ORDER A COPY: The Werewolf’s Wife (Harlequin Nocturne)
Publisher: Harlequin Nocturne
Publishing Date: March 20, 2012
Paperback: 288 pages
Rating: 3 Stars
The legacy he must obey…
The child she must save…
The man who threatens to fulfill her every fantasy…
and break her heart.Alpha wolf Ridge Addison left his wife in Las Vegas, vowing to put their one reckless night of passion behind him and return to his clan. Thirteen years later he needs a divorce so he can become pack leader. Yet he’s never forgotten the sensuous witch whose life he saved…or the knee-buckling kisses he still craves.
After they parted, Abigail tried banishing Ridge from her memory. Now her heart belongs only to her son. But when the boy is kidnapped, she knows she alone can’t save him. Though Abigail’s body still aches for Ridge, she’s willing to give him his freedom in exchange for his help. But who will shield her heart from the only man she’s ever let claim her, body and soul?
After Ridge Addison rescues Abigail Rowen from being killed by her jilted lover, Abigail and Ridge enjoy a drunken night in Vegas resulting in a wedding by Elvis and hot sex…at least until Ridge goes “wolfie” right in the middle. Considering he never mentioned his werewolf status to Abigail, she freaks and zaps him with magic.
Now thirteen years later, Ridge is now the alpha of the northern pack and needs to set an example to his pack by having a family of his own, and to do that he needs to start by officially divorcing Abigail.
Ridge shows up just as Abigail receives a call that her son has been kidnapped and she as two days to rescue a vampire and bring him to a designated location to exchange for her son. Abigail then makes an agreement to sign the divorce papers if Ridge will help her rescue her son.
As they pursue the kidnappers, old feelings begin to stir and the question becomes will they pursue each other when all is said and done.
Although the kidnapping/rescue part of the story was interesting, I had a hard time with these characters, especially with Abigail. She is a centuries old witch who admits that she has been an obsessive person, especially with relationships over the centuries, and now strives to overcome that personality flaw. She does this so well, that she has no feelings. She flip/flops between feeling a rekindled interest in Ridge, and wanting to be in control of her own life. She has big control issues, but then folds into the strength of his arms. She flip/flops from one sentence to the next. So of course after centuries of being obsessive over losers…I mean, lovers, the one man who would be good to her and her son, she won’t make the commitment to even though she keeps talking about how good he is. I will absolve her of the status of Bitch since I thought she was hiding the son from Ridge, but since she was involved with the long-time loser up until her night with Ridge, she really did think the kid was his and not Ridge’s kid.
And while I enjoy the strong, thoughtful and considerate hero who has overcome his own bad childhood to want those things he missed out on, he was a little too…I don’t want to say wimpy, but he could have been a little more aggressive when Abigail was all flip/floppy, but obviously wanted him.
There was also many references to other characters we should have known if we have been following this series (I checked and found these books on-line), not so much that you couldn’t follow this story, but enough that I felt a little left out.
Now, I have read another Michele Hauf story, but that one involved a vampire and the one thing about this story I had a BIG issue with was the fact that when werewolves bond with their mate, they do it in werewolf form (see beginning of the story) , that toes the line a little too close to bestiality for me. I mean, I’ve had my werewolves change their mouths in order to bite and mark, but the full-on fur treatment…hmm, too much. Sorry, I’m out!
Received ARC from Netgalley.com, courtesy of Harlequin books.
Favorite Scene:
“No, we don’t need to talk,” she called, opening the door a crack and gifting him with a flash of heat from inside. “It never happened. I’ve moved on. You’ve moved on. We’re all good. Life goes on. Goodbye.”
Ridge blocked the door with a fist. He pressed against the weight of the tiny witch trying her best to defeat his strength. “I happen to have a piece of paper that says it did happen.”
“You what?”
“Signed by Elvis, even. It’s a little wrinkled, but it’s legal. Elvis was his middle name. The guy who married us was an actual ordained minister, can you believe that?”
“Well, tear it up!”
That would be the obvious action. But Jason had checked online and their nuptials had been recorded in the Clark County Marriage Bureau of Las Vegas. The receptionist, appropriately Priscilla Lisa Marie Jones, had signed as a witness. Richard Addison’s marriage to Abigail Rowan was legal, whether or not he had the paper to prove it.
“Maybe I don’t want to tear it up,” he said, trying a new angle. It wouldn’t serve his purpose to barge in and demand. And he didn’t want to walk away with another scar. Kindness never hurt a man’s position. “I did save your life.”
“And I am very thankful for that,” she said through the slightly opened door. He couldn’t see her, but could feel her determination; she was putting all her weight against the door. Did she hate him so much she couldn’t give him a few minutes? “Really, I am thankful for the rescue. I don’t think I ever said it to you while sober.”
“I don’t need your thanks.”
“But you need to keep me as your wife? What’s that about?”
“That is not what I want from you.”
“Then tear the damn thing up and leave me alone.”
“What if I want to convince you I’m worth a shot?” He winced. It was a means to get him inside, and talk rationally with her. He wasn’t seriously considering keeping her as his wife. But he had to play the witch carefully.
And protect his balls against sudden blasts of magic.
“Please, Ridge, we don’t even know one another. You know nothing about me.”
“I know you like vodka.”
“Used to like vodka. I haven’t gone near a drop of that devil’s brew since that night.”
“That bad of a memory, eh?”
“Something like that.”
