Lost and Bound: Alternate Cover Edition

Mismatched Mates #4

by Eliot Grayson

Kidnapped, imprisoned, and experimented on for two years, Jared Armitage has lost the will to live. When his captors give him to another prisoner, one who can and probably will take Jared’s life, he comes face to face with the most terrifying thing of hope.

Calder’s warlock captors meant to turn him into a monster, and they nearly succeeded. Starved, desperate, and filled with rage, Calder hasn’t cared about anyone in years. Until Jared. Together they have a chance at escape and Calder has someone to fight and kill for. To cherish. Someone he doesn’t want to hurt.

Life after captivity isn’t easy. Jared never wanted a mate like Calder, but he craves Calder’s intense attention, his ability to take Jared apart…and then put him back together again. Even if their mate bond is only temporary.

But Calder’s made a promise—one he’ll die before he breaks—never to hurt Jared or let him be hurt. Unexpected enemies are lurking, targeting Jared, Calder’s one weakness. Their intense bond—and maybe even love—are worth everything, and they're both willing to fight for it…or die trying.

Lost and Bound contains dubcon and graphic violence. It also includes a monster who torments his mate by being too gentle, the werewolf who can’t stop craving him, and knotting—and a guaranteed HEA. The book has new main characters, but it is best read in series. This series does not contain mpreg.

This is an alternate cover paperback, not a new/different entry in the Mismatched Mates series.

Genres: M M Romance, Paranormal, Shapeshifters, Fantasy, Romance, Magic, Audiobook

268 pages, Paperback

First published June 2, 2021

About the author

Eliot's a lifelong Southern California girl, right down to the flip-flops and backyard garden. When she's not writing her next book, you can find her reading, drinking tea, or (more likely) catering to the demands of her kids and ancient, cranky cat.

Steamy books with delicious tension, heart-wrenching pining, and a hefty dose of action and adventure have always been her jam as a reader. Guess what she writes?

You can catch up with her on Facebook in her reader group, Eliot Grayson's Escape from Reality, or sign up for her newsletter at eliotgrayson.com.

Reviews

[Astra · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I read the description of this book and saw the name Jared I was skeptical on how the author would manage to pull that off, since he’s meant to be dead. And to be honest I thought this book would be the one I ended up liking least. But I was totally wrong. I started reading and just couldn’t get enough. I have to say I think the writing style has improved a little. Only a little. And It might just be that I’m getting used to it. But I swear the descriptions were more detailed and I could envision things better. I also really liked Jared’s character more than I thought I would. He has so much story and scrambled emotions that slowly find their place again as the plot goes on. I do wish we got a little more info on where exactly Calder came from but in the end I was just shocked with how much I fell for this one.
(4.5)

[Elise ✘ a.k.a Ryder's Pet ✘ · Rating 3 out of 5]

⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱*Can Contain Spoilers*⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱

I decided to skip book three and jump straight to this one and I don't regret it for a second. This book was much better than the first two books in the series. Calder was so fucking hot. You know how I absolutely LOVE alpha males, but also POWERFUL males? Well you don't get much more powerful than Calder in this series' world. I wish we had gotten to see him in more badass scenes and a little more rough in bed and more animalistic/feral but overall, Calder was the best character in this series. Easily.

Now on to the other main character, Jared Armitage (27), Ian and Matt's cousin (main characters for book one and two).... I liked him to some degree. He was an okay character, but he struggled with being himself so much that I struggled to connect with him. He reminded me a bit like Nate from book one in some of the sex scenes and that annoyed me a bit. But it wasn't hard to overlook that when you have Calder.

That said, I do wonder how Calder, as an alpha and clearly more powerful than all the others, would be satisfied with just being a part of the Armitage pack and not leading them. Also we got no real answers to who those fuckers that tortured Calder and Jared. Like Nate's father started it all, but where are those who took over? Calder just killed the guards, but not those in charge...

Oh and why didn't we get to know if Nate could help Jared to be able to shift again? <-- Shouldn't that be a bigger problem? It bothered me that Jared barely mentioned it. That said, this book was enjoyable and I really liked Calder. I wouldn't have minded more books centering him. Jared was more meh, but I did like him in the end. Can we get a sequel for Calder? Where he show how badass and powerful he really is? I feel like we didn't get to know his powers enough....

Quick basic facts:
Genre: - (Adult) Paranormal Romance (M/M).
Series: - Series, Book Four.
Love triangle? - No.
Cheating? - No.
HEA? - Yes, for the couple.
Favorite character? - Calder.
Would I read more by this author/or of series? - Sure.
Would I recommend this book/series? - This one? Yes.
Will I read this again in the future? - Probably not.
Rating - 3.5/3 stars.

[Rosabel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maria you were right, this was sooo worth it. *fans herself* 🤤🤤🤤❤

After book three I thought about giving up on this series, the first book was promising, the second book was interesting but not very good and the third? A mess, I mean you come with a very serious topic and a very dark kind of vibe and then you throw a candy store? Nope! 🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️

But this one put the story on track me thinks, I confess I don't remember Jared really well but I'm glad because I could give him a fresh start in here. I enjoyed the story and how it evolved, I wished that he and Calder had more conversations with depth, but hey, the sex was 🤌🏻🤌🏻🤌🏻🤭❤ at least and I often felt like this couple said things with actions and no words so there is that.

I do wish to have known Calder better, but I adored the big guy and his big heart so yeah I enjoyed it and yep, I would consider reading the next one. 🤣🤣❤

[Kati *☆･ﾟ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5**** stars


🥺❤️🥺🔥🥰

That’s all I’m saying. Definitely my fave so far. I loved Calder and Jared.


*this audio was free with my audible subscription

*************
Mismatched Mates Series:

Book 1 - The Alpha’s Warlock - 4.25 stars
Book 2 - Captive Mate - 4.25 stars
Book 3 - The Alpha Experiment - 4.25 stars
Book 4 - Lost and Bound - 4.5 stars
Book 5 - Lost Touch - audio tbr
Book 6 - The Alpha Contract
Book 7 - The Alpha’s Gamble

It’s best to read this series in order.

[Megan [Cottage Vibes] · Rating 4 out of 5]

MM Romance
Hurt/Comfort Redemption
4 Stars ⭐️


*Reread August 23-24
Audiobook Narrator: Chris Chambers 5 ⭐️ Stars

This is my favorite book in the entire series and listening to it made it even better. I have no idea why I only rated it 4 stars the first time around because it’s an absolute favorite, made me cry, swoon and the sex scenes were red hot especially in Chris Chambers’ voice. His voice makes me want to reread this entire series but on audiobook this time. So sexy! 💗


Original Review Below
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I’m not really in a reviewing mood so this will be short. I was super shocked to see Jared got his own book because everyone thought he was dead but instead he was kidnapped and experimented on for 2 years. This is not a spoiler as it’s in the blurb. This is a redemption story at its core and books 1&2 of this series should be read beforehand. The couples in those books play a big part in this book too and I loved seeing them again. I’m tempted to reread them tbh. Anyway.

This is Jared and Calder’s story. They were both imprisoned and put through awful experiments that forever altered them physically and mentally. Jared is now a werewolf shifter who can’t shift and Calder has too many things for me to even list. When Jared is thrown into Calder’s cell to be finished off, they form a pact to escape and ultimately fall for one another. I really hated Jared because of what happened with him and Nate but I loved his story and being in his POV for the entire book. The sex scenes were super hot and I love the knotting. No mpreg in this series.

[Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️ 4 stars ⭐️

Soft. Tender. The way no one had ever touched me, because who bothered to be careful with someone like me?

While the other installments are all mostly fun and sweet, Lost And Bound is a punch of feels and angst.
A captivity/prisoners scenario, mate-or-die, an unexpected redemption arc, and a surprisingly gentle romance.
Jared, infamous asshole from book one, makes it impossible not to feel for him right from the start.

“Make me feel like I’m a fucking person, okay?” I choked out. “Like it matters to you. Like I—like I fucking mat—”

I loved the contrast between the huge & scary Calder and how gentle he was with Jared, how protective. Jared becoming all soft for his mate, submissive, a bit of a pillow prince, was soo sexy.

“I think I could make you come without fucking you at all,” he said, like he’d read my goddamn mind. He kissed the nape of my neck. “With kisses.”

Coming just from kissing? HOT.
The spice was always tender — teasing, light touches, worship, loving — and I loved how Calder just knew that’s how Jared needed it, needed to be loved.

Fuck, fuck… I’d never wanted someone to play with me like this. And I hadn’t wanted to find out how much I loved it.

For how much I enjoyed this, it was really missing a second POV. It needed Calder’s perspective, his backstory, his feelings. It being solely in Jared’s POV, we also miss lots of the action.
Their story also felt a little unfinished, but that’s a feeling I’ve had for most of this series so I’m not all that surprised.

I wanted to get even closer, until he absorbed me into his strength and solidity. Melt into him. Let him hold me and stroke me and caress me forever.

Still, great angst and lots of emotional moments, smut and sweetness, hurt/comfort and a family reunion. I’m enjoying every second of this series re-read.

“Yeah,” I said hoarsely. “I can feel it.” It, me, him.
Bound together.

CW and NSFW info (spoilers):
- Captivity
- Kidnapping
- Violence/death
- Torture/experiments (not graphic)
- Top/bottom
- Usual top becomes a bottom
- Coming untouched
- Knotting
- Shower sex
- Face-fucking
- Rimming

[juli✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

reread 11/2023 4.5

“I love you.”
Calder’s eyes flicked back to mine, and his brows drew together dangerously. “Don’t.”
I pulled back a little more, so that he could get the full force of my glare. “Fuck you, Calder! Don’t, what? Don’t express normal human emotion? You told me you loved me! Are we only allowed to say that shit when one or both of us is experiencing massive fucking organ failure?”

i have to say i can't believe i gave The Alpha Experiment a higher rating than this one. tbh, this one was almost a full five stars until the ending. i think Lost and Bound needed maybe 30 extra pages to flesh out Jared and Calder's relationship.


. . .


ꜰᴏᴜʀ ꜱᴛᴀʀꜱ ✰

❝I haven’t had a lot of choices for a long time. And when I did, I always chose wrong.❞ My throat clicked as I swallowed. ❝I get one last choice.❞

ᴏᴠᴇʀᴀʟʟ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛ(ꜱ)

~✨🐺 ᴏɴᴇ ✨🐺~

I didn’t matter to them, and I didn’t matter to anyone here, and so I had to matter to me. Right? I had to.

i had a literal light bulb moment about who Jared Armitage was. it was. . . yeah. not my finest moment. he is in fact Ian and Matt's asshole cousin from book one. i literally had no idea who he was at first. . . which, considering Jared's struggle to matter to anyone made me feel really guilty. love you Jared <3 <3 <3


~✨🐺 ᴛᴡᴏ ✨🐺~

❝Yep, definitely a missing spleen,❞ Arik said with—in my opinion, anyway—unnecessary satisfaction, taking his hands off of my bare torso and sitting back on his heels. ❝I think he took half your liver, too. That grew back,❞ he added in response to my look of horror.

moral of the story? Jared may have lost a spleen, but he did gain a very sexy hot alpha werewolf (maybe vampire) boyfriend in the interim. if that's not a great deal, then i don't know what is!!


~✨🐺 ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ ✨🐺~

❝Important stuff,❞ Nate muttered derisively. ❝I guess Matthew’s knot in his ass qualifies as important.❞
Oh, gods. I choked, tried to cover it with a cough, and ended up red-faced and wheezing when that went sideways and made me have a coughing fit for real.

loved the banter between Arik, Nate, and Jared. the Armitage pack is both batshit crazy, i mean they spent Christmas dealing with zombies. . . i mean revenants, sorry. by far the best part of this series has been witnessing the growth of the Armitage pack, and seeing the displays of loyalty and love each guy has for the other. also, that Ian and Jared reunion hug? i may have teared up just a bit.


~✨🐺 ꜰᴏᴜʀ ✨🐺~

❝Fuck you, Calder! Don’t, what? Don’t express normal human emotion? You told me you loved me! Are we only allowed to say that shit when one or both of us is experiencing massive fucking organ failure?❞

Jared and Calder were low-key one of, if not thee, cutest couple of the series. i loved how Jared was this proud, foot-meet-mouth, sometimes asshole, and Calder was this quiet, brooding, loving guy. Calder just sensed that Jared needed all the love and hugs. everything about this couple was unexpectedly sweet and tender. also, who wouldn't want a guy like Calder in their corner defending them?! Calder was exactly what Calder needed, and visa versa.


~✨🐺 ꜰɪᴠᴇ ✨🐺~

❝You’re saying he isn’t Jared Armitage,❞ Calder shot back. ❝Until you admit that he is, stuff it up your ass.❞

my one. . . complaint? negative? deduction? i guess the one thing about this book that kept it from being a higher rating was, and i can't believe i'm gonna say this, the lack of talking between Calder and Jared. they, to put it bluntly, almost always had sex when instead of talking to one another. due to that, when the "i love you's" were said i was a little. . . confused.

i think i wanted a few more moments between Jared and Calder that didn't involve sex. for example, we're told that Jared helped Calder fix the pack house roof. that was a moment that i wanted to see. more than that, i wanted to get to know Calder a bit better. however, like i stated above, Calder and Jared were so sweet together that i honestly don't care that we were only shown them having sex. I DON'T CARE. i will take any moments between these two men that i can get.


𝗠𝗜𝗦𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗗 𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦
🐺 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗹𝗽𝗵𝗮'𝘀 𝗪𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸 ~ 𝟯.𝟱
🐱 𝗖𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗲 ~ 𝟰.𝟳𝟱
🎄 𝗔 𝗩𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗔𝗿𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗮𝘀 ~ 𝟰
🦇 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗕𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱 ~ 𝟯.𝟱
🧬 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗹𝗽𝗵𝗮 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 ~ 𝟯
🧭 𝗟𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗕𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 ~ 𝟰.𝟱

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Drew and Ash are kidnapped and experimented on by evil mages, causing Ash to lose his senses of taste and touch. I'll leave what happened to Drew as a surprise 😉.

“This is going to sound so fucked to a human. I’m sorry. But you’re mine. I found you, I brought you home, I carried you out of there. That makes you mine. Not in a creepy way! But, like…I can’t explain it any other way.”
Mine. Bone-deep warmth spread through me as I blinked at him in disbelief. Reassuring, maybe. Protective and more welcome than I could admit. But creepy? Hardly. My creepy-o-meter had been reset so far into the red that a werewolf declaring some kind of claim on me didn’t even nudge it.
Besides, the way he’d described it didn’t sound creepy so much as…
“Like a stray cat?” That thought didn’t sting as much as it should’ve. Maybe I’d run out of self-respect, too, along with nerve sensation and memories, but better a stray cat brought home and petted than a starving alley cat left to die.
“No! It’s not pity!”
“Okay,” I said.
Drew frowned, his thick dark brows drawing together. “Just ‘okay’?”
“Yeah. Okay.” I could accept it. Pet or not, whatever. I didn’t have the energy to worry about it. Besides, I still had that cozy, heated sensation inside me, something I couldn’t really define but that diametrically opposed the feeling I’d had alone and cold and lost and starved in my bleak cell, waiting to be tortured again.

I like this series a lot, but the stories lose something somehow upon rereading. They're still very entertaining, but a little thin on plot. Thankfully there is a ton of banter and snark to keep me coming back for more.

Drew shuddered, his lips latching onto the bite mark again. “It’s beautiful.” He kissed me again. “You’re beautiful. And you’re mine. Gods, you’re mine.” He sounded awestruck, as if he couldn’t believe his own luck.

[Cadiva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best one yet!

I never thought that traitorous Jared Armitage would turn out to be the star of my favourite book in this really excellent series from Eliot, but there you go.

Especially considering he's supposed to be dead.

What follows is a tale of how what we think we are is often the complete opposite of what we really should be and that those who look like monsters are sometimes the saviour.

I loved every single bit of this plot, from the discovery of what's happened to Jared since Ian's heartbreaking burial of what he thought were his cousin's remains, through to the desperate attempt to save each other that Jared and Calder go through.

I also loved that it's never really made clear just what Calder's own hellish experience has turned him into, there's a mystery about his genetic makeup and all his abilities.

It's insanely hot, it has a conflicted hero trope and a former aggressive top discovering he might just prefer things the other way round 😉

I don't know if Eliot has more planned in this series but I've loved the lot.

[~✿ Tala✿~ · Rating 5 out of 5]

After not loving book 3, I wasn’t keen on reading this one but I’m soooo happy I did!! This was everything I love about paranormal mm books, with interesting magical villain/plot, werewolves strength and pack loyalty.

This is from Jared’s POV, so we really get to see him grow and fall for Calder and redeem himself from his mistakes. I would recommend reading book 1 and 2 to fully understand Jared and Calder’s backstory.

I loved Calder, his power and strength was unmatched but he was so gentle and loving with Jared. It was also nice seeing Ian, Nate, Arik and Matt again (especially Arik who was so funny and sweet). I will say that I do wish there had been more moments where we got to see them get to know each other a little deeper since their relationship was majority of the time physical but the cuteness of the end really made up for it!!

Overall loved it, 5/5 would recommend ❤️

[Candy M. · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanna get back into reviewing so might as well first tackle the books that *still* keep me up at night. For better or, in this case, worse.

Unpopular opinion incoming.

[Cat the bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hurt/comfort and redemption of a character that did a lot of unsavoury things in the past - one of my favourite plot lines ❤️

In case you read the first book of this series, you might remember Jared. He’s Ian and Matt’s cousin, who was in cahoots with Nate’s evil warlock father, and who hooked up with Nate to make him more pliable for his father’s magical abuse. And who died some time before book 1 happens.

Turns out, he didn’t actually die. He’s been imprisoned for years by said evil warlock, tortured and experimented upon. But even though he’s on the verge of death, weak and hopeless , he hasn’t completely lost his will to live. When he’s thrown into another cell as a “plaything” (and as a meal) for another imprisoned monster, he convinces said monster to attempt to escape, even though he’s almost sure he’ll die in the process.

That monster is Calder, and in order to escape, they mate to enhance Calder’s innate magic.

It’s such a lovely story. It’s told from Jared’s pov, and he’s a man who’s at war with himself, who’s convinced that he’s not worthy of love and affection because of his past deeds. I loved their dynamics- Calder is quiet, stoic and full of love under his grizzly demeanor, knowing instinctively what Jared needs. As unlikely as they are as a couple (“mismatched” as the title of the series implies), they’re full of love, and trust, and understanding. I loved how Jared had to fight with himself until he finally allowed himself to give in, to be soft, and to let go. And yes, I shed some tears at one point (those who read the book will probably guess when that happened…).

What I also liked: seeing my darling Arik again (the others from the Armitage pack, too, but Arik has a special place in my heart).

Why I can’t give it 5 stars - again - is the “evil masterplan” plot line. Not that it’s bad per se, but it could have easily been better. Especially the showdown at the end came out of nowhere and was resolved a bit too quickly, leaving more open questions than answers.

As for the narration: it’s Chris Chambers again, and by now, I really love him in this series ❤️

[Iz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Upping the rating because *chef's kiss* this book is amazing and so damned enjoyable.

_________

This was incredible. Truly. It was emotional and heart-wrenching and tough and romantic and now I'm really sad because I could have read another 300 pages about Jared and Calder being in love and safe and protected.
If the previous book in the "Mismatched Mates" series was kind of a trope-fest, joyful and fun and lovely, this one was the complete opposite, in the sense that it was dark and difficult and complex and painful.
Both of the protagonists were truly, utterly, wonderful. Stupidly, I hadn't actually realized who Jared was before starting this: it was kind of a light-bulb moment ("Oh my God, it's THAT Jared Armitage, Nate's dickhead ex") and once I realized I was a bit worried I wouldn't love him. I shouldn't have, though, because not only did I love him, he also manages to redeem himself completely and he's now firmly in my "I would die for him"-protagonist list. What he went through was heartbreaking and terrifying and I loved that he didn't even try to get back to his "normal" self: he was changed, irrevocably, by his captivity and trauma and that's okay. I also completely loved Calder, with his domineering and protective and gentle personality, and together they were perfect.
Plot-wise, the story is fairly straight-forward and I'm still not sure what the author has planned, if every plot thread of each novel is going to end up connected to a bigger picture (other than "Hawthorne senior was a worm and thank god he's dead") or even if there's going to be a new story: I hope so, and I hope it will be Dor and Charlie's. Anyway, in the meantime I'll be in a corner sobbing because "Lost and Bound" was truly, utterly stunning.

[Mariah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one! I also think it helps that the previous cast of characters as a whole is growing on me. Got some Ian & Nate and Arik (still not my favorite) & Matt (who is improving on me) made more than brief appearances, if that would sway you. There was sadly only one mention of Colin.

I didn't know how I was going to feel about Jared, since I have a soft spot for Nate, and they really did not paint a nice picture of him in previous books. I could deal with the differing characterization, since having someone described to you and being inside their head is a very different experience, but the hardest pill to swallow was the description of his relationship with Ian. Maybe I need to revisit The Alpha's Warlock to speak on this more, but it felt extremely retcon-y and sort of impeded a deeper enjoyment on that front.

This also gave me Alessandra Hazard vibes? In both the good and bad ways? Kind of reminded me of Feral to an extent, which means it was just this side of deliciously wrong heh, but also a little thinner on the details and follow through to really make this a standout - which is my main AH complain.

Overall, this series has grown on me a lot. And this book actually afforded me a bigger glimpse into Ian and Arik, to the point where I might do a reread so I can experience those books with what I know now. Excited to see where else this series goes.

[Mug · Rating 5 out of 5]

3/30/24: might as well up this from 4 stars to 5 bc i’ll probs reread this forever….sum bout a gentle giant that’ll do it every time😮‍💨👏

edit 6/2/23: still hitsss😌

edit 3/9/23:
i love them. i love the whole giant massive huge dude who could fucking pummel anyone who fucks with you but would rather die than hurt u and also refuses to do anything but make love to you when it comes to sex bc u swear u want him to hurt u with rough sex but really you want someone to treat you gently and take care of u and he knows you🤭 so fucking yes yes yes

original 1/1/23:
i love jared and i love calder even more….sweet babies deserve all the happiness in the world….plus all those fucking diamonds like i’m obsessed with calder entering his sugar daddy era🤭

[Jane aka Coughy019 (Safety info included) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tropes: forced proximity, hurt/comfort, paranormal
Feels: 3.5/5
Steam*: 4/5
Kinks: knotting
Angst: medium
HEA: yes
Pairing: MM
Triggers/potential icks/content warnings: kidnapping (not between MC's), torture, medical experimentation, violence, gore

Calder is in his mid to late 30s. When he was 12 years old he rescued 2-year-old Bobcat shifter Arik who had been abandoned. He raised him until Arik's early teens and it was a struggle. He made a lot of sacrifices and he had to do a lot of dark s***. Then he had to leave to protect Arik. 15 years went by between him leaving and the present. For the last 6 years called her was held captive and subjected to medical experimentation. There's a group that's doing very unethical s*** to try to harness shifter powers and suppress the powers of certain shifters. He was tortured in horrible ways. And kept solitary.

Jared is 27. He got involved with Jonathan Hawthorne and his evil plots. Jonathan in part used magical influence to control him but also Jared's greed and selfishness put him in that position where he was an easy target for jonathan. Jared was a villain for a while and he did something pretty unforgivable, he seduced Nate Hawthorne as part of the plots of his father, even though he knew that his cousin and best friend Ian was obsessed with Nate. That's a pretty big betrayal. After Nate broke up with Jared when Jared was 24, Jonathan didn't have the same use for Jared and decided to instead use him in the medical use him in the medical experimentation that he was involved in. Jared spent the last 2 years being tortured horrifically just like Calder.

Jared and called her meet when they're captors decide to throw Jared in with Calder basically as food, because they've made Calder also some kind of cross between a shifter and a vampire. They're only together in captivity for a few days and Calder is convinced he's going to kill Jared at some point soon. Jared starts getting ideas and seeing possibilities and puts forth an idea that they try to escape by mating and allowing Calder to access Jared's magic so he would be strong enough to break free. It works. And now they're mated and free and Jared's trying to get his old life back with Calder along for the ride. But there's a threat hanging over there head that they're going to break the bond because it wasn't intended to be a permanent relationship. But they are pulled together and feelings developed quickly because of the mate bond and because of the unique situation they were in the real nature of the other person when they were at their worst in captivity and they're also very physically attracted.

I had a lot of positive feelings about this book. I felt more sympathy for Jared than I thought I would. To me, it was so unforgivable when I read Nate and Ian's book and heard that Jared betrayed Ian by seducing Nate even knowing about Ian's feelings and even with Ian being his cousin and best friend. But he was kind of under the magical influence of Jonathan Hawthorne. Jared had suffered a lot and he was still trying to fight for his life, he wanted his family back, and even when he thought he was going to die he was brave about it as long as it meant something. He was a very vulnerable character. I liked that Calder was this wild strong beast but he was always so gentle with Jared. When Jared expressed fear about being treated inhumanely or roughly f***ed when they made the deal to mate, Calder heard and promised him that he'd never hurt again after this and he kept his word to the best of his ability. Jared kept trying to get Calder to break his promise and be rough with him, to f*** him roughly, but Calder always worshiped his body and made love to him. And Jared despite his protests just sucked up that affection and reciprocated, clinging to Calder.

The steam was strong in this book. And I thought their sex was romantic in a way because it was very affectionate and there was a lot of cherishing and worship there. But also it was funny how they would proposition each other. At times Calder would just loom and calmly grab lube and approach Jared and just his looming would convey what was coming. And Calder would just drop these bombs on Jared about how he was going to rail him six ways to Sunday and proceeded to do so. And Jared fought his instincts so hard but just submitted so sweetly.

I didn't like some of the coincidences in this book. Like it was quite a coincidence that Arik and Calder had that history and met up again because Arik is mated to one of Jared's cousins. And at the end of the book Calder comes into money in a really convenient way.

Some notable moments:

"“You might as well turn around,” he rumbled, his voice deep and echoey in the shower stall. “What? I—what?” “Turn around,” he repeated implacably. “I don’t know how many times you like to shower in a day, but I’m going to fuck you again, here or back in bed. If you don’t want to end up in here a third time, you might as well turn around and spread your legs.”"

"“He didn’t want to take it.” I stroked Calder’s chest, running my fingers through his hair and savoring his warmth. “He didn’t want to hurt me.” Arik snorted. “Fucking idiot.” I looked up at him, taking in the wrinkled-nosed disgust on his face—and I laughed. It felt so goddamn good. “Yeah. But he passed out, so he didn’t have any choice.” “Good,” Arik said firmly."

"Being mated was fucking awesome. Although Matt and Arik, whose room was the closest occupied one to ours, had started hinting strongly that we ought to move into one of the smaller buildings on the pack lands, one that didn’t have any close neighbors. Well, Matt had hinted. Arik had poured a cup of coffee while glaring at me, and then said as he stomped out of the room, “Move the fuck out of the house, Jared. If I have to hear you begging for my big brother’s knot in the middle of the night one more time, I’ll fucking bite you. And not in the fun way.”"


*FYI about steam: I rate steam based on a combination of quality & quantity. I note kink separate from steam because I don't want to underrate steamy reads that don't have much kink.

**Note about spoilers: I like to comment on the plot of a book in reviews, so I almost always mark my reviews as containing spoilers. But I try to avoid spoiling the big dramatic moments! As a reader, I personally like to know what I'm getting into before I read a book so I know more about the content and if it's to my taste/mood, so I try to give that information in my reviews for myself when I'm considering rereading and also for other readers.

[Rielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s so good! What a seriously pleasant surprise.

The books in this series keep getting better and better. This one hit some of my favorite tropes! It’s kind of enemies to lovers, there’s forced proximity/mating, and I absolutely love when a previously introduced character becomes an MC I love later in the series. It’s so fun to have things I thought I knew explained and given a different perspective.

This book had me from chapter one. It was exciting and grabbed my attention immediately. It was dark and my heart broke a bit for both of the MCs, especially as more of their experiences were revealed. I was surprised by how much I felt at times and I was definitely on the verge of tears more than once.

I’ve got to be honest, I really thought this would be 4 stars instead of 5 somewhere after the halfway mark. There started to be too much sex and too little communication. Right when I started to feel like maybe I was going to be disappointed everything turned around and I was hooked again. The ending seriously made up for anything lacking and had me fully invested again. Could I have used a bit more of Calder’s story and background? Absolutely! I still want more, but I’m satisfied with the book overall and have nothing but good feelings.

Also, this is omegaverse without the mpreg if anyone wants to get into that and maybe doesn’t love reading about pregnancy in their books (like me).

[☆Kylie☆ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okayish book. Okayish series, review to come (if I don't forget)

[❀ Jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

This had the makings of a great story but it completely missed the mark for me because of one character: Jared.

I LOVED Calder.
I liked the MCs from the previous books even tho I didn’t read their stories, I liked them here.
But I didn’t like Jared, at all. And that’s a big problem when the book is entirely in his POV. 🤦🏻‍♀️


He was attracted to Calder but kept denying it to himself, liked having sex with Calder but denied it to himself and even told himself he didn’t want a lot of the sex stuff at the beginning- it honestly felt a little dubconny. 🤷🏻‍♀️

He seemed to have been a douche to the MCs in the first book. And you’d think that he would improve after 2 years of torture but he continues to be selfish. Throughout the whole story Calder puts him first and treats him with so much tenderness. They’re bonded and Calder never brings up breaking the bond, Jared does until he doesn’t anymore by this point they’ve been bonded, sleeping together, basically acting like a couple for a little over a month. They have a conversation talking about whether Calder is gonna leave or not and it’s obv they are talking about themselves instead of Calder’s brother when Jared tells him to stay for his brother, he says if his brother wanted him to stay he would ask, and Jared tells him to ask him to ask him to stay, and Calder says he doesn’t want to be a burden so he wouldn’t ask. Fuck you Jared, perfect time to ask but noooooo he literally only thinks about himself. He had stuff to take care of and would be back.

3 days after Calder left Jared goes to a bar, with full intentions of having sex with someone, he sets his sight on someone, goes to follow her into the bathroom but he doesn’t end up cheating on his literal mate because he gets kidnapped.

Calder almost dies to save Jared, then Jared realizes he loves Calder. 🙄 and feeds him his blood to keep him alive.

I was so mad that Jared went to a bar to have sex that I didn’t even care that Jared finally got his head out of his ass to see how good he had it with Calder. No, he’s only capable of loving someone if they are literally dying for him. 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄

He never even told Calder what he almost ended up doing before he was kidnapped again. I waited to see if it would be brought up after they recovered from their ordeal but nah, no mentions of it WHATSOEVER.

Couldn’t he just have gone to the bar to get drunk cos he missed his mate, the distance could’ve made him realize how much he loved him? Did he have to be written in a way that he had no redeeming qualities ?

Jared literally went from almost having sex with someone in the bar bathroom to being kidnapped and a little tortured for one day, then when Calder comes to rescue him he loves him. Couldn’t love him before deciding to go cheat?

Yes im triggered.
yes I’m rambling
I wish Jared going to the bar happened a lot earlier in the story so I could have just tossed it into my DNF pile but since I was past 70% I kept hoping it would have been addressed but it wasn’t so yah, now I’m just upset.

I hate Jared. Sorry not sorry.

My ratings always reflect my enjoyment of the story. ❀

[Sailor Neptuno · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 ★

“ . . . We can—coexist.”
He stared at me. “Coexist.”
I ignored the heavy overtone of skepticism.“Yeah, why not?”
“Because rabbits don’t coexist with wolves.”
“I’m—fuck you, I’m the wolf in this cell!”
“Maybe literally, but not in the analogy. . . . ”

You guys, I couldn't put this book down at any moment! This series is getting hotter and hotter . Sorry...I wanted to say better , lol.



I refuse to believe I'm the only one that forgot who Jared was. I mean I did remember that Nate dated Matt and Ian’s cousin and that said cousin was dead. But before Jared explained his backstory I had to check it in The Alpha's Warlock. Maybe if I just waited a few chapters it wouldn't have been necessary for me to do that but I just couldn't move on without clearing my doubts.



I wasn't exaggerating before, the steam was real. Calder and Jared were one of the hottest couples that I’ve ever read. They were going at it like rabbits (Jared wouldn't like this comparison lol). A little bit of humiliation kink here and a little of submission awakening there. Calder being the typical grumpy and protective alpha matched perfectly with Jared’s self-discovery. Not gonna lie, I’d have loved to see more interactions between them outside the room, like we could see toward the end of the book.



It felt so good to see the pack again. Especially Nate and Arik with their pointless arguments. Jared needed his family’s forgiveness, mainly Ian’s, after living years through hell. I’d really love a novella about an ordinary day in the pack, Newt and Collin included, I’m sure it could be hilarious.



But seriously, if you like paranormal stories with a little bit of darkness and snarky characters, I don't know what you are doing here. You needed to start this series yesterday.


*Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book in exchange for a free and honest review*

[Ninni · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is Jareds story. Nate's ex and the bad boy cousin of the Armitage brothers. I was really looking forward to this one but ended up exhausted. We find Jared imprisoned when the book starts but he manages to escape with the help of another prisoner named Calder. To manage this these two have to become mates. This book is entirely in Jareds POV and you can say I'm not his biggest fan. Sooo tired of his whining. The book also felt to long. Evidently even I can get tired of to much knotting. One star for Calder and one for Chris Chambers.

[Lola · Rating 4 out of 5]

Re-read #2 on 1/2/26 - same thoughts as the first time around but I wish Calder had more of a personality. Jared's arc was great though.



Enjoyable little paranormal romance that hit the spot for a captivity type romance. I love a big strong werewolf realizing he likes being treated gently and a giant super soldiery shifter who realizes he likes being gentle. The surrounding story was fine but really my focus was on the two of them. I wish there had been slightly more shown of them having some conversation about their pasts (Calder's sexuality and backstory outside of Arik was never really discussed). But I really loved the spice being used to consistently show what they needed from each other.

I have discovered through this and Possession by Rina Saint that I like stories of men creating bonds while both being held captive and then having to deal with reacclimating to the "real world". The unique sense of closeness that comes with feeling like only the other person can understand what you've gone through makes for an intense relationship and I love it. I probably won't read the rest of the series (I didn't read the previous books other than the first) but I'm glad I read this one!

[Kit (Metaphors and Moonlight) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars

Review:
This was another good book in the series, back with the Armitage pack again.

I’m not entirely sure how I feel about the romance. Because it seemed like all they did was have sex. Most of their connection was based on that. But I guess, even if they didn’t know everything about each other or do a ton of talking, they knew what kind of person the other was. Loyal, strong, compassionate, that sorta thing. And they had shared trauma. And they did have some conversations, just not a lot, at least not that we saw. I guess what I’m saying is, I felt like we could’ve been shown more non-sex connection, but it was still believable enough.

In case it wasn’t clear, there was a lot of sex. At first I thought that was all the book would be because there was just so much at the start. But then Ian and Matt showed up, and there was some stuff about reuniting with his family, figuring out if Jared was who he said he was, etc. Still a lot of sex though, with a combination of rough knotting and sweet tenderness.

I really liked Jared as a character because, yeah, he did some shitty things, but he regretted them, and he was trying to be better, and he made me feel emotions for him, maybe more so than any other character so far in this series. Especially when he thought about how his life had to matter to himself because it didn’t matter to anyone else.

There was also a sweet family element, since Jared is Ian’s and Matt’s cousin, and Jared and Ian used to be really close. And I just liked being back with the Armitage pack! They’re a fun, cute little group. I liked seeing the old characters and their relationships as they progress, even if only from the outside.

Not a lot of action in this one, no big battles or anything, mostly romance and family stuff.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Chris Chambers, and I think I say something similar every time, but… The way he does dialogue is great. He can really perform and bring out the emotion. I love it! But then he mostly does the non-dialogue narration part in this less natural, overdramatic sort of way that I just don’t love. It’s fine, but I’d prefer if he read the whole thing in the same natural, emotive way he does the dialogue. Still, I do enjoy the audiobooks.

Overall, another sweet and sexy shifter romance!

*Even though each book in this series focuses on different characters, I recommend reading Books 1 and 2 first, or you might be lost in regards to some plot elements and character/relationship backgrounds.*

*Rating: 4 Stars // Read Date: 2022 // Format: Audiobook*

Recommended For:
Fans of Books 1-3 in Eliot Grayson's Mismatched Mates series. Anyone who likes series with different main characters in each book, m/m paranormal romance with a bit of drama and angsty emotion, some sexy times, some action, magic, and shifters.

Original Review @ Metaphors and Moonlight

[Ben Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lost and Bound is ties with The Alpha Experiment as my favourite book in this series.

I really enjoyed the romance between Jared and Calder. They both start out as captives. We get the mates (married) for convenience trope, as the power of the bond helps them escape. The dynamic of them already having that intimate of a relationship, before even knowing each other is a fun one, and leads to a lot of unique moments.

The plot follows on from from the previous book so I recommend reading the series in order, even though this book is a new couple.

[Preeti · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading and hating Jared in the first two books, I never thought I am gonna like this book. But, the new Spleen-free Jared was wonderful.😛😛This is definitely, the best in the series.

[Liya · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite in the series. I laughed, I cried and I fall in love with Jared and Calder. The story is told from Jared's POV and being in his head was a roller-coaster of emotions mixed with some seriously hot sex. Calder is fully fleshed out as we get to know him along with Jared. He is big, tough and dangerous but also tender and caring. I absolutely adored that when Jared demanded rough Calder saw through it and gave him love and gentleness instead.
The book brings us back to Armitage pack and I couldn't be more happy about it. Seeing the gang together was so much fun. Humor and family dynamics was a perfect balance to darkness associated with captivity. And initial reunion was everything.

[Jennifer☠Pher☠ · Rating 4 out of 5]

It makes you wonder doesn't it? I mean, if you always felt less, and circumstance didn't help and then someone came along and took your insecurities and twisted them in such a way that you believed you deserved better and could have better, well, what would you do? Especially when you sort of had no choice?

So far, this is my favorite of the series. Go figure. Jared is the wolf we've been born to hate. He was a terrible, terrible person. He did terrible things. He betrayed his family, his Pack.

So yeah, go figure that he'd be my favorite story.

I loved this one. A lot.

[vee]

🦥 ab cellmates who fucked to escape
🦥 thats the only way. i think. they gotta mated
🦥 for AH lovers, i think u might like this…
🦥 the couple here has similar formula to ms hazard’s
🦥 calder was a nice alpha boy, but his slut was a bit dull
🦥 overall meh. maybe its the world i dont rlly vibe with
🦥 or mood. ugh moods. i need serotonin filled books asap

[Mir · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable but missing some plot answers that annoyed me. Not my favourite of the series but still super fun!

The spleen jokes had me laughing out loud.

Still love Arik and feel like I’m getting water in a desert whenever he’s on page.

[Starr (AKA Starrfish) Rivers · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was surprisingly not bad. I even got a little achy in the throat at one point. I love Calder. Those big, bad protective ones are always my faves!