Bride of the Wolf [Mass Market Paperback]

Marissa Vazquez can't believe she's been recaptured! Worse yet, she doesn't know if Navarre or any of her friends from Twilight, Tennessee, have survived. Instead, she's back in Belize with a vampire who insists she is going to marry him so he can gain control of her uncle's fortune. Marissa's heart already belongs to Navarre but will they get a chance at happiness? And will Navarre and his wolf spirit be allowed to remain in the mortal realm?

Jennifer St. Giles continues her fabulous Shadowmen series with the fourth book, BRIDE OF THE WOLF. Readers will best appreciate this fourth tale in the context of the series as a whole. Many of the past events are coming to fruition in the ongoing storyline and the various relationships have already been established in prior books.

BRIDE OF THE WOLF is a dark but romantic tale of two brave souls fighting for happiness. Both Marissa and Navarre have fought against the darkness, Navarre as a Blood Hunter and Marissa in prayer and through comforting others in her uncle's nightmarish fortress. It's impossible not to cheer for their happily-ever-after as they struggle in their current imprisonments. Navarre's blindness adds an interesting twist to the overall storyline as he has to overcome challenges he never encountered before as a warrior.

Readers should note that the Shadowmen series features a battle between good and evil. As such, some of the scenes are quite graphic as the forces of evil are without mercy. Readers sensitive to issues of torture or rape may find some of the references to past events to be disturbing; Jennifer St. Giles doesn't approach these issues gratuitously, however, as she uses the scenes to show survivors emerging victorious over the darkness and evil.

BRIDE OF THE WOLF is yet another intense and powerful story from the very talented Jennifer St. Giles. There are some interesting twists thrown at us in this installment that keep the storyline fresh and exciting. I can't wait to see where this series is headed next! Highly recommended!

COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES

This is the fourth in the "Shadowmen" series of paranormal romances which consists to date of

1) Touch a Dark Wolf
2) The Lure of the Wolf
3) Kiss of Darkness (Shadowmen)
4) this volume "Bride of the wolf."

These books are basically romances set during a war between werewolves and vampires in the jungles of latin America, and will probably make more sense if read in sequence.

At the start of the book the heroine, a human woman called Marissa Vasquez, has been kidnapped by a cruel and sadistic vampire called Herrera and taken to his manor someone in the jungles of Belize. Marissa is the niece and heiress to a ruthless billionaire oil baron, Luis Vasquez, who had also been a vampire. Refusing to play the part of a pawn in her uncle's evil schemes she had escaped from his concentration camp, also in the Belize jungle. She had been sheltering with friends at a ranger camp in Tenessee, when it was attacked by vampires and she was kidnapped again. Herrara plans to blackmailing her into marrying him by threatening to torture and kill people she loves.

At the same time as he kidnapped Marissa, Herrara also captured Navarre, a shapeshifting Shadowman from another world, who she meets in his wolf spirit form in their dreams, but whose physical form is badly injured and blind. Herrera is only one of the evil vampires who Marissa, Navarre and their friends will have to escape and defeat if they are to have any chance to find happiness together ...

Lots of action violence, suspense and horror, with an elaborate cast of various vampires and super-vampires, ambitious generals and colonels, and the shapsehifting "Blood Hunters" from the spirit world (who despite the dark-sounding name are the good guys). If you are into the supernatural romance genre you may possibly like this series.

From the ending I suspect that there will be at least one more book in this series.

"Bride of the Wolf" (Shadowmen #4) is the story of Marissa Vasquez and Shadowmen, Navarre, who were less important characters in the 3 previous Shadowmen novels. Marissa was rescued along with Stefanie Battista, from captivity in the jungles of Belize, where her uncle was holding them prisoner. Navarre is the blinded Shadowmen trapped on Earth after being wounded while protecting fellow warrior, Aragon (in "The Lure of the Wolf"). Marissa, along with Stefanie and her sister Annette, Erin Morgan and Megan Linton, were kidnapped by Cinatas for his evil `coronation' ceremony. Marissa was separated from the others, and returned to the Central American jungle by the vampire Herrera, where he plans to marry her for her inheritance, and then torture her for his twisted pleasure. A comatose Navarre has been taken as well, to be tossed into a cell to await Herrera's evil attention. The others have been rescued (at the end of book #3) and with Nick Sinclair, Aragon, Jared and Staff Sgt. Bond, go on a desperate chase to find Marissa and Navarre before the vampire and his associates can kill them or worse, poison them with evil. Emotions are running high. Stefanie, who was raped and tortured, while held prisoner in Belize, has to face her memories in order to help her friend. Nick is caught between his conflicted feelings of responsibility for Stefanie and his attraction to sexy Sgt. Bond.

***Spoilers***

As Marissa is being "prepared" for her wedding, she discovers that there is a large man being held in the dungeon; she hopes that it is Navarre. In order to insure her cooperation, Herrera shows her just what she can expect if she tries to escape. He shows her that her brother, Rafael, presumed dead, has been held and brutalized for the last 6 month. If she wants the torture to stop, she will quietly accept what he has planned for her. Meanwhile, Navarre has painfully been awakened by his transformation into his were-form and using the eyes of his wolf spirit, frees himself to look for Marissa. During the confusion of a kitchen fire, she is able to escape, meeting up with Navarre, who frees her brother. Stealing a truck, they begin a desperate race for freedom, as the group from Twilight forms a plan to rescue them. And let's not forget Cinatas; he is planning to destroy the fractious Vladarian vampires to pave the way for his conquest of not only the mortal world, but Heldon's kingdom of the damned. And this is just the beginning of the story; there is much more before the end!!

There is a lot of action in this installment. There are several simultaneous side stories and new important characters are introduced. There is a lot to keep your attention. St. Giles' female characters are gusty and resourceful; her men are sexy and dangerous. But they aren't all saints. They have doubts, anger, lust for revenge; the types of feelings and emotions that real people have. They are battling evil to the best of their ability. If you have been following the series, this is a must read. If this is your introduction to the Shadowmen, go out and get the first three. In my opinion, they are an excellent way to spend a few hours!

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