Liquid Silver Books, $3.99, ISBN 978-1-59578-897-9
Fantasy Romance, 2012
Leashed by a Wolf sure is an interesting title, but I hope you people aren’t led by it into thinking that this is a BDSM romance featuring hairballs. It is, instead, a straightforward werewolf romp that is exactly what every other werewolf romp turns out to be. In short, it’s the same song all over again.
Because it isn’t a paranormal romp until someone has a “Saint” somewhere in the name, we have our heroine Laney St Clair. She’s a mechanic and, thus, a tomboy. With her overprotective brothers hovering over her, she has a hard time getting other guys, such as her crush Heath Marsterson, to see her as a hot babe with desire burning in her loins. It’s a good that she wants Heath anyway, because Heath is not going to let her hook up with any other guy. Yes, it’s that story. Only with hairballs. So, will Heath hear her silent scream – “Take me! I’m yours, Rover!” – and soothe the raging lust churning in her molten furnace?
Heath is, predictably enough, the Alpha of his pack, and he doesn’t want a fragile woman who can break while holding on tight to him. Well, okay, he wants her that way but not in this way, and… oh come on, give the guy a break. He needs an excuse to ensure that there is a story here.
If this story starts out as a very predictable in a “she finally seduced that guy she has been panting after for a long time, by causing drama in a bar” manner, it soon morphs into another cliché, one where the “protective” hero all but forces the heroine to stay inside the house forever for her own good, as the world outside is an evil place and she will die the moment a dustball of doom falls onto her skin once she steps outside. Or something. The title of this story is quite accurate in this manner. Unfortunately, it’s hard to feel indignant on Laney’s behalf, because she pulls off a dumb stunt that lands her in hot water, thus reinforcing Heath’s belief that she is too fragile and has to be protected in his gilded cage for her own good.
At the end of the day, Leashed by a Wolf is a collection of tired and overused paranormal romance tropes with very little done to make these tropes interesting. Boring is the word of the day where this one is concerned.
