Review: Wilder’s Mate

by Moira Rogers
Rating: 4/5

Wilder Harding is a bloodhound, created by the Guild to hunt down and kill vampires on America’s frontier. His enhanced abilities come with a high price: on the full moon, he becomes capable of savagery beyond telling, while the new moon brings a sexual hunger that borders on madness. Rescuing a weapons inventor from undead kidnappers is just another assignment, though one with an added complication—keeping his hands off the man’s pretty young apprentice, who insists on tagging along. At odds with polite society, Satira’s only constant has been the aging weapons inventor who treats her like a daughter. She isn’t going to trust Wilder with Nathaniel’s life, not when the Guild might decide the old man isn’t worth saving. Besides, if there’s one thing she’s learned, it’s that brains are more important than brawn. As the search stretches far longer than Wilder planned, he finds himself fighting against time. If Satira is still at his side when the new moon comes, nothing will stop him from claiming her. Worse, she seems all too willing. If their passion unlocks the beast inside, no one will be safe. Not even the man they’re fighting to save. Warning: This book contains a crude, gun-slinging, vampire-hunting hero who howls at the full moon and a smart, stubborn heroine who invents mad-scientist weapons. Also included: wild frontier adventures, brothels, danger, betrayal and a good dose of wicked loving in an alternate Wild West.

I have to admit I avoided this series because I was sure I wouldn’t like it, the first chapter made me think that it was some kind of dystopian future setting. Needless to say I was very very wrong. Wilder’s Mate is book one in the Bloodhounds series, which is a paranormal steampunk western historical. And it is awesome.

In this version of history, vampires are real and they moved to America when the other settler’s did, vastly overpowering them and pretty much ruling the whole country. The humans were not really okay with just becoming cattle for the sadistic vampires and being eaten. Being unhappy with the vampires the humans created Bloodhounds, basically a mostly human variation on werewolves to fight the vampires.

The Bloodhounds are virtually immortal, stronger and faster than humans. They have an instinctual hatred for vampires and are more than capable of destroying them in vast numbers. Unfortunately the Bloodhound Guild were a little more concerned with power than getting everything right and rushed ahead with the alchemical formula too early.

The side-effects are this, during the full moon they are forced to transform and are generally vampire-murder happy. However if a human crosses them in this time they don’t have enough control not to hurt them then. During the new moon, they go into a sexual frenzy, consumed with pleasing their partner. Usually they go to a brothel.

Wilder is sent to fetch a Guild inventor, Nathaniel from the Vampire who captured him in the Borderlands. Satira, an unconventional girl who was Nathaniel’s apprentice demands to go with him because she is afraid he will give up on Nathaniel. Naturally if the search goes over the new moon she might end up all alone with Wilder.

The blurb makes it sound like there is a conflict over Satira and Wilder being together, but they are actually in a brothel during the new moon and chose to be together. The real conflict is over whether they have a relationship or not and if they can rescue Nathaniel. Wilder is determined not to mate and Satira is both sure she shouldn’t fall in love and sure she has fallen for Wilder.

Now I think it’s pretty obvious that I loved this book. And I did. In fact I’d say that they only person hurt by me ignoring this book when it was released was me. I mean I knew I liked Moira Roger’s writing but somehow I thought she’d stuffed up? Definitely worth it.

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