Review: Unleashed (Wolf Springs Chronicles #1)

Unleashed (Wolf Springs Chronicles #1)
by Nancy Holder & Debbie Viguie
Publication Date: 8 December 2011
Publisher: Doubleday
Format: Paperback; Review Copy
Rating: 3/5

Katelyn McBride’s life changed in an instant when her mother died. Uprooted from her California home, Katelyn was shipped to the middle of nowhere, Arkansas, to her only living relative, her grandfather. And now she has to start over in Wolf Springs, a tiny village in the Ozark Mountains. Like any small town, Wolf Springs has secrets. But the secrets hidden here are more sinister than Katelyn could ever imagine. It’s a town with a history that reaches back centuries, spans continents, and conceals terrifying truths. And Katelyn McBride is about to change everything. Broken families, ageless grudges, forced alliances, and love that blooms in the darkest night—welcome to Wolf Springs. |Goodreads|

I was rather excited when I started reading Unleashed because it was written by two very established authors that both had good reputations. But I am rather sad to say that this book did not live up to my expectations. 

The story starts out in an intriguing way and I was very interested to see how the main character, Katelyn, would deal with the situation she was in. Rather disappointingly, I felt like she didn't grow at all throughout the story. I found her even annoying at times, and the way she dealt with certain scenarios was either unrealistic or she never took the time to think through what she was doing i.e.: changing a flat tire all on her own, in the middle of the dark woods with a mysterious killer animal on the loose. 

This is the first book I've read where there are two authors involved and this book didn't win me over with that concept. With there being two authors, there are going to be two different sets of imaginations, ideas, writing styles ect. These factors all came into play for me while I was reading Unleashed and it didn't appeal to me much. 

There wasn't much depth to the other characters either. I liked Katelyn's grandfather because he seemed really sweet and kind, but the fact that the distance between them never seemed to change was a bit disappointing. The romance that develops between Katelyn and Trick is a bit awkward and stunted throughout the story. It never seems to develop beyond a crush that each one has for the other. Katelyn also has confused feelings over another guy, Justin, and that ended up confusing me. It was just so random and weird, and I still don't quiet get what happened there. 

Overall Unleashed was an ok read. Something I really did enjoy was the scare factor it provided. The mystery was very well written and at times I was rather scared about the things that were happening in the town of Wolf Springs. Possibly Unleashed is the setting up of a really good scary werewolf series to come, and if that's the case I'll definitely want to see where this story goes. Beware though...there is an almighty cliff-hanger so if you're not the kind of person who can wait for the next instalment, wait until you can read the series in one go.