Jaguar Hunt
Author: Terry Spear
Reviewer: B.
Rating: B+
What I’m Talking About:
Tammy Andersen takes her job as an Enforcer seriously, yet she has a reputation for ditching her male partners and solving their cases by herself. Since they’ve all either tried to seduce her or have wasted their time patronizing her, who could really blame her? David Patterson is a battle-tested member of the Golden Claw JAG Elite Force, but when his assignment aligns with that of the stubborn loner he’s heard so many rumors about they get off to a rocky start. Though he’s determined to prove himself a worthy partner, nothing could have prepared him for his own reaction to the sexy she-cat, or the ties their current case has to his own past. Add in the teen shifters who are far too clever for their own good, and the entire case might just be more than they can handle.
I liked Tammy and David very much. Tammy is adamant about proving herself to David, as well as anyone else, and, while David is certainly protective towards Tammy, he recognizes her abilities and accepts her role as an equal partner in their investigation. Tammy is sometimes inflexible, but not recklessly so. She is confident in her abilities, levelheaded in a crisis, and adept at doing her job. Likewise, David is no cartoon caper Alpha male. His instinct to take the majority of the risks is evident, but his trust in Tammy’s capabilities keeps him in check. He is loyal and devoted, and when he gives of himself, he doesn’t hold back. Tammy and David fit one another nicely, making theirs both a good professional partnership, as well as an excellent romantic match.
Not just a romance, Jaguar Hunt has quite a few interesting secondary characters, especially the teen shifters, whose antics I really enjoyed. They, too, proved themselves perfectly able to handle themselves when trouble started, outmaneuvering the “grown ups” in the story repeatedly. Ms. Spear adeptly offers several convincing possibilities for our nemeses, thereby keeping the mystery of the betrayal at the heart of all the trouble intact for nearly the entire story. Once revealed, however, these bad guys were absolutely loathsome and irredeemable, and I found the ending to their part of the story especially satisfying.
As is true in the other Heart of the Jaguar stories, the romantic involvement of the two main characters is a given, but what makes these shifters so much fun is that the women easily hold most of the power in the dynamic. Sure, Tammy experiences a lot of inner conflict about her feelings for David from the beginning, and David is certainly pulling out all the stops to win her over, but he respects her, and is content to follow her lead, demonstrating a willingness to remove himself from any sexually precarious situations before he pushes Tammy’s boundaries. It’s a nice change from some others I’ve read, and still manages to keep the building romance sexy and fun.
While all of the novels in the Heart of the Jaguar series have followed a similar pattern thus far, they’re still extremely entertaining. Tammy is an enjoyably quick-witted and resourceful character, proving herself invaluable to the resolution of the case, as well as being key to the comedic elements of the story as well. David, already a favorite of mine from the previous story in the series, Jaguar Fever, is both a gentleman and a soldier, occasionally veering into “endearing goofball” territory, but always emerging from the ordeal even more likable than before. These stories really are fun to read, and I’m very excited that there are more still to come.
My Rating: B+ Liked It A Lot
About the Book:
Two deadly predators…
As a feline Enforcer, Tammy Anderson has one objective: locate the missing jaguar and return it to the States. She doesn’t have time for distractions, and she definitely doesn’t have time for sexy shifters with more muscles than sense.
One hot mission…
Everyone and their brother has warned JAG agent David Patterson that Tammy is Ms. Hands-Off…which only makes him more determined to get very hands-on. But things heat up in the steamy jungles of Belize and their simple mission gets a whole lot more complicated. Now it’s going to take everything David’s got to protect the gorgeous she-cat who somehow managed to claw her way past his defenses…and into his heart.
Release Date: June 3, 2014
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
Series: Heart of the Jaguar #3
ISBN: #978-1402266980
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Format(s): paperback (352 pages), e-book
Book Source: NetGalley
Purchase Info:
Jaguar Hunt (Heart of the Jaguar #3)
Reviews in the Series:
Savage Hunger by Terry Spear (Heart of the Jaguar #1)
Jaguar Fever by Terry Spear (Heart of the Jaguar #2)