Review: 4.5 blue ribbons from Romance Junkies
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 16, 2013
Jaguar shifter Amaranta `Amara' Costa feels her gift - Kanima - is both a curse and a gift.  She loves the knowledge that she's able to protect humans from the sadistic natures of others.  The downside of her ability is that she feels a need to hold a portion of herself apart from others, including her lover Marisol.  Unfortunately, her well-balanced, compartmentalized life is sent spinning out of control when Marisol is kidnapped and she's forced to turn to Gavin and his pack for help.Wolf Shifter Gavin Ford is Alpha of his wolf pack.  He also works at The Delightful Kitty as the boss's right hand man but the real perk of the job lies in being able to keep his eye on Amara and Marisol.  He's well aware that the women are lovers and Amara insists she has no interest in his manly bits but he's aiming to show her differently.  She might be in denial but Gavin's just waiting her out - sure that the opportunity to prove that she's not as indifferent to him as she pretends to be.Amara isn't used to relying on anyone for anything.  She has very little to do with her own family and Marisol is the only person she truly feels a bond with, however, even with Marisol she maintains an emotional distance and refuses to mate her or consider having children of her own.  When Marisol is kidnapped however, Amara is forced to admit her own fears and acknowledge the fact that she needs someone.  None too soon as far as Gavin is concerned, though the circumstances could have been better.Gavin makes no apologies for being inherently male or very possessive of those who belong to him and as far as he's concerned Amara and Marisol are his.  Marisol's kidnapping and subsequent recovery just allowed him the opportunity to bring the women into his home and show Amara that there's nothing wrong with leaning on someone else or giving in to your desires.  She's not a woman who'd appreciate being coddled and he's just abrasive enough to satisfy her need to be dominated.  The trouble is that Amara still has trouble accepting help in all aspects of her life - something Gavin isn't going to tolerate - and he has Marisol's full cooperation in breaking down Amara's self-imposing demeanor.Mahalia Levey grabbed my attention with her release SATIN AND STEEL and didn't let go until I read every last page.  In fact, I even paid a visit to her website to check and see if there are more titles involving these characters or Gavin's pack.  It doesn't look like it but I've got my fingers crossed hoping for more.  Ms. Levey incorporates humor along with intense emotional angst and plenty of passion.  Of course, there's a lot of lesbian action which is incredibly hot (even if you aren't into girl on girl action) and once Gavin comes into the picture you're definitely going to feel your heart rate accelerate.  Amara, Marisol and Gavin make a wonderful trio and I loved reading about their relationship but I also found myself captivated by Amara's emotional tribulations that stem from her Kanima gift - and her family's attitude about her abilities.  This may be the first title I've read by Ms. Levey but I can guarantee it won't be the last.  I'll definitely be picking up copies of some of her backlist titles and keeping an eye out for future releases.Chrissy Dionne (courtesy of Romance Junkies)