Review: Fast and hot read...
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 7, 2014
This story fed my slight enjoyment of BDSM elements while keeping the heroine true to her nature. Under The Alpha's Protection keeps the BDSM to the bedroom and I gotta love Raoul because of it. From the get-go, he was pretty insistent and clear on what he wanted from Nikita, and the fact that he wanted a strong woman by his side in the light of day, not one who would hide behind his shadow, said a great deal about him.It instantly made me fall in some kind of love with his character.Beyond that, as I said in my update while reading, Raoul was always, always, always in control. He never really let it slip, even during what had to have been some of the most difficult moments, like the beginning where he had to see his mate in the state she was, or the night that followed her attack where he needed to care for her while keeping her calm.Control, it was clear he valued it, showing it, and constantly keeping it. His nature, his status, would demand that, obviously.I kept wondering when, if ever, we'd see a little crack in that faade. And the control he must have had to keep his wolf from claiming his mate from the moment he knew she was his was another one of those things that showcased the control he had. No one can keep that up and never let it show.And then we did get to see that little slip. A part closer to the end, a piece I don't want to spoil, we finally get to see what makes Raoul so vulnerable, what could and would make him worry, break, and be frightened: Nikita. I think it made him a better character for it, honestly.Well done to the author for giving him that moment and writing it the way she did. Alpha's can have weaknesses, too.The romantic scenes between the H/h were well written, hot, and didn't make me feel like I was just reading some porn novel.Unfortunately, there were a couple of points that I felt were rushed, like at the end, that kind of jumped out of nowhere as if the couple suddenly just declared their feelings so the story had to jump and start to get done with. Maybe more time could have been spent building them. I also felt like we missed a lot by not having some of their history better delved into, it was almost like the reader had to take the few sentences we got from the H/h about how they met, how he felt about her/she him back then and work out how everything else transpired around them.Besides the slightly rushed feeling I got at those points, I really enjoyed Raoul's and Nikita's story. Strong characters, a good conflict, and a memorable tale. I'll be looking forward to more from Doris for sure.*I received this book in exchange for an honest review*