Audio Book Review: Curse of the Alpha

Curse of the Alpha (Episodes 1 & 2)

By:  Tasha Black

Publish Date:  December 14, 2014, Audiobook July 6, 2015

Format:  Audiobook - 3 hrs 46 mins
Narrated By:  Addison Spear

Genre:  Paranormal Romance

Series:  1st & 2nd Episodes of A Tarker's Hollow serial series

Impression:  A strong female who wants NOTHING to do with being a wolf and to love a human. She'll fight to make it so.

Synopsis:
Step into a world of shifters, witches, ghosts and romance...

Ainsley Connor has turned her back on her past.

Her perfect life as a successful real estate agent in Manhattan makes her memories of growing up as the daughter of a werewolf seem like a dream. But when a tragic accident forces her back to her unusual hometown, she can't repress her inner wolf any longer.

Worse, the pack needs her to settle down and pick a mate. But how can she choose when the tiny college town is full of sexy shifters, all vying for her attention?

And the shifters aren't even the strangest thing about Tarker's Hollow...

˃˃˃ In Episode 1...
Ainsley Connor is on a mission to get back to the penthouses of Manhattan before the full moon. Will the pack manage to stake their claim on her before it's too late?

˃˃˃ In Episode 2...
Ainsley learns about the danger facing the pack, and discovers that someone she trusts is hiding a dark secret. Will she be able to restrain the beast inside as it struggles to break free?

˃˃˃ A Continuing Story...
Curse of the Alpha: Episodes 1 & 2 are the first novellas in the Curse of the Alpha serial. Think of them like episodes of a TV show. They tell their own story, but you will need to read more parts to get the full tale of Ainsley Connor, a female werewolf, and her struggle to come to terms with her past, and accept her true nature and her role in the future of the pack. It is romance with sex, and is NOT intended for readers under the age of 18.

If you don't like serials and/or romance with sex, then this is probably not for you!

First Sentence:
Ainsley was having the dream again.

Purchase At:
Amazon  /  Barnes & Nobles

Audible


My Thoughts and Summary:
*This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBlast dot com, at my request.

Episode 1:
Ainsley is back in her home town after years of being gone. Ainsley is determined to finish cleaning out her parents home, get it on the market, without a large amount of social interaction and get back to her life in New York before the next full moon. The wolves need an Alpha though. Her father was the pack Alpha and being the Alpha's daughter, her lineage is what makes the next Alpha emerge, by picking him to be her mate. Many would do anything to be Alpha. But there is one she knew when she was young that even though drawn to her, cares what happens to her. But Ainsley doesn't think he's her type.

Addison has a young feel to her voice. She sounds as she's talking to me full of enthusiasm and emotion, and through the strong persona of Ainsley. She does do some vocal differentiation for characters as we meet new ones.

Ainsley's attractions rise while she's home. She has a terrible memory of the first time she turned and the lose of her boyfriend at the time has haunted her since. But she starts to wonder what it would be like to be with a man who's another wolf and she wouldn't have to worry about losing her control and harming him. But she's determined this is not her.

The story feels fast from the start. I feel like the story is a tad rushed. It makes me anxious. Addison doesn't seem to be reading with a quick pace, but maybe it's the anxiety in her voice or Ainsley's anxiety of being home coming through. It could be the swift movement of the story too.

We get the story through the eyes of Ainsley and Eric. Eric is a handsome wolf that went to school with Ainsley, and was close to her in elementary school. But things changed and the Alpha, Ainsley's father, made it known that Ainsley was off limits to all. Eric now finds himself attracted to Ainsley and his wolf rising for Ainsley's attentions. Eric knows he's not the type of man Ainsley wants, but he's still drawn to her. Eric's concerned for Ainsley's safety and jealous of others with her.

In this first episode I found that Ainsley sounds like an ungrateful snob and only sees the man candy outside of the men around her. I know she's said she's a type A personality, but I hope she warms up some and grows as a character. I don't even feel much emotion from her for her parents deaths. She hasn't been home in years, so has she grown cold or does she have a barrier up inside to protect from the hurt, like when Brian died?

At the end of this first episode I am left thinking of the tv show Bitten. A strong female who wants NOTHING to do with being a wolf and to love a human. She'll fight to make it so. But! Ainsley is much more naive in the ways of wolves and pack than Elena is at this point. Ainsley is blind in the wolf ways.


Episode 2:
Someone has broken into Ainsley's home. And then her fathers study at the College. Who is it and what do they want? Ainsley tries to get things tied up with her parents estate so she can leave sooner than later as the male wolves are reacting to her presence, and she doesn't want anything to do with Alpha.

The episode doesn't feel as rushed to me. I think Ainsley's anxiety of being home and wanting to leave was coming through Addison's voice with precision. Addison feels relaxed here, but still has a strong personality for Ainsley.

Ainsley is growing on me. She's strong in her determination and doesn't want to break from what she wants. I'm starting to think this is the Alpha material in her. She is feeling the draw of the handsome men around her, and she's noting it to herself now too. I think it has to do with the need for an Alpha in the pack and her lineage pushing to fill that gap, by her finding a strong mate. Though, at the end of this episode, I felt as if Ainsley is making a decision that is out of her normal ways and thinking. I don't know if it's all the hormones rushing around with the need for Alpha that's drawing her to this, she has mentioned that she's acting differently and her wolf is closer to the surface here so maybe it's the draw.

Oh Eric! Good grief. There is an attraction between Eric and Ainsley that Ainsley is fighting hard against. Though, her mind starts to drift to thinking about him and the vision of him naked in her home. Ainsley also starts to distance herself from the perfect relationship with Julian. Julian is human and Ainsley fears a dream she had, awaking the thought of what could happen to Julian.

Ainsley starts to see the importance of an Alpha in this area when Eric tells her of the property the pack owns and what would happen if other wolf packs find they are weak without an Alpha to protect them. All here could be lost.

We start to see the world open up more here. Grace, a dear friend of Ainsley's from school, arrives to take the report and check out the house after a break-in. She also brings a new element to the world, contacting the deceased. And in the end there is a hint of magic.

I think the decision Ainsley is jumping to at the end of this episode will be one she's going to struggle with. I'm curious if she does with the change or with her choice with what she'll do to who's in front of her (if she gets that far). It feels out of character for her so quickly. I know the wolf is becoming ever more present in her and that's mentioned, but this feels like a jump for her. Maybe if there was more build up to it, it would fit but these episodes are short and quick moving.



Each episode does end on a cliffhanger moment, but it's good to know that complete 6 series of episodes are ready to dive into.

Very sensual story. Romance and sexual. It seems Ainsley's hormones are on overdrive. This story is definitely for adult reading/listening. There are descriptive sex scenes present. The story starts off early with the sensual moment, so if you are listening at work put head phones in.