Review: Heart of a Dire Wolf by Carol Van Natta

Posted August 9, 2018 by Lola in Coyer, Fantasy, Review, Romance / 4 Comments

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Heart of a Dire WolfHeart of a Dire Wolf (Ice Age Shifters #3)
by Carol Van Natta

Rating: 4 stars
Genre: Paranormal Romance

Blurb:
To stay together, they’ll have to escape prison, outsmart wizards, and solve the mystery of a magical sanctuary town.

Skyla Chekal is in trouble. She’s a prisoner in an illegal underground auction house that sells magical creatures. If they learn she’s a dire wolf with free magic, they’ll hold a special high-roller sale just for her. She needs to keep her head down and escape, but she can’t because she smells someone who stirs her in the way only a true mate can. She can’t leave without him.

Siberian tiger shifter Nic Paletin can’t believe he’s found himself in a cage in an auction house run by wizards. As long as he continues to play dumb, he should be able to get out soon. But the intriguing smell of a woman who calls to his tiger has him tied up more than the shackles on his ankles.

As turned on as Skyla is by Nic’s intoxicating presence, she knows they first have to survive long enough to get free. Unfortunately, threats continue to escalate. In their escape, Skyla is sent somewhere else, and Nic has no idea where or what trouble she might be in. He must find her before the wizards do, plus figure out how to work together if they’re going to crack the secrets of a mysterious new-old town.

And they better hurry, because the greedy wizards not only know where they are, they’re after the fabled treasures of this vulnerable sanctuary town.

Continue the enthralling paranormal romance with Heart of a Dire Wolf , the third book in USA TODAY bestselling author Carol Van Natta’s fun, action-filled, steamy-hot Ice Age Shifters™ series.

My Review

I received a free copy of this book from the author and voluntarily reviewed it.

I am having so much fun with this series filled with ice age shifters and other paranormal creatures. I happily started reading Heart of the Dire Wolf and it was another great read in this series. Heart of a Dire Wolf follows dire wolf shifter Skyla and tiger shifter Nic. The two met while they’re being held captive at an auction house for shifters. Their first priority is escape, but once they’re free of the auction house there are more obstacles in their way that they have to deal with.

I liked how this time both characters are shifters and it’s switched up with the female being the ice age shifter. Which changes the dynamics of the story a bit compared to the previous books. They start as being captured, then escape and then things take a whole different turn. Along the way they get to know each other and fall in love. There’s also more about the world we get to know with another sanctuary town that plays a role here.

This was such a fun read. I liked both Skyla and Nic, they were fun to read about and made for a great couple. Skyla isn’t a fighter, but she is determined and smart. I also liked how she had a lot of magic and used it for a lot of things. From moving things around, to adjusting things or changing objects. It was awesome to see what she could do with her magic. Nic is used to moving around and doing lots of different jobs and now finally finds his place. I like how this author’s character always feel realistic and they make smart decisions and think things through.

As in the previous books the romance moves along quite quickly, but it did work. It’s obvious these two care for each other and they work well together and respect each other. The also have some obvious chemistry and there are a few steamy scenes. Although I wouldn’t have minded a few more scenes about them as I enjoyed reading about them. The mating bond gives a good explanation as for why the romance moves along quickly, but it’s clear there is more between them than just the bond. And I thought it was fun how they both acknowledged the other was the perfect mate for them and not only because of the mating bond, which I liked as it showed that the mating bond wasn’t the only thing behind their romance.

I also liked Mauk, a new ‘character’ we meet in this book. And Tinsel is turning into one of my favorite side characters. I was happy that she played a role here again. There are also a bunch of side characters from previous books we don’t get to see as much about, but I liked how the author made sure to have some recurring characters. Chance and Moira also make an appearance in this book, which was a fun. And ofcourse there are a lot of new side characters we get to meet in this book as well.

The plot of this one was quite interesting. Not only do we get to read about an auction house again, something that was shortly addressed in book 1 as well. We also get to read about another sanctuary town and I really liked that part of the story. Both storylines aren’t fully finished up by the end of the book and I am relatively sure both will continue in later books in this series. The epilogue had an interesting reveal too and I think that’s part of what we’re going to see more of in future books. How the storylines continue throughout the series adds some nice continuity to the series.

I liked how the world building gets more rounded out in each book. I really like the sanctuary town of Kotoyeenisay and I like how we get to see it again in every book. And now we get to see another sanctuary town as well and how the town interact a bit. There is a different species we got introduced to as well and each book makes the world come more alive.

To summarize: I enjoyed being back in the world of the ice age shifters. This was another great read. I liked how both main character were shifters in this book and the female was the ice age shifter this time, which changed things up from previous books. I liked the couple of this book, Nic and Skyla were great to read about. They also made for a great couple that worked together well and respected each other. This book adds some interesting tidbits in terms of world building and I really liked the plot line about the other sanctuary town that plays a role here. there are recurring side characters from previous books and the couple form book 2 makes an appearance. The epilogue sets things up for the next book and I can’t wait to get my hands on that one. If you enjoy paranormal romances, I can’t recommend this series enough.

4 Stars

Links:
Goodreads
Amazon

You can also read my review on Goodreads and Amazon.

Do you like reading about shifters? What’s your favorite shifter animal to read about?

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4 responses to “Review: Heart of a Dire Wolf by Carol Van Natta

    • It’s a great series so far. I think book 1 is still 99 cent. At least it was last time I checked. I also really like shifters. I hope everything’s okay with. Good to hear fr
      from you again :).

  1. I can see why you’re having a good time with this one. I loved that she’s the ice-age shifter, too. What a way to meet in at the auction. With the pace of the rest of the story being exciting, I wouldn’t mind a swift romance, either. Glad you enjoyed this latest. You find some really good series. 🙂

    • It was a fun way to tweak the story a bit and have her be the the ice age shifter in this one. The romance is a bit fats, but I don’t mind as much as the story is very exciting :).

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