Chasing Seth by J.R. Loveless
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
The Blurb…
Veterinarian Seth Davies comes to Senaka, Wyoming, looking for peace and anonymity, trying to escape his past. He’s always been a target for trouble and pain, and Seth has had more than his share of both. Kasey Whitedove takes one look at Seth and assumes the worst. No white man could love animals the way the mostly Cheyenne population expects, and Kasey makes Seth’s first days in Senaka more than unpleasant.
Then an accident puts Kasey in the uncomfortable position of eating crow–and helplessly desiring Seth–despite the danger of Kasey’s life as a werewolf and Seth’s stressful secrets. Chasing Seth down and keeping him safe from his past has just become Kasey’s most important job.
So what did I think?
I liked the idea for this story – two men destined to be together but having to overcome the odds to do so. I liked that they had to not only overcome external trouble, but to deal with conflict between them too. This wasn’t a simple case of ‘you’re destined to be my mate so we must be together’, rather both men are not initially attracted to each other.
It is a story of wolf shifters so there is some background to learn about the pack, or in this case, packs. Kasey, the alpha-male sheriff, is Cheyenne. He is son of the alpha and part of a larger pack. Seth is white and comes to town as the vet. He is running from his past and has no one apart from his good friend Nick.
The story starts as we learn of Seth’s special healing qualities. I did have a flashback to The Green Mile and then later a bit of a Twilight Eclipse flash when a broken leg was healing. Seth and Kasey get off on the wrong foot with prejudices keeping them apart. Kasey makes some incorrect assumptions and Seth has been hurt in the past so is not prepared to trust Kasey. The story balances some action with Kasey and Seth learning about each other and coming to terms with their destiny.
There is a lot of sentimentality and I felt a slight repetitiveness plus at some points the story felt a little forced, not flowing naturally. Acknowledging that Seth had a traumatic past, I still found him too weak and needy at times and his reactions were all over the place.
Probably being a bit picky here but I also disliked all the changing of terms the two men used to address each other. Seth was referred to a Seth, the vet, his mate, pup….and Kasey was the big man, sheriff, the Cheyenne, his mate….
I acknowledge that I am much more a fan of contemporary romance and don’t read a lot of paranormal romance. It is a genre I throw in every now and then for variety. Therefore, my personal taste may naturally rate these books a little lower, purely due to subject matter.
So overall I enjoyed this story, I just found a few things that niggled at me. A true fan of paranormal romance may find these easier to overlook and enjoy this book more than I did.
The book ends with an unresolved issue between Seth’s friend Nick and Kasey’s brother. Given the book was published in 2011, I am bit surprised to find that a sequel featuring this story hasn’t been released.
Note: there are a couple of scenes that I did not like involving mutilation of pet dogs. I understood where this fit with the plot but didn’t like the gruesome descriptions. So be warned if you are sensitive to this type of thing.
To find out more about J.R. Loveless and her books visit her website.
Buy Chasing Seth from Amazon