I didn't enjoy this at all.

It wasn't really clear to me whether Paul was gay for you, didn't realise he was gay, or if he was simply bisexual. The first two of which I generally find unappealing anyway.

But the main issue I had with the book was the ultra violent homophobia. I just don't understand writers who create a fantasy world and then add extra homophobia and for that matter an extra layer of misogyny.

Woo! I loved this book, I think it is possibly one of the best M/M shifter stories I have read. Shifter books have a special place in my heart and I was really glad Kaje Harper wrote this story well.

In the name of disclosure, I received this book as the result of winning a drawing, but it was the book I specifically requested. It had been on my wishlist for months, and having most of Kaje's books, I was eager to read it. Its premise was so different from her other books, I couldn't help but have my interest piqued to read it.

And it didn't disappoint. Simon was a werewolf, left for dead, who was rescued by Paul, a human vet. From that seemingly unauspicious meeting, their two lives get caught up together very quickly. Forces are working against them within the werewolf community, setting both up for a confrontation that blew my mind.

Once again this author's book had control of my brain. I had to force myself to put it down and get some sleep, but that was only after allowing myself to "cheat" by perusing the upcoming chapters enough to appease my mind. The world that she created for werewolves with all the politics, traditions and customs, and prejudices was one of the most interesting ones I have ever read, and I loved how Simon and Paul were forced to navigate through them. In my enthusiasm for this book, I spent 20 minutes going through the whole plot in a discussion with my husband.

I might have gotten this book free, but I am definitely buying the next one in the series and hoping there will be more to come after that!

I actually enjoyed this more than I thought I would. It contained werewolf tropes that I enjoy reading in fan fiction, so it was nice to read a longer novel about those things.

Simon really lays on the pet names, which, now that I think about it, I haven't really seen in other m/m romances. "Sugar" and "baby" are his favorites. I'm not a personal fan of pet names so I found them super noticeable, but it wasn't a bad thing.

Though Paul begins the book thinking he's 100% straight, his realization and exploration of his gayness/bi-ness were handled well. There's wasn't an overabundance of mental agonizing, long bouts of self-denial and avoidance, or liberal application of the "I'm only gay for you" sentiment, which I appreciate. That doesn't mean Paul didn't question or hesitate at all, but it was done in a reasonable manner with enough adult communication skills to save the situation.

*slight spoilers*

Though this forms the backbone of this novel's take on werewolves, I'm not a fan of the fact that only men are werewolves and the women are relegated to being human bondmates who are locked out of all decision-making when it comes to the pack or are soul bonded to werewolves without being told. They don't have agency. There are maybe three female characters in this book who are important enough to name and they all play the maternal schtick. The whole "wives and girlfriends" of the wolves thing reminds me of hockey, actually, where the WAGs hang out with each other, feed their manly men, and look pretty. In this book, the women's jobs are to be maternal and have babies. Ick.

Along that vein, all the werewolves are dudes, there's about a million of them, and they all have super-generic white guy names: Karl, Aaron, Paul, Simon, Mark, Mitchell, Brian, Joseph, Gordon, Frank, Cory, Stewart, Joshua, Zach, Alex. They're all so bland I could hardly remember who's who. It's like the author raided the resident list of a Midwestern suburban nursing home. I mean, I know the book takes place in Minnesota, but godt damn.

I'll probably poke around the rest of the series, though I'm a little disappointed they don't seem to focus on Paul or Simon.

This book was excellent, but holy moly do these characters have an uphill battle against homophobia to fight.