Tempting Danger by Eileen Wilks
(Book #1 of the World of the Lupi series)
Rating: 🍁🍁
Alright urban fantasy authors, listen up! You really, really need to stop using the whole "mystical connection" thing to avoid having to create a realistic, believable relationship. I'm not adverse to the existence of said connection, but at least provide some believable context, as well as reactions from the characters. I don't care how mystical the connection might be, I find it hard to believe that everyone involved would give in and accept their new reality without any major issues. For examples of mystical connections that have been well done, see Patricia Briggs' Alpha and Omega series, or Nalini Singh's Psy-Changeling series (though the latter does flirt with the line of believability).
Tempting Danger is so far across the line, it doesn't even seem to realize it exists. Which isn't to say I didn't enjoy it. The mystery was good, I liked all the characters, and the world is pretty interesting. I get why everyone seems to compare it to the Anita Blake series, but honestly, there is enough uniqueness that I think it should be judged on its own merits. I love the fact that the heroine is Chinese - and her Grandmother is awesome!
Rule, on the other hand, didn't really appeal to me. The same is true of the lupi as a whole. There seemed to be a lot of back story missing. Maybe Ms. Wilks was trying to make lupi culture mysterious, and introduce us to it gradually, but it kind of felt like this was the second book in the series rather than the first. It wasn't until about half-way through the book that enough was explained for me to feel like I understood who was who and what was what.
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