Dire Needs (Eternal Wolf Clan, #1)

Mar 27, 2013 Sandra rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recommended to Sandra by: Michelle

Shelves: pnr-uf, shifters, own

A new werewolf series and you're all thinking ho-hum read it all before; well you'd be wrong.

In this world there are Dire Wolves, Werewolves, Humans, Witches and we're told there are Vamps. Dire wolves were created by Norse Gods and are to protect humans and police the weres.

There are only 6 Dires left, all male, lonely sinlges, who look like a lickable motorbike gang, all with gifts from the Gods and each have their own problems. Led by Rifter.

The villains are humans - Weretrappers - who have e...more

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Jan 18, 2013 Lisa rated it 3 of 5 stars

So, I bought Dire Needs a while back and decided to give it a go since it was on top of my enormous books to read pile. Seriously peeps....enormous. Anyways, I originally bought the book because it seemed like a great new series to get into. The premise of immortal shifters is not necessarily a new one, but I do enjoy a good paranormal. And...of course, the cover is not bad. Wink, wink! Stephanie Tyler does deliver a pretty unique storyline; however, for most of the book all I could think was "m...more

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Mar 22, 2012 Sobia rated it 3 of 5 stars

Okay, so what the hell was this?

Wait, let me back track first and say Stephanie Tyler is an awesome writer.
Her Romantic suspense titles are amazing...full of great characters that you can't help but give a shit about, enthralling storylines, and edge of your seat action, they're just freaking insane, and if you haven't read any of them, you really should give them a try.

Same goes for the ACRO series, the PNR's she co-authors...and thy're crazy amounts of hot to boot!

So, color me blindsided by...more

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Apr 06, 2012 Francesca the Fierce ~Eyelet Ecstasy~ rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-read-2012, bikers, genre-paranormal-romance, werewolves-shifters, witches-shaman-magic

This review was posted at Under the Covers

I am really enthralled by the Dires world. The dires are basically werewolves but they are more. Sexier, more alpha, more badass, more tortured. Right up my alley! Their job is to protect humans from werewolves and cover their tracks to keep their existence under cover. They are immortal and lonely. Oh and did I mention they have a sexy tattoo of their wolf? Well, it's like a natural tattoo when they change their first time they wolf comes out. Love that...more This review was posted at Under the Covers

I am really enthralled by the Dires world. The dires are basically werewolves but they are more. Sexier, more alpha, more badass, more tortured. Right up my alley! Their job is to protect humans from werewolves and cover their tracks to keep their existence under cover. They are immortal and lonely. Oh and did I mention they have a sexy tattoo of their wolf? Well, it's like a natural tattoo when they change their first time they wolf comes out. Love that!

This book is all about Rifter. He is the leader of the Dires. He is at a point where he is almost ready to die. Too bad they can't. He goes into a bar to find a female shifter to spend the night with but ends up very attracted to a human female. He normally doesn't go for humans, ever. But Gwen is it for him tonight. And she takes him up on his offer because she has actually just being given very little time to live. Some rare disease that causes her to have seizures.

Gwen will come to play an important role in the Dire Pack dynamic when they find out who she is, but the chemistry between her and Rifter was off the charts great!

The Dires are now fighting against Seb, and I have to say I kind of really like this bad guy. Something about him and his past that I just want to know more, know his motives, know what makes him tick.

Now onto my complaint, yes I have one. Even though there's some action, there's romance and there are quite a few smexy scenes oozing alphaness, I feel this book suffered from a major case of First Book Syndrome. There was a lot of information in the book that I thought at times was not needed. Maybe it will be important info in the future but it overwhelmed this book.

The rest of the Dires are a very intriguing bunch, I really can't wait to read their stories. I am kind of the most intrigued by Vice, and he seems like he has the most issues at times. I look forward to reading more about him as the series goes on.

I really liked the whole process of the mating between Rifter and Gwen, it wasn't without emotion and a lot of drama around them, and towards the end of this book it was nonstop and had my full attention.

*ARC provided by publisher(less)

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Feb 10, 2012 Michelle Leah Olson rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: literal-addiction-books, reviewed

Dire Needs, Book #1 of the Eternal Wolf Clan series
Author: Stephanie Tyler

Synopsis:
The full moon is their mistress. They are predators of pleasure and pain. Feared by humans, envied by werewolves, the Dire Wolves are immortal shifters, obeying no laws but their own bestial natures. Once they were many, but now only six remain, a dangerous wolfpack forever on the hunt…

Rifter leads the pack, embracing the lifestyle and ethics of an outlaw biker even as he battles an ancient enemy who has become...more Dire Needs, Book #1 of the Eternal Wolf Clan series
Author: Stephanie Tyler

Synopsis:
The full moon is their mistress. They are predators of pleasure and pain. Feared by humans, envied by werewolves, the Dire Wolves are immortal shifters, obeying no laws but their own bestial natures. Once they were many, but now only six remain, a dangerous wolfpack forever on the hunt…

Rifter leads the pack, embracing the lifestyle and ethics of an outlaw biker even as he battles an ancient enemy who has become a new, powerful force. But with his Brother Wolf raging inside him, howling to be unleashed, he needs to satisfy his hungers. And when he meets a drop-dead gorgeous blonde drinking alone in a bar that caters to both human and inhuman, Rifter’s primal instinct is to claim her.

Gwen has her own desires, long unfulfilled. She hopes a passionate night with the leather-clad, Harley-riding biker will ease her suffering. The seizures that have wracked her body her entire life are incurable—and they’re killing her.

But none of that will matter if Rifter can’t stop the growing threat to them all–trappers who are determined to enslave humankind and use the Dire wolves as part of their nefarious plan.

Our Review [by Michelle L. Olson – LITERAL ADDICTION’s Pack Alpha]:
I was excited for this book from the minute LITERAL ADDICTION hosted Stephanie to promote the last Sydney Croft ACRO novel and she announced that she was working on bringing it to life.
When I finally received my Advance Reading Copy from Stephanie I set all other books aside and settled in, reminding myself that I needed to keep an open mind and judge based on what I was reading and feeling, and not what I had hyped it up to be. That wasn’t difficult, seeing as Stephanie literally grabs hold of the reader 5 pages in and doesn’t let go.
The Eternal Wolf Clan is comprised of 6 sexy alpha males who are the last of their kind and who have been thrown into the battle of good vs. evil to save themselves, their distant cousins the Werewolves, and humankind from a group of overzealous humans known as the weretrappers. The trappers basically have a grudge against any ‘others’, though their grudge has evolved into a nefarious plot to use the ‘others’ before exterminating them. To make matters worse, they have conned a coven of powerful witches into helping them, and that is just making things harder for the Dires.
This is Rifter and Gwen’s story, but it’s also a beautiful set up for the rest of the series and I can pretty much guarantee that readers will be picking their favorite Dire immediately upon meeting him in this first installment. Without breaking the flow, Stephanie gives great descriptions of each of the Dires and some of their backstory, making it almost impossible for the reader not to choose their own personal hunky wolf to champion.
Rifter is a fabulous male lead – the leader of the Dires with the weight of the world on his shoulders and a melancholy that he can’t shake just for the simple fact that he’s felt so alone for so long.
Gwen is a great female lead. She’s smart, sassy, strong, and while looking for her prince charming, doesn’t completely turn herself off when she finds him.
The story was beautifully told; extraordinarily crafted, not only as a standalone book but as a set up for the rest of the series. The world that Stephanie has built for the Eternal Wolf Clan is unique and fresh, not something easily done in today’s market of rampant shifter stories. The added twists of magic and the Dires’ individual gifts add another layer of intrigue to the mix and there were just enough secrets left untold to keep the reader wanting more.
I can’t believe that I’ve finished book one of this long awaited treasure already. I want book 2 so badly now, it’s not going to be pretty until the next release. I guess I’ll just have to satisfy myself with spreading the word about Dire Needs and the Eternal Wolf Clan series so that everyone can read it, love it, and be in misery along with me while we wait for book 2. ;-)
LITERAL ADDICTION gives Dire Needs 5 Skulls and would recommend it to everyone. It’s a great read for Urban Fantasy buffs, Paranormal Romance lovers, fans of the strong sexy alpha male, lovers of magic and mayhem… it’s a well rounded book for just about everyone.
Kudos to Stephanie for giving us an amazing new shifter world to fall in love with.
(less)

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Mar 16, 2012 Juliko rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: big-bad-were-shifter, drop-dead-gorgeous, love-the-heroine

4,5 stars for this bad-bad-bad were (sorry, we have dires here. I liked this first book of new series and soooo frustrated that I have to wait half a year for the next one, not to mention that next book will be about Stray, and he`s just so yummy.
This book has a lot of sexuality, may be even more that I`d like. Not just sex itself, but thoughts, celebration, movements around sex. It`s not disturbing at all and it works good in this book, but sometimes I caught myself in thoughts that I`d like t...more

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Oct 08, 2012 May Mostly Romance rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal

Dire Needs ของสเตฟานี ไทเลอร์

เล่มแรกในชุดค่ะ เล่าเรื่องของริฟเตอร์ ซึ่งเป็นหัวหน้ากลุ่ม Dire หกคนสุดท้ายในโลก (เท่าที่พวกเขารู้)

หลังจากใช้ชีวิตหลายพันปีอย่างโดดเดี่ยว และยอมรับกับความจริงอันน่าเจ็บปวดที่ว่า ไม่มีคู่ของพวกเขารอคอยพวกเขาอยู่ เพราะ Dire ที่เป็นผู้หญิงตายไปหมดในเหตุการณ์ฆ่าล้างเผ่าพันธุ์ ริฟเตอร์ก็ได้เจอกับเกวน มนุษย์สาวที่กำลังจะตาย และต้องการใช้ชีวิตให้สุดเหวี่ยงเป็นครั้งสุดท้าย

พวกเขาเจอกันในบาร์เล็ก ๆ ในเมืองเล็ก ๆ ที่ซึ่งมีหมาป่าเป็นเจ้าของ แต่เกวนซึ่งไม่เคยรับรู้อะไรเกี่ยวกับ...more

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Sep 14, 2012 Anne rated it 1 of 5 stars

I had read a good review on one of my book blogs, so I got this book from the library. Very happy I didn't spend the $7.99 because I'll never read this again. I'm slightly curious about what happens to the other characters but doubt I'll make any effort to get the next books.

Since I hadn't read much about it, I was pleasantly surprised to see that other reviews compared it to Ward's Brotherhood series because that's what immediately popped into my mind. 5 big, tough, vulgar men just seemed to be...more

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Aug 31, 2012 Sophia rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: pnr-uf

A new darker, edgier series debut into the Werewolf Paranormal Romance world! I loved the premise and looked forward to reading this one. The world building in this one intrigued me with its truly evil and monstrous baddies while the good guys, the Dire wolves, were rougher and wilder- not human at all.

The world is a darker place where danger abounds and no one is safe from the power hungry evil ones made up of witches, demons, weres, and humans. The only thing standing between the good weres a...more A new darker, edgier series debut into the Werewolf Paranormal Romance world! I loved the premise and looked forward to reading this one. The world building in this one intrigued me with its truly evil and monstrous baddies while the good guys, the Dire wolves, were rougher and wilder- not human at all.

The world is a darker place where danger abounds and no one is safe from the power hungry evil ones made up of witches, demons, weres, and humans. The only thing standing between the good weres and humans and their destruction is the small pack of Dire wolves. The Dire wolves are a special species of wolf shifter that are an older more powerful breed than the later created were shifters.

This story begins when Rifter, the king (though he doesn't like having that title conferred on him) of the Dires, heeds his wolf's urges and goes out with the others to sate his needs first with finding a female were and then to go running as his wolf. His plans are altered from the moment he steps foot in the shifter bar. He spies a little human female cozied up to the bar drinking strong and swaying to the music. Both he and Brother Wolf are drawn to her and it is with Gwen that Rifter leaves the bar (love the reference to his singular behavior of taking a human woman hitting facebook).

Rifter knows that he should not be with the human because he will hurt her with his vastly superior physical strength, but there is something about her that calls to something in him. He discovers that she is dying, but she just wants to live which is why she was acting with an air of abandon at the bar.
Later circumstances bring them together yet again when he discovers that the weretrappers (the bad guys) are after her and he brings her back to the Dire house for safekeeping which has the other Dires up in arms about protecting a human. Although, it soon becomes known that Gwen is not just your average human and it drives them to demand her death while Rifter argues for her life because he has worked out that she is his true mate. The mating ritual can very well kill her so Rifter has no plans to complete it, but he does plan to keep Gwen. He just need to convince Gwen that she belongs to him and with him. Other things happen to in the Dire household to add to the turmoil there and keep the Dires busy.

Meanwhile back at the ranch, the bad guys are not sitting idle, but have begun conjuring up a spirit army to defeat the dires even while their regular people attack the Dires and try to take Gwen several times. Its all rather exciting stuff even while evil seems to be getting stronger. I've deliberately skipped referencing several plot lines for the sake of time and not disclosing any spoilers.

The over all plot is decent, but I confess there were times that the complexities of the background info and how it affects the current situation along with the multiple story lines got a bit convoluted and bogged down the pace at times while also serving to cut up the romance portion a bit too much for my taste. Some of that should maybe have been saved for another book.
And truthfully, the extended and repetitive description of Vice's -well, vices got annoying. Okay, I get it already. He likes his sin- no need to go on ad nauseum about it.
Then the tradition of the Dire wolves was given no less than three times with no new info imparted as each new person required an explanation.

All that being said, I did not hate the story and actually enjoyed it because it had many exciting action-packed moments including the passion between Rifter and Gwen along with this incredible new world of shifters, witches, demons, weres and humans that Stephenie Tyler has imagined for us.

So while it wasn't a hit out of the ballpark for me, it is definitely a series that I plan to keep reading. Recommended to Paranormal Romance fans who like their 'things that go bump in the night' to be on the darker side.(less)

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Jun 14, 2012 Stacey Brutger rated it 4 of 5 stars

The full moon is their mistress. They are predators of pleasure and pain. Feared by humans, envied by werewolves, the Dire Wolves are immortal shifters, obeying no laws but their own bestial natures. Once they were many, but now only six remain, a dangerous wolfpack forever on the hunt…

Rifter leads the pack, embracing the lifestyle and ethics of an outlaw biker even as he battles an ancient enemy who has become a new, powerful force. But with his Brother Wolf raging inside him, howling to be unl...more

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Apr 23, 2012 Danielle rated it 2 of 5 stars

On the plus side I really liked the characters. Rifter is the perfect alpha male, and his group of dires have a lot of potential. However, I would call this book 'a skimmer'. By that I mean I was constantly skimming through the material to get to something worth reading. I can not stand when authors re-tell events through their characters. We don't need to re-read what has already happened, we already read it. If a character needs to tell another character about something that has occurred it's...more

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Mar 11, 2012 Marisa rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: parnormal-romance

A group of six alphas fighting to save the world, a reluctant king who has to lead the pack and a hero and heroine who must find a way to stay together. All six Dire Wolves are exciting characters. They have lived a long time and have a mixture of wisdom combined with contemporary bad boy/ wise ass / angst ridden souls. They’ve seen it all and that has shaped who they are and how they interact with each other. The villains are multidimensional and not all bad which is always a good thing. The he...more

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Mar 01, 2012 Dark Faerie Tales rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed-by-sheila

Review Courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: Look, Dire Needs is another alpha male group of shapeshifters intent on saving those weaker than them!

Opening Sentence: Rifter needed a woman, Brother Wolf needed to run wild, and their appetites for sex and destruction mingled, rose with a hot howl as Rifter’s Harley roared through the winter night.

The Review:

I would like to start out by saying; there is nothing wrong with this book. The characters are intriguing, the love story is full of...more

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Sep 04, 2012 R *is for Relentless* rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: pnr, weres-shapeshifters

I was torn on giving this a 2 or 3. I finally settled on a 3 because although I was a bit disappointed in the book - I am intrigued enough with the characters and plot line to most likely buy the next one. (If I give a book a two I am higly unlikely to buy another in the series or by that author) There is a lot of world building and character introduction in this book. Hard to keep everything straight in my head- I think I need a flowchart. Granted it may be warranted to set things up for the re...more

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Mar 14, 2013 Adrian rated it 3 of 5 stars

I really wanted to love this book. I really did.
I think my main complaint is that I never really got to connect to the main characters because there was just so much other stuff going on. A few times,I felt like I was reading explanations that had already been explained. More than a few times, I was super lost as to what was going on. I didn't bother to try to go back and reread because it didn't help. There were so many characters with so many different histories that I couldn't keep them all...more

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Apr 22, 2012 Lisa Annesley rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle, pnr, shifter, wolf-shifter, witch-warlock, reviewed-4-blog

The Eternal Wolf Clan Series is about six Dire Wolves, immortal wolf shifters who are the last of their kind. (Or are they?) The Dire Wolves are Rifter, Vice, Stray, twins Jinx & Rogue, and Harm. Each Dire Wolf has his own special ability, although in Stray's case his ability isn't known. Dire Wolves are tasked with protecting Werewolves (Weres) from human Weretrappers, and protecting humans from all wolf shifters. To complicate things, Weretrappers are aided by witches.

Got it? Hang on, we'r...more

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Jan 30, 2012 Andrea rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: book-i-won

Rifter leads a pack of Dire wolves, they're immortal and responsible for keeping humans safe. Only a handful of Dire wolves remain, they're all Alphas, circumstances have forced them to work and live together, and Rifter is their leader.

Gwen is a doctor suffering from seizures which will eventually kill her. She meets Rifter the day she learns her death is imminent. She wants nothing more than to live and enjoy a real life while Rifter dreams of the ability to die.

This is a fascinating new worl...more

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Apr 11, 2012 Book Binge Blog rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviews-by-tracy

Rifter leads the pack, embracing the lifestyle and ethics of an outlaw biker even as he battles an ancient enemy who has become a new, powerful force. But with his Brother Wolf raging inside him, howling to be unleashed, he needs to satisfy his hungers. And when he meets a drop-dead gorgeous blonde drinking alone in a bar that caters to both human and inhuman, Rifter’s primal instinct is to claim her.

Gwen has her own desires, long unfulfilled. She hopes a passionate night with the leather-clad,...more Rifter leads the pack, embracing the lifestyle and ethics of an outlaw biker even as he battles an ancient enemy who has become a new, powerful force. But with his Brother Wolf raging inside him, howling to be unleashed, he needs to satisfy his hungers. And when he meets a drop-dead gorgeous blonde drinking alone in a bar that caters to both human and inhuman, Rifter’s primal instinct is to claim her.

Gwen has her own desires, long unfulfilled. She hopes a passionate night with the leather-clad, Harley-riding biker will ease her suffering. The seizures that have wracked her body her entire life are incurable—and they’re killing her.

But none of that will matter if Rifter can’t stop the growing threat to them all–trappers who are determined to enslave humankind and use the Dire wolves as part of their nefarious plan.

Rifter and his 5 fellow “brothers” are Dire Wolves. They are the only remaining dire wolves after their deities killed all the other dire wolves thousands of years ago after they went a bit nuts and started massacring humans. The 6 remaining were then gifted with immortality and have been charged with keeping the regular wolf shifters and humans safe from evil. All of the dire wolves have some sort of power and they help each other out in times of need. The 6 wolves seem to have not a care. They let their wolves loose at the full moon (even though they can shift whenever they want) and they have sex. These seem to be the extent of these hard ass men. But there’s definitely more to them than that.

Gwen is a medical resident who is dying. She basically has been given a month to live. She constantly has seizures and the seizures are killing her. She heads out one night to just get drunk and ends up meeting Rifter. They immediately head home to Gwen’s but a seizure stops anything from happening. Rifter, having the power to dreamwalk, gets into Gwen’s head and it almost seems to bond them in a way. After that Rifter just seems to know when she’s in trouble. When the bad guys go after Gwen Rifter is there to take her back to their mansion and protect her from evil.

The evil comes from witches practicing the dark arts and weretrappers who want to take wolves and especially dire wolves out of the picture forever. One particular witch, Seb, is almost all powerful and is immortal as well. He is started working with the dark arts because of his family but he doesn’t want to take over the world like his sister did. Unfortunately his sister spelled him and he can’t get out of it and is forced to work against his one time friends, the dire wolves. So he’s raising a spirit army of dead dire wolves to help him defeat the dire wolves. How horrible to see all your dead friends and family coming after you whether they want to or not. The witches are also after Gwen as it turns out that she’s a half human/half dire wolf but her blood can actually kill the immortal dires. If they get her they can replicate her blood and find the one thing that will bring the dires down.

Ok, the premise of this story is one that is good. The good against evil plot I can totally get into as well as Rifter finding a mate in Gwen, which they thought would never happen as all the female dires were killed by the deities years ago. The deities telling the wolves (far into the book) that maybe they aren’t the only dire wolves around is a shock but definitely leaves things open for the other dire wolves to possibly mate themselves was a good intro into the next book. There was a lot of action in the story and I found the other dire wolves interesting as the book went on and I got to know them all a little better. The tough guy attitudes weren’t all they were about. Unfortunately so much of the way the story was constructed just didn’t work for me.

Where do I start? The beginning of the book is when Rifter and Gwen meet. Rifter states that he’s been in prison but then that is never mentioned again. Ever. Was he really or was that just him being an ass? IDK. They go home together but their thoughts aren’t on each other. Gwen goes into her room to take medication in the hopes that she won’t seize and starts thinking of her house, her life, her impending death…stuff that ends up giving us background. Then she does seize and Rifter helps her but then he starts thinking about his fellow dire wolves and their powers, etc. What? Instead of a sexy, possible tension ridden scene we get info dumps. I was frustrated. Did I really need to know all that information right then? No, it could have been given to me over the course of the story but it’s dumped all at once, and at a completely inappropriate time. The same info is also given to us multiple times in different parts of the book so the repetitiveness got old and proved that the initial info dump wasn’t necessary.

Besides the info dumping the book became more convoluted as it went on. There was almost too much happening and after a while it became unbelievable and this is a paranormal romance. I’ve already suspended belief – how much farther do I need to take it?

Near the end the deities end up coming to help the dire wolves but they’ll only grant the dires one wish – only one thing that they can help them with. What do they choose? To save Gwen. Now, I get that Gwen gives all the dires hope that they too can mate in the future but let’s think about this. You’re trying to save the world, in a roundabout kind of way, you’ve got a witch that is immortal and causing a boatload of trouble and you have to find a way to take him down. You’re at a loss as to how to kill him and end up saving everyone…and you choose to save the girl. Now maybe it’s just me, but frankly I would have said – kill Seb and all our troubles will go away. Ok, maybe I’m not being romantic enough but still – there was your solution! *sigh* IDK, maybe it was just one too many eye-rolling moments for me.

In this story Rifter and Gwen do get their HEA. Unfortunately it was hard to concentrate on their romance when so many other things were going on. The impending disaster with the spirit army that they were fighting against is left hanging and didn’t conclude at all. I’m sorry to say that this book was just ok and mostly didn't work for me. It had it’s good parts but the parts I didn’t like far outweighed the parts I did.

This review was originally posted on Book Binge by Tracy.(less)

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Mar 13, 2012 Nicole rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal-romance, review, read-in-2012

Review originally posted here: http://thebookpushers.com/2012/03/07/...

I was so looking forward to this book, especially when the words bikers and werewolves appeared on the page together. Unfortunately for me, the book just didn’t live up to the high expectations I had going in.

Rifter is the leader of the small Dire wolf pack and fighting day in and day out to keep life as he knows it from imploding. The weretrappers are after them, the witches have plotted against them, and the werewolf packs...more Review originally posted here: http://thebookpushers.com/2012/03/07/...

I was so looking forward to this book, especially when the words bikers and werewolves appeared on the page together. Unfortunately for me, the book just didn’t live up to the high expectations I had going in.

Rifter is the leader of the small Dire wolf pack and fighting day in and day out to keep life as he knows it from imploding. The weretrappers are after them, the witches have plotted against them, and the werewolf packs are in a state of civil unrest that has him wishing his immortality was a thing of the past. When he meets the frail human Gwen, he finds that for the first time in a long time, he has a reason to want to live.

Gwen knows she is dying and has a few things she wants to scratch off her bucket list before she does. When she gets pulled into Rifter’s world, she never expected that they might possibly know a way to save her. Although their world is in turmoil, Gwen will do everything in her power to help Rifter grow stronger, save his pack and live to fight another day by his side.

Tyler is known for her alpha heroes and phenomenal skills in creating realistic romantic suspense, but for me, this paranormal just didn’t suck me in as much as I hoped. I was hoping that the new biker, Dire wolf and ex-military heroes would stand out and have me flipping pages faster than ever. Instead, I felt as if nothing jumped out as fresh and original. The writing was wonderful and the suspense done well, but it just didn’t have that extra bit of pizazz I was hoping for.

I have to say, I really enjoyed Rifter though. Tyler has always been able to create incredible and wonderful alpha males that rock my world. He was an alpha male to the extreme, without being a total jerk. He almost had a little bit of a reluctant hero thing going on, especially when it came to leading his Dire wolves. He knew he could kick some ass, and wasn’t afraid to do it on the battlefield, but he was humble enough to not want to be their king. I liked his own internal struggle with that, and has final acceptance of the role. I can tell you that I would FOR SURE follow Rifter anywhere he wanted me to. *wink*

I thought that the potential for Gwen’s character was off the charts, especially when she came across so bold and strong in the first chapter. But for me, she seemed to never quite live up to her potential as a character. It took her awhile to get to the point where she was not only comfortable in her own skin, but was comfortable with Rifter. I wanted her to be a stronger presence in their lives, and just didn’t connect with her until the very very end.

One other aspect I really enjoyed was the suspense. I can always count on Tyler to keep me guessing and on the edge of my seat. I do think the overall story arc of this series will be an interesting one to follow, and I am excited to see where she goes with it. While I wish the romance was a bit more steamy and developed, I think the world she created has some wonderful potential.

All in all I thought the first book in the Eternal Wolf Clan series has wonderful potential and a good starting point for the series. The world has a great overall story arc going and I am excited to see in what direction Tyler takes things. The band of brotherhood between the Dire wolves reminded me of so many other paranormal romance series, and is one that I continue to love. While I would have loved to be pulled more into the romance between Rifter and Gwen, I enjoyed their story.
I give Dire Needs a C+(less)

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May 12, 2013 Kari Chapman rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: did-not-finish, modern-alt-world-fantasy, romance, shapeshifters

I have to admit, I thought the first chapter was ridiculous. I love mate bond pairings, but I honestly need a little more introduction to at least half of the pair to be interested. This book jumped right in with the lead male walking into a bar, exchanging a few words with the lead female and throwing her over her shoulder and walking out with her - all while telling the reader how he's never been interested in a human before and that it's totally out of character. How about giving us a few cha...more

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Mar 22, 2012 Dorine rated it 4 of 5 stars

If you love alpha werewolves, then Rifter and Gwen’s story will fill several hours with love, challenges and adventure. The possibilities for future books are endless with the volume of great secondary characters who are sure to please paranormal series fans.

The variety of other worldly beings in DIRE NEEDS, especially the members of the Eternal Wolf Clan, snagged my interest as each one made an appearance and added to the plot. With an apocalyptic feel to the tensions rising within this first...more

If you love alpha werewolves, then Rifter and Gwen’s story will fill several hours with love, challenges and adventure. The possibilities for future books are endless with the volume of great secondary characters who are sure to please paranormal series fans.

The variety of other worldly beings in DIRE NEEDS, especially the members of the Eternal Wolf Clan, snagged my interest as each one made an appearance and added to the plot. With an apocalyptic feel to the tensions rising within this first book of a trilogy, it’s easy to imagine a long running series in the future. After meeting the Dire wolves in book one, I’m sure you’ll hope for much, much more.

I just love a great shifter story that’s good against evil, especially when the good guys are bad-to-the-bone, don’t you? From the very first chapter, Rifter, one of the last six Dire wolves left alive after the Extinction, blazes down the highway on his Harley looking for trouble, automatically demanding the reader’s attention. Rifter’s relationship with his “Brother Wolf,” who lives inside him, is one of camaraderie as well as adding some funny moments when they relinquish control to one another…or not. Rifter’s internal sarcasm toward his wolf’s desires and his thoughts about the world he’s forced to share with Weres, humans and various other paranormal beings that make his life difficult, endear him immediately as a hero. He’s strong but not so much so that he can’t feel for those around him, even if he denies it by voicing his acerbic wit.

Rifter is immediately drawn to Gwen, a lone human woman sitting at a bar, enticing the awareness of every horny Were in the place. A doctor who is dying from a rare disease, Gwen just wants to get laid. She certainly can’t resist the very large leather clad man who approaches her with determination in his eyes. She knows he wants what she does and doesn’t hesitate to invite him home with her. What does she have to lose? Time isn’t something she has in ample supply, so curing herself of her virginity is one thing she can do instead of just waiting around to die.

This sets up the beginning of the novel perfectly. Each of them has urgency and being together is one way to satiate their mutual needs. Just when you think Gwen will get her wish, her illness forces another one of her daily seizures. Rifter and his internal Brother Wolf sense the seizure right before it happens because it strangely smells like a human shifting into a wolf. Rifter hadn’t noticed this similarity before but can’t remember if he’s been near a seizing human before this.

Lucky for Gwen, each of the Dires has a special gift and Rifter’s is dreamwalking. Most who are close to him hate his ability to enter and control their dreams, but it does have its benefits. Rifter can absorb someone’s fears by walking through their dreams and controlling them. Since Gwen is in a dream-like state during her seizure, Rifter takes her on a sensual journey she won’t soon forget.

Can Rifter save Gwen from a future she feels is predestined?

I enjoyed Rifter and Gwen equally, and together as a couple, they’re a great introduction to the Dire wolves. The secondary characters are the reason I’m anxiously waiting for the next book in the ETERNAL WOLF CLAN trilogy. I was immediately drawn to Vice and all his wickedness, but there are so many secondary character possibilities for future books that I can’t wait to see whose story author Stephanie Tyler tells next. With names like Stray, Jinx, Rogue and Harm, in addition to Vice and Rifter, who can resist these immortal warriors?

DIRE NEEDS is much more than a great paranormal love story ‒ filled with high-speed adventure, it’s a thrilling ride of intrigue. At almost four hundred pages, it’s a meaty book that quite aptly kicks off what promises to be a very entertaining series. If you love bad boys, then DIRE NEEDS will surely fuel your dreams with possibilities. I laughed. A lot. These badass wise-cracking wolves who’ve endured each other’s company for decades are perfectly characterized, as you would imagine a pack of wolf shifters in charge of policing the paranormal society to be. I just have to say that their references to social media slayed me – who can’t imagine a secret society leader’s every move being outted on Facebook and Twitter? If you desire a paranormal story with an entertaining plot that’s as much fast-paced adventure as it is humor and a sexy love story, then DIRE NEEDS will be a perfect choice.

Review Courtesy of Romance Junkies.
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Apr 21, 2012 Brandy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Rifter is a Dire on a mission, his Brother Wolf is in need of a run and a Woman. He decides to stop at a bar named Bite when he gets the sense of danger inside but the only danger he sees is a mortal Woman that's had one too many drinks. She looks at him with aprreciation and lust which throws Rifter off because Human are always afraid of him. He finds out The little Human's name is Gwen and that she is dying. What better way to drown your sorrow than at the bottom of a bottle. Rifter is no knig...more

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Feb 03, 2012 Marissa-dono rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads, own, fantasy, paranormal, published-2012, romance, sci-fi, series-unfinished-in-progres, smut, werewolves, fiction, read-in-2012, action

I received an Advanced Uncorrected Proofs copy of this book from a Goodreads Giveaway, so I feel more obligated to review this book than my other firstreads.

Gwen grew up without a father, & her mother died when she was ten. Gwen then goes to live with her aunt & uncle who also end up being killed in a fire. Poor Gwen decides she's going to live on her own from then on & go to med school to become a doctor. The only problem is that she suffers from seizures that she know will kill her...more I received an Advanced Uncorrected Proofs copy of this book from a Goodreads Giveaway, so I feel more obligated to review this book than my other firstreads.

Gwen grew up without a father, & her mother died when she was ten. Gwen then goes to live with her aunt & uncle who also end up being killed in a fire. Poor Gwen decides she's going to live on her own from then on & go to med school to become a doctor. The only problem is that she suffers from seizures that she know will kill her soon. Soon comes one night at the hospital when she suffers from a seizure at work & the hospital deems her unfit to work there anymore.

Rifter is an Alpha Dire, one of only six left after the Extinction. After Harm turns down the position of King to live with humans, Rifter fills the role. Centuries have passed & these Dires are living in present day New York, where sh*t is about to hit the fan. The alpha of the New York Were pack has been murdered, his son has gone missing leaving no leader for the largest pack in the US. There's dissension in the ranks, rogue Weres are joining up with the Weretrappers & witches to bring about a new world order over the humans.

Rifter wants nothing more than to find a way around his immortality & put an end to his life, while Gwen wants nothing more than to end her seizures & truly live. Their adventure together starts in a bar where Rifter is inexplicably drawn to her, even though he knows he would be putting this human in danger if he set his lust upon her. Gwen foreswears the danger & off they go to her place. It was meant to be only a one-night thing, they both admitted & accepted that. But when someone makes an attempt on Gwen's life, Rifter does the only thing he can think of; he steals her away from her own personal sh*tstorm & drops her right in the middle of his. Their lives are now forever intertwined as New York's supernatural beings go to war under the noses of unsuspecting humans.

I have to agree that there are some major similarities between this book (and surely the others to come) & the BDB. Obviously substituting unconventional vampires for unconventional werewolves, slayers for weretrappers. You still have the King who doesn't really want to lead his race from a king's position, still have the group of alpha males trying to make a go of it together. & in every book we're going to get to read about one of those males finding his mate, dealing with his past, trying to control his demons, & trying to accept that he is somehow lucky enough to have his particular woman in his life. Which I love. & I, personally, can't wait for Stray's story. I don't know why, but I'm drawn to him for some unexplainable reason. The way Rifter was drawn to Gwen in the bar, perhaps? haha I wish.

Anyways, I gave this book a 4-star rating because - while I do love the book, and the story line, and the writing style - I couldn't help being distracted by all the similarities between this book & the BDB series I just recently read, making it a less smooth read than I would have appreciated.(less)

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May 15, 2013 Lea rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal

Currently this book reminds me of both the BDB series and the Lords series... similar tortured soul alpha males and crazy names! I'm about half way through...lots of world building going on and it's a tad confusing but interesting...

Now that I have finished Dire Needs, I actually ended up enjoying it... I think it suffered a little from the first book in a series syndrome - there was so much world building to be done that it took away from the story of Rifter and Gwen.

The multiple POV's was a l...more

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May 08, 2012 Erinaceina rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-reads, alpha-heroes, paranormal-romances, shapeshifters-werewolves, threw-it-at-a-wall, unreadable

I think this is the most disappointing book I've read so far this year. I really wanted (and expected) to like it, but found it almost painful to get through. As other people have said, too much is going on, leaving not enough time for the romantic relationship and emotional connection between Rifter and Gwen to develop. The huge, inappropriately placed info dumps really disrupted the plot, and I found myself repeatedly forgetting what was going on. Much of the information in the info dumps is r...more I think this is the most disappointing book I've read so far this year. I really wanted (and expected) to like it, but found it almost painful to get through. As other people have said, too much is going on, leaving not enough time for the romantic relationship and emotional connection between Rifter and Gwen to develop. The huge, inappropriately placed info dumps really disrupted the plot, and I found myself repeatedly forgetting what was going on. Much of the information in the info dumps is repeated multiple times, particularly the information about the Extinction.

I'm not usually bothered by violence, even graphic violence, but I got really fed up of being told how violent the Dire culture is without having enough information about other aspects of their culture (or individual personalities) to make them sympathetic. Yes, I get that they're violent; what can you tell me that should make me love them despite this? I thought that this was a particular problem with Vice. In some ways, this relates back to the problem with the info dumps: while we do have big chunks of information thrown at us, it's repetitive and doesn't necessarily give a good idea of the world and the people in it.

This bit particularly annoyed me: 'Today the story on the Vikings was that they weren't crazy or barbaric or pillaging, but the reality was that they had been. And Vice had reveled in that'. Not everyone will get as annoyed about this as I was (in fact, I guess most people won't), but I thought it was really sloppy. It basically comes out and says that while generations of scholarship have suggested that just perhaps the Vikings had a more nuanced culture, the author can't be bothered to work this into the story and just wants to go with the cartoon image of big, blond men in horned helmets smashing everything in their path. It's not that the Vikings didn't pillage (they did), or weren't barbaric (by modern definitions, they were), or weren't crazy (well, some of them were batshit insane), but that there were other aspects to their culture AND that these were traits that they shared in common with a lot of the rest of Europe at that time. Gah. Yes, my PhD topic touches upon Viking/medieval Scandinavian culture, and this really bugged me. While this is a point that irritated me in particular, it also seemed symptomatic of a lack of depth in world-building.

I will be reading the next book, as I've enjoyed other things by Stephanie Tyler, but if this was a new-to-me author, I wouldn't be bothering to continue with the series.(less)

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Apr 19, 2012 Jenny Delandro rated it 5 of 5 stars

Got to love underdogs

literally

Dire wolves protect humans from werewolves and witches

but they are few

They are all that is left of an entire civilisation - exterminated by the Elders because of a few bad ones

Rifter is the leader - an alpha

he is on a mission to find a woman and when he walks into a biker bar he sees her....
slightly tipsy she focuses on him initially because he is the biggest bad-ass in the bar.....
but she brings all lot of issues with her

loved this book
another random pick from CH...more

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May 20, 2012 Evelyn Bryant rated it 2 of 5 stars

Typical paranormal with way too much detail as far as the different divisions of wolves are concerned. Tried to focus on the dynamics between the characters of which there were almost too many. Sometimes you can see in these "group of guys with a joint problem books how they all are tied together and you look forward to the next novel because you got invested in the characters and want to know their individual stories. I'm not to sure about these guys or if I care. Too many wolves, too many obst...more

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Feb 10, 2012 Victoria rated it 5 of 5 stars

So good! Fast paced full of action read right from the start. Stephanie has created a world where Norse legend comes. into play with the Dire wolves. There are only 6 Dires left because their kind went against their creators and were eradicated. Weres were then made and the 6 remaining Dires were charged the protect the weres and humans.
Rift is the unwilling king of the Dires who enters a bar and is drawn to a human. He takes her home and as they are connecting she has a seizure (she's dying). H...more

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Apr 15, 2012 Sarah Tooker rated it 2 of 5 stars

I really had a hard time with this book. It's taken me a week to read it and I only finished it because I really wanted to like it. It was really confusing. There are still way too many questions about the whole world building, but with every little bit of information given, it just became more confusing rather than answer any questions I had. That said, I don't think I would have finished the book, if the world building had been more detailed. I liked all the characters in the book. I liked Rif...more

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Oct 23, 2012 Ann Lorz rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary, demons, immortals, shape-shifter, paranomal, witch, vampire, wizards, wolves

I'm not sure what to say about this book. I didn't hate it, and I didn't love it either. I felt something was missing and I'm not sure what that something is. I enjoyed the characters, and like the idea of the story, but never felt like I understood what I was reading. The story line bounces too much and because of that it took me too long to get into. But because I do like the characters I'm willing to try the next book. I also think that the book could have been 100 pages less and would have b...more

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Dire Needs (Eternal Wolf Clan #1)

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