Slade

Team Greywolf #1

by Eva Gordon

Runt, Cricket, is an honorary beta of Team Greywolf, an elite special ops branch of the Lycan Intelligence Agency. As a member, she poses as a human and collects forensic evidence. Because of her low rank, she is assigned in the rehabilitation of Prince Slade suffering from morphogenesis after his entire pack is murdered, and then his indoctrination as a member of their team. Babysit a psycho, domineering alpha? Not on her watch. To complicate matters, she lusts for Slade. Foolish. A runt can never take an alpha as a mate. Slade has two choices. Honor his murdered kin and serve Team Greywolf, or once healed, obey King Conan and return to his territory with an alpha mate. Complicating his decision is his relentless desire for the hot sexy little she-wolf, Cricket. Early into his recovery, Slade and Cricket are sent to investigate missing werewolves. An unstable werewolf seems hardly a match for a former Nazi werewolf bent on bringing on Ragnarok, the destruction of mankind. Can they stop this evil regime, while conforming to pack law that forbids any chance of them fulfilling their desire for each other?

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

333 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 22, 2016

About the author

Website http://www.ravenauthor.com
http://evagordon.blogspot.com/

Eva Gordon writes genre bending paranormal/fantasy/steampunk and historical novels with a strong romantic element. Alpha heroes and brilliant feisty heroines. HEA with a kick. She loves to create stories that combine her passion for mythology, steamy romance, and action/suspense. Her imagination takes her from one universe to the next. Thus far, she has several series up as well as single titles waiting in line for production.

Reviews

[Dianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

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Imagine being part of an elite special ops team for the Lycan Intelligence Agency when you are a mere runt like the feisty and fiery Cricket. The little she-wolf is human enough to be like a “secret weapon” when a human touch is needed. To say that being left behind on the next great mission was a letdown would be an understatement, but to be assigned babysitting duty for an out-of- his mind alpha Crown Prince during his rehabilitation to “normalcy.” Prince Slade is hot, domineering and so far out of Cricket’s league, that even thinking of her raging attraction to him is dangerous. Little does she know, she is driving Slade to distraction as he struggles with honoring his slain pack and his father’s wishes.

Wolves are going missing, and Cricket and Slade are sent to investigate. What they discover is a demented werewolf bent on destroying mankind, using any means available to gain followers for his dictatorship and bid to take over the world.

When Eva Gordon decides to create a new series, she does it in style! Slade is a powerful, action-packed, heat-seared tale that is setting the bar high for all following additions! Count on Ms. Gordon for brilliant dialogue, filled with attitude, humor and even pure evil. The atmosphere she creates is filled with high energy, high tension and high passion as each page unfolds and the action runs at breakneck speed.

I received an ARC edition from Eva Gordon in exchange for my honest review.

Series: Team Greywolf Series - Book 1
Publisher: Eva Gordon
Publication Date: January 22, 2016
ASIN: B019GGA98G
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Print Length: 274 pages
Available from: Amazon
For Reviews & More: http://tometender.blogspot.com

[Christine · Rating 1 out of 5]

Interesting premise and great reviews....what could go wrong?

Well...then I started reading......

Cricket's been assigned to help with Prince Slade's rehabilitation. As an Alpha, he's in crisis after his pack was slaughtered. While she'd rather be working alongside her teammates in the Lycan Intelligence Agency, she reluctantly accepts the babysitting assignment -- she senses Prince Slade's desperation, and besides, he's hot. Slade's not sure why he's so attracted to Cricket -- she's a runt -- and normally wouldn't even have survived. But he admires her pluck and determination, and he needs her help; she helps smooth over his rages and anxiety (rather like werewolf Valium???).

And...that's where I stopped....

I started the book over a couple of times, and just could never make any headway. It's so frustrating when a promising book just doesn't deliver (at least, not for me). The world-building isn't done well. Prince Slade suffers from 'morphopsychosis' or 'morphogenesis' but why? What happened? What cures it (besides hot sex)? We get the answers in bits and pieces, but not before you're too confused to care. There's one passage that supposedly explains 'the change' -- when werewolves mature: "The top alpha was bitten by his father, turned human, and then bit the rest of his pack. All werewolves, when turned, were age twenty-one years, but with selected knowledge acquired via the blood bite or what was known as Stallo's blood, or the poison." WTF is this?

I had hoped that the relationship between Cricket and Slade might save the story, but it doesn't. They're both utterly conventional characters -- she's the feisty but caring outcast who saves the ravaged soul of the hero (I guess she saves him -- I didn't get that far).

So...one more in my DNF stack....

[CoffeeTimeRomance andMore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ms. Gordon created a realistic world of werewolf society and the downfall of royalty. I found the characters and story enthralling. I loved Cricket because no matter how much the wolves tried to put her in her place she refused to stay there. I think the best part of the story is how the reader is taken on a ride with the full spectrum of emotions and is left wondering how these two could ever find a place where they can be together. I am left wanting to know what happens and will be looking to read all the books in the series.
Delane
Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance & More
Official Review @ Coffee Time Romance & More

[Traceys · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my first read by Eva Gordon and I'm pleased to say she can weave a wonderful tale and pull you into her characthers world.

The book is about Slade a werewolf prince that has lost his pack, his very old school and demands respect as an alpha wolf not so much for being a prince. He's in a bad place when he shows up at Greywolf compound. The only thing that seems to calm him is a runt of wolf called Cricket, that does not seem to follow protocol or respect, which annoys him to begin with but soon he sees past that and to the women in front of him.

Cricket is only an omega wolf the lowest of the ranks, she's a great characther that you will be willing on. She hates all the protocol of werewolf society and has to be reminded constantly to show respect. Her past is not that great and she constantly tries to show that everyone was wrong about her and in my opinion succeeds. Cricket is no wall flower and likes fun and sex, she does respect the werewolf dating system and that means that she will probably never mate and she can't have sex with any wolf higher than her station.

Slade and Cricket have to work together on a big case and it is all very exciting, you have the two of them salivating over each other while trying to remember they can never be, at the same time there fighting an enemy bigger than they dreamed. It really is like a James Bond movie with all the action and twists and with the added romance, seduction and the fact its werewolves make it an addictive read.

I found Slade annoying at first as he was so protocol, having to wait for him to drink before you could, it reminded me of silver service waitressing when you serve the most VIP person before everyone else! I have to admit though the Ying/yang of him being protocol and Cricket being free spirited really added to the story. The way their relationship developed was in no way smooth but you will find it all very entertaining.

I look forward to reading more of this authors work.

4.5 action packed romance stars

[Yvonne Daniels · Rating 5 out of 5]

Slade
Team Greywolf  Book 1 
By Eva Gordon
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I received a ARC in exchange for my opinion in a honest review.

Spectacular storyline! I am so happy that I got this opportunity to read this book. I really enjoyed reading this! The storyline is very intense, engaging, interesting and amazing. The characters are witty, realistic and fantastic. There is a lot of feistiness , drama and humor. This is a part of a series, but its a standalone also. The story is well written and you will be excited to read the other books in the series. It's FANTASTIC, I read it in one sitting because it's really hard to stop reading until you are finish and this makes me so excited about reading the other books in series

Cricket is a small more human than werewolf that was a preemie at birth but the wolves call them a runt, most of the runts have a death rate of 99 percent before and the during change but Cricket is a fighter. But being a runt allowed her to work undercover at the special ops at the Lycan Intelligent Agency( LIA ). But she feels her next assignment is humiliating, she is a beta now not a babysitter, even if he is Royalty.
Slade is a hot and sexy Alpha Prince who can't control his wolf or stop his rages, since his entire pack was slaughtered. Then the Dr. Assistant drugged him and before he could be transported in a lock room he disfigured the wolf. This made them not trust him and infuriated him, but what infuriated him even more was the tiny runt who could calm him and his wolf. Then he meet Cricket and his body and wolf wanted her, but his mind said NO WAY! I'm Royalty I can't lower myself.


Once again Eva Gordon has written a book that is Amazing! I absolutely fell in loved Cricket with her feisty self. I can't wait to read this series. I am now a definite fan! I honestly loved reading this book and I recommend it. This will be a Magnificent addition to your TBR list. It's a Must Read!

If you believe in the world of paranormal romance, the possibilities are endless and fascinating!

[Nikki Brooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cricket, is honorary beta of Team Greywolf. With her inherent runt status she reads almost human, making her an invaluable undercover asset to the special ops branch of the Lycan Intelligence Agency (LIA).

Prince Slade suffers a mental break when his entire pack was murdered. The one surefire way to get him to come back to himself is to give him someone of lower rank to feel the need to protect them above all else - enter Cricket! She's not exactly chuffed at this royal babysitting job but she must admit it does have its perks -Slade wasn't exactly hit by the ugly tree and he makes her girly parts tingle. But she knows lust or not she can never get attached - he is a royal alpha and she is the lowest rung on the hierarchy ladder.

But when they go undercover together on the hunt for missing Alphas they learn each others foibles and Slade realises there is more to his "little wolf" than he imagined.

Fantastic book! This is the first Eva Gordon book I've read (how on earth did I miss her???) and i won't be my last. Tense, action packed scenes interweave with passion and intrigue. There are bilge inducing bad guys and the introduction of background characters who are witty, playful and have their own stories to tell. I read this in one go as I could not put it down. Slade may be a Prince but he sure knows how to get a girls fire flowing!!! Excellent start to a series!

[Brenna Joyce · Rating 2 out of 5]

It had potential. How many times do we need to hear she’s a runt? We got it the first 40 times. The whole book was kind of confusing in the Lycan mythology and how they communicated while wolves. Parts were better than others, but overall pretty basic.

[~ Lihllith ~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book for free in exchange for providing a voluntary, unbiased review.

Some Spoiler. Maybe...

While I did like the story itself the voice actor that performed the read was not the best choice to bring this story to life. While I do understand that not every voice actor is not going to perform at the highest level, with the ability to do voices and have total control over their pitch and tone. I get it and that's cool and not the problem here. You don't have to do too many voice acrobats or really have this arsenal of voices to give a good performance.

The problem was the fact that she kept the same tone and only managed to alter the pitch when changing from each character. The tone oddly reminded me of a charecter Rob Schneider played on SNL called the Richmeister. It was very distracting as every charecter had that same odd tone and I kept waiting for her to start singing "Slade! The Sladester! Slade-a-reno! Big alpha Slademeister! The Slade-dor-a-tor turning alpha!" Very distracting.

Anyway, I need to talk about the werewolf lore in this series. Really interesting plot point that there is a psychosis that can befall a werewolf who are dealing with serious mental issues like Slade. Slade has lost his entire pack and must go through psychotherapy and also keep a submissive wolf with him to keep him stable. Without it he can go into a psychotic rage, turn into his werewolf form, and possibly kill others of his kind and humans. I thought that was an intriguing angle to take on mourning and loss within this species.

I was surprised at how effortlessly they were able to transform into their wolf form and back again, hardly no energy. The more I read there seemed to be a distinction between half human wolves and varying levels of full bread werewolves and something mentioned about being bit at a certain age to turn full wolf. It wasn't quite clear in the earlier section of the story but some of it managed to be explained later on as the story progressed. I thought that those distinctions should have been made clearer in the storyline as well as their different abilities. I would have preferred that instead of all that business with Slade and Cricket sniffing and eyeballing each other and going on about how hot the other one was. It's already in the romance genre so it always seems redundant to me for characters to go through all that. It's clear that this is going to be an man meets woman... or in this case, alpha male wolf meets, kinda submissive but really not, female half breed wolf.

Note to writer, please remove the word "Ugh". No... Just no. It not only makes your charecter sound immature but it never sounds good when a voice actor has to read that.

One other thing I thought was odd was the way they communicated. For instance, Slade was in full wolf form when he found Cricket in the woods. He, scolded her and then they had this whole conversation in wolf form. Were they using a mental connection? Were they really using a series of growls and grunts and the writer just wrote the dialogue? How did that work exactly? While I'm fine with the idea of them communicating I just found it confusing because one moment they are in human form then change to wolf form and continue a conversation without anyone else being privy to what's being said between them. There was even a moment in the bar when it seemed like Slade and Cricket were communicating mentally from across a noisy crowded room.
It wasn't a total story ruiner, I just think a little more consistency is needed.
In fantasy, I find it easier to get into the world the writer is creating when rules are applied to keep things consistent. Rules are important in fantasy. So if they communicate, is it a pack link or can you choose who can hear your words? Are their wolf shaped jaws forming actual words? Is the writer just interpreting the growls, grunts, barks and howls for us?

Maybe I'm diving into geekdom territory here but I really liked what this writer was attempting to do with werewolf lore and I liked her story line. Sure, at some point I was a little annoyed with the "runt" theme and the alpha male bullying but I dealt with because I watch too much Animal Planet.
Since this writer is creating her own lore and building her own world, I'd like that she kept the story simple giving us time to absorb it all.

I may continue this series to see if it improves as it goes. I'd to see a few matriarchal packs introduced.

[Cecily · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was VERY close to a DNF for me. Fascist werewolves, confused worldbuilding, Special Forces wolves with attitude, everyone smelling each other's arousal, sometimes just a bit too canine in behaviour, first third of the book obsessed with nipples going hard. *sigh*

Team Greywolf. Fail.

[helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is action packed with interesting story lines that I found captivating from start to end. Eva Gordon created an imaginative and fascinating world where werewolves are real and live among st humans. Some of these werewolves are like no other, they have their own unique powers while others are just ordinary Grey-wolf. The world dynamics among the werewolves is changing, there is upheaval and some are trying to gain power which puts both werewolves and humans at risk. Cricket's sassy personality when she was in the presence of authority figures was very refreshing and funny, especially because with her low social standing as a runt she completely broke the social norm of being a complacent submissive in a multitude of ways. Prince Slade's possessive nature paired with his protectiveness and loyalty to his companion as well as the basic rules of the pack I found to be endearing as well as intense in some situations as he struggled with the reality of falling for Cricket. Slade and Cricket find themselves in danger. The bad ones that want Slade want to erase his memory. Cricket knows if this happens he will forget her. Cricket must find away to keep Slade safe.

This is a book well worth reading. Looking forward to reading more books in this series.

The narrator is amazing!!!

I was given this audio book at my request and am voluntarily leaving my honest opinion in this review.

[Karen Voitik · Rating 5 out of 5]

>Book Review – Slade

>I am an independent reviewer. This book is the first in the Team Grey Wolf series ends in an HEA. This story branches off of the Alpha Wolf’s Mate box set. Cricket, whom we met in the last series, is a werewolf runt, more human than were. She works for a were CIA agency and is assigned to help a Prince get over his deep depression and anger from losing his entire pack. Prince Slade needs a submissive for his alpha to come and protect. Slade is stuck in wolf form during his grief, but immediately senses a pull towards Cricket. The problem is that were law prohibits a prince and an alpha from mating a runt.

>The sorrow Cricket has knowing her feelings for Prince Slade can never be is heartbreaking. Everyone underestimates Cricket and seeing her try to stay properly submissive in the pack is quite funny. Dominic and Mia make a few appearances as they all band together to fight an unknown trying to kill all the humans. Cricket believes Prince Slade is truly a lost cause at one point. She is devastated. The complete 180 that Prince Slade makes in his decision to mate is totally romantic.

> This book is appropriate for an adult audience. I am giving this book 5 stars. The wolf pack is getting easier to understand and the individual wolves have personalities and back stories that are very interesting.

[Toula · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have it in Audio. A PNR story
This is my first Eva Gordon Audio and it won’t be my last . I love my PNR stories . This is a great love story between 2 wolfs that are in different stations in live . Hero is Slade (a Prince ). Heroine is Isabella (who is called a Runt ). Slades territory is the Yukon . He is the prince there . All of his family and pack were wiped out . Slade was drugged by a doctor and his memory was wiped clean. Slade was transferred to a government-group. This group is called the Greywolf and yes they are all wolves . This were he meets Runt .
Runt is a wolf that wasn’t wanted by her pack . Her father is an Alpha and when he married someone more suitable for his title her mother and the Runt was not wanted by the female Alpha .
The Runt is a lot stronger than everyone takes her for . The Runt is put in charge of a secret mission and Slade decides to take part. Wolves are disappearing left right and centre. Love how Eva writes many layers into the story and she takes the story step by self

This is the first time I heard this narrator. She wasn’t a five star but she want bad either. In some parts she sounded slitting.
Can’t wait for book 2

Can’t say more about the story you will need to get it

[Misschel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Happy

I really liked the story. Kept me entertained. I look forward to the next in the series.
I frequently found myself wanting to slap the alphas. I really hated how they made the less stronger wait to eat, ask permission to drink, Etc.
I bought the audio version to go with the book. The lady reading was horrible! She read very monotone and at the end of a sentence she would speak the last word with excitement and drag just the last word. I'm not quite sure how to articulate accurately the reading style. I really hope she's not reading the next in the series. If so I will definitely skip it until I have the time to read it myself.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good 1st book

This started off okay but then had a lull due to the main characters not recognising their soul mates. The alpha male had no excuses being able to recognise his mate but the female runt possibly. However their thought process was like insta lust but couldnt act on it due to be forbidden fruit so to speak. However with that said I really enjoyed the rest of the book. There was plenty of drama and action right up to the end. Although it was a HEA it felt a little rushed for the 2 main characters and it was really like an epilogue rather than their ending. Sexual content. Recommended

[Jocelyne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is a spin-off of the Alphas Pet Series, but I haven't listened to this series yet. Slade is a great Paranormal Wolf Shifters Story, with a great world building. The storyline is fast-paced, suspenseful, with action packed, twists and turns, and mystery. Cricket and Slade share an undeniable and hot chemistry. The other characters are also interesting. Cristine Padovan did a good narration.

[Patricia Terry · Rating 5 out of 5]

The female lead in this book made me laugh with her sassy spunky attitude. The plot was not at all like any other pnr stories I have read it listened to. At first I didn't like the reader, but when I took into consideration the character she was portraying, I realized that she was actually perfect for the part. This was a thoroughly enjoyable story. I received a free copy of this audio book for review.

[Melinda Urbain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pack hierachy rules

I really like Slade and Cricket. This team kicks ass!!! After reading the story between Dom and Mia, the adventure these 2 get really hits it out of the park.
A prince of the Yukon and a runt that has had to fight for everything in life, will need to rely on their witts and partnership to survive, especially for love..
Will they adhere to the pack rules or make their own????

[T. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful characters and a fast-paced, interesting plot kept me reading this one in a single sitting. Some of Cricket's dialog was a tad too cheesy for me, but overall, there was a lot of wit, and fun back-and-forth between her and Slade. The plot was intriguing, and just enough of the threads left loose to add to anticipation of a second book in the series. Well done!

[a collective of books · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book! Eva has thought of every detail from the werewolf social hierarchy to the action packed suspense and investigation. There's in depth character development and an intricate story line. I also enjoyed the world building how lichen society stays hidden from the humans and how history is tied in with the story. Fantastic start to a series.

[Brittney · Rating 1 out of 5]

this book started very strong, but by the middle everything was jumbled. There were a lot of unnecessary characters and a lot of repetitive conversations that confused me into thinking that maybe I was reading the same section multiple times. I wasn't, that's just how the writing is. I am also not a fan of big information dumps via exposition, and this novel had a lot of that

[Alice Nieuwendijk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Team slade this is a great story about cricket. The bbf from Mia from the story's of alphas wolfs pet story's. It's a story how cricket fight for her life. Destroy bad guys and find love... I love how the story develops and there is never a doll moment I love it. Can't wait to hear more

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super Super GOOD

This book was Soooo Good. It had a lot of twists and turns in the story but my favorite was the twists and turns between Slade & Cricket. Definitely recommend this one.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am really glad I got the chance to read this book. Slade and Cricket are such a great couple, even if they are not meant to be. The story is full of suspense and heartbreak. There is lots of action and the story moves at a great pace to keep you interested. I look forward to more in this series.

[Mandy Sawyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book enjoyable but felt there was something missing. I’m not sure if it was how long it took for this couple to admit they were meant for each other. Excellent performance from Christine.

[Ani's Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book. Very well written. The story was interesting and the love was evident from the start and costructed very well through the story.

The only issue for me is if that there was so many confussing parts. I'm not a historian and I do not love history. All of this talk about what happened when and where only confussed me.

But if you love history and werewolves you'll enjoy this for sure.

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not as good as Alpha wolf but I did really enjoy it.

[Leah · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Thought the story line was interesting but the dialogue between characters irritating and ruined the story.

[Debbie W. · Rating 5 out of 5]

❤️ 📚 👍 One of my favorite authors and series. Love Cricket.

[☘KathyD☘ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this start to a new series. I hope future books build the world better because I think there is a lot of potential here!

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audio review

"Great start to the series "
What made the experience of listening to Slade the most enjoyable?
The narrator really did a great job of bringing the story to life

What did you like best about this story?
I enjoyed meeting Cricket in earlier stories by Eva Gordon and was thrilled for her to get her own story as she deserved it

Which character – as performed by Christine Padovan – was your favorite?
Cricket of course

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Yes it was and I wish I could have

Any additional comments?
Although I was gifted this story for an honest review I would have used a credit to get this as I really wanted to get Cricket's story. Well worth my time to listen