Review: entertaining shapeshifter/vampire romance
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 04 24, 2010
Shannon, a werewolf, is being pressured by Rory, her older brother and alpha of the pack, to take a mate and continue the family line. At her continued denials of his setups, he calls a 'hunt'--a barbaric, outdated practice of unmated females getting a short head start and then unmated males running to catch them. In Shannon's case, it was against her will so she fights the men who pursued her. Otherwise, she would have been forced into a lifetime mating she didn't want. After the fight, she is injured and lying bleeding in the forrest.The vampire Nikolai is passing through the area and drawn by a distinctive scent. He finds her and trys to help her. Injured in her wolf form, she instinctively attacks him, swallowing some of his blood. He uses compulsion to put her to sleep and then takes her to Alex Wolfe, alpha of another nearby wolf pack and doctor. As she heals, he continues to be drawn to her. But she's a werewolf and he's a vampire--can she actually be his Chosen?I read and enjoyed 'True Mates 2: Mary and the Bear' before reading this book. And while I liked 'True Mates 2', I felt the world building could have been better developed, ie, what it was like to be a shapeshifter, how packs are organized, etc. 'True Mates 3' does a better job with this and goes into greater explanation about pack structures and the shapeshifters themselves. We also get to see some of the characters we know and like from the earlier books--Hugh, Mary Elizabeth, Alex, and Kiesha. I liked the romance between Nikolai and Shannon as well as the fast paced storyline, which had some good twists and turns. There's a nice secondary storyline that sets up a romance between quirky, genius Shayla (Kiesha's cousin) and Rory, alpha of the nearby pack. I'm guessing another book in the series will be about them.There were a few areas for improvement. I didn't buy how quickly Shannon forgave Rory for the hunt. He never apoligized or admitted that what he did was wrong. While he claimed he had her best interests at heart, he acted against her will and a strong female like Shannon shouldn't have forgiven him so quickly. Also, some of the vampire's powers seemed a little over the top, and information about his character could have been better developed--not only about him personally but also more about vampires generally. And how could Kiesha shift forms without losing the baby?All in all, this was an enjoyable, entertaining paranormal romance. Good mix of action, romance, and suspense.