Review: Great Reading
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 1, 2013
Marie Harte has done it again with By the Tail, the seventh book in her Cougar Falls series. I really liked this book. It was a breeze to read and held me enthralled from start to finish. There was a heady intensity to the story, with Quince having some hard work ahead of him to earn Joy's trust. The plot was loaded with so many wrong assumptions. Emotions were intense as the drama thickened, with the suspense building to the big throw down. It was all so thrilling that I couldn't put my kindle down until the end. I loved watching as Quince got his long overdue redemption from the people he cared most about. I'd say that Marie Harte did a fantastic job with this one.As the book opens, readers are familiarized with a few of the reasons why Quince had looked like the bad guy in the past book. He and Joy have a little bit of a past. He was her brother's best friend back before everything went to pieces. Joy had a crush on Quince, and he'd been waiting for her to grow up before claiming her as his mate. Then things went bad. Quince got involved in some nasty stuff with a ruthless alpha, and he did some things that made him look very bad. Things aren't always what they seem to be. It was revealed that Quince was actually working to protect the pride and to take down the bad guys. But now his credibility is gone, and he has a long hard road to follow to redemption.Joy, the only cat he wants for a mate, has taken off to Montana. So Quince follows his little cat to Cougar Falls to win her back.  The suspense builds with dissension and treachery from within the pride. Joy's brother Miles returns and he is out for Quince's blood. Still the drama thickens as Joy fears that Quince may have ulterior motives for wanting to mate with her. The plot is fast paced and drives toward a big throw down that was as devious as it was thrilling. Enough said about that .... except that it was truly epic on Quince's part.I loved the lead characters in this book. Quince was a wonderful hero. He was such a sexy cat, and it came out in a delicious way. I liked Joy. She was sassy and smart to grab hold of Quince. I think that she had some self esteem problems going on though. Their chemistry was tangible, with sex scenes that had me about to melt. They had some steamy love scenes that included some anal and light bondage. The romance was great. I liked how Quince never took Joy's acceptance for granted, and how he put her feelings first when his friends were pushing for the mating to happen yesterday. She meant something to him and he wanted her to know that. Even more, I liked how Joy came to believe in him without sooo much melodrama. I liked her standing up for him when push came to shove. She had her man's back, and it saw him through some heavy sh*t. It must be said that I absolutely freaking loved the way Harte seemed to be setting up the next book with a very interesting hero.So I guess that it's obvious how much I loved this book. It was a great read that continues the Cougar Falls series in a fantastic way. I liked the way Marie Harte told this story. I loved everything about it, and cannot wait for the next one. If it's about the guy I think it is .... then all I can say is look out cause I'd break arms to get hold of it.In the meantime, while I wait for the next book, I'll be recommending this book to everyone. By the Tail is a highly recommended paranormal read for this happy reader.Originally posted at Long and Short reviews