Pack and Coven by Jody WallaceMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Giving this a 3.5 stars - It was really a cute story - but I don't know if it's because I wasn't feeling well, or if I just didn't seem to connect well with the main characters. Well mostly June.
Harry Smith is a lone wolf, and he likes it that way. When he's targeted to be co-alpha of the local pack, there is only one thing he can do to maintain his freedom: flee. But it'll take a miracle to stay a step ahead of shifters in their own territory.
June Travis has been in love with Harry for years, but he doesn't know her real identity. He sees her as the sweet owner of the local tearoom?the facade June presents to humans and werewolves to keep them from finding out she's a witch. She may not be able to offer Harry a miracle, but she can help him escape.
Harry is drawn to this new side of June, and not just because he's grateful for her help. With her magic temporarily hiding Harry from his pursuers, the witch and the wolf explore their mutual attraction. But there are consequences for witches who bed down with wolves...
Jen's ReviewUsually when I read a book I can get their look and voice and everything in my head and read the book as that character - but June just kind of had one of those really .... June Cleaver type attitudes. And I guess it just didn't go well with the way it read in the book.
It was really a cute story though - I liked the way the Witches and Werewolves are connected - but only the Witches know of the Wolves, but the wolves don't know about the witches. Why .. well that's the most interesting part of the story :)
The book starts off with Harry at the small little Tea Room Cafe - not a typical place for a big strong lone wolf to hang out - but he's a lone wolf for a reason - he refuses to belong to a Pack. They killed his mother when he was a kid, and he swore he'd never join a pack, even though he has the Alpha Gene.
Sitting in the same town cafe , Harry has been a regular there for 8 years now. Sadie, the head cook knows exactly how he likes his stakes. Although stakes isn't something usually ordered there, she makes it special just for him. They go to a movie night in town, and hang out at her house. She's just about the best friend a guy could ask for. And best of all, she wasn't a Wolf - If she was only, say 50 years younger, he would be all over her.
But Sadie was an older woman, just like many of the other regulars they hung out with. Harry liked them a lot and considered them good friends.
When Bianca (The Local Pack's Female Alpha) walks into the Cafe with her 2 BFF's, letting Harry know that Bert, her husband was now officially kicked out of the Pack for breaking the law and going to jail. The Pack NEEDS another Alpha Gene to even out the Pack. And if Harry didn't do it, the pack would fade out. Bianca wasn't going to let that happen. She would do anything to keep her pack.
So she gives him until 3:00 to get things in order, but she issues a Lock Down of the state and calls in some help form the nearby packs to help make sure Harry doesn't have a choice but to go to the Pack Bonding Ceremony.
Trying to get away as quickly and quietly as he could, Harry sneaks to his garage (he's a mechanic) And that's where he finds Sadie... at least he thought it was Sadie - it smelt like Sadie, and from a distance, she looked like Sadie - only younger... about 50 years younger..
Enter June - June is Sadie's "Grand-daughter" only deep down, she has a secret. She's a witch, and Sadie isn't who Harry thinks she is.
June helps Harry escape from Bianca and her friends, but Harry can't figure out how they got away.
When they get in the car, Harry passes out. June drives them as far as she could go, then puts a spell over the car. She tells Harry not to drive anymore, she needed to rest. Then she falls into a deep sleep.
Well harry isn't one to believe in magic, and he's definitly not going to sit around in the car while June sleeps while the Pack is hunting them down. So he gets in the drivers seat and takes off.
Pulling over to take a better look/listen around to see if they're being hunted, Harry notices a couple of wolves in human form. But for some reason, they don't recognize Harry, or his sent. How could that be??
It's magic :)
Like I said, before - this was a really cute story, but June was just a little too .... good for this part :) She scolded Harry for using foul language, for thinking unkind thoughts out loud.
It wasn't a PG book - in fact, it their relationship grew pretty quickly, and even though it was forbidden for a Werewolf and a Witch to mate... hey it happens, right :)
So yeah, it was cute and that's what I thought about this book :)
