Derik's Bane (Berkley Sensation)

Rating:
Summary: "Howlarious" but not particularly believable
Review: Derik is a drop dead gorgeous werewolf who's unintentionally become an Alpha. He's bound for a challenge with his best friend and Pack Leader, Micheal. He takes off with a multiple purpose---save the World and save his Pack at the same time.

Sara Gunn is the reincarnation of Morgan Le Fay and she's destined to destroy the world. She doesn't have an idea of this til some red robed assassins and then Derik try to kill her.

As long as you suspend belief, the story's funny. However, neither Derik nor Sara would qualify as 'the brains of the outfit.' Any success they have is due to dumb luck--with the emphasis on the first word.

Still, Davidson's humor kept me laughing. The book was a light and quick read. This was MUCH more of a romance than a fantasy. Most of the pages were dedicated to Derik and Sara's romance. The erotica is monogamous and no one gets hurt, which I definitely approve of.

I'm not sure I will read more of Davidson's books. I tend to read more for the plot and the fantasy angle and this just wasn't much part of "Derik's Bane."

Rating:
Summary: A Good Werewolf and an Evil Sorceress
Review: Derik is one of the Wyndham werewolves and is becoming or has become an alpha, meaning he'll have to find a new home. His alpha sends him away on a mission to a kill a woman he's never even met. This bad #$@ is a fan of Rachel Ray and is convinced if he could smell her up close he'd have confirmation that she's really a werewolf. Supposedly the reincarnation of the evil Morgan Le Fey has no idea that she's supposed to be evil. The novel just sort of chugged along and didn't have too much zip. I guess if I'd read the other books in the series, I might have felt differently. Maybe I should have taken it more lightheartedly. It's too cutesy to be a book about a werewolf and a sorceress. I like my novels with more substance and definitely more of a bite!

Rating:
Summary: Not quite what I had hoped...
Review: Having enjoyed the previous 2 tales from Secrets Vol 6, "Love's Prisoner" and Secrets Vol 8, "Jared's Wolf" so much that I won't even allow Secrets Volume 6 out of the house, I was regularly checking the release date for Derik's Bane in case it came out early. I even went so far as to pay full retail, something I avoid whenever possible. Heck, I've read Love's Prisoner so many times I could almost recite it word for word, its an excellent choice when I want some decadent escapism.

Let me say that Derik's Bane WAS very enjoyable. Ms. Davidson is beyond talented with the dialogue in her stories, I simply love how she includes inner dialogue of the characters along with the dialogue between the characters. It seems so real. Don't we all have those internal conversations with ourselves while we're talking with other people? You can't help but laugh out loud.

As stated in a previous review, the story starts out very Wyndham Werewolf style, in the confrontation between Michael,the alpha male and pack leader and Derik, his best friend but also very possibly his rival. Derik doesn't want the pack, he doesn't want Michael's wife Jeannie and though he loves their daughter Lara like his own, he doesn't "want" her either. So he takes on a mission to save the world. And its from here things get away from the usual vein of the Wyndham clan.

If you've read the previous stories, you know that these werewolves are far from incompetent. However, Derik almost comes across as goofy. I realize that his failure to kill Sara is part of her "magic" but Derik seems to take it far to well. Skip along to when Derik goes through his change during the full moon and its almost an afterthought.

I read this in one afternoon, the day after I bought it. I'll keep it because I love the author's style and I love the Wyndham Werewolves, and because I love the genre. However, it doesn't come close to Love's Prisoner or even Jared's Wolf for plot development or sensuality. Which is too bad, because I think both Derik and Sara deserved it. I liked their characters, and I think the story had a lot of potential. So if you're going to read this, and haven't read the previous 2, you'll probably enjoy it more. If you have read the first 2, go into knowing that this story while very entertaining,is not the same style as the first two.

Rating:
Summary: Okay, but not fantastic.
Review: I decided to pick up "Derik's Bane" because I like Ms. Davidson's "Undead..." series and I like werewolves and it sounded fun. Unfortunately, I was rather disappointed by this book. It was an adequate read, but I'm not sure I'd read it a second time. The plot is pretty threadbare and too much of it seems to center around Sara's supernatural "luck." The humor seems to be less sharp in this book than in her Betsy novels.

What eventually annoyed me the most, however, is how incredibly similar the male and female leads' lines are. Perhaps my understanding of Derik as a character is hampered by the fact that this is the first Wyndham Werewolf novel that I've encountered, but I just find Derik's speech patterns to be implausible. Derik is from the East Coast, born and bred according to the information given in the novel, but he speaks so similarly to Sara's California Valley Girl (which is legitimate for her, since she actually lives in California), that I can't even tell them apart at times when their names aren't cited next to the dialogue.

On the plus side, the editing is quite good and I don't think I saw much, if anything, in the way of typographical/grammatical errors. People who are fans of her previous werewolf novels will probably enjoy seeing how the clan is faring, but this is most likely not a good novel to introduce people to the series. This is a good novel for mindless entertainment that you don't want to get too involved in, but certainly not the best MaryJanice Davidson novel I've ever read.

Rating:
Summary: Full of humor...
Review: In order to save the world from certain doom at the hands of Morgan Le Fay reborn, and to cool Derik's alpha male jets a bit, a cranky Werewolf seeress sends him on a mission to kill Morgan's new incarnation. Dr. Sara Gunn, however, has no idea why Derik shows up wanting to kill her until she ties him in electric tape and gets the unbelieveable information out of him. Having a second batch of killers show up makes his story seem more legitimate, as does his ability to juggle her couch and confirmation from her cantankerous boss. By this time, Derik is sure that even if she is Morgan, Sara is not going to destroy the world, but saving her might wreck his. So, true to Sara's Arthurian heritage, they go on a quest, albeit more on the Monty Python version, to save her from the people who want to save the world from her. If they can control their pheremones and hormones, it might work; or it might work better if they don't, depending on which one you ask.

**** From the first chapter on, it's a trip that will leave you laughing. Derik's pack is even more entertaining than the Vampire Queen books, or at least their equal. This is the perfect read for anyone who needs to laugh. ****

Rating:
Summary: I loved this book
Review: The hero is really funny and you just have to laugh through the whole book. I recommend this book to anyone with a yen for funny romances.

Rating:
Summary: simply a howl
Review: The humor in this book carries along and kept me reading long into the night! If you like funny romance and werewolves, this is really for you. Derik and Sara just are a delight to follow.

This feels like a series and one I will look forward to!

Rating:
Summary: Cute, Not Trite
Review: This is a cute if quick [for me] read. Werewolf meets a sorceress & the fur - er, clothes - fly. Of course he falls for her, of course she [reluctantly, eventually] falls for him. There is a plot - thin, but good for fantasy purposes - & there is a hint of 4-year-old Lara growing up to replace her dad as leader of the Pack [no sexim in this book!].
All in all, a clever way to spend an hour in a world that is - or isn't it? - not quite real, but could be. & unlike Laurell Hamilton, this is a world you wish *could* be true, where Good always trumps Evil.