Sara's Review: Forged Alliances (Tribal Spirits #1) by Katherine McIntyre
APC PUBLISHER: Loose Id LLC RELEASED: September 18, 2017 GENRE: PARANORMAL, ROMANCE FANTASY LENGTH: 193 pages FORMAT: EBOOK, PAPERBACK
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Sierra Kanoska fought hard for her position as wolf alpha of the Red Rock pack, and intruders in her territory receive the full brunt of what her claws, fangs, and smarts can accomplish. So when Dax Williams, de facto alpha of the Silver Springs pack, pays an unwelcome visit, Sierra’s ready to toss him out. However, the man's in a tough spot. The pack elders sabotaged his fight for alpha against his brother, driving him from his lands. Sierra hates underhanded moves like that, so she agrees on an alliance.
As they work together, she witnesses an alpha who wants to do right by his pack, not just the cocky wiseass she first met. Their growing attraction blazes hot, but the moment she and Dax lock lips, a mating bond emerges. Sierra sure as hell isn’t ready to share that intimate connection with a stranger, and the thought of forever sends Dax running.
Before they can talk, the Tribe commanding the East Coast shifters arrives to settle the dispute. Dax and his brother's punishment for their pack's civil war is a free-for-all on their lands. Not only does he have to defeat his brother, but any challenger in the region. Despite Dax and Sierra’s initial resistance, his wily charm relaxes her control-freak tendencies while her steadfast support bolsters his strength. Yet every new opponent places their newfound relationship under siege—one misstep, one wrong blow in the ring, and Dax could leave in a bodybag. THREE BOUNDLESS STARS
I voluntarily received an ARC of Forged Alliance in exchange for an honest review.
The story started out unique with a female alpha wolf. I have never read a female alpha having her own pack and it was refreshing. Sierra is strong, independent, no-nonsense ruler of her pack. She feels the weight of leadership yet she bears it without complaint, yet her life is lonely. Along comes Dax, a mountain lion alpha encroaching on her territory asking for her assistance in the most annoying, sexy way possible. Sparks soon fly between them and their mating bond arises. There are different variations on the mating bond that I have read in many versions of this type of story. In McIntyre’s her characters feel it but it isn’t a driving need making them crazy. Her characters had a choice, which was refreshing since they got to know each other. Yet, certain aspects of the story started to get repetitive and others didn’t get explained to my satisfaction at all. I felt that Dax’s circumstances got beat to death, I understood what was at stake but I didn’t understand why his brother kept going after his pack. It didn’t make a lot of sense, it just brought in the Tribe. The Tribe was another aspect that didn’t really flow with the story. It was really cool and I loved the mythology, yet I would have preferred a story revolving around those characters rather than just regular shifters. And what was with the wrestler style taping out? Really? Forged Alliances started out strong but got choked on too much repetitiveness and inner monologue that slowed the plot. I skimmed much of the last ¼ of the story just to get to the main events. I am giving Forged Alliance 3 Boundless Stars, it was good.