Aaaah, you gotta love it when a book leaves you in a dilemma as to its rating -I know, I'm a masochist, sue me!

Daniel Locke, the Alpha Commander of his shifter pack, has always been suspicious of Parker Johnson, the human hacker working closely with his people. Someone with no scent on them at all, with emotions not easily read through smell, and, above all, a human, couldn't be trusted. But when a deadly virus threatening to destroy so many lives - and the Alliance with the humans, in turn - breaks out, the pack needs Parker's mad skills. And, dislike or not, those two better find it in themselves to stop butting heads and soon, if they want to survive this ordeal.

Let me begin with what I enjoyed in this book. First things first: Parker freaking Johnson! I loved that rebellious, stubborn woman! She was clever, and kind, and funny, and oh so gloriously witty. I kinda suspected what was going on with her scent, and I was not disappointed when she ran out of her tea - boom! Instant acceleration of the pace AND the emotions going all over the place. It was hilarious and hot to see what was going on after that in Daniel's head. The next thing I also enjoyed, was the fact that the story was pretty hot - what with all the tension and stuff.

Now, the things that didn't really do it for me. I guess, when all is said and done, I remain a firm believer of things reaching a certain climax if they're headed that way. I understand that there was this danger in the story, and all that, but, when you give the readers so much sexual tension between the two leads, you can't just leave them hanging without at least ONE sex scene. I know it's not warranted to make sure the romance takes place, but, this is not always the case. Yes, some fictional couples drive their point home about their love being true without physical intimacy - Daniel and Parker, though, with all their bad history and the war between them, needed it. Badly. Their romance seemed so forced this way - believe it or not, getting physical does help two people come clean with their inner turmoil, as it tends to open their eyes and they're the most vulnerable during such moments.

And then, there's the subscription thing. Now THAT I didn't appreciate. At the end of the book, the reader is given a choice: they can subscribe to a certain page, in order to get a bonus chapter. Well, yours truly did that, hoping desperately it would be the much-wanted love scene that would make all our emotional booboos go away. But alas, it was just an empty email. Not. Cool!

All in all, it was a nice read, but I'm not sure if I'll keep on reading this series. If the rest of the couples are like Daniel and Parker in terms of intimacy, I'm sorry to say, this is not for me.

***I was given an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinion stated in this review is solely mine, and no compensation was given or taken to alter it.***

Once again, I let a book sit too long before reviewing. However, my reasons on waiting on this were more valid. I simply didn't know how to feel about the book. 

It was a recommendation by a friend, who simply adored it. I did enjoy the book, once I got into the meat of the book I thought it had a good pace and hit several good strides. However, it took my a while to get there because I could not get hooked, but I'll get to my reasons why in a minute.

What I did love about the book was that the main protagonist, who wasn't paranormal, was there to save the day because she's in STEM. A hacker/ computer-junkie if we are to be precise. This to me was such a wonderful break into real of urban fantasy. Many urban fantasy's seem to have the old school werewolves or other preternatural creatures with extremely long life that don't seem to always break into the modern world. M. Greenhill gets in and underlines that fact in red. We need books with more kickbutt girls who have a hand in STEM, and Parker joins that team, and she comes with an abundance of spunk. 

Alright, so what was most off-putting to me, was the hate-to-love element. Which breaks my heart to say, because I am always down for a good hate-to-love relationship. And I can definitely say that the romantic tension in the middle was well done, Parker and Daniel can steam up a room. In the beginning, the 'grudge' they hold against one another just felt too forced. It was as if the characters themselves weren't fully sure of why they hated one another, which didn't help because the "magical" reason they hated each other was played up and to me fell flat. 

Their relationship was rescued by the fact that the characters within the novel are funny, human, and in many wonderful ways unique in this genre. I especially loved the women, they made me laugh and had such a bond going that it was a joy to read. Also, the reality of the awkwardness of forced interactions. Finally, the magic was slightly unique and I liked learning that there were 'true-born' werewolves, and created werewolves, as this added to the depth of the novel. 

These characters were definitely made the book shine, a good thing as the plot near the end seemed to fall flat. Partially because it felt rushed, partially because I didn't feel like there was enough resolution. The romantic tension, and moments when the readers get to know the characters in the middle have everything you're looking for, but it almost felt too long with what was packed in at the end. Additionally sometimes information felt like it was coming out of left field. 

In the end I was left slightly chagrined. I enjoyed the book even if at times I was frustrated with it. All in all I was confused on my feelings. I felt like I needed time to give in a decent review. For M's first published novel I think it was well done. It doesn't help that I had the tendency to measure this book against my favorite urban fantasy werewolf series, and I think if I had refrained from that I may have enjoyed it more. I look forward to seeing her next novel. 

Thank you to NetGalley, M. Greenhill, and 2 Little Monkeys Limited for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Great characters. Interesting story.

- - Received copy through NetGalley - -
L

First story I've read by M. Greenhill and it was good. Excellent paranormal story

A big thank you to NetGalley and 2 little monkeys for the ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. First time reading this author. I enjoyed this book. It had a unique plot line. Parker and Daniel are strong characters. The evil ones are just that evil!! There is quite a bit of violence so beware. It might not be for most romance readers but they would be missing a good book!

Forgive me, but I need to fangirl it out.

This was a brilliantly done paranormal thriller with just as much romance to boot. It contains only werewolf legend. No vampires or ghosts or other mystical beings and it was done with sex appeal, danger, protective instincts, and a massive dose of what can pass as reality.

Daniel, our megahot Alpha is a dashing gentleman. He is intelligent and caring and he uses both of these traits to keep the greater American packs as safe as possible while they fight the Hitler of werewolves in wanting to take out any half-human wolves. He's a bit of a possessive lover, and entirely too bossy. But somehow you still love him to pieces.

Parker is feisty, strong, resilient, and is in no way submissive. The perfect match for Daniel. And also his greatest challenge. But the chemistry here is strong, and I appreciated that Parker, though she ended up and needed rescuing because she's only human, was still able to hold her own and brought the tech intelligence to the group to take down the evil that designed the pestilence for the normally immortal werewolves.

This had the perfect balance of fast pace, believable romance, and a greater plot driver than just the two romantic leads. I am thoroughly looking forward to the next book in the series and have accepted the release date will be eagerly awaited with barely-contained impatience.

Thank you to NetGalley, M Greenhill, and 2 Little Monkeys for this free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I REALLY enjoyed this novel! "Masked" by M Greenhill was a fun read from the summary to the final page. I was intrigued by the summary and hooked in the first chapter.

I liked the chemistry between the main characters, data security specialist Parker Johnson and werewolf Alpha Daniel Locke. The tension between them - even before they graced the same pages - was tangible and resolution of that tension was believable.

I also very much appreciated the twists in the plot. This story was not boring and simply "another werewolf story *yawn*." It was fresh, there were surprises, and everything was well paced. Just a good read from start to finish!

Unique!

Very interesting story line and concept. I really enjoyed how Parker and Daniel found their way. I can’t wait to read more by this author.

I voluntarily read an advanced copy.

A supernatural thriller with a little romance thrown in. This is my first book by M. Greenhill and won’t be my last. Looking forward to contuning the series.

Masked for me is the first one I have read by M. Greenhill. I'm very impressed. This story is about Parker, a genius hacker with a drive to protect the werewolves from new attacks. three years ago she had to deal with an Alpha, Daniel, and it was seriously not a good experience. Ever since they have butted heads.

We all know that there is a fine line between love and hate. Daniel doesn't trust Parker because she's human. Little does he know how involved she is in the community. The hostility is still there but these two are are going to be put to the test when they are forced to work together.

The story was good, the side characters were awesome, and the two main characters were great. It was a seriously enjoyable and I can't wait for more.

M Greenhill brings to life the emotions, heartache and struggles of two people who start out not trusting and hating each other. When they actually meet sparks fly and tempers flare with the desire that is under the surface. Alpha Commander Daniel Locke is the head of his pack and is used to them obeying his every command. Parker Johnson is a computer/cyber genius who has a mind of her own and won't follow any of Daniels orders. The two of them worked together but never met a few years in the past and now when the Werewolves are dyeing of a disease no one knows how to combat, the Council asks Parker to use her skills to help. Daniel is assigned to protect her. Their past and the uncontrollable desire between them complicate everything. Emotions run high and Parker's heart is devastated by the death of her last living family member. Daniel and Parker early on call a truce to their past altercation to work together to protect her adopted family and the Werewolf community from an virus that will eliminate a part of the community. All the while they are falling in love with each other and night knowing it. When the culprit is revealed and the reason behind the attack is known. Parker and Daniel will stop at nothing to catch them including the possibility of never being able to be with the one they love ever again. M Greenhill leaves open the possibility for a series with the ending. I look forward to reading the next installments if she does. Would love to see what would happen to Murphy O'Neill's story and how he finds love again.

Masked, M Greenhill

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre:  Mystery & Thrillers, Sci-fi and Fantasy

I love Fantasy reads, especially if there's a romance in the story.
Sadly the best sellers lists are dominated by stories where the romance is all the story, and though clearly others love them I want a bit more substance.
Happily Masked delivers all that :-) and I look forward to reading more. 

There were a few weak spots though, Daniel is hundreds of years old, Alpha Commander, and yet in this age of technology he's a total Luddite.
I would have though that with technology now posing such a risk to them he'd have a specialist team. Its not as if he can hire out either, he's determined to avoid any Human involvement. Fortunately his alphas are more open minded, and through circumstance Parker has become a friend to one of the packs, after her cousin was turned.
Now they need her but she and Daniel have friction between them from an earlier case. 

What I struggled with were things like early on in the novel when there are four murders, the wolves just whisk away the bodies, and remove the SD cards from every ones phones? I just kept thinking "How?" you just can't do that without creating massive attention, and that's the last thing they needed.
It would have been easier to believe had they their own tech specialists that can hack into networks and delete data that way, change paperwork so that nothing is missing but the true details don't get out, bodies appear to have died from another cause.
Its a more believable way round things and one I've seen in other supernatural reads. 

That's a small criticism though and on the whole I really enjoyed this book. First in a series has a hard job, delivering a new and exciting story while introducing characters for future books. I liked the way this part of the story wrapped up while still leaving the opening for future books connected to what happened here. 

I liked too that the author isn't afraid to kill off key characters. That's always sad when it happens, but does add to the believability factor when not just weak secondary people die. Keeps the reader on their toes too, never knowing what's coming.
In some books whatever the dangers you know all the main guys are safe, and it makes me think things like in real life it doesn't happen that way, that all the good/lead characters survive, and lessens credibility. 

There were some great characters here, from Parker and her cousin Bobby, Daniel and his betas, the two tech-geeks-in-training, to Daniel's sister and characters from other packs. the bad guys were just that - truly awful, and with psychotics like that you can't predict what their next move would be. I like that :-) like to be surprised.  The story too has lots of potential to follow through in later books.

Stars: four, maybe four and a half, tidy up the few weak spots and this is shaping up to be a five star series. 

ARC supplied for review purposes by Netgalley and Publishers

I freaking loved this book. M Greenhill blends werewolfs with mystery techo-thriller to create something unique and highly enjoyable. What I really loved about this book it's that the romance was more of a sub-element for the main story line and how Greenhill manages to play with my emotions throughout the story. I can't wait to read the second one.