Review: Mating Instinct

Reviewed by Jen
 

Another sexy shifter novel from Katie Reus, but this one has a bit more angst than the previous installments (and I liked it!)

Reus really whet my appetite for Jayce and Kat in Primal Possession.  The two dated nearly a year ago, but Kat left Jayce when she found out that he didn't want to become her bondmate.  She thought it meant he didn't love her, but he was actually trying to protect her from the enemies he has made as an enforcer.  --Anyway, Kat was kidnapped in the last book, then brutally tortured, and eventually changed into a shifter.  Now, weeks later, she is still trying to deal with all that she has been through.

Jayce can no longer stay away from the woman he loves and decides to come back into Kat's life.  The old spark is still there, but Kat tries to keep him at arms length. After all, she figures if she wasn't good enough for him as a human, things shouldn't be any different now that she is a wolf.  But when circumstances force Kat and Jayce to live under the same roof and work together to take on the anti-paranormal group who kidnapped her... well, Jayce's animal heat becomes too much to ignore.

I really liked both main characters.  I felt Kat's heartbreak and her reluctant love for Jayce.  And even though he hurt her, I completely sympathized with Jayce as well. He really was trying to protect her and while he did lie, he was never unkind nor did he mistreat her.  --The sexual tension is good (and the sex is hot,) but I was more wrapped up in the emotion in this one.

I have to say --once again, Reus did a fantastic job setting up the next book. I have been looking forward to Erin and Noah's story since Alpha Instinct and now these two are kicking things into high gear!   Not only that, but we also saw groundwork for two other couples: Ryan and Teresa & Brianna and Angelo.  The future stories are stacking up, and I can't wait.

I did kind of feel like the insertion of Leila into the story felt like a device for an insta-family.  Maybe she'll be a bigger factor in future books, but here, her character felt unnecessary.  A couple doesn't need a kid to have a HEA.

Rating: B+

*ARC Provided by Signet Eclipse

Click to purchase: Amazon

Mating Instinct

by Katie Reus

Release Date: March 5, 2013

Publisher: Signet Eclipse