Living the Fictional Dream

When I posted yesterday, I thought I’d found my favorite self-pubbed author (Barbara Pandos), but I was wrong. Thanks to some ill-timed caffiene, I had horrible insomnia last night, and my companion until 3:30 a.m. was Destiny Binds, by Tammy Blackwell (book 1 of the Timber Wolves trilogy).

This is a Y/A paranormal about a girl named Scout. It has the typical tropes — human girl, mysterious new guy, finding out her world is not what it seems, a love triangle… But this book raises the story above and beyond the formula.

Scout (the main character) is hyper-logical and would never believe in things like werewolves or shape shifters. And then she meets Alex. But, one of the interesting twists, is that Alex is not the only supernatural element in the story. Things Scout has taken for granted her whole life, she discovers, were not at all what they seemed.

One of the great things about this story is that, not only are Scout and Alex well fleshed out and not generic character archetypes or Mary Sues/Harry Stus, but the supporting cast are unique characters, as well. Scout’s brother Jase; her long-time, pre-Alex crush, Charlie; her best friend Talley; and even her six-year-old baby sister, Angel, all have their own personalities, traits, and motivations, as well as hidden depths that we gradually learn about over the course of the novel.

My only wish, as it came to supporting characters, was that I wanted a little more of Scout’s parents and some of the extended family members, like Toby. But, I suspect more light will be shed on them in future installments of the Timber Wolves trilogy.

The romance between Alex and Scout, as well as the love triangle that happens when you factor Charlie into the mix. Though there is an instant attraction when Alex and Scout meet, there are factors in play that keep them from even starting to get to know each other for quite a while. It was refreshing to have the main couple of a Y/A paranormal not fall instantly into complete soul-searing, teen angst love. Scout and Alex were no Bella and Edward, instantly ready to give up their lives for each other. But the story builds Scout and Alex’s relationship up over time, logically, until the payoff of that kind of devotion is actually justified. Imagine that!

And Charlie is a valid third leg of the love triangle. Scout had genuine feelings for him for years that the advent of a hot new guy was not just going to dispel. He was actually a real challenge to Scout and Alex’s relationship, as opposed to Jacob, who never stood a chance of winning Bella.

I also enjoyed the pop culture references in this book. They felt realistic to me, like they came from Scout, as opposed to feeling shoe-horned in. And I liked that the references were casual instead of obvious. And I liked that they ranged over a lot of pop culture, as opposed to being limited just to today. I particularly appreciated the nod to the Winchester boys that she snuck in there.

And Tammy’s writing in this novel is really well done. Scout has her own voice, not just generic first person. Her narration feels like Scout, not like just anyone. And I think I noticed maybe one error (even professionally pubbed books can have an error or two included). And her writing felt professionally polished, not like she scribbled down a first draft and slapped it up on Amazon as an e-book.

My only criticisms of this novel are the title and the cover art. With the plethora of self-pubbed Y/A paranormal novels out there, I think the title and/or the cover art really need to draw the reader in to get the novel noticed. I passed right by Destiny Binds at first, as neither of the two jump out, but are really fairly generic.

After having read the book, Destiny Binds works as the title. If you were going to boil the whole story down to two words, these two fit the bill pretty well. And, after finding Tammy’s blog  (which was surprisingly buried in the list of links on Google) and reading the titles of the next two novels in the trilogy, I understand the naming scheme she has going on. But, the title just doesn’t pack much of a punch or make the novel stand out from the crowd.

And the cover art… just the title and a graphic of a wolf on a black background. Nothing much to catch the eye, especially compared with whatelse is out there in the Y/A market.

In fact, I would not have even clicked on the novel, except for two things. Amazon popped it up on a recommendations page for some other book I had clicked on and then decided not to purchase after reading the reviews. It was the phrase “Timber Wolves” that really hooked me in. If not for that, coupled with the fact that Destiny Binds is only $0.99 for Kindle right now, I would have passed on by without a click.

However, I’m glad that I did not, because I enjoyed this book so much. I have read Y/A paranormals that came through an actual publishing house that did not have such quality writing. I’m astonished that this book is self-pubbed, and am dying to know whether or not the author tried the traditional publishing route.

Compared with what’s out there, this novel could totally hold its own. It would appeal to fans of this genre and compete whole-heartedly with stories such as the Wolves of Mercy Falls series (which was good and well written, but had some pacing problems, IMO — I very much prefer the Timber Wolves). If the author did try the traditional route first, I’m completely shocked that she didn’t get picked up, and if she did try, my only guess as to why the book didn’t sell is that editors and agents were just giving blanket “no” answers to all werewolf/shifter stories due to a preceived saturation. But who knows?

If you like Y/A paranormals and/or you enjoy werewolves/shifters, you should definitely give Destiny Binds a try. A great story for just $0.99? How can you go wrong?