Monday, November 18, 2013

Review: The Tempering by Adrianne James

Title: The Tempering (Mackenzie Duncan #1)
Author: Adrianne James
Source: Xpresso Book Tours
Genre: New Adult, Paranormal
Release Date: September 13, 2013
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

The Mythology department at prestigious Harvard University is tiny—and Mackenzie Duncan has just been selected as one of the lucky few. Her love for myths and legends is deep, but she never thought any of it could be real. 

After being attacked by a large wolf while walking home alone, Mackenzie realizes something is not right. She heals quickly, has suddenly become super strong, and is experiencing mood swings that can't possibly be normal. The myths she's studying aren't myths at all. Werewolves are real, and she's one of them. Fear of what she is, and who she might hurt sends Mackenzie running from the life she’s worked hard to build–and straight into the arms of a handsome Were named Geoff and into the home of his pack. Living with her new pack takes the edge off her confusion and self-loathing, but the arrival of new pack members changes the dynamic, and tests Geoff and Mackenzie’s growing relationship. 

The hardest part of being a werewolf is to have no control and no memory of her time as a bloodthirsty beast. When a moon cycle passes, and she is actually able to remember bits and pieces of the night, she starts to ask questions, and the more questions she asks, the more she realizes she doesn’t like the answers. Can she set aside her own sense of morals to belong to a pack that is like a family or will she leave everything behind yet again in search of a life she can be proud of?


Mackenzie may know a lot about the mythology of werewolves, but she has no clue they actaully exist until she gets bitten and goes through the change herself.  Terrified of what she may do when she turns on the full moon, she runs.  When the female alpha of a very large pack finds her and invites her to stay with them so they can guide her through the transition, she jumps at the chance.  It doesn't hurt that the very cute and charming Geoff will be with her every step of the way either.  But something doesn't feel right, and when Mackenzie starts to figure a few things out, she realizes that things may be even worse than she first thought they were.

The Tempering got off the a bit of a slow start for me with Mackenzie really sinking into a moping phase.  I don't blame her for the emotion, it would suck to get changed the way she was, but it did seem to get a little repetitive.  Once she meets the other wolves, things change quickly and the story takes off running.  This was a big turning point in the momentum of the storyline and it was just far more interesting that the very beginning.

I really loved Mackenzie's character.  She's not ashamed of the fact that she isn't the perfect woman, and she doesn't let anyone talk down to her.  Her attitude was fantastic and once she got used to her new life, we see it come back with a little werewolf confidence to back it all up.  I wasn't a big fan of Geoff until near the end and I'm still reserving judgement until I see what they are up to in book two.  A pretty good start to a series, I'm not sure when book two will be out, but I'm going to keep an eye out for it.


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