Review: Not the best in the series
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 05 3, 2010
I have read the entire True Mates series so far.  It has its ups and downs.  I did not feel that Nikolai's Wolf is one of the better installments in the series.  The character development and the development of the primary relationship in the novel simply left a lot to be desired.  Nikolai came off more as creepy than mysterious half the time, and that is not good for a lead alpha male.  More obsessed than truly in love, kind of like a stalker at times.  He had so much potential as a character it was really a shame how this played out.  It seemed that most of the book their "relationship" consisted of him invading her dreams and inducing her to feel for him with the blood and mental exchange.  The sad thing is that the characters had good chemistry once they were face to face and should have been allowed to develop that chemistry on the page without all the seemingly manipulative actions on his part.  While it is true that the world was definitely developed better in this book, and there are a few nice follow-up stories set up, the fact is that to me all that is secondary to the relationship between the main characters.  I felt that left a lot to be desired.  The potential was there, but it just never went beyond that.  Too much manipulation, without balancing the story with the honest face time needed for the relationship to blossom into a believable love story on the page.  This book is just not my cup of tea.  There are people who will like it of course.  I just don't happen to be one of them.  I much prefer book 2 "Mary and the Bear" and book 4 "Tameka's Smile".  "Mary and the Bear" was all about the relationship between the main characters which I loved.  It did not have much information on the world or pack dynamics.  Then again, the book dealt with a bear shifter, not a wolf.  Hugh was not a part of the wolf pack so they only get mentioned as side characters.  "Tameka's Smile" also developed the relationship between the characters well, and the story itself was wonderful.  While "True Mates" started the series as book 1, it was not a highlight of the series either.This book was just ok, nothing outstanding, and definitely not a book I will re-read.  I got all the information I needed from it the first time I read it in order to keep tabs on the series. If you are following the series I recommend you read it, otherwise you may miss some information which may be important later on.  However be aware that this is not really the crowning jewel of the series.  The potential was there, but the story falls short.