LynneC’s review of Falke’s Peak by Madison Layle and Anna Leigh Keaton
Paranormal Romance ebook novella released by Carina Press 2o Dec 10
Falke’s Peak starts when Dakota arrives in the small Washington snow resort with her friends. It had been planned as a girls’ weekend, but one of the three girls had dropped out, and the other brought her fiancé. Although they tried to involve her, she felt like a spare wheel, so she looked for a fun activity which would leave the lovers on their own.She finds the Catamount brothers and their one sister. There are seven or eight of them and they all look alike. That’s a confusing part, when they are all introduced, and it is hard to differentiate between them, so there is no hard link between the reader and the two heroes, Gunnar and Axel. This part of the story is a little hard to get into, and it’s all happy families, with lots of joshing between the siblings. It tends to dissipate the atmosphere a little, and at this stage Dakota doesn’t feel drawn to any particular sibling.
Two of the brothers agree to take Dakota on an adventure in the mountains. One goes in his human form, another in his cougar form. Dakota thinks the mountain lion is a tame pet and a protector.
Things go as expected, and after a couple of sex scenes with each brother, who she still thinks is one person, they reveal themselves and do the three-in-a-bed thing. There is a crisis, which I won’t spoil, and another problem the reader is aware of throughout, that Dakota lives and works in Las Vegas.
It’s all resolved in a satisfactory way, even introducing her parents to the idea that she had not one, but two, sexy men in her life.
This book is a perfectly pleasant read, but if there is anything missing, it’s conflict. Problems are minimized, and the men are early on convinced that they’d met the one they’re meant for. They aren’t used to sharing, but they find no problems doing it. I think the book might have been improved by some internal conflict, something that isn’t easily involved. Maybe Dakota could have deep qualms about it when she discovers that she is having sex with not one man, but two, or she just doesn’t know how to cope with two men. Or something. Maybe her parents could have objected a bit more strenuously. Maybe the natural disaster could have been a bit worse. Something to ratchet the tension up a bit, that’s all.
I enjoyed the sense of place in this book. the town is well depicted and it provides an interesting background to the story without intruding too much into the romance. Once Gunnar and Axel are separated from their siblings, their characters emerge in an interesting way, and at that stage I have fewer problems distinguishing them from their brothers.
The paranormal aspect is realistically developed, that is, I could believe the world and buy into it, and the descriptions of the brothers changing form is well done.
I can’t say that this book is one that will stay with me forever or that I’ll hunt down the next in the series (I’m guessing all those brothers form sequel-bait) but if I come across it, I’ll probably read it.
I received this book as an ARC.
Grade: C+
Summary:
Stressed out ad-exec Dakota wandered into Catamount Outfitters in search of a guide for a wilderness excursion. She didn’t expect to be greeted by not one, but five of the most ruggedly delicious-looking men she’d ever seen. Not to mention a live cougar guarding the shop.
The Falke brothers have more than just good looks in their genes.
Eldest brother Axel agrees to guide Dakota on her mountain trek. In cougar form, Axel’s twin, Gunnar, was there as a protection from predators—but he had his eye on the sexy client instead.
Into the wild…
While the rule with clients was “paws-off,” both Axel and Gunnar couldn’t resist Dakota’s seductive Native American beauty and determination. As cold days led to hot nights in the cabin, Axel and Gunnar wondered if they’d finally found a woman strong enough to tame them…
