Although I enjoyed the first two books in this series, this one didn't nearly live up to them. Simply put, it had issues the others didn't, and they got more and more apparent as the book moved forward. Whether or not I read more in the series will likely depend on any given book's premise, which I'll explain below.

While insta-love was kind of in play with the first two books, it was far worse here. This was more obvious and problematic partly because the book got such a slow start, putting the 'insta-love' even more front-and-center because the characters spent so little time together and knew so little of each other (beyond appearance). Even once they theoretically got to know each other, though, the romance was so focused on physical beauty and that automatic lust the characters had felt, the love never really became real for the reader. It just "was" and we were expected to believe it. Add that issue with the romance to the book generally taking on too many characters, making things over-complicated, and trying to do so much that most of the elements got short-shrift, and you don't have a recipe for a great book. But then there's the thing that really bothered me...

This book was published in 2003. However, the dated, race-charged town in the South which the author paints feels painfully out of date and stereotyped. I can't say whether or not the author has spent time in the South or near where this book was placed, but this feels, from start to finish, like an outsider's stereotypical picture of the South. Maybe she visited for a week or two and this is what she saw--I don't know--but as someone who has lived in the South for most of her life and spent real time near where this book is theoretically located, I can tell you that it feels incredibly inaccurate and stereotyped, written in the way of how northerners joke about and think about the South vs what the South actually is (certainly since before 2003). Part of this, and adding to the problem, is her depiction of Black characters and the unintentionally racist descriptions and positioning. Combined with the town, the book ends up feeling more and more racially charged with outdated attitudes as you get further and further in, the Black characters who show up being little more than stereotypes that, I think, are meant to make the town feel real, and end up doing the exact opposite because of how they're written and positioned. Again, all of this comes down to inherited stereotypes, and I suspect that they were employed, in large part, because the author has an outdated and/or inaccurate view of Southern culture and towns. At least that's how it felt to this reader.

So, yes, in the end, whether or not I read another book in the series may well come down to setting. If the future books in the series are also set in the South, I'll skip them. If they're not, I may delve in. But without doubt, I'd suggest that even readers who enjoyed the first two books in the series as easy, escapist fun just skip this installment in the series. I didn't even cover the fact that some story/character issues pop up late in the book, that issue so pales in comparison to the depiction of the South and the romance which leaves so much to be desired. ( )

TBR

The swamp is their sanctuary. Its nights echo with the beat of their moonlit revels, feeding their dark hunger for power--and for revenge.:.

The Nature's Refuge preserve deep in the southern Georgia swamp was a place steeped in superstition and legend--and death. The previous head ranger had ended up dead, but werewolf Adam Marshall is ideally suited to explore the park and investigate its dangers. But in the still of the night, a mysterious fire burns, and even Adam's highly honed instincts are disoriented by the thick, drugging smoke--leading to a near disaster...

Adam's suspicions are raised by Sara Weston, a botanist who has come to the swamp to research the vegetation. He finds himself drawn to her in ways he doesn't understand, yet fights the passion that threatens to cloud his judgment. And when a coven of witches with a score to settle with the locals decides that Adam and Sara are in their way, Adam will discover that Sara is hiding secrets as powerful as the one that runs through his blood. ( )

Following the same lines as the last two books. Rebecca York has made another awesome book. This is Ross's brother, that is alike in the life style of he feels that he must stay alone not to hurt anyone else. Then he meets Dr. Sara Weston, and can not continue the attraction that begins. Little do Sara and Adam know that this is not a coincidence. Sara has been brought here on purpose, and Adam's gift may be the only thing that keeps them alive. ( )