Naming his Mate by M. Limoges
Paranormal M/M Romance
Released: May 1st 2015
Decadent Publishing
Reviewed by Sheena
Small-town sheriff, Mike Hadley, would love to experience a headache-free day for once in his life. Unfortunately, that’s not going to happen anytime soon. While investigating a rash of disappearances and dealing with his ornery lover, he’s thrown into a whole new world he never imagined existed.
Damien Marks has finally found a place to call home in Los Lobos, South Dakota, with the Black Hills Pack. He also stumbles across something he never thought he would—his mate. Falling hard, he decides he needs to come clean and tell the truth. But will his sexy lover accept what he is?
Embroiled in a potentially dangerous situation, both men have to decide where their loyalties lie—with duty or love?
Favorite Quote: “I’m sorry I’m not a different man. But I swear to you, I mean it when I say I love you.”
The first few chapters of this e-book gave me the warm fuzzies. I like small towns. I like small town sheriffs. They are always so ruggedly handsome and rustically simple, brave and engenders a sense of practically and trust. I was sold on Sheriff Hadley from the start. Investigating the deaths of several local citizens exposes him to the world of shapeshifters- a small but strong wolf pack. And his fly by night lover, Damien, is a member. Damien was a hard nut to crack. He was closed off to Mike, closed off to me as a reader, hell he was closed into himself. There was a barrier that prevented me from getting inside his head or even really liking him. He had the whole “You Are MINE” bonded/mated man thing that I dig, but there was a serious lack of substance with Damien. The author would have done well to develop his character and his relationship with Mike a little better. As it were, I remained endeared to Mike, moved by his jaded relationship hang ups and practically indifferent toward his lover Damien. Lack of investment in Damien made it difficult to latch on to the plot concerning his pack and a plot that felt sort of ping pongish. Playing it fast and loose with the plot development is generally forgivable for me, but only if there is sufficient meat elsewhere in the story to assuage my misgivings. The meat was scarce, but where Naming His Mate does shine is the underlying theme of true love and acceptance. This I clung to and it even made me a little misty eyed as I reflected upon the story. Damien’s struggle with his concern over his Alpha’s acceptance of his mating with his male human sheriff gave him the character depth he sorely needed.
Disconnected as I was from Damien, I had knots in my tummy when he finally had the conversation with him about his sexuality. I liked that the Alpha acknowledged the past leaderships old world views and genuinely expressed his acceptance. Damien’s previous lack of emotional availability for Mike was embedded in Damien’s embroiled feelings. Once he felt free to really and truly cement a mating with Mike, the added obstacle he had to overcome was Mike’s emotional walls built-in response to Damien’s initial distance. They are scorching hot as lovers (fans self) however, Mike tip toes around forging an emotional connection as he has been conditioned to harden his heart against the heartache he though was sure to come with his fleeting lover.
“Love? Mike practically spat the word in his head… If he were twenty, he might’ve been thrilled to hear those three simple words from his bed partner. But he wasn’t a young, foolish jackass anymore, and he sure as shit didn’t fawn over anything or anyone. At Thirty three, he’d weathered enough in his life to cultivate the heart of a cynic. He harbored no delusions this thing, whatever the hell it was between him and Damien, would last….Damien could toss out love and any other ridiculous words all he liked, but it didn’t change the fact the bastard wasn’t the settling type. What the hell did he really know about him in the first place.”
Ouch! Burn! Not exactly the stream of consciousness a lover wants to know is going through his man’s mind after dropping the L-bomb! Far more so than the crime investigation, the sentimental journey is where the money is in this story. This is my second novel by M. Limoges, the first was Claiming His Mate, #5 and she has an amazing voice when getting into the grove of her characters emotions. With a little more work on Damien, he could have been a very strong hero. Mike outclassed him every time and the imbalance in their development was a sore spot for me. I will concede the point that this is #17 in the Black Hills Wolf series and perhaps loyal readers to the series have enough logged time with Damien that there is built-in investment upon starting this story- in which case I would hazard against reading as a stand alone. It can be done, but there is significant effort needed in regards to gathering your bearings in the tale. A major plus; The imagery is classic. I could easily see myself in the small town and traveling through the woods. I could feel a genuine love for the locale in the beauty of its description, something that I can always appreciate.
While they circled one another, Damien stalking Mike with ferocious passion – and Mike wry of the promises of love and the single minded focus of being passionately hunted, Mike had no problem showing his own claws when he succumbs to his own longing, powerless to give Damien up.
You may fool your pack into thinking you’re charming and sweet, but I see through that shit. You really are an asshole who likes to get his way. However, you’re my asshole.”“So no more secrets, okay?” He bit his lover’s bottom lip to accentuate his point. Damien grunted.
“No more secrets.”
“Good.” He dug his fingers into his ass.
“Now make love to me
One place where there was never any misunderstanding was in their mated bed. Damien and Mike’s physical connection was undeniable. Watching them transcend their initial hang ups was rewarding. The author writes M/M especially well. Some (a lot) of M/M romance is annoyingly cliché’ and hey, I like the word cock as much as the next gal, but even I (smexy to my bone marrow) can only take so much. I got none of that with this book. Kudos! Damien and Mike had a real relationship with yummy, lusty sex, and it was not in the least bit lame or gratuitous. Fans of the series will get the steam (piping freaking HOT) and emotional journey they have come to expect from the author. New readers proceed with caution. For a quick read, and if you are partial to M/M romance, I can recommend Naming his Mate.
Grade: C+
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