How to Tame a Beast in Seven Days (Embraced, #1)

by Kerrelyn Sparks

[Kate (Blogging with Dragons)]

Actual rating: 2.5 stars

The Embraced series is the only romance series I have ever read, and though I am always a little mortified by the covers, I really have enjoyed reading the series. To me, the Embraced series has read more like a fantasy series than a romance series. While I loved the series for being action packed, full of fantasy elements, interesting lore, and pure fun, I think that How to Tame a Beast in Seven Days was the weakest installment I have read as of yet. I felt that the other novels, including Eight Simple Rules for Dating a Dragon, offered a more complex chain of characters and a more authentic feeling romance. I also could not help but to notice the formula of the series and the repetitions in the writing.


Luciana, the main character of How to Tame a Beast in Seven Days Days, was born Embraced, along with her four adopted sisters. Born under the eclipse, or “embrace” of the two moons, the sisters and others born during this time were born with a magical ability. The Embraced were generally feared and put to death on the mainland, so the orphaned sisters live in secrecy on a convent on the Isle of the Moon. We learned of Luciana’s gift, when her father—whom she did not know existed, as she believed herself an orphan—showed up with his dead daughter—Tatiana, Luciana’s twin. It was not long before Tatiana, a bratty and spoiled noble lady, appeared to Luciana beyond the grave. Tatiana was beyond annoying and jealous of her sister Luciana for still being alive and wearing all of her pretty clothes, etc., but it was an interesting sisterly dynamic that changed and developed into something stronger over time.


With her family's appearance, Luciana learned of the predicament her well-to-do father was in—if his daughter did not marry the King’s suitor, his nephew, her father would be killed and his land and people put under the direct rule of the greedy, murderous, and tyrannical King. Given no choice but to pose as her deceased sister—as twin girls were considered taboo and often put to death—Luciana left the safety of the Isle and the comfort of the only home she had ever known in order to save her father and to marry Lord Protector of the Realm, Leofric. Known as the Beast for his horrific lightning powers that rendered him unable to touch anyone for fear of harming or even killing them, Luciana was understandably a little nervous to meet her betrothed.


From the moment she first saw Leo, initially not knowing that mysterious man she met was actually him, Luciana was smitten with him. And the feeling was beyond mutual. I have never liked instalove in books, but it really did not bother me too much in this series, because clearly it’s a romance book and love, as well as the promise of a fun and light series, were the main reasons for which  I was reading the novels.  I usually prefer much more of a slow-burn and development of feelings Though the instalove didn't bother me too much in the series because I was in the mood to read something light and fluffy, I still felt that Leo and Luciana's relationship, out of the other two in the series, was the weakest and most shallow. I did not feel like Luciana and Leo spent much time at all getting to know one another (only seven days if we go by the title), or even talking. In fact much of their time spent together, included him spying on her, via his shapeshifting friend Brody (whom I adore), being suspicious of her identity, and reading her hidden letter from her sisters, which is hilariously delivered by messenger seals—yes, you read that correctly. Ultimately though, everyone is exceedingly and saccharinely forgiving of all these things, which annoyed me more than all of the unhealthy snooping.


Though I enjoyed Luciana’s powers and her ability to communicate with the dead, I felt it was a bit of a recycled trope and presented nothing new here. Admittedly, it was definitely unique to watch Luciana develop a relationship with her sister and mother for the first time—even though they were deceased and no one else could see them. Brody, who was keeping an eye on Luciana in dog form, hilariously thought his best friend's fiancee was crazy at first for talking to thin air. Though that matter was eventually cleared up, I was still confused that at first, Luciana’s mother, also a ghost, repeatedly ran away from her daughter and then later told her how much she loved her, even coming to her rescue. This was a disconnect that was never really explained and must simply be accepted, as was much concerning the villain of the novel.


I loved the introduction of the series villain, the Chameleon and was anxious to see what he does in the next novel, as he was not around much in this one, but certainly made an impression. Able to shapeshift into any figure, man or animal, the Chameleon aimed to take over the kingdom one throne and mistaken identity at a time. Though I was honestly very perplexed by how everyone believed in the existence of the Chameleon right away, simply on the word of witnesses and by producing the appropriate royal corpses that he murdered and assumed the identities of. Regardless of others's willingness to believe in the existence of the Chameleon,  his dastardly deeds—including the murder of the King and his heir—coincidentally allowed Leo to assume the throne as King and Luciana as his Queen. It was touching that the first thing they did as rulers was to decree that being Embraced was no longer a death sentence, also fortuitously opening the door for visits from fellow Embraced sisters from the Isle of the Moon in the future.


My main problem with this series was that there was just so much coincidence that lead to a happy ending, instead of what felt like carefully laid writing plans. For instance, it was revealed that Luciana’s mother was struck by lightning while pregnant with her twins, bestowing upon her daughter a much-needed immunity to Leo’s touch. Though this does seem to be a theme of the series—that each Embraced girl provides some sort of missing characteristic that the Embraced male needs, such as Luciana’s lightning immunity—it did make the series feel even more predictable. This predictability would probably not be as big of an issue in How to Tame a Beast in Seven Days, if I had read the series in order, but I actually read the third novel in the series first. Because of this, I was able to clearly see the formula for the series—both the guy and the girl have separate crystallizing moments of realization that they are in love with the other; the main guy hides something really important, like being the heir to the throne; rushed marriages as something huge with dire consequences is happening that necessitates their official union; the heroine doing something major to save the day after previously ruining said day.


Despite of the formulaic feeling of the series, I still immensely enjoyed the novels and their humor. In How to Tame a Beast in Seven Days though, the humor fell a little flat for me. I cringed SO hard at Luciana referring to Leo’s—ahem—member, as a lightning rod. I really could not believe what I was reading—in fact, I felt like I was reading something for a far more juvenile audience at that moment—and did not really enjoy their intimacy because of that and similar writing. And the rest of their flirtation and dialogue, which I think was supposed to be banter, was similarly awkward due to excessive repetition. Leo and Luciana continually came back to phrases like, “You’re beautiful. I like that,” or “you’re clever. I like that.” ENOUGH, we get it. In every novel of the Embraced series, the author had a set of words or phrases that she could not help but to repeat over and over. Whenever I encountered "THE PHRASE" of the book, I wished the author would stop, as it really took me out of the moment of the novel.

Regardless of my qualms with the repetition, coincidences, and predictability, I still could not put this guilty pleasure of a book down and immediately went onto the next entry in the series. I loved that each of the Embraced novels set up the next novel, which stars another of the five sisters and their own romantic adventures. If you are looking for a fast and fun read—complete with supernatural powers, assassins, political intrigue, and interesting lore—or enjoy fantasy books with romantic elements, or just romance books, you will enjoy How to Tame a Beast in Seven Days and the rest of the Embraced series. Just do not expect a slowly developing romance with loads of character growth, or to be very surprised by many of the unfolding of events in this or the other books in the Embraced series.


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