Philly has loved Yancey since she first met him. She has watched him for eleven years. Intuitively, she knows he is her mate, but he has never seen her as such. Until now, or so it seems. At the end of a party, Yancey appears to have finally realized she’s the one for him. He takes her to his bed and mates with her. The experience is painful and not what Philly imagined it would be. To top it off, it is now apparent that Yancey knew not what he was doing, or even who she is. Philly left him sleeping, with the intention of forever keeping him in the dark about who his mate is.

Yancey cannot believe his stupidity. He has found his mate, and recognises her scent. He just doesn’t know who she is. He cannot remember the details of what happened, much to his detriment, but he is determined to find his mate. His first contact with her hereafter is in wolf form, and she is so fearful of him he cannot get within three feet of her. Yancey knows he’ll have to take his courtship slow, no matter how much his inner beast urges him to claim her immediately. Not that he could do anything else, for who she is remains a mystery to him. He can only hope she is willing to give him another chance. But they face another problem, for there are others who wish to have a piece of Philly for themselves. Will Yancey find out to late the danger posed to his mate? Can he get Philly to trust in him once again?

Managing A Family is the fourth book in the fabulous Montgomery Family Series by JJ Massa. The Montgomery family is a close knit bunch who have one another’s backs covered at all times. If ever one of them needs help, the rest of the family always helps out – just the sort of family you’d love to be a member of yourself. That is not to say they are not infallible. Take Yancey, for example. He has just done something extraordinarily stupid in mating with his mate without even knowing who she is and without giving her pleasure in return. The question is will he be able to make amends? The focus of this tale is not only on Yancey and Philly. Myles and Ashley’s relationship also plays a great part, and if you have not been panting to read their story yet, you will be now. As with the previous stories, though not to the same degree, tension creeps in with a threat to Philly and Ashley, which ends in an unexpected and heartrending way.

Managing A Family is an important piece in the Montgomery Family saga, so if you follow the series but haven’t yet gotten your hands on this book you need to do so at your earliest convenience, if not sooner. For those of you who haven’t started the series yet, start at the beginning and read them in order. You will get more pleasure out of the series that way. Besides, you’ll have more background on the characters and their lives if you do. The Montgomery Family series is a must for any paranormal romance fan.

Reviewed by: Elizabeth