Tooth and Claw

Kootenai Pack #1

by Lynn Katzenmeyer

Ten years ago I was exiled from my home for being different.
Ten years ago I found myself in a trap.
Ten years ago, I escaped.

Now they’re back for me.
I showed Kendrick what I’d do to be free ten years ago.
Now I’ll show the whole pack.


Rejected and destroyed, the reviled dud of the Kootenai pack is finally exiled for failing to shift into a wolf before her high school graduation.
Ten years later, Lee Fields finally has her life on track. She's part-owner of the Tooth and Claw pub, small town legend, and Easterville's own Bionic Barmaid.
When her life before Easterville comes back for her, she'll have to grapple with her moon blessed mate, Kendrick Biel, and the complicated past they share.
Back on packs lands, Lee will have to choose between the life she's been living in Easterville and the mate who forced her there in the first place.
After ten years apart, has Kendrick changed enough for Lee to trust he could ever truly love the dud?

“You knew what I was to you for years before the accident,” I whispered afraid if I spoke with my full voice I’d lose control, “you should have protected me. But you didn't. You let me....” I couldn’t finish the sentence. He knew what he’d allowed to happen. He’d been there. It was my first shift and the first time I’d felt the pull of my mate. The same pull I was feeling for the man sitting across the narrow bar, “you need to leave,” I said finally getting the strength to repeat the words he’d said to me all those years ago, “I don’t want you here.”




Other books in The Kootenai Pack series:
Ghost Eyes-- release November 1st 2019

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

359 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 18, 2019

Reviews

[Kristy Mills · Rating 2 out of 5]

What? Just... what? What happened in the last 20% of the book?

Maybe I have been reading too many novels where the Hero is dark, but I thought this was pretty clearly going in one direction and then out of no where the story completely changed. Actually I don’t think the author even knew where it was gonna end up so she just brought in a new character. She said in the author notes that she had a couple of different endings in mind. One being the ending I was expecting, and would have preferred.

I had to give it two stars, because she had me for the first 80%. I was on board. I was picking up what she was putting down. I was devouring this book excited to see how it was all gonna come together. But now it’s freaking 5AM and I’m angry typing this review on my phone when I should have just slept instead of staying up to read this. So that’s why it gets two stars from me. Because she kept me up all night reading.


Ok so Aster has a true mate. One who rejects her in a pretty terrible way. But years later after she has established herself he comes for her. And he tells her he loves her and he has been wearing her claw around his neck on a necklace. He does seem a bit delusional. Like when she is rightfully upset about the past he acts shocked she is so angry. But he does apologize and he seems to think she would want to be with the pack. It’s all he’s ever known so he doesn’t seem to comprehend the life she had to live.

Sometimes he truly seems regretful and remorseful. But other times he stands back when he should be standing up for her. So I’m thinking throughout the whole first half of this book, “oh man this getting good!” The worse the h is treated, the more grovel there will be. And I love some good grovel. So I felt like all this bad stuff was building to an epic conclusion.

I was expecting to find out a back story from Kendrick, her mate. Find out that Kendrick was actually protecting her all this time. That his father and mother had threatened to do awful things to Aster if he ever acted on his mate calling. Something like that. And that what he let happen to her was the lesser of two evils, that he was protecting her the only way he knew how. That all those times growing up when she would go out in the woods he would be there too, watching over her without her knowing, that all those years she was away, he kept checking in on her and doing things to help her without her knowledge. I was expecting there to be stuff we didn’t know about that would make up for the beginning some how. Because it had to be huge to make up for the beginning. Because even his behavior in the beginning was confusing. When he tells her he doesn’t want her there, he’s tenderly stroking her wolf. It was such a contradiction that it made me think immediately, there is more to this, I can’t wait to find out what it is. Turns out there wasn’t more to it.

But then at about 75% of the way through the book, a new guy comes in. And they have an instant connection and fall in love in a matter of hours basically. And then all these new characters flood in, her best friend Evan the bear who has been present for most of the book is suddenly absent when all this new stuff starts happening. And then she divorces Kendrick and her and her new guy live happily ever after. What?!

WHAT?! I’m sorry, but the cover of the freaking book is Aster and Kendrick. I was sort of under the impression THAT was who she was going to end up with. I felt no connection to Cain at all. Kendrick was a dick but I was waiting for that big moment when he would redeem himself. Now he has a book coming out where he falls in love with someone else?! No thank you. I will definitely be passing on that book. Why would I want to read a book with him as the Hero, when he wasn’t redeemable in this book. Not even a little.

It’s like the last 20% of the book was written by someone else. Or she stopped writing for a while because she didn’t know how to make this a HEA. So when she came back to the book after a break, she started writing something completely new.

The thing that confuses me is why did she write tender scenes with Kendrick if we weren’t suppose to be sort of routing for him despite the terrible things he did? Why did her wolf keep forgiving him and keep wanting him? Well that is until Cain came into the picture and suddenly she was all, Kendrick who?



I feel so jibed right now. I couldn’t put this book down because I seriously thought I found my new favorite book. No, I found my new favorite book to hate on.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked that the plot of this took the common tropes of urban fantasy and werewolves and examined how toxic they can be. And that it also featured a shifter with a disability who didn't magically heal and whose trauma and angst wasn't about the disability itself so much as the events surrounding it. My only big issue is with the series more than this book--which is that the second book features the abusive mate from this one. So we get a book showing how awful he is, and then it seems he gets to be the main character in the next book apparently with a second chance at redemption and possibly love? After he: sat by while his mate was caught in a bear trap; watched her have to chew off her own paw to get free; left her to possibly bleed to death from that; watched while his pack abused her for years; let her be exiled; then when he finally needed her, kidnapped and held her hostage; let his pack then make two attempts on her life and let her be publicly whipped for daring to defend herself in one of the attacks. This guy gets a second chance?? Kind of feels like it's undoing all the thoughtful examination of the toxic tropes if he just gets to be redeemed in the end. (Who knows, maybe he doesn't, but why on earth would I want to read a story about that guy to find out?)

[Sydney · Rating 1 out of 5]

1 Shattered Stars

Tooth and Claw is the first blah in Kootenai Pack by Lynn Katzenmeyer.

Ugh. DNF @ 64%.

This was so hard to get through. It’s difficult to connect to any of the characters. I’ve experienced the alternated present and past chapters before. That isn’t the issue. It just felt disruptive this time. The author could’ve benefitted from aligning the opposing viewpoints based on relation. It was all over the place, honestly.

I felt for the heroines misfortune but that was about it. I’m happy she was allotted a second chance mate. Kendrick was shit. His mistreatment makes absolutely no sense. From the initiation of the bond he attacks and neglects her. Given that every other mated pair can’t even imagine committing a wrong against their fated. His actions reflect poorly on the author. There’s a disconnect between what we’re told is an absolute truth, and the shown proof against it.

[Janet Lewis · Rating 1 out of 5]

Horrible just a bunch woman power trash.uhhhhhhhhhv!!!. I don't need a man me woman i can do it all. F-ing boring..

This book sucks it was all about this girl who lost her arm . It was her mates that made it happen. The whole books is just about her woman powers and her crying and getting shit done. The her mate would show up for 5min . I hate him man bad. She never talk to the guy to even know his side of the story. So we will never know. it all about her and her problems. Nobody else problems just hers cuz she lost her hand. Then at the end they throw some guy he is my mate cuz I say so cuz I am woman with no arm. I over came! Uhhhh stop writing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Just never do it again.

[Dominique F · Rating 4 out of 5]

So intense. Really good. Really deep. Just be aware that the fmc does NOT end up w the fated mate. She ends up w a different much much much better one.

I didn’t realiZe that going in. When I got over the fact she wasn’t going to end up w her fates mate and he was not redeemable the story got better lol

Anyway. Enjoy the ride

[Coco.V]

🎁 FREE on Amazon today (11/2/2019)! 🎁

[Reading · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some plotting and pacing issues
Too much then and now
Overall not bad

[Librarian Jessie (BibliophileRoses) · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was great at the beginning, but like all Wattpad-esque werewolf books had the laziest ending I’ve ever read. ~~ I agree toxicity especially in relationships isn’t good in a book, but the author felt like they were trying to prove the original main interest had cared for the main protagonist all along. Even if it ultimately hurt her, he was forcing her to leave to protect her sort of vibes. They made him into this weird almost likable villain creating confusion as a reader. ~ Yet they didn’t follow that route and brought in a rushed love interest with an even more rushed ending that left a mess of rubble behind.

Look I’m all for creating a villain plot with a second chance mate in werewolf books. But the execution was entirely wrong. Don’t excuse his behaviors. These excuses caused the readers to see that it wasn’t exactly his sole action. Look, if you want me to hate the dude, don’t turn him into Prince Adam turn him into the Terminator. Make every action he commits unforgivable.

[Desiree Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not your normal shifter book!

I really loved this book. It had hierarchy in wolf packs but especially how they treated the weaker wolves. And how the wolves could go up and down in hierarchy. Aster (Lee) is basically known as the dud wolf because her wolf had not shown up by her high school graduation day and is exiled from the pack. Though the day she leaves she shifts for the first time and finds out her mate is Kenderick the Alpha’s son who knew she was his mate 5 yrs prior. And he leads her into a bear trap causing Lee having to bite her paw off.

Lee leaves and takes off to Easterville for the next 10 yrs where she finds friends, other shifters who help her and a town her treats her like family. But her past comes back to haunt her and she struggles and fights her way through. She eventually meets Cain who is everything her mate is not and they have a HEA.

[Jessika · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it!

I just want to start by saying this book really brings the feels.That being said, I caught several grammatical issues and even a spot where it had switched POV for a paragraph. I loved Lee(Aster). I connected with her character so much. I liked Cain but I wish we could have learned more about him. Kendrick was a hard person to peg. Even after Lee went back I was waiting for him to step up, to be the person he should be. Except he never changed. He was still the wolf watching his mate suffer. After that, I was done with him. Great storyline, needed some editing, but the raw emotion is poured into this story.

[Carolina Firefly · Rating 4 out of 5]

4+ stars! Omg, this book! It got me in all the feels. All of them.

Major spoiler tag, folks, I’m going to tell lots of secrets.

TRIGGERS: First off, flashing red trigger warnings. This book features some serious bullying, violence, betrayal, kidnapping, a graphic injury, a rigged trial and an unjustified conviction with a sentence of public flogging. But worst, there is a lot of severe emotional abuse and gaslighting. It made my heart hurt so hard I had to skip ahead and read the ending when I was about halfway through because if Lee had ended up with the bastard responsible for all her pain, I couldn’t have finished the book. When I saw she got an HEA with somebody else, I went back to read through until the end. And I’m glad I did.

I know reading these trigger warnings will keep some people from giving this story a try, and no fault to you, if that’s what you need. But for me, it was worth it. SO worth it. As low as Lee’s story made my heart sink, it also brought me so much warmth in the love of her chosen family and community. ALL the feels, y’all.

PLOT: So, broad strokes, Lee’s pack is a bunch of assholes who bully, harass, and assault her for being a “dud.” Then, surprise, she shifts only to be cruelly injured and rejected by her mate. She flees town, and finds good people who take her in. She builds a good life for herself. Jerkhole asswipe mate tracks her down and kidnaps her because he needs a mate to become alpha. He takes her back to his pack, where she is still brutally mistreated and attacked at every turn, he doesn’t protect her at all, and forces her to marry him. She flees again and returns to her town. Back home, her wolf howls in mourning every night for the mate who betrayed her. Lee’s adoptive pseudo brother (a grizzly) calls in other packless wolves to try to soothe Lee’s wolf. She begins to heal and falls for one of the new wolves. They begin to build a life as a better kind of pack. Fuckface mate returns -again- to try to get Lee to go back with him -again- and is an ass -again. But Lee manages to outmaneuver him and get a divorce in the bargain. Happily ever after with a good guy, new confidence, and a supportive community

STORYTELLING: Katzenmeyer has a real gift for interweaving flashback chapters with present-day chapters to reveal the story of Lee’s childhood, trauma, and growth. Sometimes the flashbacks were only a few paragraphs long, when she really didn’t need that much to set you up with dread for the betrayal that you can see coming to poor, young Lee (then, Aster). Mostly the flashback chapters were a chronological progression, but sometimes threw back even further into Lee’s childhood to show that her pain and lack of belonging in her birth pack didn’t begin with her douche canoe of a mate. Brilliant storytelling.

NEGATIVES: This book was not perfect. The 4+ star rating was earned by how profoundly Katzenmeyer made me feel. Here’s a short list of the things that could have been better:

- Editing. Not the biggest deal, but all the editing errors and bad grammar and typos I’ve read in epublished books lately are exhausting. This book is inconsistent in how bad the errors were. Generally not too bad, but I got kinda frustrated between the 50% and 70% marks.

-There was one area of the plot that seemed underdeveloped. When Lee was kidnapped and she’s rejecting Kendrick at every opportunity, she’s been flogged, and the next thing we hear is that the mating ceremony has taken place. It’s not quite as abrupt as all that, but that Lee actually said the words in the ceremony and signed the paperwork for their mating was a surprise. Like, couldn’t she have just *not* said the vows? *Not* signed the paperwork? Was there a threat that I missed that maybe would have coerced her into it? Then right after, they have a banquet and prepare to go on a pack run. Kendrick talks about moving on to the making of pups, and Lee says she’ll never sleep with him. While I totally support that (duh) the logic just doesn’t flow. Lee goes on the run, is attacked by pack enforcers, she gets away, and accuses Kendrick of setting the trap for her to be killed once he got the mating he wanted. Then Kendrick just lets Lee leave! After all that. After never listening to her wishes. After never protecting her. With very few words, he just tells her she can go. I feel like a couple of chapters are missing in the story.

-The ole switcheroo: it seemed at times that the author was writing one story, then 2/3 through, she changed her mind and wrote a totally different end. It seemed like this could have been a redemption story, where Kendrick had really good reasons for behaving the way he did towards Lee. But it just goes way too far and there’s no going back, so the author has to introduce and entirely new cast of characters for Lee to find another wolf that her wolf can accept so she can fall in love with and get her HEA. It kinda came out of the blue. (Except that I was so distressed by how bad things were that I skipped and read the end early.)

-Finally, the next book centers on Kendrick as the central character. I want to read more from this author. I want more from her. But I just hate Kendrick so much after this story that I don’t think I can tolerate him as the hero of the tale. He doesn’t deserve redemption. He should have his hand chopped off for what he did to Lee. He should be exiled and left to fend for himself. He doesn’t deserve to find a second chance at a mate.

[Moto Z · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn’t like this book, so it’s a hard no for me

[Jac K]

This book has a very not typical ending... that’s all I’ll say without spoilers. If you love twist and turns and are constantly frustrated by the norm ending... you will love these books. Personally, I like to know where I’m going. I’m the annoying reader that doesn’t like major surprises:) I will look at spoilers because I like HEA, I want my man to win, I want characters to redeem themselves, I don’t want my H or h to die. THAT DOESN’T HAPPEN HERE JUST MAKING A POINT If you are like me, you may want to check the spoiler before reading:)

Spoiler....

Spoiler....

to enjoy books 1 and 2, you must HATE Kendrick he does not get the HEA...or redeem himself not even for his own book...don’t be stupid like me and hold out hope...you’ll be disappointed ;)

[Christopher Denton · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a Wonderful Way to Subvert the Trope

Tooth and Claw is an awesome example of the fated mates trope in paranormal romance. However, it provides a unique twist on the trope that makes it stand out from the crowd. If you enjoyed Molly Harper’s Naked Werewolf series and Suzanne Wrights Phoenix Pack series, you’ll love the Kootenai Pack series.

The Opening

There is a fabulous hook in the opening paragraph when the whipping post is mentioned. The tension is great, and the main protagonist is immediately named and identified.

However, I soon became confused over the opening chapters. You see, a female protagonist was introduced in Chapter 1 called Aster. Then there is a differently abled protagonist called Lee introduced in Chapter 2. Then Jackson and Kendrick are introduced in Chapter 5 and a different wolf Lee doesn’t recognize in Chapter 6.

At this point I became very confused. I thought that there were at least two couples in this story: Aster and either Kendrick or Jackson and then Lee and either the new wolf or Evan. It does not help that the chapter headings imply that Lee and Aster are different people.

It took a while before I identified Lee and Aster as the same person because they were physically so different. If Lee had reacted to the Aster name in some way, there would have been zero confusion.

The Characters

Aster is a sympathetic character from the very beginning because she is literally the underdog. Her character development was both original and interesting.

Evan benefits from the fact he’s introduced as a likable character and then we work back to his past. If the story were presented in chronological order, he wouldn’t come across so well. Like Aster, his character development seen in his backstory is great.

Earl is a wonderful character and my favorite. He is the real founder of the “not-pack”. Without him, his beliefs and actions, none of the events of later books could come to pass.

Jackson and Kendrick and their family and friends come across as truly nasty. They make great antagonists, but there were facts introduced in this book that made me find elements of the second book of the the Kootenai Pack series, Ghost Eyes, feel implausible.

There were lots of great minor characters. All the characters are three-dimensional and memorable. Character development is one of this novel’s main strengths.

The Plot

This paranormal romance contains wonderful conflict throughout the whole story which kept me fully immersed. It follows the fated mates trope but completely subverts the trope. I loved the final resolution.

The Setting

The settings were really well developed. I especially liked the motel that makes an appearance in all the later books of the Kootenai Pack series. It’s a wonderful dive.

The magical system is also well shown and conceived. I especially like the Lee/Evan dynamic within the backstory and how the mating magic affects them.

The Prose

The story is shown rather than told, which is great. However, the frequent time shifts are really confusing at first. Later on in this book, and in subsequent books in the Kootenai Pack series, they’re fine. But for the first ten chapters or so, they’re just confusing.

The main confusion for me came from the chapter headings. The main story (except the epilogue) is told entirely from Aster/Lee’s viewpoint in the past tense. However, the chapter headings imply that there are two different narrators called Aster and Lee.

There a a large number of typos in this novel, and in the later ones, too. More than I’ve seen in other books. An editor would be a great idea. I’ll provide a few examples.

P.52: He was kept his eyes firmly on my face

P.63: Kendrick had thrown a t-shirt on in during my shift, “Were you…”

P.115: She took anything he said as if were secretly in love…

Also, there are also multiple punctuation errors in the dialogue tags and beats. The rule that beats are a separate sentence and require a period is ignored. For example:

P.55: …dangling from it was a lone claw, “I used to have more…”

P.63: Kendrick had thrown a t-shirt on in during my shift, “Were you…”

P.78: “Evan stop growling at my waitress,” Earl came… – needs a comma after Evan and period at the end of the speech. If you want to claim somehow its the same sentence as the following speech, which it isn’t, then you would need to use emdashes, i.e., “…my waitress”—Earl came…crash—”Lee, I have…

P.86: “You doing ok Lee?” – missing comma.

P.163: Earl and Evan smirk, “Come on now Aster,” Evan said… – period after Evan, comma before Aster

P.181: “Hey Ging,” Evan told… – missing comma.

P.215: I felt my face flush again, “I love…” – period not comma.

My Opinion

Despite the confusing opening and multiple typos, I found the plot compelling and the characters engaging. For me, this werewolf romance was a page-turner. I rate this entertaining werewolf paranormal romance as 7 out of 10, which will translate to 4 out of 5 on Goodreads and Amazon.

I would note that Tooth and Claw is the weakest book in this series. The later books are much stronger with even better characters and plots.

[Ashleigh Neame · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full disclosure: I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this eBook in exchange for an honest review.

I'm a huge fan of shifter romance novels (my guilty pleasure) but it's been a while since I have come across such a unique take on werewolves. Tooth and Claw offers a refreshing change from the typical werewolf romance.

The story follows Aster Lee Fields, a disabled werewolf known as the 'Bionic Barmaid', across two pivotal times in her life: Years Earlier, and Present Day. Each chapter of the book alternates between time periods, and it almost feels like you're reading two novels at once.

In the Years Earlier chapters, our 'Kickass Heroine' is known as Aster Fields, or The Dud. Born to two werewolf parents, Aster is unusual. Most werewolves gain their wolf in their mid-teens. Aster, at 18 years old, still hasn't gained her wolf. Anyone who hasn't shifted by their 18th birthday is labelled a Dud, and exiled from the pack.

The Pack structure in this story is unlike most other werewolf novels. In a typical shifter romance novel, werewolf packs are akin to a family, supporting each other and acting as a collective unit. This doesn't hold true for the Kootenai Pack. There is a more complicated hierarchy in the pack, and the lower down you are, the worse you are treated. At the very bottom, you will find The Dud.

As Aster is leaving pack lands, she gains her wolf, finally. Upon her first shift, Aster discovers her Moon Blessed mate. While chasing him down, she gets her leg stuck in a bear trap, set by hunters. Her mate, who has known she was his mate since he gained his wolf 5 years ago, doesn't free her. Instead, he does the unthinkable and watches her chew her own arm off to escape the trap.

In Present Day, Aster has made a new life for herself, far from Pack Lands. Now going by her middle name, Lee, she's co-owner of the Tooth & Claw pub. The local townsfolk have nicknamed her 'Bionic Barmaid' due to her prosthetic arm. Living and working alongside her business partner, a grizzly bear shifter named Evan, her life is comfortable.

Until her Moon Blessed mate kidnaps her from outside her pub. Back in Pack Lands once again, she must fight to be free of her past and the horrors it brings.

I'm not usually a fan of books with alternating chapters such as this, but in Tooth and Claw, it works. In fact, I don't think there's another way to tell the story. We need to learn about why Aster left the pack and her struggles to make a new life for herself so that we can fully understand why she's fighting so hard to stay free.

In most shifter romance novels I find myself hoping for the Moon Blessed/Destined/Fated mates to learn from past mistakes and reconcile. In Tooth and Claw, I find myself hoping for the exact opposite. Aster/Lee's mate is a horrible excuse for a mate. Whenever he showed up in the book I just wanted him to go away. The strong reaction I had to him is a testament to Katzenmeyer's writing, and her ability to craft fully developed characters that you can't help but react to.

The mating system in this book is truly unique - I've never come across another like it. There are laws around mating, and the whole process is less primal and more formal. Lawyers, pack elders, contracts, and public declarations are all part of the process in this book.

Aster/Lee does get her much-deserved happy ending, and most storylines are wrapped up by the end. It does leave some threads unfinished, and I expect these will be explored in the following books in the series.

[TassjaAnn · Rating 2 out of 5]

some spoilers in this....
This book was weird for me and waaaaay to much back and forth with past and present. one chapter present , one past. You didn't need it. After two past chapters I didn't even READ them and I understood the story. This book for me was not a book about mates. The things that happened? For real? Also Her wolf threw me . Everytime she couldn't control her wolf I thought the same. Your paw is gone and you want him to touch you? Your not gonna make him even work for it? She didn't even try and bite him? I'm one of those ones that have to finish a book once I start it so I had to keep going but the book was just plain old weird to me. I've read a lot of shifter books and even some can be mean to their mate because of something or other but none would have done what he did. And the ladies wolf's would have tried to maul his face off first. Not let him pet them. For Lee I think it was one thing to much. The paw. Not coming for her sooner, taking her away from her town and "family". His mother and the challenge, Fang removal and then the whole part of her been whipped? I kept expecting him to help her escape and join her! Not sit their and let it happen and then to expect her to just let it happen three times a week for a year! Madness. When the enforcers chased her that I believe was the final straw and at that point it didn't matter if he knew about it or not. The pack was not home, they didn't do things right, for her there was simply to much pain for it to ever be home and he was a part of that. Sure if that had been all that had happened I would say , it wasn't his fault , your mates , work through it but it was simply the ending in a long line of madness. I will say I felt for him at the end but sadly it was to late. I think I see him as a confused mess. He just didn't get or understand what he had done. I also think based off the scars he didn't escape his father and mother's wrath much either. Guy was like a compass with out North. Lee couldn't be that for him. She was drowning in her own sea at that point.
The ending chapters were the best part of the book for me. I think if the author had made the past chapters into just a prologue and maybe turned the book into a two-parter it might have worked better. With the time back with kendrick shorter and the part with Lee back in town with the rogue shifters longer. Maybe even if the part with kendrick was just a novella book. It already seems like your reading two books anyway after she comes back home and that part actually worked for me. I wish that part had been longer! Her new mate was actually a MATE , MATE. He cared for her, helped her. Maybe the author could have even put that in the blurb since you kind of get blindsighted by the whole thing. I don't know im just saying that for me her time with kendrick was to long and then you have past and present flash chapters everywhere and THEN she comes home and boom it's like another book only like four chapters long. It's like the author wrote the book with a giant, huge prologue added major flash backs and then gave you a novella inside a prologue book of how Lee moved on and got a HEA. Only it's not mentioned in the blurb that she meets and mates anyone besides Kendrick. I passed on the other books since I heard the second book we do find out about Kendrick but even the chick he gets doesn't know what mates mean.

[Michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

I rated this book a 3/5 because it did provoke some strong emotions.
I did not like the format of jumping back in forth from the present to the past over and over. I like so many others had more questions by the end of this book, than answers - so I did read the following 2 books in the series. Sorry if spoilers, because I may mix up what happened in which book.
Kendrick wanted to make a difference and change the pack after Aster pointed out some truths to him. I think that he knew his pack was rotting from a lack of true leadership, but he wasn't strong enough to change it. He was willing to change if someone pushed him to change and grow, but his inabilities were his unwillingness to lead without someone telling him exactly what to do. Aster grew up on the outside and had so many obstacles that she had to overcome by herself, so IF they could have been a couple I do think they would have been a power couple. Leading/ improving the pack together.
SO these are my issues with this book:
1. I wanted to hate Kendrick - and I did until I read the following books. then I was partially sympathetic to him. He was abused and emotionally stunted. I don't understand why he left Aster in the trap. I don't understand why he never explained what happened about his parents telling him not to claim her. Nor do understand why he never apologized for his list of infractions toward his mate including but not limited to:
- not claiming her
- allowing his friends to abuse her
- colluding with her mother to kidnap her
- allowing his mother to attack her
- never acknowledging his role in her injury ( speaking of that, in later books his recollection and hers do not align)

Instead of him getting to know her, building a relationship, he kept saying you should love me, you should want me because we are mates, but does not make a relationship.

2. why did he still have the mating bond and she didn't ?
was he just a masochist - did he feel like he did not deserve happiness because of his cowardice
3. this was written in this century - why did all the women have to assume stereotypical roles in the pack?
4. why are pack members that have not received their wolf turned out if not claimed or even if they have received their wolf late why do have to leave? She got her wolf at the 11th hour. why did she have to leave??
5. How did Aster fall so quickly in love with Cain? ( secretly I think that a part of her hates that she is still drawn to Kendrick - that the bond is still there.)

HEA are somewhat predictable as far as mates are concerned. This book was not a HEA for fated mates. Perhaps that is why it provoked an uncomfortable realism that books usually provide an escape from. Sometimes more than not people that are lacking qualifications are placed in positions that they are not qualified for or did not earn because of nepotism or entitlement. Sometime people demand love instead of giving it. Sometimes life is unfair.

[Terry Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it on so many levels - Big fan of the Series.
Okay - found this one through a general search for Kindle Unlimited titles. I could not have been more excited. Excellently well written. Lets face it, I ran book review sites, sometimes I can be a critical reader. Some days I want to just have fun and not think too hard. That is not possible with this series and I love it for that.

Lynn Katzenmeyer is one of the most talented authors I have ever read, especially within the paranormal genre. Her ability to build tension between characters is impeccable. Her grasp on dealing with characters that have faced repeated trauma is astounding. Her willingness to take elements from the general lore of Shifters, particularly wolf shifters and turn it on its head downright impressive.

Yes, you have a moon blessed mate. Does that mean the magic over-rides everything else? Every experience and instance of abuse? I love watching the characters grow. I love that for some their growth arch has to go through multiple books.

These are not easy reads due to the subject matter. They will leave you thinking and give you plenty to digest which is not the case with many "romance" "HEA- Happily Ever After" novels. I am going to be honest. The romance element between the main character and her HEA hero is weak. It is a bit tacked on to the journey of our main character, which I can forgive because the rest of the reading experience is so strong. It becomes more of a moving on happily ending than what I would call a romantic focus.

All things I am totally fine with and since Lee, our leading lady, pops up again I feel like that gives me more closure to her HEA than the end of the book itself. Really though, excellent tension, plotting, and story telling. Really creative use of the stereotypes within the genre and forcing us to reevaluate them in creating a powerful story.

[Abby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not a cliché!!!

(Slight Spoilers)
Okay, so I read a LOT of werewolf stories and usually I enjoy the same mate meets mate and falls in love storyline. I expected the same from this and at first that’s what I thought I got. I thought I was going to have to roll my eyes at a weak heroine and a toxic relationship, borderline abusive. But, I was in for a surprise with this book.
I’ll be honest, I read this book in one night like the obvious insomniac I am. I couldn’t put it down. The main character was so strong and fearless that it surpasses me. She wasn’t physically strong, she was strong in the way women sometimes have to be. She stood firm in her “no means no.” And although she struggled with her life she found her perfect ending. I grew attached to the character in a way I haven’t in awhile.
The writing was great, and I honestly don’t know why she isn’t a more popular author. She planned the story out perfectly, giving flashbacks that made me grow more and more attached to the characters. I really didn’t want the book to end because I did not want their story to end.
This is not a romance book, at least it wasn’t to me. It was a book about finding yourself and sometimes losing more of yourself on your way. I could rave about the hidden meanings and this book and how great it is but I’m guessing you probably stopped reading by now and I truly need to get some sleep.

[Natasha Maltman · Rating 4 out of 5]

4
Thank you! Honestly my biggest fear in reading this book would be that the author would make the fmc go back to her mate. I’ve read so many stories where the fmc runs straight back to her mates arms with little to no fanfare and it always leaves me wanting to pull my hair out.
For that reason alone I gave 4 stars!
Now I’ve been reading some reviews for this book and Spoiler ahead If you are expecting the female main character to run back to an abusive assh*#e of a mate. You are reading the wrong book.
Her “mate” Let his pack abuse her for 5 years without telling her or anybody else they were mates.
Her “mate” Watched her chew her own arm off to escape a bear trap instead of helping her.
Her “mate” Kidnapped her when his dad the alpha was dying so he could take up the alpha position.
Her “mate” Let his mum attack her, pull out one of her fangs and then be whipped when she was only defending herself.
Her “mate” Only hours after they officially mated let 3 members of his pack attack her.
Reading low reviews because people wanted Kendrick to be redeemed is laughable!
Lee’s romance with Cain does come out of the blue, the author maybe should have spent a bit more time on that, but honestly seems more like her Wolf was pulling her to him than anything else and after all the sh*t she went through I kinda figured she was desperate for a safe place and to be loved.

[Jesslan Rose · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tooth & Claw By Lynn Katzenmeyer

I won't say I absolutely hated this book, but saying I had to force myself to finish it NUMEROUS times sums it up. The author can clearly write a story. However the characters need significant more expansion in personality and in speaking with other characters.

The only fully developed character is the heroine, Aster AKA Lee. Despite the heroines first mate being in a large portion of the book it's like he's just a tiny background character. When he does speak it's not to apologize to Astor for all the abusive things he said and did to her nor to even explain why he made her chew off her own foot and then f'n carried it around with him around his neck like a psychopath. He just repeats that he loves her, she's his mate and she belongs with him. He actually comes off as a full-blown psycho. On top of that not once do they ever have a single full conversation where he tells her why he did any of what he did to her.

As for her 2nd mate, Cain... He's a wuss. I felt for his character and all he'd been through, but he never once showed he would stand up for her or protect her from Kendrick. Not even when Kendrick showed up again.

Last... The part I hated most about the book is the constant back and forth between the past and present. Most of what was written for the chapters from the past wasn't important to the book itself in any way, shape or form.

[RomeoJuliet · Rating 2 out of 5]

WHAT???

I was so absorbed in the story but then it went downhill so fast that I was left flabbergasted. The author was doing such a great job and then last few chapters were as if someone else started writing the story. SPOILERS AHEAD


Where did this new H come from? There was no real build up between him and the heroine. I would say he was her rebound relationship. He could have been anyone and she would have accepted him to get away from Kendrick, her mate. I really ended up disliking this h (but truth be told, after reading the other books). She does need more help than Kendrick.

I was so hoping to see why K acted like that in this book and not in the following book. The writing style is really confusing in that way.

I never ended up getting warmed up to the new H, Cain. Don't like the characters of this series at all but it was a good rejection book in the sense that she does not take him back. He does not work really hard to redeem himself in this book.

What the hell was wrong with heroine's mother? How could she betray her daughter like that? Why would she do it? There was nothing in it for her. We never got to find out the reward she got for getting her kidnapped by the H and his friend. How could heroine even consider forgiving her or even try to contact her after what she did? What happened to her father? There were too many holes in the plot!

[Dara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hmmm.... I really liked the heroine and she's the reason I finished the book at all. But it felt like a jumble of plot elements that the author didn't quite know what to do with in the end, and the structure of the book with the constant flashbacks actively worked to slow the momentum of the story.

Kendrick as a character was a cypher, practically a nonentity, for all the terrible influence he had on Lee's life. We get no insight into why he was so awful from such a young age, aside from his father also being a living garbage fire. Nor do we get any indication that he knows what he did was wrong, or that he feels any kind of regret for it.

I got the feeling that Kendrick was supposed to end up redeemed and remated to Lee, but instead there's another guy introduced at the 70% mark who she almost instantly falls for and ends up with. It was jarring and out of nowhere. He should've been introduced much earlier so we could see him as a viable option instead of a thinly drawn consolation prize.

But I did love Lee and her spine of steel. If this were the first in a series about her and her new not-a-pack group of rogues, I'd be adding them to my TBR pile. But I see the next two books are about Kendrick? Ugh.

[A T KempMcKempy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall I enjoy the book and will definitely read the next one.

Though there were minor errors from time to time on the kindle addition.

I really liked "Lee". loved her sassy attitude and iron will. It's great to have such a strong & witty female who doesn't put up with all the BS from her supposed mate and the fact she has a disability that only strengthens her instead making her seem weak and reliant on a "strong male" is very refreshing.

I did find the flip towards the end a bit "huh" it was a little out the blue and felt rushed, who is he? What's his story? Where did he come from? We got a snippet but definitely not enough to feed my need for knowledge.

I was left a little disappointed as throughout the book you always feel like there is going to be more of a back story on her mate and we would delve deeper into the reasoning behind is awful behaviour, I was hoping there would be more substance to it all... however that doesn't happen which is kinda sad as I've still got so many unanswered questions.

On a whole It's a good easy read with a intriguing plot.

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would like to first thank the author, Lynn, her friends and family and the team that got this book from idea to completed work. Writing is a work of science and art and requires so much time, focus and energy. Thank you all for your hard work and sacrifice!

I was pleasantly surprised by this narrative. I had low expectations, thinking I was going to get a low quality story because stories of this trope tend to be more quantity over quality.

Instead, this was reasonably complex and three dimensional. Things didn't turn out the way I expected them to, and I liked the strength of the main character.

I did find it quite overdramatic. Because so many bad things happened, there was a fair bit of telling emotions, rather than showing them. The story would have yielded a lot more emotional depth if there had been one or two main traumas that were then explored rather than everything being the worst possible scenario.

I'm curious about the next book but will probably take some time before I read it.
Three and a half stars.

[PepperP0t · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aster Leigh Fields was exiled from pack lands three hours after graduating because her wolf hadn’t surfaced. he wolves of her age try to delay her as she hurries to comply. A few miles inside pack lands, Aster’s wolf surfaces and howls for her mate, Kendrick Biel, the alpha’s son. Aster’s hurt as she runs to find him. She does but all Kendrick wants is Aster gone!

Over the next decade, Aster copes with losing her hand tragically and traumatically, decides to be known as Leigh not Aster and thrives. Until Kendrick walks through the door, he’s there to claim her as his mate, take her to their home pack and ascend as Alpha. Leigh doesn’t want Kendrick or that toxic pack. But Leigh’s wolf wants whatever Kendrick does.

My bias was fanned! Flashbacks are a pet peeve, for this reader and this new to me author’s frequent use of them (and the cheating) greatly reduced my enjoyment of the tale as reflected in the rating. That said, the fully fleshed characters were great and there are many delicious, hissable and unredeemable villains to choose one to hate!
Rating: 3stars

[Nightwitch · Rating 2 out of 5]

This wasn't a particularly well-written book but it wasn't terrible either. Like a lot of other reviewers I really enjoyed a lot of aspects of the book - the way in which it seemed to be interrogating the whole fated-mate-shifter paradigm, for example - but it pretty rapidly seemed to be going off the rails: Kendrick, the heroine's fated mate, was awful in the flashbacks in ways that just weren't excusable or redeemable, and the author really didn't try to excuse them or redeem them - Kendrick just whined that he wanted forgiveness. In the meantime, the only other person with whom Lee spent significant time was her boss, Evan, but while there's an attempted sex scene, they can't get together romantically, and don't. The actual love interest is a third character introduced with basically zero drama three quarters of the way through the book; he and Lee hook up pretty immediately, and live happily ever after Over all, it kept me reading; but afterwards I found myself designating the book basically a hot mess.

[Christie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can’t justify giving this more than 2.5 stars for a number of reasons but the grammatical errors alone won’t let me. There were so many it distracted from the book. And the run-on sentences! That’s basic people!
The story itself was ok. The abrupt introduction and insta-love with Cain in the ladder half was out of left field IMO. He just magically appeared and everything instantly fell into place. Like less than 24 hours a plan was in place for the future. A bit too convenient.
The authors note said the next book is about Kendrick but I’m not sure why anyone would want to read a story about that evil asshole. There is no redemption from his actions and he seems like a clueless idiot to expect a relationship/love after what he did in the past and again in the present. There was no justification, no reasoning. That storyline felt unfinished and left me unsatisfied. He should have been killed off. 😏

[Rebecca Werner · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF about 50% through. I really tried, but this book made me angry with how it handled the whole situation. The author literally had the main heroine losing body parts and the next minute she’s fine with it. When the heroine stated that her wolf had begun to forgive the hero I knew I was done with this. The hero had literally done NOTHING redeemable by this point to warrant this statement. This author made me lose any respect I could have had for this heroine. I still tried to read past this point and got through the wedding scene, which somehow she didn’t fight against AT. ALL. and the hero was convinced they were definitely having sex that night? Barf. Finally after the heroine came back from almost being assassinated and the hero basically had no reaction save saying “Ok, you can go now. Nothing I’ve done has made you want to stay.” Boy didn’t even try. I wouldn’t touch this hero with a ten foot pole. Absolutely disgusted with this author.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really good shifter novel with a twist. Aster’s mate rejected her and turned a blind eye to the cruelty she endured as a wolf that did not shift when expected. Exiled by her pack on her graduation day, she shifted too late to be accepted back. Kendrick knew she was his fated mate but did nothing to assist her as she was taunted by classmates. When she was caught in a trap, he left her to die. Fast forward several years later and he wants her back. He needs a mate to become pack Alpha and his wolf will accept no other. Aster has spent her time becoming stronger and better. She has overcome her disability and is a business owner and loved member of a community.
Kendrick has a fight on his hands trying to win her back. Will she succumb to her moonblessed mate or move on? A truly satisfying ending with a strong heroine.