The Strength of the Pack

I too originally avoided this book because the cover is not all that appealing. However, I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I thought the story was great and the characters well developed.

A nice change from the uber alpha werewolf romances I've read lately I really liked Strength of the Pack. It was especially nice that this was is a werewolf romance in which the fact that the hero Seth is a werewolf is integral to the story, not just pasted on to some more generic romance to make it a paranormal. Though there is a brief prequel, Jaime and Seth who knew each other as teens hook-up in a bar. Jaime is there testing the waters and looking for adult companionship after being a single mom for a year and lone wolf Seth is just looking to be around other people to ease his loneliness. But having that past connection, both feel safe enough with each other to indulge in a passionate encounter, before Seth's scarred psyche brings the evening to a disasterous close. Though there was enough hurt and embarassment that the pair avoided each other for weeks afterward, an unforseen consequence of their encounter will have Jaime seeking out Seth. And since it took everything that Seth had to push Jaime away the first time, Seth doesn't have the strength to let her go again, even though an enemy from Seth's past is going to put them both in danger. My favorite parts of the story were Jaime's heart-to-heart talks with Seth's wolf self, especially when she's confiding to the wolf what jerk Seth is. And I did like Jaime, she handles some pretty strange and dangerous stuff while keeping her head. But above all I really loved Seth, the poor lonely wolf longing to belong but always keeping apart out of fear that his secret will be discovered. Seth who never even had the luxury of belonging in his own family, suffering from his dad's abuse and his parents inability to live as humans. Seth certainly deserved to find with Jaime the love and acceptance and family that he so clearly will cherish and I am glad that I got to see that happen. I really enjoyed Strength of the Pack and will be keeping out an eye for more shifter romances by Jorrie Spencer.

People kept recommending this book to me and I kept resisting because frankly, the cover freaks me out a lot. I still don't like it. But I finally caved and bought this, and actually, I was wonderfully surprised. Seth Wolski is a great hero, haunted and driven. He shines off the page where the heroine Jamie isn't quite so lucky. She goes back forth. A lot. Even in the same scene. It gets annoying after awhile. But I stuck with it for him, and for the really well done pace. I ended up devouring this and went out to look for the author's other books as a result.

So much has changed in Jamie Buchner's life in the past two years and things seem to keep changing. She'd finally had enough of her husband's infidelity and neglect of their son so she left him. It took a year, but the divorce was final. She spent a year in Atlanta so that Andreas, their son, could be easily accessible to his father. The problem is, Derek couldn't be bothered to keep up contact with him so Jamie moves back to Cedartown, Ohio, to be closer to her family. Family that is happy to be a part of Andreas' life. Andreas is now five and he's soon going to be in school but Jamie isn't looking forward to it. Her whole life has revolved around her son since he was born and she's going to miss him. Finally going out one Saturday night to have contact with adults, Jamie goes to a bar for a drink. When a man buys her a beer, Jamie knows he looks familiar, but until he came up to her and starts talking, she couldn't really place him. Seth Kolski moved around a lot as a kid since his father couldn't keep a job all that long. He always wanted to own his own business, but couldn't run one effectively, so he had to work for others; a situation that eventually caused problems. Two years ago while both Seth and his sister Veronica were living in Atlanta, his life drastically changed. Veronica had shown her on again, off again boyfriend, Brian Carver, that she was a werewolf. Veronica disappeared and Brian kidnapped Seth and caged him, taunting him about how he was going to torture and kill his sister. Seth went wild and through a stupid move on Brian's part, he was able to escape. To protect Veronica, Seth killed Brian while he was in wolf form. Seth moved back to Cedartown and took a job at a local elementary school as a gym teacher and has been hoping that Veronica, still missing from that night two years ago, will come home. I love werewolves and Strength Of The Pack, although gentler than I'm used to in this genre, is a wonderful story. The coming together of Jamie and Seth is at times both beautiful and frustrating. Seth couldn't trust anyone after his time at the hands of Brian Carver and Jamie, through the folly of her marriage, found it hard to trust as well. Watching these two grow in both love and trust is beautiful. Jamie, though not all that sure of herself and too sweet for her own good, shows that she has a backbone and tenacity when it's needed. Seth, although a powerful werewolf, has never been sure of himself because of his abusive father and uncaring mother. If you want a paranormal that is more gentle than most, Strength Of The Pack is a definite not-to-miss book. Lyonene reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed