Review: Mist and Marrow by Mary Calmes
SYNOPSIS:
Linden Van Doren is in a strange position. He’s an emancipated omega holding down two jobs, so he should be out from under anyone’s thumb but in reality, there are still weird lupine rules to follow. For instance, if an alpha wants to court him, he’s not allowed to say no. If that same alpha asks for his hand in bonding, however, as there’s no contract that anyone holds but him, he can certainly say no to that. And would. He trusts no alpha to keep their word even though they’re the only ones who could make his dreams come true. It’s all very confusing and a bit ridiculous but until all omegas are free to do whatever they want with their lives, his odd circumstances are the norm. He’s also doing his very small part to help others—and that just became a problem.
Wade Massey is a homicide detective with the Chicago PD. He’s partners with Avery Davenport, which puts him in close, continual contact with Avery’s friend, Linden Van Doren. Wade isn’t sure what it is about Linden that drives him nuts. And annoying the hell out of the stunning omega should make Wade want to stay away from him. The problem is, he can’t seem to do that. Besides, Linden needs a keeper. Wade has never actually met anyone who needs someone looking out for them more and really, no one but Wade can be trusted to do it and keep their hands off the tantalizing man.
When the FBI comes knocking because omegas have gone missing, Wade finds out that Linden has been far more active in the fight to help other omegas than he imagined. When both men are drafted to help, they are suddenly thrown together in a situation where, for once, neither of them can walk away. Wade’s been great at making excuses and Linny’s been fantastic about hiding his feelings. None of that works anymore.
Linden knows he wants Wade—he knew the night the possessive human carried him out of hell—but loving someone who can never return his feelings is stupid and Linden’s finished with that. Wade’s never been attracted to a man before and perhaps it’s not desire or lust, but simply his protective instincts gone wild. If neither of them can be brave, there’s no hope for the future. But perhaps just winnowing through the mist of confusion down to the marrow where the truth lies will set them both free.
REVIEW:
I was thrilled when I saw Muscle and Bone was expanding to a trilogy and that it was finally time for Linden and Wade to get their happily-ever-after. Yet the story left me feeling disappointed, there were some inconsistencies between the storylines which irked me and on top of that there seemed to be a disconnect in communication between Wade and Linden.
So let me start, in Muscle and Bone we learn that omegas can’t come unless with an alpha. So after Wade and Linden hook-up the first time, shouldn’t Linden and Wade both be having epiphanies? Instead we are back to the, we can never be together because Wade is only human and Linden is only omega. They also seemed to be at each other throats, which isn’t how book #1 left off. In fact, Muscle and Bone ended with Linden basically pining for Wade and Wade being his oblivious self.
That being said, Mist and Marrow has Wade and Linden essentially avoiding each other, and when they can’t, they argue and bicker. Wade is constantly putting his foot in his mouth and being an insensitive jerk. In comparison, Linden is still trying to recover from his trauma and establish a life for himself. While I initially viewed Linden as a fragile character, he definitely had strength in this story. But his and Wade’s relationship could have really used some finessing. When it came to things in the bedroom, the sexual chemistry between these two is off the charts.
Yet any form of communication between them seems forced. They both have trouble articulating their feelings and instead of being transparent, they just end up saying hurtful things instead. It was frustrating, with so much other danger happening that these two just couldn’t get it right. The ending of the book also felt very abrupt. I actually reached it and said “that’s it?”. I wanted some closure, I had lingering questions surrounding the plot that never got answered. And as a reader, that is frustrating. I plan picking up the last book in the series and hope that it can revive my interest in the series.
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