Wild Instinct

Wild #4-6

by Sarah McCarty

Three all-new stories of erotic animal attraction-from the national bestselling author of Running Wild

Three desperate women-hunted and on the run- bring out the animal instincts in the irresistible males who promise them more than just rescue.

Garrett -Rejected by his fellow werewolves, he never expects to find his mate in the midst of his mission. And as the heat rises between them, so do the risks.

Daire -He rejected the strict rules of werewolf society, only to fall in love with the one woman who's been taught to fear the beast within him.

Curran -His job is to find a fugitive were-woman and bring her in. Trapping has never been a problem, but he's never fallen in love with his bounty before.

Genres: Paranormal, Romance, Paranormal Romance, Shapeshifters, Erotica, Anthologies, Werewolves

309 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2009

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
(1)romance author

Sarah has traveled extensively throughout her life, living in other cultures, sometimes in areas where electricity was a concept awaiting fruition and a book was an extreme luxury. While she could easily adjust to the lack of electricity, living without the comfort of a good book was intolerable. To fill the void, she bought pencil and paper and sketched out her own story. In the process, Sarah discovered the joy of writing.

Sarah writes what she loves to read; fast paced stories with vivid dialogue, intense emotion and well developed characters. Her attention to detail in her stories has earned her multiple awards and a reserved spot on Keeper shelves everywhere.

Sarah writes for Ellora's Cave, Harlequin HQN, Harlequin SPICE, Berkley HEAT and Berkley SENSATION.

Reviews

[Willow Brook · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars, really, but I think I'm getting crabby about authors selling me barely finished work. So I'm not being generous and calling it 4 stars. I loved Running Wild and have been eagerly awaiting this sequel for what feels like a very long time. I think it is helpful for the reader to have read Running Wild first, because it sets up McCarty's werewolf world and also tells the story of 3 couples who appear in this book which introduces 3 more couples. And this is where it seems to be getting a bit complicated. That's a lot of characters to sort out with a variety of plot developments and references to past events.

My biggest gripe about Wild Instinct is that it ends so aburptly that I stupidly kept clicking on my Kindle's "next page" button, not wanting to believe McCarty would end the story in such a way. If I had been reading a paper book, I probably would have checked the binding to see if I had a defective copy.

Obviously, there is a third book somewhere down the pipeline but there was hardly any resolution to the storyline of the "blood feud" the Haven pack now faces or one of the heroine's fears about a main werewolf. In fact, in the last story McCarty glosses over what should have been an exciting journey through the heart of enemy territory. One minute, the couple are facing the most challenging part of the journey although the heroine is exhausted and the next they have arrived in Haven and you are reading about an entirely new problem they face.

Also, I thought there'd be some sort of (non-sexual)climatic scene to have at least some resolution to everything that was going on, but nope. So after three stories with a hostile pack gunning for the Haven bunch, roque werewolves making life miserable for the women, and some sort of legend about one of the heroines' daughter, the story just...stops almost in the middle of a sex scene.

After I gave up on trying to find the next page, my first thought was "I waited over a year for this?" I don't get it. At least Lora Leigh (the main author to disappoint me this year) turned out a truckload of books which could certainly explain the lack of editing and sloppy writing. I'm not sure what McCarty's excuse is.

There were parts of the book I really enjoyed and I did debate what rating to give because of that. I do like McCarty's alpha Werewolves and enjoy their interactions with their strong willed mates. Wild Instinct just didn't seem like a finished manuscript, certainly not one I paid more than I usually do for my Kindle books.

I hope the next installment in this series will not introduce us to any more couples of the Haven Pack because we already have 6 to sort through and a bunch of dangling plotlines. So if McCarty sticks to the 12 main characters and actually winds up all the storylines, I'll forgive the shortcomings of this book.

[amber_reads_romance · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wild Instinct tells the story of three women and three werewolves. The story is broke into three different parts with each part focusing on a different werewolf's story while all parts are one continuous story. While each male finds their mate and knows the truth, their women aren't so sure at first, leaving the men to fight for the lives they see in their future, the ones they love, and prove to the woman once and for all, that they are their true mates.

I was pretty excited to pick this book up. It seemed like just what I was looking for at the moment. Unfortunately after starting it, I grew pretty bored with the story. I loved the romance side of each relationship, and enjoyed a few of the characters, but I ended up putting the book down at one point and not even wanting to pick it back up. I even contemplated not finishing the book all together.

I did enjoy the romance aspect of each of the relationships, but mostly I found this story completely frustrating. Most of it seemed to repeat certain parts over and over again, while other parts were completely contradicting. The characters would say one thing and then a page later they would be right back to where they were minutes ago. "We trust you, you're a part of us."...next page..."I don't trust you yet." WHAT? MAKE UP YOUR MINDS!

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read! The review I wrote for Running Wild still applies to this one...

I love shifter books [although there's not a whole lot of shifting going on:]. This is three novella length stories which [quite seamlessly:] make up a novel. Each novella centers on a different [hot!:] were hero and the process of matching him up with his heroine. The three heroines are sisters but each has her own, well-drawn 'feel' to her character. The heroes are the two brothers and a cousin who fall for them. Again, each character is distinctly drawn; no 'open plot and insert alpha hero here' stuff. Though each novella contains it's own plot, the novel has story threads reaching across them all.

What can I say? Tight action, suspense, great characters... Yep, I'm going to be looking for the rest of her stuff!

Order is important as the overall story arc [the formation and building of Haven - a non-traditional pack:] continues across the series.

Running Wild
Wild Instinct

Hoping for more books in the series...

[jordyn ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I HAVE BEEN SEARCHING FOR THIS BOOK FOR YEARS. I read it a long, long time ago and totally forgot what the name of it was. I remember really enjoying it, but uh, upon a reread this is not worth the time that I've spent searching for it. Don't make my mistake.

Really this entire book should have been split into three books, with more drawn out characters and actual growth. Instead we're given one book split into three about three different couples. It doesn't work. We're left with some barely thought-out characters populating the book, with minimal romantic interaction. Almost all the couples just jump into bed without ANY courting. Really, this was not worth rereading, let alone reading the first time.

Don't waste your time.

[ML Blair · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second three stories (this compilation) was half hearted. Just get em mated up so you can move on to the next book. Meh

[KJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the idea of the story line, and I LOVE that the author has previous characters in the story you are reading; but the author's writing style is so hard to follow that I frequently re-read pages of the book. So I guess I could count myself as having read this book twice. You couldn't tell who was saying what. For example, say this is a conversation between an over domineering werewolf character and an eye-rolling frustrated modern woman.... We'll call him Suffocating Sam and we'll call her Confused Connie:

Confused Connie looked over at Suffocating Sam and his stern expression, "Is that all you've got to say?"
"Haven't I said enough?"
"It's not only me you have to apologize to. You have to apologize to Door-knob Derrick for allowing him to read my dark, dirty film noir of a mind." (ME: 'oh... so that was Confused Connie who started this conversation if I count back every other line...')
They both glared at each other for an eternity (ME: 'yeah... I can't look anyone in the eye for 20 seconds, an eternity seems a bit much.') They walked over to the rock (ME: 'Rock? What rock? Where did this previously-not-mentioned rock come from?') and sat down. "It just felt like such a violation." Suffocating Sam stood and began to pace. "I'm going to go back to the house and run a bath."
Now who said that bath line? It was written like that. A responding line at the end of a conversational paragraph started by the other character. I'm assuming it was Confused Connie who decides suddenly after sitting on a rock that she was going to run a bath, but you would read on and realize it was Suffocating Sam and that he was going to run a bath for Confused Connie as a way of apologizing as his relationship social skills suck.
Again, I like the ideas in the story line and if I come across the rest of this book series I'll definitely read it; especially now that I have the rhythm of her writing down. It just took a while to figure out her style. The story lines moved quickly though and it was a fun weekend read.

[Oleta Blaylock · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book by Sarah MacCarty that I have read. It is also the second book in the series and I have read the first book yet. While I wish I had read the books in order there was enough information in this book that I wasn't lost. This is the story of two half werewolves and an ancient werewolf with great power. These men are sent to rescue three women and two children from the rogues that are trying to capture the group. Each of the women is a mate to one of the men. Each of the stories combines to form part of an ongoing story. It will be interesting to see how this story evolves in future editions. There is definitely a sinister plot that is unfolding and it has piqued my interest and I will be looking forward to the next installment. I am also going to have to go and find my copy of Running Wild and read it now. I love the male characters, all dominant and alpha and hot. The women are brave and honorable and royal. There is a good combination of action and love throughout all three stories. There is also a wonderful combination of laugh and situations that will bring tears to your eyes if you cry easily like I do. Overall and good book and I will definitely look forward to reading other books by this author.

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately, this just didn't work for me.

Part of the problem was that I didn't realize these novellas were 4-6 of a series, so I was missing some serious backstory. And a lot of it didn't get explained well enough to clue me in to the politics of what was happening, or how werewolf packs worked in this world. I was left feeling confused for the entire first half of the first novella. It just isn't set up to welcome new readers.

The other part of the problem is my dislike for worlds in which the "fragile woman" has to be protected by the "big bad wolf." Or the idea that this magical mate bond can somehow undo and overcome (SPOILERS) the horrors of being raped and losing a child.

Like I said, the stories just didn't work for me.

[Manisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another hot erotic read from Sarah McCarty. And she doesn't disappoint at all.
This is another story with 3 love stories of Garrett, Daire and Curran. All of them pack less, homeless and hence loveless. They find their mates in unusual circumstances but still find a way to live their happy ever after. And that's what matters to me.
The story was written very differently and I really enjoyed reading it, but...I liked its pervious part Running Wild better. Though all it's characters are featured here in this novel too. This story failed to captivate me as the previous one did. Hoping the next one in series comes out soon.
Enjoy reading...

[Pauline Allan · Rating 2 out of 5]

So, I'm going to be honest. I only got to the middle of the book. It just could NOT hold my attention. The dialogue felt off and the story felt already done. I enjoy shapeshifter stories, but this one just wasn't doing it for me. The hero wasn't strong enough and the pull between the hero and heroine seemed lukewarm at best. If you are into shapeshifters, I would recommend Kate Douglas.

[Bella · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed book 1 ok and expected book to really expand on the overall plot, but it didnt. Instead it stuck to the same basic structure of the stories in book 1 and because of that felt a bit stale to me. I also felt the lack of a motivating conflict to move the series forward more, because the problem in this one was pretty much the exact same thing from the previous book.

[Tina · Rating 2 out of 5]

The stories themselves were okay, but I would've preferred full-length stories about each character rather than short novellas. There simply wasn't enough time to flesh out the characters to make you care about them, and there was no backstory to help you understand the dynamics between the other members of Pack Haven.

[Sylvia Patterson · Rating 2 out of 5]

there are three stories in this book and I was dissappointed in all three. After reading some of her other books I had high expectations for this one...didn't even come close, left me wondering why it was so tame and predictible

[Lynda · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was not able to finish this book. I read the first 109 pages and quit. I need more than sex to keep me interested. I found no engaging characters, no real plot, and only acceptable writing.

[Mel ReadingWithMAC · Rating 2 out of 5]

Aside from feeling like I only got 1/2 the story, I honestly have no clue how these 3 stories combined equate to a whole book.

[Davinia MtHz · Rating 3 out of 5]

En reglas generales me ha gustado, pero ha sido una lectura algo confusa. Se presentan a muchos personajes desde el principio cuando no conoces a ninguno todavía. No sabes quién es importante y quién no. Tuve que mirar muchas veces la sinopsis para intentar hacerme una idea de quién era quién. El mundo de hombres lobo que presenta la novela es algo caótico con muchas reglas y tradiciones que se dan por sentado antes de que el lector se pueda familiarizar con ellas. Es muy probable que este libro, a pesar de poder leerse como Standalone, necesite del contexto de los libros anteriores para entenderse mejor su Worldbuilding.

Los protagonistas no me han desagradado, pero tampoco me han encantado. Simplemente me han gustado y creo que la razón principal es porque hay tantos personajes con sus propias historias que es difícil sumergirse de lleno con una sola de ellas.

Me parece bien meter tres parejas en un solo libro, pero la forma en la que se distribuyen es algo lenta. Hubiera preferido ir leyendo capítulos intercalados de cada uno en vez de tener que ir por secciones para saber de cada una de las parejas. Lo malo de esta organización es que las cosas entre cada pareja pasan muy rápido para seguir adelante con la historia y eso, en mi opinión, siempre le quita cierta validez a los personajes y sus historias.

Lo que menos me ha gustado ha sido el final, (SPOILERS) ya que no se resuelve nada. Llevamos todo el libro esperando la reunión de Sarah Anne con su hijo Josiah y su amiga Rachel, pero nos la enseñan de lejos en un segundo plano. Además de que la subtrama que nos presentan (la amenaza de los Renegados y de la otra manada e, incluso, la visión de Rachel al final del libro) no se resuelve en ningún momento. Ni siquiera hay un verdadero ataque por su parte quitando lo que ocurre en las primeras páginas del libro. (FIN DEL SPOILER) Imagino que hay una continuación, pero no sé hasta qué punto puede funcionar si se mantiene la dinámica de ir contando las historias por facciones. O si serán de otros personajes nuevos.

En definitiva, el libro no está mal. Te lo lees en un suspiro. No obstante, es un libro muy confuso que no resuelve nada de lo que plantea y con el que al final te quedas con la sensación de no haberlo terminado.

[Wolfiesara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really liked the beginning of this book. It had an interesting plotline and characters. I would liked to read how the plotline was resolved, but it appears the author intends to leave us all hanging. It has been years since she wrote this, without a followup, so I think we can all assume it is not happening. It looks like she set up a series, got bored with it and dropped it part way through this book. It's a huge disappointment, and in my opinion, pretty unprofessional to not at least put in the effort to properly finish up this book before she just basically quit and did the equivalent of "and they lived happily ever after. The end."

The book is in 3 parts. The first part is a solid 5 star story, then it kind of slides downhill from there. Each story gets shorter and less detailed, as if she's losing interest in writing it, until the final half of the last story, where she just sort of glosses over everything and abruptly ends the book. Seriously, if you're going to read this book, just skip the last story completely. It really is that bad.

[Yeyabby · Rating 2 out of 5]

A diferencia de las primeras tres historias nos encontramos con tres nuevas protagonistas que buscan refugio en la nueva manada y por destino encuentran a sus parejas.

Lo Bueno.
El manejo de las historia de manera corta y que básicamente da una continuidad con las historias previas.

Lo Malo
Definitivamente la química que tenían las anteriores protagonistas no se repite en este caso. Las protagonistas en este caso, aunque cuentan con sus propias problemáticas siempre tiene una actitud de necedad que hace que simplemente la lectura se haga muy complicada.

Lo extraño
La historia podria dar mas pero no se nota una disposicion de la autora para escribir mas.

[Peggy Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a rough and tumble wolf shifter romance with three different stories. Sarah McCarty's novels always make you love her heroes and admire her heroines. Each story is unique and totally enjoyable, I wish she would write more in this series, even though this is book 2. Great read.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than the first set. I feel in love with Daire but leaves you on a cliffhanger. Must find next book!

[Cherie Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it wild and sexy.☆☆☆☆☆♡♡♡♡☆

[Dee · Rating 2 out of 5]

ummm typically like SM's books but this one felt unfinished - that the story arc with the community/pack being developed wasn't done yet...

[Angela]

0

[MiracleRay · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good book I finished it a while ago lmao

[Mara · Rating 1 out of 5]

A weird book, split in to 3 novellas flowing from one to another (in theory, in practice it was a hot mess). I couldn’t connect with... anything. There’s not much of a story, no real plot, no world building, a barely there characterisation. It was boring. And the conflict in each 3 novellas definitely needed way more time/pages to be overcome.
Plus I had more than once the idea that pages were missing..

[Sumando Libros · Rating 2 out of 5]

Veamos…

Tres mujeres, tres hombres… tres historias... entretenidas.

El libro empieza de lo mas emocionante, te pone los pelos de punta desde la 1º pag, haciendo que quieras saber que viene luego. Pero esto se pierde por la pag. 30... el ritmo decae, no es el mismo en todas las historias, la verdad sea dicha.

Ellas son: Sarah Anne, Rachel y Teri cada una muy distinta a la otra, así como muy parecidas en algunos aspectos, haciendo como no que la autora logre sacar cierto partido de sus personajes…

Ellos son: Garret, Daire y Curran, con muchas mas similitudes que diferencias en cambio … Siendo hombres lobo, criados de la misma manera, y con ese MIA que los llega a poner tan calientes a ellos (y que a mí me pone de nervios) llega a ser... comprensible ???.

La historia al igual que el 1º libro, se entiende y es facil de leer, hay casi la misma accion y una escena sexual cumbre entre cada pareja.

Lo que + me ha gustado de este libro fueron algunos personajes, que pese al tiempo de cada historia, la autora desarrolló, lo que es un gran logro.

Teri, de todos, de lejos , es el personaje que mas me gustó, aunque otro que se lleva las palmas es Joshia, el hijo de Sarah… quiero saber mas de él!

Lo que no me gusto, fue el ritmo, la 1º parte, buena, la mitad.... bastante floja... y la ultima parte... mmm mmm algo mejor que la mitad. Pero es que lo malo de estas historias, divididas en varios personajes principales es que la autora no tiene "tiempo" de evolucionar la mayoria de sus personajes (Lease, conflictos internos incluidos) como deberia, para lograr capturarte.

En fin, una novela ligera, de argumento sencillo, sin muchas pretenciones mas que la de hacerte pasar un rato... agradable, y que a diferencia de la 1º novela ha pasado sin pena ni gloria ante mis ojitos...

Aun queda una entrega más de esta serie y... sip, espero leerla. Puede que este 3º libro me convenza mucho mas.

[Niquie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

So Wild Instinct was a darker read than Running Wild. It continues the story from the first book but changes the rules (or adds more world building). New terms are introduced like: ancient, breeder, psychic abilities, and a prophecy about a superior child. It came out of no where, but okay I rolled with it. My least favorite part of this single author anthology was the first story. So much unexpected discrimination and man is werewolf society a harsh place. Unfortunately story 1 suffered from having to set up the next two stories as well as any possible future installments (more on that later). There was a surprising amount of depth to these stories too. And weirdly enough the second story about a woman who was gang raped felt lighter than the first story. The third story was just fun.

Basically I enjoyed stories 2 and 3, story 1 was okay but Sarah Anne makes it clear (even more clear than the other female mates in the book) that she does not want to be mated to Garrett, and she wasn't lying. There was some weird stuff going on with all the I-love-yous in the second and third story. One of the characters thinks that he loves his mate then later tells her that he wasn't sure what love is because wolves don't think in those terms (which made sense, but contradicted his earlier thought), another couple starts saying I love you for some reason but it felt false, maybe the female I could believe since she's lived among humans for years, but her mate saying it without any prompting felt out of place. Throughout the story I felt like the author wasn't really paying attention to her story and there were some errors throughout the book. Ignoring that I really liked the last story, the friendships in this book were nice, and the peanut thing was awesome. Too bad the non romance conflict is never resolved and nothing on the author's website suggests there will be a sequel book....

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh how I love ending a book with a deep sigh of satisfaction. "Wild Instinct" is an anthology of super yummy alpha werewolves. And I'm a sucker for a good werewolf story; the kind where the alpha finds his mate and knows he can't let her go. "Wild Instinct" continues the story of the Haven Pack and it's recruitment of previously shunned werewolves who are different because they are half human or have a paranormal gift (other than shifting).
Garrett is telepathic. His mate is Sara Anne whose two children are "gifted". Garrett rescues Sara Anne and her children from rogue werewolves and must convince her to trust that he will care for her children as his own.
Daire (my favorite) is an Ancient. His mate, Teri, was raped by rogues and distrusts all werewolves as vicious animals. Daire saves Teri's life but at a cost that Teri might not be able to recover from.
Curran is the shortest story. Rachel is his mate and has the gift of prophecy and vision. He must get her to the safety of the Haven clan before the rogues can capture them.
I haven't been huge fan of Sarah McCarty's Westerns but I am thoroughly enjoying her werewolf series. I'm just disappointed the next "Wild" book isn't listed on her Coming Soon list on her website. How long will we have to wait?

[Lisarenee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the best of McCarty's books I've read. Beware of this author because she has, as one person kindly put it, "backdoor romps" plus she seems to be a little into the pleasure/pain thing. So while I like the main story I could do without some of her character's extracurricular activities. That said this story begins with the Haven (Haven is a new pack that takes in half-breeds werewolves, something other packs shun) trying to round up some werewolves who desire to join their new pack. They find the women and children held up in a cave fending off rogue werewolves. One of the children might be one of legend which states that whatever pack holds a half breed child with certain powers will end up ruling all the werewolves (or something like that). Also, one of the woman is a "breeder" which means unlike some werewolves that can only have children by one man she can have them with more than one. As the race is dwindling in numbers this make her more desirable to other werewolves. Once mated, however, she will be safe from other werewolves.

[Yess Mendoza · Rating 3 out of 5]

Veamos…
Tres mujeres, tres hombres… tres historias hermosas.

El libro empieza d lo mas emocionante, t pone los pelos d punta dsd la 1º pag, haciendo q quieras saber q viene luego. Aunq bueno, el ritmo no es el mismo en todas las historias, la verdad se dicha.

Ellas son: Sarah Anne, Rachel y Teri cada una muy distinta a la otra, así como muy parecidas en algunos aspectos, haciendo como no q la autora logre sacar partido d sus personajes…

Ellos son: Garret, Daire y Curran, con muchas mas similitudes q diferencias…. Siendo hombres lobo, es entendible claro.

La historia al igual q el 1º libro, se entiende y es muy facil d leer, al igual q la accion q transcurre en tiempos veridicos.

Lo q + me ha gustado d este libro (si es q no se ha notado ya) son los personajes; hay q ver como es q las autoras logran crearlos tan reales a tal punto q llegas a odiarlos y/o amarlos mientras lees sus historias. Talento envidiable, x cierto.

Teri, d todos, d lejos , es el personaje q mas me gustó, aunque otro q se lleva las palmas es Joshia, el hijo d Sarah… ya quiero saber mas d él ¡!!!!!!