Sandy M’s review of The Wolf Next Door (Westfield Brothers, Book 3) by Lydia Dare
Paranormal Romance published by Sourcebooks Casablanca 1 Jun 10

I’ve been anxiously awaiting this book since I read the first in this series. We get hints and even a few actual interactions between William and Prisca in A Certain Wolfish Charm and Tall, Dark and Wolfish to whet our appetites just enough to intrigue us and hold us captive until their turn finally comes along. And the wait is definitely worth it.

First I have to say what a terrific job Ms. Dare is doing in keeping the quality and consistency of this series very high. That doesn’t always happen in a series and disappointment sets in sometime along the way. But Ms. Dare has stayed true to her characters and given us storylines that aren’t similar and stand on their own. I really appreciate that as a reader.

Will and Prisca have been in love for years now, but when their elopement failed, they’ve kept their distance from each other in their own way to keep their individual hurt at bay. Will took his heartbreak to the extreme of debauchery, drinking and womanizing to his heart’s content, but none of it ever made him forget Priss. She pushed him away with insults and a haughtiness only Priss can convey.

Now her brothers have decided to work together to trap William into marrying Prisca. Everyone but the two of them know they love each other, so, out of patience, the Hawthorne brothers take matters in hand. At this same time, a feral wolf is visiting, a friend of Blaine Hawthorne’s. He’s immediately enamored of Prisca and is determined to have her.

Over Will’s dead body, of course. Having a rival stirs his possessive instincts and Will makes sure the intruder doesn’t have a chance to claim his woman. He takes his scheme a little too far, however, trapping Prisca just as her brothers would trap Will, but his deceit has further-reaching consequences than he’d imagined. I so loved it when he tried to make those consequences right. I think Prisca did too. It’s the start of her thawing toward him, anyway.

Prisca is strong and as independent as a woman can be in her day. She’s able to choose her mate, turning down anyone and everyone who’s offered for her since her breakup with Will. Though she tells herself she doesn’t love him, her heart knows better. She tries to deny him when they’re together, but the man knows just how to sweet talk her and arouse her. And he does his best every chance he gets. He frustrates himself, Pricsa, and the reader every time he touches her, kisses her, tastes her. The man is a walking arousal machine.

Wearing her down little by little, finally telling the truth about his deception, and taking care of that outsider pup, Will is close to his goal. Or so he thinks. He’s one of those men who can’t seem to get a word right out of his mouth. He’s a man of showing, not telling, but Prisca needs the words. He has to learn to talk to her if wants her forever. Though there’s a lot of fun to be had before this particular lesson. He just can’t seem to get anything right outside of the sexual tension between them and Prisca exploits it as often as she can.

In the midst of all of this, Prisca is discovering Will’s other side, something she refuses to believe at first. But she eventually puts it all together and has no choice but to believe. I really enjoyed the scenes when Will comes to her in his wolf form and when he talks of those times later in the book. Priss finally has her wolf and her man all in one.

This has been a tremendously fun series. I love all of the characters, who are always involved quite a bit in each book, which makes me like them that much more. So far I believe the second book, Tall, Dark and Wolfish, is my favorite – I just love the storyline of that one – but it’s only by a hair.

There is a fourth book in the works, Taming of the Wolf. I was a little surprised when I first realized who the hero is, but now that I’ve thought about it, it makes sense and should be a very interesting addition to the series.

If you haven’t read this series yet, give it a try. It’s not your same old wolf story.

Grade: A+

Summary:

They can’t even be in the same room together…

Ever since their failed elopement years ago, Prisca Hawthorne has taunted, insulted, and in every way tried to push him away. If only her heart didn’t break every time Lord William Westfield left her…

But staying apart is even worse…

Lord William throws himself into drinking, gambling, and debauchery and pretends not to care about Prisca at all. But when he returns to find a rival werewolf vying for her hand, he’ll stop at nothing to claim the woman who should have been his all along.

Can Prisca forgive the unforgivable, or are the moon-crossed lovers going to be forced into a battle of wills that could be fatal?

Read an excerpt. (click excerpt tab)

Other books in this series: