Deceived by the Others

Read for Fun!
Overall Rating: 4.00
Character Rating: 3.75
Story Rating: 4.25

First thought when finished: Chaz you BROKE MY HEART!

What I Loved: I really love Shiarra! I know she probably won't work for everyone but I love that she is so aware of who she is. Her life is not exactly going as planned but she is pulling herself up by the bootstraps one day at a time. I really loved (for the first half) getting to know Chaz more. It gave us a glimpse of what Shiarra sees in him and we had been missing that from the first two installments. Ok, the geek girl in me has decided that I love the "GTFO" group though I have to dock points from my girl Shi for not knowing what that meant!

What I Liked: We got to learn more about the packs in this story and more about weres in general. As y'all know in the paranormal world I love my witches, then my weres, and then the vampires. This series has all 3 and now I feel we have a pretty good feel for all of them. Even though what we learned about some weres was less than stellar.

What made me go huh?: Chaz broke my heart and the end felt a little rushed to me. I get that she was pissed but the Chaz we got to know in the beginning now seemed to disappear. I don't want them together but I don't want to think he was just a bad guy all along. An ass yes, a truly bad guy (kill them, take no prisoners) NO! The whole get out of my car now really ticked me off and felt a little out of character to me!

Final Thought: I am loving this world! You have to love a book that makes you angry in parts :)

Review Courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: A delusional and impetuous PI gets more than she bargained for when getting involved with her boyfriend’s pack. Full of tension, laced with denial, Shiarra Waynest tries to reconcile events beyond her control.

Opening Sentence: My hands shook as I put my pen to the contract laid out before me.

The Review:

We should never underestimate the power of denial. It is unfortunate how accurate a statement that truly is. A person’s ability to perceive their surroundings through their emotions and expectations, rather than what is really there, is amazing. Shiarra Waynest has demonstrated this ability throughout the series but never more than in the third installment, Deceived by the Others.

Shiarra Waynest is a typical human with non-typical friends. The Others, or supernatural citizens, are a misunderstood but accepted part of her world. After a year of being up close and personal with the Others, Shiarra has radically changed her point of view about the weres and magi. Her current boyfriend Chaz, the alpha werewolf of Pack Sunstrikers, may have something to do with that. They have decided to take their relationship to the next level: Spend time to get to know the pack and see if a future between the two of them is possible. Alone in a secluded retreat, Shiarra and the pack are getting to know one another. Unfortunately, not everyone is excited about having a human among them. When someone starts to make trouble for Shiarra, will she turn tail and run or stand up for her possible future place in the pack?

Shiarra has demonstrated time again her ability to see her world through a skewed perspective. At first, she refused to see the Others less as individuals and more as unthinking monsters. Now, she thinks only positively about the weres, almost to a fault. She cannot seem to find a happy medium between the two polar opposites. And when once again, her illusions are shattered, she responds irrationally. By denying the inherent dangers of surrounding herself with weres, she is less than vigilant in her safety, which leads to the unthinkable occurring.

Chaz has demonstrated that he is not the perfect boyfriend he has portrayed himself as. In the last two books, we get the impression that he is misunderstood and unfairly treated by Shiarra. But like all people, there is always more to it than what we see. His actions have lead Shiarra to, once again, question his motivations. Is the man she loves the real man or the one he wanted her to see? How does he really act when his girlfriend is not around to observe and criticize him?

After an attack, Shiarra remains in shock. A traumatic event often leaves a person in such a state. Shiarra refuses to acknowledge her predicament, which is very true to her character. I may appreciate her consistency, but I would have liked to see some growth as well. Even her relationship with Chaz showed some signs of her acceptance of his “Otherness” until it’s tested. But again, she reacts poorly and causes more harm than good. On the other hand, how would a woman respond when she feels she has nothing left to lose?

I think that this is my favorite book so far. The “Chaz issue” has taken an unexpected turn and left me looking forward to the next installment. I think that Haines has finally found her stride and I am impressed with how things are progressing overall.

Notable Scene:

“Ms. Waynest – Shiarra – I feel some measure of personal responsibility for your well-being. I did as much as I could for you without forcing you to remain by my side. This is not what I would have chosen for your future.”

If not for the sincerity with which he said it, I might have taken offense at his assumptions that he had any right to plot some fate for me. Knowing Royce, it was a bit hard to be angry at him for saying he was sorry he hadn’t turned me into a vampire instead. He hadn’t made it a secret that’s what he wanted from me, after all.

“It’s too late to be sorry. It wasn’t something I wanted, but there’s nothing to be done about it now. All I’m asking is that you stay quiet about this. I may have more questions later. I suppose it depends on how things turn out.”

“That may be so, but it might not be too late to do something to change your future. If you are willing to take the risk, I could make you a vampire instead.”

FTC Advisory: Kensington Books graciously provided me with a copy of Deceived by the Others. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. ( )

"Deceived By the Others" drove me as crazy as the first two books in the series did. Shiarra remains one to the most impulsive characters in Urban Fantasy. She is so quick to rush headfirst into situations and makes uninformed and just plain dumb decisions. This time she and her werewolf boyfriend go on a retreat with his were pack the Sunstrikers. The pack is going to a wooded getaway for their monthly full moon shift. Shiarra wants to commit to Chaz and take their relationship to the next level but wants to experience pack life firsthand. Immediately we learn that more than one group wants to get rid of Shiarra and/or Chaz. They get nasty notes and threats.

Warning for Spolier-ish detail ahead: In the course of the first half of this book, Shiarra gets kidnapped twice. By two different groups. Both groups of kidnappers are young and goofy. They both make fumbling attempts at acting tough but are more a joke. Their reasons for the kidnappings are unbelievable. Neither kidnapping does anything to further the plot of this novel.
Then in quick succession two big twists happen to Shiarra which are potentially big series game changers. I was shocked by one of the twists because I didn't really see it coming but both could really be what this series needs to get on track and find its stride. Yet, in retrospect, it makes this installment feel even more like pure filler. The only action in the book comes from the kidnappings and some petty revenge type actions. There is no climax or story resolution.

But my biggest complaint is that I still don't like Shiarra. Besides the dumb choices she makes, she presses her way into dangerous situations and she should get her booty kicked for what she does and says. These are Others she is dealing with. She is in their territory. But they let her get away with saying and doing the craziest things. She didn't even have her supernatural belt for most of this book. She is just plain human but all these creatures just kind of give in to her and let her treat them like she is some great big bad thing. This just isn't believable as a reader. Shiarra's actions at the very end of the book are just completely over the top.

I justify reading the first three books because I bought them all at once. Now I need to really decide if I want to invest money and time on the series going forward. I am pleased by the two twists I mentioned earlier but I just don't know if I am willing to try the next book. ( )

Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy

I talk to my books. More accurately, I talk to the characters in the books I read. I yell at them when they do stupid things and cheer for them when they do awesome things. Well I practically went hoarse reading DECEIVED BY THE OTHERS. This is one fantastically messed up book! And I mean that in the best way possible.

If you haven’t started reading the H&W Investigations series yet, you’re missing out on one of the best and brightest urban fantasy has to offer. You want werewolves? Shia is dating the Alpha of the third largest pack in New York. Prefer vampires? You will love Alec Royce, the most powerful vampire in the city with looks that kill and an agenda that only he knows. Magic more your thing? Wait until you meet The Circle, witches and mages with enchanted objects not to be believed. Navigating this world of Others is Shia, a levelheaded P.I. without a lick of magic but enough guts and street smarts to make up for it. She has ties to every paranormal group in the city—and a few anti-paranormal groups too—whether she wants to or not. Trust me, you’ll never have more fun than with these characters.

The majority of DECEIVED BY THE OTHERS takes place outside of the city on werewolf retreat which unfortunately means that most of the stellar cast from this series is absent for the first couple hundred pages. I completely understand the need for this given some of the HUGE plot developments that take place in this book, but I can’t help but miss some of the interaction between Shia, Sara, Arnold, and most of all Royce. As if anticipating backlash from fans, the last 150 pages reunites everyone and delivers some of the most memorable Shia/Royce scenes ever.

Plenty of urban fantasy authors do dark and disturbing. Jess Haines does urban fantasy that is smart and sexy with characters the span the spectrum from super scary to playfully snarky, and dangerously seductive. And the best thing about the H&W Investigations series is that I’m left with my mouth hanging open in shock by the end of each book, and I may have actually dislocated my jaw at the way DECEIVED BY THE OTHERS ended. Shia is physically and emotionally torn apart in this book. Some characters reveal their true colors in ways that stunned and incensed me while others stepped up in ways I never thought possible. It’s like I’m meeting some of these characters for the first time and I can’t wait to see what they do next in JUSTICE FOR THE OTHERS.

Sexual Content:
A scene of semi graphic sensuality. References to sex. ( )

You may also read my review here:http://www.mybookishways.com/2011/06/early-review-deceived-by-others-by-jess.html

Shiarra is keeping busy with her PI business and planning a few days vacation with her boyfriend (and werewolf) Chaz. Wrenches are already being tossed into the works, however, when she begins getting messages from Royce and the White Hats that indicate something big might be going down, and a certain pesky reporter waylays her outside of her office with similar cryptic indications.
Chaz and Shia head to a ski retreat in the Catskills, hoping for a fun getaway as well as a place for the Sunstrikers to enjoy some freedom. Their idyllic vacation takes a turn when their room is trashed and threatening notes keep appearing .Shia is resolved to get to the bottom of the harassment, much to Chaz’s chagrin, and when she’s kidnapped by one of the pack, all hell breaks loose.
Ms. Haines brought her A-game with DTBO. Shia still feels like a fish out of water with the pack, but she’s not afraid to stand her ground (sometimes with disastrous results). Challenged on all sides by pack members that don’t like her because of her association with Royce, Shia must stand up for herself and there’s a particularly satisfying scene where she smacks down a female member of the pack that’s out for her blood. Shia still has a penchant for running off on her own and getting into trouble, and her stubbornness can definitely be a hindrance, but it’s one of the things I like best about her. Chaz and the pack have new enemies in the Nightstrikers, a group of weres that fancy themselves the nemesis of the Sunstrikers. The Nightstrikers provide some laughs and some surprising moments, and there are some great twists that left me with my jaw on the floor. Shocking secrets will come out and Shia’s entire world, and everything she thought was true, may come crashing down around her. Deceived was my favorite of the three, and you should be prepared for some shockers! I can’t wait for the next novel in this series! ( )