Judith’s review of A Taste for a Mate (Redwood Pack #2) by Carrie Ann Ryan
Jasper Jamenson’s only responsibility to being the Beta of the Redwood Pack, second son of the Alpha, is to protect the Pack from themselves and the human world. After a century of selfless service, his brother’s new found mating forced him into taking a good look into his life. He isn’t sure he wants a mate, but fate may have other ideas.
Willow Delton is a skinny, bakery owner – the type most woman love to hate. Being without family, she finds herself alone to the Greek god with green eyes who saunters into her bakery every morning. Her desire to follow him, to be with him, overrides every rational sense she possessed.
Jasper and Willow are drawn together, despite every nuisance that works against them. But evil beyond even Jasper’s supernatural compensation will make war against him, by going after the only thing in his eternal life he desires – Willow. Is Willow’s heart enough to overcome Jasper’s soul to save her life? A fight he cannot win, but to save her life – he must.
I like all romance fiction but I particularly like wolf shifter stories. I recently came across this series on All Romance eBooks and began the series a few months ago. Now I have progressed to Book Two in the series and continue to be really entertained by the characters, the pack problems with a neighboring pack who are trying to obliterate the Redwood Pack, and the family interaction of the Jamenson family with their powerful parents, six sons, and one daughter. The oldest sons are nearly a century old while their baby sister is only 23. So there are lots of dynamics in the story that have to do with life experience and the wisdom and learning that is gained. Jasper, the second son whose story is featured in this novel, is almost 100 years old and is the Beta. Now that his oldest brother, the Heir, has found his mate and is expecting a child, Jasper knows that the time has come for him to get serious about finding his mate. No matter how an author sets up the scenario, no matter who the author builds the life and dynamic of a shifter population, all of them seem to have this instant awareness of someone–a scent that is instantly identified as being one’s mate. Both the human and the inner wolf seem to agree.
But it is somewhat a shock to Jasper when he becomes aware that the shy and slender bakery owner, the human bakery owner, is his mate. He is reluctant–actually he really doesn’t know how to approach Willow with his reality, with his new knowledge of their coming relationship or with who and what he is. How will she accept him? How will she feel about living in his pack? So begins their story and almost from the first their involvement brings the evil of the Central Pack into their personal lives at a level and intensity that is completely unexpected. In fact, their intrusion into Jasper and Willow’s courtship forces Jasper to “claim” Willow with the mating bite even before he has fully explained what that will mean for their relationship and her future.
This is, without a doubt, a love story and it is filled with their warmth and attraction to one another. But the evil of the Central Pack is never far away and their intent to destroy the Redwood Pack, especially the Alpha and his offspring, keep intruding and putting every member of the Jamensons at risk for their lives. The raids on the Redwood Pack den also force Jasper to move beyond his carefully crafted construct of his life and move out of his comfort zone when Willow’s life is once again put in danger and the future of the entire den is in question.
So while this is a love story at its most basic, there is also suspense, danger, demonic evil and power that threatens to exceed even the most powerful Alpha in the Americas. It is not a really comfortable novel–I don’t think the author intended it to be a fireside comfort book. Rather, it is a paranormal tale that is guaranteed to interest and engage the imagination, to keep the reader on the edge of the chair, and to make sure that the reader doesn’t want to miss a single word. There is a balance here between the loving and erotic, the family and warmth of community over against the hatred and evil of the Centrals. It is most evident that this is about the dark side as it wars with the light, the evil at its most horrid fighting to take over goodness. It is beautifully written and with a well constructed plot and characters that are each one unique and interesting. All in all, it is a very entertaining read and one that will please and satisfy those who like a paranormal novel that has some teeth to it.
I give it a rating of 4 out of 5.
The Series: 
You can read more from Judith at Dr J’s Book Place
This book is available from Fated Desires Publishing, LLC. You can buy it here or here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher for an honest review.
Leave a Reply