Review: Werecat: The Rearing by Andrew J. Peters

For Jacks Dowd, a college senior who feels ungrounded from his family and life in general, an alcohol and sex-infused weekend in Montréal sounds like a pretty good escape. His Spring Break binge takes a detour when he meets Benoit, an admiring drifter with startling green eyes. A hook-up turns into a day, two days, and then a full week in Benoit's hostel, making love and scarfing down take-out food. But at the end of the week, Benoit demands that Jacks make an impossible choice: stay with him forever, or go back to college and never see him again. Great set up for a werecat series. Not a romance so far, but an interesting story about a unique world of shifters.
 

An enjoyable introduction to a werecat series. Not a romance so far, but an interesting story about a unique world of shifters.

I liked the writing style, it was wonderfully descriptive without burying the reader in adjectives or unending metaphors. There was also a strong sense of place, sometimes making me feel almost uncomfortable, it felt so real, so dark, but I appreciated that the story wasn't prettied up.

The characters weren't prettied up, either. Benoit embraced the traits that came from his panther, lacking remorse for his actions. Jacks felt the pull of similar traits from his mountain lion, and his reactions added a nice layer to his characterization.

There was an interesting dichotomy of Benoit not being good for Jacks, but Jacks still liking it, that created some nice tension. That dynamic also led to more uncomfortable feelings on my part, with me wanting to yell at Jacks, "Run! Get out!"

His possessiveness confused Jacks. It was sometimes terrifying, but he had never felt so important to anyone.

He felt hollow and small from Benoit's forceful and fleeting affection, but he couldn't deny that he wanted more.

Definitely a complex relationship between Jacks and the man who turned him. Not a romance, but plenty of emotions. And no HEA here, although the ending left open the possibility of something happening with a friend. I'm looking forward to reading more.

Side notes:
I'm not a fan of using more than one or two flashbacks...it's disorienting to keep going back and forth in time. I'd be all caught up in what was happening and I'd get yanked out to visit the past, or back to present day. I did like getting the back story, though.

The story ended up not being as dark as I expected. It was more a feeling underlying the story, with some violence, but nothing overwhelming for this wimpy reader.

The two on page sex scenes were brief and not particularly steamy. Although I would have liked sexier bits, the plot kept my interest from beginning to end.  

Note: A copy of this book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

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