Title:  Adversary
Series:  Always After Dark #3
Author:  Elle Thorne
Genre:  Paranormal
Published:  May 11, 2015
Publisher:  Barbed Borders Press
My Rating:  5 stars
Source:  Borrowed, Kindle Unlimited
Cover Description:

It’s a Shifter Council Meeting. This one’s being held at After Dark. The city’s teeming with shifters. They’re supposed to be cordial, but tensions run high when territorial disputes arise.

Curvy tigress Veila has no business falling for Mark Martinez, the alpha of another tribe–a tribe the Tieros have had scuffles with that have lasted several centuries.

Romeo and Juliet’s family rivalry had nothing on Veila and Mark’s families. 

Read on for my thoughts on Adversary.  No true spoilers, promise.

Adversary is the Romeo and Juliet-style romance of Veila Tiero and Mark Martinez, a lion shifter Alpha leader of the Martinez tribe in Florida and Puerto Rico.

Mark and his brother Mason are in Dallas, Texas to crash a council meeting – one they had rudely not been invited to.  That would soon change.  They only had rumor to go on for any information about the Tiero tribe or its leaders.  But the fact that they did not acknowledge their tribe, arguably the oldest tribe in America was telling.  They had heard that there was no intermingling of shifter species or humans in this territory.  As they burst into the council meeting that information proved to be very wrong as they saw leaders of shifter tribes of all species gathered in this room.  Quickly escorted out of the meeting by the Tiero security team, Mark and Mason were left to stew in a cage.

When Vax and Veila’s father unexpectedly turned up at the council meeting all hell breaks loose.  Giovanni Tiero was an impressive sight, an older man, locked into his old, archaic ways.  He strongly believed that there should never be mingling between shifter species and never with humans.  His old ways were no longer tolerated in the modern world, but he would try to toss down the gauntlet causing Vax to leave and Veila to take control.

Veila’s tigress and Mark’s lion knew they were mates.  Fast, no time to adjust – they simply spotted their mate and urged their human sides to catch up with the program.  The shifter communities are in a bit of chaos now with Giovanni’s declaration.  But Veila has a plan – one she will implement once she and Mark get their relationship on a firmer footing.

While it may seem that Mark and Veila’s relationship was rushed, if I’m thinking in a shifter’s mindset… it’s really not.  Two shifters saw and recognized their mate, the only mate for them and acted on it.  They left it up to the human side to tackle any complications.  Giovanni is old world, old school and perhaps simply old.  His action brings an unexpected result, and  sets up the future of the Tiero Tribe.

Adversary is an extremely fast paced story.  I didn’t see it as rushed but as intense with things happening on different fronts at the same time.  Simply a lot to deal with for our characters.  Veila is such a strong woman and even an alpha shifter.  Nowhere is it ever indicated that Alpha leaders are all male.  She will stand tall and make an executive decision that will affect everyone she cares about.  And she will do it strong and proud.

If you enjoy shifters and their communities, the intricately woven tales of different people and their histories – then you would enjoy the Always After Dark series and Adversary in particular.  I take one day to read and review each story in the spinoff series in order to immerse myself in their world.  It is an experience I always enjoy and come back for more.

Available for the Kindle