Bethany and Tanja review ‘Ben (The Atherton Pack #2)‘ by Toni Griffin (Published by Mischief Corner Books; August 22,2014).
Why Bethany read it: When we first meet Ben I couldn’t wait for his book. He’s yummy!!!
Why Tanja read it: I was looking forward reading Ben and Tommy´s story after their appearances in Liam (The Atherton Pack #1).
This book was offered to RGR by the publisher, free of charge, in exchange for an honest review.
See also our review of Liam (The Atherton Pack #1) here.
Blurb:
Tommy Morgan’s life was turned upside down at the hands of his Alpha. Now, another one is claiming to be his mate. He’s not ready to jump into a relationship with anyone, still suffering from nightmares due to the abuse he experienced. Instead, Tommy moves in with his brother, Declan, hoping for the space he needs to heal.
Pennaeth Alpha, Benjamin Taylor, has his hands full dealing with all the packs across Australia. When he finds his young mate battered and bloody, he knows Tommy is going to need time to recover and come to terms with everything. Ben is more than willing to give his mate anything he needs. Even if that means them living apart for now.
When passion finally ignites with unexpected consequences, Ben knows he’ll do anything, fight anyone, to keep his mate safe.
Please Note: This is a re-edited second edition. The only changes made were edits.
Bethany´s thoughts:
I love, love, love alphas. And Ben is not just alpha of the pack but alpha in the relationship as well. After what Tommy went through in book one I was wondering how Ben would react about giving Tommy time to heal and not claiming him right away. But after the first few pages I knew that Ben was going to be one of my favorites. He was gentle and soothing, giving Tommy all the time that he needed to heal.
I loved how this one progressed as far as the relationship between Tommy and Ben. It felt natural, which is hard to do when they are mates because they have a hard time NOT claiming their mates right away. But man oh man when Ben does finally claim Tommy the heat index went up, up, up. Hot does not even begin to describe it.
While I enjoyed watching the relationship between Tommy and Ben I was not a fan of Tommy getting pregnant. While I didn’t mind in in the Holland Brothers series, it just didn’t work for me in this one. It is not bad and some readers will LOVE it but I just wished I could have had more of just Tommy and Ben.
Now the ending, well it felt rushed and unnecessary. Had it been introduced earlier I think it would have worked for me. But even with all though I really enjoyed the book and look forward to the next one.
Tanja´s thoughts:
Too bad you can´t hear me purr in satisfaction 😉 This book was way better than the first one, more to my liking.
Ben and Tommy met at the end of the first book as Tommy was freed from his alpha. Tommy was near death when he was found. Of course Ben realized immediately that Tommy is his mate. This story starts a few months after the last book ended. Tommy still suffers from nightmares and being with his mate is the last thing on his mind. Ben on the other hand knows that his mate needs time to heal and gives him exactly that while watching over him. He is a great alpha who cares deeply for his pack´s well-being as well as his mate. He has a soft heart but when he turns alpha…..HOT, HOT,HOT – loved it. Ben and Tommy have great chemistry together, in and outside the bedroom.
It was a pleasure to watch both of them. Tommy, as he slowly heals from his ordeal until he came to that point where he finally took his life in his own hands again and Ben, how he spends so much time beside his mate just to support him.
Oh and the poker night, lol I love those guys. I was so happy to see them again they are quite entertaining. Looking forward to Corey´s story 🙂 .
Sonja, the villain, on the other hand was unnecessary in my opinion. The whole thing ended before it could have been started. It did nothing for the storyline and felt more like it was thrown into the book to add some action, which it didn´t, at least for me.
Nonetheless I enjoyed reading this book and look forward to the next in this series.
7.5/10 pots of gold
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Toni Griffin lives in Darwin, the smallest of Australia’s capital cities. Born and raised in the state, she’s a Territorian through and through. Growing up Toni hated English with a passion (as her editors can probably attest to) and found her strength lies with numbers.
Now, though, she loves escaping to the worlds she creates and hopes to continue to do so for many years to come. She’s a single mother of one and works full time. When she’s not writing you can just about guarantee that she will be reading one of the many MM authors she loves.
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