REVIEWED by J.A. Kenney

Review: 3.50 Stars (Rounded to 4)

Summary:

The overall concept behind Prisoner, by Lia Silver, is very typical of the werewolf military romance sub-genre. However, the author does introduce a few unique twists.

DJ Torres or Lechon is a born werewolf of Filipino descent. He is also a U.S. Marine stationed in Afghanistan.

His best friend Roy Farrell (From Laura’s Wolf (Werewolf Marines #1)) is severally injured in a helicopter crash, and DJ bites him to change him into a made werewolf.

When they are rescued my medevac personnel, Roy is startled and shifts. DJ tries to distract the medical personnel by faking a PTSD episode, and is sedated. He wakes up in a top-secret black op facility, which focuses on special and supernatural individuals.

Echo is a genetically engineered clone who was designed as an experiment by the same black op agency.  She and her 4 sisters, and 5 “brothers” were given the ability to control their bodies, superior strength, and improved immune systems to be more resistant to disease.

Only one other of clones is still alive, and Echo’s older sister Charlie is severely ill. The very genetic alterations that were intended to make them better than regular humans turned against them, shutting down their bodies, attacking their own systems, and killing them off one by one.

Lechon and Echo are paired up as partners to preform black op missions. Both are being blackmailed with those they love as the collateral.

Book 1 ends just as the romantic relationship between the two blooms.

Positives:

The action, combat, and plot of this story are very well put together. As all good romances do, it centers on the two main characters, and develops along with the relationship between the two.

Prisoner is written in limited 3rd person perspective that only changes between scenes or chapters, no head hopping, and no confusion about whose perspective the narrative is following.

The romance is neither too fast, nor too slow, developing in a natural manner and without seeming forced.

Both characters are very relatable, Echo does take a little time to warm up to, but Lechon had me from page one.

Negatives:

This is VERY short, and cuts off at a seemingly random location. There is no plot resolution, no certainty about character’s fates, or even what I would normally call a cliffhanger as no crisis occurs right before or right as the story ends. As is hinted at by the title this is truly, one third of a story.

The romance is the only thing that could be called resolved, and only if you consider one sex scene the end of relationship development!

The myth and world building is lacking in regards to the nature of werewolves, leaving a lot of unanswered questions.  The nature of born and made wolves, their scent names, their evolution or creation.

Because this was technically book 2 in the series, I actually went back and read book 1 to see if that was part of my problem.  There were many more details about wolves, their nature, and their culture in “Laura’s Wolf” so while the first third of that book occurs parallel to this, I suggest reading it first if you are a reader who likes details about your paranormal worlds.

It did still leave the origin question, but that is a minor issue. Reading “Laura’s Wolf” also resolved a few of the hanging conflicts that were left at the end of Prisoner. But those resolutions could be viewed as “spoilers”.

Overall:

This was a satisfying read, the sexual tension, the action, the romance, and even the plot was very interesting. The concept was not particularly unique, I’ve lost track of the werewolf/military series I have read or seen out there, but it was well executed.

Having read “Laura’s Wolf” I now understand and am comfortable with the particular werewolf mythos in this series, and feel that it was well developed.

My only remaining complaint is that it was so short, and was not a full story, but it did leave you wanting more.

Keep Reading!

J.A. Kenney