Carnal Secrets - Phoenix Pack #3 - Suzanne Wright
Sum up: (Goodreads)
Half-shifter Shaya Critchley may hold a submissive role in her pack, but she’s done taking orders. After her Alpha wolf mate refused to claim her—but committed to interfering in her life—she took off. Now she hides from him, posing as a human in a town full of anti-shifter extremist groups. She thinks he’ll never find her again, and that suits her just fine. But she’s wrong.
Nick Axton can barely control his feelings for Shaya, but he could never claim her—not if he truly cares for her. The degenerative brain condition he keeps secret would ultimately leave her with a burden rather than a mate. But when Shaya runs away, Nick can’t bear the thought of never seeing her again. After tracking her down, he discovers Shaya’s feisty and passionate side in the process…a side he’d never seen before.
Under the menacing gazes of territorial local packs and violent human extremists, Nick vows to finally claim the spirited Shaya…and despite her initial resistance, Shaya just might find his fiery determination to be the ultimate aphrodisiac.
Some scenes contain sexual and violent contents that may offend sensibilities of readers.
Plot:
This third book focuses on Shaya and Nick who we both met in the two previous books. The plot was mostly set: Shaya is Nick's mate but he refuses to claim her without giving her any reason and she decides to leave. Seeing him constantly when he visits her is just unbereable. This is basically where we left at the end of the second book.
A little reminder of who the characters are ;)
Shaya is a half-shifter submissive wolf in the Phoenix Pack. She is Taryn's best friend, which makes her very valuable for the whole pack. She met Nick when he was invited on the pack's territory and she immediately knew that he was her mate.
Nick recognizes Shaya as his mate. It was his best dream and his worst nightmare. His secret degenerative brain
condition forces him to step back from his mating bond. He does not want Shaya to
see him at his worst and to take care of a sick person instead of a mate. So he reputates her without giving any proper reasons, which deeply hurts Shaya who is left wondering if she is enough for a mate.
Time passes and Shaya just cannot take it anymore: seeing Nick without being able to claim her is killing her, so she decides to leave and try to live her life the best she
could. When Nick hears the news of her departure, he has to wonder if he took
the best decision by keeping her away without saying anything. No one wants to tell him where she left to, so he decides to take matters into his own hands and leaves everything behind - his friends, his pack and even his position as an Alpha - to go hunt her down.
Shaya left her pack without knowing what to do with her life but she really did not expect to find her mate waiting for her in her flat. Months have passed and yet, she still feels the hurt. He is now ready to claim her but can she really trust him? Can she really go back there? Nick has now to prove that he is worthy of her love...
Opinion:
I truly feel like Suzanne Wright is one of the best for romance. Okay, from time to time there are incoherences in her story (cf review of Feral Sins, Phoenix Pack #1).
This book is slightly darker in the background story, Wicked Cravings was darker in Jamie's personality, her drama and her fight but here, the writer focuses more on the local polictics than in her previous books. We learn more about the human extremists and their hate towards the changelings.
I also felt like this book was different from the previous ones:
No hot steamy sex scenes here. Well, you still have some (don't worry about that) but I felt like they are less because they have more meanings. It truly is the expression of their love for each other,
There are more "politics" between members of a pack, with the local packs, with the human extremists... This felt like the installation of the political plot for the next books,
The development of a new pack and how you actually build it from scratch.
This book was slightly more intense because Shaya has been betrayed by her mate but Nick is also in pain, both physically and psychologically. I liked that we got to see an Alpha that is actually not at his best. Nick was vulnerable from time to time and this is when I loved him the most.
The first part of the book is the longest because it is the whole strategy that Nick developed to win Shaya back. The second part contained more actions.
Excerpts:
“I’ve missed your scent. It drives me crazy.”
Drinking in every detail of her face, he smoothed the pad of his thumb across her cheekbone.
“I’ve missed looking at you. Watching you.”
She had received a text message from him: "I had the urge to text somebody who’s smart, hot, and sweet…but sending messages to myself is just pathetic, so hi.”
“So, what, you’re a stalker now?”
“I prefer the term ‘intense investigator.”
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