LynneC’s review of Ecstasy Untamed (Feral Warriors, Book 7) by Pamela Palmer
Paranormal Romance published by Avon 25 Oct 11
I had a few disconnects with this story, but there’s no doubt that Palmer knows how to write. Interesting characters and intriguing world building is let down a little by a few plot holes and an overlong book.
Faith is living in Poland helping street children. She’s an immortal, a Therian (I kept reading this as theramin, that awesome instrument Jimmy Page plays, but that’s my own fault for spending most of last night watching theramin performances on You Tube), a race of people once shapeshifters but now unable to shift. The only shapeshifters are Feral Warriors. One of them, Maxim, discovers her and claims her. He’s about to go to America to the compound. So she goes with him.
There she meets Hawke, who is a shapeshifting Hawk. And she feels an immediate attraction. Since she understood she was to be mated with Maxim, this confuses her. She’d felt the mating pull, or so she thought.
That basic plot is fine, but it’s at this point I get my first disconnect, or huh? moment. There are only nine Feral Warriors left. They’re very precious, very special people. And they all live in the same house? That’s a big no in my book. Surely they should live at opposite ends of the earth? Well, there’s a plot reason for that. They need to be in contact with the Radiant, who at present is the wife of their leader, Lyon, who is a shapeshifting lion. As far as I can gather, the Radiant is a kind of battery, and they have to recharge. That, to me, read like a plot contrivance. There’s no internal reason why that should be. Why there should be a battery, why they have to use it, why, in all their existence, they haven’t discovered a scientist clever enough to invent a way of remote-control charging, or even more of the batter—er, Radiants? It just didn’t work.
Yep, they all live in a mansion close to Bos—well, no there, but it’ss very, very reminiscent of the BDB headquarters, right down to the antiques. They all have bedrooms, a bit like a dormitory for Ferals. Very sweet. I don’t like this setup, but because these creatures are the last of their kind and precious, it seems criminal, Radiant or no Radiant, to put them in the same place. One hit and they’re gone. And why can’t they spell? Kougar, Lyon, Vhyper – just why? They also have very unimaginative nicknames, and I mean unimaginative. Lyon’s nickname is Roar and Hawke’s is Wings.
And, of course, ordinary humans know nothing.
Anyway, there are other creatures. There are shamans and ilinas, who were ghost-seeming people with power. Their enemies are Mages. To me, this all came across as a contrived world. I couldn’t believe in it. There are definitely echoes of North American native beliefs, but I know next to nothing about those, so I can’t go into more details. Perhaps it makes more sense if you’re more familiar with that world. Oh and there are draden, jellyfish-like creatures that we mere mortals can’t see, but that doesn’t matter, because they’re not interested in us. Only the Ferals and theramins (sorry, Therians).
Once Faith has realized that it’s not actually Maxim who floats her boat, much sexing ensues. They are sweet scenes rather than erotic or arousing. I’m not really sure why they’re there or what they’re doing. There is a plot about rogue Ferals, but if I wanted to question the reasoning, I came unstuck. See, there’s this virus, and—it really read as if Palmer just threw it at them as something for them to overcome.
There are some very long scenes where they sit around and talk or engage in not-too-interesting rituals, and the beginning is a big ol’ lump of exposition, but I’m not holding that against her because otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to jump right in. Actually, I probably would. But there’s no depth to this world. Question it too much and it falls apart. every time you think you’ve got a hold on the story, Palmer throws something in to confuse you. I was constantly scratching my head and thinking, “Why?”
On the whole, an unsatisfactory read. I understand the world, but it’s confused and superficial. The most interesting part of the book is the characters. I enjoyed Hawke and Faith, but without them and their interaction, there wouldn’t be a whole lot left.
And I don’t blame the author for the cover. It’s not her fault, but oh, my eyes! I remember Lynn Veihl complaining about the pink cover on one of her books. Just as well she didn’t get this one.
Grade: C-
Summary:
They are called Feral Warriors—an elite band of immortals who can change shape at will. Sworn to rid the world of evil, consumed by sorcery and seduction, their wild natures are primed for release . . .
Shattered by recent nightmarish events, Hawke feels his bond with his animal spirit weakening—and once it breaks, he’s finished. The arrival of Faith sends his life spinning even further out of control, for although she delights him and enflames his deepest primal passions, she’s promised to Maxim, the newest Feral Warrior.
Faith is drawn to Hawke from the start, but Maxim holds her in his thrall and has secretly bent her to his malevolent will. Though gravely damaged, Hawke is the only one who can end Faith’s slavery and protect the Feral Warriors from Maxim’s evil designs. But first they both must embrace the wild . . . and surrender body and soul to a forbidden, all-consuming ecstasy.
Read an excerpt.
Other books in this series:
