Customer Reviews

Puma

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3 star:		(3)
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I get frustrated when I finish a book and feel like I 'missed' something. "Puma" by Jorrie Spencer began to give me that feeling halfway through the book and again at the end. I liked the imaginative plot and mostly enjoyed the characters and writing. But, for me, there was something incomplete about the whole story.

Callie is also Puma, at least that's what her other self insists on being called. Her Puma self wants to protect and when Callie receives a cryptic message from her 'sister' she stumbles into a siutation where nothing is as it seems and something is very, very wrong.

Dev can't remember his past. Of course, sometimes he can barely remember yesterday. He knows he is supposed to protect Scott. He knows that Scott saved him. He also knows that Scott has violated a promise that it hurts to try and remember. When Callie seems to resist Scott's 'push', Dev isn't sure whether that's a good thing but he knows it means she's in danger.

Callie was hard to relate to. Maybe it was her Puma self and the way she seemed to be at war with her own self. Dev was interesting in that he was the weaker character which isn't something often seen in this genre of books. Their attraction wasn't based on lifemates, matebonds, or any other woo woo which was a nice switch from the norm. But I just couldn't get over the feeling of missing something, either an earlier book, or the story will continue in a later book, or something! Since I enjoy Jorrie Spencer's 'Strength' series, I'll see if there really is another books I'm missing. If not, I'll just mark this one down as a weird story left unfinished for me.

Callie is a puma shape shifter. Having spent the majority of the last year in shifted, cat form, she finally becomes human again and is at the home of her foster sister. Although Callie has always been welcome where her sister lives, this home is different. Her sister and the other two inhabitants of the house `belong' to the owner, Scott. They aren't talking and the scenario keeps getting weirder and weirder. When her foster sister demands that she leave because Scott wants her gone, Callie promises to leave in a few days. She has to get to the bottom of Scott's control first, never suspecting the evil she will find and the love that she will discover in Dev Malik.

Jorrie Spencer has to write some of the most original storylines I have ever come across. Just when I thought I had Puma figured out, it would go in a different direction and while I thought I knew what the story was going to entail, I didn't. Her suspenseful and well thought out writing kept me pretty much in suspense the entire time. I had a hard time understanding why the occupants of Scott's house were so much under his control but that became pretty clear the more I read.

Suspenseful, chilling, and powerful, Puma is a shape shifting novel unlike any I have ever read. Available at Samhain, don't miss it!

Talia
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

I have read most of Joley Skye/Jorrie Spencer's books. This book falls into the minder/shifter world that most of her other books are in. I really enjoyed all the other books in this series. This one just didn't work for me. It felt really fragmented from the beginning. This story didn't seem to flow as well as the others. It is possible that this was intentional to represent how the minders mess up peoples minds, but it made for a choppy story. I didn't really feel the H and h. They just sort of hooked up and decided to make a go for it. I didn't really feel any chemistry between the two. Although I plan to reread most of the books in this series, I probably would not reread this one.

NO SPOILERS or plot summaries. Recommendations included.

HIGH LEVEL: Near as I can tell, this is a STAND ALONE urban fantasy/romance (NOT a true para-romance!!!), not part of a series. I COULD BE WRONG, however- and that should be your first hint that there was something lacking in this story. Before I get into that, though, I have to say that this was a BRILLIANT story line- highly creative, totally unique and encompassed several different kinds of magic- from shifters to psychic powers. This story won't bore you, though it might just confuse the crap out of you. There was a strong romantic thread, but it doesn't totally qualify as a para-romance in my mind as it lacked many of the necessary items- barely any sex or seduction of any kind, for instance- and the plot did not really revolve around the central couple. This isn't a sexy story, more of an intriguing one- but it should have been about twice as long in order to work considering the ambitious plotlines.

PLOT: Like I said, brilliantly imaginative. However, the pacing was inconsistent. The stakes weren't totally clear in terms of the greater paranormal world, but the immediate characters were all pretty much in constant jeopardy, making this pretty tense. There were several key issues, however, that were just never resolved- hence my concern that perhaps this SHOULD be part of a series and I missed it. Either that, or this book should have been double the length in order to properly explore all the different subplots and characters. It ended up feeling like I read only a fraction of the whole story.

ATMOSPHERE & WRITING STYLE: Here is where I think things fell short. Overall, this world was strongly rooted in reality. The magic was solidly grounded in individuals and wasn't showy. It was clear that the approach to shifters was completely different from standard urban fantasy- they were rarer, less organized. It was a very lonely world for magical beings. The writing left you feeling a little left out. While over-exposition can be annoying, this book seemed to be trying to keep you in the dark as the story unfolded- which was a great way to get you to share in the characters' isolation, but it should have been a TEMPORARY isolation. Instead, the characters ended up feeling distant, cold and undeveloped. This style of writing only works if the author has managed to shed light on all issues by the end of the book. Here, however, there was a TON that was never clarified.

CHARACTERS: Not particularly likable. They COULD have been very compelling, but ended up being two-dimensional. Callie suffered from very serious internal conflict with her puma self that was never explained or resolved. She was harsh and stand-offish even as a human and this was never expanded upon or addressed. The events around her losing her job in the very beginning of the book left me feeling as though I joined the story halfway through. What happened there??? Dev had a whole history and personality that was fractured beyond recognition and never healed enough to make him a complete person. There was a tension between Dev and Callie's sister that was never clarified. There was an intense, but confusing relationship between Callie and her only friend and boss that was never resolved. It goes on. It was like getting to know these characters by watching them through a window and listening to gossip- despite the fact that the story was told from the first person perspective.

BOTTOM LINE: This is worth reading if for no other reason than the novelty of the story, but don't expect to be completely satisfied in the end. It is more thought-provoking than anything else. I would really love it if Ms. Spencer would write both a PREQUEL and a SEQUEL to round this book out. Brilliant ideas, but they really needed more space to unfold.

RECOMMENDATIONS: (These are urban fantasies that have strong female leads, but aren't limited to shifters. A few of them I'm including because the style of writing is similar in that they are either based in a solid reality or also have a colder approach to the emotional components)

1. Ilona Andrew's gritty, post-apocalyptic magic vs technology world: Magic Bites (Kate Daniels, Book 1)
2. Patricia Brigg's skinwalker/were/shifter centric Moon Called (Mercy Thompson)
3. Laura Bickle's cool, fire-laden Embers
4. Faith Hunter's more ethereal, less tangible, but still riveting series Bloodring (Rogue Mage, Book 1)
5. Caitlin Kittredge's procedural crime with a were heroine Night Life (Nocturne City, Book 1)
6. Marjorie Liu's cold and murky, though somewhat abstract series of inherited heroism The Iron Hunt (Hunter Kiss, Book 1)

SHIFTER ROMANCES:
7. Keri Arthur's spin on dragon romance in Destiny Kills (Myth and Magic, Book 1)
8. Dana Marie Bell's The Wallflower: A Hunting Love story, Halle Puma Series Book 1. - lighthearted para-romance series about a pack of Pumas
9. Moira Rogers' basic werewolf romance series: Cry Sanctuary: Book 1 of Red Rock Pass series
10. Vivian Arend's Wolf Signs: Granite Lake Wolves, Book 1 fun, light were-romance series

This will be short and beware spoiler alert.

Callie is a were-puma. She fails miserably on a job and is fired where she decides to visit her sister after she gets a message stating she was needed. When she arrives to visit her sister she finds that things are not as they seem. Ruth, Callie's sister is a zombie(being controlled by a Minder, one who can push ideas and thoughts into your head.) Callie decides that not only is she going to get to the bottom of this but she is going to save everyone in that house. Which includes Dev, who keeps the house in order and also has a thing with Callie. Then there is Madison, a seven year old who pretends she is autistic to stay out of the Minder's view. Ruth, Callie's sister who is being pushed by the Minder. And Scott who is the Minder and a kid at that. Callie finds out that Scott is being pushed himself and enlist's help to save everyone.

I thought it was just okay.