Jaxson (River Pack Wolves #1)
by Alisa Woods
Blurb:
Three brothers. Three Secrets. One hope to save the shifters of Seattle.Former SEAL Jaxson River would give his life for his brothers and his pack, but if he doesn’t claim a mate soon, he’ll be forced to step down as their alpha. There’s only one problem: Jaxson’s dark secret would kill any mate he claimed. With someone kidnapping shifters off the street—and only Jaxson and his brothers, Jace and Jared, to stop them—now is not the time for his secret to come out.
Curvy Olivia Lilyfield is a half-witch orphan with a dark secret of her own. She wants to atone for it by doing good in the world, so when she finds a wolf being tortured in an alley, she doesn’t hesitate to help… even though wolves and witches mix like matches and TNT.
Olivia’s dangerous magic means she can’t let anyone get too close—but Jaxson can’t keep his hands off her, and his kisses are more than she can resist. As they race to save the disappearing shifters of Seattle, the true danger lies in loving each other. They’re playing with magical fire… and their secrets could end up destroying them both.
Jaxson is a complete novel with HEA, the first in the River Pack Wolves trilogy (Jace and Jared coming soon).
Contains scorching shifter sex, alpha military heroes, and sexy witches. Only readers over 18 should dive into the deliciously hot world of the River brothers.
My Review:
Jaxson is a great start of a new series. I was in the mood for a good paranormal romance and that’s exactly what I got. Jaxson starts off as a typical paranormal romance, but slowly more original touches got added and by the end I was really enjoying this book. Both main characters have a secret that adds something interesting to the story. This is mostly a paranormal romance, there is a bit of a suspense/ military plot line that’s set-up here, but doesn’t get resolved. So my guess is the next two books continue that plot line. The plot is on the faster side, but never feels rushed.
From the moment Olivia resigned her current job because she wouldn’t do the type of work her boss wanted her to do, I knew I was going to like her. Then in the next moment she puts herself in danger to help a shifter. Olivia came across as a very kind person and only towards the end of the book I fully understood how much she would do for those she cared about. She carries a heavy burden with her, does everything to help others in need and can easily calm people down. I liked her as a character, although I did feel sad how she thought Jaxson deserved someone better and couldn’t possible want her.
Jaxson has a secret he never told anyone and he knows he doesn’t have long before the truth comes to light. While he’s investigating some shady business he runs into Olivia who tries to save him and he immediately falls for her. He’s your typical alpha male, but also respected Olivia. Which I liked. He really cares about Olivia and does his best to show her she’s worth it. He also fairly quickly tells her his secret so she can help him keep it a secret from the pack a bit longer. I wasn’t a big fan of the trying to find a mate for Jaxson plot line, as it was obvious the one helping him with that is the women he really wants.
The romance develops pretty quickly, they go from strangers to in lust pretty fast, but I still felt their connection and I liked these two together. Especially towards the end there are some really heartfelt scenes between these two and they were great together. I really liked seeing how much these two cared for each other and I liked seeing the changes into them because of that.
The side characters where all pretty interesting as well, most stays to the background. But we learn enough about Jace and Jared to make me curious about their stories. We also meet some of the Wilding pack members, who will have their own spin-off series. I really liked meeting those characters already and it made me wonder what more we’ll see of them in later books.
The world building stays pretty low key in this book, most of the focus being on the plot and the romance. The world building that was presented was interesting. I liked how werewolves didn’t seem to live in the shadows too much and the public knew about them, but they still stayed in the shadows mostly and didn’t reveal they were shifters too everyone. There are also some hints about other paranormal creatures. I had hoped to get more of the pack feel, but there are only a few scenes were we see more of the pack and those are mostly the suspense type of scenes and one towards the end.
To conclude: this is a great and solid start to this paranormal romance series. It started off as a just okay read, but I ended up really enjoying it. Olivia and Jaxson are both great characters and they both have a secret that added something interesting to the mix. The romance did moved ahead a bit fast, but I did like these tow together and it’s obvious how much they care about each other. We also meet the next main characters Jace and Jarod and I am curious about their stories. The world building stays to the sidelines, but there’s enough to get a bit of a feel for the world and how the pack works.
The last paranormal romance I read was Dragons of Heaven, though it could conceivably be an urban fantasy romance too, except one half of the romance is a shapeshifting dragon. That relationship was a bit out of nowhere, and then I didn’t even get a HEA and I was seriously in the mood for it — though this book doesn’t seem to have that problem 🙂 Sometimes a HEA is exactly the right thing to read/have!
Verushka recently posted…Here there be Dragons: The Dragons of Heaven Book Review
Usually depends how much romance there is in which of the two genres it falls. And yes sometimes you just want a read that ends in a HEA. Every book in this series has another couple and a HEA at the end as far as I know.
I really need to get back into reading paranormal romances. The last one I read was Molly Harper’s Where the Wild Things Bite. I love a good shifter romance and this one sounds so good. And I’m itching to see what Jaxson’s secret is.
Angela @Simply Angela recently posted…House of Glass by Jen Christie
I’ve been in a paranormal romance/ urban fantasy mood lately. I thought his secret was handled and also liked how that plot line got resolved. I hope I can read the rest of the series soon, it’s fun to discover an author who has already written a lot of books and is writing more fast.
Lola recently posted…Sunday Post #190
Oh this sounds like a book that I might like.
The last paranormal book I read was yesterday and I read Twilight Dreams by Amanda Ashley. It’s the 3rd book I’ve gotten approved for on Netgalley.
Mary Kirkland recently posted…Favorite Picture of the Week
Netgalley can be great for getting new review copies. I think you might enjoy this one. I hope I can read the rest of the series soon.
Ooo sounds good. Yay for it getting better as it went along. That guy on the cover is the one on my review journal. lol I do like him 😀
anna (herding cats & burning soup) recently posted…4 stars– A Season of Ruin (Sutherland Scandals #2) by Anna Bradley
Yeah I remember you mentioned he was on your journal, lol. I was glad it got better as it went along, I have high hopes for the next books!
That’s always good, a solid series debut, makes you crave for more.
Braine Talk Supe recently posted…Match Series: Johnny Bravo #onlinedatingadventures
Yes it really was a good solid start to the series and I am looking forward to read the next two books!
oh I do love a good start to a pnr series!!! I really love the sound of this one 🙂 Great review here.
loverofromance recently posted…Book Review-Lord Of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase
I’ve been in a pnr and urban fantasy mood lately and I really like these genres. I hope I can continue this series soon!
Lola recently posted…Sunday Post #190
I’m glad you enjoyed this one! That’s too bad about the world building since I know you like that, but at least you enjoyed the rest 🙂
I could tell just from the blurb though that this wouldn’t be a book for me. I’ve been shying away from paranormal romance and instead looking for urban fantasy or whatever genre that just also has some romance in it, or “love stories” rather than “romance” since those tend to be darker.
Kristen @ Metaphors and Moonlight recently posted…Book Review: The Experiment (Saving Caeorleia Book 1) by Alicia Nordwell
I am hoping we’ll see more of the world building as the series progresses. And from what I read I think all this author her series take place in the same universe, so it’s probably a case were the world is build throughout all those different stories.
I love both paranormal romance and urban fantasy, I go for paranormal romance if I want more focus on the romance and/ or characters. Paranormal romances can be a bit darker as well, but it really depends on the book/ series/ author. But yes in general Urban Fantasy tends to be a bit darker.
Gotta love a heroine who stands up for what she believes and doesn’t let her boss force her into doing something she doesn’t want to do. Sounds like a great start to the series. I think I’ve seen this book around a bit, but I haven’t paid a lot of attention to it (or it could be a different book, I can’t remember). Anyway, this looks like a fun read. 🙂
Melanie Simmons @mlsimmons recently posted…Where the Wild Things Bite Audiobook by Molly Harper (REVIEW)
Yes I immediately liked her after that scene and how she went after what she believes and didn’t do something she didn’t want to, even though the standing up for herself did got her into a difficult situation. It was a good solid start of the series and I am really curious how the rest of this series will be, I already own book 2 and 3, so i just have to get around to reading them.
It looks like you found a neat series that combines paranormal, romance, and suspense. That’s good that he is strong, but not a jerk and she is such a caring and loyal person. I’ll have to put this one on the list.
My last PNR was a NA M/M called Cold Moon by MJ O’Shea.
Yes I think I will enjoy the rest of the series. I already got the next two books in this series and hope I can get to soon. The mixture of paranormal, romance and suspense worked out well. The character were both fun to read about. I think you might enjoy this one.