ken's class who go slutty and throw themselves at him as soon as he mates a werewolf. One of whom he can't remember her name, but remembers masturbating to the memory of her triple Ds several times. (And this is a man I'm supposed to like?) So, every woman but Dewi is either a victim or sexually disposable, or a sexually disposable victim. This I can do without, especially from female authors. I simply expect more and better.
The writing and editing is competent, even if the author makes some odd stylistic choices. The first sentence of the book has no verb, for example. But if this is the authors idea of a good story I have no desire to read anything else they every write.
This was recommended by someone in a fantasy readers' group because a member had asked for books in which strong women protect nerdier guys. I loved the idea and when I saw it was free on Amazon I picked it up and read it soon after. The problem is that, while it fits the description of strong woman protecting nerdier guy, it doesn't actually subvert the patriarchal, women as the weaker sex script and suffers greatly for it.
Let me be clear. If I pick up a book about an female alpha werewolf falling in love with a nerdy, vegetarian university professor, I want her to be the stronger party. I want it to actually subvert, not just flip the gender dynamic. Bleacke's Geek doesn't even try.
Dewi is the only ever female Prime Alpha (the alphas' alpha), stronger than even normal alphas and even more unable to submit to others. Excerpt...she's really not. Dewi, sweet special Dewi, really just wants to submit to her weaker human husband (something no male prime would ever do, even to another alpha), cries a lot, and ALL the men in her life coddle and protect her. They keep information from her to keep her safe and unstressed. Information they tell Ken immediately so that he too can protect her from it.
I found the whole thing worse that being given a weak heroine. Here we were promised a strong one and then it was taken away. But I'm not supposed to notice.
Then there is the abuse problem. One of the things I complain about most in reviews is the easy use of abuse of women as a plot device. Here we have Dewi's parents murdered, her mother raped in front of her first. Dewi almost killed as a child. Dewi kills a man who has sold his daughter into sexual slavery and has plans to do the same with the other two, she saves a woman whose husband has tied her up and is beating her, Ken's mother is murdered in a bout of domestic abuse, and the man who killed Dewi's parents shows up to rape and murder her. That's a lot of unrelated cases of abused women in less than 200 pages. I think I'm justified in wondering if Richardson simply can't think of a single other plot device to use, because that is some pretty weak storytelling.
Additionally, the ONLY other women in the book are faceless waitresses and the co-ed students in Ken's class who go slutty and throw themselves at him as soon as he mates a werewolf. One of whom he can't remember her name, but remembers masturbating to the memory of her triple Ds several times. (And this is a man I'm supposed to like?) So, every woman but Dewi is either a victim or sexually disposable, or a sexually disposable victim. This I can do without, especially from female authors. I simply expect more and better.
The writing and editing is competent, even if the author makes some odd stylistic choices. The first sentence of the book has no verb, for example. But if this is the authors idea of a good story I have no desire to read anything else they every write.