Thorne Bay

One would never guess how much a dart, mundane as it is, might change a life. In this story, it is a precursor to the chain of events that make up a most engaging plot. Thorne Bay is like a wheel rolling down a hill. It starts off with just the right amount of speed to get you going, and as it progresses, the plot intensifies until you find yourself heart-pumpingly catapulted to the end. Our story begins with a young woman in her early twenties, confused like so many of us at that age, about what path to take in life. Fed up with her grandfather’s snide remarks about her failures, she finally decides to allow fate in the form of a dart thrown at a map, to determine her path. After all, all her attempts at decision-making clearly didn’t pan out.

Evan is a character I found very relatable. I instantly fell in love with her relentless sense of humor and caught myself chuckling at the pages quite often, while swept into her quirky mind. I also found myself sympathetic to her inner struggle to find herself whilst figuring out what she wanted in life.

Fate leads Evan to Alaska, where our story is set against a beautiful backdrop of Alaskan wilderness, in the small town of Thorn Bay, where Evan must make a new life for herself. It isn’t easy when you’ve got a hot, rugged outdoorsmen paying you attention. Especially when that man is a helicopter pilot with a whole lot of charm and even more secrets. But Even manages, albeit with some great banter between herself and our mysterious Tristan. Not to mention the tantalizing romance that begins to unfold between them.

Very quickly rumors of werewolves start marking the pages of Thorne Bay, and I found myself eager to learn the truth. Evan also quickly finds herself tangled up in their politics before she realizes what she’s gotten herself into. And at this point, I could not stop turning the pages. I often had to force myself to slow down my reading for fear that I would miss important details scattered throughout. At first, I thought I could predict the plot but quickly found myself presently surprised time and again when things didn’t go the way I first expected. Who doesn’t love refreshing unpredictability?!

While I don’t want to spoil the plot, let’s just say that Evan does not make it out of Thorne Bay unchanged, but, unchanged for the better. I absolutely loved this story. It is one I would read again, and recommend to anyone who wants to escape their lives for a short while to enjoy the excitement, warm moments of romance, and suspense that this book has to offer.

What happens when an awkward human falls for a hunky werewolf? Laughter, drama, and steam!

Evan knows exactly what to say -- inside her head -- but when it comes to actually speaking with hot guys, she gets tongue-tied and trips over her own feet. Good thing Tristan finds her adorable. He happens to like weird and quirky -- things Evan has in spades.

The first half of Thorne Bay was a little slower with hardly any action but filled with humorous moments. I loved the way Evan tried so hard to be flirty and cool around Tristan and instead ended up blurting out whatever crossed her mind. It made for quite a few laugh-out-loud moments. But when the action starts, be prepared to hold on for a bumpy ride! Heartache. Pain. A scorned woman. It has it all! The secondary characters add color to the story, and I'm honestly hoping we find out more about a few of them, like Tristan's brother Dean.

A jealous she-wolf, an alpha who only wants the human he shouldn't have, and a human woman who knows something more is going on but she just can't quite figure it out. It has all the makings for a page-turning story you won't be able to put down. And steam! Loves of steam once Evan and Tristan finally come together. The author's imagery when describing the actual shift from human to wolf was wonderful. I felt as if I were going through it right alongside them. Overall, a great addition to any werewolf lover's TBR pile!

* Thank you to NetGalley and the author/publisher for the opportunity to review Thorne Bay. The review above is my honest opinion of the story.

Delicious!

To say that I was enamored by this book would be an understatement. I practically ate it up,down to the last page. This werewolf is understandably unique in it's presentation of the paranormal. The easing off of the heroine is so smooth and so well done that it is understandable to think she does not get upset. The circumstances are all very relatable and one can just see oneself in her shoes.

Thorne Bay is an excellent example of that book you can read over and over and over again and it still has its bite and action and suspense.

The writing is masterful and the plot is well-thought out. I believe it would not be an understatement to say that Jeanine Croft is romance mastermind, a genius with the pen.

Brilliant work!

I very much enjoyed this book. It’s a typical story of werewolf falling in love. The same sort of story line as most. Which I won’t get into too many details because I don’t want to spoil anything. But it was a good, easy read regardless .

WOW! Did not see this coming! I loved it, I don’t recall ever reading a story with this type of story, the characters are unique and so well written. I enjoyed the story and all the who, what, when’s it was so refreshing. The romance was developed well and not to steamy. I do hope there is another book coming with Dean and Aidens story.

Thorne Bay by Jeanine Cross is book one in An Alaskan Packs Novel. The book tells the story of Evan, a young woman who is trying to find her path in life. To help make a decision she throws a dart at a map one day and it lands in Alaska, a place which is completely different from where she has been and what she knows. On her journey to Alaska, she meets Tristan, a dark and mysterious man who flies her up to Throne Bay. From there Evan starts her new adventure…but everything is not what it seems.

Thorne Bay is a really descriptive, beautifully written book about secrets, finding yourself and a refreshing take on the werewolf, paranormal genre. Evan is a likeable character, even though at times she could be slightly frustrating, but this could be due to the age that she portrays and the self-discovery journey that she is on. At times she can be wildly quirky and that helped to balance out the ever-serious Tristan. The story flows and leaves you wanting to know more about other characters and their own journey.

A well written book with detailed description of life in Alaska and the secrets it can hold.

ARC received for a fair, honest and sometimes long review. All opinions are my own. 😊

More of my reviews can be found on my blog: http://thehotmesslibrary.blogspot.com

ARC from NetGalley

Okay. I have mostly good things to say about this book. It was an A+ slow-burn paranormal romance. There was no unbelievable instalove. There was no immediate boning. The plot was actually interesting, and I wanted to actually read it and not just skim until I found the sexy bits *cough* not that I would do that >>.>> It became a bribe book for me. I could only read it once I got my work done, and when any book gets to that place, it's a 5-star for me unless there is something seriously wrong with it.

On to the negatives.

There were a few times that things were unbelievable. Evan is literally told over and over, she sees sculptures, reads books, just.. there's so many times I was rolling my eyes like GURL. I shook my damn head several times.

Additionally, this book is really adjective heavy, and at times I felt I was reading the product of the author's word-a-day calendar. Exhibit A: “Yet Tristan had stated this in such a <b>contumelious</b> way that I was hardly flattered by the declaration.” I mean, maybe you throw words such as contumelious around on the daily, but I don't. There were several times words like this popped up. I mean, for the most part I knew what they meant, if only in gleaning. I don't consider myself an imbecile. I've read a lot of books and thus a lot of words, but yeah it stood out. Also, not necessarily rationally, I was irritated by the excessive use of the word "piquant."

All that bitching aside. This was a good read. Not perfect, but good. If you like paranormal romance and don't like reading shitty ones that have you rolling your eyes, the kind that are churned out like rabbits, read this one instead.

3.5 stars

Thorne Bay has the makings of a potentially fun, entertaining, and sexy new paranormal/shifter series by new-to-me and fairly new author Jeanine Croft.

Evan Spencer has found herself in a rut. She has tried college and well, that didn't end up so well. She's back living with her mother and working in a cafe. She has a horrible crush on a guy and she's just too shy to actually tell him about it. At the constant urging of her none too kind grandfather, she decides to create her own adventure. She takes a dart and a map and lets destiny take the wheels. That dart points her to Thorne Bay, Alaska. She gets a summer job and a ticket and is off to discover what she is made of. Little does she know that the small tourist town is full of mysteries and quirky people with very strange behaviors. The first person she meets happens to be the most handsome person she's ever met that ol' what his name she used to crush on doesn't even stand a chance. As Evan settles into the quiet little town and her friendship with the enigmatic Tristan deepened, she learns that the whispers and gossip around town are nothing compared to reality and her life whether she wants it to or not will be changed forever because of it.

Thorne Bay was full of mystery, intrigue, and well, my fav, shifters! The book reads like a young adult to new adult book. Evan is a bit of an odd duck. She vacillates between extremely shy and naive then daring and a bit bold. I mean, how can you not be daring when you use a dart and a map to figure out your next steps in life? I often felt like I wanted to smack Evan because well, common horror movie etiquette of "Don't go in there!" or Don't do that!", "Why are you looking over there? Run, you stupid ninny!"

The whole shifter aspect of the world-building left a lot to be explained. Shifter politics, behaviors, courting/mating explanations were very vague. I'm not sure if the author left us with a keep 'em guessing attitude for further discovery in latter books or whether she just wanted the air of mystery to prevail. Tristan left a lot of mystery surrounding himself and the wold mate musky thing, but alternately made wolfy references... it kind of got a bit frustrating.

All in all, I enjoyed the book. I have so many unanswered questions and I SO want to know more about Dean. I am totally hooked for book #2 whenever that will happen. I'm totally down for that!

*ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

“‘I love you.’ He kissed me then, lips in fierce espousal of his claim. A kiss that left no doubt of his feelings.”

Thorne Bay by Jeanine Croft tells the story of Evan Spencer, who decides by blindly pointing at a map to move to Thorne Bay Alaska and to make herself a life there. When she is flown there by the handsome Tristan, she feels an attraction to him from the beginning. It doesn’t take long for her to see that something is off about Tristan and his family. Rumors around town say they are part of a cult. She can’t seem to stay away though.

I adore a good shifter book, especially werewolves with a fun pack/family structure. Thorne Bay does not disappoint in this category in anyway. I loved the main characters. Their banter was adorable and witty. I love the wolves back story. And the romance is fab. I would highly recommend this to any paranormal romance fan, or fan of werewolves or romance. I give this book 4 full stars and I fully intend to stalk this author for more books.

Review was posted to Goodreads, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble. I will also post it on my instagram page in the near future.

I loved Thorne Bay. I've been a fan of Mrs. Croft for a little over a year now on Wattpad (a fantastic website for aspiring authors) and I am a firm believer that she has incedible potential to be a positive influence on the paranormal romance community! I've devoured her stories (and now books!) And I can't wait for more!

I loved this book and if you are a fan of Twilight you will too. It has the same vibe as other werewolf romances but is definitely an original story so it keeps you hooked from beginning to end.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Another great book from one of my favorite authors. Highly recommend to friends and family.