Author: Megan Derr
Publisher: Less Than Three Press
Pages/Word Count: 69 Pages
At a Glance: Interesting shifters and pairing, but ultimately the story fell short.
Reviewed By: Jennifer
Blurb: Sidney has quietly loved twin brothers Brook and Colby for years, watching and pining as they came to his house for the summer every year. Painfully aware that they have each other, have no reason to notice the unremarkable duck they grew up babysitting.
Then the twins and their mother are attacked days before an important meeting that will change the shifter world forever. When the twins come to stay with Sidney’s family until the attackers are caught, Sidney learns that all things have their season, and even violent protests will not keep two rabbits from the man for whom they’ve been patiently waiting…
Review: First off, I will admit I did not know this was a series until I finished the book, but it does not in any way affect this story. This book can stand alone. The characters from the first book do make a brief appearance, however, so if you want to know Skylar’s story, make sure you read the first book.
Okay, on to the review of Rabbit Season. I was really excited to read the blurb, as it looked interesting. I mean, who doesn’t love a good shifter story, right? And this one certainly seemed unique. Most shifter books involve predatory animals like wolves, lions, etc., so the fact that this one has ducks and rabbits was pretty intriguing. I’ve read shifter books with non-predators before, but they’re few and far between in the genre, and I have never read one with rabbits. Plus there’s the whole twincest aspect. But, while I was excited to read it, the book fell short.
That’s not to say the story wasn’t good, because Megan Derr had a great concept. However, it was just too much packed into too short a story. Clocking in at less than 25000 words, there just wasn’t enough space to tell Sidney, Brook, and Colby’s story and do it the justice it deserved. Too much tries to happen.
Take the romance between the twins and Sidney. It comes on fast and sudden. Granted, they are rabbits and get busy quickly, but it just seemed pretty unbelievable, given how shy Sidney is supposed to be around the twins. None of the boys seemed to act their age, either. Sidney is supposedly twenty, and the twins twenty-six, but their words and manners made me feel they were much younger, which bothered me.
They did have some funny moments, though. I loved the banter between Sidney and his dads. It was pretty funny. And then there was Sidney’s voice. When he wasn’t sounding too young, he made me laugh with how he expressed himself.
The conflict resolution was too neatly tied up. There is supposed to be something big at stake which involves the lives of the twins and their mother, but when it came down to the wire, it just…ended neatly. I wanted more. More tension, more drama, more risk.
This story could have easily been twice as long, and I think it really deserved that. The complexity of the duck society is only hinted at, and the shifter relations needed more exploration that just fell short in this book.
You can buy Rabbit Season here:
