#Review: Protective Instinct by Katie Reus - 3.5 Wine Glasses

Title: Protective Instinct
Series: Moon Shifter #5.5
Author: Katie Reus
Format: eBook/Paperback
Published: May 19th 2015 by KR Press, LLC
ISBN: 194244706X
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N
Reviewer: Linda
Source: Netgalley
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Wine Glasses

A woman worth fighting for…

Wolf shifter Teresa is blown away by her packmate Ryan’s honesty about his past and his rare empathic powers. She wants him in her bed—and her life. The only problem: Ryan insists they wait, because the last thing he wants is to recreate the hellish family he grew up in. Frustrated, Teresa jumps at the chance to assist a packmate off the ranch—far away from Ryan.

On the way, their vehicle is run off the road—and it wasn’t an accident. Ryan rushes to Teresa’s side, determined to protect her. But there’s a dangerous enemy lurking in the shadows, and if Ryan doesn’t break out of his old thinking and put his faith in his and Teresa’s love—and their ability to overcome obstacles together—it will be too late.

Linda's Thoughts:
She was just...hurt. And tired of feeling as if she wasn't good enough to officially mate with. It was no wonder her wolf was going insane.

PROTECTIVE INSTINCT by Katie Reus was a quick, very enjoyable novella featuring favorite characters, danger and suspense galore. It's installment 5.5 in her Moon Shifter series. This is the story of Teresa and Ryan, two wolf-shifters with the pack. I'm thrilled that they are finally having their stories told.

Even though it's part of a series, this book could be easily enjoyed as a standalone if you're just looking for a good paranormal suspenseful read as Katie fills in what you need to know when you need to know it. However, for maximum enjoyment, I'd recommend reading the whole series as there are interconnected characters and previous storylines that play into this tale.

Ryan, Ryan... how stupid can you be? The heat between Ryan and Teresa was scorching. Teresa's wolf was climbing the walls because he was holding back due to a hangup he had. When Teresa gets caught up in a revenge plot by a heartless female vampire that puts her in jeopardy, will Teresa survive? Ryan had almost lost her once. I don't want to say more - you need to read this book to find out.

Fans of the series will love the snippets with alpha Connor and Ana. One involved a bet that had me laughing out loud.

Here's a few of my favorite quotes from the book:

Turning on him, she placed her hands on her hips, glad he was still sitting. "You keep telling me that I need to be sure, but I'm starting to think this is all your bullshit, Ryan O'Callaghan." His eyes widened a fraction, but she continued, letting the steam that had been building inside her break free just a tiny bit. "I know what I want and I'm not going to beg you to mate with me."
---

For the past eight or so months their pack had been dealing with one issue after another from violent anti-paranormal maniacs to crazy vampires. It was nice that the only thing they had on their plate now was a bet for how soon two of their pack mates would finally get together.
---

In wolf form, Ryan stalked through the woods, his hunger - and anger - mounting each second that passed. He'd just found out from Ana that Teresa had gone riding out to check the fence lines.
By herself....
Panic hummed through him as he raced through a small patch of trees, lush and green now that it was spring.

I'm a huge Katie Reus fan. She has never once disappointed me. Now I can't wait to read Natalia's and Alric's story. They were a secondary plotline in this book and the  tension between them was viable. Also, Rafael's and Rosa's story seems set - but is it? The ending was heart-stopping - but don't worry about a cliffhanger - there isn't one. (Yay!) PROTECTIVE INSTINCT was well worth the read with fast-paced action and suspense! I highly recommend it to fans of paranormal romantic suspense.