When I first found Dire Cravings, it not only sounded good, but I also thought that I had read and enjoyed Tigris Eden before, so I didn’t feel any hesitation in getting this book. But while I do have the first book in the Arctic Wolves series, I realized that I hadn’t actually read Ms. Eden before picking this one up. I can’t say that I’m upset about that though because I completely loved Dire Cravings! It was amazing, interesting, and I’m so glad that I didn’t miss out on this story!

I love both Blue and Olivia, but I love Olivia just a little bit more, so I’ll talk about Blue now. Just because I loved Olivia more doesn’t mean that Blue isn’t just as much of a boss because he is. He’s fierce, powerful, and commanding. Blue’s dominant and demanding but he’s also sweet and patient. It’s not difficult to see that Olivia is his whole world and it was impossible not to love him for that.

Olivia is every bit as fierce, strong, and determined as Blue is. She’s calm, rational, and a bit stubborn, but she knows when to fold. Olivia isn’t someone to stand idly by and even though she knows her mind, she becomes stronger and better by the end of the book. Olivia is just the bomb and I wholeheartedly loved her!

I love reading paranormal and Ms. Eden without a doubt made Dire Cravings her own. It was beyond interesting, exciting, and original. There was never a dull moment, it was full of passion, banter, action, and suspense. It sucked me in and I didn't wanted to stop reading until I was done. Dire Cravings was such a wonderful story and I can’t wait to go back now and read the first book or any new ones that come out!

Dire Cravings is the second book in the Arctic Wolves series, but it can be read as a standalone. It’s told from Blue and Olivia’s POV and they do get a happy ending.

~ A Hopeless Romantic’s Booklandia, 5 Stars

Overall I found the story to be a good well-written paranormal romance. Olivia is thrust into a totally new world. along comes Blue to save the day. Blue and Olivia are actually mates and Blue needs to do everything he can to get her to stay. Full of action, romance and the supernatural.

Olivia/Liv had been running for three days from the creatures who had attacked and tore apart her camp. She feared they weren’t far behind her. Every sound made her heart race and her skin crawl. There was so much blood and chaos back at camp her mind to be able to take in everything that had happened. Her ex husband Santiago and the board had forced a two week vacation on Olivia. So no one would be looking for Olivia here in Alaska for awhile. Olivia had helped make Madds, Parsons, and Goldberg the best insurance in the business.Olivia was a Risk Analyst for the company and was excellent at her job. Liv heard something chasing her and used the last of her energy. That was when Liv looked over her shoulder then bumped into a big man and passed out. Blue had followed Liv for three days after he killed Roman’s men. Blue had stumbled across Liv’s scent. Victor would not be happy if Blue brought this exhausted woman to the den. With the war going on with the Hunters it was decided to bring in the packs and reside in the mountain. Being in close quarters with other wolves was hard on Blue as he was a loner by choice. He didn’t pledge his allegiance to any pack. Blue was in a contract with Cassandra until they had a pup. It was convenient as Blue wanted pups but no relationship and Cassandra had agreed to provide them. Victor was the pack’s Alpha and Cassandra was his sister. Blue/Bodvier had three sides to him as he was a Berserker- human, wolf and the beast. Blue also had a resistance form silver from his past when he had been caged as a young wolf and his owners had been cruel and unforgiving in their punishment. Blue was very attracted to Olivia but told himself that wasn’t for him. Blue liked his women submissive and that was the last thing Olivia was. Blue found he wanted to mark Olivia and realized she was his true mate. Blue want to Cassandra to get out of the contract about the pups and she understood. Blue had no control over who fate gave him as a true mate. I definitely enjoyed this book . only one part really bothered me which was when Blue choked Olivia while having sex. I can go with most BDSM but not that. I didn’t like that. Otherwise I found the book a good read. I love how blue and Olivia reacted to each other right from the beginning. I liked how Olivia and Serina- the Alpha’s mate- became friends. I loved the adventure, action, and intrigue in this book. I liked Olivia’s journey to be her best self. I liked the plot and pace. This book kept my attention from beginning to the end. Olivia and Blue had such hot chemistry which is normal for mates. I loved the characters and the twists and turns in this book and i recommend. I would rate this a 4.5 if I could

If I had to use only one word to describe Dire Cravings, I'd have to go with RUSHED.

For me, almost every aspect was lacking in a strong foundation. I think the author wanted to jump straight into a big conflict when the book would have been better served by starting off small. I don't mind books that read a little slower, particularly if it's for the sake of character/relationship development.

We're thrown right into action as Olivia tries to evade what she thinks are hungry vampires. Instead, we find that Bodvar aka Blue is trailing her in his wolf form, herding her to safety. Naturally, as is the way of many shifter/faerie novels, Blue and Olivia are fated mates.

I think it's overly used, but a lot of Fantasy/Urban Fantasy authors use that trope of "the mate" to create, at the very least, an almost-immediate physical chemistry between characters. Despite my own opinion, it works. The main thing to keep in mind is that we're dealing with characters that aren't human, so, really, it makes its own sense that there'd be this fated pair or instant soul bond with another.

I would have liked to slow down and learn more about Blue's past. He seems like he has a pretty complicated story, and he's a character who's supposed to be (very) old, and I felt like we just scratched the surface in Dire Cravings. Olivia's story also felt incomplete even though it seemed like we really even learn more about her than we do about Blue. The dynamic between Blue and Olivia is so similar to Vic and Nerina that the extra character development would have been really useful in making them more distinct from Eden's pre-existing alpha pair.

Like Nerina, Olivia is super accepting of the supernatural world. Even though she's just been told that werewolves, vampires, and witches exist, she adapts with an ease that sometimes gets on my nerves. I get that she needs to acclimate in order to keep moving the plot forward, but I wish we'd seen her go through more questioning, to show more personality and spunk as she came to terms with everything.

It seems that Eden is doing something similar to Molly Harper's Naked Werewolf series; each of the subsequent books continues part of the story arc from it's predecessors, but the main character changes. It's an interesting way to create a series, and I like that it gives the reader an option to continue with the story even if they don't love one of the characters. For readers who weren't a huge fan of Vic or Nerina, you can still learn what happens next (the big events) without needing to spend TOO MUCH time around characters that you didn't connect with.

Overall, I'm not sure if I'd continue reading the series, but I'm always glad to try something new.

Dire Cravings and the Arctic Wolves series definitely has an audience, that is obvious from the review ratings – yet that audience does not include me.

I picked up this title as an e-ARC, and because I like to start a series from the beginning I picked up the other two stories as well from Amazon. It didn’t take long into the first story to realize that this wasn’t going to be a series that I would enjoy. Because this one was an ARC, I feel obligated to give a review – it won’t be harsh, simply realistic for my own tastes.

Dire Cravings (and the rest of the series) is what I would consider in the “it’s a good book but not for me” category of my reading tastes. And, no, it wasn’t the sex. Heck, I like sex and the occasional kink as much as any reader of erotica. This series, this story is simply too crowded for my enjoyment. There are so many paranormal characters from werewolves, vampires, witches, several deities and even more that the story became overcrowded for me. Paranormal Romance, particularly shifters, is my first reading love – but it felt like every paranormal creature known and unknown was represented in the Arctic Wolves series. And none of them got the full attention that was needed for me to care one way or the other about the people populating this book.

So, I’m simply going to call this one as a good story that has an audience that will enjoy it – and move on. As with any review it isn’t my opinion that matters – you the reader, it’s your opinion, your tastes in books – that is what is important. You may completely love this story, and that is perfectly fine. It simply wasn’t a story for me.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley. That does not change what I think of this story. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*

Olivia is forced by her company to take a vacation. She goes to Alaska, on a hiking trip. Her entire camp is killed and has been on the run for three days from what looks like vampires but can’t be because they don’t exist. She has a huge wolf chasing her so she heads for the mountains but runs smack into a making Viking god. Blue is thousands of years old and is a werewolf, man, and a beast. His beast is a berserker and others are warriors. One glance at Olivia and he knows she’s his mate. Convincing her is a whole other story. She is put into a world of vampires, wolves, witches, and other creatures of the night. She is not into freaking out so she takes it pretty well. Blue is into BDSM and Olivia is too strong to let a man control her but something about Blue makes her do things she normally wouldn’t. She is taken to another realm and given the Silver Arrow of Power. It draws her to the Silver Bow of Artemis, which controls all night creatures and everyone wants possession of. She becomes stronger and has memories of her past lives. Can they defeat those who want to control the bow and arrow or will she let it control her? I didn’t want to say to much because I don’t want to give anything away. I have read several of Ms. Eden’s books and this is by far my favorite. It’s bloody, sexy, and full of surprises. A little BDSM. Action. The sex so hot you’ll need a cold shower.

Coming from someone who normally hates the “mates” category or paranormal romance, this book is enjoyable. It has a little bit of everything, from action to mystery, from a strong intelligent female lead to steamy BDSM scenes. The story is well written and developed with entertaining characters and a interesting paranormal world. The novel as a whole is well rounded.