Sandy M’s review of Diamond Dust (Takhini Pack, Book 3) by Vivian Arend
Paranormal Romance published by Samhain 2o Aug 13
This is my first Takhini Pack book by Vivian Arend, and I’m a bit angry with myself for that being so. Because I love this book. I had such fun with Caroline and Tyler. Caroline is an especially terrific character – she’s a human amid shifters and she holds her own beautifully. Ty is more than the average bear – he’s perfect for her.
Caroline is the go-to person in the Takhini pack when things go south. She fixes anything and everything, thinking on her feet to get the job done. She’s also the alpha’s lover, a mutually satisfying relationship. Until recently anyway. Evan got a whiff of his mate and it’s not fair to either of them, as well as the still unknown mate, to continue their affair. Knowing she’ll miss those times with Evan, Caroline does take the news in stride, while she also helps tackle the work that needs to be done for the upcoming conclave for the bear shifters, who need to elect a new leader. That includes cleaning rooms, which is where Ty comes to the rescue when Caroline suffers an accident in the spa outside his room.
Now, bears don’t mate for life like wolves, so there’s not that all-encompassing “Mine!” those shifters go through. So here we get the normal instant attraction between this huge bear of a man and a sassy, take-no-prisoners human woman. Though Caroline is the one to hold back a bit, having just lost her relationship with Evan, but then there’s the sex. She will miss that. But this bear isn’t that dissuade-able. Tyler also needs Caroline’s expertise with shifters and to make sure he wins the election, he needs a woman by his side. So they come to an agreement that keeps them in each other’s company, and there’s fun, hot sex, and some great fight scenes the bear way.
I like that Tyler does have to chase Caroline a bit before she succumbs totally. She’s not the typical woman, which he learns the hard way. So being the great politician he is, he reassesses and comes at the issue from a different direction. The bears are hilarious in their own way, despite the seriousness of needing a new clan leader. They can’t be in a room with different clans without coming to blows. And the scene where Caroline steps in, stopping a pending fight cold before it can get started, all I can say is, “You go, girl!” Even a later scene in which the fighting is more deadly, Caroline’s fast thinking to head off more trouble is fantastic.
I enjoyed both Evan and Jason, Ty’s right-hand man. With Evan’s mate almost in the picture, I imagine his book is not far off. I hope there’s a chance Jason might get his own story; he’s a great character. I also like how the women in this series, shifter and human, stick together. Treatment of women is a selling point in the outcome of the election, and it’s handled very well by Ms. Arend. This is one time where I don’t mind reading a book out-of-series order. The entertainment factor, along with the romance between Caroline and Ty, keeps the reader in the moment and turning the pages. So much so, this reader is going to be getting to the first two books in the series as soon as possible.
Grade: A
Summary:
She can’t shift, but she can shake their world.
Caroline Bradley is having one hell of a week. Her wolf lover has sniffed out his mate, making her an instant free agent. Not only that, Takhini territory has been overrun with aggressive bear-shifters electing a clan leader, and the wolf pack is feeling the effects—pushing her diplomatic skills to the limit.
Read an excerpt.
Other books in this series:
