Undertow: Building Sanctuary, Book 2 [Kindle Edition]

Simone Cabot was born into wealth but lost everything when she met Edwin Lancaster. Edwin turned Simone and several other young women into werewolves only to abuse them. With the help of bootleggers and her alpha best friend Joan, Simone and the other girls are finally free of Edwin and are now starting over on an island off of the east coast. The first winter there is proving to be difficult but Simone is determined to help out anyway she can which may include a trip to Europe to help ease tensions and bring peace between wizards and werewolves. While she likes the idea of being part of the peace talks, Simone's heart and wolf calls out to a man who does his best to ignore her advances.

Victor Bowen is outraged at the way the former Boston alpha treated these woman and is helping to ease their fears and build a sanctuary. All of him wants Simone but he fears taking advantage of her and tries his best to keep her at arms length. On their trip back from the main land with supplies, a bad storm hits and forces Victor and Simone to seek refuge on a island all alone. With no other distractions, no place to hide and a full moon fast approaching, Simone and Victor will have no choice but to come face to face with how they feel and what they want from each other.

Simone isn't an alpha but she has no problem holding her own. She does whatever she can to make life a little easier for the other people on the island and is able to brighten up a room just by being in it. There is some guilt there because she was Edwin's first and feels like she should have done something to stop him from hurting the other girls. Most times when a character feels guilty about something all they do is complain and it's never fun to read. With Simone she expresses her feelings without making it sound whiny or as if she is feeling sorry for herself. The other girls really look up to her and I found Simone worthy of the admiration. I even thought her pursuit of Victor was enjoyable to read.

Victor has strong feelings towards Simone but after seeing the aftermath of what Edwin did, he feels like he would be taking advantage of her if he acted on his emotions. Even though his means of obtaining income haven't always been legal, he has a sense of honor and was raised to believe that the stronger protected the weaker. I loved his about him but like Simone, wished he didn't do the thinking for her. Thanks to bad weather and their ship landing them on an island all alone, he finally gives them a chance that might not have happen if they made it home right away. The chemistry between these characters is great and the night spent together during the full moon earns the 'hot' label the novella received on the author's website.

Undertow doesn't have much action in it and there is no bad guy to fight but instead focus' on Simone and Victor's relationship. You think you would miss the action but I really liked that time was spent getting to know two really good characters. Emotions run high in this one and I loved it all. Moira Rogers doesn't just have great books but they also come up with awesome characters that are some of my favorites. Simone and Victor are definitely two of them.

I really like this author. She writes well, sexy, develops her characters and packs a punch when she needs to. Saddly, this book was very disappointing for me and I could not even finish it. The main problem I see here is the angst between the protagonists, the convolution, the senseless I do I do not, the miscommunication. This could have been turned into a very interesting and explosive relationship, but the whiny, weak, drunken interactions are just not believable. I think in the case of this story (without giving any of the plot away), character development was akin to their personalities: immature.
This won't stop me from reading other Moira Rogers books, it just will stop me from opening this book again.

Simone born into wealth and privilege was seduced by the horrible Edwin Lancaster. He changed her into a werewolf. The first of many he changed and used for his pleasure. Simone feels a responsibility to the women that were changed after her, as if she could have stopped it. Simone will do anything to make the women's lives better.

Victor is a reformed criminal, determined to help his Alpha build a safe haven for the women that were abused by the Boston pack. Victor cannot stop thinking about Simone. He wants her but doesn't feel worthy of her. So, naturally, he continually pushes her away.

Simone only has so much patience, she tries to engage Victor in conversation anything to get him to admit he has feelings for her, but he refuses. Simone gets the offer of a lifetime; she can travel to Europe to help bring peace between the wizards and the werewolves. The only thing giving her second thoughts is Victor. Will Victor let Simone walk away because of is cowardice?

A storm changes the course of their lives. Shipwrecked Victor and Simone are thrown together and must face whatever is between them. Can they survive a deserted island in the middle of winter? More importantly will they survive each other?

Undertow finds the refugees of the disgraced Boston pack starting a life at their new sanctuary. Victor and Simone are working hard to get everyone settled. They have a bond and he is in denial. It is exciting to watch them dance around each other. Victor is so afraid of hurting Simone, and she wants to make the world a better place for everyone. You just can't help buy love Victor and Simone. However, you may want to hit him over the head at times. Victor and Simone have a sweet romance that I delighted reading. The Building Sanctuary series explores how the werewolf sanctuaries began. If you are a fan of Moira Rogers Red Rock Pass series and hot, sexy alpha werewolves you will enjoy Undertow. Undertow was a great addition to the Building Sanctuary series that I devoured in one sitting.

Miranda
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed