Mini-Review: Twisted

Twisted (Dark Protectors #5.5)

by Rebecca Zanetti

Blurb:

Maggie is a wolf shifter who was captured and experimented on by the Kurjans. Now that a cure has finally been found for shifters (although not for vampire mates or witches), she can concentrate on creating a new life for herself and finally accepting that her memories are gone forever. Most memories, that is. Sometimes in the hazy world between dreams and dawn, she hears a Scottish voice, dark and deep, that sounds suspiciously like wolf-shifter Terrent Vilks. A man she happened to anger by kidnapping a few years back. Hey, it was for a good cause.

Terrent Vilks knows more than he’s let on for the past several years. After digging for answers, he knows exactly why the demons want Maggie dead. And he remembers his past with Maggie…very well. She is finally where he wants her. Now all he has to do is discover what exactly the Kurjans did to her, beat the demons into so much submission they leave her alone, and get her to fall in love with him. Again. Good thing he’s used to wrangling monsters.

Themes: Shifters, Werewolves, Vampires, Demons, Paranormal

Rating: 3.5 stars

Heat Rating: 

Review:

Fans of the Dark Protectors series have finally gotten what they have been salivating for since almost the beginning of the series:  Mysterious Maggie is finally unveiled.  I have been dying to find out the truth of Maggie’s past and the reason behind the connection she felt to Terrent since their very first meeting. I never imagined just how complicated their pasts were. This series has kept me intrigued for many years and I cannot wait to find out where the next story will take us.

Maggie’s on a mission from the king, trying to uncover the culprit behind the contamination of several vials of vaccines distributed to the national wolf packs and her prime suspect is council leader Terrent Vilks.  But never did she imagine that being with Terrent would bring the truth of her long forgotten past to light again.  She’s lived for over a decade with no real idea of who she was, suffering from traumatic amnesia, and she’s willing to even deal with Terrent’s arrogance if he can give her some answers.  And boy-oh-boy does he have the answers.  Terrent has loved Maggie for over a decade and has been trying to find a way to keep her safe from the monsters who stole her memories and all others that might hurt her.  But with war heating up around them again, pack infighting, and the fears she has of controlling men, will Terrent ever be able to convince Maggie to return his love or will they be forever forced apart by her broken memory?

Terrent is the supreme alpha wolf, a sexy shifter with all the arrogance of a man who knows what he wants and will go to any extreme to get it.  I loved seeing him finally reveal his true self to Maggie, showing her the vulnerable inner wolf that just wants his mate and the wounded man who wants her love in return.  I can’t imagine having the love of your life stolen from you, her memories erased, and having to hide your love from her for a decade, but Terrent has managed to survive it while he works to make the world safer for Maggie.  Maggie is obviously a kick-ass female, one to match Terrent in every way, but the past ten years have reshaped her into an even more challenging woman as she lived and fought alongside the vampire royal family.   Even without her past, she knows the woman she is and will let nobody, no man especially, tell her she needs to change. The connection between these two very strong personalities was palpable from the second they met in a previous story, but when they are finally alone the heat and desire they both feel is astounding.  When Terrent allows his guard down, finally letting Maggie see his true feelings for her there is no denying the love and connection they both feel, even if Maggie’s brain still hasn't caught up with her heart or her inner wolf.

I very much enjoyed this short novella, though I honestly would have loved if Maggie and Terrent has gotten a full length novel because they just had so much to work through, both as a couple and with the world around them. I loved the little plot twists about the vaccine and the issues with that, as well as the way pack politics affected Terrent and Maggie’s new life.  The sensual wolf bonding between Terrent and Maggie was a conflagration that I imagine blurred the world around them and wrapped them in their own private oasis.  I relished seeing Terrent bare his soul to Maggie and knew that she would protect him and his heart at all costs.  When they finally worked together they defeated all comers and that strength of bond will keep them together forever, a perfect match and a love for eternity.  I am very much looking forward to the next story in the series, Jase’s story, which has been a long time coming and will no doubt be full of danger, drama, heartache, and passion.  If you haven’t started this series, get to reading, so you’re caught up and can enjoy with along me. 

*ebook provided by publisher (via netgalley) for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review.  No compensation was provided.