This was a unique sort of shifter romance where instead of being a mate-or-nothing sort, the alpha, Killian, rejects his fated mate, Una, initially (for really no good reason, let’s be honest) and spends the rest of the book groveling to get her back. I overall liked it and thought I’d was good, but I’m also not feeling like it’s my favourite shifter romance I’ve ever encountered. It was well-written and despite the beginning I liked how the author managed to write Killian back from an absolute a-hole to someone I actively liked. Una also came into her own in this story which was nice. Sometimes in these stories when one character has a huge character growth arc, the other character is kind of forgotten, but Una also came into her own in confidence and assertiveness throughout this book and that was a pleasure to read. I think some of the character transitions from beginning to end seemed to pop out of nowhere but this was good and I would read the next book happily. The secondary characters really popped and I’m curious about so many potential couples here. Not much diversity, but there is a gender non-conforming potential story lurking in this world (maybe in a future book) that I think would be really innovative for shifter romance.

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.

Well, that was a delightful (and brief) foray into M/F romances. I stopped reading non-queer books a while back, but after reading several glowing reviews on bookgram (and also because I could never resist a good ol' grovel-fest romance), my reader brain wanted to give this novel a try. I loved it, needless to say.

I absolutely adored Una: she's a fantastic protagonist, complex and a bit damaged, afraid but still very protective, a badass at heart, fierce and vulnerable at the same time. I think one of the reasons I stopped reading M/F was because I felt I never could measure up to how powerful and beautiful some of the female protagonists were and it made me feel insecure: although I won't be coming back to the genre on a regular basis, I now feel like I definitely have to find more romances like this, where the heroine is contradictory and realistic, imperfect but lovable and admirable, a definitely not one of those beautifully inhuman superwomen. I also absolutely adored all the other female characters: Annie and Mari were wonderful and Kennedy? I'll be forever praying she gets her own novel because I. LOVED. HER. SO. MUCH.

Killian, our hero, was a bit more difficult to like: he's tough and okay, yes, hot. But he's also a walking, talking caveman stereotype and I kept waiting for somebody to beat some sense into him. He eventually gets over himself and slowly, but surely, he starts acting less like an asshole. And yes, even though I still wanted to kick him near the end, all the groveling was absolutely glorious. And I loved how helplessly wrapped around Una's finger he was: the epilogue was *chef's kiss* peak comedy and romance.
All in all, this was a delightful romance: addicting and somewhat angsty, romantic and steamy and so, so satisfying. Definitely recommended. 

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.