WOLF WITH BENEFITS (Pride Series #8) by Shelly Laurenston
Amazon / Barnes and Noble / The Book Depository /
ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date March 26, 2013
Ricky Lee has no plans of getting serious about anyone, but he will protect Toni Jean-Louis Parker. Not just because he’s been hired to do so, but because it’s the right thing to do. And if that means traveling around the country with one complicated She-jackal, dealing with chocolate-eating wild dogs, instigating trouble between his brothers, and having the most amazing sex he’s ever had…well, who said his job didn’t have perks?
Toni doesn’t know how she keeps getting herself into these situations. But even she has to admit there’s something about Ricky Lee Reed that she finds kind of interesting…and downright sexy. Now they just have to survive long enough to figure out if what they have is worth fighting for…
***********************
REVIEW: Shelly Laurenston (aka G.A.Aiken) is one of my all-time favorite authors. Shelly’s world of shifters, whether it be pride and pack or dragon, is a world filled with humor. The ease with which Shelly’s characters and storylines pull you into the book is something every author should aspire to. I have a habit of re-reading novels that I enjoy, but if I am feeling a little down, one of Shelly’s books is one of the first books I head to –first.
Wolf With Benefits is one of those storylines where Shelly brings together many of her characters from previous storylines. And if you are a fan of the Pride and Pack series, you will be pleased to know that several characters from the Pack series make a return cameo. Our heroine is the daughter of Jackie the Jackal –yes you are reading that correctly-Jackie the Jackal whom we first met in the anthology WHEN HE WAS BAD in the short story Miss Congeniality !!
Toni’s believes her family of ten siblings need her to help stay organized and in a sense they do. But what Toni discovers is that her talents at organization stand her in good stead with the Van Holtz organization who offer her a prime position within the company. Wolf With Benefits follows Toni as she endeavors to cope with a family of ten siblings-all jackals- all prodigies in their own rights, and the knowledge that her one and only specialty leaves her feeling like a glorified babysitter. When she is asked to go to Russia to broker a deal with the Russian Shifter Hockey league, Toni learns that dealing with the Russians is not like dealing with her family back home- and what is happening back home is something even Toni would have a hard time comprehending.
Ricky and Toni’s relationship is slow to build, although they do meet within the first few pages of the book. Ricky is persistent and garnering a position as security for Toni allows Ricky more one on one private time that will eventually lead to the one thing both of them had not been looking for-a mate. And in true Laurenston style, the families, the wild-dogs, the lions and the wolves will become involved when one of the Reed boys looks like he has fallen in love with a she-jackal. We witness the OCD antics of Bo Novikov who discovers that a family of child prodigies is a little more than he can handle: Blayne Thorpe stunned that not everyone is pleased with her hyper rantings: and a family of wild-dogs whose own child prodigy is making a name for himself.
There are several secondary storylines building that will involve Dee Ann Smith, The Unit and a new member to the team whose shifter heritage is a surprise to everyone but a sexy, honey loving bear. And Shelly pulls no punches when a family member becomes a threat. Due justice will be served-not now-but in the future.
WOLF WITH BENEFITS is another wonderfully sexy and well-written storyline from the mind of Shelly Laurenston. If you are a fan of shifters and humor, Shelly’s Pride series is a definite must read. Shelly pulls the reader into the storyline and makes you feel like part of the pack , or pride, or clan or ….family.
If you are not familiar with the series, I suggest you start with the Pack series. Many of the characters from the Pack series have cameos in Wolf With Benefits.
Copy supplied by Netgalley
Reviewed by Sandy
READING ORDER
1. Pack Challenge
2. Go Fetch
3. Here Kitty Kitty
4. When He was Bad (anthology)
5. The Mane Event
6. The Beast in Him
7. The Mane Attraction
8. The Mane Squeeze
9. Beast Behaving Badly
10. Big Bad Beast
11. Bear Meet Girl
12. Howl for It (anthology)
13. Wolf With Benefits
