Kimberly’s Review of A Taste For A Mate by Carrie Ann Ryan

TITLE: A Taste For A Mate
AUTHOR: Carrie Ann Ryan
PUBLICATION DATE:   02/01/12
ORDER LINKS:  AMAZON | B&N


BOOK SYNOPSIS:
Jasper Jamenson’s only responsibility to being the Beta of the Redwood Pack, second son of the Alpha, is to protect the Pack from themselves and the human world. After a century of selfless service, his brother’s new found mating forced him into taking a good look into his life. He isn’t sure he wants a mate, but fate may have other ideas.

Willow Delton is a skinny, bakery owner – the type most women love to hate. Being without family, she finds herself alone to the Greek god with green eyes who saunters into her bakery every morning. Her desire to follow him, to be with him, overrides every rational sense she possessed.

Jasper and Willow are drawn together, despite every nuisance that works against them. But evil beyond even Jasper’s supernatural compensation will make war against him, by going after the only thing in his eternal life he desires – Willow. Is Willow’s heart enough to overcome Jasper’s soul to save her life? A fight he cannot win, but to save her life – he must.

REVIEW PROVIDED BY: Kimberly Wise            NUMBER OF STARS: 4 Stars

REVIEW:
This is the second in the Redwood Pack series. Carrie Ann Ryan is really coming into her own with this series. I finished the first book which was only about 50 pages and while really good it missed a lot of background (but it was still 4 stars). But this book is longer (about 130) and delves into the background of the family, werewolves and has a storyline beyond meeting a mate.

I could explain what happens but really the synopsis does pretty good already. However what it doesn’t say is that in this book we meet The Centrals, another wolf pack, who want to kill the Redwood pack and seem to want to use Willow to lure the family in. Willow is a strong woman who wants to be loved and have a family and she is willing to do anything to make that happen with Jasper. The interesting thing about Jasper is he is not the “perfect” guy… he messes up – boy can that boy mess things up! But  the reader never doubt his love for Willow.

I enjoyed reading this book more than the first (see my review on “An Alpha’s Path”) not because the first wasn’t good – it really is good – but it is a short story and this one was so much more intense and had a paranormal suspense feel about it. There was no suspense in the first one. Now after reading this book I wish Ryan would go back and add more to her first book because I think it could be so much more. And I can not wait to read the third one “Trinity Bound” because “A Taste For A Mate” leaves you with a cliffhanger!