why did i enjoy this so much??? i feel like sometimes there was too much going on and sometimes there wasnt enough going on, but other than that it made me really emotional and i got surprisingly attached to the characters 

This book had absolutely NO BUSINESS BEING THIS GOOD.

This title, this cover, this concept? None of it looks like a book I would like and yet - I stayed up way past my bedtime finishing it. The pacing is great and the characters are so so so realistic (lol yes, I am saying that about wolf shifters, fated mates, magic and uhhhh…knots). 

Anyway, if you need me I’ll be busy making this series my whole personality.

👍🏻Recommended!! If you love groveling and modern fantasy with gripping plots and incredible tension? This is for you. 

So good! There was tons of angst between the characters. I thought Killian did a great job asking for forgiveness and listening to how he could be better. Una was a great main character to me. I liked that she had steady, silent strength. This definitely had a slower build too. 

 A rejected mate story where the heroine actually has some back bone and the hero grovels? Yes, please and thank you.

🐝 Una Hayes is a great heroine. She's a fighter, a survivor, in a way her pack will never truly appreciate. She has a bad leg and that's all they see, but she doesn't let it stop from taking care of herself and her packmates. She also has that resilience, that quiet determination to keep on moving and living. Her wolf is also a riot.

🐺 I ended up actually really liking Killian and empathize with the path he's taken. It's easy to just focus on the bad and how at times he should have known better. But when you read about how the pack worked before he became alpha, the amount of work and energy he had to put into the pack to get them out of the caves, protect the weak, earn enough money so everybody's taken care of... That required a single-minded focus and determination that unfortunately made him oblivious to other things. Seriously, he can be really dense, especially in the first half of the book. But his hard work also paved the way for Una's ability to take care of her packmates.

💞 They make a really great pair. While he was busy with the big issues in the pack, she made sure the weaker and forgotten wolves were taken care off instead of just left alone. They both grew into strong, resourceful people who complement each other very well. I'll probably read other books in the series just to see how well the pack is now doing thanks to their partnership.

💗 I really like the rejected mate trope here. In many books, this trope is used to have a bully romance where the hero treats the heroine like trash but she's still coming back to him because "the bond makes me do it". It's gross. You have a bit of that here, there were some moments where I didn't understand the dynamics or the choices made (the biology/magic behind the fated mates bond is wonky, no one really knows much about it it seems, plus the wolves have a mind of their own), but overall Una doesn't just give in, and Killian doesn't just demand. It helps that Killian is never an absolute asshole, or is being mean just for the sake of being mean. He hasn't done anything that I see as unforgivable, and he tries to make amends for the harm he's done.

🗒️ I also quite liked the writing. Not overly descriptive, direct and to the point. There are some cringey moments (especially from Killian's POV in the first half), but I really enjoyed the writing overall.

↘️ My main complaint is how little is known/explained around fated mates and their bonds. Between the baffling relationship we see between already existing fated pairs, the ramblings of the crone and her magic... It feels like the author has been purposely vague so she could do with it what she wanted when she wanted it. It was confusing and not very satisfying.

 

I did really enjoy this book, especially the characters. The stars reflect more of the storyline than the character building, which I loved. What really did it for me was the amazing and on point groveling. If a book has a great grovel, count me in!

I loved Una's strength and how we get to watch Killian turn himself inside out to discover she has a different kind of strength and set of skills from him. Just chef's kiss.

I did wish that the conflict for the end of the novel was more addressed/important to the rest of the story. It was hinted at and spread around, but it ultimately felt very over and done with when it came to the climax. Like, why'd we even include it if we were gonna just sweep past it so quickly? I wanted more cohesion I suppose from the whole storyline instead of..here is the romance part...here is the action part...here is the exciting climax part.

Overall this was a fun read and I do suggest it. I will be reading more in this series and from this author.

As I branch out from my typical genres, I believe this is my first “rejected mate” trope. While I enjoyed the setup in the beginning and most of the story up to ~75%, once I finished there’s just something…meh about it. 

I enjoyed both leads and the dual POV narration. Una is a spunky lead, just trying to keep a low profile while she works towards her independence outside of being a ‘lone female reject.’  Her and ‘her girls’ are a lovely breath of fresh air in this pack ruled by strength. Killian gives a first impression as a big, dumb, brutish Alpha, but there’s more than meets the eye, especially once we’re treated to some heartbreaking flashbacks that really flesh out his character. They’re also both pretty darn funny - I found myself chuckling out loud at times, especially once Killian starts trying to win Una back. 

I definitely wasn’t expecting how much of a slow-burn this story would be. The language is so crude, with so much sexual imagery and tension right from the get-go, but the actual romance between the two leads takes a loooong time to get going. Not necessarily a bad thing, what with Una giving the big ol’ FU to Killian for the initial mate rejection, just not what I was expecting!

Anyways, perhaps once I get a few more of this trope under my belt I may feel differently. I’m moving onto book 2 right away, and I do think I will give this a re-read at some point.

I enjoyed this story overall, and I loved the female MC - her and her wolf were a joy to read. Una had a lot of bad hands dealt to her in life but she paved her own way to purpose and finding little slices of happiness in a society that treats her as ‘less than’, and she empowers her friends to do the same. I would lay down my life for all of the lone females in this book. Very intrigued by future pairings.

The male MC rejected Uma as his mate early on - big mistake, huge. I could always use more grovel but he did do a fair bit here.