Reviewed by Marieke

Retro Review by Becca

 

TITLE: Red River

SERIES: Pack #2

AUTHOR: Cardeno C.

PUBLISHER: The Romance Authors LLC

LENGTH: 122 pages

RELEASE DATE: January 19, 2016

BLURB:

Two Alpha shifters join together to lead their pack and build a family.

Commitment, loyalty, and strength aren’t enough to make Wesley Stone’s birth pack accept an Alpha with a physical imperfection, even if it’s a meaningless mark. Putting the safety of his pack above his own wellbeing, Wesley trades himself for another Alpha and agrees to mate with a stranger in a mysterious, insular pack.

Alphas from Jobe Root’s family have led the Red River pack from the first day shifters walked the earth. Now the time has come for Jobe to fulfill his destiny, but to do that, he needs his mate by his side. Spiritual, easygoing Jobe reveres Mother Nature and trusts in fate, yet he can’t help being nervous about how his mate will react to his new life in Red River, his new life with Jobe.

Two Alphas with contrasting personalities, different upbringings, and divergent beliefs come together for the good of their packs. But to stay together, Wesley and Jobe must see beyond the surface and embrace every facet of themselves and their union.

RETRO REVIEW by Becca

I am really loving this series. And this one is a special one. This book. I felt so much for Wesley and Jobe both, in different ways, because they needed it in different ways. 

Being brought up differently, Jobe had connections to things Wesley didn’t and things were harder for Wesley. Including the fact that he had a scar that seemed to make him an outcast. And knowing he was an alpha that should be taking over his pack and not being allowed to, was leaving a bad taste in his mouth all around. And one night, to blow off some steam, he met someone he thought was a human and had the night of his life. But he left before anything else could come from it. But Jobe knew who he was, why he was marked, and eventually how he would come into his life. But the wheels are turning slowly and Jobe can feel in the air that Mother Nature isn’t happy things aren’t moving along faster. It’s been ten years. And Jobe knows it’s time to help things along. And Wesley is beyond mad. Everything he’s dreamed of with this pack is being stripped away from him and it’s not fair. He goes but he’s already figuring out a way to end this fake mating to rule the pack. But he’s in for the surprise of his life when he not only meets Jobe, but as over time, he learns the truth about Red River and the real truth about himself. But can he accept the changes he’s learned or will he be stubborn and want to rule on his own?

When you feel in your heart you are destined for something and it’s stripped from you, it’s horrifying. It’s even worse when the people who are supposed to accept you are the ones who fear or dislike you the most. All because you’re different. And they don’t understand. It broke my heart for Wesley in so many ways. He was treated badly for something no one understood, but instead of looking up the reasons why he was different and explaining why he was different, it was just brushed under the rug. And Wesley just kept trying and trying to no avail. It actually ticked me off. And then you have Jobe, who knew from day one, who Wesley was to him. He’s supposed to wait for his mate to come to him, but with Wesley having no clue, he’s just stuck. And not only that, but the more he finds out, the more he realizes how clueless Wesley really is and it’s upsetting to them both because there was so much time wasted. Yeah, you try to look at it as everything happens in its time, but it just irritated me that Wesley’s pack basically taught him nothing. Nothing. And because of it, he had to suffer. And then Jobe had to suffer because he had an alpha shifter who felt forced into a mating and with an ulterior motive. Until things changed between them.

Communication always seems to be a factor that drives me insane in the books I read. But without the angst, sometimes you just wouldn’t have the story you need, the growth for the characters and the way for it to be the way it should be. Sometimes things really do need to be done in their own time, as impatient as we may get. And it sucks because sometimes the other person has to go through unnecessary hurt to get to where things need to be. Call it fate or whatever, sometimes we just have to it suck up and go with what needs to be done and then other times, we have to step in and give a little push.

 

RATING: 

Review by Marieke

Wesley is an Alpha who has been training and preparing to take over his pack since birth. But he has a problem. He has a scar that his pack sees as something less than perfect, something bad even. They don’t accept him as their own and being their Alpha will never work. His uncle proposes a trade with another pack, a pack that keeps to themselves so much that no one really knows anything about them.

Reluctantly Wesley accepts, even if he knows his mate will be male. Wesley knows he likes men too, but only allowed him self once to be intimate with one. When he meets his new mate, there is instant attraction between them. But Wesley doesn’t want their relationship to be based on an arrangement, so he keeps to himself.

Jobe is an Alpha too, but in his pack there are always two Alphas who rule. He’s raised as close to nature as possible, and he has a strong connection with Mother Nature. He feels that it’s time to mate his true mate, so the wellbeing of his pack is ensured. Too bad other packs don’t live by the same rules and philosophy.

The first chapter is from Wesley’s POV and immediately I feel for him. The pack and his uncle treat him so unfairly! But when you get to the part where he and Jobe get closer and Jobe slowly introduces him into the pack and their ways, I wanted to smack him upside the head. What a bonehead.

Jobe is so patient with him, and so sweet and loving. I adored him immediately. Just when I thought he was the sweetest character Cardeno had ever written, the whole M-preg thing comes in. The way Jobe doesn’t tell Wesley anything, or doesn’t see Wesley has no clue…argh!

This is the first M-preg book Cardeno has written and usually I’m perfectly fine with these types of stories. But something rubbed me the wrong way with this one, I can’t explain what or why. It just didn’t fit. The characters weren’t at all ready for children, the idea got introduced once, and only near the point where Wesley got pregnant. It didn’t suit him at all. And when he was finally pregnant, it was pretty much glossed over. One minute he got pregnant, the next he’s ready to pop.

Then the description of the birth…*shudders* and when that big bad Alpha says; “She’s an angel.” I’m kinda done. So, this part of the story was not my cup of tea.

I did love the way Jobe and his pack live with nature, how much respect there is. It was as if I was reading some kind of yoga, healing ritual, meditation thing. It felt so good to read that. (Yes, I’m weird, sue me.)

Overall a fine book, nice characters––though a bit dimwitted––good story line, great setting. But the M-preg part…nope. The birth almost gave me palpitations.

RATING: 

 

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