Krysten’s Review

Coyote by GiGi Meier is compelling and action packed, and I ripped through it in just 24 hours. From the very first page, you’re dropped into high intensity and danger that doesn’t let up until the exciting conclusion. This is one of those books that would sooo never happen to anyone (well, someone, but most of us can’t relate to it), which makes it both intriguing and fast paced.

There are some heavy topics covered in this book. You know straightaway from the opening scene that it’s going to include physical and sexual violence. Had I not gotten this as an ARC on Booksirens (which had a note to see the author’s website for the complete list of trigger warnings), I wouldn’t have known to expect animal cruelty as well, and I would have been totally unprepared for what was to come. If you can’t stomach these topics, avoid this book. Although I HATE books and movies that even HINT at an animal getting hurt (even if you don’t see or hear anything and it’s merely implied!), I will say that in this story, it served a purpose and was an integral part of the heroine’s journey.

As I mentioned, I received an ARC of this book, but I was a bit surprised to see it has already been out in the world for about a month. In my opinion, the author may have rushed to publish, as there were some pretty glaring mistakes throughout the book (including a fair number of typos, inconsistent formatting of the Spanish words, and even a switch from past to present tense about halfway through). So, I think it could have used another round of proofreading and polishing.

Based on the book blurb, I expected this to be a dual-perspective story told from both Sammie’s and Carlos’ points of view. It was a single POV first-person story, which is totally fine, but the description was a bit misleading. Not only that, but we don’t get introduced to Carlos until the 40% mark, which is WAY too late to introduce your hero. In fact, I don’t remember reading the heroine’s name (aside from the blurb) until she introduces herself to him, which was really weird. I was also confused at how immature Sammie is for a large chunk of the book; unless this was some kind of psychological condition where she reverted back to a childish state to deal with trauma (which is not implied), it was totally inconsistent with the bravery and maturity she had shown in the beginning when she rescued the girls from human traffickers.

That said, I enjoyed the book and stayed up way too late to finish it! There were some really beautiful and thought-provoking passages that, along with the action and excitement, made this a compelling novel. Though I hope Meier’s next book goes through a more rigorous editing process, I will be on the lookout for her next novel.