Review--Drive Me Wild by Christine Warren

In the lethally enticing world of the Others, New York Times bestselling author Christine Warren conjures up sorcery, seduction--and all the games otherworldly lovers play...

Tess Menzies can work a spell with a few blinks of her baby blue eyes. But this dedicated witch can't summon up the a single good reason she's been made an envoy between her kind and Manhattan's fiercest were-creatures. The two sides haven't spoken in four hundred years, and she'll need every miracle in the book to broker any kind of truce. And that means outwitting Council of the Others leader Rafael De Santos whose tantalizing moves and fierce hungry kisses are magic even a formidable sorceress can't resist...

It doesn't take a cat's supernatural senses for Rafael to suspect that there's something strange about this unexpected peace offering. And finding the truth is just as tempting as uncovering the secrets Tess is trying to conceal. Why, she's tantalizing enough to make this wandering were-jaguar think he's found the perfect mate--one he's only dreamed of. But his stealth and her spells can't guarantee they have a chance at survival, much less a future together...

I am surprising myself by how much I am enjoying Christine Warren's The Others series. True, at times I am overwhelmed by all the romance, but they are growing on me! Drive Me Wild is the perfect example too since the characters go at it pretty quickly, rivaling the first two books in who has sex the earliest!

Tess though is definitely in the running for being a favorite heroine, right up there with Missy and Corrine! Tess, like the other two ladies--and possibly all of them in their own ways--challenges Rafe. Yes, she admits to the sparks that fly between them, but she's not going to be bullied by him. Rafe is very much an alpha male, but Tess refuses to submit to him...unless she wants to that is! Tess was spunky and had the right attitude in my opinion. She would say things that I would--or close to it--and had a good sense of sarcasm to her too! Totally loved her, she'd make a great BFF!

And I really loved seeing this side of Rafe. Through the first few books and from the history telling from this one, we learn that Rafe is not a one woman kind of guy. He doesn't have any intentions of settling down, but when he meets the feisty little witch who was stalking him one night, he can't help but be attracted to her. She's gorgeous, but there's something else about her that drives his animal side wild. And the sex was definitely wild. (Of course I say this as someone who hasn't read a lot of books with sex in them, or where the sex was glazed over. So if you've read more paranormal romances or erotica than me you might disagree with that statement, but that statement comes from an urban fantasy reader who reads some paranormal romances.)

Rafe and the rest of his spotted Feline friends (Feline kind, not necessarily his buddies) are cursed. They will never be able to produce offspring because some hundreds of years ago, a spotted Feline broke the heart of a witch who cursed them. The curse goes that until a spotted Feline loves a witch (truly and faithfully, all that jazz) for a year and a day, the Felines will never produce their own offspring. When Missy tells Tess about this, she's convinced that Tess will be the one to break the spell, but Tess doesn't buy it--more reason why I loved her, her skepticism was just so natural!

Once again, I enjoyed the appearance of the women from the previous Others novels. Particularly, when they bombard Tess at her shop that she owns. It was kind of funny, since the ladies were trying to work their way into questioning Tess about something in particular. And Ava of course, is the one to just come out and bluntly ask it!

Truthfully while this is a huge detail and aspect of the novel, it's not what the plot surrounds, more of a subplot I guess. The main deal comes from the Witch's Council trying to get a meeting with the Council of Others, mainly Rafe since he's the head. But things get complicated. Mainly, Tess's grandfather--who doesn't even serve on the Witch's Council anymore but acts as more of a consultant--gets a little hotheaded after being made to wait when he came to speak to Rafe in person. Add in another factor such as Rafe trying to control a shift that wasn't meant to happen and things get a little heated. (Almost said "hairy" for laughs, but it wouldn't really fit since Rafe didn't fully shift!)

Overall Drive Me Wild was a very enjoyable read! The title fits since that's basically what Rafe and Tess do to one another, coupled with "crazy" I'm sure! But I totally loved seeing Rafe melt for Tess. I can't help but loving when that kind of thing happens, particularly in this series, where one woman can completely turn the womanizer's (I guess that's the right word to use for Rafe) world upside down. And now my reading through the series will come to a halt for the next one isn't being released til the summer, originally it should've been this month but things change. Oh well! My initial guess as to who would be the woman for Rafe was wrong, but I am not at all disappointed, I much prefer Tess!


Overall Rating 4.5/5 stars