Customer Reviews

Kept (Blood Lust, novella 1 )

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Plot Summary: Greta is a werecat, or a Therian, and she's days away from her 28th birthday. Due to the special circumstances around her birth, Greta's tribe has decided to sacrifice her on the full moon and siphon off her power. The only safe place to hide is with Dayne Wickham, a local sorcerer who managed to wipe out half of her tribe several decades ago. When Dayne slams his door in the face of a cute black cat, he knows that Greta is more trouble than she's worth. However, by coincidence he's badly in need of werecat blood for an upcoming spell, so they strike a deal. Greta gets protection and Dayne gets some of her blood.

This is a decent paranormal romance novella that kept me entertained, but it has a few big flaws that make me question all these five star reviews. Normally I'm not a fan of novellas, simply because it doesn't give the writer enough time to develop the kind of characterization I'm after. However Winters managed to construct a nice little world given the length of this story, and for only 80 cents (Kindle version), I feel like I got my money's worth.

Overall, it feels a bit rough, and the dialog needs some polishing. When the hero referred to another guy as his `bestest best friend,' I couldn't tell whether Dayne was being sarcastic or not. If it's NOT sarcasm, then it's a damn awkward phrase coming out of an old sorcerer's mouth (how old was he supposed to be anyway? I don't think that was answered). I found a lot of choppy spots within the dialog that need to be worked on. It doesn't flow like a pro yet.

If I were reviewing this for a friend, I would tell the writer to fully commit to her sex scenes. Winters goes half way and then never delivers the goods. It's a frustrating combination, and no one likes a tease. It's no good mentioning something blatant, like Dayne's fantasy about having Greta's legs on his shoulders, and then punk out when the fantasy becomes reality. My advice would be 1) either back off the sex completely, or 2) craft a well-thought out scene that includes a decent build-up and climax. No more halfway stuff. It doesn't make this reader happy.

I think there's potential here to spin this novella into a full length novel or series. I checked out the author's website (where Kept is free incidentally), and she's planning additional novella sequels. I admire indi-writers and what they're trying to accomplish, but I suspect one of their traps is only getting criticism from close friends and family. I think this novella could be exponentially improved with some help from a cold-eyed editor who doesn't care about bruising egos.

I was not expecting much from this novella and therefore I can't honestly say that I'm disappointed. The story is very short and consequently the characters and setting are lacking from details. The characters seem incapable of engaging any sort of complex emotions, even when they find themselves in situations that should test the depths of the person. I couldn't feel any chemistry between the two protagonists of the story and I found the suspense and intrigue not very interesting.

Kept wasn't entirely what I expected, but I liked it well enough. For a novella the characters are developed well, especially Greta's cat phases are deliciously detailed and ring true.

The story itself is interesting enough, the attraction while not really romantic, feels like a realistic attraction, the evil tribe leader plot felt threatening enough, so plotwise there wasn't anything wrong with it at all.

I've been reading a lot of novella's lately, and I think it's hard to write a good romance novella, because you need to solve the conflict and make the characters fall in love with eachother in a very limited page-frame. In the first half of the story I felt Greta should suffer from a way bigger impact from the huge betrayal she just suffered. It comes back a bit at the end, but still, she should have spared more thought at the fact that her whole family wanted to actively murder her.

So in the first half of the book she does the worldbuilding and conflict building really well, but her character's stay a little disconnected. In the 2nd half of the book, the characters and their emotions feel more fleshed out, but then the conflict gets a bit rushed.

It wasn't a bad story, it had its interesting and touching moments, but it could have been more.

This book didn't do it for me. The characters in the book didn't have a connection, and everything in general seemed artificial, not natural between them. The book itself felt overly rushed, and left me wanting things to go slower so the characters would connect.

I really enjoyed this book. It has a great premise and I liked both of the main characters. I think the author should flesh this out into a full novel and explore the world that she created a little more. I would have liked to know more about the characters backgrounds. Also, the writing felt rushed and stilted, especially toward the end. There was a lot of: "This happened. Then this happened. Then this happened. The End" Overall, it's a good story and I'll read more from this author.

Ms. Winters' fun, clever narration pulled me right into the story and kept me hooked. Greta and Dayne are well-drawn, three-dimensional characters. The supernatural elements are presented so matter-of-factly (and - in many cases - humorously) that I accepted this 'world' without a second thought. Great, witty dialogue.

A good read!

I really enjoyed this story and highly recommend it. I loved how the supernatural element seemed so real, the people realistic in their feelings and thoughts even when the details of their history and tribes together were so fantastic. It was believable and rich in detail and well-thought out.

Definite recommendation!

Ms. Winters' novella is well written and very deep for a short read. However, the most important element in a great story to me is whether or not it keeps me entertained. This one kept me reading! Great job!

I loved this, I read it in one night, it was short, but the author was good at getting you quickly close to the charactors. Looking forward to more from this author, hopefully a full novel, with the same charactors.

I have to admit, there were a few rocky patches in Zoe Winters' Kept (Blood Lust, Novella 1), but there was also quite a bit to like, most notably the snappy dialogue ripe with sarcasm and sardonic humor between the cat therian (don't use 'were,' they find it offensive) Greta and the big bad sorcerer (who's not nearly as bad as everyone thinks) Dayne. With a surprising amount of exposition that defines an intriguing world and unique mythos, Kept is rather an unusual novella. Most short stories and novella's I've read either focus more heavily on the relationships between the characters and are softer on plot and backstory, or focus almost exclusively on the plot and provide only sketchy ideas on the characters and the world around them. This novella fell into the in between.

Greta, bookstore owner and cat therian (turns into a domestic short hair) is just days away from the first full moon of her 28th year, a very important year for shifters, when a terse call from her mother draws her into spying on a conversation between her mother...who she finds out isn't her real mother...and her step father Simon...who is actually more than her step father and the leader of their tribe. What Greta learns there and what the woman she's always called mother tells her when Simon's back is turned has Greta fleeing to her best friend's house for some clothes before racing across town for the protection of the most powerful sorcerer in town, Dayne. But Dayne and Greta's tribe have an acrimonious history and Dayne isn't much in the mood to get played by another were, no matter how long and luscious her legs are. Greta is right, though, they each have what the other needs. Dayne has the protection and Greta has the blood, and if they could learn to trust one another, they'll both find real magic.

It's a great premise, and I really got a sense of the world Greta and Dayne live in, which surprised me, considering the length of the novella. I was equally surprised when I found myself chuckling now and again in several scenes between Greta and Dayne as well as their inner monologues. They were fun characters. Neither one were completely consistent; Greta especially flipped back and forth between independent, powerful woman and trembling potential victim with startling frequency, but I enjoyed spending some time with them.

It's just when anyone else was in the scene that the problems began in this novella. Greta's conversation with her best friend Charlee when she was first on the run from Simon seemed stilted, unnatural, and unbelievable, and conversation between Greta and Simon late in the novella was cliched and a bit too absurd to be truly threatening. That entire final confrontation seemed very ill conceived and oddly non-threatening, actually, and I had a hard time maintaining my willing suspension of disbelief through the final few chapters.

The relationship and dialogue with Greta and Dayne didn't have the same issues, though I do think there were parts to that I wish had been more fully developed and written out, as the sex scenes felt perfunctory and unsatisfying and the budding romance virtually nonexistent, but more importantly, lacking any sense of lasting emotion beyond embarrassment. I think the novella would have benefited from more time given to their relationship and certainly would have preferred it over the contrived conflict at the end.

I can't say this was the best novella I've ever read, but there certainly was enough promise to continue the novella series, and parts of this one I did like very much. I just hope the author continues to develop the character aspects of a story and fleshes out interactions between them. There's potential there and I hope to see it thrive.