Review: Hunted by a Jaguar by Felicity Heaton

Hunted by a Jaguar
by Felicity Heaton
Series: Eternal Mates, #4
Pub Date:  Jan. 6, 2015
Publisher:  Self-Pub
Pages:  218
Format:  eBook
Source:  Purchased
  

My Rating:  
Sultry Scale:

A jaguar shifter with a dark secret, Kyter has spent his entire life running from his demons. When a tragedy takes him back to his pride’s village, he is set on a path of vengeance that will see him collide with the terrible ghosts of his past and a beautiful vision of his future. 

Iolanthe deals in finding artefacts for discerning clients, but this time her client is one of the deadliest men in Hell and her mission has the highest stakes imaginable. Failure is not an option when your life is on the line, but things take a dangerous turn when she crosses paths with a handsome and mysterious male on the hunt for the same artefact—a male who declares she is his eternal mate. 

Can Iolanthe resist Kyter’s wicked allure and find the artefact before he does? Can Kyter face his demons and win the heart of his fated female? Or will this deadly game of cat and mouse claim both of their lives? 

I liked this book, but I am not feeling very wordy today so I'm struggling to write my review. I really liked Kyter and Iolanthe, and I liked them even more together. For me, this was the best pairing so far of the series. I liked the other characters, but I did not like the previous relationship dynamics as much as what was between Kyter and Iolanthe.

Kyter, a mixed blood jaguar shifter, is a tortured hero. He grew up feeling inferior and unworthy because of the way his pride treated him as a result of his demon blood. Those a-holes also told him that there would never be a mate for him because of his mixed blood. So when Kyter recognizes Iolanthe as his mate, he is surprised, elated and determined. He is so surprised, that he acts like a bit of a caveman at first. But he quickly figures out how to approach Iolanthe and endears himself to the reader even more.

Iolanthe was an independent elven female, who has somewhat estranged from her family and culture. She has been on her own for thousands of years, and feared a mate would shackle her with a collar and that would be the end of independence. When I saw this was the storyline, I was worried this story was going to be similar to Sable's (which was a bit lackluster for me). I am a bit tired of seeing the females resist the mating so hard - it gets a bit old after a while. However, after a brief hesitation, Iolanthe accepted the mating between her and Kyter and accomplished it without losing her sense of self. I admired this, and wish it happened more often in books of this trope. I think my favorite part of the book was when her and Kyter were lying in bed together that first time just talking and learning about one another. I loved that Iolanthe was resolved not to reject or hurt Kyter like his pride had done. What I did not like about Iolanthe - her freaking name. Most of the book I was trying to figure out how to say the name and kept having to sound it out. I have never heard of this name before, but my friend Deanna has and she schooled me on the correct way. (Too bad I was almost done with the book by that point.) It would be super nice if authors would provide a phonetic spelling of the difficult names somewhere for us sheltered folks.

Bleu also appeared in this book - I won't give away the reasons why. I will say that I did not like Bleu much in previous books, but I really came to understand him in this story. Now that I understand him, I feel sorry for him and hope he finds his fated mate soon.

The more that I read of this series, the more that I like it. 

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Review: Tempted by a Rogue Prince by Felicity Heaton

Tempted by a Rogue Prince 
by Felicity Heaton

Series: Eternal Mates, #3
Pub Date:  Aug. 6, 2014
Publisher: Self-Pub
Pages:  252
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased

  

My Rating:  
Sultry Scale:

An elf prince on the verge of losing himself to the darkness, Vail is maddened by the forty-two centuries he was under the control of a witch and forced to war with his brother. Now, he roams Hell seeking an escape from his terrible past and the heads of all who bear magic. When demons of the Fifth Realm capture him, he sees a chance to end his existence, but when he wakes in a cell to a beautiful female, he finds not death but his only shot at salvation—his true fated mate.

Captured by the enemy of the Third Realm when the war ended, Rosalind has spent months in the cells of the Fifth Realm with her magic bound, forced to heal the new king’s demon warriors, and haunted by the lives she has taken. When she’s brought to heal an unconscious man, she discovers her only hope of escape has come in the form of her worst nightmare and the first part of a prediction that might spell her doom—a devastatingly handsome and dangerous dark elf prince.

Unwilling to fall under the control of anyone ever again, Vail must escape before the Fifth King can use him as a pawn in a deadly game of revenge, but he cannot leave without Rosalind, the woman who looks at him with dark desire in her stunning eyes and awakens a fierce hunger in his heart. A witch who drives him mad with need even as the darkness within whispers she will enslave him too.

Can Rosalind escape her fate as they embark on a journey fraught with danger and resist the temptation of her rogue elf prince? And can Vail overcome the memories that madden him in order to seize his chance for salvation and the heart of his fated female forever?

This was a haunting paranormal tale involving the mad elf prince, Vail, and his fated mate, Rosalind. Vail was heartrendingly broken by a sorceress who enslaved him for over 4,000 years, forcing him to kill innocents, fight his brother, and commit unspeakable acts. His character reminded me a lot of Zsadist in J.R. Ward's BDB series. The sexual abuse was particularly difficult to think of, as was the lingering effects it was having on Vail's psyche. You will definitely want to keep some tissues around while you are reading.

Vail has an extreme case of PTSD (or the paranormal equivalent) due to his time of enslavement. Rosalind, a light witch, did an excellent job of gentling Vail out of his extreme aversion to her as a witch. I liked Rosalind very much. She was willing to fight for Vail, and have patience with him even when she thought her days were numbered. She is the first female character of the series that did not get on my nerves.

I put off reading about this book because I didn't think I would like his character... but this is actually my favorite Eternal Mates story so far. The characters had a lot of depth, and generated a strong emotional connection with me. I am happy I kept reading.

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Eternal Mates Series

Review: Kissed by a Dark Prince by Felicity Heaton

Kissed by a Dark Prince by Felicity Heaton
Series: Eternal Mates, #1

My Rating:  
Sultry Scale:

Olivia thinks it’s her lucky night when a dangerously handsome unconscious fae ends up on her inspection table. He’s her chance to redeem herself with her employer, the demon-hunting organisation, Archangel. But when the tall, dark and deadly immortal warrior awakes, she gets much more than she bargained for… 

Attacked by his enemy in the elf kingdom, the last thing Prince Loren expects when he comes around is a beautiful angel watching over him and medical technology of the mortal realm. Hazy from his injuries, all he can focus on is the pulse ticking in her throat and the sweet allure of her blood.

One single bite reveals she is his eternal mate, triggering a bond between them that will leave him weakened until it is complete… or broken, and pulling Olivia into the crossfire of his ancient feud.

To protect his people and his mate from the machinations of a madman, Loren must risk everything by working with Olivia at Archangel to find a way to break the bond blossoming between them. 

But will Loren be strong enough to place duty before desire and give up the one thing he has waited millennia for and craves above all others—his eternal mate? And will Olivia be able to resist the incredible heat that burns between them and the temptation of her dark prince’s kiss?

As you can probably tell by the name, this series is in the fated mates trope. Each book will follow a different couple who are fated to be together for the rest of eternity.

For this story, our hero is Loren, and elvish prince, and Olivia, a scientist conducting research for Archangel (a demon-hunting organization). Loren is over 5,000 years old and, while I liked him very much, I would have also liked to see his character be developed a little more. 5,000 years provides a huge amount of background that could have been introduced, but we only got a tiny bit of his story. Maybe we will learn more in future books in the series. As for Olivia, I have to say that I was not crazy about her. Her constant back and forth and poor treatment of Loren grated on my nerves, and I felt it made the story drag a little bit. Space was taken up with her hemming and hawing when there could have been a little more action, world building or plot development.

We have some interesting secondary characters in Sable, Bleu, Vail and Thorne. I think I liked Sable the best. She seems like strong female and I hoped she is portrayed that way in her own book, because I'm sure she will get one.

I tend to read more UF books than paranormal because I like to follow one couple throughout the series. But this was a solid read if you want something paranormal besides vamps and shifters... especially of you like fae and elvish characters.

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