Monday, February 6, 2012

[Blog Tour Review]: "Love Beyond Loyalty"


Love Beyond Loyalty by Rebecca Royce
Publisher: Silver Publishing (January 13, 2012)
Series: The Outsiders, 3
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Summary (Amazon.com):
Gabriel Ward has no problem with the fact that he's an Outsider. Hell, he's always known he was different. What he takes issue with, is the idea that he has to follow any destiny at all. He's always taken care of himself, and there's no way he's going to start following rules now.



Loraine Peacock can speak to animals. Other than that, she thinks she's just a regular woman making her way in the world. She figures it's not that weird. Many people have unusual abilities.


But when Gabriel and Loraine are forced together by the very destiny he denies, they will both have to accept their legacy and join the Outsiders in their quest to defeat the ultimate evil. That is, if they can survive long enough to find their way to their most important destiny of all: love.


Where to Buy*:  Kindle | Silver Publishing
More Info: Author's Site | Book Site | Excerpt



Other Books in the Series:
Click on the covers to buy from BN.com; the title links to the book's page on the author's site.







Book 1: Love Beyond Time









Book 2: Love Beyond Sanity







My Review:

The fight against evil has begun, and only one group can uphold the balance between light and dark—the Outsiders.




Gabriel Ward grew up on the streets of New Orleans, fighting for every day of his young life. He never had a family, a home, or even basic items to call his own. And just when he has a place to call his own, one he's put his sweat and blood into, it's all taken away in a heartbeat by Sebastian, a demon in the form of a man. He would have been killed the day that Sebastian's magical wave destroyed his house, if it wasn't for his savior...



Loraine Peacock talks to animals. Particularly her special dog, Futon, who always seems to know things he shouldn't. So when Futon tells her to go to a home in New Orleans and save a man, she does so without asking any questions. But she never expected she'd find a handsome man—little loan one that has unexplainable abilities like her...



Gabriel and Loraine are soul mates, one mated pair out of a total of nine that makes up the prophecy of the Outsiders group. Together they must defeat Sebastian and save the world. Easy, right? Not to mention terribly romantic for the soul mates to have to deal with while getting to know one another...



I wanted to love this book; the concept of this series, of which Love Beyond Loyalty is the third book in, is intriguing and one I wanted to know more about. However, it felt like there was just too much missing—from the story, from the characters, even from the romance—to warrant a top rating from me. I wanted to, but I felt disconnected from the story while reading it, and that, unfortunately, is not a sign of a favorite book.



Even though I didn't fall in love with this book, I didn't hate it either. It fell into the category of “average” for me, which isn't a terrible description despite what many may say. I liked it. I didn't feel that it was a waste of time. However, I probably won't be putting aside any time in the near future to re-read it.



Everything felt too rushed in this book. Instead of feeling like I was watching the story unfold before my eyes, it was more akin to watching the story trip over its own feet, over and over again, as if from lack of practice. Perhaps once the complete series is seen it will not seem so rushed and unfinished, but right now that is how it came across to me.



I was left wanting, time and time again, while reading this book. I wanted more descriptions, more back story. I wanted to know more about the characters—from Futon to Gabriel. I didn't feel a connection to any of the characters, mainly because I didn't feel like I knew them at all, even after 300 pages. They needed to be more developed; yes, they'll be showing up in future books, but shouldn't the hero and heroine of this book be pretty well developed by the end of their section of the series?



And most importantly, I wanted more romance between Gabriel and Loraine. I wanted to see the connection between them, the slow build up to the magical “I love you” moment. But I was disappointed, as this was all but MIA from the book. Yes, they were predestined mates, but even mates have to fall into love!



3 STARS! An interesting story with real potential, Love Beyond Loyalty is an enjoyable enough paranormal, although it won't be making the list of favorites for me. There was just too many things about the book that disappointed me. I will, however, keep this series in mind for recommending to other potential readers, as this is just my personal opinion. And who knows—perhaps when I have some spare time I'll look for the other books in this Outsider's series.



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I received this book from Goddess Fish, where the author is currently running a blog tour, in exchange for my honest review of the book. 
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Don't forget to check out Rebecca's guest post!

Oh, and did I mention that she'll be giving away a prize to one lucky commenter during her blog tour? :D



Enjoy!








Until Next Time!
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*TBQ's Book Palace is a member of both the Amazon and Barnes and Nobles affiliates program. By using the links provided to buy products from either website, I receive a very small percentage of the order. To read my full disclosure on the matter, please see this post!

2 comments :

Lover Of Romance said...

Great Review!!! Its always dissapointing when you read a average book and you expect a above average...hope your next book turns out better for you!!

The_Book_Queen said...

L of R,

Thanks for stopping by! :)

Average isn't a bad thing, of course, but yes, it is a bit disappointing when you were expecting so much more... But I won't give up on this author, or this series; In the future, I'll try them again. :)

Not a bad book for those interested in reading it, either. As we all know, what one person loves, another may not, and vise versa. :)

Enjoy!
TBQ