Deidre Huesmann

Having read and been a fan of the other books in the series, I was ecstatic to have earned a free copy and I consumed it all in one day! 'Call of the Lycan' centers on the three central characters, Rachel, Aaron, and Holden. Upon hearing that Aaron's pack is moving, which means Rachel's brother is leaving, she hopes to convince Aaron to change her in to a lycan. Quickly denied, Aaron finds a better way to spend their limited time together is to teach her how to protect herself against their kind-- especially since Holden has threatened her on several occasions. Without spoiling much more, I can say that there is a gunshot, staging of a coup, a witnessed kiss, a betrayal, a budding romance, a jealousy driven lycan battle, and another kill!

'Call of the Lycan's best attribute is the fact that character relationship is constantly being changed. Rachel remains a very realistic character within a fantasy situation. Any average human would probably be reacting just as she is, given her situation. She isn't uber-powerful, nor a ridiculous prodigy, she is a young girl dealing with the fact that she is thrust in to a lycan world. Holden and Aaron, however, both slowly switch character roles in a well-paced and well-written fashion. Heroes turn in to villains, villains show their humanity, and as always its a great way from standing out of predictable stories that are constantly being written.

If you are interested in embarking in to a brotherhood of werewolves (lycans), then this is a series for you, and I for one cannot wait for the adult extension that will be coming soon!… (altro)

This story follows Rachael, a precocious young woman who's brother has finally returned after having been turned in to a lycan. Because her brother, Jackson, is still in the training stage, some of his more horrifying lycan abilities are still yet uncontrolled and he is being blamed for the death of a young girl, and several missing children in the town. But before he can be ceremoniously killed by the head lycan, Aaron, Rachel pleads for time to find evidence in her brother's favor. She is given a week, but its not a lot of time, and much of it is spent separating Aaron and her love interest, Holden, from gnawing at each other's throats.

This novel is a very good character development read. Though I do find there was more action and definite page turners in her first novel "Howl of the Sequoia," this book allows the reader to delve deeper in to her characters.

I really wish there was an option to do four and a half stars, because its very refreshing to read a novel where you are always unsure who the bad guy is. Each character is fully developed, and has both sadness, anger, a grudge, or things that happened in their past that fully justify the way they are acting now. So the tension is always palpable because you're never sure who you are rooting for, because they all have redeeming qualities or hindering qualities. The clan of lycans hold strongly to their beliefs and i'm reminded of the deep moral complications that plague them and such mythological creatures that have a different mindset in a human world.

The only reason I removed a star was because of the pace of the story. It definitely drags, but this isn't uncommon with a story that tries to inform you in depth of the characters, and it does have a killer ending that leaves you waiting for the next installment.

All in all, if you are a fan of stories like 'Interview with a Vampire' were the book brings you in to the mind frame of a society that has different rules and regulations that might be construed as terrifying or immoral, than this story will definitely appeal to you!

Regardless of your preference, you'll still really like this book!… (altro)

Being a fan of movies such as 'Underworld,' anytime I read the word 'lycan' in a synopsis i'm intrigued. Thankfully, this book kept my intrigue the entire way through! The characters are believable and well-developed. It was also refreshing to see the main character (Rachel) wasn't necessarily this down-right fantastically trained amazonian woman that many books are writing about. She was realistic, and I probably would have done, or made the same decisions she did having found out about a world she never even knew existed. The book is well-written with very descriptive vocabulary that create movie-like scenes in your head. Would definitely recommend to others!… (altro)