The Keeping discussion

Is it me or does Ryne seem to be really bad at learning from his mistakes?

Delphina wrote: "Is it me or does Ryne seem to be really bad at learning from his mistakes?"

No it's not you he's most definitly not good at it. I kind of found him abusive in most of the book.

In this book I think Ryne is stubborn,domineering, head strong, lacking social graces, egotistical, feeling sorry for himself (due to what has happened to him in his life) and has no idea how to deal with women who do not want to be walked on. I do see his character learning and changing over time. That alpha male thing and starting a new pack doesn't help - But at least its up front and you could take it or leave it. Kane wasn't (isn't)much better, but his regard for women has been a bit better, although he expects them to be on his time frame, due to the support of his pack - i see lots of hurt feeling being with him in a relationship.
The attitudes of these males does not appear to be much different then many/most of the males in the "Breeds" series by Lora Leigh.
That said some women may like this type of a male and others may not.
Ryne does seem to mellow out a bit in the next book.

I guess the thing that struck me the most are not necessarily how he deals with her, but the choices he makes for his pack ( this one and when he was part of Kane's). He is definitely not a role model in the relationship department with her, but she is not much better in many ways. I love how you get to watch her characters grow and she does not let go of them because they are no longer the central characters.

I hope that there will be additional books

The one she just released was good, but not about any of the past characters. It was about the overall enforcement agency (well people in it).

I have just started reading it

I hope she writes one about Sam and Damien.

Thats what I am actually expecting based on how The Finding ended....learning about Damien in Bonded now...I would be please to see their story ( Sam & Damien)

I love how she keeps h old characters while adding new. Watching them grow and change overtime is awesome!

Nicky Charles definitely seems to be charting her characters development as they meet new crises.
Ryne is very macho and in a more obvious way than Kane. His new experience of heading a pack as Alpha, along with guilt over taking that picture and allowing himself to be manipulated by Marla, is further compounded when Melody starts snooping around. With Melody it's guilt and betrayal over his pack regarding the picture and his primal desire for her which does confuse him.
That being said, yeah he took a loong time to learn from his mistakes - and even towards the end he does some questionable things like getting Melody out instead of trying to take out Mr. Aldrich. Melody clouds his brain, but then it's human to make mistakes - even at critical moments.

Even with all his flaws, Ryne is still my favorite Alpha. I love that Nicky's characters are so 'human' rather than perfect and dreamy all the time. I think fatherhood has mellowed Ryne a bit. Ya gotta remember he was at odds with his wolf for most of the novel, and that was a major contributing factor to his slow learning curve.

Well I'm ready for some more Nicki Charles...hope we get another book

Paris wrote: "Well I'm ready for some more Nicki Charles...hope we get another book"

Nicky is working on Damien's story now, but she says to expect a bit of a wait for it to be completed. Meanwhile, several of us have joined a yahoo group dedicated to her books, and we also hang out on the facebook pages and talk about hunky men and favorite books among other things. If you haven't checked any of those out yet, I highly recommend them. Just be sure to make note of the rules for posting any pictures. It gets kinda crazy at times over there!

Love Nicki Charles and how you see her characters grow. I fell in love with Kane first and his dedication to be an Alpha. Then Ryne made his entrance and I was relieved that he also got his chance at having his own pack. Needless to say I'm now looking forward her new masterpiece. :-)