Accepting the Alpha (Great Lakes Wolves) Paperback – Illustrated, February 14, 2014

I like the book, but there are some issues that stopped me giving it four stars.Eli is a born Beta and he's left his home pack , run by his father, because of something he just can't stomach. Eli finds his friend, Jai, who had been expelled from the Pack for being gay. Jai has joined another Pack with a gay Alpha, Kellan. Eli has to ask Kellan to take him into his pack because he is weeks away from going rogue and having to be put down - he needs a pack.He sees Kellan and his straightness comes immediately into question because, damn, that wolf if big and butch and beautiful. The attraction is mutual but Kellan has a type...twink. Eli is so not a twink and is livid when Kellan kisses him in front of everyone while still involved with the latest twink, Tracy. Obviously the path of the true mates is not going to run smooth. Between conniving twinks, psychotic wolves, a kidnapping, forced breeding and a danger to the pack how will the two mates come together?I like the story but there is a big build up to the mating and then you are left thinking...is that it? Really? How easy. There is lots of peril and danger and obvious future story lines but where is the vengeance, the relationship building (not just the hot and heavy). And I know there is mating heat but really, Eli was straight(ish), he needs no time to adjust to his new role?And for the love of a time-piece, stop saying people will be there in ten minutes. That was used twice and the first time they didn't arrive at all but within the supposed ten minutes a bunch of twinks take out a couple of wolves and then there is this whole plot that I won't ruin for you...how long is ten minutes? And then later, before the carnage, again we are told ten minutes before help arrives. I hate it when people are late!Anyway, I do like the book and will be watching out for the next release of the Great Lakes Wolves. Good new series.

My Review:Wow, I should not have gone and looked at the reviews for this book before writing mine. The reviews are all over the place and some of them are really brutal. O.O I actually thought this book was pretty good and definitely enjoyed reading it. But I do have an admitted weakness for shifter stories.This book is about Eli, who's searching for a home in a new pack... after his best friend, Jai, was driven out of their old pack, the one belonging to Eli's family, for being gay. When Jai takes Eli to their Alpha, Kellan, for introduction, Kellan feels the immediate mating pull to Eli. The problem...Eli is straight so he takes a bit more convincing. In the midst of all that is the pack issues, specifically pack issues from Eli's home about to cause a lot of problems.Overall, like I said I enjoyed it. That's part of the reason I enjoy paranormal because I can suspend disbelief especially with shifters who have to deal instinctually. So things like mating turning a straight man works for me especially when that new mate is a super-tough, super-gorgeous Alpha male. I liked the two guys together. Eli is a beta, which in this world means that he's a protector, but he's also a soldier. This is no fainting Twink...no, he is almost as tough as Kellan. And they worked together in my eyes. This is an action-filled book as lots of pack politics and vengeful ex's come into play. I particularly enjoyed the scene between Eli and Ryker and the bond they forged together. I'm crossing my fingers that we'll see more of Ryker to come.This appeared to be a set-up for a new series and I will definitely be looking forward to more from this author.

Eli Steele left his home pack after an argument with his father and alpha. Now packless, he is unsure what to do until his best friend invites him to visit Grand Rapids. When he meets the Alpha of the Grand Rapids pack, he knows his life is changed forever. Alpha Kellan Reeves never thought he would find his mate until Eli walked in. He knows Eli is his mate and he knows Eli thinks he is straight and that Eli’s pack could come after him but Kellan is an Alpha and he is sure he can overcome all those somewhat minor obstacles.Kellan does have his hands full with his new mate. Not only is Eli straight but he comes with issues. Eli for his part struggles with everything he feels for Eli. He had never wanted a man before and is not sure he can handle that wanting now. But as everything unfolds and a horrifying plot is revealed, Eli and Kellan will need each other if they are to survive.What an incredible start to a new series for JJ Black. The excitement never ends as each page is turned. There are betrayals by more than one person and all the packs will need to unite if they are to survive the coming horror. This promises to be an amazing series and I plan to be there for every book. I have the second book and am ready to read that one now.

The idea of the story is interesting. However, the both the characters and plot could have used some work. The characters needed more development,and the leads fell in love way too quickly. There were a few inconsistencies in the story. Near the end it is mentioned that a few weeks a have passed, yet passage of time is not shown at all. It seems as if the events take place over a couple of days at most. There is almost no development of the plot beyond the author stating that certain events happen, but she does not sow them happening. It is mostly sex and the leads thinking about each other. It reminded me of the average quality of fanfiction found online. To be honest, the main reason I purchased this book is because it takes place in Grand Rapids, MI. I am from there originally, and I was hoping to read about my hometown in the book, but the author did not talk about any of the city. If you are looking for smut without a plot, this is it.

Like hot hot. For some reason, they state a problem in their relationship and then don't actually resolve it: they just kinda forget about it. But who cares when their play time is so off the charts?The overarching central conflict is interesting enough to make me curious about the other characters.

...sort of ends on a cliffhanger. BTW, I got this book during its first week of release, at an apparent 82% discount; had I paid more, I think I'd have given it a 3* rating. ************Review may contain the tiniest of spoilers***************This tale is well-written and properly edited, and yes, as it's a MM shifter tale, there's a (the standard) fair bit of hot sex, mating heat, a mating bite, a forceful Alpha and an Alpha's mate who almost gives as good as he gets, and gets he does, often, LOL! It does have an actual storyline to it, though this seemed to arrive around 50% of the tale gone, with a mad only-a-minion-baddie who was just a little too mad to be believable. I mean, we're talking psychopath here, au Jack Nicholson-playing-the-psychopath-school-of-acting, yet who gets offed too quickly and easily.If you permit yourself a couple of eye-rolls at how many gay shifters there are within this one pack, and at not-that-hugely-altered-take on the Lora Leigh/Laurann Dohner breeds experimentation that we're told is taking place - this is where the tale ends - and suspend disbelief a bit, it's very readable, but it's so much like Kari Gregg's Pretty Poison in terms of the Alpha taking his mate, who's apparently not gay, but only gay for him. That had a more complete, proper, story line and ended with the start of a HEA, whereas this had mainly sex and posturing and yes, a storyline that'll continue in book 2. It does end with the more submissive wolf finding his 'dangly bits' (sorry, needed to fool amazon's censors), and therefore challenging his mate, and ends with the start of their mated life together. Hopefully, we'll see their relationship grow and even out in future tales...What made it lose marks is the instalove element on the part of the Alpha and his premature...declaration of said love; it made him come across as a bit girly and twinky. He further cemented the latter by the fact that he, the alleged Alpha, went from thinking with his big head to permanently thinking with his little one, in the blink of an eye, even when on the brink of danger, to the point that his betas had to step in and remind him of stuff. And, twinks get bad press in this tale, though one is pretty much a woman scorned, complete with the name 'Tracy', and deserved to get his comeuppance, which didn't happen, and which was a bit anti-climactic.I'd have liked the MM sex to have been more equal, but I suppose that in a MM shifter tale couched like this one, the Alpha was meant to be the more forceful and his mate the more submissive, but I have read similar tales where the Alpha was man enough and big enough to want to have an equal relationship, which IMHO, worked better; it made the love feel more real, less chemical/hormonally-induced.I can see several more books coming out of this series, including that of the best friend mentioned in the blurb (who'll end up mated to the Alpha's beta), and the non-Alpha lead's brother - an Alpha in the making - who may have his choice of two potential leads (both stood out a little more than the other side characters, equally so, so I'm not sure which he'll get, or whether he'll end up with them both. I think perhaps the latter, given the trauma he suffered in this tale, and his resulting inability to speak).Overall, it's a pretty good start - enough to have made me check out the author's website to see when the next book is due out - but it didn't have a USP to make it stand out; it relied too much on 'worlds' created by the above mentioned authors. Then again, imitation is meant to be the sincerest form of flattery...

I bought this book as I had read it on my phone and I wanted to have a paperback book. I have read this book 3 times now and I think it is really good especially the main characters of Kellan and Eli. The writing is very good. This is a book I can read again and again. Looking forward to reading the next book.

Not quite the worst book I've ever read but not far off it!! Character development was non-existent and the progression of the story shallow. Not worth the money I'm afraid

I admit that 'gay for you' is one of my favourite tropes in MM romance and I'll read pretty much anything with it. But this was actually a really good story with well built world and developed characters.Looking forward to reading the next in the series.

Interesting take on the whole shifter genre.When Kellan first meets Eli, he knows he is his mate even though Eli is straight. What happens next is full of tenderness, intrigue and action.