Review: Healer's Choice by Jory Strong

Title: Healer's Choice
Author: Jory Strong
Series: Ghostland World #3
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Release Date: September 7, 2010
Publisher: Berkley Trade
Edition: Trade Paperback
Source: Publisher
Blurb:

Born into a world of violence and paid-for sex, Rebekka longs for a family of her own and dreams of freeing those trapped in the shapeshifter brothels of the red zone. A witch's prophecy claims she'll one day use her gift to heal the Weres made outcast by their mixed human-animal forms.

But Rebekka knows that everything comes at a cost. A plea to save five children sends her into the arms of Aryck, a Jaguar enforcer-and into territory controlled by pure Weres. It's a place where humans and outcasts aren't welcomed, where plague threatens and the fate of the Weres hangs in the balance. And where the choices Rebekka and Aryck make are paid for with their hearts...if not their souls.

I had a lot of trouble getting into this book. It may be because I didn't read the previous two books of this series, but I think this could be read as a stand alone.
The world the author has created is complicated and harsh. There were a lot of rules that I really didn't understand, creatures and magical beings that aren't really explained, aside from the Weres who are the main focus of this novel, and the abilities of the heroine are not explored until the very end of the book, instead we are told that she is scared of them and that she can do all these incredible things, but we don't really see them, she just keeps doing what she knows how to do. She never steps out of her comfort zone, at least for most of the book.

As for the main characters, Rebekka is a strong although predictable character. She had a difficult childhood and her life didn't really get better as she got older. The thing I liked the most about her was that, even though she was afraid, she fought for what she believed in. I got the sense that some important events happened in the previous book that affected her, but they were never explained in this book, which confused me.
Then there's Aryck, the jaguar were. He is without a doubt an alpha male, but sometimes I wished he would have stood up to his father. I know that this is going to sound contradictory, but what I liked most about him was that he wasn't perfect. He made mistakes but he also tried to fix them.

There were some parts of the book, like Melina's who was the female jaguar that wanted Aryck, that I think were unnecesary. There also were parts narrated by a character named Radek that while they gave some depth to the story, bored me.
In my opinion, the best things of the book were the interactions between the tiger cub Caius and the tiger were Canino and the relationship between Rebekka and Aryck.

This was a promising book but there were times where I skimmed some pages, especially when a character I didn't care about narrated the story. The romance between the main characters is very hot and I loved seeing how they got together in the end. I may read the next book of the series, but it all depends on what the story is about and who is the hero/heroine.


Memorable Lines:

A small hand holding a bouquet of purple flowers appeared in front of Rebekka's face, jerking her from her thoughts. She turned her head slightly and saw the Tiger cub standing on the other side of the log she sat on.
"For making me better," Caius said.
Rebekka took the flowers, holding them close to her nose and inhaling. "Thank you."

Previous Books:
1. Ghostland
2. Spider-Touched

Next Book:
3.5. Angel-Claimed - Primal Anthology (Feb 2011)

Rating: