The Mating Challenge

Werewolves of Montana #5

by Bonnie Vanak

For a long time alpha werewolf and ranch owner Aiden Mitchell has desired the curvy, vivacious Nikita Blakemore, alpha female of the Blakemore pack. He will have her as his mate and no other. To force her hand, Aiden maneuvers her into hosting a Mating Challenge, the ultimate warrior competition for werewolves, where males fight for the right to mate and breed with a female alpha. Fiercely protective of his future mate, Aiden will do anything to make her his own, even fight to the death.

Masquerading as her twin sister, Nia Blakemore knows she is the one Aiden wants in his bed. Nia has dreamed of the handsome cowboy sweeping her into his strong arms and consummating the passion consuming them both, even though he thinks she is Nikita, the true alpha female. Nia must try to keep Aiden from discovering the truth to protect her frailer, gentler twin. But Nia and the real Nikita hide a secret far more deadly than the charade they have pulled off for years, one that can kill Aiden and any healthy male who sets foot upon their land…

Genres: Shapeshifters, Paranormal Romance, Paranormal, Romance, Werewolves, Fantasy

268 pages, Paperback

First published September 22, 2015

About the author

Bonnie Vanak fell in love with romance novels during childhood. While cleaning a hall closet, she discovered her mother’s cache of paperbacks and started reading. Thus began a passion for romance and a lifelong dislike for housework.

After years of newspaper reporting, Bonnie became a writer for a major international charity. She travels to destitute countries such as Haiti to write about famine, disease and other issues affecting the poor. When the emotional strains of her job demanded a diversion, she turned to her childhood dream of writing romance novels.

She lives in Florida with her husband Frank and two dogs, where she happily writes books amid an ever-growing collection of dust bunnies.

Reviews

[Shawna · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Mating challenge is the 5th book in the werewolves of Montana series By Bonnie Vanak. I have to say I was super excited when I found out I was getting the chance to review this book. I have been waiting for it for what seems like forever! The entire series is a great read with not only the sexy shifters I have grown to love, but a whole new world of Magic and fairytales. I was hooked from the first book on and this one was just as great as the others, if not better.
From the moment Aiden saw the alpha of the Blakemore pack, Nikita, he knew she was the one for him and vowed to stop at nothing to get her, but the Nikita Blakemore that Aiden knows is not truly who she pretends to be and when he finds out the truth it may already be too late. Will Aiden find out the truth in time or will his fate be sealed by an early death because he found out too late?
Disguised as Nikita, Nia the younger twin sister has spent her entire life protecting her sister from the clutches of the Silver Wizard, but that is not the only secret these two hold. A mysterious curse has been put on their land that kills all adult males and unless these two can find the cure Nia’s new mate, Aiden will die.
There is so much mystery in this book! I was hooked from the beginning and you will be to. Shifters, mystery, magic, love and devotion, what more can you ask for in one book? I have grown quite fond of Aiden so I was on his side the entire time. I mean who wouldn’t want a strong, sexy, confident shifter, right?? As for Nia, I was weary of her at first since I knew how much Aiden wanted her and I couldn’t have her go breaking his heart now could I? But alas, she is quite lovable and a truly devoted sister, daughter and lover so I think Bonnie did a great job with both of them and this story. I can’t wait to see where the next book takes us!!

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I genuinely like this world, but I have to admit there were times I wanted to give Nia a good shake and tell her to suck it up and spill all her secrets. Especially as we came to see that those secrets weren't secrets in the strictest sense of the word when it came to who they were trying to deceive.

So I wasn't totally thrilled with Nia's choice to hide what was going on. Very little good comes from deathbed promises, I've found. Very little. I do understand where she was coming from as far as those secrets go, but it put her in a bad position and she had to sacrifice a lot of weather them.

That said, considering the danger Aiden ended up in, he was pretty easygoing about everything that went down. Sure, sure, he ended up with the hot werewolf and everything, but things could have turned ugly there.

I like cowboy werewolves. I like how the pack comes together to support one another. I like the smokin' sex. Basically, other than my little issues about secrets and such, I like this whole world. Heck, magic and werewolves. Those things work for me.

-Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mating Challenge started off with Aiden in hot pursuit of his mate. He was pushing all of Nikki’s buttons without even knowing it. From the start to the end Mating Challenge was a suspenseful read. As I was waiting for Aiden to discover what secrets there were at the Blackmore pack and how all the fallout would be it was practically a nail biter. Aiden just leapt off the pages as uber alpha and you know that he’s not going to stand for being hoodwinked. Knowing that Nia could lose her chance at her future just to do right by her pack. It made for a suspenseful time. Plus some nasty gnomes. Gnomes aren’t just for pretty flower gardens in this book! There were a lot of characters and a lot of pieces of different puzzles in this book. I wouldn’t be surprised to see some parts of this book tying into other books later.

[Betty Lambert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. I have read Bonnie Vanak before and knew I would be getting a good read even if I had not read this particular series from the beginning. Alpha Werewolf and ranch owner Aiden Mitchell has desired Nikita Blakemore, alpha female of the blakemore pack. He finally manuevers Nikita into a mating challenge in order to win her for himself. What he doesn't know, Nikita Blakemore is hiding secrets and I mean big secrets. There is a curse on the land of the Blakemores and Aiden knows nothing about it and how all the males of that pack are dead. Needless to say Aiden is in for a really big shock when he finds things out. Great story, lots of passion, and sub plots going on. Highly recommend.

[Gale · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I really love Aiden Mitchell, the Alpha male in this story. He has so much depth to him, and passion, and is different than many other alpha characters. Nikita Blakemore (who is really Nia, Nikita’s twin, masquerading as Nikita) is also a strong Alpha female caught between a rock and a hard place all her life. Their story is complicated enough that I won’t describe it here but it is such a great read. Your heart will be full and then break and then be full again with these two. And we get to see those pesky wizards again, which is always fun. I recommend this story!

[Sher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great new edition to the Werewolves of Montana..
Aiden has wanted Nikita for his mate for as long as he has known her.. And he sets in motion the mating challenge to win her and prove that he is right for her. He wins the challenge and her hand....Little does he know that her sister Nia has been passing herself off as Nikita for years..
Nia tries to get the wolf pack off her land anyway she can, so the terrible secret she hides can be solved before any more deaths occur.
Love the Werewolves of Montana series.. Can't wait for the next.

[Maura · Rating 3 out of 5]

No wolf sex! Woot woot! Although there is some wolf genital-licking, but I'll overlook it.

So this is the story with Aiden and Nia, who Aiden thinks is actually Nikita, the alpha of the pack. Aiden saw Nia, way back when and decided he wanted her. So he manipulated things and finally forced her to hold a mating challenge where he gets to fight for the right to mate with her and take over her pack and its holdings. He does, as he expected. But while Nia is willing to mate with Aiden, she isn't willing to share her secrets. That includes her true identity, the existence of her twin sister and the fact that her land is cursed and if Aiden and his pack stick around a bit longer, they'll die because of it. Aiden has to stumble across this information himself and hope that they can find a cure for the pack's problems before it's too late.

This was just okay. My problem here was that I didn't much care for either of the main characters. Aiden is a bit of a dick because he just decides he wants Nia (Nikita) and doesn't much care what she wants, so he forces the issue. She really has no choice but to mate with him. But then, her stubborn ass needed the help from Aiden's pack and refused to ask for it. So neither of them start out strong. And then we come to realize that Aiden doesn't love Nia at all...he just desires her a lot and wants an alpha to mate with. So even his reasons for forcing Nia were shallow. And then she willingly puts him into danger by refusing to tell him about the danger - sure she claims she tried to tell him to leave, but that's like telling someone to stay out of the swimming pool but not telling them it's full of hydrochloric acid. If she'd really wanted to save them or get rid of them, a little bit of honesty would have done the trick...or at least made it so she couldn't be blamed when Aiden gets sick, which he does (and he does blame her). And while he's lying there dying and she's feeling sorry and he's aiming potshots at her for getting him killed I'm thinking - he doesn't love her. He claimed that he did before that moment, but you don't make the person responsible feel even more guilt when you love them. And really, what did he expect? He forced Nia to mate with him and give up control of her pack and just automatically expected her to share her secrets with him before he even earned her trust? I could almost see his getting sick as his just desserts for being such a controlling ass in the beginning. But I was so back and forth on who was to blame for what and who was right and who was wrong that I decided they were both in the wrong and I didn't like either of them for it.

Of course, Aiden did turn out to be a pretty decent guy after all. He was pretty patient and understanding with Nia and although he technically forced her to mate with him, he didn't rub her face in it or try to put down her pride or anything. Nia, I couldn't understand for the life of me, except that maybe she was so used to doing things on her own that she didn't know how to rely on someone else - and Aiden failed to realize that. So this was frustrating, but okay. I'm looking forward to Nikita and Tristan's story actually.

Also - stepping onto my English teacher box for a moment. At what point did the word "jettison" become appropriated as a synonym for "ejaculate" in romancelandia? Hmmm? For the reference of all writers out there planning to do this - "Jettison" does not mean what you think it means. It actually means to throw something overboard from a ship or airplane...As in, "The captain ordered the crew to jettison the illegal cargo so they wouldn't be caught with it by the coastguard." Although nowadays it can be simply used as a synonym for discard, dump or toss aside. So you can imagine my amusement when reading, "He kept climaxing and each jettison of his semen sent her into fresh waves of orgasm all over again." I pictured a crew inside her vagina trying to bail out buckets of semen or something. I've seen this a couple of times in romances before, always in the context of an orgasm and I'm trying to figure out where that started or whether this has become an official thing now. Am I soon to read a new definition in the dictionary perhaps? Or is this just multiple authors confused about the definition of a word?

[Marsha · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The Mating Challenge" was a relatively good read that was hampered by an okay plot, little to no action and corny lover's dialogue. When I first began reading the story line I thought that it would be really good; however, the secret that the main character carries is rather weak and wasn't enough of a challenge to make the story interesting.

Nia and Nikki are twins. Nikki was born first and it was prophesized that the first daughter born will succumb to the silver wizard. So, Nia is hidden and Nikki pretends to be her and serves as Alpha for the Blakemore pack. The one problem is that all of the males from her pack have succumb to the plague or curse that was the result of a stolen chest. Now that the pack is destitute and broke, the mortgage was purchased by Aiden Mitchell, Alpha and he has forced Nia into a Mating Challenge.

While Nia is attracted to Aiden, she does not want him to come onto her lands and become infected. She does everything she can to keep this from happening but Aiden wins the challenge and it now time to mate with her. Little does he know that she is not Nikki and she fears for his safety. However, Aiden is an intelligent man and he does everything he can to get her to tell him what is going on. Eventually, he figures it out.

Everything about this story was okay. Okay characters, okay plot, okay villian, and okay conclusion. In the end, it is not enough for me to continue reading any other installments in this series.

[Meiwilli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not so much of a challenge...

Hot Alpha with a heart of gold - check
Damsel in distress - check
Loyal Beta and pack - check
Insurmountable problem standing between bliss for alpha and his mate - check
Trolls, Dragons, Gnomes, Fae, Others, a Goddess, Skins, Wizards--wait, what?

What is there not to like about Aiden Mitchell? Tall, dark and handsome, a cowboy and alpha to the bone. His intended mate, Nikita Blakemore, on the other hand, perhaps, is quite the damsel with a dilemma that could be resolved if she'd just be honest with her mate. While Aiden comes bearing his soul, and sometimes his body--in front of all, Nikita bears secrets that can kill. The story is somewhat predictable knowing that Aiden will eventually discover the ruse but not walk away from his mate. What's not predictable is the mating ritual between Aiden and Nikita--there is an audience--didn't see that coming!

There are some memorable characters introduced in this story with some of the usual factions often found in paranormal reads but what I most enjoyed was the addition of the Brehorn - Caedryn, the Shadow Wizard, Xavier, the Crystal Wizard, Gideon, the Crimson Wizard and Tristan, the Silver, Wizard and their goddess Danu. The Wizards provide just enough magick to keep the story interesting and unpredictable. Although I have not read books 1-4, I can appreciate that this story can be read as a stand alone. Of course now I have go ahead and read book 5 so I can learn more about the Silver Wizard!

On my Were Scale of Hotness, 3 stars.

[BJ · Rating 1 out of 5]

I struggled with this book due to a feisty h, who is just plain rude. The plot is silly, the h is a twin, her twin has hidden all their life, their males in their pack are all dead and they are trying to find a cure. So instead of being honest and saving other males, they tell lies, get feisty...meh.

[Selenity Jade (Coffee Addicts Book Reviews) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent paranormal romance read. Hot alpha shifter meets equally alpha female. I guess that's how it was supposed to be. I didn't think the big secret was all that big. Why hide the disease from Aiden? There was an iffy reason for hiding a twin, but none for the disease. But entertaining read.

[Sherry Vitaniemi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Curse

Two beautiful women who made a promise to their father. Find that one of them has a mate who will fight for her and her twin. And to he'll with a curse.

[Marcia Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great love story regarding two strong alphas a male & a female who have to learn to trust each other. One more than the other.

[Kimberley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Werewolf alpha cowboy looking for his mate..alpha Nikita...interesting tale of two werewolf packs and the fight to find happiness and love...some twists and cliff hanger that makes you want to read the sister story.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn’t sure about The Mating Challenge by Bonnie Vanak when I started reading it. I didn’t really understand why the shower scene with Darius and Sam was included, it did not move the story along. As the story progressed with the challenge then the marriage it improved tremendously. The intrigue and mystery concerning the problems at Nia’s ranch make it a gripping read. This is an element I really like so I found it turned out to highly enjoyable.

I found Aiden’s and Nia’s commitment to each other and their packs to be impressive and admirable. Ms. Vanak has given us two very capable and hero worthy alphas. They remind us that actions make the leader not the birth order. Besides the actual mating challenge, these two were challenged on many sides. I enjoyed see how their each rose to the encounters and trials put before them.

The author provided a copy for an honest review.

[Harim · Rating 5 out of 5]

5++++ I LOVE AIDEN SO MUCH AND NOW I WANT TRISTAN STARS!

Bonnie Vanak is really good. The entire series is love but I think its safe to say that this one was THE BEST or maybe I am just biased in Aiden's case cuz I have been waiting for his story for sooooooooooo long...spedually after bits of him through other books in the series!

I loved Nia and Nikita BOTH!!! Nikita a bit more TBH she felt like a true champ;)

Dying for The Mating Season now:( THANK GOODNESS IT WILL BE OUT ANY TIME THIS MONTH YAYYY!!!!!!

[Julia David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aiden is a very strong Alpha and so is Nia/Nikita. That is why Aiden is so attracted to her. He forces the challenge so she will have to accept him when he wins. Nia has so many secrets and all of Aiden's pack could be in jeopardy. She really doesn't want all of them on her ranch, but she has no choice. Will more men die because Nia and Nikita have kept their secrets?

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cried!

I was so emotionally drawn in I cried like they were my own family. Aiden proves to be the alpha he claims he is. While Niki proves to be the alpha female she claims to be, she is also tired of the charade. It eventually wears her down. When she finally lets go, she gets what she has wished for all long.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book and glad he finally got the mate he wanted and needed. You can't always do everything alone and that's what he teaches her

[*CJ* · Rating 4 out of 5]

Waited a long time for Nikita(

[Sherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this so very much. Finally a long waited story comes to pass. Just loved it.
Of course I love almost every thing Bonnie writes, and this is no exception.