Review: Ascension

Ascension by Lauren Dane
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Kidnapping, betrayals and a forced werewolf change, this paranormal romance contains it all. For those who love Kelley Armstrong's Otherworld series, this revised version of Ascension is the book for you. Kari is a software developer enjoying her single life when she is attacked by a dog and nearly dies. Lucky for her, the dog ravaging her is a werewolf whose saliva reacts with her DNA to heal her. The fun does not stop here. When her recovery in the hospital is smoothly coming along, she is kidnapped and taken to the Alpha male of the Cherchez Pack. This is when they share with Kari her wonderful new life. She will go all furry during the full moon. Her mate is this strange man, Andreas. Lastly, they are desperate for females so they can be bred and pop up natural born werewolves. Wow, with all these benefits, how can a gal say no? How about, HELL NO!

Kari does what any intelligent woman does. She tries to escape. Unfortunately for her, there are more of them than her. Honestly, the start of this book put me ill at ease. I didn't like what was going on and I couldn't see how Andreas' high handed manner would work. I am outraged for Kari and I want all these crazy inbred werewolves to die. I can feel Kari's fear and I share her frustration. Then Ms. Dane does something sneaky. All of a sudden, this violation mutates into a golden opportunity. I still do not like Andreas so much, but the greater werewolf community becomes more and more appealing.

This story could have ended with a simple happily ever after when Kari accepts she will turn into a wolf. Fortunately for the reader, there is still so much more. There are werewolf politics, death threats and family issues. This is a robust book with many threads going on at the same time. They all come together into a rich cohesive tale. What is also rich is the erotica. Ms. Dane always writes good erotica and she delivers as usual. The primal mating in wolf form is sublime. I loved it. This paranormal romance is recommended to werewolf lovers who enjoy suspense, erotica and happily ever afters.

*provided by NetGalley

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