Sold into slavery as a child to a cruel taskmaster, tiger-shifter Aiden Shrader trusts no one. Not even his own kind. Yet as a member of the Watchmen--the organization of shape-shifters who keep watch over the ancient nonhuman races--Aiden is fiercely protective of the helpless. Never more so than when he's asked to guard a little girl with witches' blood--and her beautiful human aunt. A woman who arouses all of Aiden's primal urges...urges he must resist.
To small-town schoolteacher Olivia Harcourt, the massive tiger-shifter with the glowing amber eyes is as much a dark mystery as the enemy stalking her. Yet Aiden is her only hope of surviving. Until their intense passion unleashes her own inner tigress with a ferocity that will make the evil Casus rue the day they messed with her family...and will take Aiden by seductive surprise.
Rhyannon Byrd is the national bestselling author of more than forty contemporary and paranormal romance titles, including the romantic thrillers LONDON AFFAIR and NEW YORK SCANDAL, and her books have been translated into ten languages. After years of enjoying the California sunshine, Rhyannon now lives in the beautiful Malvern Hills in England with her family and their ever-growing collection of concert T-shirts and coffee mugs.
I was expecting a lot more truth be told. I've read quite a number of books with similar plot lines or having at least one of the main plots, so inevitably I am comparing this to everything I've already read and it falls short.
In my opinion the main attraction to a shifter novel, other than the said shifter, is the mate bond. Even in books like The Others Series by Anne Bishop centred more around the "others" than the MCs, the bond was so compelling you couldn't help but root for them throughout. And they weren't even real mates!
So in here where, yeah they pretty much are, not having it properly fleshed out is a right out bummer. And it keeps bumming me out the more I think about it.
I was gonna give this 3 stars but that doesn't feel right any more cause honestly it would have made no difference had I not read this.
Bad boy shapeshifting Watchman Aiden is sent to protect a half witch/Merrick child and her Aunt Olivia. From the moment Aiden scents Olivia, Aiden is drawn to her, even though abuse in his childhood has left Aiden with a distrust of human females. But even though Aiden knows he 'should' pass his charges off to the other Watchmen and put distance between himself and the woman who threatens his control of his barely leashed beast - Aiden finds himself unable to let go of the woman he knows he will never be able to trust.
This was a mixed read for me. I really liked the intensity of romance between the shy insecure school teacher and the gorgeous almost feral shifter with his own painful sense of unworthiness. And I liked both that Byrd shifted focus from the Merricks to the Watchmen and that in this fourth book, we finally get both a good hero and a good heroine - one who is brave without being to stupid to live and one who has enough self-worth not to beg for the love she deserves.
What I didn't like, and this may be enough to keep me from continuing with the series, is that Byrd is just too heavy handed with the villains in this series. Although as readers we need to know that the Cassus are just too evil, I have a really hard time revisiting their depravity each and every book - their ultimate pleasure is feeding on flesh during rape - and there's not a word with enough yuck-ness to describe how distasteful I find this. Since the series is romance centric, the switch back and forth is even more disturbing to me - between wonderful romantic sex and murderous evil sex -eeww. And really, I think that this could have been toned down - skipping the first hand descriptions by the Cassus - and just getting the second hand accounts of the results I would still have 'gotten' just how truly awful these guys were. End rant, sorry.
Even though Byrd's erotica roots show from time to time and I am not crazy about lingering descriptions of body parts and fluids, she mostly avoids cruder language for those of us who prefer steamy to true erotica. So if I could have skipped the two chapters with the Cassus, I would have rated the book a notch higher. I loved the Watchmen, loved the romance and the leads, and I loved the presence of recurring characters from previous books.
*giggle* This was my first erotica book :D and oh-boy was it an eye opener. Really good read. Just couldn't put it down. It's like watching a really good movie packed with actions and romance. I do want to give this book 5 stars but unfortunately the book does not have much deep literacy value. So I'd say it's a 5/5 for paranormal romance erotica genre. I like how the main character was self-conscious because I'm kind of like that. If anyone knows any other paranormal romance erotica book with a shy or self-conscious character, please inform me. I really want to read more books like this!
This has been the best book in the series to date. Aiden was surly and yet very appealing. He’s met his match and better half in this story where evil just keeps on multiplying. Recommend.
Watchmen Aiden Shrader's dark past has earned him the distrust he has for everyone. While he might not trust his fellow shifters he especially dislikes humans. But he's not one who would stand by and do nothing when someone is helpless to protect themselves, human or otherwise. Olivia Harcourt is as human as they come but she's trapped in a world of warring monsters unable to truly protect her witch-blooded niece from the ultimate evil. Even if he's not willing to truly trust her, she has to trust Aiden to help them survive.
With the Casus closing in the pair can deny the lust brewing between them only so long. With danger around every corner and the threat of death imminent their passion will reach a boiling point that neither can resist.
Bleh. I wanted to like this story. I'm actually fond of stories where a child is being protected by the hero or heroine whether it's one of theirs or not. That was about all I liked about this book. The heroine is annoyingly naive. The hero such a cookie-cutter bad-boy in all the wrong ways. Their sex scenes are so cliched and they talk SO MUCH through the whole thing. It was so painful to read and about as sexy as getting a sandpaper back massage. The actual plot is mostly them running from the bad guys via road trip and them talking about sex, overall it was just ugh!
The bad guys love nothing more than eating their victims... while RAPING them. *mild SPOILER alert* That alone bugged me but would have been passable if there wasn't a scene of one of them masturbating while fantasizing about it in enough detail to turn my stomach. I'm not a light-weight. I like my violence bloody and brutal, but in a romance the last thing I want to have in my head is the villain fantasizing about eating the heroine while he rapes her. It was seriously disturbing to read and ruined any chance I would read more of the series.
I'd stopped and started this book so many times before finally forcing myself to finish it I should have skipped the review but once I hit the squicky parts I felt like reviewing it was something I needed to do. I'm sure someone out there loved it and if the number of books in this series are any indication it can't be totally bad but this one just killed it for me.
So, this book was recommended to me and when I looked at it, I thought, Totally interested!! Then I saw it was the 4th book in this series and I was a little worried b/c I had not read any of the previous books... BUT, Abbie did a fantastic job with picking this particular book, b/c I did not need to read the others in order to fully enjoy Touch of Seduction.
This book starts off action packed plus very steamy and it NEVER lets up...I love how every page has you so drawn in and eager to follow through til the very end. Touch of Seduction has those qualities and as I am sitting here now, I hate that it has ended. Where as I said before, I could start this book and feel good about reading it without the previous books first, I know that I will not be following Aiden and Liv anymore. Aiden is a HOT, SEXY, and troubled shifter that is set to help/protect a human woman, Liv, and her niece Jamie in order to get them to safe confines so that the evil Casus doesn't destroy and consume their power. Now that I have set what is going on, I am sure you can guess that this "good" but bad boy does some major changing in his life and all thanks to the human woman that is able to get underneath him...and I also mean that literally!! Wonderfully written, great action scenes, interesting world that has you caught up in these characters lives that I am going to have to continue to see what happens to the others I have met in it. Oh yeah, to add the best parts of this book...That is right...HOT AND STEAMY SEX....Aiden is an ANIMAL!! and of course Liv is the only woman that can tame him!! Really this book is 4 1/2 stars....Definitely recommend!!
This is a series that I've def. enjoyed..and this book, the 4th in the Primal Instincts series is by far my favorite! Aiden, the sexy, tortured tiger shifter was ultra yummy!..and Olivia was a surprisingly tough little cookie and a good match for him, even with her stuttering that came on when she was nervous or upset..that was actually kind of cute. I was also pleasantly surprised to find that Rhyannon Byrd toned down the Casus' point of view some in this book (not so much the violence, which I actually felt was much more graphic in past books)...in all of the previous books the Casus parts were kind of long and drawn out, sort of reminding me of the lesser parts in JR Ward's BDB. I don't have a problem with reading a couple of pages here and there of the villain's point of view, but anymore than that and it gets kind of boring for me... but in this book, their point of view only consisted of maybe 1 1/2 chpts. out of the entire book..so much more enjoyable that way! If you have read the other three books in this series..I would def. recommend you read this one...you won't be disappointed!
And in my humble opinion, one of the best in the series...
Aiden is a sexy tiger. One with a dark and troubled past. He's been through things that have broken him and ultimately caused a distrust of humans.
Olivia is a kindergarten teacher that was used by her most recent boyfriend and has low self esteem. Coupled with her growing up around the Mallory witches, Olivia has purposefully shut down her emotions.
Aiden was sent in, along with Kellan and Noah, to rescue Olivia and her niece Jaime from the Casus. Jaime's mom was killed by the Casus and her aunt was kidnapped by the Kraven. Now, after tasting the emotional super-kick the Casus want Jaime too, even if her Merrick isn't anywhere near ready to come out and play.
Aiden, Olivia, Jaime and the others are racing back to the compound in an effort to keep the girls safe, when a new enemy is introduced. One that is nearly impossible to fight, because they are already dead, and not totally corporeal.
Oh, you must read this book. It is my favorite. Action packed - both fighting and steamy.
My favorite quote: "I'm a cat, we like to lick things that taste good"
The best one of this series as far as I'm concerned. Ligther feel to it, less back and forth about the Merrick and Caucus. Romantic everything! Like it best of all that I've read. Faster pace than other books and more light hearted, found my self chuckling at moments and enjoying the tension between the two love birds. Would have loved it if Olivia had turned out to be some primal animal or another tiger like our lover boy, but it was still good. I was kind of hoping she'd end up being another shifter that shocked everyone in the end. I think most readers will enjoy this one for the rawness and sexiness of the hero. Very yummy! Nice job.
I wasn't sure how I'd like this book. I read the first 3 in the series, and though they were good, they weren't excellent. This book, however, was friggin' fantastic!
I L-O-V-E Aiden. He's so sexy. Olivia was a surprise for me. I think she was the perfect heroine for Aiden's lost soul hero. The danger was very well placed and played out. I could have done without the reiteration of the 3 previous books, but understand why Ms. Byrd went over what happened before.
All in all, this was the best book in the series (as of now). Waiting for book 5 and then we'll see.
Not a bad read.. I wouldn’t have paid anymore for it than I did... I found Olivia too wanting and Aidan was more of a horny love sick puppy than a big bad tiger... I was expecting there to be some hidden talent from Olivia the way the story was going but turns out all she was capable of was taking Aidan’s hog... I suppose that’s a talent!
Omg I'm absolutely obssesed with this series but this one may have been my favorit! I just was dying in the end nd was so happy even though u know they'll be together I was so giddy when it happened!
Beautiful, sexy, heartwarming story! The best so far in this series! Such powerful emotions for each of the main characters, and between them as well. Fantastic book!
**MINOR SPOILERS** This book is the fourth book of the Primal Instincts series; it is the first book in a trilogy within the series. I think it is probably better to read the book within the context of the series. Other characters from the series appear. Some of the story elements cross books in the series. In this world, the Watchman and the Casus are on the opposite sides of good vs evil. Aidan, a Watchman, is sent to protect Olivia and her niece from danger. Aidan is a tiger shape shifter and when he arrives to protect Olivia, his tiger half recognizes Olivia as someone he wants to keep (possibly as his mate, though this was not clear). When he arrives, Olivia tries to run because she thinks he is a bad guy. Aidan jumps on top of her to keep her from running. This is hardly the type of behavior that would be reassuring. He is a bit out of control because of his tiger’s influence and kisses her. That also would be quite frightening. It seems like someone with far superior strength and speed could have just caught her arm and held her while explaining why he was there. You also find out early that he has 1) very little respect for humans and Olivia is one and 2) that he has extensive sexual experience. There is an early reference that he has not had sex in a few weeks and he considers that a dry spell. That is a LOT of sexual experience. In addition, his race (shapeshifters) have an alliance with humans and he does respect some of his coworkers who are human. You would think that maybe he would give Olivia the benefit of the doubt because he has been asked to protect her. Aiden decides that he will just f&*% her and be done with the unwelcome attraction. I thought this was really selfish and uncaring. She is going through a difficult time. One of her step sisters was murdered and another is missing. She has just taken on the parenting responsibility for her step sister’s child, Jamie. Jamie is being hunted by the Casus because she has witch blood. But Aiden does not spare a thought for any of that. It shows a careless disregard for women in general and Olivia specifically. He is a one night stand guy so he probably does not care about any of the women he is with. Aiden is described as a bit of an alpha character. This is an overused word when you read books about changelings. Aiden is not in charge. In addition, just because you are an alpha does not mean that you cannot have kind feelings. He was a hard a** and that is something different. Olivia lacks confidence and at one point tells Aiden that she thinks she is plain. He is shocked as he finds her beautiful and very attractive. But, though he is interested in her sexually, he does not say anything to her. He does not reassure her or make any other comments. I thought that made him seem like a jerk. She was being very vulnerable and honest. The story is told mostly from Aiden and Olivia’s point of view but there are a few scenes from the points of view of others. I do not recommend this book. I could not get past the disrespect and inequality in the relationship and the selfishness and lack of feeling on Aiden’s part. It is the first book I have read by the author and I do not plan to continue reading her books.
I've been listening to this one for a couple of years in fits and starts. Not because it wasn't good. Because it is really good. Just put if off when I originally listened to the series because for some reason I wasn't interested yet or ready. I'm so glad the books are on Kindle Unlimited now because I am probably going to cry when they leave Audible Escape. I love this series that much. And listening to this book made me want to listen to the series all over again. In fact, I bought 1 & 3 already. I also went back to the beginning of this one because it had been so long since I started this one initially and I think mabe re-started last year?
Anyway, there is a lot of important information concerning the war that I missed in this book. I was like, oh, that's what happended and that would have been nice to know when I read the next book. Oh, well. Goes to show how my pick and choose and read what I want to read in whatever order does not always work. Not that this will have much impact on me. I will read in order when it's absolutely necessary and do what I want the rest of the time!
As usual for this series especially, of the two I've read by her, it's an intense read. Lots of great action, adventure, suspense, creepiness and horror and some seriously steamy love scenes. For this series, that's saying something. I'm not gonna lie, there were a couple love scenes I might of listened to more than once. My excuse is that I listened when I was going to bed and would wake up in the middle and be like woah, what, when did we get here....back that thing up!
I loved Olivia. She is so strong and loyal and has a calm inner core. She does what needs to be done. She's fearless in that she does the thing in spite of her fear. When she loves, she's hardcore. And she is so the right woman for the hardheaded, stubbornness that is Aiden.
Aiden. Talk about your scarred hero. He is a hot mess of hotness! I don't know how Olivia refrained herself from smacking him half the time. He was just that frustrating. But he was a much better man, than he believed himself to be and deserved more than he would allow himself.
The attraction and chemistry between the two of them was intense. But they also formed just as intense an emotional connection and provided balance to each other. I loved them together.
Byrd's description and worldbuilding is excellent as usual. This series is a great mix of paranormal romance, suspense, mystery, horror. I can't wait to finish it off and then be sad when there's no more.
This is Aiden and Olivia's story... Aiden is a Tiger Shifter and has a troubled past...Olivia Harcourt has charge of her step Niece Jamie after the death of Jamie's mother Monica Olivia's step sister. As the Casus close in on Jamie to kill the little girl Aiden is sent to protect the child and her aunt. As soon as he sees Olivia he knows he's in trouble she has the ability to make him feel to fall in love with her to have the "Eve Effect"... The Casus is also joined by Death Walkers who are trying to kill all the watchmen so the Merrick and the remaining clans have no help and then the Casus and their allies can have free reign to do as they wish with the population. They also have to retreat to England to a new space. A Stone "castle" surrounded by water which will help negate the Death Walkers.....
"Ogni secondo che passava con lei,che respirava il suo profumo inebriante,ascoltava il suono roco della sua voce,quella donna penetrava sempre di più dentro di lui.Sempre più a fondo,finché sarebbe stato un dolore maledettamente acuto staccarsi"
I fratelli Buchanan sono ormai tutti felicemente accoppiati ma la Byrd non sbaglia un colpo e ci presenta un'altra coppia meravigliosa: la tormentata tigre Aiden e la dolce maestra Olivia! *ç* Questa serie migliora sempre di più, libro dopo libro, e non ci facciamo mancare nulla: avventura, passione, combattimenti, colpi di scena e anche momenti commoventi, come quando Aiden apre il suo cuore a Olivia rivelandole il suo triste passato di abusi. Olivia è una protagonista DOC, dolce e gentile senza essere troppo sottomessa, e allo stesso tempo coraggiosa e determinata senza atteggiarsi a wonder woman! E' l'unica della famiglia che non ha poteri, l'unica rimasta per prendersi cura della nipotina Jamie, che invece ha poteri preziosi che la rendono una preda ambita dal male, e quando si ritrova al centro di una guerra tra esseri soprannaturali decide di affidarsi al bellissimo guardiano Aiden, che da parte sua tutto si aspettava tranne l'attrazione inarrestabile per quella umana fragile e indomita! *ç* La loro storia d'amore non è facile, la guerra incombe e i nemici sono ovunque, ma la passione tra i due non può essere ignorata per sempre e Olivia è disposta a combattere per lui e se necessario contro di lui XD La presenza di Jamie aggiunge un tocco di dolcezza alla storia, tra tutti questi muscolosi e sexy Guardiani vedere una piccola e dolce bambina che li tiene in scacco è fantastico XD Scopriamo sempre più cose sui misteriosi Marcatori, che sembrano attirare un nuovo tipo di nemico, molto forte e in perfetto stile zombie invincibile XD Anche i "vecchi" nemici sono in agguato e i Guardiani si trovano a stringere alleanze insospettabili che ce ne faranno vedere delle belle! ;D Il finale è dolcissimo, un perfetto happy ending in cui la nostra tigre si arrende in grande stile alla donna che ama con tutto se stesso e io non vedo l'ora di leggere le prossime coppie della serie *__*
I seem to be reading this series backward. After finishing this book, I intended to rectify that. I went to the used bookstore expecting to find books 1-3. Imagine my disappointment when they had not one Rhyannon Byrd book.
Aiden is a tiger shifter that hates humans. He doesn't have disdain for humans, he really hates them. His mother was a human, who when she realized what he was, took full advantage by selling him. He was sold into sexual slavery that lasted years until he was old enough to plan an escape. The man that was responsible for his imprisonment was also human. So imagine his surprise when both he and his tiger react fiercely to human Olivia Harcourt.
After one of her sisters is murdered and the other one kidnapped (I don't know much about this since I'm reading the series backward), Olivia decides to take her niece (who is the daughter of the murdered sister) and run. She doesn't know where. What she does know is that she will do anything to protect her niece. I think that was what I admired most about Olivia. Growing up as a human in a house of witches, Olivia knows her limitations. That doesn't stop her from doing whatever is necessary for Jaime.
Olivia and Aiden's attraction is fierce and fast. Olivia isn't used to being wanted. In fact, she's not even used to wanting. She's dulled her emotions for so long that it comes as second nature to her now. That is a challenge to Aiden's beast, one he can't resist.
I really liked the relationship aspect of the book. I liked the family unit that Aiden, Olivia, and Jamie formed. It was sweet reading about how someone as big and powerful as Aiden could interact with a child. The problem in the end was Aiden's major issue with trust. It's true that trust has to be earned, but there is only so much you can do before it's just a leap of faith.
I've read that the bad guys are over the top, but they aren't to me. Perhaps it's because this is only the second book I've read. All I know is that I liked it!
I ordered this book and decided the storyline sounded a little too complex to begin at book 4. So I went back and ordered and read books 1-3 and I am glad I did, because I think I would have been totally lost in this complex world of supernatural happenings. Plus I would have missed out on 3 other spectacular reads and couples!
This book introduces some new groups of supernatural characters and creates some more unusual alliances. It also brings us up to date on the other couples from the previous stories, while paving the way for is sure to be an explosive next book starring two of my favorite characters.
At times the author tends to be a bit repetitive here and there, and she also tends to drag out the romantic couple conflict a little too far for my tastes, but she still delivers a powerfully entertaining read.
I really believe that with each tale the stories get tighter and the characters more delicious, I can hardly wait to see what happens next.
Her males are Alpha and yummy and her females are realistic everyday women with strengths and weaknesses, big hearts and open minds. The author created a world where the supernatural and human worlds blend seamlessly.
I would highly recommend this series to the paranormal romance fans, but I would not recommend starting this series anywhere but with book one. I really think this is a series that needs to be read in order. Enjoy!
Aiden is one of those heroes that you fall in love with right away. He is such an Alpha male that there is the possibility that he could turn you off with his overbearing ways, but once you hear his back story you just love him more. Olivia is more than a match for him and it is great to see them both circle each other. Their chemistry was just explosive and their fighting the attraction to each other just seemed to ignite things between them even more, which just lead to some very hot scenes between the 2 of them.
I also loved Jamie, she seemed to be at the heart of the story, a great example of why all of these adults fight this fight so hard. I loved that Jamie was able to wrap all of these very male men around her finger getting them to show their softer sides, which brought some much needed relief to the story, tiger rides anyone?
The bigger battle seems to be ramping up, they keep finding out new information that will help them, but it also seems like they keep finding more enemies along the way. It will be interesting to see what happens next now that they have moved locations.
I would go more into this story, but I don't want to ruin it for anyone who hasn't read this book or the series. I do recommend this book to anyone who loves shifters. I did have problems with certain parts of the book, that I had to step away for a while...but I have to say this book has captured my heart and now I understand the other side of the Merrick and Casus stories. Now I'm getting the point of the view of the Watchers and what they are dealing with in their lives. I enjoyed the characters in this book. Aiden and Olivia are perfect together, and I'm happy about what happened at the end between them both. Aiden, the tough guy, became the guy who has a soft heart at the end and all it took was a Kindergarten teacher stealing his heart to change him. I look forward to reading the next book in the series. I may end up editing this review later on to add more stuff...but as of now, I'm going to continue trucking with my reading. I have a lot of catching up to do.
I was quite apprehensive about reading this book because it didn’t appeal to me but after doing a little research I thought this was a good place in the series to start, even though it’s the fourth book I had no problem picking up what was going on and what was what or who was who, which I thought was brilliant. I loved Olivia, I found her funny, smart a truly interesting character that I couldn’t help but get pulled into the story for her and her niece little Jamie (who really stole the book to be honest!). Sadly though I didn’t like Aiden and found him to be a huge pain in the arse, for most of the book which I found disappointing, but it was understandable giving his awful background but his attitude really got to me in some parts of the book. However, he defiantly dedeemed himself by the end of the book which made it more enjoyable. The main plus from this book was being introduced to the other characters; they were all so enjoyable and lovely that I really can’t wait to read all their HEA!
I have been seriously dying to read Aiden's story. I mean seriously a Tiger shapeshifter. His story didn't disappoint. This one is definitely my favorite in the series so far. These books tend to be hit or miss with people but this one was a hit with me. I honestly like how Rhyannon Byrd revists the evil Casus. The Casus are truly sick evil creatures and I honestly as a reader don't mind being reminded of this because it kind of allows me to remember why they are in the war with this evil beings. It's not glossed over or sugar coated, it's not left up to my imagination...it's described to me every time we read a scene with the Casua.
The steam factor in this book compared to the last one definitely was like 10 steps up. Aiden is definitely a stubborn, hot, alpha shifter. Olivia while a shy school teacher is one tough chick. She is willing to do whatever it is to keep her niece safe no matter the outcome. The fact that she is willing to do the same for Aiden is heart warming.