Wicked Cravings by Suzanne Wright // Review

... unless you get off on watching, you might want to scamper. As you can probably tell, we're both hot and horny, and Dante's about to Google my Yahoo and Twitter my cli—" - Jaime

Wicked Cravings by Suzanne Wright

Standalone - The Phoenix Pack #2
Release - April 16, 2013
Genre - Paranormal Romance/childhood crush
Dual POV - 3rd person
Heat Level - 4 out of 5/frequent scenes
Format/Source - borrowed from Kindle Unlimited
Length - 395 pages
Publisher - Montlake Romance

Despite having been besotted with Dante Garcea since she was a child, wolf shifter Jaime Farrow figures that it’s time to move past the crush. If he wanted her, he wouldn’t have ignored her flirtatious behavior, right? Hiding her intense attraction to him isn’t easy – especially now that they're part of the same pack again – but with bigger issues to worry about and with the submissive wolf act to maintain, Jaime is resolute on moving forward. Now if only the workaholic control-freak would let her…

As the pack Beta, Dante doesn't have the space or time in his life for a relationship. As such, he ignores his intense hunger for the willful – and sometimes crazy – Jaime. Yet when her flirtations abruptly end, Dante finds that he doesn’t like losing her attention. He finds something else too – Jaime's hiding something. Determined to uncover her secret, he sets out to break through her defenses, even though being around her intensifies his cravings for her. What he finds is a problem that Jaime is convinced not even a powerful Beta can solve.

After reading Feral Sins, I had to know what was going on with the rest of the pack. I was dying to see Trey again, see what other crazy things Taryn would find to say, and just spend time with these people who had become so familiar to me.

I was told to wait. Step away from the series and dive back in later, but I needed to do it NOW!

I should have waited.

I absolutely loved Dante, but I already knew I would because I already caught feelings for him in the first book. As Beta for the Phoenix pack, he took his job seriously. In Wicked Cravings, I finally found out what made this male tick. After falling in love and half-mating, he was ultimately betrayed and swore off lasting relationships. That's why Jaime's ridiculous crush on him was so irritating. At least it was until he lost her attentions.

It was a classic case of wanting, being pushed away, and then the chase. It was extremely entertaining. Actually, I found the entire story enjoyable. From Dante's hesitance to have something real to Jaime's battle with her traumatized wolf to the push and pull and fight for dominance between them. Even the side characters had me smiling.

So why should I have waited before reading this book?

Jaime was a heavily diluted version of Taryn. I don't care what anyone says to defend it because it's true. While there were many outrageous things Taryn did that I might have cringed at in real life, she got away with it. Jaime... not so much. She came off as rude and obnoxious and not nearly as funny. She was my least favorite character so far. It's not that I didn't like her. I just felt that she was doing too much.

My issues:
⭐ Dante compromised WAY too much. Where was this guy's head at? What the heck happened to this Beta? He was going to stand against Trey??? His funeral.
⭐ I was disturbed by the lack of consequences for Jaime. She constantly bucked orders, although she was new to the pack, hadn't earned a place, and was LYING to everyone, and she had NO PROBLEM being disrespectful and out of order.
⭐ Jaime basically challenged her Alpha and NOTHING happened. What kind of pack were they running???
⭐ the lies... I was so tired of the lies. Lies are what turn me off every time.

Will I continue with the series? Absolutely! Aside from my above issues, I really liked this story and its characters. While Dante and Jaime weren't as hot as Trey and Taryn, they still had amazing chemistry and their story had a uniqueness all its own.

Find my review of Feral Sins here:

Half an hour and a lot of cursing, growls, and cries later, they heard Taryn declare, "I can't do this! Just leave her in there. She'll be fine."

"You're doing really well," Lydia assured her.

"No, I'm done! I'm tired, I'm sweaty, I'm in agony, and why do I feel like I need to shit?"

"It's totally natural to feel that way," said Gracein a placatory, calming voice. "Some women even have one during labor."

"What?" The word dripped with horror. "Women can shit when they're in labor? Tell me that won't happen to me! Don't you let me shit, Grace!" A loud, lengthy cry signaled that she was having another contraction.

Trey's voice was soft and encouraging. "Just breathe, baby."

"I am fucking breathing! And why does this gas and air make me sound like Darth Vader?"

"Here, how about I move it out the way for —"

Don't you touch it," she growled at him. "It's mine. Understand? Mine."

"Okay, okay, you keep it, it's yours."

"Wanna try it?"

"No thanks, baby." His smile could be heard in his voice. The only time his tone ever softened that way was when he was talking about, or talking to, his mate. It was a tone totally reserved for her.

A loud groan. "God, here comes another one."

"You're doing so well, Taryn," praised Shaya. "I think you've only broken one of my fingers."

"I think I've had a shit, Shaya." The poor woman sounded distressed and mortified. "Have I, Grace? Don't lie to me."

"No, you haven't."

"I have, you're lying. Is she lying, Lydia?"

"No," Lydia quickly said, "you haven't, I promise."

"Shaya, why does it feel like the bed's floating?" Tarryn asked in a very loud whisper, though Jaime was sure that Taryn thought she was being quiet.

"Maybe we should take the gas and air from her," suggested Trey.

"Fucking try it."

"Stop gowling at me," he whined.

"I'm not fucking growling! You need a fucking hearing aid!" More cries of pain as another contraction hit. "Grace... I think I can feel the head."

"It is the head, Taryn," confirmed Grace. "On the next contraction, I need you to push for me, okay." A long pause. "Ready? Go."

"Push," encouraged Trey.

"I am pushing, doofus." A few moments later, there was a sob. "Why isn't anything happening?"

"I know you're tired, baby, but —"

"Don't you touch me, Flintstone, this is your fault! Don't think we're playing Hiding Pedro ever again!"

Shaya sounded stern yet amused. "Now, Taryn, that wasn't nice."

"Cut it out of me!" Presumably Taryn was totally ignored, because she growled, "Fine. Give me a knife, I'll do it!"

"One more, Taryn, and it'll be over, I promise. I need you to push really, really hard this time."

"What do you think I've been doing all along?"

In her words...

I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t writing something, whether it was stories, poems, or even songs – though I can’t carry a tune. I only have one rule when I’m writing a book which is that it has to have a happy ending. Other than that, pretty much anything goes. I write stories that I would enjoy reading and then I just hope that others will enjoy them too.

I was born and raised in England where I live with my husband (a person who doesn’t judge me for hearing voices in my head – how often do you come across people like that?), and my two demanding children.

For more information about this author and her books, check out her website: http://www.suzannewright.co.uk/