Review: Nice Introduction...
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 11 16, 2012
Tamara is a woman who is looking for a way of escape from an abusive relationship with her fiance, Brad. Brad, a local thug, and his crew solicited (more like threatened) Tamara's assistance to commit a burglary at a local museum. Having had enough of Brad, his abusive ways, and their toxic relationship, Tamara solicits the help of a local counselor, Selene, to help her make her escape. Together, Selene and Tamara plot of course of action that will allow Tamara to stop the burglary and slip away from Brad forever. But first, she has to act as if she is going to go through with her part of the crime.Upon arriving at the museum, Tamara is dispatched to go inside the museum, turn off the security alarm, and open the door for Brad and crew. Hopeful that she will be able to slip away to call the police to stop the robbery, Tamara's plans are thwarted when Brad demands that she assist in the pillaging effort. Scrambling for what to do next, Tamara hies away to one of the upstairs offices and calls the police. Her plan is to quietly make her escape while the crew is being apprehended. Unfortunately, she is on the third story and cannot make her way out of the building before she hears the police sirens. Tamara is stuck; she can't get out of the building and she can't hide. Moving toward the window, Tamara considers her options: jump and plunge to her possible death or be sentenced to a jail term along with Brad, et al.Settling, Tamara makes her choice. Jump! She lands hard and hurts her ankle but manages to make it to the relative seclusion of nearby bushes. Now Tamara is really stuck because she realizes that there absolutely no way from her to escape from the museum which is surrounded by a 12ft fence. As she ponders her dismal fate, Tamara hears growling in the bush beside her. She turns and comes face to face...er...face to snout with a huge wolf with brilliant emerald eyes. Tamara's fate plummets from dismal to fatal. She sees her death in the face of the wolf. But fate has different plans for Tamara when the wolf turns into her savior. Fearing that she has lost her mind, Tamara "hears" the wolf tell her to "Hold on". She slides on his back, grabs onto to his fur, and he plunges them both over the fence.The wolf delivers Tamara to a forest and to safety. He's her hero who also happens to be much more than just a wolf.This was a solid introduction into the world of the Caedmon Wolves. In it we see a disenfranchised hero gain acceptance and an abused woman find love. Tamara and Devin were interesting characters and I liked the overall byplay between them. Although this story was an interracial romance (IR), Ms. Kirk did not make race the emphasis of the story. So many IR's place a heavy emphasis on race that it distills the impact of the actual story. However, it was nice to see one that focused on the story with only minute references to the race of the characters.I would have liked to see more conflict in the story. Devin and Darius fought quickly, Darius submitted, and then it was over. Elisa warned Tamara to be careful but there was no indication as to why. At some point I thought that Darius' mate would try to harm Tamara in some way but she did not. My assumption (at least I hope) is that the warning was general and will play out in later books in the series.Overall, I enjoyed the story. It was a sweet story and a quick and easy read.