What do you think?
Rate this book
Eternal Wolf Clan #1
Dire Needs
Feared by humans and envied by werewolves, the Dire Wolves are immortal shifters, obeying no laws but their own bestial natures.
Rifter leads the pack, and his primal instincts have led him to claim Gwen, a woman seeking solace from the chronic pain that has wracked her body her entire life.
But whatever future Rifter and Gwen have is threatened by an enemy of both humanity and the Dire Wolves...
Rifter leads the pack, and his primal instincts have led him to claim Gwen, a woman seeking solace from the chronic pain that has wracked her body her entire life.
But whatever future Rifter and Gwen have is threatened by an enemy of both humanity and the Dire Wolves...
379 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 6, 2012
41 people are currently reading
2080 people want to read
About the author
Stephanie Tyler
80 books1,280 followersNew York Times Bestselling author Stephanie Tyler writes what she loves to read - romantic suspense novels starring military heroes and paranormal romance novels novels starring warrior heroes, all complete with happy endings. She also writes as SE Jakes.
And because she's not busy enough, she also co-writes as Sydney Croft. She lives in New York with her husband, her kids and her crazy Weimaraner, Gus.
For more information on Stephanie, please visit www.stephanietyler.com or email her at stephanie@stephanietyler.com.
For more information on SE Jakes, please visit SEJakes.com.
For more information on Sydney, please visit www.sydneycroft.com or email Sydney at sydney@sydneycroft.com
And because she's not busy enough, she also co-writes as Sydney Croft. She lives in New York with her husband, her kids and her crazy Weimaraner, Gus.
For more information on Stephanie, please visit www.stephanietyler.com or email her at stephanie@stephanietyler.com.
For more information on SE Jakes, please visit SEJakes.com.
For more information on Sydney, please visit www.sydneycroft.com or email Sydney at sydney@sydneycroft.com
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 215 reviews
March 22, 2012
Okay, so what the hell was this?
Wait, let me back track first and say Stephanie Tyler is an awesome writer.
Her Romantic suspense titles are amazing...full of great characters that you can't help but give a shit about, enthralling storylines, and edge of your seat action, they're just freaking insane, and if you haven't read any of them, you really should give them a try.
Same goes for the ACRO series, the PNR's she co-authors...and thy're crazy amounts of hot to boot!
So, color me blindsided by the very meh-ness of Dire Needs.
I cant help but feel like either her editor is slacking on the job or she got a new one that's no where near as awsome as the last one....there were a number of times I couldn't figure out what was going on...I had to keep flipping pages back, but more often then not I was still confused.
There were even times this didn't even feel like a stephanie Tyler title...like someone with a similar name wrote it instead...and I'll admit it, I double, triple and quadruple checked that the spelling was the same, and that this was indeed the Ms Tyler I've become addicted to.
it was like she was so busy building up the world, and giving far too many characters a voice, that the story and the characterization of our two leads ( as well as for all the other mentioned characers) suffered...for example we're told the heroine is more science/ logic minded, but her actions never really show that.
And maybe it's just me, but the emotional strings the book tried to pull were shallow at best. The heroines supposed to be dying...with no hope...again, maybe it's just me, but I never felt the heaviness, the desperate resignation to her fate, or even any sort of acceptance( with the exception of a small scene in the beginng)...it seemed like she didn't know what to feel, and maybe that was the point, but it just left me feeling confused.
Add to that, I couldn't figure out why the the main characters had to seal their mating so quickly...it felt like they met, found out she was part wolf, and oh hey we're mates, let's seal the deal! It was like very little thought was put into it...on both their parts. So it came off, IMO unbelievable. Also there were times I had to double check that this was the first book in the series, as it was written in a way that implied I should know certain things, and therefore those certain things weren't as fully explained, as IMO they should've been.
And not a lot happened. I think this was going for a mix between PNR and UF, so a lot of the story was setting up the overarching storyline....so much so that It kinda sorta stole the thunder outta the H and h's relationship
To be fair, maybe I wasn't in the mood to read this, although generally speaking ST's name on a book, usually puts me in the right frame of mind...but for me, this was at best a 3 star read, with only a slight chance (propagated by the fact that I know My Tyler is a great writer) of giving the next book a try.
Also on a sidenote, the word dire is used a lot. Like a lot a lot....I don't think I've ever come across, or hell, even used it as many times as it comes up in this book.
Wait, let me back track first and say Stephanie Tyler is an awesome writer.
Her Romantic suspense titles are amazing...full of great characters that you can't help but give a shit about, enthralling storylines, and edge of your seat action, they're just freaking insane, and if you haven't read any of them, you really should give them a try.
Same goes for the ACRO series, the PNR's she co-authors...and thy're crazy amounts of hot to boot!
So, color me blindsided by the very meh-ness of Dire Needs.
I cant help but feel like either her editor is slacking on the job or she got a new one that's no where near as awsome as the last one....there were a number of times I couldn't figure out what was going on...I had to keep flipping pages back, but more often then not I was still confused.
There were even times this didn't even feel like a stephanie Tyler title...like someone with a similar name wrote it instead...and I'll admit it, I double, triple and quadruple checked that the spelling was the same, and that this was indeed the Ms Tyler I've become addicted to.
it was like she was so busy building up the world, and giving far too many characters a voice, that the story and the characterization of our two leads ( as well as for all the other mentioned characers) suffered...for example we're told the heroine is more science/ logic minded, but her actions never really show that.
And maybe it's just me, but the emotional strings the book tried to pull were shallow at best. The heroines supposed to be dying...with no hope...again, maybe it's just me, but I never felt the heaviness, the desperate resignation to her fate, or even any sort of acceptance( with the exception of a small scene in the beginng)...it seemed like she didn't know what to feel, and maybe that was the point, but it just left me feeling confused.
Add to that, I couldn't figure out why the the main characters had to seal their mating so quickly...it felt like they met, found out she was part wolf, and oh hey we're mates, let's seal the deal! It was like very little thought was put into it...on both their parts. So it came off, IMO unbelievable. Also there were times I had to double check that this was the first book in the series, as it was written in a way that implied I should know certain things, and therefore those certain things weren't as fully explained, as IMO they should've been.
And not a lot happened. I think this was going for a mix between PNR and UF, so a lot of the story was setting up the overarching storyline....so much so that It kinda sorta stole the thunder outta the H and h's relationship
To be fair, maybe I wasn't in the mood to read this, although generally speaking ST's name on a book, usually puts me in the right frame of mind...but for me, this was at best a 3 star read, with only a slight chance (propagated by the fact that I know My Tyler is a great writer) of giving the next book a try.
Also on a sidenote, the word dire is used a lot. Like a lot a lot....I don't think I've ever come across, or hell, even used it as many times as it comes up in this book.
March 27, 2013
A new werewolf series and you're all thinking ho-hum read it all before; well you'd be wrong.
In this world there are Dire Wolves, Werewolves, Humans, Witches and we're told there are Vamps. Dire wolves were created by Norse Gods and are to protect humans and police the weres.
There are only 6 Dires left, all male, lonely sinlges, who look like a lickable motorbike gang, all with gifts from the Gods and each have their own problems. Led by Rifter.
The villains are humans - Weretrappers - who have enslaved/allied with the Outlaw werewolves and also with a powerful coven of witches. They are intent on taking over the world and will use any means necessary to do it.
Along comes our h Gwen, a Doctor who is dying from some unidentifiable illness which causes seizures.
If I was to say this book reminds me of any other it would be the BDB series, but only in a superficial way.
Really looking forward to reading the next one.
In this world there are Dire Wolves, Werewolves, Humans, Witches and we're told there are Vamps. Dire wolves were created by Norse Gods and are to protect humans and police the weres.
There are only 6 Dires left, all male, lonely sinlges, who look like a lickable motorbike gang, all with gifts from the Gods and each have their own problems. Led by Rifter.
The villains are humans - Weretrappers - who have enslaved/allied with the Outlaw werewolves and also with a powerful coven of witches. They are intent on taking over the world and will use any means necessary to do it.
Along comes our h Gwen, a Doctor who is dying from some unidentifiable illness which causes seizures.
If I was to say this book reminds me of any other it would be the BDB series, but only in a superficial way.
Really looking forward to reading the next one.
March 2, 2012
Review Courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales
Quick & Dirty: Look, Dire Needs is another alpha male group of shapeshifters intent on saving those weaker than them!
Opening Sentence: Rifter needed a woman, Brother Wolf needed to run wild, and their appetites for sex and destruction mingled, rose with a hot howl as Rifter’s Harley roared through the winter night.
The Review:
I would like to start out by saying; there is nothing wrong with this book. The characters are intriguing, the love story is full of suspense and triumphs, and it delivers a sense of doomsday looming at the end. After all that is said and done, I didn’t like it. There are too many other novels/ series that are out there that are better. Nothing in this book, Dire Needs, leaves me with any memorable scenes or characters. I don’t feel the need to bite my nails until the next release. I most likely will not think about this book later on, unlike some other series I can mention (Black Dagger Brotherhood for one). That being said…
The Dire wolves are a group of six surviving alphas whose job is to monitor and protect their weaker cousins, the Were wolves. They are responsible for keeping the humans in the dark about both of their races. The Dire wolves main enemy is the weretrappers, humans that hunt and kill Weres and Dires alike. Each Dire has an extra ability, like being able to see ghosts, along with being stronger and faster than anyone else. It allows them the edge they need to take care of business, so to speak. But in a war, numbers count and they are only six against many.
Rifter is the defacto leader of this group of alphas. His special ability is to dream walk, enter into another’s dreams. He, like his brothers, have lots of excess aggression to work off and they do LOVE to work it off; either fighting or screwing or running as wolves and they don’t care in what order. He’s a man’s man, or wolf as it were, and is hard as nails, both inside and out. Until he meets Gwen. Then, he is just another misunderstood man looking for the right woman to make him complete. *sniff, sniff* Will Rifter choose love over duty? Can he seize this opportunity or will he drive it away? Will the other Dire wolves resent his mate, since they have little to no chance of having one of their own?
Gwen is a doctor in training who is dying. Her seizures are becoming more frequent and she can no longer do her job at the hospital effectively. With only a short time left to live, she decides to go to a biker bar and pick up someone to have a one-night stand with. She chooses Rifter because he was the “biggest.” But are her seizures a sign of a sickness or of something else? She’s a rare half-Dire/half-human and her medications have been suppressing her initial wolf shifting. Can she survive the change? Will she become immortal like the other Dire wolves? And why are the weretrappers so hard up on capturing her? Will she doom the last of her “kind” or help save them?
Out of all the scenes, the only one that interested me was when they make a reference to another series I happen to enjoy, the Demonica series by Larissa Ione. One of the Dire wolves, Rogue, is in a coma and Eidolon, a sex demon/doctor, from Underworld General Hospital comes to examine him. And, like I said before, the exam is just referenced and not part of the main story.
I’m sorry, but if you enjoy this type of storyline, proceed with caution. If you have yet to read anything similar and want to try it, do it. I would rather recommend this book as a nice library find.
Notable Scene:
Being good is so overrated. No one ever looked back on their lives and thought, Well, at least I was good.
She’d bet even Mother Theresa had regrets about that.
And so, when she’d gone to the bar tonight, she’d been looking to feed those long-buried instincts, her nerve endings tingling, as she’d downed the tequila, as if her body was thanking her for finally allowing it some enjoyment.
How long had it been for her? Felt like forever she’d had to choose between medicine and men. She couldn’t believe she was still a goddamned virgin.
She’d made her bed and now she was so ready to undo it and experience it all.
The Eternal Wolf Clan Series:
0.5. Dire Warning
1. Dire Needs
FTC Advisory: Penguin/Signet Eclipse provided me a copy of Dire Needs. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. I only get paid in hugs and kisses from my little boys.
Quick & Dirty: Look, Dire Needs is another alpha male group of shapeshifters intent on saving those weaker than them!
Opening Sentence: Rifter needed a woman, Brother Wolf needed to run wild, and their appetites for sex and destruction mingled, rose with a hot howl as Rifter’s Harley roared through the winter night.
The Review:
I would like to start out by saying; there is nothing wrong with this book. The characters are intriguing, the love story is full of suspense and triumphs, and it delivers a sense of doomsday looming at the end. After all that is said and done, I didn’t like it. There are too many other novels/ series that are out there that are better. Nothing in this book, Dire Needs, leaves me with any memorable scenes or characters. I don’t feel the need to bite my nails until the next release. I most likely will not think about this book later on, unlike some other series I can mention (Black Dagger Brotherhood for one). That being said…
The Dire wolves are a group of six surviving alphas whose job is to monitor and protect their weaker cousins, the Were wolves. They are responsible for keeping the humans in the dark about both of their races. The Dire wolves main enemy is the weretrappers, humans that hunt and kill Weres and Dires alike. Each Dire has an extra ability, like being able to see ghosts, along with being stronger and faster than anyone else. It allows them the edge they need to take care of business, so to speak. But in a war, numbers count and they are only six against many.
Rifter is the defacto leader of this group of alphas. His special ability is to dream walk, enter into another’s dreams. He, like his brothers, have lots of excess aggression to work off and they do LOVE to work it off; either fighting or screwing or running as wolves and they don’t care in what order. He’s a man’s man, or wolf as it were, and is hard as nails, both inside and out. Until he meets Gwen. Then, he is just another misunderstood man looking for the right woman to make him complete. *sniff, sniff* Will Rifter choose love over duty? Can he seize this opportunity or will he drive it away? Will the other Dire wolves resent his mate, since they have little to no chance of having one of their own?
Gwen is a doctor in training who is dying. Her seizures are becoming more frequent and she can no longer do her job at the hospital effectively. With only a short time left to live, she decides to go to a biker bar and pick up someone to have a one-night stand with. She chooses Rifter because he was the “biggest.” But are her seizures a sign of a sickness or of something else? She’s a rare half-Dire/half-human and her medications have been suppressing her initial wolf shifting. Can she survive the change? Will she become immortal like the other Dire wolves? And why are the weretrappers so hard up on capturing her? Will she doom the last of her “kind” or help save them?
Out of all the scenes, the only one that interested me was when they make a reference to another series I happen to enjoy, the Demonica series by Larissa Ione. One of the Dire wolves, Rogue, is in a coma and Eidolon, a sex demon/doctor, from Underworld General Hospital comes to examine him. And, like I said before, the exam is just referenced and not part of the main story.
I’m sorry, but if you enjoy this type of storyline, proceed with caution. If you have yet to read anything similar and want to try it, do it. I would rather recommend this book as a nice library find.
Notable Scene:
Being good is so overrated. No one ever looked back on their lives and thought, Well, at least I was good.
She’d bet even Mother Theresa had regrets about that.
And so, when she’d gone to the bar tonight, she’d been looking to feed those long-buried instincts, her nerve endings tingling, as she’d downed the tequila, as if her body was thanking her for finally allowing it some enjoyment.
How long had it been for her? Felt like forever she’d had to choose between medicine and men. She couldn’t believe she was still a goddamned virgin.
She’d made her bed and now she was so ready to undo it and experience it all.
The Eternal Wolf Clan Series:
0.5. Dire Warning
1. Dire Needs
FTC Advisory: Penguin/Signet Eclipse provided me a copy of Dire Needs. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. I only get paid in hugs and kisses from my little boys.
February 11, 2012
Dire Needs, Book #1 of the Eternal Wolf Clan series
Author: Stephanie Tyler
Synopsis:
The full moon is their mistress. They are predators of pleasure and pain. Feared by humans, envied by werewolves, the Dire Wolves are immortal shifters, obeying no laws but their own bestial natures. Once they were many, but now only six remain, a dangerous wolfpack forever on the hunt…
Rifter leads the pack, embracing the lifestyle and ethics of an outlaw biker even as he battles an ancient enemy who has become a new, powerful force. But with his Brother Wolf raging inside him, howling to be unleashed, he needs to satisfy his hungers. And when he meets a drop-dead gorgeous blonde drinking alone in a bar that caters to both human and inhuman, Rifter’s primal instinct is to claim her.
Gwen has her own desires, long unfulfilled. She hopes a passionate night with the leather-clad, Harley-riding biker will ease her suffering. The seizures that have wracked her body her entire life are incurable—and they’re killing her.
But none of that will matter if Rifter can’t stop the growing threat to them all–trappers who are determined to enslave humankind and use the Dire wolves as part of their nefarious plan.
Our Review [by Michelle L. Olson – LITERAL ADDICTION’s Pack Alpha]:
I was excited for this book from the minute LITERAL ADDICTION hosted Stephanie to promote the last Sydney Croft ACRO novel and she announced that she was working on bringing it to life.
When I finally received my Advance Reading Copy from Stephanie I set all other books aside and settled in, reminding myself that I needed to keep an open mind and judge based on what I was reading and feeling, and not what I had hyped it up to be. That wasn’t difficult, seeing as Stephanie literally grabs hold of the reader 5 pages in and doesn’t let go.
The Eternal Wolf Clan is comprised of 6 sexy alpha males who are the last of their kind and who have been thrown into the battle of good vs. evil to save themselves, their distant cousins the Werewolves, and humankind from a group of overzealous humans known as the weretrappers. The trappers basically have a grudge against any ‘others’, though their grudge has evolved into a nefarious plot to use the ‘others’ before exterminating them. To make matters worse, they have conned a coven of powerful witches into helping them, and that is just making things harder for the Dires.
This is Rifter and Gwen’s story, but it’s also a beautiful set up for the rest of the series and I can pretty much guarantee that readers will be picking their favorite Dire immediately upon meeting him in this first installment. Without breaking the flow, Stephanie gives great descriptions of each of the Dires and some of their backstory, making it almost impossible for the reader not to choose their own personal hunky wolf to champion.
Rifter is a fabulous male lead – the leader of the Dires with the weight of the world on his shoulders and a melancholy that he can’t shake just for the simple fact that he’s felt so alone for so long.
Gwen is a great female lead. She’s smart, sassy, strong, and while looking for her prince charming, doesn’t completely turn herself off when she finds him.
The story was beautifully told; extraordinarily crafted, not only as a standalone book but as a set up for the rest of the series. The world that Stephanie has built for the Eternal Wolf Clan is unique and fresh, not something easily done in today’s market of rampant shifter stories. The added twists of magic and the Dires’ individual gifts add another layer of intrigue to the mix and there were just enough secrets left untold to keep the reader wanting more.
I can’t believe that I’ve finished book one of this long awaited treasure already. I want book 2 so badly now, it’s not going to be pretty until the next release. I guess I’ll just have to satisfy myself with spreading the word about Dire Needs and the Eternal Wolf Clan series so that everyone can read it, love it, and be in misery along with me while we wait for book 2. ;-)
LITERAL ADDICTION gives Dire Needs 5 Skulls and would recommend it to everyone. It’s a great read for Urban Fantasy buffs, Paranormal Romance lovers, fans of the strong sexy alpha male, lovers of magic and mayhem… it’s a well rounded book for just about everyone.
Kudos to Stephanie for giving us an amazing new shifter world to fall in love with.
Author: Stephanie Tyler
Synopsis:
The full moon is their mistress. They are predators of pleasure and pain. Feared by humans, envied by werewolves, the Dire Wolves are immortal shifters, obeying no laws but their own bestial natures. Once they were many, but now only six remain, a dangerous wolfpack forever on the hunt…
Rifter leads the pack, embracing the lifestyle and ethics of an outlaw biker even as he battles an ancient enemy who has become a new, powerful force. But with his Brother Wolf raging inside him, howling to be unleashed, he needs to satisfy his hungers. And when he meets a drop-dead gorgeous blonde drinking alone in a bar that caters to both human and inhuman, Rifter’s primal instinct is to claim her.
Gwen has her own desires, long unfulfilled. She hopes a passionate night with the leather-clad, Harley-riding biker will ease her suffering. The seizures that have wracked her body her entire life are incurable—and they’re killing her.
But none of that will matter if Rifter can’t stop the growing threat to them all–trappers who are determined to enslave humankind and use the Dire wolves as part of their nefarious plan.
Our Review [by Michelle L. Olson – LITERAL ADDICTION’s Pack Alpha]:
I was excited for this book from the minute LITERAL ADDICTION hosted Stephanie to promote the last Sydney Croft ACRO novel and she announced that she was working on bringing it to life.
When I finally received my Advance Reading Copy from Stephanie I set all other books aside and settled in, reminding myself that I needed to keep an open mind and judge based on what I was reading and feeling, and not what I had hyped it up to be. That wasn’t difficult, seeing as Stephanie literally grabs hold of the reader 5 pages in and doesn’t let go.
The Eternal Wolf Clan is comprised of 6 sexy alpha males who are the last of their kind and who have been thrown into the battle of good vs. evil to save themselves, their distant cousins the Werewolves, and humankind from a group of overzealous humans known as the weretrappers. The trappers basically have a grudge against any ‘others’, though their grudge has evolved into a nefarious plot to use the ‘others’ before exterminating them. To make matters worse, they have conned a coven of powerful witches into helping them, and that is just making things harder for the Dires.
This is Rifter and Gwen’s story, but it’s also a beautiful set up for the rest of the series and I can pretty much guarantee that readers will be picking their favorite Dire immediately upon meeting him in this first installment. Without breaking the flow, Stephanie gives great descriptions of each of the Dires and some of their backstory, making it almost impossible for the reader not to choose their own personal hunky wolf to champion.
Rifter is a fabulous male lead – the leader of the Dires with the weight of the world on his shoulders and a melancholy that he can’t shake just for the simple fact that he’s felt so alone for so long.
Gwen is a great female lead. She’s smart, sassy, strong, and while looking for her prince charming, doesn’t completely turn herself off when she finds him.
The story was beautifully told; extraordinarily crafted, not only as a standalone book but as a set up for the rest of the series. The world that Stephanie has built for the Eternal Wolf Clan is unique and fresh, not something easily done in today’s market of rampant shifter stories. The added twists of magic and the Dires’ individual gifts add another layer of intrigue to the mix and there were just enough secrets left untold to keep the reader wanting more.
I can’t believe that I’ve finished book one of this long awaited treasure already. I want book 2 so badly now, it’s not going to be pretty until the next release. I guess I’ll just have to satisfy myself with spreading the word about Dire Needs and the Eternal Wolf Clan series so that everyone can read it, love it, and be in misery along with me while we wait for book 2. ;-)
LITERAL ADDICTION gives Dire Needs 5 Skulls and would recommend it to everyone. It’s a great read for Urban Fantasy buffs, Paranormal Romance lovers, fans of the strong sexy alpha male, lovers of magic and mayhem… it’s a well rounded book for just about everyone.
Kudos to Stephanie for giving us an amazing new shifter world to fall in love with.
March 4, 2012
Impressive series debut featuring a pack of dangerous, sex-addicted, Harley-riding alpha males.
Tyler has created a group of characters that are complex and intriguing. The dynamics of the pack and the world that they reside in are described in a way that is easy to understand. I still have several questions about certain aspects of the story, but it was not handled in a way that leaves me frustrated, but instead has me looking forward to discovering the answers in the series' sequel.
The developing relationship between Rifter and Gwen was intense and incredibly sexy, but is only a portion of what this story is about. It often focuses on the relationships within the pack and the wolves' struggles with who they are, what they are, and the responsibilities placed upon them by the Elders.
Frequent point-of-view changes kept me engaged in the story and gave additional insight into many of the wolves' personalities and occasionally some background.
Throughout this novel we are introduced to an almost overwhelming amount of new characters with various talents. As the story progressed, I found myself eager to learn more about each of them. It wasn't long before I was heading over to Tyler's site to see who she would be writing about next.
I am grateful that I was able to receive an advanced copy of the first book in the Dire Wolves series. Anyone who knows me can tell you that I am a huge fan of shifters, especially werewolves, and Tyler writes them in a way that ensures I will continue to follow the series.
Tyler has created a group of characters that are complex and intriguing. The dynamics of the pack and the world that they reside in are described in a way that is easy to understand. I still have several questions about certain aspects of the story, but it was not handled in a way that leaves me frustrated, but instead has me looking forward to discovering the answers in the series' sequel.
The developing relationship between Rifter and Gwen was intense and incredibly sexy, but is only a portion of what this story is about. It often focuses on the relationships within the pack and the wolves' struggles with who they are, what they are, and the responsibilities placed upon them by the Elders.
Frequent point-of-view changes kept me engaged in the story and gave additional insight into many of the wolves' personalities and occasionally some background.
Throughout this novel we are introduced to an almost overwhelming amount of new characters with various talents. As the story progressed, I found myself eager to learn more about each of them. It wasn't long before I was heading over to Tyler's site to see who she would be writing about next.
I am grateful that I was able to receive an advanced copy of the first book in the Dire Wolves series. Anyone who knows me can tell you that I am a huge fan of shifters, especially werewolves, and Tyler writes them in a way that ensures I will continue to follow the series.
March 7, 2012
Review posted: Happily Ever After - Reads
Rifter moved toward the group bare chested, jeans half undone and looking like some kind of primal god on the hunt. She could almost see the swagger of the wolf as man and beast melded to work as one.
Gwen and Rifter meet very early on in a bar where Gwen is trying to forget that her life is ending and Rifter is just simply drawn to her. He takes her home only to witness one of the seizures that will ultimately claim Gwen’s life. Just in the book’s opening alone, Gwen is facing death as her seizures keep getting worse, she loses her job due to her illness and has nobody. Her family was killed, she’s never known who her father was and she’s just counting down her days. Until Rifter comes along and draws her into a world that she can’t wrap her scientific mind around.
Rifter is a Dire wolf and the leader of a small group of the six remaining Dires in the world. They had once been a powerful group, a large clan that was killed in a mass extinction many years ago. The few remaining Dires all have certain talents, including immortality which they all look at as a curse. In addition, Rifter can dream walk, which is again something useful and dangerous. But he was able to use it to his advantage a few months ago after he and a member of pack, Rogue, were captured after being set up by another Dire, Harm. Rogue is now unconscious due to a spell set by one of Rifter’s ex-friend turned enemy, a witch named Seb. As if bringing a human in Gwen into their world wasn’t bad enough, they’re dealing with humans known as were-trappers who want to capture the Dires for experimentation and rid the world of were’s and Dires completely.
Ok, whew. There is a LOT of information packed into this book that introduces us to the new world Stephanie Tyler has created. Before starting this book, I had no idea what a Dire wolf was and how exactly it differed from a werewolf, or were shifter. And halfway through this book, I still wasn’t sure. The details are slow in coming, and it was a little hard to really get into the story during the first 50%. This is complex world, with different characters that all have different abilities and it was hard to follow at first.
It helped when Gwen really got into the heart of the story and we could see the Dire’s world through her eyes. She’s so much more than just human and it takes Rifter to help bring that out of her. Their relationship fell into the “mate” category – they were able to sense that they were destined to be together. Problem is, with Gwen being human and now knowing that Dires exist, she should be killed. Their existence, along with all supernatural creatures, is a secret from the humans. Gwen and Rifter’s relationship is intense, a little animalistic, and once Rifter understands that she’s HIS, no one is taking her away from him.
His mate was beautiful and strong. Smart. She made him laugh.
In the short time they’d been together, she’d made him care. She mattered to him in a way he hadn’t been able to let anyone matter. Not since his brothers, but that had been a different kind of bond.
This was beyond fate – he felt like the luckiest man in the world.
While the larger series storyline was just getting established in DIRE NEEDS, there was a book storyline that found a young shifter Liam, who’s next in line to lead his Were pack, being betrayed by his mate in the worst way possible and Rifter turning himself over to the enemy in return for Gwen and his own packs safety. Gwen won’t allow this and jumps right into the middle of their fight, literally. I found the action surrounding this book’s specific storyline a little weak, as it felt like the book served more as a build up for the series as a whole. In that sense, it was great series start, getting all the basics and the world laid out in detail, but there was so much happening, so many details that the plot got lost and I had a hard time really connecting to Rifter and Gwen story. They do have intense chemistry, but I just wanted more of it for them.
One thing I was really interested about by books end was the set up for future books and all the vastly different characters we’re introduced to. Rifter and his brothers aren’t in a strong place when we first meet them. They’re cursed with immortality and believe that there are no more of their kind in the world. They’re meant to mate, to have families and this drives not only their human, but their wolf side as well. Each of Rifter’s brothers have something that they’re dealing with on a personal level, be it strong emotions (as Vice has to live with) or a specific talent (Harm and his hypnotic voice, or Jinx and Rogue and how they deal with ghosts and spirits) – they’re all so different and it will be interesting to see more from them.
Overall, it's a good start to this new series and while it did have slow start, I got more into the story around the midpoint mark when we start to experience this world through Gwen's eyes. So many things get set up for this new Eternal Wolf Clan series, and while this book might not have completely captured me, I do wonder who the next hero will be and find myself wanting to know more about the pack.
Rifter moved toward the group bare chested, jeans half undone and looking like some kind of primal god on the hunt. She could almost see the swagger of the wolf as man and beast melded to work as one.
Gwen and Rifter meet very early on in a bar where Gwen is trying to forget that her life is ending and Rifter is just simply drawn to her. He takes her home only to witness one of the seizures that will ultimately claim Gwen’s life. Just in the book’s opening alone, Gwen is facing death as her seizures keep getting worse, she loses her job due to her illness and has nobody. Her family was killed, she’s never known who her father was and she’s just counting down her days. Until Rifter comes along and draws her into a world that she can’t wrap her scientific mind around.
Rifter is a Dire wolf and the leader of a small group of the six remaining Dires in the world. They had once been a powerful group, a large clan that was killed in a mass extinction many years ago. The few remaining Dires all have certain talents, including immortality which they all look at as a curse. In addition, Rifter can dream walk, which is again something useful and dangerous. But he was able to use it to his advantage a few months ago after he and a member of pack, Rogue, were captured after being set up by another Dire, Harm. Rogue is now unconscious due to a spell set by one of Rifter’s ex-friend turned enemy, a witch named Seb. As if bringing a human in Gwen into their world wasn’t bad enough, they’re dealing with humans known as were-trappers who want to capture the Dires for experimentation and rid the world of were’s and Dires completely.
Ok, whew. There is a LOT of information packed into this book that introduces us to the new world Stephanie Tyler has created. Before starting this book, I had no idea what a Dire wolf was and how exactly it differed from a werewolf, or were shifter. And halfway through this book, I still wasn’t sure. The details are slow in coming, and it was a little hard to really get into the story during the first 50%. This is complex world, with different characters that all have different abilities and it was hard to follow at first.
It helped when Gwen really got into the heart of the story and we could see the Dire’s world through her eyes. She’s so much more than just human and it takes Rifter to help bring that out of her. Their relationship fell into the “mate” category – they were able to sense that they were destined to be together. Problem is, with Gwen being human and now knowing that Dires exist, she should be killed. Their existence, along with all supernatural creatures, is a secret from the humans. Gwen and Rifter’s relationship is intense, a little animalistic, and once Rifter understands that she’s HIS, no one is taking her away from him.
His mate was beautiful and strong. Smart. She made him laugh.
In the short time they’d been together, she’d made him care. She mattered to him in a way he hadn’t been able to let anyone matter. Not since his brothers, but that had been a different kind of bond.
This was beyond fate – he felt like the luckiest man in the world.
While the larger series storyline was just getting established in DIRE NEEDS, there was a book storyline that found a young shifter Liam, who’s next in line to lead his Were pack, being betrayed by his mate in the worst way possible and Rifter turning himself over to the enemy in return for Gwen and his own packs safety. Gwen won’t allow this and jumps right into the middle of their fight, literally. I found the action surrounding this book’s specific storyline a little weak, as it felt like the book served more as a build up for the series as a whole. In that sense, it was great series start, getting all the basics and the world laid out in detail, but there was so much happening, so many details that the plot got lost and I had a hard time really connecting to Rifter and Gwen story. They do have intense chemistry, but I just wanted more of it for them.
One thing I was really interested about by books end was the set up for future books and all the vastly different characters we’re introduced to. Rifter and his brothers aren’t in a strong place when we first meet them. They’re cursed with immortality and believe that there are no more of their kind in the world. They’re meant to mate, to have families and this drives not only their human, but their wolf side as well. Each of Rifter’s brothers have something that they’re dealing with on a personal level, be it strong emotions (as Vice has to live with) or a specific talent (Harm and his hypnotic voice, or Jinx and Rogue and how they deal with ghosts and spirits) – they’re all so different and it will be interesting to see more from them.
Overall, it's a good start to this new series and while it did have slow start, I got more into the story around the midpoint mark when we start to experience this world through Gwen's eyes. So many things get set up for this new Eternal Wolf Clan series, and while this book might not have completely captured me, I do wonder who the next hero will be and find myself wanting to know more about the pack.
April 7, 2012
This review was posted at Under the Covers
I am really enthralled by the Dires world. The dires are basically werewolves but they are more. Sexier, more alpha, more badass, more tortured. Right up my alley! Their job is to protect humans from werewolves and cover their tracks to keep their existence under cover. They are immortal and lonely. Oh and did I mention they have a sexy tattoo of their wolf? Well, it's like a natural tattoo when they change their first time they wolf comes out. Love that!
This book is all about Rifter. He is the leader of the Dires. He is at a point where he is almost ready to die. Too bad they can't. He goes into a bar to find a female shifter to spend the night with but ends up very attracted to a human female. He normally doesn't go for humans, ever. But Gwen is it for him tonight. And she takes him up on his offer because she has actually just being given very little time to live. Some rare disease that causes her to have seizures.
Gwen will come to play an important role in the Dire Pack dynamic when they find out who she is, but the chemistry between her and Rifter was off the charts great!
The Dires are now fighting against Seb, and I have to say I kind of really like this bad guy. Something about him and his past that I just want to know more, know his motives, know what makes him tick.
Now onto my complaint, yes I have one. Even though there's some action, there's romance and there are quite a few smexy scenes oozing alphaness, I feel this book suffered from a major case of First Book Syndrome. There was a lot of information in the book that I thought at times was not needed. Maybe it will be important info in the future but it overwhelmed this book.
The rest of the Dires are a very intriguing bunch, I really can't wait to read their stories. I am kind of the most intrigued by Vice, and he seems like he has the most issues at times. I look forward to reading more about him as the series goes on.
I really liked the whole process of the mating between Rifter and Gwen, it wasn't without emotion and a lot of drama around them, and towards the end of this book it was nonstop and had my full attention.
*ARC provided by publisher
I am really enthralled by the Dires world. The dires are basically werewolves but they are more. Sexier, more alpha, more badass, more tortured. Right up my alley! Their job is to protect humans from werewolves and cover their tracks to keep their existence under cover. They are immortal and lonely. Oh and did I mention they have a sexy tattoo of their wolf? Well, it's like a natural tattoo when they change their first time they wolf comes out. Love that!
This book is all about Rifter. He is the leader of the Dires. He is at a point where he is almost ready to die. Too bad they can't. He goes into a bar to find a female shifter to spend the night with but ends up very attracted to a human female. He normally doesn't go for humans, ever. But Gwen is it for him tonight. And she takes him up on his offer because she has actually just being given very little time to live. Some rare disease that causes her to have seizures.
Gwen will come to play an important role in the Dire Pack dynamic when they find out who she is, but the chemistry between her and Rifter was off the charts great!
The Dires are now fighting against Seb, and I have to say I kind of really like this bad guy. Something about him and his past that I just want to know more, know his motives, know what makes him tick.
Now onto my complaint, yes I have one. Even though there's some action, there's romance and there are quite a few smexy scenes oozing alphaness, I feel this book suffered from a major case of First Book Syndrome. There was a lot of information in the book that I thought at times was not needed. Maybe it will be important info in the future but it overwhelmed this book.
The rest of the Dires are a very intriguing bunch, I really can't wait to read their stories. I am kind of the most intrigued by Vice, and he seems like he has the most issues at times. I look forward to reading more about him as the series goes on.
I really liked the whole process of the mating between Rifter and Gwen, it wasn't without emotion and a lot of drama around them, and towards the end of this book it was nonstop and had my full attention.
*ARC provided by publisher
March 16, 2012
I presume you know what the book is about, I'm letting you know what I liked or disliked about it.
I read this book within the first day of it's release but waited until today to write the review. I'd first like to say what I liked about it - the characters are fantastic, much as I'd expect with any of Ms. Tylers work. Gwen is charismatic, her confusion endearing as it is understandable - a very likable character. Rifter is every bit the Alpha Male, and the bond with his brothers is strong. I liked how his perspective was shared with the reader. I liked this part very much.
It's in the telling of this story I grew frustrated - I hate repetition within a story I'm reading. It was like one step forward in the story and four steps back. 40% thru the book and I only knew three things for certain; what the Dires were, how hard things are for them, and what they could and couldn't do. ACK!!! There were times when I couldn't even turn a page without something being repeated from the previous page. ISH.
The approach to telling this story is completely different than in any of her other books. Ms. Tyler and associates your readers are smart enough to like you they are smart enough to understand the premise of the story by the end of the first few chapters. Really - no need to beat the reader over the head with fundamental aspects of the story.
Because of the repetition things I normally overlook I couldn't. It just add to the overall unpleasantness of reading the book. It was not edited very well grammatically - so much so it seemed sloppily or hastily published, Gwen was smart enough to ask insightful questions but then turn a page and she was "learning" the very things repeated to the reader a thousand times before. And really - the "thousand" comment - not such an exaggeration.
Overall I am disappointed. I think Ms. Tyler has the foundation for a truly great series here but unless the repetition is edited out, and more of the story is told, this series simply won't sell well.
I will wait to read reviews from other readers here before I read the next book in the series.
I read this book within the first day of it's release but waited until today to write the review. I'd first like to say what I liked about it - the characters are fantastic, much as I'd expect with any of Ms. Tylers work. Gwen is charismatic, her confusion endearing as it is understandable - a very likable character. Rifter is every bit the Alpha Male, and the bond with his brothers is strong. I liked how his perspective was shared with the reader. I liked this part very much.
It's in the telling of this story I grew frustrated - I hate repetition within a story I'm reading. It was like one step forward in the story and four steps back. 40% thru the book and I only knew three things for certain; what the Dires were, how hard things are for them, and what they could and couldn't do. ACK!!! There were times when I couldn't even turn a page without something being repeated from the previous page. ISH.
The approach to telling this story is completely different than in any of her other books. Ms. Tyler and associates your readers are smart enough to like you they are smart enough to understand the premise of the story by the end of the first few chapters. Really - no need to beat the reader over the head with fundamental aspects of the story.
Because of the repetition things I normally overlook I couldn't. It just add to the overall unpleasantness of reading the book. It was not edited very well grammatically - so much so it seemed sloppily or hastily published, Gwen was smart enough to ask insightful questions but then turn a page and she was "learning" the very things repeated to the reader a thousand times before. And really - the "thousand" comment - not such an exaggeration.
Overall I am disappointed. I think Ms. Tyler has the foundation for a truly great series here but unless the repetition is edited out, and more of the story is told, this series simply won't sell well.
I will wait to read reviews from other readers here before I read the next book in the series.
August 30, 2012
Book was too short for all the world building crammed into it. The action was dazzling. Short lived due to the cramming effect.
I really enjoyed the lead characters and most of the background ones as well. That never happens for me when reading a first in series. That's why I'm giving it 4 stars instead of 3 stars. Rough start for a first, but I'm looking forward to the second.
I really enjoyed the lead characters and most of the background ones as well. That never happens for me when reading a first in series. That's why I'm giving it 4 stars instead of 3 stars. Rough start for a first, but I'm looking forward to the second.
Want to read
July 10, 2016DNF -Abandoned at 47%
It isn't often I abandon a book but I just can't get into this and just wish it would get going. I know things have to be bad when I choose to watch the TV rather than lose myself in a book!
It isn't often I abandon a book but I just can't get into this and just wish it would get going. I know things have to be bad when I choose to watch the TV rather than lose myself in a book!
March 23, 2012
This is a very hot cover!
April 11, 2012
Rifter leads the pack, embracing the lifestyle and ethics of an outlaw biker even as he battles an ancient enemy who has become a new, powerful force. But with his Brother Wolf raging inside him, howling to be unleashed, he needs to satisfy his hungers. And when he meets a drop-dead gorgeous blonde drinking alone in a bar that caters to both human and inhuman, Rifter’s primal instinct is to claim her.
Gwen has her own desires, long unfulfilled. She hopes a passionate night with the leather-clad, Harley-riding biker will ease her suffering. The seizures that have wracked her body her entire life are incurable—and they’re killing her.
But none of that will matter if Rifter can’t stop the growing threat to them all–trappers who are determined to enslave humankind and use the Dire wolves as part of their nefarious plan.
Rifter and his 5 fellow “brothers” are Dire Wolves. They are the only remaining dire wolves after their deities killed all the other dire wolves thousands of years ago after they went a bit nuts and started massacring humans. The 6 remaining were then gifted with immortality and have been charged with keeping the regular wolf shifters and humans safe from evil. All of the dire wolves have some sort of power and they help each other out in times of need. The 6 wolves seem to have not a care. They let their wolves loose at the full moon (even though they can shift whenever they want) and they have sex. These seem to be the extent of these hard ass men. But there’s definitely more to them than that.
Gwen is a medical resident who is dying. She basically has been given a month to live. She constantly has seizures and the seizures are killing her. She heads out one night to just get drunk and ends up meeting Rifter. They immediately head home to Gwen’s but a seizure stops anything from happening. Rifter, having the power to dreamwalk, gets into Gwen’s head and it almost seems to bond them in a way. After that Rifter just seems to know when she’s in trouble. When the bad guys go after Gwen Rifter is there to take her back to their mansion and protect her from evil.
The evil comes from witches practicing the dark arts and weretrappers who want to take wolves and especially dire wolves out of the picture forever. One particular witch, Seb, is almost all powerful and is immortal as well. He is started working with the dark arts because of his family but he doesn’t want to take over the world like his sister did. Unfortunately his sister spelled him and he can’t get out of it and is forced to work against his one time friends, the dire wolves. So he’s raising a spirit army of dead dire wolves to help him defeat the dire wolves. How horrible to see all your dead friends and family coming after you whether they want to or not. The witches are also after Gwen as it turns out that she’s a half human/half dire wolf but her blood can actually kill the immortal dires. If they get her they can replicate her blood and find the one thing that will bring the dires down.
Ok, the premise of this story is one that is good. The good against evil plot I can totally get into as well as Rifter finding a mate in Gwen, which they thought would never happen as all the female dires were killed by the deities years ago. The deities telling the wolves (far into the book) that maybe they aren’t the only dire wolves around is a shock but definitely leaves things open for the other dire wolves to possibly mate themselves was a good intro into the next book. There was a lot of action in the story and I found the other dire wolves interesting as the book went on and I got to know them all a little better. The tough guy attitudes weren’t all they were about. Unfortunately so much of the way the story was constructed just didn’t work for me.
Where do I start? The beginning of the book is when Rifter and Gwen meet. Rifter states that he’s been in prison but then that is never mentioned again. Ever. Was he really or was that just him being an ass? IDK. They go home together but their thoughts aren’t on each other. Gwen goes into her room to take medication in the hopes that she won’t seize and starts thinking of her house, her life, her impending death…stuff that ends up giving us background. Then she does seize and Rifter helps her but then he starts thinking about his fellow dire wolves and their powers, etc. What? Instead of a sexy, possible tension ridden scene we get info dumps. I was frustrated. Did I really need to know all that information right then? No, it could have been given to me over the course of the story but it’s dumped all at once, and at a completely inappropriate time. The same info is also given to us multiple times in different parts of the book so the repetitiveness got old and proved that the initial info dump wasn’t necessary.
Besides the info dumping the book became more convoluted as it went on. There was almost too much happening and after a while it became unbelievable and this is a paranormal romance. I’ve already suspended belief – how much farther do I need to take it?
Near the end the deities end up coming to help the dire wolves but they’ll only grant the dires one wish – only one thing that they can help them with. What do they choose? To save Gwen. Now, I get that Gwen gives all the dires hope that they too can mate in the future but let’s think about this. You’re trying to save the world, in a roundabout kind of way, you’ve got a witch that is immortal and causing a boatload of trouble and you have to find a way to take him down. You’re at a loss as to how to kill him and end up saving everyone…and you choose to save the girl. Now maybe it’s just me, but frankly I would have said – kill Seb and all our troubles will go away. Ok, maybe I’m not being romantic enough but still – there was your solution! *sigh* IDK, maybe it was just one too many eye-rolling moments for me.
In this story Rifter and Gwen do get their HEA. Unfortunately it was hard to concentrate on their romance when so many other things were going on. The impending disaster with the spirit army that they were fighting against is left hanging and didn’t conclude at all. I’m sorry to say that this book was just ok and mostly didn't work for me. It had it’s good parts but the parts I didn’t like far outweighed the parts I did.
This review was originally posted on Book Binge by Tracy.
Gwen has her own desires, long unfulfilled. She hopes a passionate night with the leather-clad, Harley-riding biker will ease her suffering. The seizures that have wracked her body her entire life are incurable—and they’re killing her.
But none of that will matter if Rifter can’t stop the growing threat to them all–trappers who are determined to enslave humankind and use the Dire wolves as part of their nefarious plan.
Rifter and his 5 fellow “brothers” are Dire Wolves. They are the only remaining dire wolves after their deities killed all the other dire wolves thousands of years ago after they went a bit nuts and started massacring humans. The 6 remaining were then gifted with immortality and have been charged with keeping the regular wolf shifters and humans safe from evil. All of the dire wolves have some sort of power and they help each other out in times of need. The 6 wolves seem to have not a care. They let their wolves loose at the full moon (even though they can shift whenever they want) and they have sex. These seem to be the extent of these hard ass men. But there’s definitely more to them than that.
Gwen is a medical resident who is dying. She basically has been given a month to live. She constantly has seizures and the seizures are killing her. She heads out one night to just get drunk and ends up meeting Rifter. They immediately head home to Gwen’s but a seizure stops anything from happening. Rifter, having the power to dreamwalk, gets into Gwen’s head and it almost seems to bond them in a way. After that Rifter just seems to know when she’s in trouble. When the bad guys go after Gwen Rifter is there to take her back to their mansion and protect her from evil.
The evil comes from witches practicing the dark arts and weretrappers who want to take wolves and especially dire wolves out of the picture forever. One particular witch, Seb, is almost all powerful and is immortal as well. He is started working with the dark arts because of his family but he doesn’t want to take over the world like his sister did. Unfortunately his sister spelled him and he can’t get out of it and is forced to work against his one time friends, the dire wolves. So he’s raising a spirit army of dead dire wolves to help him defeat the dire wolves. How horrible to see all your dead friends and family coming after you whether they want to or not. The witches are also after Gwen as it turns out that she’s a half human/half dire wolf but her blood can actually kill the immortal dires. If they get her they can replicate her blood and find the one thing that will bring the dires down.
Ok, the premise of this story is one that is good. The good against evil plot I can totally get into as well as Rifter finding a mate in Gwen, which they thought would never happen as all the female dires were killed by the deities years ago. The deities telling the wolves (far into the book) that maybe they aren’t the only dire wolves around is a shock but definitely leaves things open for the other dire wolves to possibly mate themselves was a good intro into the next book. There was a lot of action in the story and I found the other dire wolves interesting as the book went on and I got to know them all a little better. The tough guy attitudes weren’t all they were about. Unfortunately so much of the way the story was constructed just didn’t work for me.
Where do I start? The beginning of the book is when Rifter and Gwen meet. Rifter states that he’s been in prison but then that is never mentioned again. Ever. Was he really or was that just him being an ass? IDK. They go home together but their thoughts aren’t on each other. Gwen goes into her room to take medication in the hopes that she won’t seize and starts thinking of her house, her life, her impending death…stuff that ends up giving us background. Then she does seize and Rifter helps her but then he starts thinking about his fellow dire wolves and their powers, etc. What? Instead of a sexy, possible tension ridden scene we get info dumps. I was frustrated. Did I really need to know all that information right then? No, it could have been given to me over the course of the story but it’s dumped all at once, and at a completely inappropriate time. The same info is also given to us multiple times in different parts of the book so the repetitiveness got old and proved that the initial info dump wasn’t necessary.
Besides the info dumping the book became more convoluted as it went on. There was almost too much happening and after a while it became unbelievable and this is a paranormal romance. I’ve already suspended belief – how much farther do I need to take it?
Near the end the deities end up coming to help the dire wolves but they’ll only grant the dires one wish – only one thing that they can help them with. What do they choose? To save Gwen. Now, I get that Gwen gives all the dires hope that they too can mate in the future but let’s think about this. You’re trying to save the world, in a roundabout kind of way, you’ve got a witch that is immortal and causing a boatload of trouble and you have to find a way to take him down. You’re at a loss as to how to kill him and end up saving everyone…and you choose to save the girl. Now maybe it’s just me, but frankly I would have said – kill Seb and all our troubles will go away. Ok, maybe I’m not being romantic enough but still – there was your solution! *sigh* IDK, maybe it was just one too many eye-rolling moments for me.
In this story Rifter and Gwen do get their HEA. Unfortunately it was hard to concentrate on their romance when so many other things were going on. The impending disaster with the spirit army that they were fighting against is left hanging and didn’t conclude at all. I’m sorry to say that this book was just ok and mostly didn't work for me. It had it’s good parts but the parts I didn’t like far outweighed the parts I did.
This review was originally posted on Book Binge by Tracy.
March 13, 2012
Posted at Yummy Men & Kick Ass Chicks
Dire Needs in the first book in a brand spanking new series by Stephanie Tyler. The Eternal Wolf Clan series focuses on a pack of Dire wolves, werewolves who are immortal, extra badass and who are sworn to protect humans from crazed weres. This task is not proving easy lately since evil witches and weretrappers are also coming into play. Yeah…that’s just adding a whole mess of new problems for our Dire wolves Rifter, Stray, Vice, Jinx, Rogue and Harm.
This being the first book in a new paranormal romance series, it just makes sense that it would be about the leader. And the leader of this crew is Rifter. This is supposed to be the story of how he and his HEA Grace meet and fall in love – and it is – but it often got pushed aside in favor of information. Lots and lots of information.
I know that you are not really surprised by this because it is, after all, the first book in a new series. And yes, a certain amount of information is important to set up the world that the author has created, but there is a limit. I often found myself confused and having to re-read certain parts to see what I missed…only to find out I didn’t miss anything and just remained confused. Yes, eventually new info was added and it all fit together but that wasn’t until 90% into the book. I expect the first 20 or so percent of a new series to be an info dump but not 90%. To be fair, there was some action and some romance mixed in there but when I found the story was finally picking up, more info would be handed to me that I didn’t quite know what to do with. It was all just a little overloaded for me.
But if you can look past that, you have the makings or a great book/story/series. Rifter is a great leader and a real alpha. There are great layers to his character and it’s always awesome to witness an über alpha fall hard for his mate. His heroine Grace was well done too. New to this whole world of weres and witches and she takes it like a champ. She asks a lot of questions which leads to more information but it’s during these times when they are explaining thing to Grace that I found my fog lifting. It’s like they dummy things down a bit for her so I can finally understand things. *g*
The other Dires are interesting and I am very intrigued by each and every one of them. Stephanie did a great job setting them up. They are each, of course, going to be getting their own books. Next up is Stray and his book Dire Wants hits shelves in November 2012. He was found about 50 years ago after being alone for years and he is a bit of a mystery. Okay, he is a lot of a mystery so it will be very cool to find out more about him and to meet his HEA. Each of these guys totally deserves a lady and a happy ending and I’m glad they will each get one.
The ‘villain’ Seb was really well written. You want to hate him absolutely but there are chapters written from his mindset so you can see the struggle he faces. So you still hate him but you are a little more reluctant to when you are reading his ‘perspective’. I am curious to see where everything leads because lots of nasty stuff was set up in this book.
I liked how Stephanie wrote her weres. I love the idea of Brother and Sister wolf and how they are a separate part of the man/woman yet still whole with them at the same time. Brother and Sister are very wise and they almost steer the were in the right direction. They remind them that instinct is sometimes the best thing to follow. But there are a couple of instincts that these guys never question and that is their instinct to run and to fu…yeah. That. These wolves are very virile and the scenes depicting that are steamy. I especially enjoyed Rifter and Grace’s third mating. Yup. Very nice.
Overall, I did enjoy the guts of this book but I just wish it was told without needing so much explanation. The world is interesting and the mythology of it all is fascinating…once you understand it all. I have a feeling that Dire Wants will be easier to read and I am looking forward to seeing if I am right.
Dire Needs in the first book in a brand spanking new series by Stephanie Tyler. The Eternal Wolf Clan series focuses on a pack of Dire wolves, werewolves who are immortal, extra badass and who are sworn to protect humans from crazed weres. This task is not proving easy lately since evil witches and weretrappers are also coming into play. Yeah…that’s just adding a whole mess of new problems for our Dire wolves Rifter, Stray, Vice, Jinx, Rogue and Harm.
This being the first book in a new paranormal romance series, it just makes sense that it would be about the leader. And the leader of this crew is Rifter. This is supposed to be the story of how he and his HEA Grace meet and fall in love – and it is – but it often got pushed aside in favor of information. Lots and lots of information.
I know that you are not really surprised by this because it is, after all, the first book in a new series. And yes, a certain amount of information is important to set up the world that the author has created, but there is a limit. I often found myself confused and having to re-read certain parts to see what I missed…only to find out I didn’t miss anything and just remained confused. Yes, eventually new info was added and it all fit together but that wasn’t until 90% into the book. I expect the first 20 or so percent of a new series to be an info dump but not 90%. To be fair, there was some action and some romance mixed in there but when I found the story was finally picking up, more info would be handed to me that I didn’t quite know what to do with. It was all just a little overloaded for me.
But if you can look past that, you have the makings or a great book/story/series. Rifter is a great leader and a real alpha. There are great layers to his character and it’s always awesome to witness an über alpha fall hard for his mate. His heroine Grace was well done too. New to this whole world of weres and witches and she takes it like a champ. She asks a lot of questions which leads to more information but it’s during these times when they are explaining thing to Grace that I found my fog lifting. It’s like they dummy things down a bit for her so I can finally understand things. *g*
The other Dires are interesting and I am very intrigued by each and every one of them. Stephanie did a great job setting them up. They are each, of course, going to be getting their own books. Next up is Stray and his book Dire Wants hits shelves in November 2012. He was found about 50 years ago after being alone for years and he is a bit of a mystery. Okay, he is a lot of a mystery so it will be very cool to find out more about him and to meet his HEA. Each of these guys totally deserves a lady and a happy ending and I’m glad they will each get one.
The ‘villain’ Seb was really well written. You want to hate him absolutely but there are chapters written from his mindset so you can see the struggle he faces. So you still hate him but you are a little more reluctant to when you are reading his ‘perspective’. I am curious to see where everything leads because lots of nasty stuff was set up in this book.
I liked how Stephanie wrote her weres. I love the idea of Brother and Sister wolf and how they are a separate part of the man/woman yet still whole with them at the same time. Brother and Sister are very wise and they almost steer the were in the right direction. They remind them that instinct is sometimes the best thing to follow. But there are a couple of instincts that these guys never question and that is their instinct to run and to fu…yeah. That. These wolves are very virile and the scenes depicting that are steamy. I especially enjoyed Rifter and Grace’s third mating. Yup. Very nice.
Overall, I did enjoy the guts of this book but I just wish it was told without needing so much explanation. The world is interesting and the mythology of it all is fascinating…once you understand it all. I have a feeling that Dire Wants will be easier to read and I am looking forward to seeing if I am right.
Read
August 3, 2013Well 3rd time is the charm for me. I tried to finish it, I really really tried. Stephanie Tyler has been on my auto buy list since I first read her Sydney Croft work in the Acro Series, I liked the Hold Trilogy, and I LOVED Shadow Force.
So when I saw that she will be releasing a new paranormal series, I was all over it. I pre-purchased this book 2 months before it came out...and it took me THIS long to try and get through it. (this review is dated 4.1.14, book was released 3.6.12, so damn, a year! can't say a girl did't give it her all)
At first I couldn't really get into the story. So I put it down thinking I just need to be in the mood for this book.
I picked it up again and managed to get 30% in before I got so irritated with the reference to Rifter's brother wolf I wanted to throw the book across the room.
I gave it one final shot this week. But, I'm sorry, stick a fork in me, I'm.just.done. DNF'd at 50%.
Not only could I not find myself relating to the characters, I could barely get enough in me to just plain old care. The plot was not interesting. I didn't even enjoy the world building. It was just plain meh. The book was just
I don't think I will be reading the other books in this series.
I love Stephanie Tyler, but I think I will stick to her Romantic Suspense work in the future.
So when I saw that she will be releasing a new paranormal series, I was all over it. I pre-purchased this book 2 months before it came out...and it took me THIS long to try and get through it. (this review is dated 4.1.14, book was released 3.6.12, so damn, a year! can't say a girl did't give it her all)
At first I couldn't really get into the story. So I put it down thinking I just need to be in the mood for this book.
I picked it up again and managed to get 30% in before I got so irritated with the reference to Rifter's brother wolf I wanted to throw the book across the room.
I gave it one final shot this week. But, I'm sorry, stick a fork in me, I'm.just.done. DNF'd at 50%.
Not only could I not find myself relating to the characters, I could barely get enough in me to just plain old care. The plot was not interesting. I didn't even enjoy the world building. It was just plain meh. The book was just
I don't think I will be reading the other books in this series.
I love Stephanie Tyler, but I think I will stick to her Romantic Suspense work in the future.
September 14, 2012
I had read a good review on one of my book blogs, so I got this book from the library. Very happy I didn't spend the $7.99 because I'll never read this again. I'm slightly curious about what happens to the other characters but doubt I'll make any effort to get the next books.
Since I hadn't read much about it, I was pleasantly surprised to see that other reviews compared it to Ward's Brotherhood series because that's what immediately popped into my mind. 5 big, tough, vulgar men just seemed to be poor imitations of BBD. While I have my issues with Ward's series, boy could I appreciate it more after reading this one.
Besides not finding the characters believable within the author's setting, I found the storyline skipped here and there giving us little nuggets of info about the characters randomly and confusingly. The violence (beating and tazering) wasn't initially explained well and just didn't seem to fit within the society's own rules. I think there was some inconsistency with Max as well. At one point she's human and another she was a wolf and part of the pack.
I was also surprised about the mentioning of characters and setting from another author's work (perhaps Tyler writes both series?!? The other one is much better.). One of the characters is a demon and some of the weres in this book are possessed by demons. OK, you drag in this demon from another series(Eidolon), why aren't the Dires asking Eidolon for help killing/depossessing the weres?
Since I hadn't read much about it, I was pleasantly surprised to see that other reviews compared it to Ward's Brotherhood series because that's what immediately popped into my mind. 5 big, tough, vulgar men just seemed to be poor imitations of BBD. While I have my issues with Ward's series, boy could I appreciate it more after reading this one.
Besides not finding the characters believable within the author's setting, I found the storyline skipped here and there giving us little nuggets of info about the characters randomly and confusingly. The violence (beating and tazering) wasn't initially explained well and just didn't seem to fit within the society's own rules. I think there was some inconsistency with Max as well. At one point she's human and another she was a wolf and part of the pack.
I was also surprised about the mentioning of characters and setting from another author's work (perhaps Tyler writes both series?!? The other one is much better.). One of the characters is a demon and some of the weres in this book are possessed by demons. OK, you drag in this demon from another series(Eidolon), why aren't the Dires asking Eidolon for help killing/depossessing the weres?
January 14, 2015
DNF
I had such high hopes for this book. A “Black Dagger Brotherhood” vibe with rugged Alpha Dire Wolves as opposed to Vampires, but truthfully the characters introduced fell flat in personality and individuality to the point that at times I was confused with who was who. The main character is Rifter who is King of the Dire Wolves and he is paired with Gwen who is half-human/half-Dire. Their initial meeting had great potential but as the story progressed, I felt little chemistry or spark develop between the two and therefore was not invested in them as a couple. Also, I have no problem when an author sets up a certain amount of world building; however this story had an excessive amount of history combined with world building that was still prominent at page 200. The overkill of history was confusing, frustrating and at that point my brain was already on massive overload resulting in no desire to finish. Unfortunately, I believe the author tried to package too much information in this series debut and in return it destroyed the overall enjoyment of the main characters and plot of the story.
*On a further note I read the prequel, Dire Warning, prior to Dire Needs and it consisted of all world building and history.
Originally posted at http://www.fictionvixen.com/2012/03/r...
January 30, 2012
Rifter leads a pack of Dire wolves, they're immortal and responsible for keeping humans safe. Only a handful of Dire wolves remain, they're all Alphas, circumstances have forced them to work and live together, and Rifter is their leader.
Gwen is a doctor suffering from seizures which will eventually kill her. She meets Rifter the day she learns her death is imminent. She wants nothing more than to live and enjoy a real life while Rifter dreams of the ability to die.
This is a fascinating new world that I'm really excited about. Within the first few chapters I was feeling a very strong resemblance to other series like the Black Dagger Brotherhood and Lords of the Underworld. Somehow the author has made this story seem interesting and fresh. Each brother in the pack has a past and a separate identity which begs to be explored in subsequent books.
It's not the smoothest book to read because of the world building. Getting to know all the brothers also makes it a little choppy and difficult to digest. I really could have used a cheat sheet in the back giving me a basic description of each brother as well as a few definitions of terms used. I'm sure the next book will be much easier to read now that the introductions have been made and the world established. Honestly, I can't wait for the next book to see where it's all going.
Gwen is a doctor suffering from seizures which will eventually kill her. She meets Rifter the day she learns her death is imminent. She wants nothing more than to live and enjoy a real life while Rifter dreams of the ability to die.
This is a fascinating new world that I'm really excited about. Within the first few chapters I was feeling a very strong resemblance to other series like the Black Dagger Brotherhood and Lords of the Underworld. Somehow the author has made this story seem interesting and fresh. Each brother in the pack has a past and a separate identity which begs to be explored in subsequent books.
It's not the smoothest book to read because of the world building. Getting to know all the brothers also makes it a little choppy and difficult to digest. I really could have used a cheat sheet in the back giving me a basic description of each brother as well as a few definitions of terms used. I'm sure the next book will be much easier to read now that the introductions have been made and the world established. Honestly, I can't wait for the next book to see where it's all going.
August 6, 2025
The hero was in the bar that night for a woman. Even knowing how his wolf drove him to run beneath the moon and the blissful release of an orgasm would be quickly followed by pain. He needed to do something to ease this ache inside. The ache of reviling his imprisonment. The torment of knowing his brother is trapped in a death coma because of it. The torment of knowing eternal life while being one of the few remaining survivors of his race. When he sees the heroine, he knows she doesn't belong...but she is the one.
The heroine is in that bar to get laid. To know passion for the first time in her life before she dies. And she is dying. The disease inside is killing her quickly, seizure by seizure. She chooses the hero because he is the largest in the room and because he carries himself with a confidence and grace that enchants her. Back at her place, hands all over each other’s bodies.... interrupted by a damn seizure. The hero never realized that a human seizing would smell like a Dire wolf and that he knows she'll be mortified to do it in front of him but he still remains to see her cared for. When the urge to run overtakes him, he bids his female goodbye and changes.
The heroine is fired from her job the next day because of her progressing illness and to make matters worse, she's attacked in the parking lot of the hospital by a crazy girl with a sharp knife. She's saved by a man...who turns into a wolf. And then the hero shows up and takes her back his home where he tells her that without his help the werewolves and witches hunting her will kill her before she could ever defend herself.
The hero, like his brothers believe she is a target because of her involvement with the Dire king-the hero. But all parties involved are stunned when they realize she's in fact half dire wolf herself. That the attacks plaguing her all her life are actually her wolf attempting to shift and that the medication she's been taking have been suppressing it. But it's not as simple as stopping the meds. The fact that she's half human is the bigger worry. Her body may not survive the 3 changes required to complete the shift given the fact that even full blooded dire wolfs die during the progress. But like it or, she is changing. She becomes more aggressive, like the hero. She becomes more sexually demanding-not that she could ever have stopped herself from craving the hero before. The hero makes it clear that she's his mate and even with her residing human urge for logic, she knows deep inside that what he's saying is true. She craves him as deeply as he craves her, a voice (her wolf) telling her he is hers as much as she is his. But a 3rd mating will seal the bond between then while jumpstarting the urge to shift. When her body fights the change, she almost dies. The hero is willing to sacrifice everything to have her live and be free but he doesn't realize that the heroine hasn't given quite yet and her wolf wants to fight.
The book wasn't what I was expecting. This is neither a bad thing, or a good thing...it just is. I had it in my mind that this story had a much darker undertone to it and while there are certainly darker parts, it wasn't the angst driven torture show I imagined it to be. Another thing I wasn't expecting was the 'ease' in which the hero and heroine came together. The story wasn't about them fighting their attraction or overcoming forbidden aspects to their relationship. No, it was about the hero and heroine fighting the werewolf/witch alias that aims to destroy the world, while at the same time trying to figure out the heroine's life. Maybe I could have done with a bit or sexual tension? Regardless, however unexpected this story was, I enjoyed it none the less. The hero was delicious with his bad boy biker attitude and sexy possessiveness of his woman. Oh, and his comfort with nudity? Killer. The heroine was also a character I greatly admired. First off for her desire to fight for her life despite the odds. Secondly for her intelligence to listen and understand what's truly going on inside her body. Even though it's crazy, inside she knows it to be the truth. Plus, I liked her progression into an animalistic wolf willing to fight for her mate. It was a good book and I am anticipating the chance to re-read the books to follow.
The heroine is in that bar to get laid. To know passion for the first time in her life before she dies. And she is dying. The disease inside is killing her quickly, seizure by seizure. She chooses the hero because he is the largest in the room and because he carries himself with a confidence and grace that enchants her. Back at her place, hands all over each other’s bodies.... interrupted by a damn seizure. The hero never realized that a human seizing would smell like a Dire wolf and that he knows she'll be mortified to do it in front of him but he still remains to see her cared for. When the urge to run overtakes him, he bids his female goodbye and changes.
The heroine is fired from her job the next day because of her progressing illness and to make matters worse, she's attacked in the parking lot of the hospital by a crazy girl with a sharp knife. She's saved by a man...who turns into a wolf. And then the hero shows up and takes her back his home where he tells her that without his help the werewolves and witches hunting her will kill her before she could ever defend herself.
The hero, like his brothers believe she is a target because of her involvement with the Dire king-the hero. But all parties involved are stunned when they realize she's in fact half dire wolf herself. That the attacks plaguing her all her life are actually her wolf attempting to shift and that the medication she's been taking have been suppressing it. But it's not as simple as stopping the meds. The fact that she's half human is the bigger worry. Her body may not survive the 3 changes required to complete the shift given the fact that even full blooded dire wolfs die during the progress. But like it or, she is changing. She becomes more aggressive, like the hero. She becomes more sexually demanding-not that she could ever have stopped herself from craving the hero before. The hero makes it clear that she's his mate and even with her residing human urge for logic, she knows deep inside that what he's saying is true. She craves him as deeply as he craves her, a voice (her wolf) telling her he is hers as much as she is his. But a 3rd mating will seal the bond between then while jumpstarting the urge to shift. When her body fights the change, she almost dies. The hero is willing to sacrifice everything to have her live and be free but he doesn't realize that the heroine hasn't given quite yet and her wolf wants to fight.
The book wasn't what I was expecting. This is neither a bad thing, or a good thing...it just is. I had it in my mind that this story had a much darker undertone to it and while there are certainly darker parts, it wasn't the angst driven torture show I imagined it to be. Another thing I wasn't expecting was the 'ease' in which the hero and heroine came together. The story wasn't about them fighting their attraction or overcoming forbidden aspects to their relationship. No, it was about the hero and heroine fighting the werewolf/witch alias that aims to destroy the world, while at the same time trying to figure out the heroine's life. Maybe I could have done with a bit or sexual tension? Regardless, however unexpected this story was, I enjoyed it none the less. The hero was delicious with his bad boy biker attitude and sexy possessiveness of his woman. Oh, and his comfort with nudity? Killer. The heroine was also a character I greatly admired. First off for her desire to fight for her life despite the odds. Secondly for her intelligence to listen and understand what's truly going on inside her body. Even though it's crazy, inside she knows it to be the truth. Plus, I liked her progression into an animalistic wolf willing to fight for her mate. It was a good book and I am anticipating the chance to re-read the books to follow.
March 3, 2012
May have slight spoilers.
In Dire Needs by Stephanie Tyler, we get our first full look into the New York Times Bestselling author’s brand new paranormal world.
(There is a prequel though, Dire Warnings.)
The alpha Dire wolves are the last six alive after the Extinction and they are all men. After the Extinction they also found that besides being the last ones alive they were immortal to.
We jump right into the novel, and plot with the opening page where we meet Rifter, the leader, if reluctant, of the Dire wolves. Rifter also happens to be tall, sexy as hell, and has supernatural powers. It is not long at all (first chapter actually) that he meets Gwen, a human woman in a were-bar and is instantly drawn to her.
Gwen is dying. Ever since she was little Gwen has had seizure’s and now they are getting more frequent and the doctors tell her that they will eventually kill her.
Gwen herself has spent the majority of her life working to become a doctor and has not really taken anything else into account in her life. She hasn’t done anything for fun so to speak, which is how she came to be sitting in a werewolf bar (not that she knew, yet), and taking the tall as hell, sexy as sin man home with her.
Unfortunately her sexy one night stand is ruined when a seizure hits, Rifter surprises himself by staying with her when he knows he should have left as soon as she stopped seizing.
From here on out our two characters are drawn to each other and when weretrappers—people who set out to kill the Dire wolves and by relation the werewolves as well—start trying to capture Gwen, for unknown reasons, Rifter takes her home to his and the other Dire wolves house. After all she is dying, so it isn’t like he will have any problems with her going out and telling people about them. Well that is what he tells himself anyway, but he and his Brother Wolf want Gwen with a need that Rifter can barely control.
Soon though it becomes quite clear what the reason for Gwen’s seizures are caused by when her father, a Dire wolf named Harm that was supposed to be king but did not want the title and left the other Dire’s therefore, betraying them, is captured and tells them of her.
This reveals the reason why the weretrappers and the witches who have allied themselves with them are trying so hard to capture her.
We get the point-of-view of most all of the Dire wolves in this novel, and Gwen as well. So there is some jumping back and forth, but nothing that is hard to follow along with and it also gives us a great look at the other characters and hints of what are going on in their personal lives.
I have to say one of my favorite characters was Vice. Though I really liked all of the Dire’s he was my favorite, you will have to read it to find out why though.
One thing that took a little getting used to was how the Dire’s referred to their wolves, calling them 'Brother Wolf', it is not so different that any other novel where the were character refers to their wolf as 'Wolf', but with the 'Brother' at the start it did take a little adjusting to get used to it—not a bad thing though.
Over all the Dire's are very sexual and aggressive men/wolves you can practically feel the sexual aggression and testosterone rolling off of the pages in some scenes of the book.
Altogether, the novel is full of plot, surprises, fight scenes and more than enough sexy love scenes making it a definite page turner.
I am looking forward to the second book in this series coming out to see what will happen next with the overall plot of the weretrapper/Dire wolves/werewolves, but also to find out how our next Dire falls in love and what his woman will be like. I would recommend this novel to anyone who loves a good paranormal read.
*I received a hardcover/paperback/eBook copy/ARC of this book for free to review from the author/publisher; this in no way influenced my review, all opinions are 100% my own.
In Dire Needs by Stephanie Tyler, we get our first full look into the New York Times Bestselling author’s brand new paranormal world.
(There is a prequel though, Dire Warnings.)
The alpha Dire wolves are the last six alive after the Extinction and they are all men. After the Extinction they also found that besides being the last ones alive they were immortal to.
We jump right into the novel, and plot with the opening page where we meet Rifter, the leader, if reluctant, of the Dire wolves. Rifter also happens to be tall, sexy as hell, and has supernatural powers. It is not long at all (first chapter actually) that he meets Gwen, a human woman in a were-bar and is instantly drawn to her.
Gwen is dying. Ever since she was little Gwen has had seizure’s and now they are getting more frequent and the doctors tell her that they will eventually kill her.
Gwen herself has spent the majority of her life working to become a doctor and has not really taken anything else into account in her life. She hasn’t done anything for fun so to speak, which is how she came to be sitting in a werewolf bar (not that she knew, yet), and taking the tall as hell, sexy as sin man home with her.
Unfortunately her sexy one night stand is ruined when a seizure hits, Rifter surprises himself by staying with her when he knows he should have left as soon as she stopped seizing.
From here on out our two characters are drawn to each other and when weretrappers—people who set out to kill the Dire wolves and by relation the werewolves as well—start trying to capture Gwen, for unknown reasons, Rifter takes her home to his and the other Dire wolves house. After all she is dying, so it isn’t like he will have any problems with her going out and telling people about them. Well that is what he tells himself anyway, but he and his Brother Wolf want Gwen with a need that Rifter can barely control.
Soon though it becomes quite clear what the reason for Gwen’s seizures are caused by when her father, a Dire wolf named Harm that was supposed to be king but did not want the title and left the other Dire’s therefore, betraying them, is captured and tells them of her.
This reveals the reason why the weretrappers and the witches who have allied themselves with them are trying so hard to capture her.
We get the point-of-view of most all of the Dire wolves in this novel, and Gwen as well. So there is some jumping back and forth, but nothing that is hard to follow along with and it also gives us a great look at the other characters and hints of what are going on in their personal lives.
I have to say one of my favorite characters was Vice. Though I really liked all of the Dire’s he was my favorite, you will have to read it to find out why though.
One thing that took a little getting used to was how the Dire’s referred to their wolves, calling them 'Brother Wolf', it is not so different that any other novel where the were character refers to their wolf as 'Wolf', but with the 'Brother' at the start it did take a little adjusting to get used to it—not a bad thing though.
Over all the Dire's are very sexual and aggressive men/wolves you can practically feel the sexual aggression and testosterone rolling off of the pages in some scenes of the book.
Altogether, the novel is full of plot, surprises, fight scenes and more than enough sexy love scenes making it a definite page turner.
I am looking forward to the second book in this series coming out to see what will happen next with the overall plot of the weretrapper/Dire wolves/werewolves, but also to find out how our next Dire falls in love and what his woman will be like. I would recommend this novel to anyone who loves a good paranormal read.
*I received a hardcover/paperback/eBook copy/ARC of this book for free to review from the author/publisher; this in no way influenced my review, all opinions are 100% my own.
September 1, 2012
A new darker, edgier series debut into the Werewolf Paranormal Romance world! I loved the premise and looked forward to reading this one. The world building in this one intrigued me with its truly evil and monstrous baddies while the good guys, the Dire wolves, were rougher and wilder- not human at all.
The world is a darker place where danger abounds and no one is safe from the power hungry evil ones made up of witches, demons, weres, and humans. The only thing standing between the good weres and humans and their destruction is the small pack of Dire wolves. The Dire wolves are a special species of wolf shifter that are an older more powerful breed than the later created were shifters.
This story begins when Rifter, the king (though he doesn't like having that title conferred on him) of the Dires, heeds his wolf's urges and goes out with the others to sate his needs first with finding a female were and then to go running as his wolf. His plans are altered from the moment he steps foot in the shifter bar. He spies a little human female cozied up to the bar drinking strong and swaying to the music. Both he and Brother Wolf are drawn to her and it is with Gwen that Rifter leaves the bar (love the reference to his singular behavior of taking a human woman hitting facebook).
Rifter knows that he should not be with the human because he will hurt her with his vastly superior physical strength, but there is something about her that calls to something in him. He discovers that she is dying, but she just wants to live which is why she was acting with an air of abandon at the bar.
Later circumstances bring them together yet again when he discovers that the weretrappers (the bad guys) are after her and he brings her back to the Dire house for safekeeping which has the other Dires up in arms about protecting a human. Although, it soon becomes known that Gwen is not just your average human and it drives them to demand her death while Rifter argues for her life because he has worked out that she is his true mate. The mating ritual can very well kill her so Rifter has no plans to complete it, but he does plan to keep Gwen. He just need to convince Gwen that she belongs to him and with him. Other things happen to in the Dire household to add to the turmoil there and keep the Dires busy.
Meanwhile back at the ranch, the bad guys are not sitting idle, but have begun conjuring up a spirit army to defeat the dires even while their regular people attack the Dires and try to take Gwen several times. Its all rather exciting stuff even while evil seems to be getting stronger. I've deliberately skipped referencing several plot lines for the sake of time and not disclosing any spoilers.
The over all plot is decent, but I confess there were times that the complexities of the background info and how it affects the current situation along with the multiple story lines got a bit convoluted and bogged down the pace at times while also serving to cut up the romance portion a bit too much for my taste. Some of that should maybe have been saved for another book.
And truthfully, the extended and repetitive description of Vice's -well, vices got annoying. Okay, I get it already. He likes his sin- no need to go on ad nauseum about it.
Then the tradition of the Dire wolves was given no less than three times with no new info imparted as each new person required an explanation.
All that being said, I did not hate the story and actually enjoyed it because it had many exciting action-packed moments including the passion between Rifter and Gwen along with this incredible new world of shifters, witches, demons, weres and humans that Stephenie Tyler has imagined for us.
So while it wasn't a hit out of the ballpark for me, it is definitely a series that I plan to keep reading. Recommended to Paranormal Romance fans who like their 'things that go bump in the night' to be on the darker side.
The world is a darker place where danger abounds and no one is safe from the power hungry evil ones made up of witches, demons, weres, and humans. The only thing standing between the good weres and humans and their destruction is the small pack of Dire wolves. The Dire wolves are a special species of wolf shifter that are an older more powerful breed than the later created were shifters.
This story begins when Rifter, the king (though he doesn't like having that title conferred on him) of the Dires, heeds his wolf's urges and goes out with the others to sate his needs first with finding a female were and then to go running as his wolf. His plans are altered from the moment he steps foot in the shifter bar. He spies a little human female cozied up to the bar drinking strong and swaying to the music. Both he and Brother Wolf are drawn to her and it is with Gwen that Rifter leaves the bar (love the reference to his singular behavior of taking a human woman hitting facebook).
Rifter knows that he should not be with the human because he will hurt her with his vastly superior physical strength, but there is something about her that calls to something in him. He discovers that she is dying, but she just wants to live which is why she was acting with an air of abandon at the bar.
Later circumstances bring them together yet again when he discovers that the weretrappers (the bad guys) are after her and he brings her back to the Dire house for safekeeping which has the other Dires up in arms about protecting a human. Although, it soon becomes known that Gwen is not just your average human and it drives them to demand her death while Rifter argues for her life because he has worked out that she is his true mate. The mating ritual can very well kill her so Rifter has no plans to complete it, but he does plan to keep Gwen. He just need to convince Gwen that she belongs to him and with him. Other things happen to in the Dire household to add to the turmoil there and keep the Dires busy.
Meanwhile back at the ranch, the bad guys are not sitting idle, but have begun conjuring up a spirit army to defeat the dires even while their regular people attack the Dires and try to take Gwen several times. Its all rather exciting stuff even while evil seems to be getting stronger. I've deliberately skipped referencing several plot lines for the sake of time and not disclosing any spoilers.
The over all plot is decent, but I confess there were times that the complexities of the background info and how it affects the current situation along with the multiple story lines got a bit convoluted and bogged down the pace at times while also serving to cut up the romance portion a bit too much for my taste. Some of that should maybe have been saved for another book.
And truthfully, the extended and repetitive description of Vice's -well, vices got annoying. Okay, I get it already. He likes his sin- no need to go on ad nauseum about it.
Then the tradition of the Dire wolves was given no less than three times with no new info imparted as each new person required an explanation.
All that being said, I did not hate the story and actually enjoyed it because it had many exciting action-packed moments including the passion between Rifter and Gwen along with this incredible new world of shifters, witches, demons, weres and humans that Stephenie Tyler has imagined for us.
So while it wasn't a hit out of the ballpark for me, it is definitely a series that I plan to keep reading. Recommended to Paranormal Romance fans who like their 'things that go bump in the night' to be on the darker side.
March 13, 2012
Review originally posted here: http://thebookpushers.com/2012/03/07/...
I was so looking forward to this book, especially when the words bikers and werewolves appeared on the page together. Unfortunately for me, the book just didn’t live up to the high expectations I had going in.
Rifter is the leader of the small Dire wolf pack and fighting day in and day out to keep life as he knows it from imploding. The weretrappers are after them, the witches have plotted against them, and the werewolf packs are in a state of civil unrest that has him wishing his immortality was a thing of the past. When he meets the frail human Gwen, he finds that for the first time in a long time, he has a reason to want to live.
Gwen knows she is dying and has a few things she wants to scratch off her bucket list before she does. When she gets pulled into Rifter’s world, she never expected that they might possibly know a way to save her. Although their world is in turmoil, Gwen will do everything in her power to help Rifter grow stronger, save his pack and live to fight another day by his side.
Tyler is known for her alpha heroes and phenomenal skills in creating realistic romantic suspense, but for me, this paranormal just didn’t suck me in as much as I hoped. I was hoping that the new biker, Dire wolf and ex-military heroes would stand out and have me flipping pages faster than ever. Instead, I felt as if nothing jumped out as fresh and original. The writing was wonderful and the suspense done well, but it just didn’t have that extra bit of pizazz I was hoping for.
I have to say, I really enjoyed Rifter though. Tyler has always been able to create incredible and wonderful alpha males that rock my world. He was an alpha male to the extreme, without being a total jerk. He almost had a little bit of a reluctant hero thing going on, especially when it came to leading his Dire wolves. He knew he could kick some ass, and wasn’t afraid to do it on the battlefield, but he was humble enough to not want to be their king. I liked his own internal struggle with that, and has final acceptance of the role. I can tell you that I would FOR SURE follow Rifter anywhere he wanted me to. *wink*
I thought that the potential for Gwen’s character was off the charts, especially when she came across so bold and strong in the first chapter. But for me, she seemed to never quite live up to her potential as a character. It took her awhile to get to the point where she was not only comfortable in her own skin, but was comfortable with Rifter. I wanted her to be a stronger presence in their lives, and just didn’t connect with her until the very very end.
One other aspect I really enjoyed was the suspense. I can always count on Tyler to keep me guessing and on the edge of my seat. I do think the overall story arc of this series will be an interesting one to follow, and I am excited to see where she goes with it. While I wish the romance was a bit more steamy and developed, I think the world she created has some wonderful potential.
All in all I thought the first book in the Eternal Wolf Clan series has wonderful potential and a good starting point for the series. The world has a great overall story arc going and I am excited to see in what direction Tyler takes things. The band of brotherhood between the Dire wolves reminded me of so many other paranormal romance series, and is one that I continue to love. While I would have loved to be pulled more into the romance between Rifter and Gwen, I enjoyed their story.
I give Dire Needs a C+
I was so looking forward to this book, especially when the words bikers and werewolves appeared on the page together. Unfortunately for me, the book just didn’t live up to the high expectations I had going in.
Rifter is the leader of the small Dire wolf pack and fighting day in and day out to keep life as he knows it from imploding. The weretrappers are after them, the witches have plotted against them, and the werewolf packs are in a state of civil unrest that has him wishing his immortality was a thing of the past. When he meets the frail human Gwen, he finds that for the first time in a long time, he has a reason to want to live.
Gwen knows she is dying and has a few things she wants to scratch off her bucket list before she does. When she gets pulled into Rifter’s world, she never expected that they might possibly know a way to save her. Although their world is in turmoil, Gwen will do everything in her power to help Rifter grow stronger, save his pack and live to fight another day by his side.
Tyler is known for her alpha heroes and phenomenal skills in creating realistic romantic suspense, but for me, this paranormal just didn’t suck me in as much as I hoped. I was hoping that the new biker, Dire wolf and ex-military heroes would stand out and have me flipping pages faster than ever. Instead, I felt as if nothing jumped out as fresh and original. The writing was wonderful and the suspense done well, but it just didn’t have that extra bit of pizazz I was hoping for.
I have to say, I really enjoyed Rifter though. Tyler has always been able to create incredible and wonderful alpha males that rock my world. He was an alpha male to the extreme, without being a total jerk. He almost had a little bit of a reluctant hero thing going on, especially when it came to leading his Dire wolves. He knew he could kick some ass, and wasn’t afraid to do it on the battlefield, but he was humble enough to not want to be their king. I liked his own internal struggle with that, and has final acceptance of the role. I can tell you that I would FOR SURE follow Rifter anywhere he wanted me to. *wink*
I thought that the potential for Gwen’s character was off the charts, especially when she came across so bold and strong in the first chapter. But for me, she seemed to never quite live up to her potential as a character. It took her awhile to get to the point where she was not only comfortable in her own skin, but was comfortable with Rifter. I wanted her to be a stronger presence in their lives, and just didn’t connect with her until the very very end.
One other aspect I really enjoyed was the suspense. I can always count on Tyler to keep me guessing and on the edge of my seat. I do think the overall story arc of this series will be an interesting one to follow, and I am excited to see where she goes with it. While I wish the romance was a bit more steamy and developed, I think the world she created has some wonderful potential.
All in all I thought the first book in the Eternal Wolf Clan series has wonderful potential and a good starting point for the series. The world has a great overall story arc going and I am excited to see in what direction Tyler takes things. The band of brotherhood between the Dire wolves reminded me of so many other paranormal romance series, and is one that I continue to love. While I would have loved to be pulled more into the romance between Rifter and Gwen, I enjoyed their story.
I give Dire Needs a C+
May 2, 2012
This is a fun and sexy start to a new series that I will be keeping my eye on!
Stephanie Tyler is not a new author, but she is new to me. After reading Dire Needs, with all its sexual tension and fantasy werewolf politics, I am interested to check out her other work! Now, let's get real here, the writing in this book is not exactly high brow. This is classic paranormal romance with typical characters and predictable events. However, it entertained the hell out of me so I certainly can't complain!
Gwen is a human with a death sentence. She only has a few months left before her body succumbs to her illness, and she has decided to visit a dangerous bar and pick up the first hunk she can find. Unbeknownst to her, Gwen has entered a werewolf hangout and is being eyed by some hungry, horny wolves. Enter Rifter, a Dire Wolf who has just spotted Gwen and is instantly attracted to her. Rifter, all around badass hunk, doesn't understand why he is so drawn to Gwen, a human. Yes, we have insta-love here in the most corny sense of the term. But, for some strange reason, it works for Rifter and Gwen. Both Rifter and Gwen are pretty common character types for PNR, but as soon as they end up in her bedroom together and we discover more about Gwen I liked her much better as the leading lady. When we get to hear more of Rifter's thoughts than just "Horny. Need woman. Wolf wants to run. Etc." he becomes more likable and completely alphalicious. Rifter and Gwen's story is filled with attraction and lust and several wonderfully delicious bedroom scenes.
Rifter, is begrudgingly leading his band of brother Dire Wolves, which are a group of six: Rifter, Vice, Stray, Harm, Jinx, and Rogue. They are bigger and stronger than their cousins, the typical werewolf. The Dire Wolves are special wolves that were created and are governed by a council that makes major life decisions for the Wolves. There are not many of them left due to an almost-extinction thousands of years ago - an extinction attempt made by the council that governs them.
Though this book focuses on Rifter and Gwen's story, we get to read from other characters POV occasionally, including Vice, my favorite of the small Dire Wolf pack. He is one serious bad boy and I can't wait to read his book whenever we get it! I enjoyed the POV changes more than I usually do in PNR, but I must say the lack of transitions confused me at times. By this I mean that often Tyler would transition from one setting or time to another without the transition words necessary to help the reader understand the change.
My overall opinion of this series starter is that it is a bit of a guilty pleasure. I will most definitely read the next in the series, which will focus on Stray. Stephanie Tyler was one half of the writing pair behind the pseudonym Sydney Croft (erotica). The other half was Larissa Ione, who pens the Demonica series. Why mention this? Because Tyler mentions Eidolen and the demon-run hospital from Ione's Demonica series a few times in Dire Needs and I found this to be quite clever!
Recommended for fans of: werewolves, Black Dagger Brotherhood, paranormal romance, Sydney Croft, and the Demonica series.
Read more of my reviews at: http://goldiloxandthethreeweres.blogs...
February 28, 2012
4 and ¾ stars
When I found out that I had won an ARC of Dire Needs from Stephanie Tyler’s blog, I was ecstatic. I had heard about this book when Stephanie Tyler was still writing it, during a chat with Literal Addiction book club. I was a new fan of hers and had just finished her ARCO series that she wrote with Larissa Ione as Sydney Croft. By the time this book got to me I had very high hopes for this book. I was nervous because I had just finished another shifter series and was afraid I would have a hard time wrapping my mind around this one. That fear was totally unfounded. I was grabbed early in the book and read it in one day. This book fulfilled all that I hoped for and more.
Dire Needs is the first full book of The Eternal Wolf Clan. There is a prequel to the series called Dire Warning. I read it before this book and I think it added to it but I don’t think it is necessary in order to read this one.
The book is about Rifter and Gwen. They meet on Valentine’s Day at a biker bar where she has gone to drown her sorrows in tequila and lose her virginity before she dies. She has been having seizures that are killing her and just wants to “live” while she can. Rifter is the leader of the Dire Wolves and is drawn to her and doesn’t know why. When she tells him what going on he has pretty extreme feelings that shock him because they are about a human. The book follows what happens after they meet and Gwen is brought into the world of Supernatural’s. Alot happens over the few days that the book is comprised of. The heat between Rifter and Gwen is heart stopping. I was nervous that there wouldn’t be enough heat with this being a PNR rather than an Erotic romance but I really didn’t notice until I started thinking about it to write the review.
We learn alot about this new world of Dires, Were, Witches and Demons. I realized that it might not be as new as I thought it was but, you’ll have to read the book to know what I mean.
I really enjoyed meeting all the guys. I was worried about not remembering everyone and even started to take notes on it. I was surprised to realize that I didn’t really have time to write anything as my mind was never at rest long enough to think about notes. Stephanie manages to include everyone and I didn’t even realize how much of the book is devoted to it. By the time the book was over I was invested in all of the character above and beyond Rifter and Gwen. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves Paranormal Romance or Urban Fantasy. I also think this book will bring over people who have enjoyed Stephanie’s Romantic Suspense books also as the paranormal components of this aren’t so unbelievable. Now I can’t wait to find out who she writes about next. I hope that as the series continues we will see more of Rifter and Gwen. I will be waiting very impatiently for the rest of the Eternal Wolf Clan to have their stories told.
When I found out that I had won an ARC of Dire Needs from Stephanie Tyler’s blog, I was ecstatic. I had heard about this book when Stephanie Tyler was still writing it, during a chat with Literal Addiction book club. I was a new fan of hers and had just finished her ARCO series that she wrote with Larissa Ione as Sydney Croft. By the time this book got to me I had very high hopes for this book. I was nervous because I had just finished another shifter series and was afraid I would have a hard time wrapping my mind around this one. That fear was totally unfounded. I was grabbed early in the book and read it in one day. This book fulfilled all that I hoped for and more.
Dire Needs is the first full book of The Eternal Wolf Clan. There is a prequel to the series called Dire Warning. I read it before this book and I think it added to it but I don’t think it is necessary in order to read this one.
The book is about Rifter and Gwen. They meet on Valentine’s Day at a biker bar where she has gone to drown her sorrows in tequila and lose her virginity before she dies. She has been having seizures that are killing her and just wants to “live” while she can. Rifter is the leader of the Dire Wolves and is drawn to her and doesn’t know why. When she tells him what going on he has pretty extreme feelings that shock him because they are about a human. The book follows what happens after they meet and Gwen is brought into the world of Supernatural’s. Alot happens over the few days that the book is comprised of. The heat between Rifter and Gwen is heart stopping. I was nervous that there wouldn’t be enough heat with this being a PNR rather than an Erotic romance but I really didn’t notice until I started thinking about it to write the review.
We learn alot about this new world of Dires, Were, Witches and Demons. I realized that it might not be as new as I thought it was but, you’ll have to read the book to know what I mean.
I really enjoyed meeting all the guys. I was worried about not remembering everyone and even started to take notes on it. I was surprised to realize that I didn’t really have time to write anything as my mind was never at rest long enough to think about notes. Stephanie manages to include everyone and I didn’t even realize how much of the book is devoted to it. By the time the book was over I was invested in all of the character above and beyond Rifter and Gwen. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves Paranormal Romance or Urban Fantasy. I also think this book will bring over people who have enjoyed Stephanie’s Romantic Suspense books also as the paranormal components of this aren’t so unbelievable. Now I can’t wait to find out who she writes about next. I hope that as the series continues we will see more of Rifter and Gwen. I will be waiting very impatiently for the rest of the Eternal Wolf Clan to have their stories told.
April 29, 2013
The good news is that Stephanie Tyler loves Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance as much as we do and has clearly read a lot of books in these genre’s. The bad news is that she straight up ripped them off. I’ve read this book before. Except they were Vampires not Wolves, it was called Dark Lover.
The similarities between the two series is ridiculous, sure this time her name is Gwen not Beth, and she is a Doctor not a Journalist. But she is still a virgin who has no idea that she is a half breed of a supernatural species, that is being hunted by an organized group of suped up humans, and she has fallen in love with the King of said species who has awakened her sexual desires in ways she could never have imagined. The Brother’s, I mean Dire’s, are all giants with names like Vice (the Bisexual, BDSM, pierced one ala Vishous ) and Stray. There is even one named Harm, I mean come on. Their God’s are heavily involved, and the first one we meet is the Eydis who reminds me a bit to much of the Scribe Virgin. They are training three younger less powerful wolves Liam, Cyd, and Cain (aka John, Blay, and Quinn). Oh and to top to off they all live together in a huge mansion that is hidden from view from all by a magical spell. I mean really? I’m not sure if JR Ward should be pissed or flattered.
Unfortunately this book is not written nearly as well as Dark Lover. There is too much of an attempt to squeeze in and entire history of this world, and follow the stories of to many characters. It’s only the first book, I have no idea why the author did not pace herself. A clear example of this is in the sub story of Max and Liam. It’s like the author can’t decide if she wants Max to be good or bad, first she’s a traitor, then no Max’s inner monologue says she is doing this to help Liam, Max was all over the place, like she had a split personality.
There were a few mention's of Eidolon from the Demonica series by Larissa Ione. Totally unnecessary and if I was Larissa I would avoid a cross over like the plague. All that being said I will read the next book in the series. Why? Because I love the Black Dagger Series so much, but I have to wait a year for each book to come out. So this pale imitation can help distract me during the in-between times. Seriously they are huge, sexy, alpha male, Shifter’s. That’s right up my alley. This will be one series I can see myself loving to hate.
The similarities between the two series is ridiculous, sure this time her name is Gwen not Beth, and she is a Doctor not a Journalist. But she is still a virgin who has no idea that she is a half breed of a supernatural species, that is being hunted by an organized group of suped up humans, and she has fallen in love with the King of said species who has awakened her sexual desires in ways she could never have imagined. The Brother’s, I mean Dire’s, are all giants with names like Vice (the Bisexual, BDSM, pierced one ala Vishous ) and Stray. There is even one named Harm, I mean come on. Their God’s are heavily involved, and the first one we meet is the Eydis who reminds me a bit to much of the Scribe Virgin. They are training three younger less powerful wolves Liam, Cyd, and Cain (aka John, Blay, and Quinn). Oh and to top to off they all live together in a huge mansion that is hidden from view from all by a magical spell. I mean really? I’m not sure if JR Ward should be pissed or flattered.
Unfortunately this book is not written nearly as well as Dark Lover. There is too much of an attempt to squeeze in and entire history of this world, and follow the stories of to many characters. It’s only the first book, I have no idea why the author did not pace herself. A clear example of this is in the sub story of Max and Liam. It’s like the author can’t decide if she wants Max to be good or bad, first she’s a traitor, then no Max’s inner monologue says she is doing this to help Liam, Max was all over the place, like she had a split personality.
There were a few mention's of Eidolon from the Demonica series by Larissa Ione. Totally unnecessary and if I was Larissa I would avoid a cross over like the plague. All that being said I will read the next book in the series. Why? Because I love the Black Dagger Series so much, but I have to wait a year for each book to come out. So this pale imitation can help distract me during the in-between times. Seriously they are huge, sexy, alpha male, Shifter’s. That’s right up my alley. This will be one series I can see myself loving to hate.
April 11, 2012
The full moon is their mistress. They are predators of pleasure and pain. Feared by humans, envied by werewolves, the Dire Wolves are immortal shifters, obeying no laws but their own bestial natures. Once they were many, but now only six remain, a dangerous wolfpack forever on the hunt…
Rifter leads the pack, embracing the lifestyle and ethics of an outlaw biker even as he battles an ancient enemy who has become a new, powerful force. But with his Brother Wolf raging inside him, howling to be unleashed, he needs to satisfy his hungers. And when he meets a drop-dead gorgeous blonde drinking alone in a bar that caters to both human and inhuman, Rifter’s primal instinct is to claim her.
Gwen has her own desires, long unfulfilled. She hopes a passionate night with the leather-clad, Harley-riding biker will ease her suffering. The seizures that have wracked her body her entire life are incurable—and they’re killing her.
But none of that will matter if Rifter can’t stop the growing threat to them all–trappers who are determined to enslave humankind and use the Dire wolves as part of their nefarious plan.
I thought it was a great start to a series. It did get slow at times but I really did love and hate the characters. I really liked the interactions between Gwen and Rifter. He's fighting the urge to mate with her, knows its impossible because she's human. Gwen is dying, her seizures are killing her and she's decided to cease taking the medication and live her last days on her terms. She was a tough cookie and I loved that! She really needs to be, being with Rifter and the Dires.
Vice....my absolute favorite of the Dires, has that name for a reason. He's a slave to his vices and a sexy mofo!! I pretty much fell in love with all the Dires....even Harm! The Dire King who gave up his crown to Rifter!
Who I didnt like was that bitch Max....every good book has to have the asshat or cuntbag of the story and she fits it perfectly! And the weretrappers and the witches are nuttier than fruit cakes!! I loved it!!
All in all great steamy read and good start to a series. Oh and the shout out to Eidolon was funny! Im excited to read Strays story! Fans of shifter stories will dig this!!
Rifter leads the pack, embracing the lifestyle and ethics of an outlaw biker even as he battles an ancient enemy who has become a new, powerful force. But with his Brother Wolf raging inside him, howling to be unleashed, he needs to satisfy his hungers. And when he meets a drop-dead gorgeous blonde drinking alone in a bar that caters to both human and inhuman, Rifter’s primal instinct is to claim her.
Gwen has her own desires, long unfulfilled. She hopes a passionate night with the leather-clad, Harley-riding biker will ease her suffering. The seizures that have wracked her body her entire life are incurable—and they’re killing her.
But none of that will matter if Rifter can’t stop the growing threat to them all–trappers who are determined to enslave humankind and use the Dire wolves as part of their nefarious plan.
I thought it was a great start to a series. It did get slow at times but I really did love and hate the characters. I really liked the interactions between Gwen and Rifter. He's fighting the urge to mate with her, knows its impossible because she's human. Gwen is dying, her seizures are killing her and she's decided to cease taking the medication and live her last days on her terms. She was a tough cookie and I loved that! She really needs to be, being with Rifter and the Dires.
Vice....my absolute favorite of the Dires, has that name for a reason. He's a slave to his vices and a sexy mofo!! I pretty much fell in love with all the Dires....even Harm! The Dire King who gave up his crown to Rifter!
Who I didnt like was that bitch Max....every good book has to have the asshat or cuntbag of the story and she fits it perfectly! And the weretrappers and the witches are nuttier than fruit cakes!! I loved it!!
All in all great steamy read and good start to a series. Oh and the shout out to Eidolon was funny! Im excited to read Strays story! Fans of shifter stories will dig this!!
December 15, 2014
3.5 stars
I have to say I actually liked it, wasn't expecting to but I did. I really liked the mythology of how the Dire Wolves were created. Can't say much as you get to read about it in the book but it's a mythology that makes sense, not just grasping at straws.
I read in a review of this that it has a feel like BDB(Black Dagger Brotherhood) and it does. Not concerning the plot as much as the characters and chapter style/POV. One chapter/POV for our couple,one for the rest of the guys/Dire wolves and one from the baddie perspective not necessarily in that order. They have a king (Rifter), a guy called Vice with many vices(Vishous?) and they have to protect the rest of the werewolves and humanity. Similar eh? But it has its own charm and to be frank the similarities are superficial, there's a lot going on, maybe too much in my opinion.
I wanted to see more of Gwen and Rifter progressing as a couple and get a better feel for them. I just didn't feel their chemistry(maybe because it was so fast or interrupted by other POVs?). They share their adventure to coupledom with the baddies(2 types of baddies too) that are after them, the victims of the baddies, the other Dire Wolves problems and the baddies themselves(as in the angst and torment of a baddy individually). So this book is packed! I won't add any spoilers for this review mainly because to explain one spoiler you have to explain all the others and there goes the whole book. The summary is the tip of the iceberg.
It was an interesting read and I recommend it if only to read about a new type of werewolf.
I have to say I actually liked it, wasn't expecting to but I did. I really liked the mythology of how the Dire Wolves were created. Can't say much as you get to read about it in the book but it's a mythology that makes sense, not just grasping at straws.
I read in a review of this that it has a feel like BDB(Black Dagger Brotherhood) and it does. Not concerning the plot as much as the characters and chapter style/POV. One chapter/POV for our couple,one for the rest of the guys/Dire wolves and one from the baddie perspective not necessarily in that order. They have a king (Rifter), a guy called Vice with many vices(Vishous?) and they have to protect the rest of the werewolves and humanity. Similar eh? But it has its own charm and to be frank the similarities are superficial, there's a lot going on, maybe too much in my opinion.
I wanted to see more of Gwen and Rifter progressing as a couple and get a better feel for them. I just didn't feel their chemistry(maybe because it was so fast or interrupted by other POVs?). They share their adventure to coupledom with the baddies(2 types of baddies too) that are after them, the victims of the baddies, the other Dire Wolves problems and the baddies themselves(as in the angst and torment of a baddy individually). So this book is packed! I won't add any spoilers for this review mainly because to explain one spoiler you have to explain all the others and there goes the whole book. The summary is the tip of the iceberg.
It was an interesting read and I recommend it if only to read about a new type of werewolf.
June 22, 2017
I admit that I love shifters and hot biker werewolf shifters. Oh yeah baby!
I absolutely loved Rifter. He is the perfect mix of alpha male, bad-ass warrior, romantic (though he doesn't believe it), a skilled leader. The only thing missing was the actual biker part. Their cover story is that they are a biker gang yet only Rifter ever actually gets on a bike (though they have a ton of them in the garage). Oh well maybe in the next one (this reader can only hope).
In Stephanie Tyler's world, we have Dire wolves, werewolves (not the same thing at all), witches (bad bad bad) and humans. Though other supernaturals are mentioned but never appear but will possibly appear in future installments. The Dire wolves are tasked with saving the human race from ad supes - weres and witches in particular. Unfortunately there are only 6 known Dire wolves with Rifter leading the pack. I loved the six guys and anxiously await their HEA's. Oh yeah they are all flawed but afer thousands of years I guess anyone would have a vice or two (or three).
I liked the world building as it had something fresh and new and was extremely well put together. I liked Gwen even with her "I'm gonna die" babble. Well yeah she was gonna die but still. I thought she handled her imminent demise pretty well - going to a biker bar and picking up the biggest guy there (Rifter of course). I liked the slow romance - she was gonna die and just wanted to experience life (well sex really) and he didn't do humans but he there was just something about Gwen that tugged at him. Though this book was basically a romance the other aspects - world domination by the weretrappers, attacks by outlaw weres and witches, etc were well written and intriguing.
This is a series that I will continue sooner rather than later.
I absolutely loved Rifter. He is the perfect mix of alpha male, bad-ass warrior, romantic (though he doesn't believe it), a skilled leader. The only thing missing was the actual biker part. Their cover story is that they are a biker gang yet only Rifter ever actually gets on a bike (though they have a ton of them in the garage). Oh well maybe in the next one (this reader can only hope).
In Stephanie Tyler's world, we have Dire wolves, werewolves (not the same thing at all), witches (bad bad bad) and humans. Though other supernaturals are mentioned but never appear but will possibly appear in future installments. The Dire wolves are tasked with saving the human race from ad supes - weres and witches in particular. Unfortunately there are only 6 known Dire wolves with Rifter leading the pack. I loved the six guys and anxiously await their HEA's. Oh yeah they are all flawed but afer thousands of years I guess anyone would have a vice or two (or three).
I liked the world building as it had something fresh and new and was extremely well put together. I liked Gwen even with her "I'm gonna die" babble. Well yeah she was gonna die but still. I thought she handled her imminent demise pretty well - going to a biker bar and picking up the biggest guy there (Rifter of course). I liked the slow romance - she was gonna die and just wanted to experience life (well sex really) and he didn't do humans but he there was just something about Gwen that tugged at him. Though this book was basically a romance the other aspects - world domination by the weretrappers, attacks by outlaw weres and witches, etc were well written and intriguing.
This is a series that I will continue sooner rather than later.
September 27, 2020
I've had the first two books of the Eternal Wolf Clan on the TBR pile for a while and the third is out now so I decided to read Dire Needs and do a 'choose it or lose it' on Tyler series - keep on going through the next two books if I like this first book or clean 'em off the pile if I don't.
Dire Needs had an interesting hook a dying woman looking for a one night stand catches the interested of Dire wolf shifter Rifter, but the beginning of the book is pretty muddled with tons of alpha shifters with oddball names (Rifter, Vice, Jinx, Stray, Cyd & Cain, and Rogue) that were hard to keep straight and a pretty complicated mythos with Dires having their origins in Norse Myth (Loki, Fenrir...) Add into the mix regular werewolves, demons, witches, black magic and weretrappers (wolf hunters) and my head was spinning. I had pretty much the same reaction to the prequel. That said at about 30% in I started getting into the swing of the world and some side characters got some screen time and I found myself getting more interested - there was a bit with a witch who was a former Dire ally who is cursed.
On the whole this ended up being pretty good, if not very memorable (it’s four days later and I am having a hard time remembering much about the story) and when I finished this I wasn’t inspired to grab the next one and keep going, but I didn’t feel like pitching the next book onto the used book pile either so I’ll probably still give this series another chance somewhere along the way.
Dire Needs had an interesting hook a dying woman looking for a one night stand catches the interested of Dire wolf shifter Rifter, but the beginning of the book is pretty muddled with tons of alpha shifters with oddball names (Rifter, Vice, Jinx, Stray, Cyd & Cain, and Rogue) that were hard to keep straight and a pretty complicated mythos with Dires having their origins in Norse Myth (Loki, Fenrir...) Add into the mix regular werewolves, demons, witches, black magic and weretrappers (wolf hunters) and my head was spinning. I had pretty much the same reaction to the prequel. That said at about 30% in I started getting into the swing of the world and some side characters got some screen time and I found myself getting more interested - there was a bit with a witch who was a former Dire ally who is cursed.
On the whole this ended up being pretty good, if not very memorable (it’s four days later and I am having a hard time remembering much about the story) and when I finished this I wasn’t inspired to grab the next one and keep going, but I didn’t feel like pitching the next book onto the used book pile either so I’ll probably still give this series another chance somewhere along the way.
April 23, 2012
On the plus side I really liked the characters. Rifter is the perfect alpha male, and his group of dires have a lot of potential. However, I would call this book 'a skimmer'. By that I mean I was constantly skimming through the material to get to something worth reading. I can not stand when authors re-tell events through their characters. We don't need to re-read what has already happened, we already read it. If a character needs to tell another character about something that has occurred it's sufficient to say 'blah blah told blah blah about the whatever happened'. There was so much re-telling of events in Dire Needs I wanted to tear my hair out. Besides that, I feel like there were some plot issues. I don't expect a series to have resolutions for every obstacle. But a million things happen in this book. Seems like a total cluster f***. That's saying something because I like a lot of action in my books. Events didn't segue into each other well. You would be dealing with this one situation and you turn the next page and BAM! something new is screwing up their world AND it doesn't make sense. There were also events that occurred with no real explanation as to cause.
I noticed a lot of people really liked this book...maybe I'm to picky.
I noticed a lot of people really liked this book...maybe I'm to picky.
January 3, 2014
-Group of bulky warriors with weird names: check
-Compound: check
-Small paranormal group living apart from their "normal" counterpart: check
-Virgin heroine thinking she's going to die: check
-External no-more-human-society ready to destroy the said group, if necessary with the use of traitors: check
-Deity above: check
If you think all of these sounds familiar, you are right. It is. :) But honestly is something I started noticing later, while I was thinking of this review. While reading I was captured by the story and the world, which is fresh and intriguing enough.
Moreover these are my kind of books: those where the romance is just a part of a broader scope, where world and people outside the couple are as important as the leading two characters. That smexy parts weren't too many nor the love too soon. I can't say it is outstanding, but it was a very pleasurable novel to read on a lazy afternoon.
-Compound: check
-Small paranormal group living apart from their "normal" counterpart: check
-Virgin heroine thinking she's going to die: check
-External no-more-human-society ready to destroy the said group, if necessary with the use of traitors: check
-Deity above: check
If you think all of these sounds familiar, you are right. It is. :) But honestly is something I started noticing later, while I was thinking of this review. While reading I was captured by the story and the world, which is fresh and intriguing enough.
Moreover these are my kind of books: those where the romance is just a part of a broader scope, where world and people outside the couple are as important as the leading two characters. That smexy parts weren't too many nor the love too soon. I can't say it is outstanding, but it was a very pleasurable novel to read on a lazy afternoon.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 215 reviews