Review: Great addition to the series
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 12 4, 2012
True Alpha picks up a few months after Lonely Alpha leaves off, giving us a glimpse into the lives of Jack and Mandy...the only wolves of the Half Moon pack. In Lonely Alpha, Jack and Mandy met, Mandy found out she was a wolf shifter, and the two fell rapidly in love after realizing that they are mates and destined for each other. Now Jack, once a lonely Alpha, has a family, complete with a baby on the way. The two seem to have carved out a harmonious life together in their little cabin in the woods and Mandy is still coming to terms with what being a shifter really means for her life, including the birth of her shifter baby and her union with Jack, which isn't exactly conventional. When some of Jack's old packmates and their wives show up looking for a place in the Half Moon pack, drama ensues as well as a bit of a power struggle as Jack's authority as Alpha is challenged. Along with that comes the inevitable danger of shifter hunters, who are relentless in their hunt, and a decades old grudge between Mandy's absentee father and another family that threatens her life and the lives of those she loves.This was a nice addition to the series. The writing style and narration were easy and light just as in the first book, with some pretty vivid descriptions of settings, surroundings, and the transformation process from human to wolf and back again. Things I liked most about this book: 1. We get to see Mandy and Jack's relationship evolve past the physical. Because their attraction was so instant in the first book, most of what we got in Lonely Alpha was the primal sort of discover that comes with a wolf shifter claiming his mate. They didn't know much about each other outside of the fact that nature has branded them as mates. Now we get to see them beyond that point and their relationship was given more depth. 2. With the addition of characters other than Jack and Mandy, this story was made more interesting. With the adding of new faces (some which I liked, others not so much), there was more conflict and drama ... something else that added new depth to the story. Half Moon is now a pack of 7, not including Ronnie the bear shifter (who is still my favorite, strong, silent secondary character), and that makes for more drama when danger hits as you never know who might be hurt or killed. 3. The issue of Mandy's absentee father is dealt with. This part of the story intrigued me from book one, so I was glad to have Mandy's father as a character and see her questions answered.All in all, I enjoyed the book. There was a lot of narration in some places, which I felt slowed the story in some spots...but those were mainly in places where the characters were in wolf form and could not speak to each other. These spots were more toward the end when most of the danger occurs, but when the action hits, it was fun to be along for the ride and know what would happen next.I am now more intrigued than ever by Ronnie the bear shifter/park ranger and his possible love interest, another member of the pack, and to see what's next for the Half Moon Shifters.***I was provided with a copy of this book by the author in exchange for my honest review***