This book is a sort of the total wet dream of people who are into FanFic and SURELY for anyone who've wrote any. I have never read FanFic before and don't actually feel like reading any. I do appreciate the whole idea behind it, and I think new authors can start there and grow with a known universe at first, before jumping into writing their own fiction, but generally speaking, it never drew me in. I love many authors, I wish I could meet them but it doesn't seem likely (being across an ocean and a sea..) but I don't think I've ever read a series I was THAT obsessed about to truly participate in group discussions. I do follow some authors' groups but I'm not really active. It's just great getting the updates and such and naturally meeting more people who are into the genres I read. But the authors? Yeah they're great but I don't idolize them. I appreciate them, I respect the hell out of them. But it stays there.. which is why (I think..) this book passed right by me without making an impact
Hunter Easton is the author of "Wolf's Landing" the book series which is being filmed in Bluewater Bay. This time, instead of focusing on the actors it's all about the books, or rather the 8th book which Hunter have NO idea how to finish.. Though he's not supposed to read FanFic he only reads the one by "Lone Wolf" and after getting his full novel he is literally floored. His book is PERFECT. Yet the problem is - "Lone Wolf" doesn't know he just shared his book with the real author of the series..
Kevin Hussain is a HUGE admirer of the "Wolf's Landing" series, he shares his book with his friend "Wolf Hunter" without realizing he's sending it to his idol and when they finally meet to talk about the book (Hunter's idea) Kevin doesn't know how to deal with being in front of a man he idolized for years. He is more than starstruck. It would have been adorable, it was in the beginning but as the book progressed it was a bit too much getting the thoughts of a twenty something guy how thinks like a teenager when it comes to interactions with Hunter. He can barely form words, he gets clumsy etc.
Both of their behavior to one another and mostly their inner dialogue put me off. Kevin's HUGE crush on Hunter felt quite childish. Hunter was no better, blushing like a little girl in every situation between the two. I expected more from him, certainly when you consider he was a soldier for years. I would expect him to be more "hardened". When finally they act upon their mutual attraction (who was mentioned ALL THE TIME, mostly with reference to erotic FanFic they shared) Kevin changed from the shy idolizing young men to an alpha wolf. What was that all about? It put me off so much THIS was the scene that made me put this book aside. It felt totally out of character to the person we got to know for the first quarter part of the book. I would have rather had a more "tame" relationship between the two than "power play" (mostly considering they were "blushing girls" up until two paragraphs before..).
Another issue I had was them talking about the books, about the characters, about ideas they had for the series' progress as well as things that Hunter had to put aside to make it more mainstream.. ALL of it felt totally redundant. I mean, I haven't read this imaginary series so it felt, well, foreign. It was what connected Hunter to Kevin but it didn't mean anything to me or interest me in any way.
So sadly this wasn't for me. If you're into FanFic or the concept of this book appeals to you I say give it a try. I really enjoyed the previous ones in the series and I did enjoy everything I've read by these two authors together.
This book has interest points in the age difference between Hunter and Kevin, as well as their different background and upbringing, and though you would expect the creator of the series to be the alpha wolf, he actually isn't. It was a nice idea I just didn't see that working for me with Kevin.
I will be continuing on with the series.
Note - This book was re-published (under a new publisher) as "Moonstruck".
Additional Details: Kindle Ebook, 308 pages, 15 August 2016 / On GoodReads
ABOUT THIS SERIES
Welcome to Bluewater Bay!
This quiet little logging town on Washington state’s Olympic Peninsula
has been stagnating for decades, on the verge of ghost town status.
Until a television crew moves in to film Wolf’s Landing, a soon-to-be
cult hit based on the wildly successful shifter novels penned by local
author Hunter Easton.
Wolf’s
Landing’s success spawns everything from merchandise to movie talks,
and Bluewater Bay explodes into a mecca for fans and tourists alike. The
locals still aren’t quite sure what to make of all this—the town is
rejuvenated, but at what cost? And the Hollywood-based production crew
is out of their element in this small, mossy seaside locale. Needless to
say, sparks fly.
This collaborative story world is brought by collective authors, each contemporary novel stands alone, but all are built around the town and the people of Bluewater Bay and the Wolf’s Landing media empire.
This collaborative story world is brought by collective authors, each contemporary novel stands alone, but all are built around the town and the people of Bluewater Bay and the Wolf’s Landing media empire.
This series was a way of me getting to know a few unknown to me authors as well as enjoy some authors I've already knew I loved. Generally speaking you can pick any book in this series and read it as a standalone, just know that most of the side characters mentioned have their own book. It means that at times there are quite a lot of "name dropping". It could be fun if you're highly connected to the previous books or annoying when you're not. This is why it's hard for me to give this series an overall review as some books I absolutely LOVED and others I didn't which made the ride quite "bumpy".
That's part of the reason I decided to put this series aside after the 17th installment (with 5 unread books by "hit or miss" authors). I would have stopped a bit earlier truth being told but I DID want to give a chance to authors I already know I enjoyed, but in the end I felt a bit uncomfortable continuing to support this series - or rather its publisher - considering it's recent revealed "shade".
Books:
1. Starstruck By L.A. Witt [Levi Pritchard & Carter Samuels] (Published 3 November 2014) ★★★★
2. There's Something About Ari By L.B. Gregg [Buck Ellis & Ari Valentine] (Published 8 November 2014) ★★★★★
3. Hell on Wheels By Z.A. Maxfield [Nash Holly & Spencer Kepler-Constantine] (Published 29 November 2014) ★★★★★
4. Lone Wolf By Aleksandr Voinov & L.A. Witt [Hunter Easton & Kevin Hussain] (Published 20 December 2014) ★★ (DNF 25%)
5. The Burnt Toast B&B By Heidi Belleau & Rachel Haimowitz [Ginsberg Sloan & Derrick Richards] (Published 11 January 2015) ★★★½
6. Lights, Camera, Cupid (Bluewater Bay #6) Valentine's Anthology (Published 7 February 2015) ★★★★
[ Just Another Day [Levi Pritchard & Carter Samuels] by L.A. Witt ★★★ ]
[ Nascha By Amy Lane ★★★★★ ]
[ No Easy Way [Cary Teijan & Dylan James] By S.E. Jakes ★★★★½ ]
[ Helping Hand [Lucas Wilder & Gabriel Savage] by Anne Tenino ★★★★★ ]
[ I'll Be There [Nash Holly & Spencer Kepler] By Z.A. Maxfield ★★ ]
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8. The Deep of the Sound By Amy Lane [Cal McCorkle & Avery Kennedy] (Published 13 June 2015) ★★★★★
9. When to Hold Them By G.B. Gordon [Doran Callaghan & Xavier Wagner] (Published 15 August 2015) ★★ (DNF 49%)
10. Rain Shadow By L.A. Witt [Jeremy Rose & Scott Fletcher] (Published 17 October 2015) ★★★
11. Stuck Landing By Lauren Gallagher [Anna Maxwell & Natalya Izmaylova] (Published 12 December 2015) ★★ (DNF 38%)
12. How the Cookie Crumbles By Jaime Samms [Frederic Jackson & Blaire Caruthers] (Published 13 February 2016) ★★★¾
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14. All the Wrong Places By Ann Gallagher [Brennan Cross & Zafir Hamady] (Published 12 June 2016) ★★★½
15. Bluewater Blues By G. B. Gordon [Jack Daley & Mark Keao] (Published 15 October 2016) ★★★★★
16. No Small Parts By Ally Blue [Nat Horn & Rafael Cortez] (Published 19 December 2016) ★★
17. For A Good Time, Call... By Anne Tenino & E.J. Russell [Nate Albano & Seth Larson] (Published 8 April 2017) ★★½ (DNF 67%)
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