Review: Great Hero & Secondary Characters, Fast-Paced Action
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 3, 2013
Wolf Born picks up shortly after the ramifications caused by the forced inoculations of the police force in the previous book in the Underground Heat Series.  Fear and distrust reigns with wolf-shifter Max, California's governor, trying to keep things under control while keeping his shifter abilities secret and dodging bullets from an assassin.  With fringe groups angry over their continued persecution, and the police force now more powerful than ever and being sent out to hunt shifters, chaos is apparent in every scene so any chance at love is a welcome respite.Max has lived for hundreds of years and always appears in control, but recently his wolf side has been demanding he find a Mate.  For months he's been drawn to his secretary Audrey but work and pleasure aren't allowed to mix.  But after being caught together twice in the crossfire of assassins, and through the machinations of others, their mutual attraction becomes too much and they finally give into each other in some super hot scenes that lead to something special that changes the course of the rebellion.  Max is suave and debonair but love brings out a boyishly giddy side, a possessive side that borders on unstoppable rage once Audrey's life is put in peril.Audrey's father is a shifter who's gone into hiding after the mandated hunt for shifters.  Therefore she's always felt sympathetic to the cause and wants to do even more for the cause by using the injections to become a wolf-shifter.  This puts her life in jeopardy, as does her growing connection to Max.  Being in his presence confuses her, but with her wolf-side guiding her, the future of the rebellion takes a dramatic turn in a melodramatic quickly wrapped-up conclusion.  Audrey isn't my favorite heroine as I found her reason for using the injection a bit convoluted.  I found her a bit weak-willed as well as overly emotional.  I did admire her honesty though and her easy acceptance of shifter ways and her connection with Max was sugary sweet and scorching which made for a good match.I loved the vivid details of this futuristic world, the automated transportation, food rationings, and the forbidden but necessary black market.  Ms. Gimpel portrayed this new way of living in deeper detail than in the previous installment and it increased my satisfaction of this story.  I enjoyed the secondary characters and the mysteriousness of each of them, particularly Johannes.  He's super sexy and willing to put his life on the line for Max after being friends with him for hundreds of years.  Though their friendship is tight it's clear he's lonely and jealous of this newfound mating and I hope to see his story told soon.  There were many heartpounding action-packed sequences throughout the story as we dug deeper into the fringe groups that intruded into the burgeoning romance that kept the story moving at a fast pace.  Though the ending sputtered a bit I still enjoyed this story and look forward to revisiting this intriguing futuristic world.