Henry and Abbi
*****SPOILER ALERT*****
Own Me by KA Tucker. Book 6 in the Wolf Hotel series (I like to read the Ronan prequel novella first). Single POV (Abbi's). Ebook purchase, Alexa app listen, and audiobook purchase and listen. I wanted to borrow it and read it through Kindle Unlimited, but at the last minute, I pre-ordered it. I felt like I couldn't wait three more hours to read it. Now that I've finished it, I realize I could've waited. The audiobook is listed as 9 hours 23 minutes; I listened at speed 2.50 for 3 hours 45 minutes. Narrator Avery Reid's voice has aged and changed quite dramatically in the years since the last book was recorded. She read well. It's clearly her, but she sounds at least fifteen years older than the twenty-one year old main female character. Content warnings: H got his 29 year old high school teacher pregnant when he was 15, H's father found out, made sure the H didn't know about it; H's father blackmailed the teacher into staying away from H and keeping silent about his baby; H found out he has a 15 year old daughter after the death of his father and brother; Violet's mom died of ALS; an elderly couple struggles to take care of their granddaughter and one has a stroke; @n@l and MMF.
Locations: Wolf Cove, Alaska; New York; Greenbank, PA
I enjoy KA Tucker's work, and the Wolf Hotel series is one of my favorite series. The series has interesting characters, a compelling storyline, intriguing twists, and some of the best chemistry between characters and erotic moments I've read. This one didn't meet the standard set by the rest of the series.
It started off strong the day after the end of 'Surrender To Me,' but that quickly fell apart. There was a lot of repetitive mentions of information from the previous books. Plots in the story were built up but then the actual events were skipped over and we were only given snippets of what happened after the fact: Christmas with the Mitchells, their trip to Colorado to celebrate Violet's birthday, what happened to Roshana, what happened to Barbara, Henry and Abbi's wedding, etc. At the end of the book, I felt sad for Abbi (21, 22), Henry (32), and Violet (15, 16). On top of that, the intimate scenes were abruptly cut short and fade-to-black for most of the book. Henry, Abbi, and the Wolf Hotel series characters were all bonfire hot in the previous books. The actual consummation scenes in this book were well written but seemed to be added as an afterthought. This story felt like being edged over and over, and the climax was ultimately taken away when the wedding was completely skipped.
I'd like to petition for the return of spicy storyteller K. A. Tucker. There was so much more she could've done with this book, so much more of Henry and Abbi's story to tell. I was happy with where the series ended with 'Surrender To Me.' With this new edition, I feel like a bunch of new storylines have been started that will eventually crossover into other future stories, but that created questions I didn't need. Overall, this book left me dissatisfied and disappointed. JP
3 out of 5 on my spice scale
1st read 12-13-23 (Alexa app listen)
1st listen 04-11-24
2nd listen 01-10-24
3rd listen 11-22-25