3 Sniffs Review: CRYING WOLF by Amanda Kay #Excerpt

Title: Crying Wolf
Series: The Hunter Jackson Tales #1
Author: Amanda Kay
Genre: New Adult, Paranormal, Romance, Supernatural, Military
Publisher: Bayou Brew Publishing
ASIN: B00IRRE004
Release Date: March 3, 2014
Source: Jen's Book Reviews
Links: Goodreads ☆ Amazon

War is reality...
Love is hard to come by...
The two worlds should never collide.

Hunter Jackson has been a major force in the werewolf army since he turned eighteen. When he hit twenty-one his father the commanding of-ficer of the entire force gave him complete control over his own unit. Their mission is simple take down the shape shifters.

There is one problem with this...
Her name is Amelia.

Two months before his team raids the home of the Shape Shifter heads he meets Amelia Brecken. She is like no one else he has ever known; she also is the daughter of Sir Reid and Mistress Lilyann leaders of the Shape Shifters.

War becomes his reality and love takes a backseat. A collision course is paved and only Hunter can prevent the accident. Danger is real. Her protection is key, even if he has to break her heart to keep her safe.

The Werewolves and Shape Shifters are at war. Hunter Jackson, General of the Werewolf Army, makes one final try for peace between the two peoples. While the Shape Shifters are all for peace, his father, the Commander, will never allow that to happen.

Amid the chaos of war, Hunter meets Amelia, and quickly falls in love with her. But when he learns that she is a Brecken, and the most powerful Shape Shifter ever in existence, his hopes of a relationship are dashed. That is until she agrees to one date with him. But that one date changes everything for them both.

CRYING WOLF is your classic Romeo and Juliet type story. You have the two rival families, in this case the Jacksons and the Breckens, and two star-crossed lovers from each family risking everything to be together.

I really enjoyed this story and I'm really looking forward to the next book, especially with how this one ended. The only thing I had a problem with was some formatting issues, but that didn't stop me from reading and enjoying this read.

The Guy: Hunter Jackson is the General of the Werewolf Army, but unlike his father the Commander, he knows that peace can be achieved between them and the Shape Shifters. Hunter and his best friends, Luke, are both really different from most of the others in the Army. They both want peace with the Shape Shifters, and they both have relationships with a Shape Shifter, while most of the others in the Army are only too happy to destroy them. Hunter was instantly attracted to Amelia, and even when he learned that she was a Shape Shifter, he had to know her, spend time with her. And once he did, he knew that she was the one for him, and he'd do anything to protect her from his father.

The Girl: Amelia Brecken has a sweet voice, but she looks completely unlike her voice. She's got tattoos along her arm, and she rides a motorcycle. Amelia felt an instant connection to Hunter when she first met him, but when she learned that he was the General of the Werewolf Army, she was scared. How could she feel something for someone who wants her and her people dead? But she agrees to one date with Hunter, and when she realizes that he is nothing like his father, she decides to give them a chance, no matter how fearful she is. But when it's brought to light that she's the most powerful Shape Shifter ever, things quickly take a turn for the worse.

The villain in CRYING WOLF is, of course, the Commander. He absolutely hates the Shape Shifters and blames them for his wife's death. So he wants them to feel the same pain that he does...by arresting Amelia, the Shape Shifter Princess.

I really didn't like the Commander. He is so set on revenge that when proof is shoved right under his nose that he may be wrong, he completely dismisses it. It also bothered me that he rarely treated Hunter like his son, only as the General. AND he even threatened to execute Hunter if he didn't bring Amelia in. What kind of father does that? I hope he eventually gets what's coming to him.

Hunter and Amelia definitely have a star-crossed lovers romance. Hunter is the General in the Werewolf Army (and his father is the Commander), and Amelia is the Princess of the Shape Shifters, both of whom are at war. Their relationship is dangerous and could cost them their lives. But they love each other so deeply that that doesn't matter. But when Hunter's father orders him to arrest Amelia, he will do anything to protect her, even if that means breaking her heart. He just hopes that she'll always remember "Love. Forgive. Trust."

This was an insta-love romance (which is getting kind of old, but it only really bothers me when the book is Contemporary, so it worked really well in this instance). With their circumstances, Amelia has a really hard time trusting Hunter, especially when he starts keeping things from her. I really loved the necklace that Hunter gave her that had the inscription "Love. Forgive. Trust." He knows about Amelia's insecurities, and with what has to go down, he also knows that he may lose her forever. So I really liked this little reminder to Amelia, that no matter what, he needs her lover, forgiveness, and trust that everything he's doing is to protect her. I'm really looking forward to seeing how thing play out in the next book.

Hunter

Hunter was nervous. He was the son of the Commanding Officer of the Werewolf Army and anything he said, went. Hunter Jackson was quickly working his way up to General, but his task right now was to present a way to bridge the gap between the Werewolves and the Shape Shifters. He was going over his notes looking down at what caused this dumb ass war. He truly believed it was stupid. One little misunderstanding between his dad and the Brecken family, and all hell broke loose.

“Hi.” A female voice said from behind him.

“I’m Amelia.” Her voice was sweet. Way too sweet for Hunter Jackson, but he got the shock of his life when he turned around and saw tattoos up her arm, and hazel, greenish eyes that stunned him. She was a mixture of sweet and badass, Hunter’s perfect fit.

“I’m Hunter.” He said, stretching out his hand. She took it and he felt heat, passion, desire, and the weight he was carrying on his shoulders vanish the moment her hand connected with his.

“Well, I need to head in and find my parents. This should be interesting.” She huffed. He didn’t want her to leave, but he surrendered her.

Yea, interesting was one way to put it. Hunter took his speech seriously when his father gave him the task. He spent every waking moment studying what caused the rift between the Werewolves and the Shape Shifters. What he learned was that it was no one’s fault. It was a horrible misunderstanding regarding control of certain parts of Linwynn. Most of the country was under the control of the Werewolves, but long ago, the Shape Shifters had claimed a small piece of the country. It was legit, but a weird document appeared saying the land was taken from the Werewolves and everything began to spiral out of control. There had already been tension for personal reasons. This just further pressed things. His dad was determined to take down the Shape Shifters and had arrested several that lived in the part of Linwynn controlled by them.

Hunter begged his dad to just leave things alone, but he wasn’t having it. So here Hunter was hoping he could bridge the gap. He thought his idea was pretty solid, but Hunter also knew his dad. In fact, Hunter wondered why his dad had even asked for this.

Stepping up to address the Werewolves and Shape Shifters, his eyes immediately searched for the beautiful Amelia. He didn’t see her in the Werewolf section, though when he did find her, his heart sank. She was sitting right in between Sir Reid and Mistress Lilyann. Oh shit, she was a Brecken; she was a Shape Shifter. Oh fuck! He was royally screwed unless this speech worked, and the shock on her face told him all he needed to know. She was terrified because she now knew he wasn’t just Hunter, he was Hunter Jackson. To a Brecken, that would be a major deal, quite possibly a deal breaker.

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