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A review by magnafeana
Untamed Delights by Suzanne Wright
3.0
All right, I now have the time for a full review.
I admit—I haven’t read all of Wright’s Phoenix Pack books and I’m fairly certain I’ll be skipping around to the ones with the most believable trauma and believable reactions.
Milena/Mila (h) and Dominic (H) are one of the best couples I have read in PNR and outside of it.
Hiding her predestined mate’s unknowing rejection, pallas cat shifter Mila plans to move to Russia for an arranged mating, much to her loved ones’ chagrin. But as she works as a singer at the Velvet Lounge, she meets the charming Phoenix Pack Beta Dominic, a wolf who can’t help but feel entranced by a cat who calls him on his bullshit with no ultimatums. As they do their dance of will-they-won’t-they and keep their own fair share of secrets, a bounty is slapped on Mila’s head and extremists humans unload on Dominic. And only together can they stand against two threats that may be one in the same.
What I loved about this story was how subverted this was from normal PNR.
In normal PNR and in romance in general, OW/OM drama leads to jealousy and fighting over that jealous. But this was such a breath of fresh air. The OM/OW drama did happen, however it was handled with actual adult maturity.
The concept of soul mates is very prevalent in real life and is strong within PNR/SFR. What made me happy was Mila not trying to pursue Joel nor Joel pursuing Mila. Mila knew better than many other FMCs that softening toward your rejected mate will harm you later down the line than help you.
(Personally, though, I disagree Joel and Adele would get back together. I think it would serve Adele right if the bond crumbled, and Joel returned to his pack alone. I would have liked to see his own story about how he is coping with having no hope in mates at all, and he meets someone he renews his faith and trust. While I disliked Joel, I was pleased he never pursued Mila with lust or romantic intention.)
I also enjoyed how external conflict affected internal conflict, but it didn’t do so in YA way. For example, when the hit on Mila’s head takes a huge turn, Dominic wavers in the relationship. Now, he does get back on track, but they both acknowledge he wavered and he needs to do better, end of story.
I love that.
I love that they acknowledge behavior, show and tell they’ll do better, and they move on. There isn’t constant resentment or drudging up anyone’s unsavory past. Their arguments and their resolutions make sense.
I personally thought the third act was way too rushed, which knocked off a star. It felt like all this Adele/Dean business was very forced, but it could also stem from me not liking Antagonist Adele. It’s funny to me how she’s ever so sweet, but she pulls shit like this.
Given Mila’s nature, I’m happy her cat still doesn’t like Adele. But I wish I could’ve seem her family turn their back on Adele. I truly wished she ended up alone to reflect on the consequences of her actions. She did nothing to deserve Joel. Nothing.
The spice in this book was
I admit—I haven’t read all of Wright’s Phoenix Pack books and I’m fairly certain I’ll be skipping around to the ones with the most believable trauma and believable reactions.
Milena/Mila (h) and Dominic (H) are one of the best couples I have read in PNR and outside of it.
Hiding her predestined mate’s unknowing rejection, pallas cat shifter Mila plans to move to Russia for an arranged mating, much to her loved ones’ chagrin. But as she works as a singer at the Velvet Lounge, she meets the charming Phoenix Pack Beta Dominic, a wolf who can’t help but feel entranced by a cat who calls him on his bullshit with no ultimatums. As they do their dance of will-they-won’t-they and keep their own fair share of secrets, a bounty is slapped on Mila’s head and extremists humans unload on Dominic. And only together can they stand against two threats that may be one in the same.
What I loved about this story was how subverted this was from normal PNR.
In normal PNR and in romance in general, OW/OM drama leads to jealousy and fighting over that jealous. But this was such a breath of fresh air. The OM/OW drama did happen, however it was handled with actual adult maturity.
The concept of soul mates is very prevalent in real life and is strong within PNR/SFR. What made me happy was Mila not trying to pursue Joel nor Joel pursuing Mila. Mila knew better than many other FMCs that softening toward your rejected mate will harm you later down the line than help you.
(Personally, though, I disagree Joel and Adele would get back together. I think it would serve Adele right if the bond crumbled, and Joel returned to his pack alone. I would have liked to see his own story about how he is coping with having no hope in mates at all, and he meets someone he renews his faith and trust. While I disliked Joel, I was pleased he never pursued Mila with lust or romantic intention.)
I also enjoyed how external conflict affected internal conflict, but it didn’t do so in YA way. For example, when the hit on Mila’s head takes a huge turn, Dominic wavers in the relationship. Now, he does get back on track, but they both acknowledge he wavered and he needs to do better, end of story.
I love that.
I love that they acknowledge behavior, show and tell they’ll do better, and they move on. There isn’t constant resentment or drudging up anyone’s unsavory past. Their arguments and their resolutions make sense.
I personally thought the third act was way too rushed, which knocked off a star. It felt like all this Adele/Dean business was very forced, but it could also stem from me not liking Antagonist Adele. It’s funny to me how she’s ever so sweet, but she pulls shit like this.
Given Mila’s nature, I’m happy her cat still doesn’t like Adele. But I wish I could’ve seem her family turn their back on Adele. I truly wished she ended up alone to reflect on the consequences of her actions. She did nothing to deserve Joel. Nothing.
The spice in this book was