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A review by beckymmoe
Rage/Killian by Laura Wright, Alexandra Ivy
4.0
When at least one of the individuals involved in a relationship can turn into a puma, the "enemies to lovers" troupe takes on a whole new dimension:
The hero and heroine of "Rage" --Rage and Lucie--have a history, and it's not a good one. Lucie's had a rough life, always on the outside of the puma-shifter society looking in, She's had a major crush on golden-boy (and Hunter, a.k.a. a Pantera protector) Rage for nearly the entire time, but she neither knew how to act appropriately on it (because sharing his private journal entries about his dating exploits with all of the Wildlands wasn't an effective tool; go figure!) nor did she have the luxury of really trying to get to know anyone, let alone the unreachable Rage with everything that her grandfather put her through.
Now it's years later, and Lucie, a Geek (Pantera-speek for tech whiz), has left the Wildlands. Her skills are desperately needed, though, in the fight against the humans who are out to exploit the Panteras for their own personal gain, so Rage is sent--against his will--to go find her...
And the rest, for the most part, is simply meant to be. Rage learns that things with Lucie weren't exactly as they seemed to the Pantera group on the outside, and Lucie learns that she has worth--to herself, but also to the group and to Rage. They both find that resisting each other in the future would be useless.
Oh, and they kick some bad guy butt in the meantime. Win-win.
"Killian" and Rosalie struggle as much with their own inner demons as with each other. Rosalie and her mate, Mercier, were both taken to the human labs, where Mercier died trying to protect her. To say the Hunter's got a problem with all humans now is a bit if an understatement. Killian was a victim on the other side of the experiment--a special forces soldier who thought he was getting treatment for PTSD but ended up in a whole other type of treatment all together. Now he's got shifter blood and DNA inside him, and he's not happy.
For these two, the only butts that get kicked are their own--but there's still a satisfying story about trust, acceptance, and forgiveness here.
And smoking shifter chemistry. Hooah. ;)
Rating: 4 stars/ A-
I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.
Green eyes flickered with heat, but if it was sexual interest or the possibility of getting him alone and removing his heart with her puma's teeth, he couldn't tell.The Rage/Killian novellas by Alexandra Ivy and Laura Wright work great as an introduction to the Bayou Heat series. Even though you're thrust in the middle of an ongoing issue for the Pantera--they recently found out that a secret group of humans learned of their existence and was experimenting with their blood and DNA, one desired outcome of which was creating a breed of super soldiers--you're not at all lost jumping into the middle of it all with the two stories here. Instead you get a brief synopsis--but not too much to bog down the narrative--and few brief explanations as needed while you go, and two complete series novellas. Based on these two, I'll definitely be revisiting the Wildlands again--soon.
"It's settled, then," she said, her lips moving into a smile.
"Nothing is settled until I say it is," Raphael returned tightly. "Rosalie, if this man ends up dead, you will not be able to remain in the Wildlands. Do you understand me?"
She gasped and turned to look at the leader of her kind.
"Do you want to take that risk?" he asked.
Her jaw tightened, she nodded.
"I need your word, Hunter," he pushed.
"He will not die, Raphael. I give you my word." But he might feel some pain, her eyes said.--"Killian"
The hero and heroine of "Rage" --Rage and Lucie--have a history, and it's not a good one. Lucie's had a rough life, always on the outside of the puma-shifter society looking in, She's had a major crush on golden-boy (and Hunter, a.k.a. a Pantera protector) Rage for nearly the entire time, but she neither knew how to act appropriately on it (because sharing his private journal entries about his dating exploits with all of the Wildlands wasn't an effective tool; go figure!) nor did she have the luxury of really trying to get to know anyone, let alone the unreachable Rage with everything that her grandfather put her through.
Now it's years later, and Lucie, a Geek (Pantera-speek for tech whiz), has left the Wildlands. Her skills are desperately needed, though, in the fight against the humans who are out to exploit the Panteras for their own personal gain, so Rage is sent--against his will--to go find her...
And the rest, for the most part, is simply meant to be. Rage learns that things with Lucie weren't exactly as they seemed to the Pantera group on the outside, and Lucie learns that she has worth--to herself, but also to the group and to Rage. They both find that resisting each other in the future would be useless.
Oh, and they kick some bad guy butt in the meantime. Win-win.
"Killian" and Rosalie struggle as much with their own inner demons as with each other. Rosalie and her mate, Mercier, were both taken to the human labs, where Mercier died trying to protect her. To say the Hunter's got a problem with all humans now is a bit if an understatement. Killian was a victim on the other side of the experiment--a special forces soldier who thought he was getting treatment for PTSD but ended up in a whole other type of treatment all together. Now he's got shifter blood and DNA inside him, and he's not happy.
For these two, the only butts that get kicked are their own--but there's still a satisfying story about trust, acceptance, and forgiveness here.
And smoking shifter chemistry. Hooah. ;)
Rating: 4 stars/ A-
I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.