Monday, February 27, 2012

[Review]: "A Taste for a Mate"


A Taste for a Mate by Carrie Ann Ryan
Series: The Redwood Pack, 2
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Summary (Amazon.com);
Jasper Jamenson’s only responsibility to being the Beta of the Redwood Pack, second son of the Alpha, is to protect the Pack from themselves and the human world. After a century of selfless service, his brother’s new found mating forced him into taking a good look into his life. He isn’t sure he wants a mate, but fate may have other ideas.

Willow Delton is a skinny, bakery owner – the type most woman love to hate. Being without family, she finds herself alone to the Greek god with green eyes who saunters into her bakery every morning. Her desire to follow him, to be with him, overrides every rational sense she possessed.

Jasper and Willow are drawn together, despite every nuisance that works against them. But evil beyond even Jasper’s supernatural compensation will make war against him, by going after the only thing in his eternal life he desires – Willow. Is Willow’s heart enough to overcome Jasper’s soul to save her life? A fight he cannot win, but to save her life – he must.



Where to Buy*: Kindle | NOOK
More Info: Author's Site | Book Site


Other Books in the Series:
Book 1: An Alpha's Path
Book 3: Trinity Bound (April 2012)



 My Review:

The Redwood Pack is the strongest werewolf pack around. But when a rival pack, whose leaders are pure evil, enlist the use of a demon to take down the Redwoods, there will be casualties—on both sides. The war has begun, and the Centrals are not willing to back down. Can the Jamenson family, along with the rest of the pack, take the Centrals out—before it's too late...?

Willow and Jasper seemed to be made for one another—which, considering that they are mates makes sense. The chemistry between them was spicy hot, if a bit sudden. There wasn't nearly enough romance in A Taste for a Mate, at least not for my tastes. I would have been happier watching Willow and Jasper fall in love. Instead, we see Jasper claim her as his mate and she quickly accepts it. The end. Wait-where was the romance? The love? The getting-to-know-each-other banter? I enjoy a good “predestined mate” storyline, such as this, but there should also be a visible connection and development of feelings between the hero and heroine, which I just couldn't find in this book. The sex might have been hot, but the lack of connection between them quickly threw a bit of a cold towel on the action, at least for this reader.

The characters were nothing spectacular, and by that I mean they were not the sort that I will remember long after the book is done with. Willow seemed to be a bit lacking; she tried to show how she was supposedly a strong woman who knew what she wanted, but I didn't see it. And Jasper wasn't much different. Other than the fact that he is a werewolf, with strong ties to his pack and family, I didn't get much from him either. The conversations between the two, as well as conversations between other characters, seemed a bit stiff, and didn't really fit. It made it a bit more difficult to enjoy this book, as, besides Reed (who was a bit different from the others), I didn't really feel a connection—of any sort—to any of the characters.

The story was fairly interesting, though it didn't hold my attention from start to finish. There were more than a few rough spots, and while they didn't ruin the book completely, these rough patches did take away from the story's overall quality. For most of the book, the story and pace both seemed very rushed. And yet there were other times when it dragged on a bit. I wish the pace had been just a bit more smooth and steady, though perhaps this will improve a bit as the series goes on.


3 STARS! Carrie Ann Ryan has managed to write a very sexy shifter novel, filled with fantasy and action. The tender romance elements may have been MIA, but I still enjoyed A Taste for a Mate. I look forward to reading future books about the Redwood Pack. I'm especially intrigued by Reed, Jasper's younger brother, and hero for book three in the series. Apparently, Reed swings both ways—sounds like his story could be one heck of a ride then!



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I received a PDF copy of this book from Goddess Fish, in addition to participating in their virtual blog tour for Carrie.
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*Note*: Carrie will be back for a guest post on March 1st!

Enjoy!






Until Next Time,
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*TBQ's Book Palace is a member of both the Amazon and Barnes and Nobles affiliates program. By using the links provided to buy products from either website, I receive a very small percentage of the order. To read my full disclosure on the matter, please see this post!

2 comments :

Jen at Red Hot Books said...

It sounded like this one had potential. It's a shame it didn't entirely deliver. (I love werewolf mating stories.)

The_Book_Queen said...

Hi Jen,

I'm a fan of shifter mating stories, but for some reason this one just didn't grab my and pull me in. It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't my favorite either. I think the hardest thing is trying to accurately describe "average" in a review, which is what this one was for me.

However, it's a fairly quick book, and for anyone that loves shifters, I would still suggest checking this series out--I think it's still got potential! :)

Enjoy,
TBQ