Author: Annmarie McKenna
Series Connection: Seeing Eye Mate
ISBN: 1-59998-326-5
Genre: Paranormal Romantic Suspence/ Red Hots!

5 Hearts

Eli Graham has been gone on a job for eight long months. Now that he's home he has decided it is time to claim his mate. The only problem is when he gets home he finds that Nikki has been having some serious problems that no one has told him about and now she has a killer after here. Eli will need all his shape-shifter abilities in order to keep his mate alive.

Nikki left the mall one dark afternoon and is attacked by three men. Barely escaping with her life, Nikki gets away only to be run off the road by her attackers. If that isn't bad enough, eight months later she plans an evening with friends, only to find when she gets there that her three friends have been brutally murdered and the killer is still in the house.

Nikki has loved Eli since high school and he's finally noticing her as a woman, will Nikki be able to put her trust into the only man she's ever loved?

Checkmate is a wonderful suspense novel that will keep readers on their toes trying to figure out exactly who the killer is. Nikki and Eli are great together. I would have liked to see a little more of Eli's wolf, but otherwise it was a well thought out suspense.

Description:
What’s an alpha shape-shifting wolf to do when the woman pre-destined to be his mate no longer trusts men?

After returning home from an eight-month security job, Eli Graham is ready to claim his best friend’s little sister as his mate. He’d put it off for years, thinking he was doing the right thing by waiting. Instead of the stubborn, independent, carefree girl he left behind, Eli finds a shell of the woman he once knew.

Having lived through a near fatal attack, Nikki Taylor has hidden herself away from the world. Now the time has come to face head-on the one man who could devastate her completely, Eli Graham. She’s loved him forever, craves him, body, heart and soul, but he’s never treated her as anything but a little sister.

When Nikki witnesses a murder, she has no choice but to rely on Eli’s expertise. While guarding her from the man bent on wiping out a witness, Eli shows Nikki that he’ll not only protect her body, but he’ll show her just what it means to be a wolf’s mate.

Warning, this title contains the following: hot, explicit sex, graphic violence and language, and is not for the faint of heart! ( )

What’s an alpha shape-shifting wolf to do when the woman pre-destined to be his mate no longer trusts men?

After returning home from an eight-month security job, Eli Graham is ready to claim his best friend’s little sister as his mate. He’d put it off for years, thinking he was doing the right thing by waiting. Instead of the stubborn, independent, carefree girl he left behind, Eli finds a shell of the woman he once knew.

Having lived through a near fatal attack, Nikki Taylor has hidden herself away from the world. Now the time has come to face head-on the one man who could devastate her completely, Eli Graham. She’s loved him forever, craves him, body, heart and soul, but he’s never treated her as anything but a little sister.

When Nikki witnesses a murder, she has no choice but to rely on Eli’s expertise. While guarding her from the man bent on wiping out a witness, Eli shows Nikki that he’ll not only protect her body, but he’ll show her just what it means to be a wolf’s mate. ( )

Red alert! Hot Alpha werewolf tale!! If you enjoy werewolf erotica, then don't miss Annmarie McKenna's 'Mate' series. "Checkmate" is the second book and "Seeing Eye Mate" was the first. Her weres are uber-hot, uber-sexy, and uber-Alpha!

Eli is ready to declare himself to his mate. He's known she was his for many years, but waited for her to mature. AFter sex months away on a pack security assignment, he's ready to get home and claim his mate! But it turns out someone's been keeping things from him, and his mate is traumatized and in danger. His instincts kick in...

Nikki has loved Eli for what seems like her whole life. But how could anyone love her now? After being attacked and then run off the road, she has scars...both external and internal. She'll have to overcome her fears and a deranged killer before she can commit herslef to Eli.

Loved this book, and the first one. The suspense is good, the plot is handled well, and the sex is fabulous! What more do you need from paranormal erotica? ( )

**Courtesy of CK2S Kwips & Kritiques**

Now that he’s returned home from an eight month security detail out of town, Eli is determined to finally claim his mate. It’s been a long time coming, and in the time he’s been gone, she’s been attacked not once, but twice. Twice, her life has been threatened, and he couldn’t be there to protect her. He’ll do whatever it takes to claim Nikki for his mate and protect her against all threats. But first, he has to tell her he is a shape shifter…

Nikki has loved Eli for years, but never thought her brother’s friend returned those feelings. She especially never thought he’d want her now, with her face still scarred from the first attack. But since his return, Eli looks at her like he’s a wolf intent on eating her up, and for the first time she starts to wonder if those far-fetched rumors about the Graham twins are true…

If you have already read Annmarie McKenna’s first shape shifter story, Seeing Eye Mate, then you must be panting like wolf for the sequel to that story, Checkmate! McKenna did a fine job of teasing us thoroughly with just enough about Caelan’s identical twin brother, Eli, to leave us salivating for more! And she does not let the readers down with Checkmate. Both Eli and the plot far surpassed my greatest expectations, and left me hungry for yet another sequel!

Nikki is strong, yet almost broken after two brutal attacks. You can feel her fear and pain as she struggles for a life resembling some kind of normalcy while her attackers are still unidentified and remain at large. Her despair over whether Eli could ever look at her the same way again, much less feel romantic love for her after the attacks is enough to break your heart.

Of course, when Eli arrives on the scene, he picks up the pieces of both Nikki’s and the readers’ hearts right quick, as he sweeps Nikki off of her feet and into his world. Watching an Alpha Male like Eli in full-out protective mode take care of the woman he loves is enough to put butterflies in any woman’s tummy, but the sensitivity with which he treats Nikki is enough to make your knees wobble!

With Checkmate, Annmarie McKenna proves once again that she has a decided flair with romantic suspense as she weaves an intricate plot sure to keep you on the edge of your seat!

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