Primal

Vengeance #1

by Raven Bower

Pursued by a ruthless crime lord after witnessing the murder of an FBI agent, Wrey must rebuild the life they stole from her. When she meets mysterious Arvon Night, her precious new life unravels as she’s thrust into a web of betrayal, lust and violence.

Arvon knows he must slay Wrey to keep his secret safe from those who hunt him. Each hour his enemies stalk closer, ready to kill.

Can Wrey’s powers of nature and spirit help her survive the yearning and dangerous Arvon and the tide of peril he brings with him? Or will an opportunistic hitman take advantage of them both?

Genres: Romance, Paranormal, Erotica, Urban Fantasy, Shapeshifters, Paranormal Romance, Werewolves

361 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 7, 2012

About the author

I'm the author of three book series:

Apparitions series (supernatural suspense / horror)including: Apparitions, Wendigo and Rags Beneath (2012)

Vengeance series (urban fantasy): Primal (2012), Smoke (2013) and Dead Moon (2014)

and the Weeping Dark series (fantasy): Bleeding Edge (2012/13), Sorrow's Gate (2013/14)

Plus the fantasy novella, Nymph's Lair (2012)

I also enjoy writing scripts - the script for Apparitions has been optioned for a feature film!

I live in Michigan with my husband, four kids, two hell hounds and our cats of doom and chaos.

Reviews

[Megpie · Rating 1 out of 5]

*SPOILERS*

I don't understand why this one has so many good reviews because, well, it just wasn't that good. I can honestly say that I skipped and skimmed whole freaking chapters because I was so bored. There was way too many points of view going on and way too much description and unimportant information being thrown in. There was just too much focus on the side characters and their stories. I felt like I knew the secondary characters better than the two main characters, so I'd skim the bullshit until I would get back to Arven and Wrey's points of view.

There was a lot of sex in this one too. I admit some of it was hot but some of it was not my cup of tea either... it was just too.. ewww. There was more sex going on with the secondary characters than the main two characters. I also didn't like that the male protagonist slept with another female while his female protagonist was in the other room scared for her and his life. I understand he did it because of the dynamic and the ways of the werewolves but he was insanely attracted to the other female wolf and even thought numerous times how beautiful she was and how much he wanted her. I think he used the "I gotta dominate her to beat her" excuse to screw her right there on the floor. He wanted her badly for a long time and this was his chance to finally get her... poor Wrey be damned. The fact that he completely forgot about Wrey (Wrey Who?) and had sex with that she wolf just ruined this book for me. It made me sick. I think it ruined and tainted whatever Arvon and Wrey had. How can I take them seriously as a couple and them falling in love when he is so easily tempted by other she wolves and he has thoughts in his head of mating with the wolf that is trying to kill him and his girl. I just can't... the romance in this book was a joke.

Oh, and I didn't really like the ways of the werewolves.. it was just disgusting. Their ways were raw, brutal, and repulsive. They raped and were violent. They mated for life yet they slept around and had orgies. Infidelity is their middle name. They would fight their mate and would allow others to hurt or rape their mate. If their mate was hurt and couldn't hunt their own food... they simply didn't care, they would starve. They would even murder their own mate if it was in their advantage. They didn't care for their mate (AT ALL). I really didn't even understand why these wolves even had mates? It was all, to each his own... so what's the point? To make babies? Hell, they are knocking each other up with all the damn sex going around anyways. Hell, how they know who their baby daddy is has to be an issue. So.... again... what's the fucking point?
I just didn't like the authors take on werewolves I guess.

The plot was all over the place. I had no idea what was going on half the time. Since there was so many side stories going on I couldn't keep up with all the people being mentioned. I was really confused 80% of the time.

Overall I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone. It wasn't good, it was just okay (and that's being nice). Since the ending just kinda ended I'm guessing there is a book 2 and I'm still undecided whether I'll read it or not. I am a little curious to see how Wrey takes the whole Arvon cheating on her and him leaving her, so we'll see.

[Lana · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm going to point you at J. Westfall's review because s/he said pretty much what I think about this book.

http://www.amazon.com/review/RXNAAQQ9...

In the beginning the poor writing, bad grammar and worse editing were not quite as apparent. As the book wore on, it all got worse. I was pretty much ignoring all that and was interested in the premise of the book, which was that of a person in Witness Protection who actually had some knowledge of paranormal creatures. It could have been really fascinating. Then, bam! The next chapter didn't have Wrey (previously known as Maria) and Arvon in it, but some other characters, apparently a bunch of thugs in the Rekin, some kind of mafioso.

It was evident to me from the first paragraph that this chapter had been written by a completely different person; wording, pacing, even editing were all of significantly less quality than what I'd read previously. Aside from that, it was boring. I took to skimming those sections and only reading the sections with Wrey and Arvon in them. By the end of the book, the better-written sections became not noticeably different from the thug sections in quality, and I kept forcing myself to keep reading. Not even the sex redeemed the story.

I was disappointed at the spot in the plot where the author(s) chose to end the book. It's definitely not the end of the story for Wrey or Arvon. Unfortunately for the authors, I don't give a crap. Unfortunately for the publishing house, I didn't bother reading or skimming any of the previews they stuck in the last 30% of the book.

[Sonic Alpha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Currently hiding in witness protection, Maria assumes her new identity as "Wrey." Determined to stay under the radar from the people hunting her down, Wrey's life is once again placed in jeopardy when she happens upon Arvon Night; a mysterious stranger who is much more than meets the eye.

I tried my hardest to like this book, unfortunately the constant switches in focus ultimately did more to distance me from the characters rather than make them memorable & engaging. Along with the multitude of sexual scenes, (it seems EVERYONE in Primal's world is horny), which felt overly forced; Primal quickly turned from good to bad as it span around its army of characters. Indeed the sexual scenes came across as something just placed into the book in a effort to pad out the narrative.

Primal seemed to find its feet within the final few chapters, as the thousand piece jigsaw finally fell into place. Unfortunately, those few baby steps literally lead straight into an abrupt ending located at an unexpected 70% mark in the Kindle edition (the remaining 30% is filled with samples from other titles).

A disappointing experience, and one that has put me off the remaining titles in the series.

[Ladymcbeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good book ...a little longer in the beginning but maybe it comes from my "bad" english (I'm french ^^)
Can't wait to read the next book of the serie.

I really love Arvon ... he's the alpha male I love in my books

[Sara Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve had the privilege of knowing Raven Bower virtually for years. I’ve enjoyed her advice and had many a great conversation with the woman. Recently, she asked me if I’d be interested in reviewing one of her books on my blog. I jumped at the chance. Free books – I am always there.

However, reviewing the book of a friend is nerve wracking. Before I even opened the cover, I was terrified. What if I didn’t like it? What if it’s awful? How will I ever face her again? I try to trust in the fact that she has published several novels and one is currently under film negotiations. There has to be something here, right? (On a personal note, I feel this way about anything personal, whether it’s mine or their’s – can’t help it.)

I would like to say that I knew there was nothing to worry about but that goes against my nature. I know – by now you just want me to spit it out. What did I think of the book? It wasn’t long enough. It had a cliff hanger ending that just sent me into fits because I want the next book now.

I loved it. I did get a little caught off guard because that Raven is a naughty girl. Knowing her, the way I do, I discovered a darker side that I wasn’t really expecting. The book is smutty and gritty and I could read it all over again today.

The book follows Wrey, who is a witness in a federal case and in witness protection. She’s a tender hearted woman with a real soft spot for animals, which explains why she opted to pick up an injured wolf on a back road in the middle of the night.

As these things goes – it’s not an ordinary wolf. But then Wrey is not an ordinary woman – she’s got a few tricks up her sleeves.

Arvon can’t believe he had to get help from a human but that’s all well and done. He’ll have his way with her before having a more permanent way with her. Except she’s not falling for it. She’s resisting his charms.

Their stories are more tangled and twisted than they know. No one is who they say they are and everyone involved has a stake in Wrey and Arvon’s future.

Wrey is wanted by a vicious mafia-type family. The FBI has an agent with his own agenda and seems to be pulling strings both with the mafia and the werewolves. Meanwhile there’s a power struggle amongst the werewolves that can only be fixed through lots of sex.

If you are meek or weak-hearted this is not the book for you. However, if you love fast paced, living on the edge sort of thrill ride - this book is perfect.
I will say that I kept thinking of Alcide from True Blood the entire book – that same dark brooding male. MMM – no wonder my husband is leery of what I read.

[Victoria Limbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I sat down for a long time thinking about how to write this review. There were many good things I liked about Primal, but also quite a few bad issues as well. Hence the 3 Stars.

One star I gave purely because the front cover is stunning, sexy, everything you want when delving in to a werewolf story. From the front cover I knew the scenes inside would be erotic, tantalizing and steamy and I was perfectly right. The erotic scenes in this book are fantastic, and that explains my second star. The descriptions were...well they brought a blush to my cheeks that my partner couldn't help grinning at! The third star I gave to Arvon and Wrey's scenes which were great. Their romance story had me flicking past the other endless pages of sub story and long winded descriptions. I wanted to know more about them, wanted the book to stay focused on their tug of war relationship.

I loved Arvon as a character. He was most definitely more animal than man. He was a true werewolf in his spirit and mind, being primal and animalistic gave him focus on only a few things. Sex, hunger and power. Human emotions meant little to him, until he meets Wrey who is an extraordinary human with a few gifts of her own. She is of the Old Blood, meaning she can contact the spirit of animals and nature and ask for their strength and guidance. Not only is she one of them, she was also meant to be in training to be the Leader of her kind. We learn the reason she has not finished her training is because she is in Witness Protection for witnessing a murder, and the killer happens to be a part of a gangster family who serious cant afford for her to give evidence against them. This is a great plotline and one that had me finishing Primal in 2 days.

Which brings me to the reasons I couldn't give Primal any more than 3 stars. The other side of this plot, the gangster, mob family, was very hard to follow for me. New names were put in very quickly, I found the descriptions very long winded and...well...a little boring. I flicked past quite a lot of these scenes. There were too many names, too many people to keep track of and to be honest I didn't care about them. My focus remained on Wrey and Arvon who were by far the most interesting element. I did like where the plot joins up between the werewolves and mob/gangster family. The bloodshed and battle was nicely graphic. Unfortunately the ending was abrupt and I am not sure if it left me wanting to read the next book. I think the only reason I would continue is to follow Wrey and Arvon's story as it didn't end too well between them.

I guess we will see.

If you like something different give it a try and see what you think.

[Renee Rearden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Print copy provided by author

I’m a sucker for shape shifter stories, and werewolves are right up there among my favorites. Including elemental magic is a serious bonus for me. Combine a great storyline, interesting characters and break-neck pace, and I’m hooked to the last page.

Raven and Lain Bower pulled each of these important elements together in Primal to create a slam-bang urban fantasy that showcases a novel that is an equal part plot and equal part character-driven story—and those just do it for me.

Character development for me is a must. Arvon is the nearly-perfect alpha male that inspires a woman to look past his bad-boy faults and love him anyway. Wrey’s caring nature and ability to sort things out reasonably and intelligently had me rooting for her from page one. I loved the strength and vulnerability portrayed in both Wrey and Arvon’s character arcs.

So if I’m raving this much about a novel, why only four stars you ask? It came down to some character identity confusion. Each author has a different technique for imparting information in a story. Mysteries leave more room for switch and bait when setting up a plotline surprise.

As a general rule, I don’t have an issue with this particular writing device. However, I was confused for a bit at the beginning of the story. Multiple characters were introduced, initially using nicknames, and I had a hard time figuring out who was on first.

Because the writing was excellent and I liked the characters and story, the confusion didn’t deter me from reading on. Once I figured all the players out, it was game on. I devoured the book in one sitting—and am eagerly awaiting the second book in this trilogy. Seriously, I’ve just gotta know what happens next!

If you enjoy your urban fantasies with larger-than-life characters and a fast-paced plot that throws a few twists and surprises at you along the way, grab a copy of Primal and enjoy!!!

[Shauntelle Hamlett · Rating 4 out of 5]

To be honest, if you had ever told me I'd read a book about a clan of werewolves, a...um.. witch, for lack of a better word... and a murder mystery, I would have stared at you awe struck since I'm not necessarily a big fan of the whole vampire/werewolf line of stories and my imagination is too vivid to read too many murder novels.

That said, I'm so glad that I picked up Primal! The story captured my imagination from the first chapter, something that's very important because I don't have a lot of free reading time and I refuse to read a book that doesn't grab me within the first 15 pages.

Primal more than met that requirement. I loved that it was very fast paced and I immediately felt a connection with the main characters--some I loved immediately and some I completely hated!

It did take me a moment to get used to switching perspectives between characters every couple of chapters. I don't often read books that use that form of narrative, so it was a little jarring to me. However, I loved the way each character gave you a little better understanding of the big picture. As you read more and more you realize there are a lot of angles to the story and a lot of players...

I don't want to give too much away so I'm trying to stay vague. I will warn you, there are some sizzling and somewhat graphic sexual scenes that were unexpected for me. They fit with the whole of the story, but I wouldn't recommend this book to people under 18 (or maybe 21... it's definitely what I consider grown-folks talk!).

Overall, I really enjoyed this first book from the Vengeance trilogy and I'm biting at the bit for the second book to be released to find out what happens next!

[Chanel · Rating 1 out of 5]

WARNING: This is an erotic novel. I don't know maybe, i overlooked something but i if i recall i did not see anything mentioning that before i bought it. Just so everyone knows. Anyway yes i started reading this book and was like whoa erotic novel where did this come from.

The cover is initially what drew me in. ITS HOT!!! But that's the only thing hot about it. This book could have been so much better though than it was. There is nothing wrong with including multiple characters in a story and giving them each their own POV chapter to see how they are involved or how they view a situation. I felt there were too many intertwining characters and storylines and it just made the book confusing and exhausting to keep track of who was who.

Here is each character that has chapters based on their POV and the names of characters they associate with. I'm missing some but there are too many.

Wrey: Avron, David, Billie, Pete
Avron: Kira, Wrey
Kira: Giselle, Caghn, Evan,
Mako: Claw, Ana, Jaw, Mason,Halo, Beams(Im missing some here)
Billie:Galen, Jory
David: Stan



I just thought the writing was weak. And too much was trying to be crammed into one book. I got really tired of hearing about how Kira just wanted to bang some guy so bad, i know she was in heat or whatever but still. I feel some things were constantly repeated just to fill in some space. Like the fact that Kira couldn't sleep with a man because if she did that would make him her mate so she had to settle for entertainment/pleasure by Giselle. This is said quite a few times which quite frankly wasn't necessary.

[Geli · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story was very hard for me to follow. Each chapter skipped over to a new character. It felt like I was having to start over at the beginning each time. I just couldn't keep up. I did like the story between Wrey and Arvon. They were the most interesting out of the whole thing. Hopefully the new book in the series is a little more planned/spaced out. And doesn't feel as rushed. The story is good just needs some work on the spacing of details.

[Eryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, but it was hard to keep up with the story jumping all over the place and there were far too many spelling and grammar mistakes. If the next book is cheap enough I would like to see how the story progresses but it's certainly not a favourite book.
I'd just like to add that I got this book when it was free. If I had paid $3.99 (or OMG $14.99 for paperback) then I would be seriously disappointed.

[James Peercy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dorothy, you're not in Kansas anymore..."

It is 'Eyes Wide Shut' meets creatures of the night in this graphic description of crime, sex, and murder. The story line is engaging and does imply continuation into a second novel. The author does well in carrying the story along, and is very complete in expressing the emotions of the individuals involved.

[Rosemary Stoneman · Rating 4 out of 5]

*I received this in a Goodreads first reads contest.

At first it took me a tiny bit of time at the beginning to get into this book but after that speed bump I was hooked. This book had characters I loved and characters I loved to hate, an intriguing story line, an alpha male and capable heroine, steamy love scenes which all boiled down to make a great paranormal romance.

[Kat (idangerous) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow...I can say that I wasn't expecting this! This is meant for 18+ readers, I got it as a free book off a website and it was good. The plot was good, the characters had background that was easy to follow and such. Tis very...um..how to word this. Explicit. yeah, we'll go with that word. I've read some that are pretty explicit but this one was very much explicit in a different way. It's bout Werewolves and human...oh that's original. But it is to some extent, I do give the authors that. It has original plot and such. I don't really know what to say other than, it's bout an average size book, lots of heated moments, some swearing (shocking I know) but mostly just a bit graphic.

[Josephine · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG! There are some parts that aren't even my standard cup of tea, but this book was well written and tied many seeming opposite tangents into a cohesive storyline. I think my favorite part is the fact that Werewolves aren't just humans who turn into wolves but truly a separate species with different social expectations. I am hooked!

[Madhellena · Rating 2 out of 5]

It would have been a good story without all the background noise. Like many of the other reviewers, I skipped the parts that didn't relate to the main story. It's a book full of blood and gore, but it works if you eliminate all the useless chapters.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not a fan of books that jump around from character to character, and this one does it ALOT. Other than that its a good read.

[Allan Ashinoff · Rating 2 out of 5]

The default font size was way too small on my kindle (not my eyes).

[Iyanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

i DIDN'T LIKE IT,IT MOVED 2 SLOW AND AFTER A WHILE IT DIDN'T MAKE SENSE TO ME

[Sammy Loves Books]

The cover looks hot but I won't be starting this one till the rest of the trilogy is out!