"Captivating! Mesmerizing Shapeshifter Showdown"
I can't say enough for this book. Susan Krinard is aptly
tagged the "Queen of Werewolves". What can I say to
adequately praise this book? Captivating! Mesmerizing!
Couldn't put it down. This is a showdown between two alpha
personalities. Tragedy has played a role in both the hero
and heroine's lives leaving them determined not to let
anyone close enough to hurt them again. Joelle Randall
(Joey) has left her home in San Francisco for the Canadian
Rockies - her goal: To find the site of her parents' plane
crash, ten years earlier. She is compelled to see for
herself and say her good-byes. She requires a guide, but
for some reason no one is willing to volunteer. the towns
people seem a bit nervous, but Joey is persistent. In a
short time she has endeared herself to both innkeeper,
Maggie, and the town doctor, Allan. Luke Gevaudan is a loner, living in the wilderness outside
the town. The town folk seem intimidated in his presence.
It has been a long time since his needs have been satisfied
and he singles out Joey as the woman he desires. He
pursues her relentlessly, but she shows no interest. For
Luke this is a challenge like no other, and it makes him
all the more determined. Joey is only interested in finding a guide to help her find
the crash site. Winter is approaching and she knows she
must go soon. The land she must search belongs to Luke; so
she decides that she must convince Luke to be her guide.
She flirts with him, certain that she can get what SHE
wants,
without giving him what HE wants. When they kiss she is
mesmerized, and she realizes that she's gone too far. Just
when she's about to capitulate, he breaks away and flees.
He's come to a startling revelation. Joey is bewildered
and more determined than ever. She tracks him down to his
home and he tells her to leave, to stay away from him, and
to give up her search. He tells her he will stop her if she
tries to go alone. Naturally, Joey insists she will go
anyway. Eventually Luke sees that he has no choice but to
guide her. However, the weather and terrain is harsh and
Joey is not as suited to it as Luke is. She suffers the
effects and Luke finds he must save her from a death from
hypothermia. Good intentions are forgotten in a passionate
love scene and now Luke knows there is no going back. He
knows what Joey doesn't - that she is bound to him for all
time, she is his mate. He knows that if she refuses to
accept her fate that he will die, as his mother did when
his father left her. A second accident befalls Joey, this
time she is seriously injured. Luke must go for help but
there is little time, he must transform. Joey is delirious
and thinks she is dreaming, but it is no dream. When she
recovers Luke reveals his nature. Now he must find a way
to make Joey stay with him, he isn't ready to trust her to
make the choice for herself. But there is another secret that everyone knows but Joey,
her own secret, the very reason that Luke resisted her and
now is unable to turn away. Can Luke keep Joey happy
without telling her the truth, can he live with his guilt
in not giving her a choice? Can he make her understand and
accept who she was born to be? When Luke's life is
endangered Joey has the chance to repay her debt and not
one but two startling truths are revealed, one she can live
with, the other is too painful. Can Luke live without her,
or will his heart break as his mother's did? Can Joey and
Luke relinquish their precious control and give their lives
into the hands of another? Awesome! Leslie Tramposch / September, 1999
Copyright © 1999 for PNR Reviews
Reviewed by Leslie Tramposch
Posted December 12, 2001
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