Reviewed by Sarina
TITLE: Pendulum
SERIES: Kingdom of Night #1
AUTHOR: L.C. Davis
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 434 pages
RELEASE DATE: April 10, 2016
BLURB:
Remus Black is still reeling from an abusive relationship that stripped him of everything — including his desire for love. Now all he wants is a fresh start halfway across the country, but his new roommate is determined to draw him into his strange world of chains, half-naked men and the infamous Lodge, a BDSM club as lavish as it is secretive.
When Remus is entered into the Lodge’s annual Alpha’s Pet contest against his will, he finds himself thrown to the Wolf Pack, the very type of men he needs to avoid. What’s worse is that the wolves immediately label him a submissive, something he swore he would never be again. Things get even stranger when “wolf” turns out to be far more literal than Remus ever imagined. When both the next-in-line for Alpha and his outcast brother claim Remus as their own, the entire pack is thrown into chaos.
Can Remus learn to embrace the power of submission and choose between the brothers before their rivalry tears the pack apart, or will the tension between them unravel his own sordid past?
REVIEW:
I have to say, this book managed to surprise me. Told from the point of view of Remus, a young man trying to get back on his feet and recover his sense of self after an abusive relationship, the story itself offered a bit of everything. Let me start off by saying that regardless of the BDSM club that really starts the plot moving, there isn’t much bdsm to be found so if that was a turn off for you in the description, feel free to ignore it. Also, regardless of what the blurb seem to imply, this is not a menage story at all but there is a love triangle going on.
Now, I really liked Remus; as the story is told from his POV, you really get a feel for the character and I liked that. I also liked both Sebastian and Victor as they were both so different and each had something to offer Remus as a potential mate. The majority of the book all revolves around these three men as Remus spends time with both of them and the relationship(s) really seemed to be the focus. What started to irritate me after a while though was that Remus couldn’t seem to get a straight answer to any of his questions and his easy acceptance of things began to grate as well. Still, I did really enjoy the character development and interactions.
Now, while I did enjoy the story as a whole there were some issues, as well. I felt that the world building suffered in general and a lot of the paranormal elements were barely touched on or left unexplored all together and that was a real shame. The wolf pack also wasn’t showcased like I would’ve liked and as Sebastian and Victor are both wolves, it was a bit of a disappointment to not have that included. There were also some editing issues both with typos and just general edits for ways to make the book a little more streamlined but I consider those to be minor inconveniences, especially considering the length of the novel. The ending of the book is what really killed me though as there is no resolution to the Remus, Sebastian, Victor love triangle. I wouldn’t call it a cliff hanger, per se, but it certainly doesn’t end with a happy ever after or a happy for now. Book two is out already, however, so if you hate that kind of ending, you won’t have to wait for the story continuation.
Overall I really liked the book; there was a lot going for it and for a self published book by an author I’d not heard of before, I was impressed. I know I didn’t give a ton of details about the book but there was a lot I didn’t want to ruin so I erred on the side of caution. If you’re looking for a good long paranormal read with an interesting twist on shifters and vampires, I’d recommend checking this one out.
RATING:
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