4.5 out of 5 stars
E-book. Kindle Unlimited. 219 pages. Published October 23rd 2018
Blurb:
Protector. Boogeyman. Hellhound. Meshaq has been called it all. As alpha of the hellhounds, his goddess has tasked him with protecting the secrets of the supernatural world. He’s the police of other creatures and the enforcer of the goddess’s rules. If his duty leaves him lonely and longing for a mate and a larger pack, well, the goddess knows the secrets of his heart and she will grant them if it is her will.
Drew Metcalf is a man on the run. When he finds himself in a biker bar surrounded by leather wearing giants, he thinks he’s a goner. But there’s something different about the man slinging drinks. He makes Drew feel safe, something he hasn’t felt in a long time.
When Drew and Shaq’s worlds collide, a different kind of magic happens. Shaq doesn’t understand why he’s so drawn to the human whose life is shrouded in mystery and danger. What Shaq does know is that Drew needs his protection. Magical forces are at work, beginning a battle that will require all of Shaq’s skill as the goddess’s champion. With a terrifying threat looming, Shaq and Drew are in danger of losing more than their hearts.
Likes:
- Shaq and Drew, together and separately.
- Hooked me fast.
- The side characters.
- Hot smut.
- Set up future books nicely.
- The groups of beings who came to see Drew.
Dislikes:
- Lack of world building typical of this series.
- Don’t know much about Drew or Shaq’s history.
- Spoiler from Next to Nothing.
- Discrepancies between the books.
I’ve had a strange experience with books by Macy Blake. I really enjoyed Sweet Nothings, then All or Nothing almost made me give up on the series. But I stuck with The Chosen One series, only to have Next to Nothing spoil part of this book. Which made me furious. I fucking hate spoilers.
I am all for authors writing multiple series that exist within the same world. I actually enjoy it. This is something different. This is multiple series set in the same world, happening at the same time, with overlapping characters and events, so you get spoilers if you don’t flip back and forth between the series in a specific order.
So I came into this book knowing some things that don’t happen until the end, but without much more context. I was excited about Meshaq being the main character because I’ve liked him as a side character in other books. He’s definitely got typical alpha attitude and mojo, but he isn’t an asshole. The fact that he takes in ‘stray’ people as employees at his bar, and better yet, that they trust him enough to stay, said a lot about him.
Drew’s situation was what got me hooked. He didn’t know anything about the supernatural world, but was being targeted by a wolf pack. I was glad that nothing worse than a little intimidation had happened to him.
It was fun seeing Meshaq’s reaction to Drew. He didn’t realize they were mates for a while, since no one has found a mate in ages. It’s gotten to a point where hellhounds are a dying breed. But it was cute to see Meshaq trying to prove to Drew that he could provide.
The two men fit together really well, and the romance was sweet. Just a little bit of smut, nothing like what happened in All or Nothing, thankfully. And the book set up the next in the series nicely.
There wasn’t as much information about hellhounds as I would have liked. Then again, I’ve been complaining about the lack of world building in every Macy Blake book. I also would have liked to know more about Meshaq and Drew’s pasts.
There were a few discrepancies between this book and others set in the same universe. Meshaq seemed to think of mates as almost mythical and he hadn’t ever seen one. Then what about Henry and his mates? Or Sam and Vaughn? Meshaq literally says he needs to do research on mates because no one has seen one in such a long time.
The side characters were a fun addition to the book, both the human and the fey. I look forward to seeing more of them in future books. And it was nice to see Ollie and Natasha again.
Be sure to check out my reviews for the rest of the Chosen Universe – Sweet Nothings (The Chosen One #0.5), The Trouble with Love (The Chosen One #0.75), Santa Trouble (The Chosen One #0.76), All or Nothing (The Chosen One #1), Nothing Ventured (The Chosen One #2).
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