Review: Interesting Read
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 04 25, 2013
The Awakening: AidanIs the gift of eternal love a blessing or a curse?After years of counseling grieving shifters, psychiatrist and half-shifter, Dr. Jaylin Avgar has become jaded on shifter mating. She wants to marry a human and forget about the love for eternity crap. Then she meets Aidan O'Connell, an infuriatingly laid back shifter who represents everything she doesn't want. Yet, the more he pursues her, the more she craves a future with him. Only one thing stands in her way: death. Can she overcome her fear of losing Aidan to the one guarantee in life?Millionaire consultant, Aidan O'Connell knows he'll one day meet a woman who'll awaken an unrelenting mating instinct. Unfortunately, that woman is Jaylin, who has no qualms about telling him that he and his so-called eternity can shove it. When she pushes him away, he takes a drastic step so she can no longer escape. The close proximity throws the instinct into overdrive. Can he control the need engrained in him until he's certain she will reciprocate the bond, or will a moment of weakness doom him to hell on earth?ReviewMs. Niles gives us a new take on shifter romance and she makes a good start.  I enjoyed the story and would read more if she were to keep going with this series, but I was a little confused at the beginning.  In building her world of shifters the different terminology she used threw me and it may have been helpful to have a primer at the beginning of the book.  It was slow going in some parts of the book, but the ending was worth it.The story revolves around Jaylin, a half shifter and psychologist and Aidan, shifter and businessman.  The story starts with Jaylin coming to help Aidan's friend, Liam who has bonded with a human girl that leaves him once finding out he is a shifter.  In this world, it is almost like a death sentence where you will never have another mate, can feel the emotions of the lost mate which puts you into a trance like state; for me that was a real downer for the story. Jaylin has seen this happen to many shifters and their mates (including her mother) and does not want to mate with a shifter and avoids them at all costs.  Well, you can see where this is going....Aidan is course her mate.  Then most of the book centers on them helping Liam and trying not to bond (if you are Jaylin) or bond (if you are Aidan).For so much of the book I wanted to knock Jaylin up side her head.  I understand she has only seen the negative in the bonding to a shifter, but thank goodness she gets over that.  She really comes around in the later part of the book and the intimate scenes between them are hot.Aidan, I loved!  He understands that Jaylin does not want to bond, but after a kiss Aidan is already going down the slippery slope to bonding.  He is such strong character; he tries to do what Jaylin wants and needs while fighting his own instincts and the lengths he goes to for her put him in jeopardy.A good read, which if there are more I hope they build on this book and get better.