Lis’ Review - Carved in Wood by Sean Michael

Sean Michael

Carved in Wood

Amber Allure, October 7, 2012 | 103 pages

Author’s website | Goodreads | Buy book here

Backblurb:
Can a rescue turn into love?

In a brutal world where werewolves are hunted and killed, Wood runs a group that smuggles wolves out of the city to safety. But when Wood meets Daniel, nearly dead from the silver bullet in his shoulder and with a story about entire packs being stolen and forced to work in labor camps, Wood begins to question whether or not he's really helping anyone at all. Is he simply smuggling wolves out of the proverbial frying pan and into the fire?
Meanwhile, as Daniel heals, he and Wood form a bond, coming together in a way neither man ever expected, and bringing up feelings neither man has ever experienced. Will their becoming mates muddy the waters, or make everything perfectly clear?

NOTE: This story is part of the Howling At The Moon 2012 series of books

Genre & Keywords: M/M Romance, Urban Fantasy, Shifters, Hunters, Smugglers, Bonds

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Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
Heat level: 1 out of 3 flames
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Reviewed by Lis:

Carved in Wood is one of those stories that have a lot of potential and start out well enough, but soon turn stale. Unfortunately despite its good start, Carved in Wood quickly turns to porn without a plot.

The story is set in a world where it is not a good thing to be a shifter. Shifters are hunted at every turn and often round up killed or put in labor camps. To introduce a plot like this, there has to be a good, solid world building, something this story lacks. Even a short story can do world building, but in Carved in Wood we only get small bits and pieces, not enough to piece together a good story.

Daniel is such a shifter who’s been round up and put in a work camp together with his brother. After a few years he manages to escape, but his brother gets killed in the progress. Hurt and on the run, he is picked up by Wood who runs a smuggling network that smuggles shifters out of the city and into the relative safety of the mountains.

There is, unsurprisingly, an instant attraction and both men mate quickly. This is where the story ran cold for me. Going into the story, I expected a lot of action and adventure, but it turns into one big porn scene with a lot of growly short sentences that start with “Mate” and “Mine.” While okay for a short bit, it quickly becomes the same old, same old.

Sean Michael’s style of writing is something a reader will either like or get frustrated with very swiftly. Once the story gets going, a lot of the pronouns go missing. While that can be very hot in a growly, screen melting, erotic scene, too much makes it – as said before – the same old, same old.

This is an author of a lot of books, and I enjoyed many, but Carved in Wood was not one. The lack of plot, character development and the unanswered questions at the end of the story left me shrugging my shoulders and saying “meh.”
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