Review: Sexy fated mates story
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 08 20, 2013
Despite his father's urgings, Adam never really believed a mate was in his future.  He certainly never imagined she would be a jaguar.  After all, they're the natural enemies of the werewolves.  But unexpected or not, a jaguar is exactly what fate has in mind for him.  Adam is actually hunting rogue jaguars in his town when he stumbles onto Lana for the first time.  He is amazed to discover that she doesn't even know what she is; and he is even more shocked to realize that she is the woman destined to be his.Lana is a woman on the run.  She has been blacking out once a month for years, and ever since she made the mistake of getting some medical tests done, her life has been changed forever.  We learn she is being hunted by a secret organization that is centered on paranormals.  It takes awhile for the truth to unfold, seeing as it takes Adam to open her eyes to her true nature.  She is skittish at first about trusting him. And that's compounded when they stumble across the body of his dying friend... a friend, it turns out, who was killed by the same jaguar who is hunting for Lana.The story centers on the love story of Lana and Adam, while she hides from the bad guys hunting her and tries to learn more about who and what she is.  If that's not complicated enough, the trouble is compounded by the fact that Adam knows his pack will never accept a jaguar as his mate, no matter how much he loves her.  Yes, I said love.  It happens in about two seconds.  But that's really one of my only complaints about the story.. and I have a higher tolerance for insta-love in shifter mating stories than in any other kind of romance.Adam makes for a fairly good hero. He's pretty much your average Joe werewolf. He's kind of a player, but when faced with his mate, he quickly buys in to the relationship.  He is loyal and determined to have a life with her, despite the sacrifices he knows that may entail.  And I must say it was pretty refreshing to read about a strong man who is not an Alpha-hole.  I liked Lana well enough too, though at times I felt like she was more defined by her circumstances than as a person.  She is the woman who has been rejected her entire life and has never had anyone love her.  So when Adam offers her his love, I think it changes her world more than the realization she changes into a giant cat once a month.  The romance is fairly good, if you can ignore how quickly it develops. And the love scenes are quite well done.  Definite points there.I really liked that the POV alternated between the hero and heroine. I also liked the world building. The element of the twin males is cool and I thought the author did a good job establishing some interesting secondary characters --even if the set-up for Adam's brother's romance was a little heavy handed. I'm actually more interested in learning more about Sebastian, the jaguar assassin, than anyone else.  (And was I the only one who thought he got off kind of easy for killing whatshisface at the beginning of the book?)Anyway, I enjoyed the book and will likely pick up the next one as the series continues.