Series: Mercury Pack

Review: Force of Temptation by Suzanne Wright

Posted June 5, 2023 by Casee in Reviews | 0 Comments

Review: Force of Temptation by Suzanne WrightReviewer: Casee
Force of Temptation by Suzanne Wright
Narrator: Jill Redfield
Series: Mercury Pack #2
Also in this series: Echoes of Fire (Mercury Pack, #4), Carnal Secrets
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: December 13, 2016
Format: eBook
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Point-of-View: Alternating Third
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 319
Length: 11 hours and 37 minutes
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four-half-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Harley Vincent is resigned to life in the human world. Sure, being a margay shifter is half her nature, but life among humans gives her the freedom to roam and do as she pleases. That is, until anti-shifter extremists target her, putting her life in immediate danger.
When an old acquaintance and onetime fling, Jesse Dalton, shows up to offer the protection of his pack, Harley hesitates. She may have feelings for Jesse that go beyond their one-night stand, but life among shifters means giving over her independence to the needs of pack. Plus Mercury Pack has its own threat to face: a rich half-shifter is determined to claim their territory at any cost.
Jesse, who lost his true mate as a child, has wanted Harley since their night together, and he’s not letting her go again. They may not be destined for each other, but he knows she belongs to him and with his pack. Even if he can convince her to join him now, can he convince her to stay?

Harley Vincent is a margay shifter that lives in the human world. After her friend, Mia, died of a drug overdose, the entire pack blamed Harley except for Mia’s brother Jesse. After a one-night fling with Jesse after Mia’s funeral, Harley leaves him in the morning & doesn’t expect to see him again. After all, the Pack blames Harley, so why wouldn’t Jesse? She has no idea that Jesse has decided that they are going to be together. Until Cassidy (a young shifter in the Pack) has a vision of Harley dying. Jesse knows it’s time to claim what he believes is his. Although he lost his true mate when he was a child, Jesse wants Harley with everything he has. Now he just has to convince her that the fact that they are not true mates doesn’t matter to him.

Harley crushed on Jesse for years, but thought it would always stay a crush. She’s stunned when he shows up at the bar she works at & claims her.

I don’t play games, Harley, so I’ll tell you straight. I want you. In my bed. In my life. Where you belong.

What I really liked about this book was that there was not any back and forth or BIG MISUNDERSTANDINGS between them. Jesse simply tells Harley that he wants her & expects her to fall in line. As a margay shifter, Harley doesn’t fall in line with anyone. She’s still not sure about the mating thing as true mates are sacred in their world. Harley wants Jesse to talk about his mate that dies, but he refuses which makes Harley feel like they will never imprint. I have to admit that even as a new SW reader, I was wondering how the whole thing would pan out since his true mate died.

I really enjoyed this one. The Mercury Pack is one big family & they take no shit. How can you not like that?

Rating: 4.25 out of 5.

The Mercury Pack

four-half-stars

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Review: Carnal Secrets by Suzanne Wright

Posted March 15, 2019 by Holly in Reviews | 0 Comments

Review: Carnal Secrets by Suzanne WrightReviewer: Holly
Carnal Secrets by Suzanne Wright
Narrator: Jill Redfield
Series: The Phoenix Pack #3, Mercury Pack
Also in this series: Wild Hunger, Wild Hunger , Untamed Delights , Savage Urges, Fierce Obsessions, Wild Hunger, Untamed Delights, Echoes of Fire (Mercury Pack, #4), Force of Temptation
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Publication Date: February 11, 2014
Format: eBook, Audiobook
Source: Purchased
Point-of-View: Alternating Third
Genres: Paranormal Romance
Pages: 366
Length: 12 hours and 16 minutes
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three-stars

A pack Alpha and his estranged, true mate wrestle with painful secrets, ruthless enemies, and their own irresistible attraction, in the sexy third book of the Phoenix Pack series.

Half-shifter Shaya Critchley may hold a submissive role in her pack, but she’s done taking orders. After her Alpha wolf mate refused to claim her—but committed to interfering in her life—she took off. Now she hides from him, posing as a human in a town full of anti-shifter extremist groups. She thinks he’ll never find her again, and that suits her just fine. But she’s wrong.

Nick Axton can barely control his feelings for Shaya, but he could never claim her—not if he truly cares for her. The degenerative brain condition he keeps secret would ultimately leave her with a burden rather than a mate. But when Shaya runs away, Nick can’t bear the thought of never seeing her again. After tracking her down, he discovers Shaya’s feisty and passionate side in the process…a side he’d never seen before.

Under the menacing gazes of territorial local packs and violent human extremists, Nick vows to finally claim the spirited Shaya…and despite her initial resistance, Shaya just might find his fiery determination to be the ultimate aphrodisiac.

Carnal Secrets is the third book in the Phoenix Pack series, and the start of the Mercury Pack series by Suzanne Wright. This is another book I thought I read, but didn’t mark down. The details were sketchy, so I’m calling it a new read.

Shaya Critchley is a submissive wolf whose mate keeps rejecting her. She’s done with waiting on him and feeling hurt when he doesn’t claim her, and she’s done not having full control of her life. Determined to start fresh, she relocates to Arizona and begins working in her friend’s hair salon. She’s just settling in and starting to feel content when Alpha Nick Axton – her erstwhile mate – shows up.

Nick is battling an illness no one else knows about. He wanted to stay away from Shaya for her own good, but he can’t fight the pull of her any longer. He’s determined to win her over, even if that means leaving his old pack and going it alone with her. As an Alpha, mating a sumbissive wolf, and making her Alpha Female means never really having full control of the pack, since she can’t disobey a direct order from someone dominate. But Nick is tired of living without her. But Shaya has been hurt one too many times by his actions in the past. It’s going to take all he has to win her over….if he can do it before it’s too late.

Shaya got on my nerves a lot more than the previous two heroines did. I understood why she felt hurt and angry over Nick’s rejection of her, but her “punishing” him for it went on way too long. The lengths she went to to push him away were ridiculous. The more she acted out and pushed him, the more immature she seemed.

There’s also an easy fix to the submissive Alpha Female problem. Turns out Shaya isn’t the type of submissive who has to obey more dominate wolves. That seemed a little too convenient and kind of lazy on the author’s part.

I liked Nick quite a bit. I really liked what a great alpha he was, and how people just naturally followed him. All these wolves kept showing up and sort of forcing him to become their Alpha, which I thought was hilarious. Despite being a natural leader and a dominate wolf, Nick doesn’t like people and really just wanted to be left alone with his mate. I cracked up every time they sort of out maneuvered him and he took another step closer to forming a new pack.

The suspense plot of who is after Shaya and why didn’t really interest me. I know others really like that aspect of these books, but I’m not a fan.

I would have given this a solid four stars if it hadn’t been for how immature Shaya was. As it is I’m going to give it 3.

Rating: 3 out of 5

The Phoenix Pack

The Mercury Pack

three-stars

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Review: Echoes of Fire by Suzanne Wright

Posted January 8, 2019 by Holly in Reviews | 2 Comments

Review: Echoes of Fire by Suzanne WrightReviewer: Holly
Echoes of Fire (Mercury Pack, #4) by Suzanne Wright
Narrator: Jill Redfield
Series: Mercury Pack #4
Also in this series: Carnal Secrets , Force of Temptation
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: December 11, 2018
Format: eBook, Audiobook
Source: Purchased, Audible Escape
Point-of-View: Alternating Third
Genres: Paranormal Romance
Pages: 348
Length: 11 hours and 5 minutes
Add It: Goodreads
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four-half-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

They may not be made for each other, but animal instincts are impossible to ignore.

Madisyn Drake is a rare breed of cat shifter…a loner, unpredictably wild, and emotionally distant. A recent betrayal has left her ready to sharpen her claws on the next man she sees…until a prowling wolf with steel-gray eyes and a brooding dark edge challenges her distrust. No matter how fully he satisfies her touch-hunger, Madisyn’s not ready to open up again, even if it is oh so gratifying.

Bracken Slater has earned his reputation as an indomitable predator. Once broken by grief and guilt, Brack is feeling alive again, thanks to the heady scent of this independent feline. Convincing her that they’re meant for each other is going to take more than branding Madisyn’s beautiful neck. She’s not interested in joining an unfamiliar pack, much less answering to an alpha. But when threats from both their pasts take shape, their unexpected destiny may be the only thing that can save them.

Echoes of Fire is the fourth book in Suzanne Wright’s Mercury Pack series. It follows Bracken Slater as he finds and courts his mate, Madisyn Drake. Jill Redfield narrated and I really enjoyed her for the most part. She does the voices well and overall I like her voice. I did struggle with two things, however. 1) She spoke in a very forceful way as Bracken, which often made him come off as controlling instead of caring. 2) She did a kind of valley girl, breathy thing during the love scenes that drove me absolutely batshit crazy. Still, I listened to all the books in both the Mercury Pack and Phoenix Pack series’ and she narrates them all, so obviously those things didn’t completely ruin the stories for me.

Throughout the series Bracken was kind of lighthearted and sweet. When his family is murdered right in front of him, including his nephew whom he was holding at the time, it changed him. Now he’s broken and angry, with no outlet for his pain since he wreaked vengeance on those who stole his family from him. When he’s hit by a car and has a moment of openness, he feels the mating connection to Madisyn Drake. They’ve been circling each other for years, rubbing each other the wrong way and denying their mutual attraction. Madisyn is a lone feline shifter who has no desire to join a pack or be stuck mated to a man who doesn’t even like her. But Bracken knows he can’t let her go. She fills something inside him and he knows he’ll never become whole without her.

I really loved how Madisyn was described like Grumpy Cat. She was an angry little cat, but unexpectedly so. She looked so sweet and adorable no one expected her to turn feral and whoop the shit out of everyone. She was the perfect match for Bracken in every way.

My heart broke for Bracken and his struggle to find his footing after his family was murdered. The fact that he was holding his baby nephew when a bullet passed through him and killed his nephew just made it all the worse. His fire and intensity were well contained until then. Now he has a reputation for being ruthless. I liked how well Madisyn balanced him out and how determined he was to put her first, even though he had so many dark parts inside himself.

I don’t really care for the suspense plots in Wright’s novels. The villains are always easy to spot and I often end up scratching my head over some of the decisions the pack makes in their pursuit of them. But the romance and friendships more than make up for any frustrations I feel.

While I enjoyed the entire series, Echoes of fire is hands down my favorite. Bracken and Madisyn made a wonderful couple. His intensity and anger were tempered so well by her inner strength I couldn’t help but love them.

4.5 out of 5

The Mercury Pack

four-half-stars

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