Halloween Book Review: Mark of the Wolf by Kimber White
Genre: Paranormal - Fantasy
Age: Adult
Format: ebook
I was really enjoying this, but it’s one of those books that felt like it could have been a fair bit shorter, and maybe got a little repetitive, overstaying its welcome.
Also, for a book that talks about and references sex so much, there’s actually very little in the book itself. There’s not an issue with the lack of sex, but it really feels like the book is building up to something, especially considering the amount of times the FMC thinks about it.
Tempest is searching for her brother, who disappeared during a war. To try and gain an idea of what might have happened to him, she volunteers herself for an auction among the city’s alpha shifters. But Tempest is hiding a dark secret, one which we are reminded of way too often in the book, as if we’re going to forget it between one chapter and the next.
I did like Anson, an alpha who finds himself drawn to Tempest and desperate to know her secrets. Witches also pop up, and I like books where you have different ‘paranormal creatures’ interacting with one another. There was some interesting worldbuilding in the first half, too, as we come to learn what’s happened to the world and why Tempest feels so responsible for her brother.
My main problems with the book don’t actually come down to the writing, but more a lack of editing. It feels like a lot of the plot contradictions and messiness that appears in the second half – and repetition – should have been picked up in the editing stages, as it would have helped smooth it out, and made it a more pleasurable read, especially after such a strong start.
Towards the end, it feels like plans are made and discussed, agreed on, then disregarded; there’s one part where Tempest is meant to meet a character the next day, but then seemingly spends days at the hotel before she ‘leaves for good’. Parts contradict themselves, and especially towards the end things get muddled, giving the impression things were rushed to get to the ending itself.
Sometimes, a cliffhanger can work really, really well in these kinds of books, and do what they set out to – make you invested enough to read the next one. That falls a little flat here, feeling a bit too forced. Right up until the last third I probably would have picked up the next book, but after the rushed ending, I’m still not sure whether I want to or not.
Review by Elle Turpitt
Twitter: @elleturpitt
Bluesky: @elleturpitt.bsky.social
I purchased this ebook during a Romance Bookworms Stuff Your Kindle event.
