A couple of days ago I wrote about the book Unleashed by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguié and now I am here to review it (it’s a super quick read). Geared towards teen girls (sigh) this new book was a mix of awesome and not-so-awesome. Check out my review below…
Book description:
“Katelyn McBride’s life changed in an instant when her mother died. Uprooted from her California home, Katelyn was shipped to the middle of nowhere, Arkansas, to her only living relative, her grandfather. And now she has to start over in Wolf Springs, a tiny village in the Ozark Mountains. Like any small town, Wolf Springs has secrets. But the secrets hidden here are more sinister than Katelyn could ever imagine. It’s a town with a history that reaches back centuries, spans continents, and conceals terrifying truths. And Katelyn McBride is about to change everything.”
Unleashed started off as your classic teenage girl book – you have the moping teenage girl who thinks her life it soooo over and she just can’t stand it. That was not enjoyable to read. However, very quickly into the novel you got a horror story vibe, which is pretty uncommon in teenage books. Monstrous wolves plaguing a small, terrified, town. No one going out at night for the fear of being brutally mauled. It was excellent! I loved the horror feel in this book, I also loved the suspense. The entire time reading this book I had a million questions – it was thrilling, suspenseful and full of mystery. I really loved that… until the end, when NOTHING was answered! Unleashed didn’t just end on a cliffhanger, it actually ended mid conversation. I kept tapping my Kindle hoping for more pages, but no, they ended it without any questions being answered. It was beyond disappointing.
Another thing I wasn’t too pleased about was the damn love triangle. Do we really need another teenage love triangle? No! The romance parts in Unleashed were lame, so was all the teen drama. The werewolves in town, the murders, and the horror elements were great, but not the teenage nonsense (yes, I know it’s a teen book). If the authors had put more focus on the awesomeness that is the main storyline I would have been much happier.
Even though readers are left hanging with NO answers, the storytelling was pretty kickass. It was a fast-paced and skillfully written mystery. If only they didn’t have so many ridiculous teen moments and so many unanswered mysteries. Blargh!
Overall, I have mixed feelings about Unleashed. It’s one of those books that isn’t necessarily bad, but it isn’t amazing either. I am on the fence, which makes it hard to rate. It is worth a read? Sure. It is a very fast read after all, and there are some great things about the book. But, there is also a lot of suck in Unleashed, so don’t get your hopes up. Will I read the next book in the series? YES! Because I need those damn questions answered. Grrr.
Have any of you read Unleashed? If so, what did you think?
– Moonlight
About the Author
Moonlight (aka Amanda) loves to write about, read about and learn about everything pertaining to werewolves and other supernatural beasties. She writes for top genre sites like Vampires.com and Werewolves.com. You will most likely find her huddled over a book of folklore with coffee in hand. You can stalk her via her Twitter.
