Running From the Pack

by Mina Carter

It's never easy staying ahead of the pack, but for Penny, it might just save her life…

Since ditching her pack after an offer she “couldn't” refuse from her tyrannical pack alpha, Penny’s been on the run. Always on the move, she never stays in one place for long, avoiding other werewolves like the plague. As the full moon approaches, this one brings with it her toughest challenge yet—her heat phase. And so, rather than letting her animal instincts rule, to force her to bed the first man she comes across, Penny hatches a plan that involves a basement and chains, but sadly, the non-kinky kind.

But lone wolf Cade Steele has other ideas. He's watched Penny from afar since she was turned, and now that he's found her, he's determined not to let the little she-wolf face her heat on her own. Cade is wolf enough to match her animal instinct, and alpha enough to claim her. As his mate, her body may become part of his territory, but her heart would be an altogether different matter.

When Penny’s past finally catches up with her, her ex-alpha isn't taking no for an answer this time. The question is, with their lives on the line, can Penny and Cade answer the call of the wild?

Publisher’s This title has been previously released with another publisher.

Please This title contains erotic content and is intended for individuals over the age of eighteen.

Genres: Shapeshifters, Paranormal, Paranormal Romance, Erotica, Romance, Werewolves, Novella

57 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 2008

About the author

Mina Carter is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling author of romance in many genres. She lives in the UK with her husband, daughter, a puppy who pays no attention to her whatsoever, and a bossy cat.

Reviews

[Talltree · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars!

[Nothing To See Here · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bounced between giving this a 3 star rating and a 2 star rating. It wasn't an easy decision, and I take my ratings very importantly because I don't want to do any authors wrong, they work hard to bring us what they believe is excellent reading material. Is it their fault that I may not agree with them?

In the end I had to settle for a 2 (2.5 if you want to be specific - rounding it up to three for the shiny stars benefit).

5 = I fucking loved it, adored it, will re-read it over and over, it's a keeper. I'm replaying it in my head throughout the day. Outstanding!
4 = I really enjoyed it. There was a chance for love but it fell a little short, but I will read it again in the future, once or twice.
3 = I liked it, wasn't awesome but wasn't bad. There is a chance that in the future I will revisit it again, maybe.
2 = I didn't quite like it, there was more bad than good BUT it wasn't completely awful. I will not be reading it again, don't have the desire to. To tell you the truth as soon as I turn off my kindle I won't be thinking about it at all.
1 = I hated it. There might have been some good in this story but I can't find it, or it just doesn't trump the issues I had with the story. Read it again? Hell no, I even erased it from my kindle and deleted all known files I had of it.

That's my grading scale, and with that scale I had no choice but to give this story 2.5 stars because honestly, I won't ever be rereading it again. The author has a good writing style and the plot was interesting, but there were just too many loose ends that the author doesn't deem worthy of tying up for the reader.

If the author did put out a second book yes, I would pick it up and give her a chance to answer some of the questions she left the reader, she deserves that and as I stated her writing style is adequate. Not to mention almost everyone deserves one second chance.

Now for my issues (there are a lot so I'll only name a few here):
There is this big issue about how Penny ran from her last pack because of Big Jimmy, but never any specifics are given. Obviously Jimmy wanted to have sex with Penny, but you only get that information by putting two and two together. Now that is fine, I don't need every tidbit of information handed to me on a silver platter, but I'd have enjoyed a little history here. How did she escape? After finding out what kind of sadist Jimmy is did he ever actually get hands on Penny? I find it hard to believe he didn't considering the picture the author paints of him, unless she left the pack immediately after he took over. But if that was the case she's way to familiar with him as a person for that to be. See what I mean? One plus one does not equal two here, something is missing and the author should've addressed it in my humble opinion. I mean it is the title of the book, you'd think there would be a little what's up about it?

Next, Cade. I can't put my finger on what upset me about this man, he was smoking hot in the beginning, but softened really quickly. The author "told" us how he was a love them and leave them type, but automatically he isn't with Penny? Didn't jibe with me. Would've loved to be in Cade's head before their monumental sex-a-thon to get a better feel of him.

Which brings us to the monumental sex-a-thon. Penny is a werewolf in heat, Cade is the "big bad wolf" that can satisfy her. Dude, there should be a law for how many times someone can say the phrase "big bad wolf" during sex in a shifter book. Really and seriously just don't go there more than once. Plus the sex, ehhh. It isn't a sex-a-thon when you write out one tame (practically vanilla) scene and then tell the reader after the fireworks are over that they did it there, there, there and oh yeah there too. That isn't a sex-a-thon, that isn't Penny needed to mate, that is just lazy writing. You want me to believe they reached their peaks multiple times show me at least more than once. Now I'm not all for gratuitous sex just because, this isn't an erotica book. But if you are going to have an all nighter because one of the main plots of the beginning of the book is Penny being in heat, at least take me through half of the night before fading to black, not just a fourth of it.

Now for world building. The author has a good grasp on the world she wants to show you, she just doesn't get it all the way there. There are too many holes in her shifter world that take away from this short story. For instance, Cade asks Penny if she has a mate, and Penny tells him she's sorted. I'm not new to the English language, but I can't find anywhere in my pea-brained mind how that can be a proper response to the question unless it has to do with her shifter world. In which case she never explained it. Oh, a chapter later you can figure out her meaning thanks to the context it is reused in. Didn't appease me, though.

The ending was rushed. Really, it was, I'm not one of those whiny readers that just always wants more and isn't satisfied. Okay I am one of those readers, but in this instance I think I'm justified in saying damn, it was rushed. A single whispered threat in Cade's ear makes him let the wolf take completely over, and the end? That was it? That was the payoff for reading this book? The author tries to throw us a bone and gives us a couple pages after that to see that Penny and Cade would have their HEA, but by that time I didn't even feel like there was any real relationship between the two. Another chick is by Cade's side when he first wakes up and has to go get Penny. If it was my man who had been injured and put in a coma-like state you better believe I'd have been by his side the whole time.

Okay, that's it. I've let this review go on way too long just to whine. Which is perfect proof that there was so much potential here that just flopped like a fish out of water. I repeat, if the author ever writes a second book I will read it in hopes that the loose ends are addressed. But other than that this is now not only the end of this review, but the end of the book's time in my mind and on my kindle also. I'll hit save, post this review and probably won't think about it or the book again.

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yeah! After reading the reviews I was hesitant but being the stubborn person that I am I have found after some time that I don't agree with all of the reviews I read. I bought it anyway and I'm glad I did. I really enjoyed this story a lot. It is definitely up my favorite genre alley and had some Hot Steamy scenes. Phew, fan-fan-fan. Penny's Ex-Pack Alpha Big Jimmy really had some psycho ideas going on in his pack. Lucky for Penny Cade came along when he did(in more ways than one). I recommend this short book to all paranormal erotic romance fans who want an exciting steamy quick read. Penny is a wolf with a tude. (Attitude that is.)

[Erin Kyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I rarely give 5* ratings, but this story really impressed me. Carter managed to fit a lot of solid story elements into what appears to be a short-ish story.

Characters are believable (for the most part -- Penny's change of heart toward Cade is a bit fast, but that's really my only complaint...), it's deliciously steamy (ahem), the plot doesn't overstay its welcome (though I do wish Carter would've added an Epilogue), the closure is satisfactory, and the HEA is awesome.

Yeah, definitely a good read. Definitely a keeper.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fast paced with some edge of your seat action, this was one fun and sexy read! I adore Mina Carter's books and this one was no different. I really liked Penny. She's very strong and feisty. Cade's this sexy and mysterious guy that you just crave to know more about. I loved his protectiveness of Penny. They definitely made for an extremely hot pair.
This was a great read and I would love for Mina to revisit these characters someday.

[Emily Lindsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exciting and gripping, absolute must read!

This book is highly readable with a story that moves at a really good pace. The characters are strong and easy to identify with. The storyline was relatable and interesting. I mean she's on the run, she thinks she's got her past behind her, and then life surprises her. Penny is a strong female character and Mina Carter writes her characters with flaws and strengths. I loved this story and I highly recommended it!

[Kristy Mills · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm stumped on what rating to give this. I liked the story, but I thought it was a little rushed. There is only so much you can do with a short story and I thought there was too much being crammed into this story. The two characters went from being very independent to loving each other over night. I thought they needed a little more relationship building or something.

[Angel · Rating 5 out of 5]

More ,,, more,,, more !
I really need more of this book and the delicious Alpha Cade <3 ;)

OhMyGod!! I really don't get what all the medium or bad reviews are all about because this book is Awesome !

I loved it and honestly wish this was a series or the book was longer 'cause I'm desperate to have ,,, MORE!!! ;)

[Jodie Bivins]

Finding love the hard way

I am told this is an early work of Mina's and you can only tell because of some of the phrases used in the story. The overall story I loved. If it weren't trying to understand some of the other this book would have received a five star rating. The only thing missing is where Penny finds out she is an alpha female.

[April · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a really interesting read. It had some really rough and rather violent scenes. Aside from that there is plenty of steam and growly alphaness in this book! I would be interested in seeing this become a series to see what happens next!

[Charlene · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mina Carter is a great author, but the prices charged for her short books make me carefully consider whether to buy or not-and "not" wins more than she probably would prefer. I expect to be bowled over by a story to justify the purchase, and some of the books just haven't "wowed" me enough.

[zoegrl · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit different, Penny's a wolf turned because she was bitten. Living alone because her new Pack Alpha is crazy & mean, so she's pretty much on the run.

I love a good fight, working at putting down the bad guys! Good should always win in the end. :-)

Enjoy!! I did!

[Farah · Rating 2 out of 5]

BAM BAM BAM The plot and characters were alright but everything was incredibly rushed. The whole thing progressed too fast. I didn't get to know the characters that well but Penny and Cade had good chemistry. The villain was extremely one dimensional though.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable

I enjoyed reading Penny and Cade's story, but I was left feeling there were pieces missing. Otherwise it was a good story. I liked the characters and there interactions, as well as the premise of the story. I am looking forward to reading more by this author.

[Nenya · Rating 2 out of 5]

h on the run from V. H finds her, shags her, bcos if h doesn't get shagged she'll turn feral or whatever. then villain and his goons find them, fight with the H, who kills the V cos he's bigger and more badass... and oh, they're having pups... not too bad. but not that great either.

[Angie]

Book #138 for 2009

[Teazia Cockburn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't like how it just ended. But apart from that - good book.

[Tia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read in 2009. One of the first kinkier werewolf novels I'd purchased.

[SheLove2Read · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 stars

[Erin-Jayne Lloyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the story, it's a true romance flick with WEREWOLVES!! (I do love werewolves =D)

[Wendy coling ( trowbridge) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Penny is running from the pack but cade finds her. He helps her in heat but pack finds her and case saves day. Good story.

[Kimberly Walter · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was an interesting and sexy read but way too short.

[Joni · Rating 3 out of 5]

good short story

[Tauri · Rating 2 out of 5]

Same as all the rest. The story is there but the author just stops developing it and rushes to end it as soon as possible.

[Netanella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chaining yourself in a basement is never a good idea.