It pains me to do this, but two stars out of five.

I normally reserve that for the end of the review, but I thought I should just get it out of the way.

All that Remains is billed as a paranormal romance with a mystery at its heart, which I don’t normally read. I thought I’d take a chance on it, since it’s billed as a romance/mystery. I’d see if it is, and if this one would break out from the pack of those I’ve read before, all of which I’ve not liked.

It is not, and it did not.

First, the story: a killer on the loose who gnaws on the bones of his victims after he has killed them. OK, so here’s our mystery. Who is he and why does he do this. Well, he’s a werewolf. Literally, a werewolf. And the mystery is torpedoed less than 20% into the story by switching to him and his POV. Then it just becomes a catch me if you can story between the POVS that I just didn’t like because there’s no story there. He’s a psychopath with zero redeeming features, no tragic backstory, and leaves clues all over the place. So much for being smarter than the rest of the pack.

If the mystery had been a real mystery, even with paranormal elements that didn’t come to light until toward the end of the book, that would have been better, with o without the romance tied in.

Second, the romance: if the author had made the book primarily about the romance between the two female leads and developed that aspect more, tamping down the “mystery” into something else, the book would have been much improved. As it is, their romance just isn’t there in the sense of what the romance genre expects.

Thanks to Bold Strokes Books and NetGalley for the reading copy.