Thomas Crawford is second in command in the Lonely River's wolf community. And while that may make him a beta character in a genre renowned for stories about alpha males, I found this to be a welcome variation. His relationship with the strong Lottie proved to be about more than dominance and submission -- although there was enough of that to titillate and leave the reader feeling satisfied that their interactions were genuine.

Even while this story introduced characters and made reference to plot lines that I assume have been a part of a series involving other books, the effect was subtle and I didn't feel in the least bit lost as I followed along. Ante Up is a delicious, sexy short story, and having been given a small taste of Moira Rogers' world, I am eager to read more.

Overall rating:
Sensuality rating: Very sensual

Reviewer: Jean
September 19, 2009