Title Shadow Pack Author Marc Daniel Cover Art Nemanja Vlajkovic Publisher Createspace - 2013 First Printing Createspace - 2013
	Title --- Author Marc Daniel Cover Art --- Publisher --- First Printing ---
	Category Urban Fantasy Warnings None Main Characters Michael Biörn, Sheila, Ezekial Main Elements Werewolves, wizards Website marcdaniel-books.com

Shadow Pack

Ok, I'm going to start with the bad because, well, its the start of the book that had the issues. My review will get better just as the book did.

I'll admit I nearly didn't get past the first 100 pages. There were a couple of times I nearly swore out loud and wanted to throw the book at the wall. We've all heard of "show, don't tell" right? I think the author took that to a bit of an extreme by not telling us anything...at all. The scene would be as follows:

Main character Michael is with his detective friend, Harrington. They just finished examining the crime scene and are leaving to go get some food. Now Harrington knows what Michael is, and they both know it was a supernatural attack. So they're going to talk about it right? And the reader is going to learn a little about the supernatural critters in the world right? Nope. They get in a car, they shut the door and drive off...leaving the reader standing on the curb shouting in frustration. At least it wasn't raining...

I know the author wanted to keep what Michael was a secret so he could make a big reveal, but after making a big point of mentioning Michaeal massive size, over, and over, and over again to the point where it sounded like a bad romance novel, all rippling muscles and manly flesh. While this becomes amusing later (e.g. trying to squeeze onto a flimsy barstool, etc), at the start it was just annoying. I mean I got it, he's a big guy, now tell me something I don't know, which at this point is *everything*... I had two theories as to what he really was and my first choice was the correct one (hint, the characters name is a HUMUNGOUS giveaway but I thought maybe it was a red herring). It wasn't a surprise so might as well have come out with it at the start.

After that point, the story gets interesting. The author opens up and starts doing some world building, and this world has a lot of potential to grow into a rich series. We learn about the various supernatural and praeternatural beings that inhabit the world. We meet Ez whom I absolutely adore. And I'll admit I didn't see the ending coming. There were a lot of twists and turns to the mystery of the murders. I thought the relationship between two of the main villains, wolf pair Clemens and Isabella to be interesting, often people forget the fact that the bad guy could in fact also be truly in love with someone else. Refreshing not to have a two-dimensional baddy.

So rewrite the first part, let the reader in a bit more, and this could have been a very enjoyable read. However at this point I'm not sure I'll follow up with the series.