Review: CORNERED (Holloway Pack #5) by J.A. Belfield

Source: Received an egalley from the author in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Release Date: May 30, 2016


Description from Goodreads:

Daniel Larsen is playing a dangerous game, and he doesn't even know it.

A two-wheeled speedster. A little redhead in a bar. Evenings spent away from his pack. Innocent enough for most, but for Danny, the combination leads down a path of destruction and straight to a hell he doesn’t even see coming.

Entangled in a nightmare that started with his own brother and the cat he brought into their home, Dan’s driving himself toward a solitary existence—except for the curvaceous Olivia Fanella. Seduced by his new companion, and happy to ignore the divide growing between himself and the pack, Danny is oblivious to the trap being laid out for him.

Before long, Danny's integrity gets questioned. His loyalty gets questioned. Hell, he even questions himself.

On top of that, just when he believes life might be going a little better, he gets served the roughest shot he could never have imagined—not even in his worst nightmares—and Danny has no idea how to come back from a hit like that.


**Cornered contains scenes that some readers might find upsetting**

It's been a while since the last Holloway Pack book, so I was extremely excited to read CORNERED!! This time, it's Danny's turn to be the focus of the story. Last we saw of the Holloway pack, there was some major tension between the Larsen brothers over Kyle's new relationship...well, when this one starts, things are still pretty tense. 

I really love this series, and there have been some pretty dark moments in the previous books, but CORNERED was really dark. Most of the story deals with Danny's internal struggles, and I have to admit, it was hard to read at times. I wavered between wanting to smack some sense into Danny to get him to finally open up and talk to his family, and wanting to just pull him in for a hug. Poor guy. He goes through so much!

I really enjoyed getting back into the world of the Holloway Pack, and I loved getting to see the guys and their mates again. It was like coming home! While I did enjoy Danny's story, it wasn't my favourite of the series. I think Jem and Sean's stories are still my faves just because it's where it all started. In these later books, the world that the pack lives in has changed so much. Their knowledge of the paranormal world has grown, and they've become entrenched in things that they didn't even know existed. 

In CORNERED, everything comes crashing down and Danny finds himself in the midst of some pretty horrible stuff. At the same time, he's struggling to make things right with his family⎯his whole life is spiraling downward. He's turned into quite the lone wolf, and during his solitary outings, he finds comfort in Liv, a feisty redhead. She's snarky with him, and calls out all of his crap, which is exactly what Danny needs. I really enjoyed Danny and Liv together. Their dynamics were fantastic, and they had amazing chemistry. I did feel like their relationship was pretty rushed near the conclusion of the story, but I still really loved them together.

As for the plot itself, it was packed full of tension and extremely fast-paced! Danny's brooding does drag the story down a little bit, but I think it was a necessary progression after how things ended in UNNATURAL. There was a lot of unresolved tension and Danny bore the brunt of it. When it comes to this story though, expect the unexpected. It's one of those stories with plenty of twists, and they'll be sure to keep you on the edge of your seat!

I'd definitely recommend CORNERED to fans of the Holloway Pack series, and I'd recommend the series as a whole to fans of paranormal and urban fantasy. I'd like to give a warning though, CORNERED is the darkest Holloway book yet, and Danny encounters some situations that may be triggering to victims of sexual assault. While it is a dark story, I still really enjoyed CORNERED, and I'm looking forward to what happens with Danny and the rest of the Holloway Pack next. Here's hoping for Josh's story next!!! I absolutely love Josh!! Spoiler that isn't really a spoiler...he was listening to Ed Sheeran in CORNERED at one point, and I swear, my heart melted. I'm an Ed fangirl to the max, so that fangirlness definitely spread to Josh a bit there. :P 

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What do you think?
 
Have you read any of the Holloway Pack books yet?

Are you a fan of werewolves?

And are you a fan of stories that are a bit darker?

I don't read them often myself, but I do find it interesting to get inside of someone's during internal struggles like Danny went through in CORNERED.