3 out of 5 stars
E-book. Kindle Unlimited. 269 pages. Published August 19th 2019 (first published October 30th 2015)
Blurb:
A cool morning, a yard full of birds, and a kitty on a mission. What more could a werecat want? Beta Heller Wirth has it all, except a mate—a shifter mate, that is. The last thing he wants is one of those dangerous humans who kill without remorse. Heller knows about that firsthand. So what does the goddess Bast do? She gives Heller exactly what he does not want—a human: business owner Lawson Dupre.
Lawson hasn’t a clue what just happened in his car detail shop. One minute a cute client is about to pass out, and then he perks up and starts flirting. Next thing, he runs out the door like the hounds of hell are after him. Learning that Heller is a werecat doesn’t freak out Lawson. He happens to be one of those rare humans who knows paranormals exists. He even lives with one. Watch the fur fly as Heller and Lawson battle hurt feelings, misguided beliefs, and a power shift in Heller’s clowder.
Likes:
- Heller and Lawson, separately and together.
- Found out why Heller hates humans.
- Hot smut.
- New paranormals.
- Open, honest discussions on why bottoming doesn’t make someone weak.
- Lawson already knows about paranormals.
- Heller quickly came to accept Lawson as his mate.
Dislikes:
- Got bored halfway through.
- Same lack of world building and deep characterization as last book.
- Whole chunks of time glossed over.
- The next couple found each other at the end.
- The non-romantic plot was incredibly flimsy and wasn’t resolved.
- Didn’t get invested.
- A lot of the same info as the first book.
- There was a point where it felt like the author got confused about the time frame.
- The reason why no one knows about Heller’s hate for humans is dumb.
I was looking forward to this book because Heller didn’t leave a good impression in the first book, and I always like when a jerk is redeemed. Specifically, I was curious why he hated humans so much. And why the men he’d grown up with didn’t know about it.
It took a while for Heller to confess what happened to Lawson. During that time, Heller underwent a transformation. At first, he was very against the idea of a human mate, but it didn’t take too long for him to change his tune. I was glad that change happened quickly and wasn’t drawn out.
The actual event that made Heller hate humans made me feel sympathetic to him. It also made me roll my eyes. The reason Heller gave for not telling the rest of the pack was flimsy and felt like it was there more for plot reasons than because it made sense.
I liked Heller and Lawson, individually and as a couple. But I never really got invested. Part of it is that the characters, and the book as a whole, lacked depth. There’s little world building, and the characterization is surface level. It’s enough to make the characters understandable, not wasn’t enough to make me connect with them.
I actually got bored halfway through. This book suffers from several of the same issues as the first – there’s not much of a non-romantic plot until later in the book, chunks of time are glossed over with sentences like, “We spent the rest of the rest of the week hanging out and getting to know each other” coming at the end of a chapter and offering no explanation. There was even a time when it felt like the author got confused about how much time had passed.
Part of my boredom is due to the fact that I’m reading the books in quick succession. Since both Kirk and Lawson are new to cat shifters, they’re both presented with the same basic information about the clowder and their rituals. Both Kirk and Lawson go through the official joining ceremony, repeating the same oath. It felt like a rerun and I when I realized there was nothing new, I glossed over it.
One of the good things to carry over from the first book was the smut. The mating process requires both men to top and bottom, making it one long, drawn out scene. I really enjoyed that Lawson and Heller sat down and had an open, honest conversation about sex and about how bottoming doesn’t make someone weak. It was sweet and showed that Lawson cared about Heller, and that Heller was willing to be vulnerable in front of Lawson.
I thoroughly enjoyed the introduction of a new type of paranormal, especially since I think they’re one of the author’s own creation. Lawson also knew about paranormals because of these two, which streamlined his acceptance of being Heller’s mate.
I was definitely disappointed that the next couple found each other at the end of this book. It took away some of the impact, since the moment was seen from Lawson’s eyes. I also didn’t like that a big part of the non-romantic plot wasn’t settled in this book, and was instead kicked down the road to be dealt with in the next one.
Because I like both Marshall and Remy, who are the next couple, I am excited about the next book. But honestly, that’s the only reason. I expect more than I’ve gotten in the first two books of this series, and if it doesn’t happen, I don’t know if I’ll continue on to the end.
Be sure to check out the review for the first book, Trouble Comes in Threes.
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