Review: Wicked Cravings (The Phoenix Pack #2) By Suzanne Wright

Despite having been besotted with Dante Garcea since she was a child, wolf shifter Jaime Farrow figures that it’s time to move past the crush. If he wanted her, he wouldn’t have ignored her flirtatious behavior, right? Hiding her intense attraction to him isn’t easy – especially now that they're part of the same pack again – but with bigger issues to worry about and with the submissive wolf act to maintain, Jaime is resolute on moving forward. Now if only the workaholic control-freak would let her…
As the pack Beta, Dante doesn't have the space or time in his life for a relationship. As such, he ignores his intense hunger for the willful – and sometimes crazy – Jaime. Yet when her flirtations abruptly end, Dante finds that he doesn’t like losing her attention. He finds something else too – Jaime's hiding something.

Determined to uncover her secret, he sets out to break through her defenses, even though being around her intensifies his cravings for her. What he finds is a problem that Jaime is convinced not even a powerful Beta can solve.

My Review:

If you liked Feral Sins (I preferred the first edition), Wicked Cravings  by Suzanne Wright (SW) is a good follow up.  Though I gave Feral Sins 5 Kisses, this book missed the mark a bit for me.  It seemed much shorter than Feral Sins, which is unfortunately what I frequently see happen when self published authors become published by publishing houses.   They think all books should be similar in length.

I loved the long, wonderful journey of the self-published edition of Feral Sins.  In Wicked Cravings,  I didn't feel the intimate struggles like I did with Taryn and Trey.  I felt removed from their private time. 

I'm not sure why SW made that choice.  I loved being a fly on the wall during the Alpha couple's alone time.  We don't get as much of that in this book.  For instance, I have no idea how Dante and Jaime curl up together in their sleep.  We never get that.  I loved that kind of stuff in book one, how they sat together or one with Taryn on Trey's lap.

In addition, there are lots of "Three weeks later..."   And "After another week..."  Which is something I dislike in a book, especially when it's done over and over.

All that being said, I loved the character growth of Dante and Jaime, both individually and as a couple.  They both have serious issues to overcome, but they work together to strive for balance in their lives.

Dante is such a great character.  As Beta wolf, he is a protector of his pack, a peacemaker, a taskmaster and a bit of a workaholic.  Jaime is struggling with her inner wolf who constantly feels threatened and afraid, but strong willed Dante never gives up on Jaime.  He trains her physically to make her stronger.  We do get quite a bit of the training scenes.  SW put a lot of research into how operatives move/fight/engage.  I enjoyed that.  

Dante's stubborn determination to see Jaime through all trials and tribulations, even when it goes against his every instinct was fun to read.

I loved the character of Jaime.  She is a natural at being supportive and protective of her pack.  The trauma she suffered early in her life has made it hard for her to trust her wolf and for her wolf to trust anyone.  She wants to ease any and all suffering in her pack and always seems to be trying to do that in a very genuine way, even though she herself is suffering.

This couple is hot!  They talk and communicate and admit when they make mistakes.  I liked seeing that on the page.  Dante didn't try to solve everything with sex.  I was really expecting him to try.  Don't get me wrong, the sex was hot, but there wasn't as much of it as I would have liked.  But I guess when the book is shorter, that's the way it goes.

We also get to see the rest of the pack that we were introduced to in Feral Sins, including a very pregnant Taryn.  Bonus!  :)

I'd definitely recommend reading Wicked Cravings.

 Wicked Cravings features:

• alpha male
• erotic themes
• backdoor play
• abuse
• BDSM
• sexual tension
• angst
• paranormal romance
• shifter

Rating: 4 Kisses