Narrated by Cris Dukehart
Bowman and Kenzie O’Donnell are a shifter couple enjoying a night out at a shifter bar. Bowman notices a woman in a crowd of shifter groupies who isn’t behaving like the others. Suspicious, he lures her outside to see exactly why she is in his territory. Kenzie follows, wanting to protect her mate’s back, as well as to ensure there is no mistake as to whom Bowman belongs to. Kenzie watches as Bowman scares off the lying woman masquerading as a shifter groupie. When Kenzie and Bowman begin arguing about his actions, Bowman is forced to take the fight into the woods away from shifter ears where they smell an odd scent.
Bowman sends Kenzie off for reinforcements and confronts the owner of the scent. What appears is a freak of nature. The creature appears to be an amalgamation of fur, scales, and feathers – an unheard combination in shifters. What’s worse, it’s stronger than any other shifter he has encountered. Bowman, along with Kenzie and the other pack members attempt to kill the creature but all they can manage is to force it to retreat. Kenzie has to step up and take care of an injured Bowman. However, she’s left wondering exactly what that creature was, where it came from, and if there are any more in the area.
Mate Bond is another wonderful story in the Pride Mates series. It is also a good place to start this ongoing series for anyone who hasn’t read the previous books. Featuring a cast of new characters and a relatively contained storyline, there is no need to know the previous cast of characters. It still provides the action and adventure I come to expect in an Ashley title but most of the conflict comes from internal rather than external factors. It focuses on the emotions and realities Bowman and Kenzie experience to establish a relationship allowing me to see the couple work together to cement their relationship despite the lack of mate bond. Mate Bond didn’t rely on an outside—and uncontrollable influence—to make them love and want one another. I read romance in part for the emotional journey and this book delivers.
Cris Dukehart’s talent with voices shines pleasantly in Mate Bond. I can tell she has a good feel for this series and its many characters. They all have a diverse range of accents and Dukehart manages to demonstrate them nicely. She infuses a lot of emotion into her voices – I could feel Bowman’s disdain for his wife’s uncle, Kenzie’s love for her family (in spite of themselves). Even their son’s exasperation with them both came through clearly.
Dukehart’s portrayal of Kenzie was a little off for me though. Kenzie sounds halting and abrupt in some of her conversations. I assume this is an attempt to represent the fact Kenzie is from Eastern Europe. However, it makes her character seem robotic when she is anything but. Regardless, Dukehart is a solid performer and her narration here is a good accompaniment to the emotional journey Bowman and Kenzie experience.
Diana
Narration: B
Book Content: B
Steam Factor: Glad I had my earbuds in
Violence: Escalated fighting
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Mate Bond was provided to AudioGals by Tantor Audio for review.
