Coveted

More like 3.5 Stars. Was happy to see the OCD handled well.. it wasn't stupid or silly & slapstick like. Was a little misled by the copy on the back of the book. The wizard is only in a handful of scenes..but am interested to see where that relationship heads.

Will pick up the next book, Kept, when it comes out. ( )

I didn't know what to think when I began this story about a werewolf with OCD. Natalya is a long-time sufferer. Her OCD is bad enough that she has been thrown out of her werewolf pack because it makes her a weak link. She is surviving working at an antique store and collecting her Christmas, Hannukah and Kwanzaa ornaments and decorations. When her old boyfriend Thorn comes back to town the pressure gets greater. He is the son of the alpha who kicked her out of the pack and he is supposed to marry a girl from one of the high status families in the pack. But he can't stay away from her.

When the Long Island pack tries to move in and take over Nat's former pack things get even worse. The alpha of that pack has targeted Nat for reasons unknown to her. She feels isolated and alone. But she has decided to return to therapy to see if she can get her "collecting" under control. There she meets Nick who is a White Wizard who has the same sort of OCD she has. Nick comes to her rescue a few times when she is threatened. Nat also makes a friend in Quentin who is a necromancer who works as a janitor at the same antique store where Nat works. Their first - and only - date was funny in a creepy way.

Nat is also supported when her best friend Aggie comes to visit. Aggie is running away from her father and an arranged marriage. She is a high status werewolf who has an eating disorder. She and Nat became friends when both were sent to a camp for troubled werewolves.

This was an entertaining and unusual urban fantasy story. I really came to like Nat and look forward to reading the sequel to this book. I am eager to see how the relationship with Thorn and with Nick work out. ( )

Before I read Coveted I read the free novella called Collected. I am glad I did because it gave me better idea of who the characters were and what to expect from them. What it didn’t prepare me for was the lack of a plot.

About 75% of the book was just about getting to know Nat and the world she lives in. Natalya Stravinsky is a New Jersey werewolf whose family has deep Russian roots. Nat apparently takes after her great-grandmother; they both suffer(ed) from a hoarding (collecting) problem. She also has OCD and has been kicked out of her pack because of all her problems. She is a very difficult character to like. In fact I don’t even know what her ex boyfriend Thorn even sees in her.

That is another problem I had – the lack of romance. There was no spark between her and Thorn or even Nat and Nick. Thorn is a bit of a flat character, he just didn’t have much depth or personality. Nick had a bit more to him and was a little more interesting.

Overall the story was just ok. It wasn’t an easy read but I stuck with it and I am glad I did. There was a bit of a surprise at the end that I wish had been a hinted at earlier in the story. It was a decent ending and I do look forward to seeing how the next book is compared to this one. ( )

Reviewed by: Rabid Reads

Let me start off my saying that I. Did. Not. Like. This. Book. In fact, I barely finished it. Now, let me fill you in on the why. The main heroine is extremely hard to like. She comes off as flat, selfish and judgmental, not to mention the fact that she seems to care more about her Christmas ornaments than her family. The main plot line barely makes a ripple; it's so mundane that's it's almost invisible. And finally, there's zero spark between Nat and her love interest, Thorn. Coveted is weighed down by unnecessary details and contains next to no substance. This book definitely wasn't my thing. The werewolves couldn't even save this one.

Natalya Stravinsky is a hard character to connect with and an even harder one to like. I thought that her OCD would make her "real"; shed some light on the mental disorder, or at the very least, be amusing in a quirky kind of way. Unfortunately her hoarding problem was just plain annoying. Madison doesn't explain the what or the why's behind her Christmas ornament obsession but instead bores readers with the useless details surrounding the acquiring and the storing of her decorations. A riveting read this does not make. Then there's the fact that instead of being sensitive to others' problems Nat is extremely judgmental. Who is she to turn down her nose at a potential date or to criticize how someone dresses? She needs to take a good look in the mirror before she insults others.

The main plot line is barely identifiable. Apparently the Long Island pack wants her dead. We're not really sure why; it's not like Natalya's a big threat or anything. The reason is blurted out towards the end almost as an afterthought and the "big reveal" only gets a one sentence explanation. The whole thing seemed rather trivial to me. I think that it would have been helpful had Madison filled readers in on the why a little earlier on in the story. It would have at least given some context to the werewolf war and how someone as weak as Nat became their prime target.

The romance (if you can even call it that) between Natalya and Thorn fell short. The majority of the male characters in this book are underdeveloped. Other than the occasional emotion from Thorn, he's very two dimensional and as a result, it's hard to understand the attraction between him and Nat. Also, the fact that mr. zero personality totally eclipses sweetie-pie Nick is a shame. There's an insane amount of prets introduced in this first installment but none of their abilities are explained, no background info is provided and I'm still not entirely sure whether humans know of their existence or not. There's countless huge gaping holes in the story that make Coveted an extremely frustrating read.

This book is very much character driven thanks to Nat's first person POV narrative and because Kept promises to be more of the same I am having a hard time committing to reading the second book in this series. I'm sure that there was some good in Coveted but I had a difficult time finding it buried underneath all of the irritating flaws. ( )

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In Short
- I straight away became enthralled in Coveted.
- I really liked the main character, Nat. She is a strong character but is also sensitive and takes things to heart.
- The storyline is fast paced.
- There are many different characters who are different sorts of paranormal creatures in this book. It really made Coveted unique.

In Long
I haven’t read a werewolf book for ages so when I was asked whether I would like to review Coveted, I jumped at the chance. It sounded perfect for my werewolf ‘fix’ which was very much needed. Before I started Coveted I had started a few other books which I hadn't been able to get into, Coveted was the total opposite. I straight away found myself enthralled in the story which was a pleasant surprise.

The storyline is really easy to get into because it’s all quite fast paced. I really liked how I was thrown into the story but in a way which still enables you to get to know the characters and what’s going on without jumping into anything too quickly. Everything was gradual, like how I knew that Nat was an outcast but I didn’t know the reason for this and the details involved. It gave me something else to hold out for and to keep me interested in the book as well as the main storyline.

The characters really compliment the storyline, there are all types of characters, some which I loved and others which I disliked. The characters are all different paranormal creatures which was great because I loved seeing them together it made the whole book feel unique and different. I am not always a big fan of the creatures which seem too far retched, luckily I never felt that with Coveted and these creatures actually add to the book.

Nat, the main character, is definitely a character I liked. She is very strong but also has her weakness which made her feel very much real to me. I straight away really liked how kind and sweet she was, she always means well but ends up getting herself into some sort of ‘bother’.

Final Thoughts
Coveted is a great read, I found myself really getting into the whole story as well as involved with the characters, especially Nat who I felt like I befriended. There is so much going on with the relationships developing, the storyline going in different directions as well as the aspects of the pack with their ranking and dynamics. ( )