Love Lost
Author: Cynthia St. Aubin
Reviewer: Jen
Rating: C/C-
January’s optional theme: Still Here
What I’m Talking About:
After I devoured Love Bites, the first book in the Tails from the Alpha Art Gallery series, I immediately purchased the next four titles (all books available) and read a total of four of the five books. By the time I finished the fourth book, I was discouraged by the writing and disappointed by the lack of forward progress in the relationship between main character Hanna and her werewolf mate, Mark, so I never read the final book. Finishing the series with the fifth book, Love Lost, seems like a good fit for January’s #TBRChallenge theme “Still Here.”
Picking up about two years after the events in the first four books, Love Lost opens with a stressed out Hanna who is overwhelmed by almost nightly bad dreams and exhausted from being Alpha. Mark is moody, and surprise… her mom shows up out of the blue. The story quickly ramps up with a series of odd encounters with furries, shifters, and cryptids.
My favorite parts of the Tails from the Alpha Art Gallery books are the humor, lighthearted hijinks, and the exciting adventures, and there are plenty of those things to go around. Unfortunately, the issues I had with the last couple of books spill into Love Lost. Hanna finds herself under-prepared for and overwhelmed by the challenges to her leadership. It’s been a couple of years and yet, she hasn’t seem to progress in her ability to manage her life or be alpha. She leaps into action without thought.
The story itself is interesting and exciting, but gets bogged down by too many layers and twists. Also, the storytelling sometimes jumps into events, leaving me a bit confused. I had to re-read sections to make sure I followed the action correctly. And sometimes the situations were over-the-top ridiculous, like Hanna having to (and quickly willing to) take a drug to follow a lead. Hanna acts without consideration. She doesn’t seem to take her role seriously. She whines about her relationship with Mark but doesn’t work on it.
Finally, I continue to be frustrated with the romance between Mark and Hanna. Often they could be happy if they would only communicate. It’s been two years and yet they still have the same issues. Meanwhile, her ex, former detective Morrison, now a vampire, is putting on the moves. While the author does (finally? once again?) address some of the issues in the ending of the book, I fear that it won’t stick, because nothing did in the past.
In the end, I’m glad I finally read Love Lost and can put this series to rest. I really enjoyed the first couple of books and loved the premise and setting, but the antics and lack of character growth have me saying farewell.
My Rating: C/C-
Jen
About the Book:
So now you’re the Alpha.
For neophyte werewolf Hanna Harvey, life is a wedge of triple crème room-temperature brie. Sure, there’s a crew of Furries aggressively adoring her right there in the bakery aisle and not everyone is excited about the abrupt change of command within the shifter kingdom, but what’s the occasional run-in with a cat-suit wearing lady assassin when you have a pygmy goat coffee butler—with a sweater vest!
Only, the threats have become a smidge too frequent—and graphic—and Abernathy is on high alert. Which, for a six-and-a-half-foot tall werewolf, looks a lot like making end tables with the spines of your enemies. Super awkward when it comes time for entertaining—which is exactly what Hanna has in mind for Abernathy’s upcoming birthday.
The party plans come to a screeching halt when ex-detective Morrison—now a cryptid conspiracy-obsessed freelance paranormal PI—insists that her life is in imminent danger (again). When a powerful enemy from Hanna’s past re-surfaces, she’s tempted to tap into the magic of an ancient ally.
Release Date: December 20, 2022*
Publisher: Oliver Heber Books*
Series: Tails from the Alpha Gallery #5
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Romantic Elements
Format(s): ebook
Book Source: Purchased with my own funds
*The existing books in the Tails From The Alpha Art Gallery series are being re-edited and re-released by Tor Publishing. Love Lost is scheduled for re-release May 2026 and will be available in paperback, ebook, and audiobook.