Terrell Hubbard, decorated Marine sergeant, proudly serves as Beta wolf to his True Alpha and Dominant. During a mission, he meets Staff Sergeant Kai Thayer, Pack Leader of the Camp Fallujah sippe. Terrell is thrown completely off balance by the strength of their mutual attraction and the intensity of their passion. His entire world felt perfect though, each time they came together to mark and claim one another.
In the chaos of a surprise attack Kai shows poor judgement, driving a wedge between Terrell and him, and landing Kai on the True Alpha's bad side. Terrell is torn between his ferocious loyalty to his True Alpha, and his new but powerful feelings for Kai. In the battle's aftermath, Terrell and Kai are drawn together in passion, hoping it's not the final chance to mark their claims.
Kendall McKenna is an author of M/M erotic romance novels featuring well-developed characters, complex stories, and realistic action sequences.
Kendall McKenna is the MLR Press 2013 Author of the Year. Her first work of fiction was written at the worldly age of nine, and was a transformative work that expanded on the story told in a popular song of the time.
She tried her hand at vampire and cowboy fiction, winning high school poetry and short story contests along the way. It wasn’t until she discovered the world of m/m erotic fiction and found her stride with cops, Marines and muscle cars, that she felt inspired to share her stories with readers who enjoy the same things.
Putting herself through college by working in a newly-created HIV testing clinic in her local Department of Health, introduced Kendall to the gay and lesbian community. Understanding and empathy has made her a lifetime advocate of GLBT issues.
A brief bout of unemployment gave Kendall the time and focus she needed to finally produce a novel worth submitting for publication. Her first novel, Brothers In Arms, introduced the world to her authentic military stories and characters. Kendall’s second novel, Strength of the Pack, was nominated for a 2013 Bookie Award, by Author’s After Dark.
Kendall was born and raised in Southern California, where she still lives and works. A non-conventional relationship has kept her happy for the last decade. Her four dogs enjoy it when she writes, as she sits still long enough for them to curl up around her.
Who on Earth has rated this book already. Has it even been written? You see this idiocy of rating a book just "because" when you haven't read them is what makes this whole business fucked up and screwed six way to Sunday. Get a grip you freaking idiots and stop bullying books out of boredom.
I have waited for this book for quite some time. This series is one of my all time favorits and I was so excited.
Now I am so dissapointed....
For one, I was not aware that this book only has 63 pages. The story begins on page 5 or 6, so technically, it's not even that. I was expecting a full novel after all this time and this was just a filler. I thought this would be book 4, but it's more like book 3,5.
Now, I understand that this author has been trough some difficult times, which I totally understand. But like my good friend Susan said in her review....I would have rather waited 2 more years for a full novel. If the book would have been as great as all her others, the wait would have been worth it.
Now however, I paid 4 dollars for 59 pages of story, which in my opinion is freaking ridiculous.
The book had no beginning, it felt like being tossed into a story that had already started, but of which I missed the beginning. There was also no end. Sure...it said epilogue, but to me an epilogue is about closure and this book definitely didn't have any closure.
I liked Kai and Terrell, but this story just felt like some kind off filler to keep readers happy, which would have been oke, if not for the 4 dollars and the dissapointment. I really didn't know that this was a short story, or else I probably wouldn't have bought it. It didn't say on the site where I bought the book. I also wouldn't have been so excited.
Like I said, I love this author, but I do feel a bit cheated right now. I hope there will be more about this couple, although this book didn't give any indication that there would be. I also have no idea of there will be more books to follow in this series. I hope so, because the other books were really amazing. Though next time....I will check more thoroughly, to see what I'm buying.
I think the best way to sum this up is that it was painfully short and the ending was left wide open. I am hoping this is only a look into T and Kai's relationship and there is more to come. No confirmation has been made at the time of this post.
After waiting so long for this book, the 4th book in my favorite M/M romance series, I am happy that we got something new. I hung on every word and loved seeing Lucas and Noah again. I'm thrilled we got more and won't look a gift horse in the mouth.
I’m so disappointed and so incredibly sad. I’ve been waiting so long for this book, but it didn’t deliver at all.
This was absolutely nothing like the other 3 books.
I felt as if there was no storyline in this at all. There was no character development or relationship building.
Terrell Hubbard is on some sort of mission (we never learn what they’re there to do) when he meets pack leader Kai. They hit it off, have sex, and Terrell feels something for him (since they’ve only known each other a day and had one conversation before the sex, that was a bit strange).
Then Kai fucks up on a mission and Noah, the true Alpha, disciplines him and tells Terrell he cannot see Kai anymore because he can’t stay objective otherwise. The end.
This just sucked.
I really feel for Kendall McKenna and her explanation why this book took so long, but I would have rather waited 2 more years if we had gotten more than this.
I also feel cheated that I paid $6 for this book only to find out it’s only 63 freaking pages. Update: mlr books refunded $2. I guess the book is now $4 instead of $6. Still, it's a lot of money for such a short book, especially since I wasn't aware it was a short.
Well...Heart of the Warrior is short. Too short. I've been looking forward to it for ages, but truth be told, I had a hard time re-immersing myself into the story's universe. I'm not really sure if it was because of the length of the story, or the long wait since the last one or a combination of the two. But it didn't grab me. At all.
I never really felt the connection between Terrell and Kai. There wasn't any character, relationship or story development. It was like they met, some insta-something happened, then we got an epilogue that was totally left wide open.
All in all, Heart of the Warrior felt like a commercial for an actual novel. Filler. And it makes me sad, but I'm not really going to recommend this one.
She's the queen of military shifter erotica and this follows the same formula as its predecessors. What differs is that it’s actually told by a werewolf’s pov and involves another werewolf and not a kept-in-the-dark-til-the-end human. Thus, the dynamics were a bit more enlightening, and thankfully, there was still the fabulous claiming, marking, and hot smex.
One caveat.
I do agree with many that this was not a fully realized story. This was unfinished with basically a tentative HFN cliffhanger, as it seemed the author is only presenting us with the first third of hopefully a soon-to-come book where we’ll get a proper conclusion. It would be a huge disappointment and disservice to all if the series is left as is.
I liked it, but this didn't feel like a complete story. Even the epilogue, which I firmly believe should be used to wrap a story up with a big, red, heart-squishing bow, was missing the proper oompf. It felt unresolved - definitely not a HEA, not quite a HFN either - and that made my enjoyment of the story dim somewhat.
Much like the rest of Kendall McKenna's fans, I have been eagerly awaiting the release of this next book in 'The Tameness of the Wolf' series. This is one of my very favorite series as it revolves around werewolves and the Marine Corps, two things I'm pretty passionate about. I also happen to believe this author does some of the best research I've seen yet on military protocol and procedures. It's a joy to read one of these books and I fully anticipated the same with Terrell and Kai's story.
Noah, Lucas, Tim, Terrell, and Dawson are visiting Camp Fallujah in Iraq. The werewolf pack leader for their sippe draws an intense physical and emotional reaction from Terrell and he claims Kai's as his sole companion for the length of his stay there. And, wow, let me just say the primitive instincts along with heat and desire between these two is off the charts. I'm fairly certain I haven't seen anything this instantaneous in any of the previous couples. Whew!
The True Alpha and Dominant came to Iraq to investigate rumors that insurgents are specifically targeting the weres during combat. Unfortunately during an attack, Kai neglects to follow his True Alpha's orders and Noah disciplines him severely leaving Terrell torn between his loyalties. Once Noah passes punishment, or Atonement, on Kai, then Terrell can't keep in touch after they leave for home until the punishment period is over. A very difficult thing for two wolves who bonded as strongly as Terrell and Kai did.
I enjoyed this recent installment in the series but I have to admit I didn't love it like I have the other books. I personally felt as if there was so much more story that could have been written and that I missed out on. However, that is certainly not going to prevent me from continuing to follow this series as based on the ending, I'm fairly certain I haven't seen the last of Terrell and Kai.
NOTE: This book was provided by MLR Press for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews
Strength of the Pack is one of my favourite MM books EVER. I have read this series too many times to count – in fact when I finished Heart of the Warrior I went back and re-read those first 3 books again. Lucas and Noah are two of my all-time favourite characters across any genre not just MM. To say I was over excited about the next book coming out would be a gross understatement – so why only 3 stars you ask?
Heart of the Warrior is short – very short but I knew this going in. It’s a very good prelude to what I hope will be a full length story for Kai and Terrell. The writing is excellent, as it is in the rest of the series, there just isn’t a huge amount of content. Most of the story actually already happened in Strength of the Wolf which is where Kai and Terrell initially get together.
As a fan of the series I was glad to be thrown back into The Tameness of the Wolf world and I hope we see more from Kai and Terrell very soon.
I was kind of confused by this book. To me it read like an extended introduction/background into Terrell and Kai's story. The kind of thing you read to familiarize yourself with the characters and to gain a better understanding of where they are relationship wise before reading the full length novel. But I don't even know if they're getting another (hopefully, full length) novel. Does McKenna expect us to fill in the blanks and assume they worked everything out and ended up together? Or is she going to write another, more complete, story featuring Terrell and Kai? To be completely honest, I feel kind of ripped off. I waited years for this to be released, paid 4 dollars for less than 60 pages of writing, and I didn't even get a fucking happy ending. So yeah, I'm pretty bummed about this book.
This is McKenna at her magnificent best in establishing the powerful emotions which exist with a werewolf pairing.
But it's just a glimpse into Terrell and Kai's relationship told from the perspective of the visit to Fallujah by Noah and Lucas, and Major Tim, when it was attacked in the previous book.
I know the full length version of their relationship is on the way and this was just a taster from T's side of things but I'm greedy for the rest and so this is like getting a sandwich when you're barred from the all you can eat Chinese buffet.
Frustrated is all I can say at the moment. I went into this knowing it would be short but hoped it would hold me over until the next book. Honestly, this book doesn't tell us a lot and now I'm stuck sitting here pouting and a little ticked that I have to wait another year for an actual story.
Totally understanding that Ms McKenna had issues going on to delay this... I think perhaps she should have waited longer ... this is a short story... story isn't the right word. Barely feel a connection between them and then Kai is in trouble. And his excuse is piss poor.. AND he doesn't fully understand what he did wrong..
Seeing as this is our first two shifters together I kind of thought the dynamic would be easier since they already understand how their society works... but this just didn't work for me. I can't even drum up enough interest in getting a complete story out of them at this point. Kai's attitude towards his mistake just comes across as.. kind of arrogant.. no, perhaps blase is a better word
I have long awaited the next release in the Tameness of the Wolf series. The author has done a spectacular job of mingling military romance with the paranormal which are two of my favorite genres.
Now that I have read this one, I struggle with my disappointment. I am not disappointed because of the longer wait for the release. I actually appreciate it when authors take a quality over quantity attitude. No, my disappointment is in this story itself. Or should I say less than story.
It is short, but I can do short if a story is developed and has a clear beginning, middle, and end. But this one was never that. It is a series of a few scenes from Terrell's perspective that parallel Tim's story in the previous book. Those who have not read at least book three would be out of luck to figure this one out. But it was the ending that made me truly sorrow. Its a non- ending without even the excitement of a cliffhanger.
I want to believe that this is a novella that is meant to tide the reader over until the next book in the series where Terrell and Kai's story will be a true story and as fleshed out and compelling as the usual story.
And I don't usually bring up price in a review, but I find $3.99 very steep for 68 pages. I got this with rebate money or it would have sat on my wish list still.
But I don't want to give the impression that there was nothing appealing about the story. As short and rough as the story was, Terrell's point of view and the early scenes when he encountered Kai for the first time were a delight and so full of promise. Terrell is an intense guy who lives for his duty to Noah, Lucas, and the pack. He smolders with his dominant power and seems to always be 'on'. I appreciated seeing what a beta wolf is like as opposed to the alphas- Noah and Jeremy- and the omega, Dawson, wolf heroes from the previous stories.
In summary, I was sad to see the undeveloped and even unfinished parts, but still happy to get a glimpse back into the Tameness of the Wolf world. I love the author's work and look forward to more.
2.5 rounded up just because it answered a question that rereading the first three in the series over the last couple days brought up for me. Kai is the pack leader of Fallujah base in book 2(and this one)and seems to be doing a decent job of it. But in book 3 there was an absolute bully as pack leader there. In this one there is a small mention that Kai only has a month left on his deployment so that explained for me how they went from Kai being pack leader to the a$$hole. My rating for this book is a disappointing surprise to me after giving all the others in the series 4 stars.
You definitely must have read book 2, Strength of the Wolf, before reading this one since it starts during one of the events from that book, in which the two main characters first meet.
The ratio of pages devoted to sex scenes sex scenes rather than story line is a lot higher in this book than in the others also. Sort of understandable with this one being so short compared to the others.
In all of the previous books, things related to the werewolves(their rituals, laws, punishments and such) are well developed and explained in the course of the story. In this one that is not so. I was left asking 'What is this Atonement all about?'. I know what the word means. But what does it mean in this world when a wolf does something wrong and goes through 'Atonement' as his punishment.
What the hell was that? I felt like read a random chapter from an incomplete book. This was really badly written. I feel really disappointed because I LOVE this series. I was waiting for SO LONG for the 4th book to come out. And this is what we get?
I am not insensitive to the troubles that the author has been going through. Shit happens and it effects every aspect of our lives. I wish she would have just made a post about her current situation instead of producing THIS book! I would have waited another whole year for a story written in the same calibre as the previous books. Neither Kai nor Terrell deserved this to be there story with no beginning, barely a middle and NO ENDING.
I'm really happy that Kendall has been able to return to this series and I hope that there is much more to come. I enjoyed reading this episode and knew it felt vaguely familiar but I couldn't fit it into context. Because it has been so long between books I felt I needed to reread the series so that I could understand what had happened here. The events referred to in this story occur in book 2 chapter 20 so I think the book should be renumbered to 2.5. It would also have been helpful to have a bit more of an intoduction to jog our memories.
Later: Just to clarify, this is Terrell's experience while the party was in Fallujah, not just a copy of the chapter.
Ostatnia (na szczęście) książka z tej serii, to bardziej fanfiction niż cokolwiek innego. Krótkie, bez żadnej fabuły, z otwartym zakończeniem. Ot zwykłe pvp i tyle. Nie dotyczyło nawet żadnego z głównych bohaterów, a postaci pobocznych. Pożegnałam serię z mieszanymi uczuciami. Z jednej strony wkurzona, że ostatni tom ktoś nazwał książką, z drugiej wdzięczna, że takie to krótkie było :P
This was a book I purchased last night and already read. It was good, considering the world but I thought it would be a full length story! The plot was interesting but feels incomplete. I hope there is a bigger story featuring Terrell in the future.
So......i knew going into this by the other reviews that it was short and disappointed alot of people. However i still found the writing quality and style still amazing.....it just ends abruptly.
Yep, this just didn't really work for me. I remember liking this series a lot when I read it awhile ago. But this book just doesn't live up to the rest of it for me. It's too much insta-obsessiona and no real resolution. It's almost like the book just ends in the middle of the story. I didn't hate it, but I don't feel like I really got the whole story. The parts I liked about this story had to do with the pieces I remember from the other books. The military dynamic within the shifter world was interesting and I liked the characters as a whole. But really this story just didn't have a chance to go anywhere. I know it was written at a time where the author was struggling to write. I'd almost love to see it expanded into a full length novel in the future.
Elle est où l'histoire ? Parce que à part se tourner autour pendant 3 chapitre pour ensuite baiser durant tout le chapitre 4, il ne se passe absolument rien. je suis très déçue car j'aimais beaucoup ce perso dans les autres tomes. Pour moi, son histoire à été bâclée.
Hello. I dont normally write reviews, speacilly because i dont think of myself as an expert to write. But in this particular case i feel the need to say something. Just recently i've started reading this type of books (shapeshifters/paranormal) specifically with this series and i feel in love with it on book 1 ( i mean, Noah and Lucas? Hot damn!). And as i continued with each book i was entranced with the lives of the characters and i wanted to know more about then, their lives, their struggles, the love and passion each one had for esch other, and the energy, loyalty and strength between one another. And this is why i feel the need to say something just after finishing reading this 4th book. I want more. I feel there so much more potential on the characters being left out, and i believe is not fair to leave Terrell and Kai the way they did. I am not saying this book is back, au contraire, loved every minute of it ... but there was suppose to be more from them... so much more, specially ejth that ending. I don't and i wont try to analized what compelled the author to do this. I read the note st the beginning of this book, and i get it, but at the same time i feel like a chance should be given not only to Terrell and Kai, but to the other remaining characters (Jason? Paul? ... etc). Overall there was no waste reading these series, and i hope to find such good writjng material again. Thanks.