(Un)bidden by Melissa Haag

Blurb:
I left home because I didn’t want to end up in a cage like a lab rat. Hitching rides, begging for cash, and sleeping on the ground got old fast. That was the only reason I braved an overgrown path to a group of buildings. I’d hoped to find a bed and a decent night’s sleep. However, what I found was a place overrun by werewolves.

While on the run, Charlene finds herself surrounded by werewolves, creatures she can’t control with her mind like she can humans. Their existence has her believing she’s found a safe place to stay, a place where secrets are okay. However, she soon discovers she’s anything but safe. Charlene must learn how to use her abilities to influence the strange new species because if she can’t, the next bite she suffers might just kill her.

Read how the cycle begins, and have no doubt. Charlene’s past will shape the future of the Judgements.

    

My Review:
4 stars — Hmmmm…this book both answered a bunch of questions, and left me wanting more all at the same time.  I think I expected to get different things out of it, but that doesn’t diminish what I did get.

I loved seeing just how completely different the werewolf community was before Charlene came along.  Like, seriously people, crazy different.  It was crazy intriguing to watch them resist the change, but then listen to the rather wise things that Charlene was saying.  I loved seeing them find fulfillment from the human type things she had them doing.

And holy cow was it ever violent!!  Like seriously, you think Gabby had it bad with all the crazy Introductions, but seeing what it was like at the beginning when they didn’t even know how the claimings worked?  Charlene went through a LOT!!!  But I felt like all her thought processes, and the weighing of whether it was safe to stay there or find someplace else was very well thought out and realistic.  Charlene was in a crazy tough position.  I might not have gotten the full extent of her fear from one person, as she did from Penny…I couldn’t help but wonder why people wouldn’t be skeptical of Penny.  Why she needed to close herself off from humans altogether.  Why couldn’t she just not use the ability?  But I digress.

I must say that I am 100% with my blog partner Curly Carla — Charlene’s age bothered me.  I did not believe one little bit that she was 15.  I know some people are older than their ages, but it just did not feel authentic.  And so that was weird.

I enjoyed Charlene and Thomas’s long and complicated courtship.  There was a lot of strange conflict since it was such a bizarre situation for both of them, but we did get to some great sweet moments.  I will admit I must be a bit prudish, b/c I did have a problem with her age no matter how it was addressed in the book.  It was odd.  But if I ignored that, I really loved this beginning of their story.  I almost wished there was more of their lives than just the beginning.  I had so many questions of how things progressed.  But I suppose that wasn’t actually important, just me fangirling.

Now one other thing I absolutely adored was the cast of secondary characters.  I LOVED Mary.  What a great friend.  And Mary and Gregory were adorable.  It’s funny that Mary was the same age, and yet her age didn’t bother me as much.  And seeing early Grey was delightful.  I also liked seeing an early Wini too.  And Anton!  I know he had a tiny part, but what happened to him?  I liked him.

I was extremely surprised by the outcome of Charlene’s ability.  I can’t say more without spoiling, but I’m curious to see what the fallout is going to be.

Definitely a great addition to the series, and can’t wait to keep finding out what’s happening in the present.