Summer Reading Book Review: Crash

Book: Crash (Westside Wolf Pack book #1) by Zoe Perdita

Edition: E-Book

Description:

Ben Singer, an omega werewolf, has been in love with his former best friend and the alpha scion of their wolf pack, Axel, from the time they were teenagers. Ben thought they were mates, but the rules of their pack kept them apart.

Axel Cross is a fuck-up. The sexy tattooed wolf threw away his chances of ever becoming pack alpha at seventeen, and Ben has no idea why.

When Axel’s uncle kicks Ben out of their Pittsburgh pack, it’s the chance the omega has been waiting for. Then Axel demands to accompany the smaller wolf. The only problem is Ben wants to run away for good – away from the pack Axel’s uncle decided the omega should join and away from Axel.

But Axel doesn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. He’s determined to go with Ben, even if the omega doesn’t want him around.

While desire stirs between Axel and Ben, years of heartache haunt them. Can the alpha and omega let go of their past and the old pack in order to find a bright new future together?


Rating: 5 stars

Review:

Crash kicked off my summer reading.

The story switches between the past and the present as it focused on the friendship between werewolves Ben Singer and Axel Cross. They used to be best friends but somewhere along the way that friendship ended and it wasn't until the story progressed that the reader finds out why.

This fast-paced emotional story begins with Ben preparing to leave Pittsburgh after being kicked out of his pack by the leader. Ben's sexuality and his ability not to follow orders (or stay in his place as an omega) are two of the main reasons why he's being kicked out of his pack. The pack leader who is also Axel's uncle has been trying to get rid of Ben for a while but Axel's trouble making antics have instead kept his attention.

After Ben was finally kicked out, he had been instructed to head down to Baton Rouge to join the pack down there. However, Ben had other plans. He's going to take off and make a new life for himself. Meanwhile, his former best friend Axel, who's always getting into trouble, may have found the perfect way to escape his problems by heading out on the road with Ben.

This impromptu road trip came with a lot of obstacles from car troubles to Ben and Axel not getting along and the both of them worrying about trying to stay ahead of their pack leader who was pursuing them for disobeying orders.

This story although humorous at times deals with a lot of violence and abuse be it from Axel's father abusing him or the new pack leader throwing his weight around by attacking those weaker than him being Ben. Axel had a horrible childhood with a neglectful mother and violent father but he didn't want to be anything like them even if everyone thought he was a loser just like them. His actions proved that even though reckless at times they were however misconstrued. He had a reason for all the things he was doing.

I found the romance to be rather sweet, despite Axel trying not to show how much he really liked Ben initially during the road trip. There are sex scenes in this but their not so frequent that they become the focus of the story. There were also some fight scenes in the book which I think the author did a good job with.

I don't usually read a lot of paranormal books but a friend kept suggesting this to me. So, I finally took a chance and picked it up. Since this is not one of my usual genres, I had a hard time understanding the whole pack hierarchy. I guess I always figured monsters did whatever they wanted without needing permission which is why I liked Ben's character so much. Despite being classified as an omega he didn't adhere to the label. He's extremely opinionated, outspoken and didn't desire to stay in a situation that didn't work for him such as heading to his newly designated pack.

This was a good story but I had a tiny little annoyance with the author constantly referring to Axel and Ben as "alpha" and "omega" as well as also referring to them as the taller wolf and smaller wolf. It really just made me wonder why the author didn't use the characters names more often.

I liked the story, the characters and their friendship, the romance for me was secondary. This was well written with the author doing a great job showing the reader who they are.