#NewRelease & Review: ★Dark Instincts★ by Suzanne Wright

Dark Instincts (The Phoenix Pack #4)
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Release Date: April 7, 2015

It happens whenever wolf shifter Roni Axton is near Marcus Fuller: a crackle of sexual awareness that’s intoxicating…and deeply annoying.

Marcus is a pack enforcer who oozes power, but Roni is lethal in her own right—nothing like the flirty females who flock around him. Even still, his possessive gaze makes one thing clear. Marcus has singled her out for seduction, and he wants to make her sit up and beg. No matter how aloof and unfazed Roni acts,

Marcus can tell she wants him. When a brutal attack by a jackal pack forces them to work together, it’s the perfect opportunity for Marcus to chip away at her defenses—until he falls into his own trap, completely unprepared for the intensity of their connection. Roni is the only one who’s ever seen past his shifter charm and discovered the man hiding beneath it. And for Marcus, claiming Roni once will mean needing her forever.

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Review3.5 stars

When Marcus wanted something, he would hunt it down until it was his. And he wanted Roni Axton in his bed…

As disappointed as I was with Carnal Secrets I was equal parts dreading and anticipating this book. I knew if I didn’t like this one, it may be the end of the road for me with this series. That’s not to say that I didn’t dive into it immediately upon having it land on my kindle. Something about this series will just always be a guilty pleasure for me. It’s the combination of great PNR, humor and super hot sex. It just does it for me. Though with the wait between each book I managed to completely forget who Marcus was. But then again, my puny brain has the memory span of a month at most, so this may have most likely been just me.

I’m so happy that this book was definitely MUCH better than Carnal Secrets. Though it wasn’t as good as the first book for me (Feral Sins will forever be my favorite).

Roni is Nick’s sister and enforcer in her pack. She’s a total badass bitch.

She’s also a tomboy that struggles to see her own appeal. So when the super sexy Marcus begins to hit on her mercilessly and pursue her with a single minded intent, she has a hard time believing that he’s truly interested in her.

Marcus is a bit of a manwhore, but he has his reasons. His past pretty much ensures that he not want to find his mate. But Roni draws him to her like a magnet. There’s just something about her and he knows that he won’t be satisfied until he has her underneath him…or on top, side, standing up…he’s not picky.

I gotta say that Marcus and Roni were definitely very well matched. They’re both sharp with the wit and have equal standing in their packs since Marcus is also an enforcer. I loved watching him wear Roni down. When the man sets his mind to it, he definitely sets him mind to it.

I’m not sure if my inner pervert has gotten super picky lately or what, but I didn’t find the sex quite as hot as it was in the previous books. I did like the story quite a bit, however. There was a little bit of everything; suspense, action, and lots of sexy times. Of course what would this series be without the rabid grandma and her insults? All the rest of our favorite characters are back too.

As much as I enjoyed the story, it just didn’t managed to completely grip me as the first 2 books did. I had no issues setting it down and coming back to it. That’s not to say it wasn’t a great read, it just wasn’t one of those can’t-put-it-down ones for me. There’s a lot that’s going on here not only with Roni and Marcus, but Marcus’s past and their packs. I did find that everything else that was happening at times took away from the romance of the story, though not immensely.

Fans of this series will definitely enjoy this one. And if you’re like me and didn’t fully enjoy the 3rd book, this one is much better. I’m really looking forward to the next installment in this series.

Review: Carnal Secrets by Suzanne Wright

A pack Alpha and his estranged, true mate wrestle with painful secrets, ruthless enemies, and their own irresistible attraction, in the sexy third book of the Phoenix Pack series.

Half-shifter Shaya Critchley may hold a submissive role in her pack, but she’s done taking orders. After her Alpha wolf mate refused to claim her—but committed to interfering in her life—she took off. Now she hides from him, posing as a human in a town full of anti-shifter extremist groups. She thinks he’ll never find her again, and that suits her just fine. But she’s wrong.

Nick Axton can barely control his feelings for Shaya, but he could never claim her—not if he truly cares for her. The degenerative brain condition he keeps secret would ultimately leave her with a burden rather than a mate. But when Shaya runs away, Nick can’t bear the thought of never seeing her again. After tracking her down, he discovers Shaya’s feisty and passionate side in the process…a side he’d never seen before.

Under the menacing gazes of territorial local packs and violent human extremists, Nick vows to finally claim the spirited Shaya…and despite her initial resistance, Shaya just might find his fiery determination to be the ultimate aphrodisiac

2.5 Nothing Carnal about these Secrets Stars

Dear book title,

Because there was nothing carnal about this book. You were barely somewhat steamy. To put it bluntly,

Because I expected some hot sex, some smut, some domineering alpha goodness. And I got some mediocre loving and a few fade to blacks. For serious? I expected

and instead what I got was

I’d say it’s safe to say that this book was a huge disappointment for me. I have been waiting for what feels like forever for Nick and Shaya’s book. Maybe this was the case of setting me hopes too high? Who knows? What I do know, is this was nothing like the first 2 books. It felt like I was reading an entirely different series altogether.

I absolutely loved the first book. The second book was really good, though not as good as the first. This one?

The first half was a whole lot of angst. I was happy to see that Nick was not claiming Shaya not only due to her being a submissive wolf. I was also looking forward to him groveling when he finally got his head out of his ass and went after her. But I did’t expect him to be as mushy as he was. What happened to the domineering, super alpha from the previous books? It was sweet at first, but then I found myself growing tired with his constant “baby” this and “baby” that.

I also really liked Shaya at first. She was sassy, and feisty, exactly the type of heroine I like reading about. But sadly this didn’t last long either. I was tired of the constant push and pull of their relationship. Enough already! She wasn’t sassy anymore, but plain bitchy. Then she does something around the 40% mark and

I was over it!

Luckily around the half way mark, Shaya gets her shit together. But by that time I was just done. The second half of the book dragged. I skimmed pretty much at every chapter. The only highlight was getting more of Taryn, Trey, the grandma, and their snarky bickering.

The suspense and mystery of the second half of the book didn’t do much for me either. At that point I was so bored with the story that it was a whole lot of skimming.

But more than anything, where the hell was the super hot sex scenes? The smut that I’ve come to expect with this series? I’d barely call the 3 sex scenes we get here lukewarm.

There was a twist at the end. It should have been interesting?

I hope to get Dominick’s book next, and I’m just keeping my fingers crossed that this series will go back to what it once was with the next installment. Because this one left a lot to be desired, at least for me. Hopefully you all will enjoy it more than I did.

I really love this author, so I definitely plan to continue with the series. But I guess you can’t love them all…

Copyright © 2015 · Dirty Girl Romance

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