Out of the cage: The problem with peeling away a mask is that you never know what’s underneath.
Jared Templeton returned to Colin City for one reason, to make it through his sister’s wedding. After that he wanted to return to his home in Massachusetts and go back to his blessed solitude and his life as an assassin. He didn’t plan on attending a viewing for a deceased mentor, agreeing to help his shifter friend rescue a blind man, or learning that he had a shifter mate, a male shifter mate. He’d never been attracted to a man before, but he couldn’t deny that he lusted after this one. And he had no clue what to do about it, or how he could fit the wolf shifter into his life if he did give in to his desires.
Carson Angeni is the enforcer for the Stone Ridge wolf pack. He’s followed his alpha’s commands and obeyed him without question, even to the point of taking lives to ensure the safety of his pack. When he’s faced with a mate who kills for money, with no remorse and no conscience, he questions Fate’s choice. How can he accept someone who seems to get his jollies by goading those around him, not to mention Jared lives halfway across the country? But as he gets to know the man, Carson learns that there is more to him than Jared’s brash exterior displays. There’s definitely a connection between them and both have trouble denying it, but Carson can’t accept Jared’s work as an assassin. And when Carson discovers that Jared knew from the beginning that he was Carson’s mate, it creates even more tension between them. Can Carson learn to trust his mate while trying to convince Jared to give up the only life and the only job he’s ever known, to settle with him in Stone Ridge?
This sixth volume of the series is definitely one of the more ‘explosive’ ones in terms of the main relationship. I loved the sparks between Jared and Carson, the cheeky sense of humor and the quickly growing emotions between the two. There is also some development in the overall story, but it takes a step into the background in this book. Jared and Carson demand all the attention.
Jared is an assassin: cold-blooded, isolated and not interested in people or relationships. Once he meets Carson and feels a sudden need to move to Stone Ridge to stay near his mate, he questions everything – and he doesn’t like that. He may not be a shifter genetically, but his behaviour in terms of ‘mate recognition’ is at least as good as Carson’s. If I didn’t know better, I would not have guessed that he’s human. He also isn’t gay – or so he thinks – but that doesn’t last long. While he changes his mind really fast, it isn’t entirely unthinkable. Jared is a man used to quick reactions, rethinking things in precarious situations. Any decisions he makes professionally have to stick. This is just the first time he has to apply the same thing on a personal level.
Carson is a straightforward character. Beta of the pack, loyal to his leader and the principles they live by, he is used to keeping law and order. He is also used to people obeying him, and Jared turns out to have his own ideas. Carson is willing to compromise in certain areas of their lives, but not living together is not one of them. In many ways a typical werewolf, he is also flexible enough to accommodate a very stubborn, strong human mate. It just takes a while.
The series is developing into such a great story. With each couple contributing their special brand of love to the whole, threats and villains who are still not completely overcome, and a set of newer characters that promise more adventures, I hope it keeps going for quite a while. If you like shifter stories, if you enjoy a larger story unfolding in the background as it is told by different characters, and if hot man-on-shifter action of the explosively sexy kind is your thing, you will probably like this book.
Goading the Enforcer (Wolves of Stone Ridge #6) by Charlie Richards
Very enjoyable read, this story is about Carson the Wolves of Stone Ridges enforcer Carson and his mate Jared who happens to be not only human but a contract killer. Great read!
I've really been enjoying this series. There's always something new and unexpected going on to grab my attention in each release, and in this one it was the unexpected occupation of Jared. He's an assassin...cold-blooded, not interested in relationships, rarely sees his family and has few friends. He kills without remorse. It's his well paying job. I found him an intriguing character but an odd choice as a mate for a principled beta who believes in reliability, responsibility, law and order. That is of course what makes this story so interesting, guaranteeing they don't have an easy go of it. Yet, the author does a good job of getting these two dissimilar men together in a believable manner. She even manages to use Jared's special skills to help in a rescue. It's a nice blending of their two worlds.
The part of the story line dealing with the scientists is developing nicely, getting stronger with each release. This time we got a dangerous rescue that results in the addition of some new characters that I expect we'll see in future books. The pace is smooth, the plotting believable within Ms. Richards nicely developed world and it has characters the readers can care about. Did I forget to mention the really hot sex? I recommend the books be read in order.
1.5 stars. Jared, an assassin, is in Stone Ridge for his sister's wedding but is asked by a friend to participate in a rescue. Upon meeting the pack's enforcer Carson, who is Native American, Jared says: "I'd be the best lay you ever had, Injun." Ha, ha. See Jared enjoys riling people up. Just no. I didn't buy it as a term of endearment later, either.
Upon their second meeting, Jared, who has never been attracted to men before, is bottoming. Again, no. There's no build up, angst or hesitation. Jared basically shoulder-shrugs and says he's bisexual. Later, he does tell his new mate that he can't be Carson's "bitch," so this bottoming thing will have to be a two-way street. OK, then.
The blurb made it sound like there would be angst about Jared's job and trust issues. Both were minimal. The only thing that tied these MCs together was sex, and that wasn't enough to hold my attention.
I've enjoyed other books in this series. In fact, the most interesting part of this one was the introduction of the bunny shifter Casey, whose story I've already read. It was nice to meet him from the beginning.
If I have to pick a book Boyfriend Jared Templeton is a good option. He is strong of character and loyal to a fault having him at your back is smart unless you are in his sniper scope. I love that he is some one that refuses to conform to "Acceptable Rules of Society" wink wink he knows what he wants and never denies his primal urges. We all know that going back home sometimes can be full of drama and headaches. Add to this a questionable death and a deeper immersion into the paranormal world and you have a snappy snarly snarky exciting storytelling that happens to have a delicious Rule loving wolf shifter enforcer named Carson and a human with a dangerous history and employment resume. Bringing these two strong men and worlds together is a challenge and an accomplishment for Charlie Richards. Trust me when I say You will never stop wanting more of this handsome trouble loving man.
By far the best in the series to date. Jared and Carson are positively explosive together and it was sooo hot! Two Alpha guys getting it on - yum! Of course love comes quickly to these two - and mating but it sort of fits in with the story. I loved Jared's snarky obnoxious way that just sort of got tempered but not erased by his relationship with Carson. LOVED Carson and how he reacted. This was a real push/pull and I adored it!
2.5* Not my favorite in the series, not sure why, but I think things were just too fast and I had no real feel for Carson. But since this is one of my guilty pleasure read series, I know I'll keep reading!
Jared was outstanding in this book. I loved his attitude and personality. And I loved how he approached being with a man for the very first time. I like when things don't come too easily for the couple. And can I say "thank you" that we finally have a versatile couple. Whoopee!!!
I think my biggest problem with this was that i expected something a little dark and very serious but didn’t get it. Jared makes one of the worst assassins ever. His dialogue and attitude were too childish and bland and not one of a supposed veteran killer. Another issue was that everything from character responses to certain situations or revelations to the stress of Jared being some badass coldhearted killer was exaggerated and unrealistic. I also didn't like how details however minor were introduced into the story but then dropped or wrapped up in a few lines . It was just very unbelievable, thin and wordy.
Siendo este uno de mis favoritos de la saga, realmente no recuerdo muy bien porque no le puse un mejor rating... Carson y Jared son de mis ships favoritos, una relación que empieza con prejuicios, malos entendidos y hombres extremadamente poderosos que saben lo que quieren. Deberán recorrer un largo caminoantes de poder demostrarse el amor que verdaderamente se tienen el uno por el otro (¿ya mencioné que son unos alphas testarudos?). Otra cosa que me encanta de esta serie, es la simpleza con la que se trata algunos temas como la homofóbia (siendo uno de los temas que más relevancia tiene hoy en día), y como se soluciona sin necesidad de violencia.
Y lo hice, lo volví a leer, y me di cuenta porque me gustó en su momento. Realmente se merece sus cuatro estrellas.
I was very excited to read Jared's story since he's such a great character with a unique personality. It would have been quite refreshing not to have a bigot in every story, but none the less, this was an absolutely delightful read. The characters were well portrayed, the plot was interesting, and the story held my attention. I just loved Jared and Carson. This was definitely a very fun and enticing romance. =)
It is the year for rereading. One of the better ones but seriously - people need to get over the I am offended bit and read properly. It is offensive the first time, but Jarred 's thought reveal as the story grows that he meant it as offensive to rile Carson up, but then it becomes a term of endearment. I have heard weirder ones.
I think I've read this like seven times in the past few days. I purchased the book on my Kindle cause I'm loving the Wolves of Stone Ridge Series and have for some time but Jared and Carson are my favorite couple out of the verse Charlie Richards has created. Think I'm gonna go and read it again
Only read like 5 pages. Many errors and careless writing mistakes, as well as Carson immediately recognizing Jared's annoying and totally over the top comments to be a defense mechanism...not for me, though this trope is my ultimate.
Rating: 1.5/5 Feels: 🙄🙄🙄 One Liner: None of this story was even remotely realistic - no real person acts like any of the characters do - they were all caricatures. Plus there was a mystery the author forgot to solve lol Rec: Nah, skip it
Nice the "oh, maybe I'm bisexual moment", not really sure if I'm comfortable with a racial derogatory term being used as a pet name, specially from a white man
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
As abrasive and devoid of conscience in some areas as Jared was, he still turned out to be a refreshing character. I particularly enjoyed how he did not give a damn about what anyone thought of him. Not in the “I am taking a stand” way either. He just said whatever he wanted to say, be it life altering or not, never giving a second thought to how people might react. Sure, it illustrated his disregard for other people’s feelings too, but in a way this attitude felt more honest than anything I have encountered in a long while. It also made for fascinating conversations down the line, such as when he . This is not so much a case of having no brain-to-mouth filter. He just truly does not care. And I completely buy his stance of not doing things halfway, which makes the way he settles into love actually believable.
So yeah. Although it did not feel that way in the beginning, I ended up truly liking this pairing. As a bonus some actual time passed for once. Timescale’s been iffy at best in this series, at times just way past excuses, so I am glad we finally got a bit of space for things to develop in the background. A lot of series of this type turn out that way, with events of one book directly leading into events in another, yet the prior protagonists are presented as if they’ve been together for much longer than the few weeks or in a recent case two days that actually passed if you pay any sort of attention to the flow of events.
I am feeling quite happy now. On the downside, only two books are left for now. Damn. Were these always so short or has my lengthy vacation from reading just given me a different sense of duration?
Oh yeah, another thing. I appreciate that in this series the titles actually directly refer to the theme of the books. One might think this to be normal, since, you know, that’s part of the point of books having titles to begin with, but it is sadly rare. :3 So yay.
Many times a series gets weaker as it progresses, but in this case I've found that the storytelling has been getting stronger. The characters are more intricate and interesting in their back history making it so much more challenging than just the fated mate pairings. The plot includes the current romance pair, but also an ongoing thread with the mysterious humans that seek to do experimentation.
In this particular story, there was the pairing of Carson, the wolf pack enforcer who has been a regular secondary character since the beginning of the series, sworn to uphold the laws and protect others with his fated mate being a human paid assassin with a history in special forces and intel work.
Carson is conflicted. He feels attracted to the handsome, outspoken human and an eagerness to mate with Jared because he knows that this is the only mate life will give him, but his mate is a straight man who kills for money. He decides to take a wait and see approach, but Jared's bold schemes push him and take the decision out of his hands.
Jared is also conflicted about his attraction to Carson because he's never swung that way before. He knows about the existence of shifters thanks to his old military buddy, Grady who calls him in to help in a rescue mission to free Dagus who was captured by the secret human group who experimented on shifters and Lyle. Jared discovers through eavesdropping that Carson thinks that Jared is his mate. Unfortunately, Jared leaps into action without knowing enough about the consequences when it comes to Carson thus forcing his own life and Carson's down a certain path.
Definitely one of the best stories in the series if not the best! Looking forward to the next installment!
This is the first book of this series for which I’ve done a formal review – but I gotta tell you that I love this series so much!
I chose this book to start with because Carson and Jared hold a special place in my heart – they are so damn funny and so damn sexy that I get excited and giggle any time they get mentioned. So far Charlie Richards has put these guys in several of the following stories and each time they get a little bit cuter and lot more kinky!
I am (desperately) hoping these guys get their own sequel in the future… maybe with babies… hint hint!
In any case… this book introduces them as a couple. At first Jared identifies as straight, but as you know that mating bond takes hold and makes even the straightest guy think twice.
Carson is this tough, stoic, calm (most of the time) guy and acts as the perfect foil for Jared’s outrageous personality. Within moments of meeting Jared is willing to explore the “gay side” of his sexuality and the two go hot and heavy on the dance floor.
Jared is more than just a pretty face, however. He’s got mad skills with a gun and knows his way around security systems and computers, as well.
Together he and Carson help to free some of the shifters who have been captured by the evil scientists and they manage to take time for making out, too!
You don’t have to read the series in order, but it really helps to give it more depth. Each is it’s own HEA and has it’s own pair of MCs but the other characters have recurring rolls, so it’s good to know them ahead of time.
I highly recommend this series and this book in particular if you like snark, humor, hot, kinky sex and shifters who give everything for their mates.
I liked this book a lot. It wasn't perfect, not even close, but it was refreshingly upbeat, funny and enjoyable. I only have one complaint. Jared leaving his whole life for Carson. The moving I could get behind because relationships where the couple is apart most of the time simply don't work for long. Least of all a shifter romance where one feels the need to be with the other about 24/7. So, that...I understood. The leaving his job part though...That was a little more hard to understand. I would've liked for them to have come to a compromise. This way it was just Jared doing what Carson wanted and I'm not completely okay with that. So he was an assassin. Not all assassins are 100% bad and not everyone deserves to live. Considering how Carson may need to kill to defend his pack, his white and black vision is pretty hypocritical and wrong. Even Jared admitted to researching his targets before accepting the job or not to make sure they deserved their fate. I gotta say I was with Jared in this one and I don't think he should've capitulated to Carson's morality. I've read other novels with assassins as main characters and I've always loved them. That being said, I still had fun reading this.
PS: This cover is absolutely terrible. Hurts my eyes and everything.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
"Injun" isn't acceptable even to goad someone, and it's certainly not a term of endearment.
I like the tension. I like Jared even though he can be an ass. I like that when he decides something, he jumps in all the way.
It's not true that bigots rarely change. Most anti-gay people just don't know anyone who's told them they are gay. Parents generally come around, even if they don't understand it.
I like that Jated actually asked how to go about anal sex unlike books where the man magically knows.
Breaks between sections aren't marked so it's hard to follow.
Very very short almost non peril. Rescue was way too easy. Bunny shifter was adorable, although we barely saw him. I hope he's in a future book. I really wish there were female characters that were ok more than one book. It's like having a book of white people without anyone of color. Unrealistic and concerning. Fortunately , this series had multiple people of multiple races.
Once again there is something about an assassin that is so dang attractive. The fact that Jared is human who can hold his own amongst a pack of wolves and other animals is doubly attractive. I like his no-nonsense attitude and the fact that he just accepts things as they are. He really doesn't care how others view him, with the exception of Carson, his mate. Even then, he's determined to prove that Carson belongs with him despite a few stumbles along the way. His sarcastic, sometimes jarring, personality kind of reminds me of my own in that we both tend to just be bluntly honest even if we know feelings will be hurt. While my heart went out to Carson's hesitations/doubts about their relationship, I was firmly behind Jared and his decisions, probably because I could see myself making the same ones.
I see that many of my friends loved this story, so I must be the odd one out. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't bad, but it felt very rushed. I read some others in the series, and liked them, but with so many of the past character's names thrown in, it kept pulling me out of the story so that I could try and remember who was who. It was odd how I felt like Jared's brash character and the way he jumped into sex with Carson (even though he says he was 100% straight before this) was something about him that I liked because it showed that once he made up his mind, he didn't give a crap what anyone else thought, and at the same time, these things annoyed me. Even with that, I've heard the next one in the series is enjoyable, and I figure if I read the first ones in the series again before that one I may be able to keep the characters straight in my head.