This whole series desperately needs an editor
Let’s start with my comments on the series first . . . The compilation of these books makes no sense whatsoever. Usually a series is multiple books around the same overarching storyline and cast of characters; OR it’s a grouping of standalone books that are related by a general theme (e.g., rejected mates, secret babies, etc.) this series is both and it’s in no way a cohesive series. As of this writing, Amazon lists 5 books in this series, but Goodreads doesn’t even have the series combined, just separate books floating out there. Books 1 and 5 are standalone and somewhat related as they are both rejected mate stories. These 2 books are completely unrelated to books 2, 3, and 4 - which are related with a plot that carries across all 3 books with common characters appearing in all 3 books. These middle 3 books must be read in order and IMO can’t standalone.
Now for this book, I wanted to like it, I really did, but I couldn’t. There’s just too many loose ends. It did have promise, and there were a few times where I could really feel the FMC, Aria’s, utter brokenness. Which is why I gave this 2 rather 1 star. While I liked the emotional aspect, there was a bit too much of it. Usually when I dislike a FMC it’s because she mistakes bitchiness for strength. Here, it’s the opposite. She’s an absolute doormat. Rather than screaming “you’re such as bitch” (which is what I usually do) I found myself screaming “stand up for yourself!” There were so many times I wanted to slap her and tell her to pack her bags and LEAVE.
While Aria and Lucas finally get their HEA, there were still some threads left undone. Apparently there was a curse that appeared at the same time as our antagonist, Mara. There was no explanation around how she was able to hoodwink a seemingly strong alpha and the pack as a whole. We are left to assume black magic was afoot, but it was a missed opportunity to add more dimension to the story. Mara’s motivation for her actions were never really explained beyond her brief comment near the end that she just wanted what was rightfully hers. Wut? What happened that made you think that? What was your plan for vengeance, and how were you going to get it? Why were you and Oswald (FMC’s first mate who rejected her) so hell bent on breaking Aria? Once she ran away, why not just live your life? Why spend so much time and energy to track down someone you supposedly hate?
Let’s just leave this with the fact that this book wasn’t very satisfying.