I have to admit the tagline from Terry Spear’s A Seal Wolf Christmas (Heart of the Wolf 12) gave me pause.
“He can handle murder…but mistletoe?”
Why do the two have to be mutually exclusive (or inclusive for that matter)?
We are introduced (or re-introduced if you are familiar with the series) to Bjornolf and Anna rescuing a rich family in the Colombian jungle. The two werewolves have met once before on another mission. As soon as they are reunited they sense a heat between them, but these two mercs are determined to fulfil the mission. Despite only meeting her once, Bjornolf has unnatural urge to protect Anna. He knows she’s a capable seal agent, but at first sense of danger he bounds off to her rescue! The mission almost goes awry, but eventually they return the human family to US embassy in Colombia. Conveniently, Hunter the pack leader has a new assignment for both of them. Two wolves were murdered at xmas tree farm back home. He’d like them to investigate by posing as newlyweds and relatives of a teen wolf named Nathan. Nothing like a dangerous assignment to bring two wolves together! The runaway prone teen works on the farm and also has the hots for the owner’s daughter. Thus, there’s a corresponding teenage romance subplot causing drama on the case and bringing these two agents together as growing parental figures for them.
The timely xmas theme for this month’s Vaginal Fantasy let me give this book a pass. But, I certainly don’t plan to continue the series. Anna is a strong she-wolf who doesn’t want to be rescued, but that’s exactly what happens multiple times in this book! Spear does allow her to save herself at one point, but it only serves to push their relationship to overdrive. Another thing Anna has never celebrated xmas because of her unhappy childhood past. Alot of emphasis is put on how xmas is awesome once you fall in love and find your mate. A little too heavy handed for my liking, but I know a book about werewolves isn’t meant to be too serious. The cheese level was pretty high once we learn these werewolves are instantly mated for life after having sex once in this universe. Ultimately, the book is all about loyalty and family. Wolves inherently yearn to protect each other, including sexy lone wolves who never considered love. Turns out the mission was an elaborate matchmaking session arranged by the pack leader to get Bjornolf and Anna sorted out and on his team. Pretty damn crafty I have to admit, but a tad extreme in my humble opinion.
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