An Idiot's Review of Cloaked

So, I'll be the first to admit, I have not read an abundant amount of paranormal romance. The few I have read are usually terrible, and as such I do my best to stay away from them for that reason only. However, a dear friend of mine told me I needed to broaden my horizons if I wanted to improve my writing. So I traveled around the internet and managed to find a paranormal romance book to read, in exchange for a fair and honest review. The particular book I picked up was Cloaked, a fifty page novella that dragged me to Romania so I could hang out with a wulfkin and a moody detective. And guys, let's keep that complaints about the over saturation of werewolves to ourselves, shall we?

So the story just starts. There's no prologue, for which I'm thankful for, and gives us a pretty good idea on who our heroine is. Her name's Daciana and she's a wulfkin, meaning that she becomes a wolf during the full moon. And that is exactly how we're introduced to her, as a wolf running through the forest during the full moon. However she crosses paths with a bear and has to lead it back to the forest due to her strong conviction that all animals deserve a chance to live. Unfortunately humans, the police just to make matters worse, are tailing this bear. In a normal situation Daciana could probably say she's using her 'animal behavior specialist' skills to make the bear go away, but right now she's a giant wolf and those are considered a threat by most humans. So off to the forest she runs until sunrise, where she's once again human, but very much naked. So stealth hi-jinks ensues until the plot comes out of hiding: the cubs Daciana watches over at the animal institute she works at have gone missing. And for most people that probably wouldn't matter, but if Daciana is out of a job that means her one year of independence away from her pack is over. But things just become complicated when she's introduced to the cynical and baggage laden police officer/detective, Connell. Putting all her doubts about moving back to her clan to the forefront of her mind.

So now that you know the plot, let's talk about the characters. In my mind characters are way more important than plot when it comes to romance, so I was actually happy to read what was in Daciana's head. Daciana doesn't suffer the tragic paranormal romance heroine issue of 'I'm sorry for being plain' or 'I'm way too snarky to be taken seriously' virus. She's a sweet, middle of the road girl that like her job, custard pastries, and is willing to speak her mind when she has to. Yes she's brash, but I guess that comes with her fierce pride as a wulfkin. In general I liked her, even though she seemed a little preachy when it came to animals and hunting.

Next let's talk about Connell, our male lead. Connell is a guy that recently divorced his wife after she was busy getting  heavily "interrogated" by a guy on the force. This has caused him to want to take love slow, and to hate all liars. However Daciana seems to be a special exception, and he's ready to commit to her pretty early on. Aside from that Connell is pretty meh to me. I don't hate his guts, but he's not making me swoon either.

So now let's talk about the thing that you're all waiting for. The plot-wait, you don't care about how that works out? Fine, then let's talk about the romance. The romance felt rushed, over reliant on lust, and all round dull. I really didn't like it, but then again you can't expect a fully fleshed out romance in fifty pages. However I loved how teasing Connell could be towards Daciana, not that assholish type that drops the girl's self esteem, but the really cute and fluffy type that's all in good fun.

Really, it was freaking adorable.

So, basically I kinda liked the book. Admittedly paranormal romance is not my cup of tea, but I'd recommend Mrs. Walsh's brand of paranormal romance. The paranormal is there, but it's not all encompassing, and the characters involved in the romance aren't half bad.

If you wanna buy it, do so here.

I'm gonna go buy some pizza now. No beer though, underage, sorry Connell...