Reviewed by Donna
SERIES REVIEW: Whitedell Pride #16 – #17
AUTHOR: Catherine Lievens
PUBLISHER: eXtasy Books
BOOK #16 TITLE: Jayden
LENGTH: 110 Pages
RELEASE DATE: January 1, 2016
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Jayden has done his best to forget the first part of his life, the part that happened before he arrived in Whitedell. He’s managed pretty well—he has friends, a job, and he even meets his mate. And who cares if said mate stays in his bear form even after Jayden stumbled on him in the woods surrounding the mansion?
Heath doesn’t know who he is or what happened to him. He can’t remember anything prior to meeting Jayden, and he longs to know his past. Luckily for him, his parents are looking for him, and it takes only a few days for them to meet.
Jayden and Heath have been doing well, slowly getting to know each other, but when Heath meets his family again, he discovers he already has a boyfriend. On top of that, Jayden’s brother suddenly resurfaces, and the mysterious hunters strike again. Will Jayden lose Heath almost before even having him?
REVIEW:
This book throws us straight into some action, with the beginning here overlapping the events at the end of Shad’s story. So if you’ve already read that book (which I recommend you do before starting this one), then you already know how that little bit of drama turns out. But it was great to see the incident play out from a different view point, from Jayden’s viewpoint, because his priorities were obviously not the same as Shad’s or Gabriel’s.
Jayden has discovered his mate! His mate is a bear shifter…and actually, that’s all he can tell you. Although he recognizes his mate, and the bear obviously recognizes Jayden, he has yet to see his mate as anything other than a bear. He doesn’t know his name, where he came from, or why he seems to be stuck in his shifted form. But when Dominic uses his alpha powers to force the bear to shift into his human, the confused man still can’t offer much information. He thinks his name is Heath, but everything else is just gone. Luckily for Heath he has Jayden to cling to, a mate means he’s not alone, and of course the pride is there to help out in any way they can.
I have a weakness for this series, and while I actually liked both Jayden and Heath, I thought maybe everything here happened a little too easily. There was great potential for some real drama with Heath’s boyfriend , and it felt as though the tension was always simmering there just waiting to ignite (which created some delicious tension btw) but then he simply stepped aside. And I understand that shifters are conditioned to have to do that if the person they are dating or even married to meets their fated mate, but still, a bit more drama would have been entertaining.
I appreciated the fact that Heath didn’t get his memory back, or if it does happen eventually, it didn’t happen right away in this book. I also enjoyed the addition of Jayden’s brother. Although he’s a teenager rather than a child, I like the way this author incorporates well-written kids into some of her stories.
This book ends with a bit of a da-da-daaaa moment, so I’m very excited to have the next story, Wes, just sitting here ready to go!
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BOOK #17 TITLE: Wes
LENGTH: 111 Pages
RELEASE DATE: February 1, 2016
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Wes has been on his own since he was sixteen, and he’s had to do what he needed to do to survive, even if it meant being a prostitute. He’s never known love, but that starts to change when he meets Taylor. Wes feels wanted as a person for the first time, but he knows Taylor could never accept him, so he flees.
Taylor hadn’t expected to wake up alone on the day after he claimed his mate. He doesn’t even know Wes’ full name or phone number, so he has no way to find him. Just when he thinks he’s lost Wes forever, Wes is attacked and calls a pride member for help. Taylor knows he has to tell Wes about his furry half, but after Wes ran once already, Taylor is scared of his mate’s reaction.
Wes accepts staying with the pride, but can Taylor really accept him and his past? And can Wes get used to living with people—with shifters—when he’s been alone for three years?
REVIEW:
I’ve read every book in the Whitedell Pride series and every book in the connected Gillham Pack series, and the vast majority of these stories come in at a four star rating, in my opinion. But every so often one story will stand out from the rest and really capture my attention, and book #17 – Wes, is one of them.
Usually I’m not a fan of rentboy stories, but somehow Wes wormed his way straight into my heart and lodged there. He’s not wailing in self pity about the unfairness of his life (which would be pretty much justified), instead he just gets on with the business of surviving. He hates selling himself for money, but he’s practical and does what he has to do. But as levelheaded as he is, he still has a very poor self-image and doesn’t think he’s actually worthy to be in a relationship with anyone. So when he meets Taylor at a club, and heads back to his hotel for a night of amazing sex (sex he didn’t even try to charge the sexy man for) Wes disappears the next morning without so much as a phone number exchanged. Taylor, of course, is not about to let his mate go with out a fight and is in the process of hunting Wes down when his mate is beaten and ends up in the care of the pride. Now the two men just have to muddle through revealing their secrets to each other and they can get on with living their happily-ever-after.
Although the extended pride always plays a big part in each of these books, I especially love these instalments which show how much they are a family, more than just a group of shifters. I also love the stories where we see how inclusive the Whitedell Pride is, the way they are willing to help and adopt anybody who needs them, not just a specific breed of cats, not even only other shifters.
Which actually doesn’t always serve them well, such as in the case of Bradley, who is obviously up to no good. I’m really anticipating his book now, because of course, he just needs a little help from the pride to sort his life out.
Don’t attempt to read this series out of sequence – unless you enjoy absolute confusion and headaches.
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