My first peer review.

As I sit back and wait for Friday to come I received my first peer review of Soul Mate from Angel Martinez. I mentioned in my recent video blog how important I thought doing review were in the grand scheme of things. A wonderful side bar to that, is how happy your reviews make the author feel. So, here is my very first review.

Most werewolf stories focus on the 'infection' - the events leading up to and following the change, the how and why and the mechanics of it. In Soul Mate, while the were aspect is vital to the story and Kari is perhaps the most lupine character I have ever met, the nitty-gritty of lycanthropy does not overshadow plot and character development.

Ms. Bybee does a wonderful job with the slow reveal, allowing the reader to discover the characters in a natural progression rather than having them dumped in the reader's lap, no mean feat for a short piece. Through dialogue and interaction, we become privy to Kari's necessary wariness, her suspicion, her purposeful walls, while Nick, who appears a touch arrogant and invasive at first, reveals his courage, his persistence and a steadfastness worthy of a tin soldier.

A fast-paced, smoothly progressing read, this is not your typical werewolf story. Laced with humor and moments of heated sensuality, it's well worth the time to devour.

Soul Mate Available August 20th from Red Rose Publishing.