Review: My Commander by Alanea Alder
Book Info
Released: October 3rd 2014
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series: Bewitched and Bewildered #1
Length: 7 hrs and 56 mins
Pages: 236
“If you are a fan of Shelly Laurenston, Jessica Sims or Eve Langlais you’ll probably enjoy this series.”
~ Under the Covers
Francesca: So I recently read this book as part of a PNR book club I’m in and I immediately knew I had to make Annie read it for the Pick It For Me challenge because she enjoys funny PNR. So here are both our thoughts on the book.
What’s your favorite scene?
Annie: There were a lot of really funny scenes to choose from but I think this one is my favorite:
“She’s a menace! She gave Colton a bloody lip, threw a lamp at me, knocked me unconscious with the back of my toilet, and dented the root of my trunk!” Meryn noticed that he roared the last grievance. Trust a man to be more worried about his car than his possible concussion.
“And how did she dent the root of your trunk?” Meryn heard the edge to the woman’s voice and answered quickly, hoping to garner sympathy for her situation.
“He threw me in the trunk of his car. I was kicking it from the inside trying to escape.” She sniffed dramatically and glared at Aiden. She noticed that he had suddenly paled.
“Oh, son.” The handsome older man covered his face with his hand and the woman stared at them in shock.
“You locked her in the trunk?”
“She was kicking me,” Aiden protested.
“She is a human and half your size!”
“You don’t understand-she is a terrorist!”
Hilarious, right? It’s a bit over the top and doesn’t take itself too seriously, but for me, it was a refreshing concept to see in Paranormal Romance. Also, I like characters who don’t typically fit a specific mold and neither of these two do.
Francesca: For me it has to be this one particular scene where the hero and one of his packmates go to buy tampons for the heroine. They haven’t really been around human females so the whole concept is foreign to them and it just makes for a hysterical chapter. If yes, definitely over the top humor is involved.
“Alpha Unit, move out. We have a mission,”
“What’s the mission?”
“She needs tampons.”
“You can rely on us, Aiden.”“Sir, I don’t know if these are safe. There is a warning about toxic shock syndrome. These things can kill!”
Who’s your favorite character introduced in the book?
Annie: This is easy. Aiden was my favorite. It’s been a long time since I’ve enjoyed a hero as much as this one. His alpha side was definitely thrown in for a loop, resulting in a lot of the humor for this novel. I think if his personality were anything different, the series would probably have a different tone to it. So I think the author paid a lot of attention to creating a character that could withstand all the chaos that was thrown at him.
Francesca: I definitely liked Aiden as well. There are also a few characters in the team that I’m curious to see more of like Gavriel and Ryuu.
What are your thoughts on main characters?
Annie: I’m a big fan of characters that are a little bit ridiculous, especially in Paranormal Romance. I think this is the only genre where you can act a little psychotic and still be considered cool. Both the main characters presented very different personality types but they still somehow work well together. Humor and banter also played a huge part in their character roles so with that, they were really able to build their relationship in a way that seems organic and fresh. Actually, the romance wasn’t my favorite part of this book. However, I do think it was a nice bonus.
Francesca: I used to love ridiculous characters, honestly. But in particular in this book I was SOOOOO annoyed with the heroine. I really couldn’t cope. She’s so immature and she’s supposed to be a 34 year old woman! Act your age! So while I enjoyed the hero, the heroine was the biggest downfall of this book for me. I found the rest of the humor in the book I liked but when it came to her over the top antics I only wanted to roll my eyes and slap her. Or I would’ve been perfectly ok with the Queen putting her in her place.
What was your favorite/least favorite thing about the world Ms. Alder created?
Annie: Since I already spoke about my favorite parts of this book, I’ll share my least favorite thing, and strangely enough, it kind of relates. As much as I adore the over the top antics and hilarious banter, I also feel like that can be a double-edged sword. Some readers, like me, will absolutely love it while I’m sure there will be others that find it too chaotic and ridiculous. That being said, there were a couple scenes that dragged because there was too much focus and emphasis on being funny/over the top and therefore, it can feel forced. I think the key is having the right mindset and also having the same sense of humor so that the characters don’t come across as too obnoxious. There’s a fine line and all it takes is just one bad joke to ruin an entire book.
Francesca: I liked the concept of the series where this city is technically in rural Wisconsin but it’s hidden from humans so that’s why they’ve never known of their existence. I also like all the different worlds of paranormal creatures and the bit of structure that we got to see in this one. I admit, the world building wasn’t incredibly expanded here but I think there’s room for nice potential in the series with that. If only the series didn’t give a prominent role to the heroine of this one, which is probably one of my most hated characters I’ve read in a long time.
Will you continue reading the series?
Annie: I will if I’m in the mood for something Paranormal and funny. To be honest, though, I haven’t read many PNR these days and I only read this one because it was recommended for a reading challenge. But if the mood strikes me, I definitely know who to turn to.
Francesca: I wish I could say yes. However, I’ve had others tells me that this chick just continues playing a big role throughout the series and I just can’t continue to read something where I dislike the main character. That’s kind of what happened to me with the Undead series by MaryJanice Davidson or the Jane Jameson series by Molly Harper. I had to throw in the towel because of the heroine of both of those. And come to think of it, if you liked either of those series then jump right on this one as well.
Francesca: To wrap this up, there’s definitely a lot of humor and entertainment in this book. It doesn’t take itself too seriously and you shouldn’t either. If you are a fan of Shelly Laurenston, Jessica Sims or Eve Langlais you’ll probably enjoy this series.
What did you think of our review?
Let us know your thoughts in the comment box below!
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I’m with francesca. The female love interest was too much and the ridiculousness was a tad over the top. However, aiden was a fun character as were other members of the alpha unit and this world.
The Alpha Unit was an awesome bunch.
I enjoyed the books in this series I have read so far, but I totally agree. Meryn was probably my least favorite heroine. And she plays a significant role in every book, even though it focuses on a different couple.
Yeah, sadly for me that’s what I’ve heard and I can’t deal.
LOL I’ve had this one on my wish list for a while. Good to know what tone it took so I can match my mood to it. 🙂 Great duo review, ladies!
I love this writer!!! Her books are so good! Fabulously reviewed! Shared on all my socials!!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts ladies