claire_ingram1987's review against another edition
4.0
This modern twist on Romeo and Juliet focuses on shifters and an age old feud about property and land ownership. Unlike the original this captivating tale is a HEA and a standalone. Delilah Santoni and Zak Armsford have liked each other since childhood but family problems caused Zak to flee to the army. When they reunited years later these reluctant lovers must put their family differences aside in order to make it home safely. The characters in this story were brilliant and I especially loved Ashley. The chemistry between all the characters was brilliant but I would have liked to have seen more of Georgia.
The storyline is compelling but leaves a bit to the imagination and I feel it could have gone deeper into the characters lives. The heat between the two main characters is hot and I love reluctant lover stories. I wasn't overly keen on the childhood sweetheart thing but that's personal preference and I felt it was a little cliche at times but the description and language used Made it a really engaging read and overall I loved the story and will definitely be reading more from this author.
The storyline is compelling but leaves a bit to the imagination and I feel it could have gone deeper into the characters lives. The heat between the two main characters is hot and I love reluctant lover stories. I wasn't overly keen on the childhood sweetheart thing but that's personal preference and I felt it was a little cliche at times but the description and language used Made it a really engaging read and overall I loved the story and will definitely be reading more from this author.
seeingnight's review against another edition
4.0
GENRE: Paranormal
THEME: Romance, Shifters
RECEIVED: Author
BLOG: http://seeingnight.blogspot.com/
REVIEW:
I’m a big fan of Heather Hildenbrand Dirty Blood series; she has a knack for writing suspenseful plots and fantastic romances. I was super excited to read her adult series under the name Holly Eastman, but even more so because it was focused on shifters and a Romeo and Juliet type plot.
Guarded by the Alpha follows wolf shifter Zak Armsford who after being in the military for years now takes on jobs for his friend and company Shifters Inc. He’s assigned with a job he isnt too pleased about, guarding the daughter aka princess of a rival pack. Del Santoni and Zak are forced to stick together to keep her alive until she makes it home. But someone is after her and an artifact she found and it seems they know every step she takes. Hopefully the two can get along until his assignments done, but an unexpected connection changes everything they grew up knowing.
Zak has always been labeled the bad boy, when he finds out he’s protecting his sworn enemy, he is all about giving up the job. Until of course he figures out the real danger and cant seem to resist the connection he and Del have. I adored Zak, he goes against everything hes grown up knowing, helping Del even though her pack has done everything to make him the bad guy. He is a totally alpha male, he fights, talks and kisses rough and demanding. I loved every bit of him and his sarcasm with Del.
Del is the heir to the Puma pack and when she discovers an artifact that could change the fate of her pack and Zaks, she is determined to reveal the truth. But someone wants what she has including her along with it. She is a spunky determined woman, who is trying to do the right thing, but hasn’t really thought out the consequences that might come along with it. But she always known one thing for sure, Zak her enemy is her Fated Mate and she cant resist him, well she doesn’t want to resist him. Even when their fighting they cant deny their connection. The steamy and smoking hot moments together increase the bond she feels with him, making it all that much harder to “hate” him.
Overall I loved every moment with this crazy pair, the love hate relationship is extreme and passionate. There is a ton of humor, suspense, and non stop action. The two are consistently on the run from an unknown enemy and when you find out who it is, it’s a total shocker. Though the story focuses on shifters, there is one human among them that was a nice touch but she felt a little random. However I liked her friendship with Del and that she doesn’t seem shaken easily. In the end I’m hoping there is more to come from Shifters Inc. and that we get more from Del and Zak to see how they are doing.
THEME: Romance, Shifters
RECEIVED: Author
BLOG: http://seeingnight.blogspot.com/
REVIEW:
I’m a big fan of Heather Hildenbrand Dirty Blood series; she has a knack for writing suspenseful plots and fantastic romances. I was super excited to read her adult series under the name Holly Eastman, but even more so because it was focused on shifters and a Romeo and Juliet type plot.
Guarded by the Alpha follows wolf shifter Zak Armsford who after being in the military for years now takes on jobs for his friend and company Shifters Inc. He’s assigned with a job he isnt too pleased about, guarding the daughter aka princess of a rival pack. Del Santoni and Zak are forced to stick together to keep her alive until she makes it home. But someone is after her and an artifact she found and it seems they know every step she takes. Hopefully the two can get along until his assignments done, but an unexpected connection changes everything they grew up knowing.
Zak has always been labeled the bad boy, when he finds out he’s protecting his sworn enemy, he is all about giving up the job. Until of course he figures out the real danger and cant seem to resist the connection he and Del have. I adored Zak, he goes against everything hes grown up knowing, helping Del even though her pack has done everything to make him the bad guy. He is a totally alpha male, he fights, talks and kisses rough and demanding. I loved every bit of him and his sarcasm with Del.
Del is the heir to the Puma pack and when she discovers an artifact that could change the fate of her pack and Zaks, she is determined to reveal the truth. But someone wants what she has including her along with it. She is a spunky determined woman, who is trying to do the right thing, but hasn’t really thought out the consequences that might come along with it. But she always known one thing for sure, Zak her enemy is her Fated Mate and she cant resist him, well she doesn’t want to resist him. Even when their fighting they cant deny their connection. The steamy and smoking hot moments together increase the bond she feels with him, making it all that much harder to “hate” him.
Overall I loved every moment with this crazy pair, the love hate relationship is extreme and passionate. There is a ton of humor, suspense, and non stop action. The two are consistently on the run from an unknown enemy and when you find out who it is, it’s a total shocker. Though the story focuses on shifters, there is one human among them that was a nice touch but she felt a little random. However I liked her friendship with Del and that she doesn’t seem shaken easily. In the end I’m hoping there is more to come from Shifters Inc. and that we get more from Del and Zak to see how they are doing.
evermoreliterary's review
1.0
Unfortunately, this was a total miss for me. I think that might have been partly my fault. I've never been opposed to the shifter romance genre, but I also have not read one in quite a long time. For some reason, many of the phrases used were really awkward sounding and jarring for me and took me out of the story. Rather than being romantic or sexy, these phrases actually made me kind of laugh out of awkwardness. I found after some research that the phrases I found awkward are really just commonly used amongst writers in this genre. So in regards to this, I think it might just be my lack of experience with the genre combined with realizing it probably just "my thing".
However, I also found the plot to be extremely lacking and underdeveloped. I didn't have enough time, in the beginning, to build an emotional connection to any of the characters before we delved into the meat of the story. I totally understand that this is a romance book, but I prefer to hold all romance to a standard where I expect a great plot along with the romance. An author can choose to make the romance the whole plot, or a side plot. It doesn't matter to me as long as there is a great plot. In this case, I was left confused and frustrated most of the time due to a lack of explanation, and risk development. Combine this with how little time we spent developing characters and our connection to them, and I really struggled to find anything in this book I enjoyed.
While I admit to my inexperience, I have faith there are better-plotted shifter romances with detailed character development where you find yourself caring about what happens to the characters throughout the story. This just wasn't that book, unfortunately.
I received this as an audiobook from the author.
However, I also found the plot to be extremely lacking and underdeveloped. I didn't have enough time, in the beginning, to build an emotional connection to any of the characters before we delved into the meat of the story. I totally understand that this is a romance book, but I prefer to hold all romance to a standard where I expect a great plot along with the romance. An author can choose to make the romance the whole plot, or a side plot. It doesn't matter to me as long as there is a great plot. In this case, I was left confused and frustrated most of the time due to a lack of explanation, and risk development. Combine this with how little time we spent developing characters and our connection to them, and I really struggled to find anything in this book I enjoyed.
While I admit to my inexperience, I have faith there are better-plotted shifter romances with detailed character development where you find yourself caring about what happens to the characters throughout the story. This just wasn't that book, unfortunately.
I received this as an audiobook from the author.
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