Title: Tristan’s Despair
Series: Shifter’s Haven 08
Author: Lavina Lewis
Genre: Paranormal
Length: Novella (108pgs)
Publisher: Totally Bound (11th October 2013)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥ 3 Hearts
Reviewer: Pixie
Blurb: Wolf shifter Tristan Ambrose is delighted to finally meet his mate, but is human Joey Brooks prepared for the constant danger that life with a shifter entails?
When wolf shifter Tristan Ambrose unexpectedly meets human Joey Brooks outside the guesthouse where they both stay, he couldn’t be happier to have finally found his mate. But Joey is an ambitious young newspaper reporter who came to Wolf Creek looking for a story on the arson attacks that have recently ravaged the town.
Can Tristan trust Joey to keep, not only his secret, but also that of his entire pack? And when Joey is nearly killed by a fully shifted wolf, will he decide that a future with Tristan is not worth the risk to his life?
Purchase Link: https://www.totallybound.com/tristans-despair
Review: This story is part of a series and must be read in order. Tristan finds himself stuck between a rock and a hard place when he meets his mate, while he is delighted to meet his mate he is horrified to learn that he is a reporter who is there to dig up the truth behind the fires that plagued the town. Joey is an ambitious reporter determined to get to the truth, but when he gets involved with local Tristan, he discovers more than he bargained for. Tristan has to discover if he can trust Joey with the towns secrets and Joey has to decide if a story is more important than love.
This is a great addition to the Shifter’s Haven series giving us a new couple with problems to solve and a storyline that weaves previous plots into this one. Tristan is feeling the weight of pressure from his brother and pack when he discovers his mate Joey, after all Joey is asking questions that they can’t answer to a human, but Tristan doesn’t want to deny his mate. Joey is instantly attracted to Tristan and thinks he knows one of the towns secrets, but it isn’t long before he realizes his error. Joey knows he has a hard choice before him and although Tristan has come to mean everything to him, giving up his dreams is hard to do.
Tristan and Joey make a great couple and they do face some hostility at first because of Joey’s job, but a mate is a mate and Joey’s job isn’t their only problem. We discover that the storyline from Pete’s Persuasion lingers on with the discovery that the arsonist has sort protection from another pack, the news astounds the pack, but Joey and Tristan have more to worry about when wolves attack them. We see both Tristan and Joey suffer from their decision and it takes them both long enough to pull their heads out of their arses and come up with a way to be together.
I did enjoy this story and enjoyed seeing the wolves of Wolf Creek again, seeing how they had moved on from the devastation that befell them in Pete’s Persuasion and catching up with the hunt for Evelyn. The story is well written and a nice light easy read, there’s a couple of tense scenes and some great sex scenes and it was also really nice to see that although there’s still the instant attraction and the urge to mate, it isn’t easy sailing for Joey and Tristan.
I recommend this to those who love shifters, a progressing storyline, great characters, a touch of danger, great sex, hot shifters and a brilliant ending.