He’ll stop at nothing to claim her… If she doesn’t kill him first.
A lethal huntress, Sorcha lives to track and eliminate rogue immortals—until her latest assignment turns out to be a sexy, gargoyle shape-shifter. From the start she’s shaken by the lust his touch awakens inside her. Not only that, but the cat is convinced she’s his mate, and for the first time, she’s unable to kill her target.
Still mourning the loss of his mate, Cale is stunned to find Sorcha alive. Yet the woman he aches to possess doesn’t recognize him and is after the only thing that will save his brother—a mystical weapon that will lead to Excalibur.
Determined to protect his family and reclaim his mate, Cale ruthlessly takes advantage of Sorcha’s one weakness—her desire for him. Desire that could unlock their past…or cause him to lose her all over again.
Primal Attraction by Sydney Somers (Pendragon Gargoyles #2)
January 12, 2010
Paranormal Romance
E-Book, 116 Pages
Samhain
Reviewed by Mandi
Favorite Quote: Her eyes widened. “Oh, you did not.”
”Get hard? Yeah.”
Why I read: Sydney Somers asked for the review, and I was intrigued by a gargoyle shapeshifter.
Sorcha’s latest assignment is pretty straight forward – hunt down Cale Callaghan, a shapeshifting gargoyle, retrieve the dagger he has, and kill him. This mission is not unlike others she has been assigned as a huntress. Rhiannon, Scorcha’s “boss,” and King Arthur’s mother needs the dagger along with five others, which would then lead to Excalibur for a chance at bringing Arthur back to life.
Complications arise when Cale gets a look at Sorcha and can’t believe his eyes. His mate, his true love, one he saw die eighty years ago is standing right in front of him. Problem is, Sorcha has absolutely no memory of him. Rhiannon cleanses the memories of the immortals in her charge every hundred years so they don’t gain strength to rise up against her.
Cale needs the dagger to free his brother from a curse that has him permanently in his gargoyle stone form. Sorcha being pressured by Rhiannon to finish the job is in a bind. Although she doesn’t remember Cale, her heart does, and when Cale tells her painstaking memories of their past and time together, her heart starts to beat for Cale – and Sorcha loyalties and love is put to the test.
I had never heard of Primal Attraction until Sydney Somers asked for me to review it and it turns out I have been missing out on a darn good book. Sydney Somers does an excellent job setting up a pretty complicated world – weaving in the tale of King Arthur, shapeshifters running amok, and a very erotic love story.
I enjoyed the twists and turns of the complex love Sorcha and Cale have for each other. Cale belongs to the cat of the gargoyle clan, which means he can shift into a cat at will, and when the sun shines he needs to take his gargoyle stone form. It provides explosive dynamics to have Cale so in love with Sorcha, and her to have no idea who he is. It is not just the human in love, but his cat has claimed her as a mate, which adds an extra dynamic to their relationship. Cale pretty much has no choice but to figure out a way to win her heart back.
I love that Cale has the alpha protective thing going on with his cat always coming to the surface, but he is not one of those overbearing, colder, alphas. He is pretty light hearted (except when in comes to Sorcha’s safety) and he has many funny moments. Also thrown in the mix is Sorcha’s best friend and fellow Huntress Nessa who is extremely dry and sarcastic and will have you laughing throughout the book.
The biggest sticking point I have is many times Sorcha gives into the physical call to Cale, and as soon as they are done sexin’ each other up, she pushes away and decides she can’t trust him. I can understand doing that once or twice, but it is constant throughout the book. She trusts him enough when they are in the midst of sex not to hurt her, but as soon as it ends, the trust ends, and she is back in huntress defensive mode. There are also a few times in the book where big confrontations are skipped – Cale of Sorcha go running off to fight the enemy, but as the reader we only see the result, not the battle and I kind of felt like we missed out.
Otherwise, Primal Attraction is a really great read. There are plenty of love scenes with a very possessive “cat” and a very alpha female. It leads to quite the passion in the bedroom. I really enjoyed this one and the ending leaves a big opening for the next book.
Rating: 4/5
Recent Reviews:
Goodreads
As an extra bonus, Sydney Somers is offering an e-book of Primal Attraction to one commenter.
To enter, just leave a comment. Open through Saturday, February 27th and I will announce the winner on Sunday.
Interesting story. I'm interested to know what happens and if she will remember anything about him. I've seen a movie once before where that has happened. The man saw his wife but she didn't know who he was. I'm also starting to enjoy shifters more. Love black panthers and Excalibur. I'm interested in knowing what powers the sword possesses.
::shakes hands with glee:: a new paranormal romance! I'd love a chance to read this one – count me in!
Bells – you will have to read to find out!! ;)
Dana – It is fun to find an exciting PNR!
A gargoyle shapeshifter, now those are two words you don't see smashed together very often and really perks my interest. I'll try my luck with this giveaway, thanks Mandi and Sydney Somers :)
I've never heard of a gargoyle shapeshifter, sounds interesting!
love Syndey's books. I have fallen a little behind in reading some of her latest ones since my kiddo started college but I am sure this series is as fantastic as her other ones. If you like witch series check out hers it is fantastic.
Wow! Gargoyle shifter! You sold me. :)
~smooches~
Jase
vslavetopassionv(at)aol(dot)com
Sounds interesting -both a gargoyle and cat shapeshifter..I bet he gets as hard as a rock…hehe..(sorry bad gargoyle pun)
Leontine – It is something you don't read enough of!
Eva – I know! It is really fun!
Pamk – Cool..thanks for the rec!
vslave – it sold me too ;)
Heather – LMAO – Oh you have me giggling.
This is a new author for me. The books sounds very interesting though so I would love to read it.
seriousreader at live dot com
Oh man – that excerpt has just the right amount of arrogant snarkiness to make me interested!
Oh nice, I can't wait to get to this one!
Linda – this is the first I have read of Sydney Somers too :)
Sweet Vernal – There are a lot of funny lines in this book.
FV- can't wait to hear your thoughts :)
A Gargoyle you say *scratches chin* hell yeah I'd read this one too.
P.S. Sorry I'm really wired on caffeine hence my excitement in the above sentence
This sounds good! Would love to read it.
kaylajohnson3969@sbcglobal.net
Sounds really good! The quote was funny :P
entrelibros_blog(at)hotmail(dot)com
Book sounds good count me in.
Stephanie G
sgradel(at)gmail(dot)com
Sydney's book sounds great. I love that she has a gargoyle shapeshifter as her hero.
Crystal816[at]hotmail[dot}com
Sounds great! Count me in.
cait.peterson@hotmail.com
Would love to read this. Not a lot of gargoyle stories out there.
kissinoak at verizon dot net
This book sounds like a lot of fun! I read a ton of shapeshifter stories and would love to read/review this one as well. Anything off the beaten path is good by me- thanks for posting about this!
This sounds really good.Great review.
Thanks again for the fab review, Mandi. And that was one of my favorite lines in the book too. :)
Sounds intriguing. Very good review. Please count me in.
I would love a chance to read this one, sounds awesome
anna howell
Wow, sounds like an awesome book. Cant wait to read it.
ncbooklover@bellsouth.net
The book sounds really interesting and your review has me anxious to read it.
I love the sound of this one!! Thanks for the chance to win a copy :o)
sarahsreviews at ymail dot com
I have the first book and this one has been on my TBB list since it came out. Can't wait till the budget allows for it.
This sounds like a great book I would love to read it I'm like Beth I can't buy it till my budget allows it.
sstrode@scrtc.com
oh, wow, that very first sentence *sigh* can't wait to read on!!
please count me in :)
greetings, Ina
Sounds like a very interesting book. Looks like another one to add to my wishlist
AHHH This looks good! I always trust your smexy recommendations (:
Thanks for the intro to the series and this latest! Sounds like something to add to the TBB!