Alpha’s Queen by Lila Felix
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I received this ARC from Red Coat Publishing and the author in exchange for an honest review.
I needed a few days to think about this story. It left me divided in my opinion and confused as to how I should rate and review it.
At the beginning, the main characters held great promise to be well developed and complex, with spunk and their own little quirks, but somewhere towards the middle of the story they lost their way. The entire story was mainly focused around the two central characters with the stock bad guy, the stock bad-guy-in-training and a whiff of female competition for the female lead.
The plot began showing great potential, with intrigue and complications; I was excited to see how the characters would manage the challenge. It was all resolved in the most simple and lackluster way possible, deflating any sense of anticipation and excitement. The same can be said about the connection between the main characters. The author took half the story to set up electrifying sexual tension, only to have it unfold in the imagination of the reader as the scene closed and the chapter ended. Anticipation that doesn’t lead to any type of satisfaction can be very frustrating.
The writing was good for the most part, but again at around the midpoint of the story it began to slack. The narration began to repeat itself and certain points were brought up again and again, taking the joy out of finishing the story.
Overall, I felt this story was divided into two parts; the first was interesting, fun, filled with anticipation and the promise of a satisfying conclusion; and the second part that rushed to finish within the constraints of the limited space provided. I am still torn. I have enjoyed Havenwood Falls Series, including the first part of this story. It was the conclusion that just didn’t do it for me.
