Heather Long (1)

Another fantastic book from Heather Long! I just love her Wolves of Willow Bend series and Snow Wolf had everything I expected and then some. One of my favorite things about Heather Long’s writing is she immediately pulls you into the world she has created and makes you feel like you really know the characters. Each pack that she writes about definitely has their own personality and it doesn’t take long to see what is below the surface of the Yukon pack – a pack that is filled with show more care and concern for one another and takes care of their own.

I absolutely loved Diesel. He may be the oldest alpha in the US packs, but that has only made him wiser when it comes to taking care of his pack and learning that being patient can bring you great rewards. The loss of his mate many years ago has left him scarred and a bit aloof, and he really just wants to be left alone by the other US packs. When Julian, the Chief Enforcer, arrives in his territory carrying not only news of a potential threat to Diesel’s pack, but also carrying the scent of a potential mate, Diesel is intrigued. And once he meets Ranae he knows that it’s going to take more than just telling her “Mine” to accept him as her mate – and is more than looking forward to that challenge and all the fun that promises to bring!

I wasn’t too certain about Ranae at first. She has some definite anger issues and is more likely to act out rather than think things through – all things that her training as a Hunter is helping her work on. She definitely feels like this mission into the Yukon has given her a chance to prove herself to her family and more importantly her Alpha. What she doesn’t expect is to meet a man who she can’t decide if she wants to punch or climb like a tree…and he has her doing both! She is not amused by Diesel’s claiming and wants no part of being mated to a stodgy, set in his ways, aloof Alpha who lives in the middle of the tundra, but she has a job to do and Diesel is more than willing to take advantage of that fact to keep her with him while he tries to change her mind. Ranae also isn’t prepared for the man she finds beneath the surface, one who encourage her and appreciates her skills and abilities, one who doesn’t try to be over-protective but rather allows her to take care of him as much as he takes care of her…and it’s all these things that has her finding it hard to resist her attraction to him.

Diesel and Ranae together were so perfectly suited to one another. As an alpha, Diesel needs a strong, dominant mate to help him lead his pack. Once he recognizes that Ranae offers just that, he also recognizes that she has to accept him and cannot be forced into anything. I loved that Diesel was always open and honest with Ranae, and when he finally gets her to trust him enough to be the same, you can just feel how right they are together. I loved watching him surprise her time after time with his acceptance of her skills and her ability to take care of herself. He trusts her to watch his back and even though he still feels the need to protect, he also quickly recognizes that she is capable of holding her own and truly can be his other half, from the bedroom to the battlefield. When trouble finds its way into Diesel’s territory and his instinct is to play lone wolf to solve the problem and protect not just Ranae, his mate, but his entire pack, I just love how Ranae takes a page out of Diesel’s playbook to ensure that his plan has the best chance of success – I think that’s when I totally fell in love with Ranae!

I loved getting to spend some time with some characters from previous books and learning more about the threat from the Russian wolves. There are so many characters between the different packs, and I love watching the packs become more intertwined as matings occur between packs and they have to stand together to face the threat that has touched all of them.

Individually each of the books in this series are fabulous and can be read as stand-alones, but there is an over-arching story arc that is just so wonderfully woven together throughout the series that it would be a shame not to start this series from the beginning. I highly recommend this book and series to anyone.

I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. show less

This was such a fantastic read! It was well written and I just love the world that Heather Long has created. This is the first book in this series that I have read, and although it worked well as a standalone, I can’t wait to go back and start this series from the beginning.

Brett was an awesome Alpha. He’s had a bit of misfortune that centered on a betrayal in his pack and he has been hit very hard by it. He also carries the physical scars from that betrayal, a constant reminder to him show more that he failed to protect his pack. When Brett meets Colby there is no denying that he wants her, he just needs to find a way to keep her in town so he can have the time he needs to convince her to stay.

Colby has had some bad luck in her past and has paid the price for it. Having finished serving her community service time by working in a local hospital, she knows she needs to get away and start her life over. She agrees to drive one of her patients to his home town, which will give her some extra money to start her new life…what she doesn’t anticipate is meeting Brett Dalton and being drawn into his world.

Brett and Colby were just awesome together. Through Colby, Brett begins to heal emotionally and become the alpha that his pack needs. Through Brett, Colby learns to trust and learn things about herself and her past that will change her world. I loved the fact that Colby was not afraid to go toe to toe with Brett and call him out when needed, which of course led to some great reactions from his pack. I also loved watching both Brett and Colby with the pack – watching Brett reconnect with his pack and seeing Colby begin to forge relationships.

There were many things going on this book, from the question of Luc’s motives by returning to the pack, the alpha challenges that Brett faces, the inter-pack dynamics, and of course the love story. The plot was well-developed and moved along at the perfect pace to have all of these things unfold seamlessly. And even though I have not read the previous books in this series, the author does a fabulous job giving enough background, history, and information to understand the dynamics at play. The writing was wonderful and the author managed to capture the personality of each of her characters in their dialogue and actions.

Everything about this book was a win for me and I can’t wait to delve into the previous books in this series as well as see what is next for the Wolves of Willow Bend.

I received a copy of this book from the author for an honest review. show less

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Review:

I must be a moron. Some of you may notice that I posted a review for Book 5 in this series yesterday. Would have been nice had I paid attention and saw that I had book 4 to read first. ARGH! Anyway, I apologize. I read them out of order and consequently posted the reviews out of order. Moving on …

Holy onslaught to the sensual senses Batman! I swear to you I will never think of show more food in the same way again. Never! And I do not in any way mean that in a bad way. I only wish I could eat like that every day of my life! In fact I just ate and I am starving again because of the mouth-watering food described in this story. But you all don’t want to hear about the food, right? *whispers* But seriously … I want to eat like that EVERYDAY!!!

Damon is a Marine. No longer in active duty, he now concentrates on cooking. And in fact it is opening night for his restaurant when his 1 Night Stand takes place. His staff is comprised of former military or a relation of military. And they are beyond capable. Opening night is going off without a hitch except for one problem … his date is late.

Helena is wicked smart. She flew through school, high school, had a degree at 19, and a law degree by 22. Her entire life has been nothing but studying, working, eating out of a box or bag, and catching what little sleep she can. Now, on this her 30th birthday, she has decided to try something new. Just invited to become partner in her law firm, Helena craves something more if only for one night. But the night starts off ending badly in court, causing her to be late for her date. With no mystery man in sight showing up, she finds herself drawn to her waiter, but there is something about him and she hopes that somehow he ends up being her date.

Super cute and highly sensual, this quick read at around 40 pages is highly recommended. And like me, you will probably never think of food in the same way. Highly evocative, I loved the way Ms. Long incorporated Damon’s love for food in his sensual assault on Helena’s senses. Any woman would cave under such ministrations. Neither had an overly sad story to tell. They were just two people wanting to try something new; Helena to break out of her monotonous life and Damon to fulfill the promise he made with his fellow Marines to try one night arranged by the infamous Madame Eve. This story is light and enjoyable with some sizzling hot sex to wrap it all up. If I wasn’t already a fan of Ms. Long’s ALWAYS A MARINE series, I would be now. Try it for yourself and find out first hand. You are guaranteed to be pleased with you time spent with Damon and Helena.

(eBook copy provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review.) show less

What a wonderful introduction to the Willow Bend Wolves series! This is a second chance at love story that had me hoping Mason and Alexis would get their happily ever after.

Mason and Alexis were interested in one another before Mason left the pack to go rogue. Alexis, a human, was brought into the pack when her mother married and never felt part of the group although she was attracted to Mason for many years. They meet again, spend time together and…well…you will have to read the story show more to find out whether or not they get their happily ever after ;)

I love shapeshifter stories and this was a fun read on a hot summer day! I recommend it to those of you who enjoy this genre of books. This is the first book I have read by Heather Long but look forward to reading more in the future!

Thank you to the author who gave me this copy to read through NetGalley. show less