Shadows

Rating:
Summary: Not great, but good werecat horror/romance
Review: Being a fan of shapeshifters, I picked this up without having heard anything about it, especially since it's the only werecat story I've encountered (besides D. M. Wind's "The Others," though the creatures in there take the form of both wolves and panthers). I recommend this book if you like novels about shapeshifters, or novels that mix horror and romance/erotica. The shapeshifters in this book are werepanthers. It always seems that werepanther stories involve a curse (referring here to movies and shows such as the episode of "Tales from the Darkside"), as this one does. Selene DeMarco searches for a way to escape the bloodthirsty beast she becomes because of this curse, triggered by extreme emotion or the smell of blood. Meanwhile another werepanther embraces the beast he becomes, leaving a trail of mutilated bodies to let Selene know he will not rest until she comes to him to mate and accept the beast within; for they are the last of their kind, and unless she bears his child, their kind will die out.
The writing isn't the best at times, falling into cliche and repetition, especially during romantic and erotic scenes. At times the descriptions near erotica, although I wouldn't really mind that if they were written better. There's also some ambiguity that makes the text seem lacking. This has to do with when the origin of the curse is referred to. Ambiguity can be good at times, but in this case I think the author should have either elaborated on things more or left certain things out entirely.
Still, some descriptions were good, and ambiguity about the nature of the curse and the identity of the male werepanther (referred to by Selene as "Pantero"--not such an original name, being close to the name of a certain heavy metal band, but oh well) works to keep suspense going. Also, most of the characters are somewhat complex. I liked the fact that the characters' motivations conflict at times, even though you are led to sympathize with most of them. Like I said before, fans of shapeshifter stories should be satisfied by this, as well as fans of combining romance, erotica, and horror. You can get this book pretty cheap, so if you're looking for something new to read that's not extraordinary but is simple and fun to read, this is recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Edge of your seat horror and suspense from cover to cover
Review: From the moment I started the first page of the book, I was hooked. Rangel combined my two favorite types of novels (Horror and Romance)and made an incredible book. The author keeps you in her grip with a great imagination and thickening plot all the way to the very end. This is a must read!