Review: Wilder's Mate by Moira Rogers

Wilder's Mate
~Moira Rogers

Format: e-book
File Size: 487 KB
Publisher: Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
Publish Date: March 8, 2011
ASIN: B004KKYX9A

From the author's website:
Wilder Harding is a bloodhound, created by the Guild to hunt down and kill vampires on America's frontier. His enhanced abilities come with a high price: on the full moon, he becomes capable of savagery beyond telling, while the new moon brings a sexual hunger that borders on madness.

Rescuing a weapons inventor from undead kidnappers is just another assignment, though one with an added complication--keeping his hands off the man's pretty young apprentice, who insists on tagging along.

At odds with polite society, Satira's only constant has been the aging weapons inventor who treats her like a daughter. She isn't going to trust Wilder with Nathaniel's life, not when the Guild might decide the old man isn't worth saving. Besides, if there's one thing she's learned, it's that brains are more important than brawn.

As the search stretches far longer than Wilder planned, he finds himself fighting against time. If Satira is still at his side when the new moon comes, nothing will stop him from claiming her. Worse, she seems all too willing. If their passion unlocks the beast inside, no one will be safe. Not even the man they're fighting to save. 
Warning: This book contains a crude, gun-slinging, vampire-hunting hero who howls at the full moon and a smart, stubborn heroine who invents mad-scientist weapons. Also included: wild frontier adventures, brothels, danger, betrayal and a good dose of wicked loving in an alternate Wild West.

How to describe Wilder's Mate?  A Futuristic Old-West Steampunk Paranormal Romance?  Yeah, let's go with that.  For now...

Satira is a young woman who lives in a border town in the futuristic old west.  She's not your typical young woman; she likes working with her mentor, Nathanial, an inventor for the Guild.  When Nathaniel goes missing, the Guild sends Wilder, a Bloodhound.  Satira insists on accompanying Wilder in his search to find Nathanial.  Sparks fly and adventures ensue:  vampires, double-agents, and a shocking surprise will have you holding your breath until the end.

My thoughts:
I had no idea what to expect from Wilder's Mate; I loved it!

The setting, frontier-style wild west meets steampunk is brought to life this unusual story.  While reading, the scenes rolling through my mind were sepia-tinged like an old western movie.  I could see the clothing, the dirt, the stagecoaches, all made for a gritty feel to the story.

I liked Satira, a young woman who wanted to be an inventor even though women weren't allowed to do so.  Her fears for her future due to the loss of her mentor/protector Nathaniel had her desperate to find him and bring him home.  She stood up to Wilder, sometimes stubbornly so, and was not a shrinking violet when the action got intense.  I also liked that she wasn't a shy virginal type, and took what she wanted.

Wilder - how many ways are there to say "yum!"? As a Bloodhound, he's strong, persistent, fighting machine.  We don't get too much about how he became a Bloodhound - he was wounded in the war and volunteered.  He's one of the best and because Nathanial is working on a super-secret project for the Guild, they sent Wilder to find him.

The tension between Satira and Wilder smoulders.  Tentatively at first, then, as the full moon approached, a full-on inferno... I loved how his protective instincts kicked in when Satira was in danger - very, very sexy.

My one complaint:  Not enough information as to the world building.  Are the Bloodhounds part of or separate from the Army?  What kind of men to they accept to be Bloodhounds and how are they created?  It also sounds like there's an interesting backstory to the vampire situation but we don't know what it is.

I'm looking forward to the next book in this series, Hunter's Prey, which centers around one of the Bloodhounds we meet in Wilder's Mate, Hunter, and Ophelia, who we meet only briefly.  Hunter has an interesting story in Wilder's Mate and I'm curious to read more about him.

My Rating:

Book received from the author.