Customer Reviews

Walk on the Wild Side (The Others, Book 5)

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

It's been an interesting week for Kitty. She's nearly died in a car accident, discovered that she gets fanged and furry when she's terrified, and Kitty's found out that her dead father is wasn't really killed in a car crash on prom night. Not only is daddy alive, he is the "Felix" (alpha) to a were-Lion pride in Las Vegas. While Kitty's in no hurry to forgive her dad for abandoning her-- in fact slapping him and giving him a great big piece of her mind is on the agenda -Kitty's practical side realizes that he has answers to all the questions about her new found powers. Kitty really needs to bring her inner "lioness" under control so it's off to "Sin City". But little does Kitty realize that with the lionshifting "Leos" she's going to end up with way more family than she ever imagined including half-siblings from hell and her father's "catty" ex-wife. Fortunately there is an upside in sexy powerful lionshifter Max who is her father's heir apparent. Kitty's freckles, forthrightness, innocence and spirit has Max realizing that while Kitty is nothing like the type of women/lionesses he normally dates, she is exactly the type of women he wants for his mate.

Walk on the Wild Side is a standalone book set in Warren's world of the Others but since we are out of Rafe and Graham's realm none of the running cast from the previous books appear. While there were parts of the book that I enjoyed, there was just something `missing' with the story and the romance. Kitty and Max's relationship was so straight forward - even their animal forms were`compatible' -- that even with some peril for Kitty in the background plot there just wasn't enough tension built between the leads. Max, was your typical gorgeous pushy alpha male so part of that might have been due to Kitty. Her practicality and the folksy wisdom which appeals to Max also result in kind of a leveling of her emotional reactions - her 'mad' with her dad fizzles pretty quickly and all of her near death experiences don't phase her much. If you are a fan of Warren's "Others" you will probably find this pleasant enough but Walk on the Wild Side just doesn't have Warren's usual sizzle. If this is your first foray into the world of the Others, don't stop here. The "Others" series is one of my favorite paranormal romance series with many flavors of shapeshifters, vampires, fae and demons all finding their soul-mates, so do yourself a favor and check out the previous books.

Warren's Others
Wolf at the Door (The Others, Book 1)
She's No Faerie Princess (The Others, Book 2)
The Demon You Know (The Others, Book 3)
Howl at the Moon (The Others, Book 4)
No Rest for the Witches (has a connected short)

I prefer to read a series in order, and I didn't realize that I wasn't until the "Big Bad Wolf"
According to her web site, there are 4 books that in this series that haven't been published (they were written through Ellora's Cave and could have been downloaded, but they are no longer available).
The actual reading order of these books are:
1. One Bite with a Stranger (Regina & Dmitri... the first of the Fantasy Fix's)
2. Big Bad Wolf (Missy & Graham)
3. not yet published (Danice & Mac)
4. not yet published (Corinne & Luc)
5. not yet published (Tess & Rafe)
6. not yet published (Logan & Honor)
7. Wolf at the Door (Sullivan & Cassidy)
8. She's No Faerie Princess (Fiona & Tobias)
9. The Demon you Know (Abby & Rule)
10. Howl at the Moon (Noah & Samantha)
11. Walk on the Wild Side (Kitty & Marcus)
12. You're So Vein (Ava & Vladimir)
13. Born to be Wild (Eli & Josie)
According to the web site, these books can be read alone or in order, but after reading You're So Vein, where Missy & Graham are already together and then starting Big Bad Wolf, where Missy & Graham get together, was a little confusing at first.
I think I would have given this series a 5 star if it wasn't for that confusion.

Nice story -- I really enjoyed it. A young woman suddenly, traumatically, finds that she is a shape-shifter. Her father, who she had thought was a high-school boy who died in a car-crash, is a Leo -- a were-lion -- a pride leader, and alive. To learn who she really is, and how to control this new aspect of her nature, she goes to visit. Trouble -- there are those in his pride who are by no means welcoming. Her only allies are her father, who is terminally ill, and his lieutenant. Characters grow and develop, others reveal themselves, there is suspense and danger, and things work out in a very satisfying manner.

This is how a hero should be written!!!! I SOOOO needed a book where you could actually call the main character a hero and not use the term loosly. It was a fun, entertaining story. What else can you ask for in a book?

I really enjoy the Others series, especially the shapeshifter stories, but was less impressed with this addition. Other reviewers give an overview of the story line, so I will just say what issues I had with the book. Actually, one issue. Why does the heroine's shows of "independence" have to be self-inflicted acts of life endangering idiocy? People like that shouldn't be independent, they should be locked up for their own, and others', safety. Kitty endangers herself several times trying to prove her "independence" after Max gives her orders (he IS an alpha male) in attempts to keep her safe in situations she has no experience or knowledge of. It has always annoyed me when writers think that making their heroines go against practical advice just to show they can makes the heroines look stupid, not to mention obnoxious, not intelligent, independent women. Warren did the same with the heroine in "The Demon You Know."
Despite that bit of a rant (apologies for that) I generally enjoy the story lines and characters, particularly all the great alpha males, in the Other books. They are entertaining and fairly light reading that have the type of endings that make them worthwhile to me to read. While the order they were written in is not necessarily chronological to events happening, someone interested in these type of books should start with the previous ones, beginning with "Wolf at the Door."

I really liked this book. I bought it without realizing it's something like the 5th or 6th book in her "Others" series. That wasn't a problem though, I didn't feel like I was walking into the story halfway. It seemed to stand alone very well.

The characters were interesting, the plot was fast paced enough, and the sex scenes flowed well and didn't pull me out of the story like they do when truly poorly written. I did have a major complaint though.

There must have been more than a dozen references to Max beating/spanking Kitty. That's not my thing. At all. Every single mention brought my reading to a screeching halt and jerked me right out of the story. I don't think spanking is sexy and every reference made me feel more and more like Max was an overbearing, physically abusive bully.

I know that wasn't the author's intention. The scenes where he bit her or whatever in lion form or otherwise demonstrated alpha male behavior brought on by his animal nature, didn't have that effect for me. They felt right and in alignment with these characters, but the constant references to spanking gave me the option of either chalking the obsession up to some kind of fetish or else the assumption he's a woman beater. Neither option was particularly desireable to me and I just felt like those references ruined my enjoyment of an otherwise good book.

I'm giving this book 4 stars since I liked everything else about it. I'll try another book from the series, but if the spanking is a regular thing with this writer, than it's enough for me to stop reading her work. It is too annoying to be jerked out of the story every few minutes no matter what. Especially not when something is as over used and abused as this was.

That might have been the real deal breaker. It could have been constant references to something as harmless as eating ice cream, but when a writer uses something like that over and over and over again, it grates. There's no excuse for that. I hold my authors to a higher standard.

I found this book really fun and sexy. It was much more "animal" and the plot was deifferent from the previous "Other" books, which was nice.

In Tennessee while driving home with her mom Misty, their truck crashes. Misty is unconscious, but Kitty Jane Sugarman manages to get both of them clear of the vehicle. However, they need help desperately, but on the back roads no one is in sight. Somehow while in severe pain, Kitty Jane for the first time in her life shifts her body; she now knows her father is an Other, a lion shapeshifter.

The Felix of the Red Rock Leos, Martin Lowe is dying from cancer. He wants to meet his daughter before he dies. He sends his trusted aide Marcus "Max" Stuart to arrange for his meeting Kitty. Max goes to Vegas to meet Kitty at the airport. He is stunned to find an innocent twenty-four years old instead of the hardened easterner that he expected. However, many in the Pride want Max and Kitty out of the way so the can replace Martin and inherit his wealth; none expected the strong loving bond between the number two Leo and the daughter of the Felix.

The latest Others' supernatural romance is a strong tale starring a solid cast who make believers that shapeshifters exist. Kitty and Max are a wonderful coupling as they fight, fuss, and purr in love. However, the star is Kitty who had no inkling of her paternal DNA until the accident, but whose steel magnolia personality comes in handy as she deals with her dad's pride, a totally new side of the family; with at least one or more wanting her either frightened back to backwoods Tennessee or dead. Fans will enjoy the war between love and avarice as Christine Warren provides another terrific paranormal romantic suspense thriller.

Harriet Klausner

I agree with those less star reviews but I am compelled to add just one major thing that I cannot overlooked on this book: the constant explaining.
We are told the heroine is a librarian yet every member of the pride that she came across with has to explain to her - in elementary language - the how, what, when, and where of the facts concerning the pride. I repeat, she is a librarian. Granted she is in the Special Collection or something but... Gah, I can forgive all the pet peeves of my fellow one star reviewer but, sigh, the explaining just emphasized the bumpkiness of the heroine. At least to me it sounds like that.
The humor and the wits are still there and I tried hard to ignore the explaining every chapter, unfortunately since it happens that often, it got tiring. I guess every good series has it's end, or maybe just an odd turn.

I keep coming back to this book. I love books about feline shifters. Wolves I can kind of take or leave...but for some reason I like the feline shifters.

Walk on the Wild Side is the story of Kitty Sugarman who, in her mid-20's, has just found out that she is a Leo (a lion shifter). She's always been told that her father died shortly after she was conceived (and was human). Now, she finds out he is living in Las Vegas...and he is the head of the local Leo pride. So, at her grandfather's urging, Kitty takes a trip to meet her father so that she can learn more about how to be a good Leo. She is met at the airport by a mugger and her father's second in command, Max. She and Max are immediately drawn to each other and he helps Kitty navigate through Las Vegas and the politics of the pride.

This is one of the many books Christine Warren has written about the Others - although this one is a stand alone volume and doesn't contain characters from the other books in the Others series. I felt that it was an enjoyable book - a quick read that I have read many times. While I enjoy the book, Kitty's relatives grate on me, but in a fashion that brings out the reality the author is likely trying to portray - that just because they are Other doesn't mean they aren't subject to basic human emotions (such as greed).

On the whole I liked Kitty and Max, but there were parts that bothered me a bit. Max could be a bit too domineering for me. Yes, I know this is part of the whole "alpha male" thing, but there were a few times that I didn't think it was portrayed well. He just kind of overrode Kitty whenever it suited him. Kitty started out fairly independent, although scared (since she just discovered she turned into a large feline). I was kind of disappointed that she didn't really seem to grow much as a person. I thought she could have been a better developed character, she seemed a bit too...soft.

That being said, I still love this book. I wish that the characters were a little better, but even as they are I read the book fairly frequently (I'm big on re-reading books). If you enjoy paranormal/fantasy romance (and alpha male characters) then I suggest you give this book a try.