Paranormal
From Goodreads:
"For fifteen years Maria Devane has been desperately,
passionately in love with Dante Romano. But despite loving him with all of her
heart and soul, Maria knows that Dante can never give all of himself back-at
least not all the time.
Every month, Dante shifts shape, becoming a wild animal. During those times, he
wanders far and wide, leaving Maria alone. He can't choose when he shifts, the
transition is often abrupt and, as he gets older, the time he spends in human
form is gradually decreasing. But Maria, who loves him without hesitation,
wouldn't trade their unusual relationship for anything.
Since the beginning, she has kept his secret, knowing that their love is worth
the danger. But when a string of brutal attacks occur in local parks during the
times when Dante is in animal form, Maria is forced to consider whether the
lies she's been telling about her life have turned into lies she's telling
herself”“
I want to start by saying that I liked The Shape of Desire
better after I finished reading it than I did while I was reading. There are several reasons so I will get
started.
Worldbuilding:
This is often a big problem with a new series. There is so much that has to be mentioned and explained that
it slows the story down. It has to
be done or the story would not make much sense. The Shape of Desire requires a lot of world building. Sharon Shinn does a good job weaving it
into the story but sometimes it slows down the action.
Backstory: This
is a biggie in a new series.
Sometimes you just need a little and it can be dropped in conversation
small hints. That was not the case
in The Shape of Desire. In order
to understand the characters and their relationships you needed to know their past
history. The best way to do that was to include scenes from the two main
characters past. The use of flash
backs did the job but was another thing that slowed the main story line down.
Characters:
This is another new take on shifters. Dante is very different from shifter characters in other
books. Maria Devane and Dante are
the two main characters. We see
much more of Maria and as a result she is much better drawn than Dante. Maria is very good at hiding her
relationship with Dante. In some
ways she was just to good to be true. Dante remained a bit of a mystery to
me. His character kept me guessing
right until the end. There were
several very well drawn side characters that were essential to the story. I am looking forward to how they will
be featured in future books.
Plot: The main
plot is the number of deaths by wild animal attack. That plot brings on the sub-plots that hinge on
relationships in the book. Not all
of those sub-plots are about Maria and Dante. I think some of them are setups for future books. I really liked the fact that at the end
there was a resolution to Maria and Dante’s relationship. They had as much of a HEA as was
possible at the time.
Sex: I had to
include this one. In most of Sharon
Shinn’s previous books the couple went into the bedroom and shut the door. You knew what was going on but used
your imagination about how it was going on. Not in this book.
While it is not as graphic as many books today it was very graphic
compared to other Sharon Shinn books.
I suspect that this was a requirement by the publisher. I like the other way best, and if you
have read any of my previous post you know I just skim those parts of the book. I will say that the sex in The Shape of
Desire adds to the story. It is
not just put for no reason.
All of that said, when I got through reading everything fell in place and I really liked the book. The Shape of Desire set the stage for
future books and I am looking forward to next book in the Shifting Circle
series.
This week’s musing asks…
I
am reading 1636: The Kremlin Games by Eric Flint, Gorg Huff, and Paula
Goodlett. This is the newest book in the Science Fiction/Alternate History Ring of Fire series. It is
not a main line story. It looks at what changes the Ring of Fire would
make in Russia. It does a good job at what it is attempting. It also
has a whole new cast of character not found elsewhere in the series.
It is not a stand alone book and I would only recommend it to fans of
the series. I am a fan of the series so I like it. I just have a few
pages to go and will finish it this morning. 
