Lucas Valentino, sheriff in the small town of Destiny, ran away from his hometown of New Orleans to avoid the curse that has plagued his family for generations.  This curse forces the Valentino men to kill their mates after they find them and because of the guilt, they then kill themselves. 

EMT Sonja Stone has decided to use her friend’s cabin in Destiny to unwind from her stressful life in Chicago.  But that stress continues when her car breaks down in the Appalachian Mountains, miles away from her final destination.  Fortunately for her, Lucas stops by and helps her out.  Almost instantaneously, the attraction between the two of them arises and Lucas realizes that Sonja is his mate.  Aware of the danger Sonja is placed in because of his curse, Lucas initially refuses to act on this attraction.  But he vacillates between holding her at arms’ lengths and simply holding her in his arms, which confuses Sonja.

Lucas and Sonja are fantastic.  Sonja is attracted to Lucas, but refuses to let him play mind games with her and puts him in his place on several occasions.  But in spite of him (and herself), she’s willing to give him another chance and allows herself to be vulnerable.  I just love Lucas and Ms. Rose does a wonderful job conveying his despair in finding his mate but knowing that he will be responsible for ending her life and ultimately any happiness the two of them may have.  There were parts of the curse that were a little confusing and there were a few minor grammatical errors.  However, I enjoyed The Soul Mate’s Curse so much that I look forward to reading other works by Ms. Rose.