Rabbit Creek Santa (A Wolvers Christmas Novella) by Jacqueline Rhoades-a review

Rabbit Creek Santa (The Wolvers) by Jacqueline Rhoades- a review

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Rabbit Creek Santa
The Wolvers Novella
by Jacqueline Rhoades
Genre: romance, paranormal
Release Date: November 28, 2013

Rabbit Creek Santa

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date November 28, 2013

.99cents ebook special: Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk/ Barnes and Noble /

It’s Christmas!…

Things are going well in Rabbit Creek. Elizabeth has taken her duties as the Alpha’s Mate to heart and as the story opens, that heart is breaking for the loneliness and isolation of one of her pack. It’s Christmas Eve and no one should be lonely at Christmas.

Lindy doesn’t feel like she has much to celebrate. After two years of widowhood, she can barely make ends meet without the aid of her pack and while her inner wolf is ready to move on, Lindy isn’t sure she can let go of the past.

New to the pack, Travis had party plans for the Holidays, but he ends up playing Santa to a pretty little widow and her pup. She’s not what he was looking for, but she’s exactly what he wants and his inner wolf agrees. Now all he has to do is convince Lindy that Christmas gifts aren’t always the ones you find under the tree

•••••••••••••••••

Wow, an amazingly warm and lovely story for the Christmas holidays! Rabbit Creek Santa takes us back to the small mountain town of Rabbit Creek where the wolver pack of Marshall Goodman and his Mate, Elizabeth are living and caring for their wonderful pack.

This is a really heartwarming story of a lonely wolver widow, Lindy, and her sweet “pup” or baby – Joey. Lindy’s mate Joe was killed in an auto accident two years prior, just after she had told him they were about to be parents. Part of Lindy loves that he knew before he died, and part of her wonders if knowing distracted him and got him killed. Isn’t that the way we usually do, always try to find a way to feel guilty for something we have no control over? But I digress.

As part of the Christmas duties, Elizabeth manages to get new comer to the pack, Travis Pike, to dress up as Santa and take some presents for Joey to Lindy’s cabin. All is great, except Joey screams instead of enjoying Santa, but Travis takes off the Santa stuff and charms Joey (or maybe it’s Joey that charms Travis). As the evening progresses Travis begins to understand that Lindy is the mate he and his wolf need, and Joey wants Travis as part of the family. However, convincing Lindy is quite another matter! She and her former mate were content, but not soul mates, but Lindy is having trouble moving on.

In the usual Rabbit Creek fashion the story unfolds with humor, frustration, and so much more than just a little attraction. Okay, that’s all the spoilers I’ll give out! You need to pick up a cool beverage (you’ll need it LOL), curl up and read this wonderful love story for yourself! It’s really true, not all presents are found under the tree! Enjoy, I really did! And Merry Christmas!

Reviewed by Georgianna

Copy supplied by the author.

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Guardian’s Faith (Guardians of the Race #4) by Jacqueline Rhoades-Review, Guest Post and Giveaway

Guardian’s Faith (Guardians of the Race #4) by Jacqueline Rhoades-Review, Guest Post and Giveaway

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Guardian’s Faith
Guardians of the Race #4
by Jacqueline Rhoades
Release Date: November 10, 2013

Guardian's Faith cover

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GUARDIAN’S FAITH (Guardians of the Race #4) by Jacqueline Rhoades

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date November 10, 2013

Physically and emotionally damaged by the horrors of her past, no one is more surprised than meek and silent Faith Parsons when she feels compelled to stow away in the van of the taciturn Liege Lord, Lucien ad Toussaint and travel to his House of Guardians in the faraway Southwest. She’s even more surprised when some of the local women see her as the one who will heal the 160 year old wounds that are destroying their way of life.

Lucien, too, is haunted by his past. He has withdrawn from the world around him and lives a reclusive and duty-bound life. He never expected that a tiny Daughter of Man could open the doors to a heart he’s kept closed for so long.

As the attraction between Faith and Lucien grows, the events of both their pasts begin to replay in the present. Must history repeat itself or can their future be changed?

REVIEW: GUARDIAN’S FAITH is the fourth instalment in Jacqueline Rhoades’s adult contemporary, paranormal Guardians of the Race series. The premise of the series focuses on the Guardians (descendants of the angel Gabriel) and the women they love. The women in the storyline are the Daughters of Man and the descendants of one of the original matings between angels and humans. GUARDIAN’S FAITH is Lucien and Faith’s storyline. Lucien is a Guardian who believes the old ways are best and Faith is the woman to bring him into the future and out of the past.

Faith Parsons is a Daughter of Man whose powers have yet to reach their full potential. Following months of horrific abuse at the hands of a demon, Faith is having a difficult time with her emotional recovery until the day Lucien ad Toussaint pays a visit to Canaan’s House of Guardians where she resides. What follows is a cross country escapade with two rambunctious trainees, a quiet Vigilante and the man who would steal her heart.

Guardian’s Faith focuses on Faith’s recovery and the re-building of Lucien’s House of Guardians. The reader is pulled into Lucien’s world of shape-shifters, demons and vampires; Guardians, family and betrayal; a village mired in secrets and old-world beliefs; and the vendetta of one family to take back their birthright.

The relationship between our leading couple is slow to build but one that will see both Lucien and Faith succumbed to the healing properties of friendship and love. Lucien has long hidden in the shadows and kept to himself but when Faith enters his life with her love of humor, a good joke and pizza, Lucien will find his frozen heart begins to melt. Love will open Lucien’s eyes and his heart to a possible future that involves both his present and his past.

Jacqueline Rhoades pushes the Guardians of the Race series in another direction by breathing life into Lucien’s House of Guardians and the re-establishing of a family home for future Guardians and their mates. We are introduced to several secondary characters including new trainees Adam and Lalo, the members of Lucien’s household and a village of people who are more than they appear to be.

Guardian’s Faith is a story of betrayal and loss; revenge and death; family and friends; healing and love. Jacqueline has written a wonderful and engaging series that will keep your attention from the very start-you will become one with the family of Guardians and Daughters of Man-and experience the emotional high and lows as Jacqueline’s storyline characters come to life on the pages of the Guardians of the Race series.

READING ORDER
Guardian’s Grace
Guardian’s Hope
Guardian’s Joy
Guardian’s Faith

Copy supplied by the author.

Reviewed by Sandy

Guest Post beige

Hello Everyone! It’s really great to be here on the Reading Café posting as a guest.

I’m really excited about my release, Guardian’s Faith. It was a tough one to write because Faith is such a damaged character, both physically and emotionally. What she suffered couldn’t be fixed with a single kiss, not even from the luscious Lucien. I needed her growth and healing, which began in Guardian’s Joy, to be as realistic as possible within the realm of fiction, so I researched women who’d suffered similar trauma in the real world.

Wait a minute! I write paranormal romance, which is about as far from reality as you can get! Don’t you just make it up as you do along? Demon hunter? Shifters? Vampires? You can’t get much farther away from the real world than that, and yet…

If my world of the Paenitentia and the Daughters of Man were real, would the beings that populated it be so different from you and me? I don’t think so. They would still have hopes and dreams and feel pain and heartache. They wouldn’t be believable to you, the reader, if they didn’t.

Guardians of the Race

I know my high school teacher, who used the old adage, “Write what you know”, would be turning over in her grave, but if I wrote about only what I know, I wouldn’t have any readers. They all would have been bored to death a long time ago!

So if you don’t know something through your own life experiences what do you do? I suppose some lucky writers have the ability to write purely from their imaginations. I don’t. If I haven’t been there, done that, then I need to learn from the folks who have, before I can imagine what my character feels.

If I wanted my readers to understand Faith’s pain and perspective, I had to have some understanding of it first, so I read case studies and the writings of women who really had been there and had the fortitude to fight their way back. Did I use everything I learned? Of course not, nor was my portrayal entirely accurate, but I hope I gave my readers enough to feel an empathy for Faith.

The Alpha's ChoiceI did the same for the cubs in The Alpha’s Choice. They were secondary characters, but their personalities were based on those typical of children raised in abusive environments. I also researched wolf behavior as I built my wolver world. Pack behavior is different from human and since my wolvers carry the psyche of both inside them, inner conflicts can and do arise.

Is it all heavy duty research on the internet? No, some of it’s face to face. Personally, I have no idea what it’s like to be tall and willowy, or petite. The only way to find out is ask. I’ve talked to friends and yes, complete strangers about the oddest things. I stopped a biker to ask about his Harley. I asked his girlfriend about her leathers.

Research isn’t just about asking questions, either. Most writers are people watchers. We watch how they move, how they gesture when they speak. See that girl who twists her hair when she talks? Watch her face. Is she nervous or is she thinking? See that guy ahead of you in line at Motor Vehicles. He stands with his hands behind his back and feet a comfortable distance apart. Ex-military?

The internet is a huge boon to a writer, but not everything can be learned there. To a writer, everything is research. Everywhere we go, everyone we meet is research which we file away in the drawers of our minds. We try not to be obvious about it, but it’s always there.

So, now that you know, try not to act too self-conscious next time you have lunch with a writer, because they’ll probably file that away as research, too.

Jacqueline

About The Author beige

Jacqueline Rhoades

Follow: Website / Goodreads/ Facebook Twitter/ Pinterest

Jacqueline, known as Jackie to her friends, lives in rural southern Ohio with one lovable husband, one spoiled dog and one disinterested cat. She believes coffee is a food group and therefore necessary to survival. She always has a pot brewing. When not writing, she can usually be found with her nose in someone else’s book or working in her garden. She also spends a great deal of time chasing deer and rabbits who apparently also like gardening.
Jackie loves hearing from her readers and is always willing to chat. She can be reached through her website.

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Jacqueline is offering TWO giveaways for our members at The Reading Cafe.

FIRST PRIZE: One winner will receive a complete e-set of Guardians of the Race –Books 1-4

SECOND PRIZE: One winner will receive an ecopy of Guardian’s Faith.

1. If you have not registered at The Reading Cafe, please register using the log-in at the top of the page (side bar) or by using one of the social logins.

2. If you are using a social log-in, please post your email address with your comment.

3. Please comment and tell us to enter you into the giveaway.

4. Giveaway is open Internationally.

5. Giveaway runs from November 19-23, 2013

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The Alpha’s Daughter (Wolver #3) by Jacqueline Rhoades-a review and giveaway

The Alpha’s Daughter (Wolver #3) by Jacqueline Rhoades-a review and giveaway

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The Alpha’s Daughter
Wolver #3
by Jacqueline Rhoades
Release Date:  July 1, 2013

The Alpha’s Daughter is book three of the “Wolver” series. All the books in this series are written as stand- alone, but I always love having the background and history inherent in reading a series start to finish. So if you haven’t read this series, you may want to pick them up.

This story begins with Jasmine “Jazz” Phillips traveling a lonely road in the Arkansas Mountains at night on her motorcycle, remembering the turn of events that led her here.

Jazz is the only child of Alpha wolver Bronson Phillips, a hard, power hungry, brutal man. He runs his pack in a way that promotes the more animalistic traits. Their businesses are mostly criminal and drug related, good money – but bad.

Jazz recently had a visit by the mysterious Mr. Begley, who informed her that her father was going to demand she mate the next powerful alpha he found to take over his pack. He then outlined a route for her to take to a pack where she could seek sanctuary in the Appalachian Mountains. She thought this would just not happen and almost threw the napkin with the route away – but didn’t. When a week later her father demanded that she mate for the good of his pack, she tried to protest, but was quickly beaten into submission for her efforts. Pretty much a prisoner in her own home, Jazz decided it would be better to escape than live a life she’d watched her mother live, abused and used as a tool for her mate.

This is a lot of background, but I’ve put it here all at once so you can get the feel for the life Jazz has come from…the book is well written with the background coming in interspersed with other events to keep the story informative, but incredibly entertaining.

The story comes to life when as Jazz stops for a rest in the town of Gilead, where she’s to meet a wolver by the name of Goodman who will assist her on her way; she’s attacked by three rogues at the bar/café where she stops. Trained to fight since a child, by “Uncle Moose”, she’s doing pretty well when a huge, hairy giant of wolver comes to her rescue.

Michael “Doc” Goodman is a doctor, an actual MD specializing in wolver medicine as well as human, who has left his old life behind to find some peace in helping the poor but wonderful pack in Gilead. The sparks and lightning that begins to fly when these two meet is wonderful to say the least. The great dialog that Ms. Rhoades puts into this tale is enthralling and exciting. I love great arguments and fun dialog and this book is simply filled with great conversations as well as some truly steamy love scenes!

Watching Jazz and Grizz (Jazz’s nickname for him) dance around each other and the situations that arise is not only entertaining, it’s compelling. This is a page-turner. So hard to put down, I just had to see what was going to happen. I fell in love with the pack in Gilead, wonderful people so well written you feel you have known them forever and they actually become your friends. Of the three books, so far, in this series; Alpha’s Daughter is definitely my favorite. I loved all of them, but this one is so rich in emotion, humor and life it’s in my top three books ever! And that’s a pretty big statement for me. I’m not going to do anymore spoilers, you just have to read and feel this wonderful story for yourself! Do yourself a favor, allow enough time for a great read and curl up with this one! Enjoy, I did!

The Wolvers

Reading Order
1. The Alpha’s Mate
2. The Alpha’s Choice
3. The Alpha’s Daughter

Reviewed by Georgianna S.

Copy supplied by the author.

Giveaway-Blue:Black

Jacqueline is offering an ecopy of THE ALPHA’S DAUGHTER to TWO lucky readers at The Reading Cafe.

1. Please register using the log-in at the top of the page.

2. If you are using a social log-in such as Twitter or Google, please post your email address with your comment.

3. Giveaway is OPEN internationally.

4. Giveaway runs July 2 to July 5, 2013

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Cover Reveals-June 25, 2013

Cover Reveals-June 25, 2013

The Master Undone Aug 13

 

TITLE: The Master Undone

AUTHOR: Lisa Renee Jones

SERIES: Inside Out Novellas

RELEASE DATE: August 12, 2013

 

 

 

First Surrender

 

TITLE: First Surrender

AUTHOR: Katie Reus

SERIES: anthology

RELEASE DATE: 2013

 

 

 

Targeted_hi-res2_FINAL-185x300

 

TITLE: Targeted

AUTHOR: Katie Reus

SERIES: Deadly Ops

RELEASE DATE: October 1, 2013

 

 

 

AD2

 

TITLE: The Alpha’s Daughter

AUTHOR: Jacqueline Rhoades

SERIES: The Wolvers

RELEASE DATE: July 1, 2013

 

 

 

Born in Blood Dec 13

 

TITLE: Born in Blood

AUTHOR: Alexandra Ivy

SERIES: The Sentinels

RELEASE DATE: December 2013

 

 

 

Murder of Crows.March 14jpg

 

TITLE:  Murder of Crows

AUTHOR:  Anne Bishop

SERIES:  The Others

RELEASE DATE:  March 2014

 

 

 

Infinity Dec 13

 

TITLE: Infinity (Manga Graphic)

AUTHOR:  Sherrilyn Kenyon

SERIES:  Dark Hunter/CON

RELEASE DATE:  December 2013

 

 

 

TheWeekendProposition Sept 13jpg

 

TITLE: The Weekend Proposition

AUTHOR: Ella Jade

SERIES: N/A

RELEASE DATE: September 2013

 

 

 

the Untamed MacKenzie Sept 13

 

TITLE: The Untamed MacKenzie

AUTHOR: Jennifer Ashley

SERIES: The MacKenzies

RELEASE DATE: September 2013

 

 

 

Wulfe Untamed Jan 14

 

TITLE: Wulfe Untamed

AUTHOR: Pamela Palmer

SERIES: Feral Warriors

RELEASE DATE: January 2014

 

 

 

If Forever Comes Sept 13

 

TITLE: If Forever Comes

AUTHOR: A.L.Jackson

SERIES: N/A

RELEASE DATE: September 2013

 

 

 

Into The Still Blue Jan 14

 

TITLE: Into The Still Blue

AUTHOR: Veronica Rossi

SERIES: Under The Never Sky #3

RELEASE DATE: January 2014

 

 

 

Darkness Splintered

 

TITLE: Darkness Splintered

AUTHOR: Keri Arthur

SERIES: Dark Angels

RELEASE DATE: November 2013

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The Alpha’s Choice (The Wolvers #2) by Jacqueline Rhoades-a review

The Alpha’s Choice (The Wolvers #2) by Jacqueline Rhoades-a review

The Alpha's Choice

Amazon / Barnes and Noble / KOBO

ABOUT THE BOOK: Released January 29, 2013

Katarina Bennett stopped believing in fairytales a long time ago. Prince Charming doesn’t exist. Careful planning is what makes dreams come true and that’s what she’s spent her adult life doing. Now those plans have fallen apart. She’s lost everything; her fiancé, her job and her home.

Determined to make a new start, Kat takes a job as a governess and teacher for five orphaned children and finds herself in an old Gothic mansion in the middle of nowhere with people who aren’t what they seem.

Charles Goodman is the Alpha of his wolver pack, the modern descendants of an ancient line of man/beasts who’ve hidden among the human race for centuries. Charles has his hands full with taking his pack in a new direction and dealing with dissention in the ranks and doubts about his own abilities to lead, but when he meets his feisty new employee, he begins to believe in a future he didn’t think possible.

Together, Charles and Kat, Alpha and Mate, set out to prove all things are possible and fairytales do come true

*********************

The Alpha’s Choice is the 2nd book in the Wolver series by Jacqueline Rhoades. This is a wonderfully written but definitely not a clone of the first Alpha’s Mate. I found it a different and compelling read from the very first page.

Katarina Bennett is a teacher recently betrayed by her fiancé who after she helped him through medical school, ran off and married someone else leaving her bitter and in need of a change in scenery. Leaving her job at a school for upper class/wealthy children, she took a job offered by the mysterious Mr. Begley to teach 5 orphaned children in a very rural mountain community.

Upon arriving a few days early, this being approved by her new as yet unknown employer and Mr. Begley, she found the house of nightmares. A very gothic looking huge stone mansion that she found forbidding and like most gothic novels where the heroine enters at her peril…until she got into the kitchen and found a thoroughly modern wonder. The house was being remodeled and very well.

Thinking she had the place to herself for a couple of days, she made herself at home and while relaxing in the pool realized there was quite a lot of “wild life” around, like a pack of wolves she saw across a field near the forest. While skinny dipping, she met one of the wolves in person as he came to watch her swim and seemed to enjoy her company.

Ok, enough spoilers for me…let me just summarize by saying Ms. Rhoades has definitely written another in this wonderful series. It’s compelling, very hard to put down action. Ms. Rhoades always seems to bring in some very compelling and thought provoking subjects: feral children, abusive relationships, learning to trust yourself being just a few in this saga.

The characters are what I’ve come to expect and have not been disappointed. Wonderfully warm loving supportive but wise females, handsome alpha males of daring and romantic scenes, bad characters I’d just love to slap or worse, loveable friends and much more. The steamy lovemaking and frisky romps are a fresh and well done part as well!

This is wonderful tale of finding oneself, true love, faith and confidence, loving redemption, danger and ingenuity. A great time and really hope you have time to read it…because you won’t be able to put it down! Enjoy it, I certainly did!

Copy supplied by the author

Reviewed by Georgianna S.

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GUARDIAN’S JOY (Guardians of the Race #3) by Jacqueline Rhoades-a review

GUARDIAN’S JOY (Guardians of the Race #3) by Jacqueline Rhoades-a review

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GUARDIAN’S JOY is the third storyline in Jacqueline Rhoades Guardians of the Race series.

Some background: The Guardians are of the Race, with superior strength and speed, descended from Gabriel who are on earth to protect the humans and guard the portal, ensuring the demons do not cross the barrier. When a Guardian dies and his heart still remains within his chest, he is changed into vampire, and must be destroyed before the blood rage consumes. The women in the storyline are the Daughter’s of Man and the descendants of one of the original matings. All males of the Race are born with a tiny red tear drop over their left chest muscle. When they mature, the lilies bloom (it is not a tattoo). When they are initiated into the Guardians, the skull and tears appear. Once they are mated, a rose will bloom with the lilies. A white rose for a mated pair, a red rose for a blood bond pair.

Guardian’s Joy focuses on Joy JJ Justice, a cop who recently tendered her resignation following the death of her partner. Joy has a special ability to ferret out ‘demons’ and vampires, and takes it upon herself to track the evil beings. But on the night in question, JJ will find that she is overpowered by a demon and the man who is trying to help, believes she has killed an innocent victim. When the demon poison takes hold, Joy will find herself alone and slowly dying from an infected scratch.

Bernardo “Nardo” believes he has found his mate in JJ. With her ability to call forth a power, the other women in the Guardian House believe she is a Daughter of Man, but JJ only knows that her mother believed her to be a witch. Without the benefit of knowledge, JJ was placed in a commune with others of her ‘kind’. But it is the missing memories that continue to haunt when she is unable to remember the past and the Guardians will discover that Joy is something much more.

Canaan’s Guardian House was losing money. Their finances were a mess and an investigation would reveal that someone was skimming from the outside. Meanwhile there were drained bloodless bodies of young female Paenitentia discovered throughout the city, 14 missing male Paenitnetia and the rumors of a blood-lust vampire were on the rise. Upon further bloodshed and investigation the Guardians would discover the resurrection of an ancient brotherhood from the past breeding hybrid vampires and demons. But Joy’s past will catch up when she recognizes those in power hoping to bring a new breed of Guardian into the world.

Nardo and JJ’s relationship is very slow to build. Injured and fighting the demon poison will find JJ in bed recovering for a period of time, and Nardo’s ill-timed declaration that JJ ‘is mine’ raises the young woman’s hackles and screams ownership. She is determined never to place herself in the position again. She has issues of trust and it would a long time before she felt she could trust anyone ever. But it is her ‘tattoo’ that will have everyone wondering what it means to the House of the Guardian.

GUARDIAN’S JOY is another exciting and wonderful storyline in Jacqueline Rhoades’ Guardians of the Race series. I like Jacqueline’s ability to blend the previous storyline characters into each successive novel, and it doesn’t hurt that everyone lives together in the same house. There is bound to be plenty of interaction. Dov and Col continue their puppy-like antics much to the chagrin of their Lord Leige, but like every patient parent, the household women become protective of their little cubs. And another positive aspect of Jacqueline’s series, she includes much of the Guardian’s backstory and history with every novel, which helps the new readers to the series.

READING ORDER
1. Guardian’s Grace
2. Guardian’s Hope
3. Guardian’s Joy

Reviewed by Sandy

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The Alpha’s Mate (The Wolvers #1) by Jacqueline Rhoades

THE ALPHA’S MATE (The Wolvers #1) by Jacqueline Rhoades

THE ALPHA’S MATE by Jacqueline Rhoades

THE ALPHA’S MATE is the first storyline (May 2012 release) in The Wolvers series by Jacqueline Rhoades.

Former librarian 32year old Elizabeth Reynolds was on sabbatical and moving to Rabbit Creek. Locating her new place was a bit of a nightmare, but finding herself in the arms of a complete stranger made everything worthwhile. With her car stuck in the mud and strange animals in the forest, Elizabeth hope she hadn’t made an awful mistake. Spending the night at a complete stranger’s home would take on a whole new meaning when she found herself fighting off a pack of wolves while a fire raged all around.

Marshall Goodman is the chief of police, owns the local specialty mill and alpha male of the pack. His attraction to Elizabeth is instant, but the signals she is sending are confusing all of the males.  At some point, Elizabeth is under the mistaken notion that Marshall is already in a committed relationship with his cousin Henry, but it is Marshall who believes she knows they are wolves.

Elizabeth was introduced to the local folks but Charles Goodman, Marshall’s brother seemed to take a special interest in the new resident of Rabbit Creek. Thinking that Marshall was gay, Elizabeth made a half-hearted attempt at seduction, but realized that Charles wasn’t the man for her.  But when a beaten and bloody woman is found in her front yard, Elizabeth must contact Marshall hoping to save the young woman’s life.  And to Elizabeth’s amazement, she will find a shifting wolf that was once Marshall Goodman.  But it will be the women of the Creek that take Elizabeth aside and tell her the story of their wolves.

There was a fight brewing for wolver territory and Alpha.  Fires, assaults and bullets wounds would find Elizabeth with a house full of shifters and an injured wolf to care.  Marshall was the Alpha and he had to protect his wolves and his territory, and for all intents and purposes, Elizabeth was his to protect.

Elizabeth was an unexpected gift to the Alpha and his Pack. They told her tales of their matings and stories about the townsfolk, and Elizabeth decided to write a story of their lives-without the paranormal content. But Marshall also had a job to do and the marijuana grow-ops were taxing his time and his men.

Charles made it a point to introduce himself to Elizabeth’s family. Suave and sophisticated, Charles hoped to find a mate in Elizabeth, and something about the man drew her like a moth to a flame. As the alpha of his own Pack, Charles was committed to moving forward and modernizing their ways, but animosity between the brothers ran deep and long.

The fight for possession would turn personal. When Marshall was injured trying to protect Elizabeth, it was Max ( the young woman found injured) who would explain the reason for the alpha rage.  There was something about Elizabeth that drew the other alpha males around but the circumstances had changed and now it was an act of revenge.

The Goodman family had a gift.  As Alpha, Marshall’s gift was needed whenever there were injuries and wounded wolves, but there was no one around when Marshall needed help.  Elizabeth knew that only one other male in the family would be capable to heal the man that she loved, and by calling him in, she may have sealed her fate. But Elizabeth believed she was no Alpha’s Mate and insisted it had all been a mistake.

A challenge had been issued for the Alpha position, the Pack and its’ mate, and Elizabeth was the prize.  When another alpha claimed the rights by an ancient Pack law, it was up to Elizabeth to figure a way to save Marshall, the Pack and her life. A little research and a couple of friends in high places, Elizabeth found a loophole that would hopefully benefit Marshall’s pack and see the rightful Alpha back in charge.

THE ALPHA’S MATE is a romantic adventure about a Pack looking for a mate (for its’ Alpha) and thinking they had found her in Elizabeth Reynolds. The major character development is smooth, but there are a number of secondary players that get lost in the mix.  Sometimes too many characters and names make for a confusing storyline and at times I had to go back and double check.

Jacqueline’s version of the mating heat adds a twist that at times had me worried as to the direction our heroine was heading, but in the end, the Alpha finds his mate and his heart.  The Alpha’s Mate looks at the magical allure of the shifter wolf and why we love our storybook alpha males.  A great start to another series by Jacqueline Rhoades.

LINK TO ORDER
Amazon Kindle
Smashwords
B&N Nook

Copy supplied by the author

Reviewed by Sandy

 

 

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Jacqueline Rhoades-Interview with the Author

Jacqueline Rhoades-Interview with the Author

Jacqueline Rhoades is a self-published author who has recently released two novels in her new Guardians of the Race Series. We would like to welcome Jacqueline to The Reading Cafe.

 

 

TRC:  Hi Jacqueline and welcome to The Reading Café. We would like to start with some background information.

Would you please tell us something about yourself?

Jacqueline:  Hi and thanks for the invite. I’ve had a full life. I was born in New England and ended up , so far, here in the middle of the country. I’ve worked in restaurants, hospital labs and schools, raised a family and coached more soccer than I think might be normal, but if I had to describe myself in one word, it would be Reader. I’m never without a book. I learned to read when I was three or four and have been unable to stop ever since. It’s almost an obsession and I actually feel withdrawal symptoms if I’m denied. I consume books. From the Classics to Louis L’Amour, sweet romance to erotica, there isn’t a genre I’ll turn away. Okay, I’ll shut up now. You’ve got the idea, but if you haven’t, I can talk books for hours.

TRC:  What inspired you to write your first book?

Jacqueline:  I have always written stories in my head, mostly at those times when it’s impossible to have a book in my hands; driving, in the shower, working in the yard, or as a passenger on long trips because I suffer from car sickness and can’t read. After years of someday-I’m-gonna, I finally decided to put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard, as it were, and as the ad says, Just Do It. Now I’m doing it and can’t stop writing any more than I can stop reading.

TRC:  You recently made the decision to indie publication. What challenges have you encountered on your road to publication?

Jacqueline:  I started getting agent responses (after their requests for partial and full manuscripts) that praised my writing, my characters, and my ‘voice’, but… they hesitated to take on a paranormal romance because the market was full or because they couldn’t see a place for light, as opposed to dark, heroes. Heartening and yet heartbreaking. There’s an indie market out there for books that don’t ‘fit’, so I decided to give it a go.


TRC:  GUARDIAN’S GRACE is the first novel in your new Guardians of the Race series. Would you please give us some background information about the series?

Jacqueline:  The Paenitentia have been around since the Great Flood. The penance for their forefather’s sin of feasting on the blood and power of man is to live and work beyond the light of day. Violent death can ‘turn’ their males into vampires. My heroes are Guardians of the Race and their whole purpose in life is to protect both Paenitentia and Man from the demons who cross over from the otherworld. Tradition has it that all Paenitentia problems stem from their seduction by the Daughters of Man (now known as witches) thousands of years ago.

TRC:  How would you describe your writing style?

Jacqueline:  Fun! I love the old movie romance from the thirties and forties; a little drama, action, heartbreak (pass the tissues, please) with a bit of comic relief. Of course, I’ve modernized using the paranormal backdrop and lots of sex!

TRC:  Would you please explain the premise behind GUARDIAN’S GRACE?

Jacqueline:  Grace is a social recluse because, as she believes, there’s something wrong with her head. After witnessing a violent event, she’s kidnapped by a pair of Guardian trainees, simply because they don’t know what else to do with her! They bring her to their House and hope to figure it out before their Liege Lord returns. Grace sees pretty quickly that the pair are harmless and, lo and behold, these guys don’t make her head buzz! She decides to make herself indispensable to the running of the House, but there’s one problem… women aren’t allowed in a House of Guardians.  The fun begins when the Liege Lord, Canaan, returns to find a strange woman in his bed and things become more complicated when he finds himself falling in love with this human woman who turns out to be a Daughter of Man, a giant no-no in his traditional world.  Fighting demons he can handle and does. Fighting his love for Grace? It’s a battle he can’t win.

TRC:  You have introduced several characters in your first storyline including ‘uncle Otto’. Have you considered writing a ‘pre-quel’ to the series about Otto?

Jacqueline:  I have, but Otto and the love of his life have a long, long, long history and it couldn’t possibly be covered in one book. I’m trying to work that out.

TRC:   GUARDIAN’S HOPE is your next instalment in the series. Would you please tell us something about the premise?

Jacqueline:  Hope comes from a tight knit religious community and once again, just doesn’t fit. She sees herself as big and bulky, particularly in comparison to her petite and pretty runaway sister. When Hope finds a box her mother hid away and the remnant of a letter her sister wrote pleading for help, she’s off to the big city completely unprepared for what she finds. Again, circumstance force the intrepid twins to bring her to the House of Guardians where she temporarily finds a home and gets to know the suave, sophisticated Nico who sees in her all the voluptuous softness that he has never had in his life. Can this big country girl find love in the arms of this cultured European as the House searches for her missing sister? You betcha!

TRC:  How many books have you planned for the series?

Jacqueline: So far, there are three written and another two swirling around in my head. I suppose this is a good place to point out that there is an underlying theme about the beauty of women in these books. All my women have different looks, body types, and personalities and they’re all as critical of themselves as most of us are. Shame on us and them! And like many women out there, they’re looking for fulfillment in ways that don’t always please their men.  

Grace has always wanted a family to care for and yes, she likes cooking and keeping house for them. For her, it’s a dream come true and I say, ‘Good for her!’ Hope, who’s grown up being treated like a household drudge, wants no part of housekeeping and finds she has a head for business. Good for her, too. JJ (Joy) in the third book, is an ex-cop who is as tough as nails. You won’t find her in the kitchen or behind a desk. We’re all different and we’re all beautiful and I want to celebrate that in my characters.

TRC:  Dov and Col are quite the pair-like two over charged puppies in a room full of children. What or who was your inspiration for these characters?

Jacqueline:  I work in a Junior High. Do you have any idea how raunchy 7th and 8th grade boys are? Sorry, Mom, but it’s true. Inappropriate as it is, I love their sense of humor and I’ve become adept at looking stern and admonishing while sucking in my cheeks to keep from laughing.

TRC:  Will you continue Dov and Col’s particular brand of ‘humor’ in all of your storylines?

Jacqueline:  I will, though they will mature. Slowly….

TRC:  Many author bounce ideas between family members and friends. With whom do you bounce ideas?

Jacqueline: My best friend, Georgianna. Her comments keep my characters true and she’s been invaluable in helping me work through plot mechanics. Email is great for specific questions, but it’s our phone or face to face conversations that really get the creative juices flowing. She also keeps me on task and is a constant source of support and inspiration. Oh, and did I mention we laugh? A lot!

TRC:  On what are you currently working?

 

Jacqueline:  I’m polishing up Guardian’s Joy and the first of a werewolf trilogy called The Alpha’s Mate. I’ve also got a contemporary romance set in a small town in the Appalachian mountains that also looks like it could turn into a series. Those secondary characters just keep pushing and pushing to have their stories told!

 

 

 

TRC:  Would you like to add anything else?

Jacqueline:  Just that I hope readers have as much fun reading my stories as I have writing them. Writing is extremely hard work, but I’ll continue to do it because it makes me happy and it gives me a legitimate reason for all those voices in my head!

LIGHTNING ROUND

Favorite Food – Homemade spaghetti and meatballs

Favorite Dessert – Blueberry Pie

Favorite TV Show – NCIS

Favorite Movie – Avatar

Last Movie you Saw – The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Dark or Milk Chocolate – Milk

Favorite Song – Moon River

TRC:  Thank you Jackie for taking the time to answer our questions. We are looking forward to your next instalment in the series. We wish you all the best in your writing career.

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