Customer Reviews

Bride of the Wolf (The Shadowmen, Book 4)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Marissa Vazquez can't believe she's been recaptured! Worse yet, she doesn't know if Navarre or any of her friends from Twilight, Tennessee, have survived. Instead, she's back in Belize with a vampire who insists she is going to marry him so he can gain control of her uncle's fortune. Marissa's heart already belongs to Navarre but will they get a chance at happiness? And will Navarre and his wolf spirit be allowed to remain in the mortal realm?

Jennifer St. Giles continues her fabulous Shadowmen series with the fourth book, BRIDE OF THE WOLF. Readers will best appreciate this fourth tale in the context of the series as a whole. Many of the past events are coming to fruition in the ongoing storyline and the various relationships have already been established in prior books.

BRIDE OF THE WOLF is a dark but romantic tale of two brave souls fighting for happiness. Both Marissa and Navarre have fought against the darkness, Navarre as a Blood Hunter and Marissa in prayer and through comforting others in her uncle's nightmarish fortress. It's impossible not to cheer for their happily-ever-after as they struggle in their current imprisonments. Navarre's blindness adds an interesting twist to the overall storyline as he has to overcome challenges he never encountered before as a warrior.

Readers should note that the Shadowmen series features a battle between good and evil. As such, some of the scenes are quite graphic as the forces of evil are without mercy. Readers sensitive to issues of torture or rape may find some of the references to past events to be disturbing; Jennifer St. Giles doesn't approach these issues gratuitously, however, as she uses the scenes to show survivors emerging victorious over the darkness and evil.

BRIDE OF THE WOLF is yet another intense and powerful story from the very talented Jennifer St. Giles. There are some interesting twists thrown at us in this installment that keep the storyline fresh and exciting. I can't wait to see where this series is headed next! Highly recommended!

COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES

This is the fourth in the "Shadowmen" series of paranormal romances which consists to date of

1) Touch a Dark Wolf
2) The Lure of the Wolf
3) Kiss of Darkness (Shadowmen)
4) this volume "Bride of the wolf."

These books are basically romances set during a war between werewolves and vampires in the jungles of latin America, and will probably make more sense if read in sequence.

At the start of the book the heroine, a human woman called Marissa Vasquez, has been kidnapped by a cruel and sadistic vampire called Herrera and taken to his manor someone in the jungles of Belize. Marissa is the niece and heiress to a ruthless billionaire oil baron, Luis Vasquez, who had also been a vampire. Refusing to play the part of a pawn in her uncle's evil schemes she had escaped from his concentration camp, also in the Belize jungle. She had been sheltering with friends at a ranger camp in Tenessee, when it was attacked by vampires and she was kidnapped again. Herrara plans to blackmailing her into marrying him by threatening to torture and kill people she loves.

At the same time as he kidnapped Marissa, Herrara also captured Navarre, a shapeshifting Shadowman from another world, who she meets in his wolf spirit form in their dreams, but whose physical form is badly injured and blind. Herrera is only one of the evil vampires who Marissa, Navarre and their friends will have to escape and defeat if they are to have any chance to find happiness together ...

Lots of action violence, suspense and horror, with an elaborate cast of various vampires and super-vampires, ambitious generals and colonels, and the shapsehifting "Blood Hunters" from the spirit world (who despite the dark-sounding name are the good guys). If you are into the supernatural romance genre you may possibly like this series.

From the ending I suspect that there will be at least one more book in this series.

"Bride of the Wolf" (Shadowmen #4) is the story of Marissa Vasquez and Shadowmen, Navarre, who were less important characters in the 3 previous Shadowmen novels. Marissa was rescued along with Stefanie Battista, from captivity in the jungles of Belize, where her uncle was holding them prisoner. Navarre is the blinded Shadowmen trapped on Earth after being wounded while protecting fellow warrior, Aragon (in "The Lure of the Wolf"). Marissa, along with Stefanie and her sister Annette, Erin Morgan and Megan Linton, were kidnapped by Cinatas for his evil `coronation' ceremony. Marissa was separated from the others, and returned to the Central American jungle by the vampire Herrera, where he plans to marry her for her inheritance, and then torture her for his twisted pleasure. A comatose Navarre has been taken as well, to be tossed into a cell to await Herrera's evil attention. The others have been rescued (at the end of book #3) and with Nick Sinclair, Aragon, Jared and Staff Sgt. Bond, go on a desperate chase to find Marissa and Navarre before the vampire and his associates can kill them or worse, poison them with evil. Emotions are running high. Stefanie, who was raped and tortured, while held prisoner in Belize, has to face her memories in order to help her friend. Nick is caught between his conflicted feelings of responsibility for Stefanie and his attraction to sexy Sgt. Bond.

***Spoilers***

As Marissa is being "prepared" for her wedding, she discovers that there is a large man being held in the dungeon; she hopes that it is Navarre. In order to insure her cooperation, Herrera shows her just what she can expect if she tries to escape. He shows her that her brother, Rafael, presumed dead, has been held and brutalized for the last 6 month. If she wants the torture to stop, she will quietly accept what he has planned for her. Meanwhile, Navarre has painfully been awakened by his transformation into his were-form and using the eyes of his wolf spirit, frees himself to look for Marissa. During the confusion of a kitchen fire, she is able to escape, meeting up with Navarre, who frees her brother. Stealing a truck, they begin a desperate race for freedom, as the group from Twilight forms a plan to rescue them. And let's not forget Cinatas; he is planning to destroy the fractious Vladarian vampires to pave the way for his conquest of not only the mortal world, but Heldon's kingdom of the damned. And this is just the beginning of the story; there is much more before the end!!

There is a lot of action in this installment. There are several simultaneous side stories and new important characters are introduced. There is a lot to keep your attention. St. Giles' female characters are gusty and resourceful; her men are sexy and dangerous. But they aren't all saints. They have doubts, anger, lust for revenge; the types of feelings and emotions that real people have. They are battling evil to the best of their ability. If you have been following the series, this is a must read. If this is your introduction to the Shadowmen, go out and get the first three. In my opinion, they are an excellent way to spend a few hours!

This was a good book and it was fancinating how the hero over came his challenges to defend the heroine from harm there were lead off to the next book and I can't wait for the next one to come out.

I guess I'm in the minority here. I had a hard time getting through this book. I didn't really care for Marissa, not sure why and couldn't really connect with the character Navarre as I have the characters in the previous books. I thoroughly enjoyed the first three books and got got involved in them. I'm really not sure why I couldn't with this book. Maybe because it seemed like there was an awful lot more going on and also a lot of side stories to keep track of. I do hope one of the upcoming books will be Nick's story. That would be very interesting.

In this fourth installment of the Shadowmen series, Jennifer St. Giles continues with the story left off in Kiss Of Darkness. Marissa Vasquez has been kidnapped by Herrera, a sadistic vampire intent on wedding Marissa and taking control of her shares of her dead uncle's company. Marissa manages to escape during her wedding and rescue her presumed-dead brother and Navarre, a handsome blinded warrior whose soul Marissa craves. As her friends attempt to rescue her and Navarre, they discover more about the war with the Vladarians and the plans of evil creatures bent on taking over the world.

I haven't read the previous three novels and I sorely wished I had. This is not a stand alone novel, which I think fans of the series will appreciate. No time is wasted in updating the reader on things they should know from the previous books, as every word is placed to move the story forward. The plot is complicated, peopled with characters from the earlier books and setting things up for the next ones.

But even without having read the other books, I still enjoyed Bride of the Wolf. The tale of Marissa and Navarre's love is touching. The details of the torture inflicted by the many sadistic vampires in the book are blunt without getting gratuitous. But handled with even more grace is how the victims of that torture deal with the physical and emotional repercussions. I would love to go back and read the other books and I will keep an eye out for the next ones. I can't wait to see how Ms. St. Giles wraps up such an intriguing story.

Niki Lee
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

In Jennifer St. Giles fourth installment of her SHADOWMEN series, BRIDE OF THE WOLF, readers meet Marissa Vasquez, an heiress fleeing her evil uncle. Open the pages of this suspenseful and enchanting book to see what happens when an heiress dreams of a black wolf.

On the run from her evil uncle, Marissa Vasquez refuses to allow her uncle to use her. Fleeing Belize, Marissa winds up in Twilight, Tennessee. Her dreams are filled with images of a black wolf whose mysterious presence in her dreams gives way to reality when the man she is dreaming of winds up in the camp she is hiding in. Then, before they can explore their feelings, both are kidnapped and taken back to Belize. Once in Belize, Marissa is disconcerted to find out that her kidnapper, a vampire, is intent on her marrying him. He wants nothing more than to control her and get to her uncle. Marissa is scared but strong. She loves Navarre and knows that separately they can do very little but together, when combining their gifts, they are very powerful.

I loved Navarre from the first moment he visits Marissa in her dreams. His loyalty and love for her was sexy. She is his lifemate and as such the passion Navarre and Marissa share is heady and potent. Their lives are in tune with each other and I got a glimpse of a real partnership in every way that counts. The love scenes were sensual and intense. The storyline was sizzling.

I encourage new fans of Jennifer St. Giles to go back and read her SHADOWMEN series in order, starting with TOUCH A DARK WOLF. You don't want to miss a single, solitary, enigmatic word of this fabulous series!

Natalie S. for Romance Junkies

SINCO Oil heiress Marissa Vasquez fled Belize and her evil Tio Luis ending up in Twilight, Tennessee. However, only when she sleeps does she feel safe as she dreams of a black wolf that seems to protect her while they run together under the moon. An injured man arrives at the camp she hides in; she recognizes his eyes as that of the dream wolf-man. Though Navarre the Shadowman is blind, he knows who she is.

Vladarian vampire Herrera captures the pair as he plans to take control of her shares of SINCO. She knows about his reputation having heard he was the most vicious of her uncle's minion. As Navarre slowly heals with Marissa's help, their spirits fall in love. While the vampires seem on the verge of species civil war, they must find a way to escape. He knows only if he calls the wolf spirit side of his essence do they have a chance. However, he also understands the possible cost as he wonders whether a purebred wealthy human and a hybrid werewolf find happiness together as love may not be enough.

This direct follow up to KISS OF DARKNESS is a superb paranormal romantic thriller starring two wonderful protagonists who need one another to survive the ordeal. Navarre owns the tale as he knows what he must do for his lifemate, but fears her reaction when he does. With a spin that will shake fans with delight, Jennifer St. Giles continues to make The Shadowmen saga one of the best urban romantic fantasy series on the market today.

Harriet Klausner

I can not say enough about the Shadowmen series by Jennifer St. Giles. Each new book gets better then the last and Bride of the Wolf is no exception. This series keeps you on the edge of your seat with each new story. The villains are dastardly evil, the heroes sexy as all get out and the heroines much to be admired. The love scenes are hot and the action almost non stop. Navarre and Marissa were captured in Kiss of Darkness so Bride of the Wolf picks up their story from that point. I would recommend reading the entire series from the beginning as you won't want to miss a moment and it will be less confusing if you are familiar with all the characters from the previous books as they are all in each subsequent story. I am hooked on the series and can not wait for the next installment. I highly recommend Bride of the Wolf and all the other books in this series.

Marissa and Navarre were introduced in early books. Their story began in Kiss of Darkness and continues in this fourth installment. The battle between good and evil continues... For me this book was a bit darker then the rest. Both characters have been through so much that I didn't see how it would work out But to see them finally come together was great. While this book was enjoyable, for me Kiss of Darkness was the better book. If you haven't given this series a try I highly recommend it. Especially if you have a soft spot for werewolves.