Review: To Tempt the Wolf, Terry Spear

Hunter Greymore, an alpha lupus garou, or grey werewolf, has lost his pack.  All but his sister have abandoned him due to a forest fire in California and because he refuses to move them to a city.  They take up residence in Portland while he finds himself near the cliffs, in the woods.  When three wolves take away his sister and he goes after them, Hunter is seriously injured.  Tessa Anderson, a human woman who finds herself strangely attracted to wolves, finds him and brings him home.  When Hunter discovers that a werewolf is stalking Tessa, he quickly realizes that he must do everything in his power to protect her, even if all he wants is to make her his mate for life.

This is the third book in a series, but I never would have noticed if it didn’t say so on the book and it stands alone very well.  I hope that these characters appear in the next book, as I’ve grown fond of them, and I’m looking forward to reading the first two.

For all that the hero of this book is a werewolf (and so are many of the secondary characters), this was a nice romance.  The hero isn’t threatening but the stalkers are, which means it’s much easier to champion Tessa with her rescuer than with anyone else, especially not her ex-boyfriend from high school.  As a result, the couple worked nicely together, with a great dynamic of their own when it was allowed to come to the fore.  At times it feels that the book focuses too much on constant threat and injuries instead of the developing romance, but that may be just a personal preference.  For readers of romantic suspense, this wouldn’t be a problem.

Where this book truly shines is the werewolf society and the group dynamics amongst them.  The sparring between the alpha leaders is top notch and it’s fascinating to see how wolf habits transcend into human behavior, such as how Hunter’s sister Meara is grumpy not only because she is experiencing her first werewolf “heat” but also has a very human desire for a relationship with someone who can match her in all of her strengths.  Hunter is also torn because while he wants to make Tessa his mate, he doesn’t know whether or not she would be an alpha, and if she was a beta, she would never be able to exercise the authority that he does over the pack.  It is an interesting, close look into the pack, although I found it a little strange that while Hunter’s pack and their friends are reluctant to turn people, the other packs are not.  Perhaps Tessa is just the (un)lucky exception.

All in all, I enjoyed To Tempt the Wolf.  It wasn’t an earth-shattering romance for me, and I could have done with less of the suspense, but I am definitely looking forward to following up with the rest of the series.