Alpha Knows Best (Southern Shifters, #3) in SOS: Serious Overload of Series

Apr 12, 2011 Wenj rated it really liked it

Shelves: for-review, read-2011

4.5 STARS

Review provided by Black Lagoon Reviews:

Malcolm, the third installment in Eliza Gayle's sexy Black Cougar series, is must read for anyone who loves a good mystery, hot characters and a mind numbing attraction that is only out shone by the inferno of passion between them that will leave you breathless and begging for more. This is may be my first time reading anything by this author, but just one sample and I'm utterly, irrevocably hooked!

From the first page, I was drawn in to this stor 4.5 STARS

Review provided by Black Lagoon Reviews:

Malcolm, the third installment in Eliza Gayle's sexy Black Cougar series, is must read for anyone who loves a good mystery, hot characters and a mind numbing attraction that is only out shone by the inferno of passion between them that will leave you breathless and begging for more. This is may be my first time reading anything by this author, but just one sample and I'm utterly, irrevocably hooked!

From the first page, I was drawn in to this story. The immediate sense of action and barely restrained chemistry instantly captivated me. This helped to ease the way as we delve into the excellent world building, bringing in past histories and grievances that made this an easy read to step into regardless of whether or not you have read the previous books in the series. The settings and atmospheres are nicely captured as well encompassing anger, danger, and mystery that keeps the reader turning the pages desperate to know more. Truly the social structure of the cougars and the wolf/cougar hybrids creates an interesting landscape filled with prejudice and intrigued, the perfect atmosphere for a tantalizing tale of forbidden passion.

The characters themselves are just as wonderfully created with great personalities and a complex history between them that is hard to turn away from. The anger and hurt that these two characters carry creates an intricate framework filled with a great emotional pull that definitely kept me on my toes. You literally never knew whether these two super sexy warriors would throw a punch or fall in to bed together, or even do a little bit of both. But, what I also enjoyed was the journey that these two took that resulted in a growing bond that was intense and full filling leading Malcolm back to his roots and family, something that I would have liked to see explored a bit more as I loved the endearing relationship and group dynamic between him and his Black Cougar brothers. There was also a lot of great insight in to the thoughts of these characters exploring why they felt they had to do certain things that ended up hurting the other all of those years ago, as well as exploring the toll that those actions took on the individual. This was wonderful to see explored as it made the characters seem far more three dimensional, not to mention far less cold hearted then they may appear when words seem to fail them, which tended to be often

The mystery and action of the story definitely added to the tense relationship between Malcolm and Chey as well propelling this story at a break neck speed. The writing style added to this encompassing a flow that managed to give both insight and an unending source of entertainment and passion. The mix was definitely something that I enjoyed, keeping me locked to my chair, reading fervently just to see what would happen next.

My only complaint though was the ending of the story. Well, even that isn't quite right. More like the culmination of the mystery when the 'villian' is unmasked, his nefarious plot brought to light. It just felt a bit rushed, the insanity and sense of injustice that the antagonist felt falling flat against the well developed characterization and drive of the other characters. Over all, if came off as a bit anticlimactic despite some great action that reinforced the bond between the cougars and Chey, as well as being a catalyst to reveal one last twist that I really loved. In the end however, this wasn't enough to sour the experience of the novella as a whole because first and foremost this is definitely an erotic paranormal romance with a mystery thrown in to keep the story moving.

In the end, I would highly recommend this to any fan of paranormal romance who doesn't mind some hot bed play between two aggressive, sexy warriors. And if you haven't read a story by Eliza Gayle before, then you are definitely missing out!

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