Review: Dark, entertaining and passionate!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 5, 2012
Tall, dark and handsome keeps showing up at Wil's bakery every morning, until one day he finally asks her out. Delighted she expects a wonderful night, instead she gets kidnapped, tortured and near killed and at the very last moment saved by Jasper. And let's not forget she discovers there are such creatures as werewolves, and they aren't all nice.Jasper is the Beta of the Redwood Pack, he's been dying to make a move on Willow, he knows she's his mate, but Wil's human and knows nothing about werewolves or about his Pack, but risking it he finally asks her out. Before he gets to pick her up she's kidnapped by a rival Pack, The Centrals. Jasper and his brothers do everything they can to save her - with the consequences of having to take Wil to Pack lands to keep her safe, to keep her his.The Central Pack and its sadistic alpha won't go down easy, they have a plan of their own to get rid of Redwood Pack and their way to do it just happens to lay in Willow and Jasper and destroying everything they hold dear. No amount of blood, family or morals will stop these wolves from making pack with the devil. Literally.A Taste For A Mate was a great continuation for the Redwood Pack Series!  Dark, entertaining and passionate! Carrie Ann Ryan writes like a pro, the text is engaging the reader to react, to feel and to hope. The characters are realistic and the depth of their emotions made this a genuinely interesting read -  hoped throughout the book that Willow and Jasper could get a break and just settle down, and be happy for ever after, but this doesn't seem to be that sort of series. There is a delicious amount of darkness and truly wicked enemies that made the hairs at the back of my neck rise. I loved the darkness of the events unfolding in contrast to the love blossoming between Wil and Jasper.Jasper had all the characteristics of an alpha, even though he was the Pack's Beta, powerful, smart and when it came to Willow, possessive. I can't help but love the traits of a werewolf hero, all the possessive don't cross on my turf kind of attitude, the desperation for their mate and their protectiveness and hot bedroom manners! But then there has to be something about the hero that makes him relatable, bit weak and in Jasper's case that was inability to express himself to Willow which caused some major drift and trouble, and after that he was even more compelled to show her that he truly loved her. Loved it!Willow, orphaned as a child, took to the Pack life like a moth to the flame, she finally had a family and she was so genuine and happy and caring that you could not help but adore her. She had a strong side too but being only human among friendly and not so friendly werewolves, it wasn't physical. One of the most adorable heroines I've read in ages!What I loved about this novel was the time, everything happened snap quick in the beginning and then there were weeks and months between actions - which tribute so well to getting to know the Pack and letting Willow adjust and bringing everyone to connect deeply. Sometimes the insta-connection is good, but I so enjoyed everyone getting to know each other over months! I truly enjoyed Jasper and Willow getting to know each other and truly fall in love before god awful things begun to happen one event after another.I loved all the twists in this book! Just when you thought things were settling down and people were happy, wham, the rugs off from underneath your feet and you're on your ass with a snarling beast before you. Loved it! There wasn't one boring moment in this book! And the cliffhangers, oh boy I loved those!All that said, I'm straight off to reading Book 3 "Trinity Bound" which is coming out this month! Oh, and all this talk about cinnamon buns is forcing me to make some. ;)