Soul Mates: Deception Book

I was very excited to start Book 2 mere minutes after finishing Book 1. Peter and Lucien are dealing with a very strained relationship at the start of the book because though Peter is going through changes and new cravings, Lucien won't fulfill his promise of turning Peter and making him a full fledged vampire. This comes as a bit of a surprise to us, but the author does a great job of explaining both of their points of view. Peter then turns to Xander in a short-lived bid to make Lucien jealous. Needless to say that doesn't last long. :-) I was happy with the introduction of new secondary characters, and grew to love the ones from Book 1 even more. LOVE the relationship between Xander and Peter and even though I didn't agree that Peter could actually beat Xander in a fight (in Book 1,) I love that Peter has someone that is solely loyal to him and that they truly love each other. Swooon. Lucien/Peter will always be my heart but Peter/Xander come a close second.

The plot this time was good for the most part. I especially enjoyed Lucien's rescue, and Peter's role in it. Everyone came together in a way that was believable and well executed. The ending (the scene in the kitchen) left me all warm and fuzzy inside. Peter having some practical input, and bringing new ideas to improve the coven was also well done. I love Silver, Xander, Nikolas and Peter as a team and their friendly banter made the book fun. All in all, a good read. I will definitely read it again.

Now for the issues:


While I enjoyed Deceptions, I didn't love it as much as Bound by Blood. The main problem for me was Peter. Many people have compared this series to the Anita Blake series and I readily admit that the reason I haven't read the AB series is because authors almost always turn female protagonists into some sort of 'Mary Sue' character. Jourdan manages to do this with Peter this go 'round. Everyone's in love with him and everyone wants to sleep with him. Also, I understand that Peter is Lucien's mate but I couldn't buy into Peter as coven master, by any stretch of the imagination. Whenever he spoke about 'leading our people,' I cringed. To have Peter as Xander's alpha is one thing, but to have an uber male like Nikolas acknowledge Peter as his alpha, not just out of respect for Lucien, but because of 'some strength within him' was just laughable. Peter himself acknowledges that picking a fight with Nikolas would be a death sentence, so for Nikolas to keep insisting that Peter become Lycan leader defies logic. Peter is newly created and can't even fully shift! Peter is an awesome balancing force for Lucien and, as I said, I love their relationship, but they are not equals. The only reason we know Peter is supposed to be coven master is because everyone keeps dropping to their knees and addressing him as such. It would have made more sense to either make him second-in-command to Lucien or have Lucien turn him, and then have us live through his journey as a new vampire learning to use his power. At least the author shows that some in the coven don't respect him. I wouldn't have either.

The sex - Here again, I was a bit disappointed after reading Book 1. Yes, there was also a lot this time but it almost seems gratuitous because Lucien and Peter aren't 'playing' together. It just reads like Peter can't keep it in his pants. As soon as anyone says hello, he's ready and willing. Also, everyone Peter bites, or who bites him, taints him in some way and gives him extra powers. Is he a sponge?? And considering he knows biting strange creatures during sex ie Sabaan causes problems, how about he just not do it?? Like Caleb told him, 'Your bed is too full, even for my tastes.' Uh yeah, mine too Caleb, mine too. As for Caleb...Whyyy?? Whyyyyyyy? Just plain character assassination. Can Caleb sue? :-) I guess I can understand what the author did with his character but I still hated it. Lastly, can we please get Xander a boyfriend of his own?? Geez! Is it too much to ask? :-)

Long story short, I did like this book but it was more flawed than Book 1 and many questions remained unanswered at the end. Why exactly was Logan accepted into the coven so easily?? Simon and Cyril, what's their story? Why is Peter such an idiot to Jack? Why does Lucien at times get deathly jealous and other times go with the flow? What is Peter's medical status? We waited the whole book for it and then it was just passed over in the end. Guess that's for Book 3, which I am off to read now... :-)

Happy Reading.