Sometimes you read a book , sit back and enjoy it for what it is, pure escapism . Simple as! That's how I felt after finishing Altered Hearts, I just really liked it. The paranormal/were side came over as almost believable, as in this world that Kate Steele has created ' we are told that humans and paranormals have become integrated and are aware of each other (felt more could have been made of this concept). Mick is a great alpha (werewolf) hero who comes to the rescue of Rio, a beautiful young hustler who has been turned ,abused and kept prisoner against his will by a psychotic alpha werewolf and who Mick realises is his possible mate. Mick is an enforcer for an agency that polices the paranormal society but as well as being ultra tough is also kind and thoughtful ( and obviously hot! Sigh!). The rest of the story flows nicely as Mick and Rio come to terms with their attraction and growing love. Yes, this has a lot of stereotypical cliches but somehow they felt a bit fresher than the norm and I really loved the journey that led to a very satisfying happy ending that made me wish there had been a follow up story for Micks brother Jed, but that doesn't seem to be the case...... shame. Another nice change is the love scenes are really well written, hot and sensual, but you are made to wait for them with a good build up of ST , for me that made them even better! I would have given this 4.5* & the only reason this didn't get a 5 * review is because I felt the paranormal side of the book could have been expanded more as stated above, because apart from the conflict with the evil alpha and Rio at the start and the odd bits of lore/info about the way they shift ,much of the story is about the ongoing romance and Rio's back story which deals with why he ended up on the streets hustling. Still Reccomend this highly and have gone on to buy more books by Kate Steele who's style of writing I very much like. Nice one! The book was perfectly written, but let me qualify that... every sentence was perfect, all the grammar was correct, the correct usage of the word "whom", and large words were used properly and profusely. But I didn't think that really fit the character of a high school drop out turned rent boy.I thought it started out with great potential, but it eventually turned into a "let's psychoanalyze Rio and Mick" story. I ended up skimming through the last part of the book. I won't read it again.
What do You think about Altered Heart (2008)?
I liked the first half more than the second since there was more conflict. Good read though.
—sravs
This is a slow story . I feel like I lost the day reading A book for teens.
—Patriciak01
