Book 51, 2022

[chez_jae]

Last Wolf Watching by Rhyannon Byrd

My rating: 1 of 5 stars



I finished reading Last Wolf Watching on my lunch break yesterday. It's a Silhouette Nocturne by Rhyannon Byrd, and this is the third installment in her "Bloodrunners" trilogy. Main characters are Lycan Brody Carter and human woman Michaela Doucet.

When Michaela's brother, Max, is attacked by a Rogue wolf, he is drawn into the world of Lycans and so is Michaela. Brody volunteers to protect Michaela while the Bloodrunners try to uncover the enemy in their midst. The enemy is growing bolder, and humans are being murdered. Brody can't help but be attracted to the beautiful Michaela, but what would she want with a scarred and damaged wolf like him? For her part, Michaela finds Brody compelling, but he continues to keep her at arm's length. What will it take to break through his walls and get him to see they were meant for one another?

I loathed the first book I read in this series, somehow missed reading the second, and despised this one. These two are so utterly insipid they should have been chained together and punted into an active volcano. Followed by the author. So much of the book's narrative was consumed with each of them angsting about how much they lust after the other but won't just admit to it. It grew tedious, frankly. Brody wants her but he doesn't want to want her, yet the only way he can protect her is if she moves into his cabin with him? You know, the one with only a single bedroom? Oh my gawd. Brody has had several one-offs in his life, yet he's consumed with jealous rage when Michaela's ex-boyfriend shows up to give her grief. Like she was supposed to take a vow of chastity until they met or something. How about writing some female characters who can take care of themselves, Ms Byrd? Must all of her female characters be subjected to sexual abuse so the he-man can save the day? That's not romantic, it's sickening. Apparently the male leads must all be brooding assholes who can't accept love, for fear of it making them weak. As in the first book, the initial sexual encounter between characters consisted of him giving her a mind-blowing climax but backing off before he got off. Um, I think most of us know that if only one person in a male/female hook-up gets cookies, 99.9% of the time, it's the guy. The story was also frustrating because we all knew who the bad guy was, but none of the Elders or whatever would believe the Runners without proof, even as he stood there in public and taunted them. Reading this was beyond aggravating.

Favorite lines:
♦ Let's pass on the pity party.
♦ "You're still about as easy to read as a gator's expression in the middle of the bayou at midnight."

This book was awful and misogynistic, and I'm relieved I got through it without throwing up in my mouth. One star and one lip curled in disgust.