The Siren’s Song (Havenwood #1)
by Crista Crown
My Rating: 3 stars
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Age Category: Adult
Type of romance: MM
Blurb:
Ever since Len realized most people are more in love with the idea of having sex with a siren than who he is as a person, he’s given up on love. Hook ups, friends with benefits—that’s fine. But romance is definitely off the table.It’s too bad he didn’t tell Max that before they slept together—for both of them. Hot, nerdy, human Max who captured Len’s interest with just a glance. Because Max doesn’t do meaningless sex. It’s all or nothing for him. So in spite of it being one of the hottest nights of Len’s life, there will be no repeats.
It’s also too bad Havenwood is very small and they share a friend group. Because it’s not like they can just ignore each other and pretend it never happened when they’re constantly running into each other.
And it’s not like Len can just stand back and watch when Aria, a vampire who’s been alive far too long to not have removed the stick from her behind, starts trying to stir anti-human prejudice with Max as her main target.
Even so, Len is determined to keep Max at arm’s length. Or at least at shoulder’s length. Though really he just wants to be pressed up against the human with as little between them as possible.
Len can totally be friends with Max without benefits. He has plenty of friends without benefits! Just not ones he can’t stop thinking about in bed…
Oh rivers, this is going to be a problem…
My Review
I received a free copy of this book through GRR and voluntarily reviewed it.
This book caught my eye when I saw it, I haven’t read a lot of books with sirens and I thought that part sounded pretty interesting. The set-up was interesting, the romance is sweet and steamy, the setting was nice and there were some interesting paranormal creatures. Despite feeling like this book had all the elements I wanted in a good book, it just ended up being okay for me. It never fully pulled me in or got me invested in the story. It wasn’t bad enough that I wanted to stop reading it, but I also never was really excited to continue reading. I am not sure what about this book caused me to feel this way, whether it was the writing style or just something that would elevate it to the next level. Or maybe my mood also played a role, I don’t know.
The Sire’s Song is told from dual point of views of both Len, a siren, and Max, a human. They meet once Max moves to Havenwood, a safe haven for all types of supernaturals. The two have some instant attraction and it doesn’t take long before things heat up, but Max wants more, while Len only wants the steam. I liked how they actually talk things through without this becoming the drama point later in the book. I did however think it felt a bit off how Len kept tempting Max and flirting with him after that. I liked how they become friends before their relationship really deepens again. I liked how they communicate and talk things through. They felt like a good match. There were some interesting themes of Max finding a place to belong and how Len had to get over the damage his ex did with him thinking people only wanted him because he’s a siren.
There are some side characters around as well, most had a few unique bits, but I felt only Kieran and Balor really came alive. The others didn’t have as strong of a personality. Besides the romance there’s a bit of a plot line with a vampire who doesn’t like humans in Havenwood, but to be honest I felt this plot point wasn’t really a big part of the story and felt a bit awkwardly added in. I also wasn’t really interested in this plot point. I thought my ARC copy missed a part about the cultural significance of the masquerade ball that got hinted at, but I assume that will be fixed in the final version. I felt the masquerade ball felt a bit like a let down after it got hyped up the whole book.
On the GRR website there was a note about there being a steamy scene with siren shifted form and I have to admit I was kinda curious how that would play out. But was a bit disappointed how it actually took place as it felt mostly the same as the other steamy scenes, just with a siren tail involved for Len.
I liked the setting of Havenwood and I would’ve liked to see more of the town and the creatures that lived there. I liked the addition of some paranormal creatures I don’t usually see in paranormal romance books like sirens and a Minotaur. I hope the minotaur gets his own romance book, I think that one might be next.
To summarize: This book had all the elements that normally would make for a great book for me, but something about this one was just okay. Len and Max meet when Max moves to Havenwood, the two have some instant chemistry that ends up building into more. I liked how these two communicated and they felt like a good match. There are some interesting paranormal creatures in this series. Although I had hoped to see more of the siren thing and the shifted steamy scene felt similar to the other steamy scenes instead of really unique. The side characters don’t really come alive besides Kieran and Balor. There’s a bit of a plot line with a vampire who isn’t happy Max moved to Havenwood, but I felt it was a bit awkwardly added in and wasn’t very interesting. I had just hoped to enjoy this one more as it has some interesting elements.
Sorry it didn’t grab you. Interesting he’s a siren.
I did think it was interesting one of the guys was a siren, that’s one of the things that caught my eye about this one.