JANUARY FEATURE #3: Wild Cat by Jennifer Ashley

[paulgoatallen]

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[paulgoatallen]

Jennifer Ashley's Shifters Unbound saga (Pride Mates  and Primal Bonds) just may be one of the most under-rated paranormal fantasy/romance sagas on the shelves – great characters, excellent world building, and genuinely steamy erotic sequences. The first book, Pride Mates, just blew me away. I didn't like the second novel as much but still really enjoyed it. I've been looking forward to this book for almost a year!

Paul

[dalnewt]

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paulgoatallen wrote:

Jennifer Ashley's Shifters Unbound saga (Pride Mates  and Primal Bonds) just may be one of the most under-rated paranormal fantasy/romance sagas on the shelves – great characters, excellent world building, and genuinely steamy erotic sequences. The first book, Pride Mates, just blew me away. I didn't like the second novel as much but still really enjoyed it. I've been looking forward to this book for almost a year!

Paul

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Thanks for featuring Wild Cat (Shifters Unbound Series #3) this month Paul.

I totally missed it when looking at the upcoming January releases. It's probably because I'm not a big paranormal romance reader.  But, I really do enjoy this series. It stands out with interesting characters, good world-building, engaging plots and hot sexual encounters. I'll be adding this book to my B&N book order.   

[SciFiCanuck]

Awesome, I just finished Primal Bonds...really liked it.  :-)  I'll have to check out this one.

[Dee_in_NY]

Just finished it, thought it was great.  Hate waiting till October till the next one come out.

Looking for a new series like this one, Any suggestions.

[SciFiCanuck]

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Dee_in_NY wrote:

Just finished it, thought it was great.  Hate waiting till October till the next one come out.

Looking for a new series like this one, Any suggestions.

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You looking for a shifters series?  There are a gazilion, LOL!  Check out the stickied thread at the top thats called the Paranormal and Fantasy Primer for Newbies...or something like that.  :-)  It's the third one down.  Tonnes in there!

[paulgoatallen]

Reading this one right now.... my thoughts in a bit!

[paulgoatallen]

Am I weird for loving these novels so much?

http://bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com/t5/Explorations-The-BN-SciFi-and/Sexy-Beast-Jennifer-Ashley-s-Ne...

[jgmme]

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paulgoatallen wrote:

Am I weird for loving these novels so much?

http://bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com/t5/Explorations-The-BN-SciFi-and/Sexy-Beast-Jennifer-Ashley-s-Ne...

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No Paul, your just weird!   LOL

[paulgoatallen]

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jgmme wrote:

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paulgoatallen wrote:

Am I weird for loving these novels so much?

http://bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com/t5/Explorations-The-BN-SciFi-and/Sexy-Beast-Jennifer-Ashley-s-Ne...

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No Paul, your just weird!   LOL

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Guess I just stepped right into that one! 

[FaeryQueen]

I finished this one the other day.  I liked it much better than the second book, however I still like Pride Mates best.

Diego and Cassidy sizzled and the plot was interesting.  I was a little worried when they found out who the assasin was so early in the novel, but Ashley had much more planned for the book.  I can't wait for Eric's book now!

If you haven't seen it, Ashley put out a good short story with Ronan, the bouncer at Liam's club.  I think it's only available as an ebbok...

Bodyguard  

[paulgoatallen]

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FaeryQueen wrote:

I finished this one the other day.  I liked it much better than the second book, however I still like Pride Mates best.

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Yes, yes, and yes! We are in total agreement. 

[FaeryQueen]

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paulgoatallen wrote:

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FaeryQueen wrote:

I finished this one the other day.  I liked it much better than the second book, however I still like Pride Mates best.

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Yes, yes, and yes! We are in total agreement. 

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I don't know...there was just something magical in that first book.  I think it will be really hard to top it.  There are several series that are like that for me....even after 10+ books, the first is my favorite and the one I reread each year.  I have to confess, it took way too much willpower not to pick up Pride Mates after I finished Wild Cat.  Though I did reread Bodyguard, but that doesn't count cause it's a short story. 

[paulgoatallen]

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FaeryQueen wrote:

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paulgoatallen wrote:

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FaeryQueen wrote:

I finished this one the other day.  I liked it much better than the second book, however I still like Pride Mates best.

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Yes, yes, and yes! We are in total agreement. 

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I don't know...there was just something magical in that first book.  I think it will be really hard to top it.  There are several series that are like that for me....even after 10+ books, the first is my favorite and the one I reread each year.  I have to confess, it took way too much willpower not to pick up Pride Mates after I finished Wild Cat.  Though I did reread Bodyguard, but that doesn't count cause it's a short story. 

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I loved Pride Mates. LOVED IT. There was something magical about the relationship between Kim and Liam. The excerpt below is just one small example – just classic erotic paranormal fantasy in my book.

“Kim laughed. Liam growled and sprinted up the last of the stairs, slammed into the bedroom and tossed her on the bed. As her clothes came off, then his, Kim gave in. For one night of her life, she was going to enjoy making wild, crazy love with a man who promised to make it unforgettable, no matter what might come in the morning...” – Pride Mates by Jennifer Ashley

[melissas]

Wow. I didn't even realize that I had missed the second one, let alone that a third one was out! Now that school is less intense, I am realizing just how far behind in my TBR list I am. I will have to pick up this one and Primal Bonds, first. I really enjoyed Pride Mates, and certainly want to keep up with this series.

[dalnewt]

I started reading yesterday. My initial impressions are that the heroine is perhaps a bit too stereotyped (too beautiful and too shifter) while the hero pushes all the right buttons with his Latino hotness and police officer principles. I don't know about the plot yet, but it's holds promise with a mysterious villain who hunts the heroine to drain her blood for some nefarious and presumably magical purpose.  

[dalnewt]

I just finished the book tonight. It's an entertaining read. I liked all the characters, even the 'too beautiful' female protagonist Cassidy. IMO, her altruism made her an endearing. And, Diego is just damned hot, (although sometimes I wondering if a man would really engaged in Diego's mental fantasies described in the first half of the book). <Shrugs> But he's still hot!!! (*Note, I'm not saying that men don't fantasize. I just think that when they do fantasized it's centered on some sexual act, not about a woman sluicing their back down with suds for instance.)

The sex scenes are sizzling, but the relationship itself didn't seem as intense as the one in Pride Mates. That Pride Mate's relationship was riddled by doubts and challenges. There was a push and pull between doubt and attraction that was absent in this book. Without countervailing uncertainty the eventual triumph of love/attraction just isn't as sweet. This book never seemed to have that push-pull of misgivings/doubts versus attraction. IMO, neither Diego nor Cassidy held any convincing doubts about having sex and/or a love bond, and the lack of that countervailing force made the attraction less intense and the outcome a bit less satisfying. 

Furthermore, the story-line didn't seem as integrated as the earlier books. There was no deepening mystery or multi-faceted central conflict. The narrative seemed to jog from one event/problem to another with no real underlying unity. But, the flow is natural and the pace is quick. Plus, the story is peppered by action scenes.  The bottom line is that this read was hot and just plain fun.