After an epically bad blind date, and far too much tequila, waitress/bike messanger Zoey Eastgate swore off men forever and got a tattoo that says ‘love bites’. Maybe she shouldn’t have tempted fate. Because now love, in the form of a very powerful Mafia wolf, has bitten her right on the ass, on a full moon. And according to the Blood Oath Pack, the “moon-bite” means she is now the mate of … Dominic Lombardi.
Now her new “husband” is appearing everywhere – no matter how far she runs and no matter how well she hides. He’s crowding her world, refusing to take no for an answer, letting her know that on the next full moon, she’ll be his bride. If only her body didn’t respond so strongly to the Capo of the most corrupt mob pack on the west coast. If only he didn’t threaten her family and her livelihood one minute – and then serenade her with sexy Italian love songs which she can’t understand a single word of, the next.
If only new dangers weren’t rearing their ugly head and threatening not just Zoey, but all of Encantado, the supernatural sin city she calls home. When dark magic comes too close to home, will she stop running long enough for her wiseguy werewolf to claim his bride – or will she find herself fitted with a cement overcoat, sleeping with the fishes?
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I couldn’t put it down!
This book is the perfect beginning to a brand new series. Zoey and Dominic check all the must have boxes as they head towards their HEA. Action, suspense, heroes and villains, love and jealousy, romance and regret, and so many wonderfully unexpected twists and turns that I just had to keep reading until the end. Oh and did I mention wolf shifters galore? More than one pack even, with so many more magical creatures that you never know what is on the next page. I loved this book and can’t wait to see what happens next.
*This review is for the newly re-edited version, as I hadn’t read it prior to its re-release.
That said, here it is:
Action, fights, a territory war, a reluctant mate … what more could a reader want?
Cover:
Professional and relevant, genre-appropriate.
Editing/Proofing:
Mostly flows well and is devoid of typos, misspellings, pretty much anything I’d find distracting.
Character Development:
This was excellent; I really enjoyed Zoey’s values, wit and easy-to-relate-to lack of self-worth and smart-ass demeanor. Dominic is misunderstood, partially by design due to old wounds. Excellent continuity in this department and it makes a frustratingly good combination, if that makes sense. 🙂
Overall:
The gripped me pretty early on; I was intrigued by the world and entertained by the banter.
When I put it down, I found I missed it. St. Clair officially sucked me in early on. It’s fast-paced with lots of dialogue and drama. Also made me laugh out at times.
Regarding personal reading preference: A few occurrences of over-explanation were present, serving to pull me back out of the action when I should’ve been the most invested. I enjoyed how this series handles mating for the wolves, and loved the fact that Zoey doesn’t just fall over in love right away or compromise any of her values; it gives it legitimacy for me.
St. Clair has a fun way of telling a story and I’ll seek out more of her books for sure. Oh, and there’s action and crime and a mafia-esq territory war … none of these things hurt a bit!
4 stars
This was an engaging read with strong characters and a smooth story line
The world building was so different – I enjoyed the concept of magical separation – The way the author did it was a unique twist for me
Dominic starts out portrayed as a complete douche and slowly develops into a sexy and mouthwatering alpha that any girl would want to snuggle with
Zoey was portrayed as intelligent and sweet – she stood strong for her beliefs – definitely, a mother hen personality -who was not in need of rescue, she had that covered herself ( I have to smile at her antics)
The antagonist was a bit obvious but at the same time, there were a few twists I did not see coming.
I would like to know a bit more about the other factions and some detailed background on some of the characters – There were some strong secondary and supporting cast that I hope to see more of – Loved all the varying personalities that made up our “neighborhood watch”
As for this being a Mafia story, it does not weigh heavily on that spectrum – at least it did not for me- I found myself drawn more to the factions and events than the Capo aspects. There is a power play , obviously, as that is the underlying trigger for the story events.
I really enjoyed the surprise at the end and also how Zoey and Dominics’ relationship progressed.
I am looking forward to more from this series
Zoey Eastgate knows she is in trouble when her latest gig at work ended up with her butt bit by a Shifter Capo from the Blood Oath Pack. The moon-bite has Dominic Lombardi waiting to claim Zoey as his mate. The only problem is that Zoey is not interested in being his mate. Dominic is not put off though as he has a plan to woo his mate. Problem is someone is causing problems in the pack and it might put Zoey in danger.
This was a lot of fun. Completely different then other shifter books. I thought Dominic was suave and Zoey is a complete nut. Wonderful read, refreshing.
What a great start of a new series!! I loved the way the characters interacted with each other. There are a lot of twists and turns. Can’t wait for more!!
A very enjoyable and entertaining read. I really like the idea of mafia shifter. Definitely not your typical PNR!!! Which made me enjoyed it so much more add in some action, suspense, and of course steamy romance and you have a great start for a new series so looking forward to seeing what else is in store for this series. I voluntarily read and review this ARC no monetary compensation was received the opinions I have expressed are my own.
Mafia shifters…..very different but in a good way
Well, this was a deliciously new and delightful paranormal romance story! Zoey is an Earth witch and one night while working for a catering business, she gets moon-bitten by the Blood Oath Pack’s Capo, Dominic. A string of unfortunate events keep occurring and the Pack races to try and figure out what’s happening and in the meantime, Zoey tries to avoid Dominic and being his “mate”.
I have to admit the book took me a little bit to get into only because of the unfamiliarity with the characters and also the different paranormal beings, but once I had that under bonnet I was racing to the finish! Loved the story and the ending and will certainly be keen to buy more books in this series