Review: Sentinels: Kodiak Chained by Doranna Durgin

3 out of 5 scoopers

Sentinels: Kodiak Chained by Doranna Durgin
Harlequin (Nov. 13, 2012)
Mass market: $5.50; ebook: $4.99
ISBN: 9780373885602
Excerpt
BONUS: The Gatekeeper by Heather Graham (novella)

Favorite Lines: “After a lifetime of feeling too bold, too strong, too much, Mariska quite suddenly didn’t quite feel alone anymore.” (p. 19, e-galley)

One mission. One night. One costly misstep….

A mighty Kodiak shifter, Ruger is more than a Sentinel warrior. As a Healer, he willingly risks everything defending the sick and helpless. But after an ambush nearly kills him, he can do only so much-until a sensual lady black bear shifter arrives to provide him backup….

In human form, she is called Mariska. Feisty and self-assured, she has finagled her present assignment helping Ruger chase down a rising new threat. The moment Mariska scents the heroic, battle-scarred grizzly she knows he will be her only weakness…and greatest desire.

Mariska will do anything to aid Ruger-even if confronting the enemy puts everything she holds dear in jeopardy.

I love bear shifters. They are in a category of their own and make me think of the ultimate cuddle buddy. Doranna Durgin’s shifter as pictured on the cover of Sentinels: Kodiak Chained is not the man I imagine as a bear shifter, but honestly I could care less about the cover as the shifter in the story was so much better.

Before I get much further, it’s important that you understand Kodiak: Chained is part of a series. I didn’t know that when I started reading it and boy did I pay for that lack of knowledge. I felt a few steps behind throughout the entire story. I knew I was missing something and no amount of explanation or back story insertion removed that feeling of missing vital information. In the middle of reading the book I visited Durgin’s website and found out that Kodiak Chained is book six in her Sentinels’ series. Had I know that I would not have read it without reading the previous books in the series.

For the most part Kodiak: Chained is a book about finding oneself and redemption. The hero is learning to readjust to new limitations. He had always been a powerful healer  but after an attack stripped that ability from him he has no choice but to re-evaluate his role as a guardian. He is paired with a female bear shifter who is trying to make a difference. Prior to transferring to Ruger’s team, Mariska was protected and coddled instead of given room to grow as much as she wanted. The route she chose made her untrustworthy in Ruger’s eyes and she works hard to redeem herself to him and those who love him.

The story has a nice pace and features a couple who could be good together from the moment they met in different circumstances. As the story unfolds we are shown a couple who pull together in the face of adversity and deserve a happy ending. I got over my initial dislike of the heroine and was happy with the obscenely evil villains. It’s never pretty when men and science try to match paranormal creatures and magic. Let me show you a few snapshots of this deliciously dark evil.

An Abert’s squirrel with gills, trying not to drown and trying not to rot in the unrelentingly watery environment it hadn’t been born to manage.–p. 72

He touched the crate where a bird with no beak flicked its tongue out at a cup of mashed seeds, its freakish little nostrils flat to the remaining face and twitching in distress.–p. 74

Kodiak: Chained is uncomfortable to read at moments and brings home the idea that men can be more monstrous than the most primal of paranormal creatures. It’s a paranormal romance that didn’t really work for me as a stand alone. I was happy to have a female bear shifter was sturdy but round in the right places as opposed to a sleek, cat-like woman. Kodiak: Chained is not my favorite book, but it is interesting which made me read it quickly.

Advertisement