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Lion Hearted (2012)

by Sommer Marsden(Favorite Author)

3.54 of 5 Votes: 3

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Xcite Books

series

Divination Fall Trilogy

review 1: I'm a bit torn on this one. In some ways I thought this was a fairly middling read, enjoyable but nothing to sing about. In other ways, I found myself surprisingly happy with it. I thought the plot was ok. I thought the characters were ok. I thought the sex was ok. I wasn't displeased with any of it, but I didn't find myself falling in love with any of it either.However, somewhere in there, among the shallow character portrayals and weak plot, drug out over 100+ pages by copious amounts of sex (there is A LOT, so much that I thought the guys could probably have rescued the girls a lot sooner if they'd stopped shagging and got on with investigating) I found a series of touchingly romantic moments. Yes, almost all of them occurred in the middle of a sex scene and there is a ... morebit of a sex=love correlation going on that I find a little disturbing. But regardless of their literary surroundings, I found Tryg's slow change of disposition sweet, for lack of a better word.Since there was sooo much sex, I should probably talk about it. None of it was overly graphic. It didn't foray into kinky territory or anything. It was all fairly straight forward. My only real comment would be on the ridged roles. This never used to bother me. I came to reading M/M by way of yaoi manga, where I would call it the norm rather than the exception. But the more m/m I read the more often I find myself bothered when there is no flexibility in who gives and receives, asks or demands, etc. And I found it particularly notable here. It was emphasised and I found myself uncomfortable with it.Speaking of uncomfortable, I didn't care for Tryg calling Luke 'boy' all the time. Luke's 25 to Tryg's 32, so there's no pedophilia or anything, but the use of 'boy' or, even worse, 'the boy' in sex scenes just felt hinky. Plus, it just seemed to be one more way to emphasise the power disparity between the two of them.Lastly, I want to address the cover. I know this may seem irrelevant, especially since covers can so easily change, but this one hit a pet peeve of mine so I'm going to indulge myself by griping about it. If a book is going to have one of its characters on the cover (a dangerous proposition to start with), every effort should be made to ensure that the picture used matches the character it's representing. As an example, I once read a book in which the main character was meant to be a natural blond and the bleach blond on the cover had an inch and a half of dark roots--obviously not natural then. (I can't be the only person who notices this kind of thing.)Here the narrator goes to some effort to describe the way Tryg keeps his hair short and his face cleanly shaven to avoid the cliché lion-headed appearance (which is probably exactly the impression this particular picture was going for). This means he would likely be displeased with the very image used to represent him on the cover and if the character would be irked by it so am I. Mostly, however, I find it disruptive to look at a cover and be forced to notice discrepancies instead of consistence with the story. The cover is still part of the book, after all.
review 2: As the muscle for his pride, Tryg Avondale’s particular skills are called upon to track down two missing teenagers. He’s under no illusions—this job is a way for him to experience a break from the unforgiving attitude the pride has towards his preference in sexual partner. He’s a lion and gay, something the pride, which is huge on procreation, isn’t too keen on.Along for the road trip is one sweet looking empath by the name of Luke Dorchester. He seems to sooth the savage beast in Tryg, while heating up the sheets in ways that the lion shifter has never known. Tryg is determined not to look into the attachment he feels with his new lover, but he’s just as convinced he cannot and will not let him go when the trip is over.A lusty adventure from nature’s camp grounds to out-of-the-way motel rooms follows as they race to locate the missing shifters. Their journey finds them in an “other” friendly place none of the locals really know about, Divination Falls. There they confront a deep, dark evil that threatens not only the townspeople but also the growing love between Luke and Tryg.The first book in the Divination Falls trilogy, Lion Hearted by Sommer Marsden is a hit right out of the gate. A plot full of suspense, sex, and romance between two unlikely men kept me on the edge of my seat with a glass of ice water at the ready. Yes, it was THAT hot. I appreciated how the author took two men who were essentially outcasts from their respective peer groups and showed how with a little love and understanding, anything was possible. The relationship seemed to form easily, but not so much so that I found it a leap.Both Luke and Tryg were lonelier than each realized, denied the loving touch of those that should accept them not because of who they loved, but just because. The fact that Tryg would still be loyal and dedicated enough to track down a couple of abducted pride members, even after knowing how unaccepting they were overall, speaks well to his character. Was he perfect? Oh god, no. He yelled a lot and made assumptions based on past events, but Luke faced each with a quiet calm that you just had to admire.I’d never read anything by the author prior to this book but I’ll be honest—I can’t wait for the second installment of the trilogy to be released (hopefully it will be Sam and Eliot’s story!). In the meantime if you like strong male alpha types with a soft heart, hot sex, and a good dose of heart stopping suspense, then Lion Hearted by Sommer Marsden is a great book to pick up! less

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