Pandora Shifters Books 1-2, Ulysses LeMolina

This was definitely not easy to read at times.  It was harsh, awful, frustrating, and appalling at so many moments.  But that wasn't a comment on the book as a whole.  There was a lot of "reality" to the story; not everything can be prevented, not every rescue will go as planned, not every laboratory of torture won't actually perform torture.  You just can't have a believable story, no matter the genre, without some of the harsher sides to the tale.  The Hunt was a great example of that.

And yet despite all the instances of depravity and bloodshed, there was hope, softness, and love.  The interactions with Luna were my favorite.  There's something immensely honest and sweet about the affection given to and received by an animal.  I do wish there was more of a romantic build between Liam and Micah because it seems we jump very quickly from attraction to love.  The more sensual moments felt out of place and not really cohesive to not just the story, but to the evolution of the relationship.  Especially in the beginning when they felt incredibly awkward and disconnected.  And while I'm absolutely NOT saying Micah should take the opportunity to experience things with other men, I felt slightly uncomfortable with how it's mentioned that Liam is the first and only kind person he's met and so that feeling quickly becomes love.  It colors their love with something immature and desperate.  There was probably a better way to write their relationship.  Where they ended up though, that was getting them onto solid footing for anything more we learn and see of them as the series continues.  I'm eager to see more from this.  3.5 stars.

So when I say it was more intense than book 1, I totally mean it.  I found it to be quite a lot darker, more depraved, more difficult, and a whole lot more disturbing.  Some of that is a good thing, some not so much.  This story would have benefited from an objective beta reading team or even a proofer to find consistency issues with the plot and character reactions.  Overall though, this story is right on point for the tone of the series and is a good follow-up to The Hunt.

I prefer Nikolai to Ben and it's surprising to me since the whole book is in Ben's POV.  I don't feel connected to Ben, I don't really enjoy reading his thoughts, I find his interest in Nikolai to be predictable and the actions that follow that interest edge on the side of creepy (which he actually comments on himself but doesn't really alter thereafter) and it's only made slightly better when he finds a way to actually interact with him, and his brilliance seems to be unused throughout most of the story.

Where Ben is disappointing Nikolai is intriguing.  His situation is very similar to Micah's and yet so much more horrible because of the doctor in charge.  Nikolai was easier to feel for mainly because of his situation, but also because of how he and his reactions to everything are described.  I wanted to know him, I wanted to learn about him.  3 stars.

The series could end at this point and I would be okay with that because most of the loose ends are tied up even with a little hint of more at the end of this story.  If it does continue, however, I'd be okay with that too.  I now know what to expect with the drama, gore, and romance.  While I'm not really blown away by what we get here, I do appreciate the story and how all the characters and drama unfold together because all the pieces seem to fit well together.