The Untamed One

Jackson Wulf is a man on a mission. He has spent years trying to find a solution to the curse plaguing his family, and is finally on the trail and scent of a witch. This witch is the key to alleviate his curse and nothing is going to stop Jackson from finding the old crone and killing her. Jackson's witch extermination plan comes to a screeching halt when he finally finds her. The old, wart-faced hag he envisions is actually a young, beautiful woman about to give birth at any minute. The witch knows why Jackson is there and is resigned to her fate, but begs him to help her deliver her child. She also extracts a promise from Jackson that he will raise her child after her death. Jackson agrees to the witch's demand but before he can kill her, angry hunters are heard outside the shack and Jackson's inner beast breaks free and runs off to safety. Lucinda has been shunned by her village her entire life. Even though Lucinda has only used her powers for good, she is still only trusted by villagers who need her help as a last resort and in the dead of the night. During one of these times, Lucinda was assaulted by a village elder and has to flee for her life and that of her unborn child into the forest. As her hunters draw near, Lucinda goes into labor and is unable to fend for herself. Jackson Wulf finds her hidden shelter and Lucinda knows that he is here to kill her. Death doesn't come to Lucinda as expected because Jackson shifts right before her eyes and vanishes into the darkness. Lucinda does the only thing she can think of to keep her child safe; she travels to London as the wife of Jackson Wulf. The time is late and after a night of debauchery, Jackson only wants to go to bed. He is in for a surprise when he finds a warm, sleeping woman in his room posing as his wife! Both parties are shocked to see the other but soon come to an agreement to help each other. Time is not on their side, however, because the full moon is in mere days and Lucinda has just come face to face with the man that assaulted her and wanted her dead. It seems that nothing will stop this evil man from kidnapping Lucinda and harming her. This man doesn't count on Jackson Wulf, however, whose animal instincts have just been forced to the surface. THE UNTAMED ONE by Ronda Thompson captivated me from the first page and I was unable to put it down. It held me enthralled until I read the very last word. The storyline flowed, danger was afoot, and love was in the air. I highly recommend THE UNTAMED ONE and am looking forward to reading the next installment in this series. Lucky for myself and other readers, there are two brothers left and I am anxiously awaiting their stories!

I expected the second book to be very much like the first one but with different characters and different plot. What I mean when I say that I expected that the main line would be the same is that it would be the Wulf man meeting a woman, falling in love and then, recognizing those feelings would broke the curse. I was very surprised when I discovered that the curse and the way of breaking it is different from every brother. Every one of them has its own moster to face, and this I liked a lot. Jackson is a very liekable character, because he is not perfect, he's flawed, then is not as honorable as Armond was in the first book, and it makes for a nice change. Also, the femenine character is very much like him, one thing on the outside, a different one in the inside, and is wonderful when they come to grips with it and share it with each other. The book is very gripping, and the only thing I missed was the heroine not having to be overly protected by the main chracter, because it reminded me a lot of the first book, but then, what kind of hero or wolf would Jackson be if he didn't protect her female? All in all, a good book and a fast read!

I loved the characters Lucinda and Jackson. Lucinda is strong in will, intelligence, and strength. Jackson is simply sexy. The reader discovers in this book that each brother has a different wolf strength. Jackson seems to give off phermones that drive the ladies crazy. Yet the only woman he had ever loved saw him as a brother. Having obtained the "wolf" at an early age he stays on the move to keep his family safe. His brothers don't even know the pain it has caused him and think of his wanderings as being selfish. Alot of things are explained in this book that was missed in the first. I found it even better because the characters were more well-rounded and interesting. I'm looking forward to the next and can't help but wonder which brother it will star.

I often see readers whine a story should have been this or that way...sorry, I think they miss the point. You the readers are listening to a storyteller. Ages ago, when the bard stood before fireside and wove tales for entertainment, no one stopped him and said, "I don't like part change it or I won't listen." Would you have told a bard to change the part where King Arthur finds Gwen and Lance together? So I wonder why readers feel they have that right today? Listen up, the world doesn't revolve for you. A writer conceives the story, spends months, a year bringing that story to everyone. It's her vision, you are just one of many permitted, gifted, for the price of a "ticket" along for the ride. And Rhonda Thompson gives us one wild ride in the second book of the Wild Wulfs of London. Don't confuse this Thompson with Dawn Thompson (a Dorchester author with The Waterlord, The Falcon's Bride and The Ravencliff Bride). Rhonda Thompson pens a nifty character-driven tale, with the story of the second brother of Lord Jackson Wulf. Not content with the inner beast within him, Jackson is seeking to solve the riddle of the curse he and his brothers must live under. He first seeks out a witch, thinking to kill her, and that might possibly end the curse. Easy to do, he assumes, kill a crone. Instead of a hag, he finds the witch Lucinda is beautiful. He comes upon her in the final stages of giving birth. The birth is going badly, and Lucinda fears both the child and she dying. She bargains with Jackson, help deliver her unborn child and promise to provide for it, and she'd give him leave to kill her. Jackson agrees, but then cannot go through with taking Lucinda's life. Men have been sent to kill Lucinda, but more specifically charged with killing both her and her child. They break in and Jackson helps her escape with her son. Lucinda believes in the struggle Jackson was killed, so she goes to London with the plan of passing herself off as his widow. Things go along smoothly, until Jackson shows up and confronts his "widow". Still thinking of her child's welfare, she strikes a hard bargain, in return for lifting his curse, Jackson must marry her and adopt Sebastian, her son. Once the curse was lifted, she promised to go away, leaving Jackson to live his life. Only trouble - Lucinda is a white witch and cannot work black magick and that is what is needed to counter the curse. While the first book in the series was breathtaking, this is more character-driven, and Jackson and Lucinda captured my heart. I applaud Thompson for stepping outside of formula and permitting REAL flesh and blood characters to come alive and control the story. Jackson is a properly tormented, Alpha male, a complex man. His life had been spent, wasted, in typical ton pursuits, and his meeting Lucinda and her child, pulled him from this, saved him. How could he not capture the readers heart when he falls for the tiny baby. These characters are just vibrant, r

In 1821 Lord Jackson Wulf comes to Whit Hurch, England seeking to kill the witch he heard rumors lived in the vicinity. Jackson knows that the curse that changes him and his brothers into monsters can only be lifted by facing and defeating his greatest enemy, which he assumes since a witch cursed the family, means a witch's death. Jackson finds his target deep in the forest, but Lucinda begs him to let her deliver her child before he kills her. Jackson agrees to allow her to give birth before he completes his quest by killing her. He assists her with the birth of her son, born of a rape, but immediately loved and cherished by his mother. However, the villagers are after both of them; he for sleeping with one of their daughters; her because Lord Cantley, father of her infant, said so. Jackson is unable to complete his task. Instead he offers a haven for Lucinda and her son, which she accepts for the sake of her child and in return she promises to find the magic to lift the curse. As they fall in love, Cantley demands he return the outlaw witch to him, but Jackson refuses to hand over his wife. THE UNTAMED ONE is a fabulous paranormal historical romance with the otherworldly elements used more as a plot device to bring the lead couple together and to propel the fun story line forward. Jackson is a wonderful protagonist stressed between the devastation of the curse especially because of what it will do to his brothers and his love for the witch he must kill. Lucinda is a courageous soul, somewhat inept as a witch, but perfect as the woman for the Wulf. Ronda Thompson provides a mesmerizing Wild Wulfs tale (see THE DARK ONE). Harriet Klausner