The Link that Binds by Dawn H. Hawkes

Title: The Link That Binds

Series: Solomon’s Pride 02

Author: Dawn H. Hawkes

Genre: Shifter/Paranormal

Length: Novel (182pgs)

Publisher: Silver Publishing (24th September 2011)

Heat Level: Explicit

Heart Rating:  ♥♥♥3 ½

Reviewer: Pixie

Blurb: Jace, a Shapeshifter, is held captive by vampires after a mission gone wrong. A turn of events puts him in close contact with Link, the very same human that facilitated his capture. With Link working for vampires, can Jace cope with the fact that Link just might be his mate?

Link never wanted to work with vampires, but led astray by his curiosity and the promise of money, he is now stuck in a dangerous arrangement he can’t escape. Meeting Jace might be his ticket out. He sure as hell isn’t going to do what the vampires tell him to when they request he find a “cure” that will eliminate all shifters… and use Jace to do so.

Review: Jace is a leopard shifter; he has an M.D. and is currently being held hostage by an insane, off their rocker Vampire. Link is a bar owner who just happens to have his own chemistry lab in the back rooms so he can make special drugs for the insane, off their rocker Vampire.

Jace is a cool character who is snarky with a get stuffed attitude.   So what if he has a gun pointed at his head, he’s pissed and will let everyone know it.  Link has landed in it up to his eyeballs and must do what the Vamps want to keep others safe.   He has no intention of following through with some things though, after all what the Vamps don’t know won’t hurt him.

I thought these characters matched well and suited each other to a ‘T’.  I loved the fact that their mating wasn’t easy or all tied up with a pretty bow.  I liked that they both struggled with it and that Jace didn’t let Link off scot-free for what he did.  The sex between the two is passionate and intense and Jace might be the shifter but didn’t always come out on top. We also got to know more about Jace’s and Solomon’s background which fleshed the series out nicely.  So we will hopefully see more conflict in the future.

The storyline and plot were ok but there were a few things that niggled at me and left me unsatisfied, where was the concern for Casey and Zane? Were the Vamps just driving around when they happened upon the kids? And why did it take so long for Link to confess his secret to Jace?

All in all though this is a good read and I’d recommend this to those who love shifters, conflict, danger, a bit of angst, hot sex and a storyline which promises more to come.