Black & White

ORCA #1

by Vinni George

Nero Hunter is tired. He’s tired of early mornings chasing down skips. He’s tired of Shamu jokes and dealing with idiots. He's tired of being alone. But agreeing to do one little favor for a friend turns the tide and brings Nero face-to-face with his destiny.

Felix White is unlucky. When his life is threatened and he’s hauled into police custody for safekeeping, the last thing he expects is to meet his fated mate. Especially when his mate is a giant killer whale shifter, who is also his new bodyguard.

But there is more to the plot against Felix than meets the eye, and Nero and his brothers have to work together to figure out who is after Felix before it’s too late...before Nero loses the mate he just found.

Black & White is book one in the Organization for the Return of Criminals and Assets (ORCA) series featuring an orca shifter art thief turned bounty hunter, a sea otter shifter hacker who might have pissed off the wrong people, and a group of orca brothers who will do anything—even if it’s not quite legal—to save the newest member of their family.

Genres: Shapeshifters, M M Romance, Fantasy, Romance, Paranormal, LGBT, Forced Proximity

244 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 6, 2024

About the author

Vinni George has been a lover of romance novels (of all shapes, sizes, and colors) since she first got her hands on one of her grandmother’s Harlequins and has never looked back. She lives in Ohio with her two favorite guys (her husband and son) and, hopefully—one day—a dog. When she’s not writing, Vinni can be found working for her family’s business, which provides plenty of plot bunnies. In her spare time, Vinni is a soccer mom who dabbles in performance art, quilting, and various culinary pursuits and enjoys traveling.

Vinni’s debut novel, Hold the Door, was a finalist and runner-up in Contemporary Gay Romance in the 2020-2021 Rainbow Awards.

Reviews

[BookSafety Reviews · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book safety, content warnings, and tropes down below.

This review is NSFA (Not Safe For Author)

Maybe this bombed so badly for me because I had too many expectations going in, but come on. This was unfortunately brutal. I’ll try to be a little nice about it, but it boils down to zero relationship focus or development, followed by a ‘suspenseful’ case I didn’t care one bit about. We didn’t get any backstory or any context that would make the case, the main focus of the story, interesting. I ended up zoning out whenever it was talked about, which was often. The first times the MCs met was great, as they immediately felt the mate pull, but after the first time someone orgasmed it all fell away.

I love romantic suspense books *so* much and have read a fuckton of them, so maybe that’s why badly written action gets on my nerves, but you mean to tell me you forcefully kick in a rusted old door to an abondoned factory with bad guys inside without any repercussions, but on the next page, a door creaking open can be heard echoing throughout the building?





That’s only a small part of my issues with the mystery case, but anything else would spoil the plot.

Also, I’m about to project a general annoyance with the genre on this book, which is unfortunate for the book but no less true. What the actual fricking frick is the point of shifter books, especially with tiny, adorable shifters, if they aren’t gonna hang around shifted for half the book? Why isn’t the cute sea otter being carried around and cuddled the shit out of by his big-ass fated mate? Huh? That’s why we read this genre! Sure they shifted *twice*, but it was so short and felt like an afterthought to the main plot, which I have already forgotten.

So, turns out that wasn’t very nice. In my defense I read this during 8 days of exams so maybe I would’ve disliked whatever I ended up reading.

My first by this author and although the writing itself was decent, it wasn’t the right story for me, obviously.


⬇️ Blanket spoiler warning ⬇️

⚠️ Tropes & tags ⚠️
Romantic suspense
Fated mates
Shifters
Orca shifter
Sea otter shifter
Bounty hunter MC
Hacker MC
Age gap
Size difference
BIPOC MC
Interracial relationship
Morally gray MCs

⚠️ Content warning ⚠️
Mention of the death of parents (past, off page)
Break-in and destruction of property (MC’s home)
MC drugged and abducted
MC held captive and beaten
Injured MC
Explicit sexual content
Death of bad guys

⚠️Book safety ⚠️
Cheating: No
Other person drama: No
Breakup: No
POV: 1st person, dual
Genre: Shifter romance
Pairing: M/M
Strict roles or versatile: Strict roles
Main characters’ age: 23 and 38
Series: Interconnected standalone
Kindle Unlimited: Yes
Pages: 244
Happy ending: Yes





You can find most of my reviews on Instagram as well: https://www.instagram.com/booksafety?...

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Romance with suspense elements, spinoff series from Land & Sea. Nicely done. Likable MCs and good plot progression, with believable characterizations and suspense.

[Shonee · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF @ 52%.

Started off SUPER exciting, and then veered into insta-love territory real fast. I wish it kept that gritty action it started off with.

[Jacqueleen the Reading Queen♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed getting the full story of Nero and Felix!! The previously published novella just gave us a taste, but this book gives you the full HEA I was looking for! At the start, Nero's been kind of in a rut when it comes to his bounty hunting job. His brothers, whom he shares a home with, are also all involved in their own pursuits as well. And lets just say not all of them are as legal as Nero's job at the moment. When an acquaintance asks Nero to basically babysit a hacker who's being threatened, Nero expects another boring task to add to his to do list. As it turns out meeting his charge is anything but boring because Felix just so happens to be his fated mate!

These two were very sweet on each other right from the start. That mating pull definitely had them in its grasp. Unfortunately for these poor boys, they also had the person after Felix to worry about so much of the book was dedicated to their case and not the steamy fun times both I and the MCs were dying for! I did love how Nero's brothers all pitched in to help and the banter they exchange while doing it. They seem like such a fun group and I cannot wait for each of them to get their own mate.

Felix and Nero's book is not only about their romance, but also sets up what I'm guessing is going to be an overarching plotline for the series. Things just seem to go deeper and get even more interesting the more the members of the newly coined ORCA dig. I'm also extremely excited about the next book because oh boy does there seem to be some MAJOR UST just wafting away from both Cal and Jack when they are in a room together. Here's hoping for some enemies to lovers steamy goodness on the horizon!!

[Joyfully Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Joyfully Jay review.

4 stars

Black & White by Vinni George is the first book in the ORCA series, following a group of orca shifter brothers. It is a fated mates story between two ocean-based shifters, which isn’t something we see often and added a fun world building element. Things kick off with a bang as we follow Nero as he is tracking down a “skip” who hasn’t shown up to court, ultimately catching him using his huge and powerful orca shifter side. When he brings in the bad guy, one of Nero’s cop friends asks him to help out guarding Felix, which then jump starts these guys realizing they are fated mates. Given the mate bond, Felix and Nere are pretty much all in immediately, so there isn’t much tension or conflict on the relationship side, mostly seeing them explore things both personally and sexually. I think given all the external conflicts, that worked fine for me, and I enjoyed these guys together.

Read Jay’s review in its entirety here.

[Edga · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars.

An imaginative and interesting shifter story. Nero and Felix are immediately attracted to each other, and have a lot of chemistry between them!! The first of their story is all about slow-burning lust & exploration. I like the idea of fated mates, I also liked that the guys didn't have sex immediately, they waited until they got to know one another a little, before they did the deed. Nero and Felix are well matched, and make great partners, I smiled at how bossy Felix is, and didn't let Nero intimidate him in any way. In fact, it seems that Felix sneakily rules the roost.

Vinnie also fleshes out the personality traits of Nero’s siblings. They all made brilliant secondary characters, and I can't wait to read their stories.
This isn't just a shifter romance though, there's also an interesting mystery woven into the story. It's a promising start to the series, leaving a few unanswered questions ready for book 2. I'm already looking forward to this, I can't wait to read the conclusion of this love, mystery/suspense story. I received an ARC from the author for my honest review

[Showarst · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been waiting for Black & White by Vinni George to be expanded and rereleased.

I first read this story in the Fated Mates anthology and I was immediately drawn to the story of Orca shifter Nero and sea otter, Felix. I loved how they met, the fact they were fated mates, Nero’s brothers, the action/mystery, and the romance. In the anthology it was a shortened version and did not include the claiming and such. I was super excited to be able to read everything.

This did not let me down. I devoured their story and am already looking forward to Cal and Jack’s story. Julius and Quin are also fascinating and I cannot wait to learn more about them (especially Quin).

I highly recommend this one if you enjoy paranormal fated mates stories.

I received an ARC from the author for my honest review

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun start to a new series…cliffhanger

This is a new series with marine life shifters. It’s kind of a weird thing to think about as being an Orca, an apex predator, does you no good on land. This is a fated mates series so the matches with non-Orca shifters is an intriguing dynamic. I love the way that it explored in this book with a match between an orca and a sea otter.

The book revolves around four brothers who are orca shifters and whose activities skirt the bounds of legality, a family tradition. The first match is with a hacker so I guess he doesn’t have a lot of room to judge!

The main story arc in this book is not wrapped up here, only a piece of it is. So if you are a reader who doesn’t like cliffhangers you may want to wait until the series is complete. I enjoyed this book. It’s a quick read and I am looking forward to book two which is supposed to be published this Fall.

[Reading Rommance · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun read. Felix is great. He's so smart and so kind. Nero is awesome, too. He's so protective and loving. I enjoyed how these two got together and immediately knew they were fated. From there, everything happened so fast, which was fun. I loved meeting the brothers, seeing them shift together ( their version of holding hands while swimming was precious ), and watching Nero grow to be so protective over Felix. I love how they instantly knew they were fated, but still took the time to get to know each other. That was really sweet. The action was fun, but not too action-y, as well. I'm eager to read the rest of the series.

Notes: 2/5 spice levels, shifters (orca, sea otter), hacker mc, bounty hunter mc, close family (brothers)

[Rachel Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.25 stars for me!

This was a fun start to a new series of shifter romance, where they are all killer whales aka sea pandas aka Orcas! Nero and Felix are fated mates and discover that pretty early on in the story. Their cutest moments are when they're together in their animal forms and hanging out and being adorable lol.

I definitely enjoyed the premise and set up, and I feel like the four brothers are going to all give us different and fun stories. This one felt much more heavy on the suspense and action part of things instead of the romance.

I'll definitely be continuing on with this series!

[Latecia Jennings · Rating 5 out of 5]

The prelude to this book was good but getting to read the entire story was great. I loved getting to know Nero's brothers more but mostly I loved seeing how Nero and Felix relationship expanded and they shared a more intimate bond together. The overall mystery of Felix's boogeyman was climatic and real emotions and truths were brought to the front which makes the next book all the more exciting...so there is a minor cliff hanger but nuthing too much you wanna pull your hair out in frustration...I think the author ended it well with a HFN with anticipation for one of the brothers finding love.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

[Val · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very quick read. It felt like you were dropped right into the middle of the story. Upon first meeting, Felix and Nero knew they were mates and were instantly in love. This is not something I really cared for. I get as mates they felt a pull to one another and a fated connection, but even with that connection I felt that their story was rushed. I would have enjoyed it more if they actually got to know each other before diving headfirst into a relationship.

I did like the fun aspect of different shifters in this world. It brought an element of magic that I always enjoy reading. The plot was alright and we got to see it all wrapped up, so that’s a positive as well.

[RedsBookReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great start to a new series

This is such an interesting start to a new series and I loved the fact that you got to discover how the team developed as the story unfolded. Nero starts out as a very hard character but he develops into such an amazing character as the story progresses. I can’t wait to see what is next in this series. There is so much potential and, based on this book, I’m sure the author will deliver.

[Ann Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sweet and fun shifter romance that was also full of intrigue and danger. Nero and Felix were very likeable as they realised they were fated mates. Nero's brothers were hilarious. I really enjoyed this and I am looking forward to the next book in the series.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy.

[Wren Vale · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story very much. Paranormal drama and romance, with well written characters, what more could you want. Neco and Felix are both great characters

[Christina Sturgill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 4/5 🌟
Spice: 2.5/5 🌶️
Characters: Nero and Felix

[Suzanne Bourgeois]

I think I've found my new series obsession, lol. everything little detail just tickled me pink. I love the names, all after roman emperors. poor Cal, though. and the relationship between the brothers... accurate, lol. I love how Nero finds a way to bridge the species gap and give Felix what he needs in his animal for as well as his human form. when I think of whirlwind romances that somehow go the distance, this is what I picture. people who go out of their way to make each other happy and do it on equal footing. Nero never once thinks Felix isn't capable, even if all he wants to do is wrap him up and keep him safe. this is the kind of feel good spicy book that I love.

[Birgit · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐

I absolutely loved how open minded they were and the fact that they just accepted being fated mates the moment they first saw each other. 😂 No long, mhhh why do I feel so strongly attracted to him.

Personally, I found the book a tad too short; with the plot and the newly developing relationship between Nero and Felix, I would have liked a few more pages. Nevertheless, the two are just cute and perfect, and now I want to see how an orca LOVES and CUDDLES with a sea otter.

[Ashley Yungbluth · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Black & White" is book one in the "ORCA" series by Vinni George. I can tell that I will enjoy this series because this book had me hooked from page one. I have never read a shifter book about a whale and a sea otter, but I am digging it. Nero is a bounty hunter where Felix is a very good hacker who helps law officials out. Felix finds himself in a deep mess, and Nero is asked to watch over Felix. Little did they know that with Nero taking the job that they would find their mate. My favorite scene was when the whale shifter gave a ride on his tail. I also liked the bantering between the brothers. I can't wait to dive into this series with the next book.

[ButtonsMom2003 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Audiobook Review:
Overall – 5
Performance – 5
Story – 5

Captivating! It’s a great story. The romance for the featured couple is solid but there’s a bit of a cliffhanger. Now I need to listen to the next book! Declan Winters did a great job performing the story.

[Jodi · Rating 4 out of 5]

fun

I’ve never read an orca or sea otter shifter story. Nero and Felix are fated mates. Felix needs a bodyguard since someone wants what Felix doesn’t realize he has. Then Felix is kidnapped and all the brothers rescue him. Loved the sweetness of Nero holding Felix on his fin to heal.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

First book in ORCA series.
Shapeshifters/paranormal/Fated Mates
I enjoyed this book the characters were fun.
Family dynamics are always interesting

[Alexandria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for a shifter book, but I never considered Orcas. It may be new obsession. I really enjoyed the characters in this book. Nero is having a regular day when he helps out a friend and plays bodyguard for Felix. When Felix and Nero meet for the first time, I didn't want to put this book down.

[Janireadsmm · Rating 4 out of 5]

A masterpiece

Such a great read, I loved every minute of it and it's built a fantastic storyline for all the brothers to be involved in. I loved Nero and Felix's quick connection and how they were against the clock to work out who was after Felix, it just created such drama. There was lots of funny banter between the brothers and I loved the shifter element to the story. I can't wait for the next book, Cal sounds like a hoot!

[Julie Underhill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Black and White by Vinni George is the first book in her ORCA series. It is the instalove/fated mate story between an orca shifter and a sea otter who are working just outside the law which finds them in some interesting predicaments as they find their way towards their forever love. Nero Hunter is an apex predator as an orca whale. His family has been involved with finding art thieves and returning what is found to their rightful owners, but often works just outside of the law. He is now a bounty hunter finding skips which keeps him busy when his buddy on the Seatle police department asks him to look after a hacker who needs 24 hour surveillance due to a target on his back. Felix White is a 23 year old genius hacker who the feds and prosecutor use when they need things. He has been digging around looking for some details on a person involved in art when he receives a message that someone is on to him and wants him dead. When Nero and Felix meet they both realize they are fated mates, which is interesting because Nero thought this could only happen with another orca. But he knows it is true and takes Felix back to his house to protect him. Nero’s brothers, Cal, Quin, and Julius also live there and pledge to keep Felix safe and also to find out who is out to get him. Cal is a former Navy Seal, Quin can copy any kind of art, and Julius is the family hacker so all of them also live outside the law. Felix and Julius immediately get to work on their computers, trying to go back through Felix’s files to see if they can find what is causing his problems. As time goes on, Felix sees the brothers in action and suggests that they form their own covert ops group called ORCA – the Organization for the Return of Criminals and Assets – something they readily agree to and make Felix their first case. Nero takes Felix on a date to his favorite Chinese restaurant and they shift and have an intimate scene where Felix finally feels safe and at home. When a lead on the case comes in Felix realizes he is missing a drive with a file on it that he needs and in the process of trying to get it he is kidnapped. Jack Grayson, a friend of Cal’s, comes on the scene and also has some information that may help but first they have to find Felix, and with their skills they do this quickly, but not quickly enough that he doesn’t get beaten up. Luckily Nero is able to save him and they have some more hot love scenes where they finally claim each other and reveal their love. I really enjoyed this story. Nero is strong and protective and Felix has extraordinary skills but needs Nero beside him. The brothers add some snarky fun and humor along the way but are all business when they need to be. There are lots of twists and turns in the case involving Felix and clues are slowly revealed along the way and you can see Felix’s and Julius’s minds working feverishly to figure them out. There are also some suspenseful moments when Felix is kidnapped and Nero is going out of his mind with worry until he is found. Some clues are given as to what has been happening and why but not everything has been revealed and we will have to wait until the next book in the series to see if the case gets solved. I highly recommend this book especially if you enjoy fated mate stories between unlikely shifters with some snarky family involvement and a mystery to be solved.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

very entertaining and a terrific start to a new series

Rating: 4.25🌈

Vinni George dives into the fated mates shifter trope with a new action adventure romance series, ORCA, or the Organization for the Return of Criminals and Assets . That it’s centered around a family or pod of killer whale brothers as they find their fated mates while they’re hunting stolen artifacts or just on wild uncover missions is spot on. How that all happens is also a part of the storyline of this book.

George has a lot to lay out in this first book. We get the foundation for the universe, the culture of our shifter species, the various shifter family structures , especially in case of the two types of species of our main characters, a orca killer whale and an otter.

Felix White is a highly talented hacker and otter shifter, one who’s also in a load of trouble. That will bring his fated mate to him in the form of a bodyguard, Nero Black, bondsman now bodyguard, and orca shifter, one of a family of brothers that live together.

This is an instant recognition of the mate storyline. While I’m not always a fan of this approach, it works well with Nero and Felix due to their situation and the chemistry the author builds between them.

Because the series is going to be based on the rest of the family, they are quickly introduced and their personalities defined by jobs and appearance. Species characteristics are also very well represented here which I think makes them better realized as shifters. The holding hands by Felix as an otter is just adorable.

I had a few issues with the story in the I wish the actual villain was better executed and explored. This person sort of popped up out of nowhere. And was done equally as quickly. With all the buildup, this potion of the story doesn’t have the same kind of fulfillment as the other aspects. It’s over with in a blink.

My other quibble isn’t by the author but should have been caught. Things like this.

““You didn’t answer my question.” Quin looked at me with shred eyes.”

I’m guessing it should be shrewd eyes. I’m betting autocorrect struck again. But in a book you paid for , it’s annoying and a line editor should have caught it.

I’m seeing too many errors like that in books these days.

Quibbling aside, I found Black & White: An MM Shifter Romantic Suspense Novel (ORCA Book 1) by Vinni George is very entertaining and a terrific start to a new series .

ORCA :
- [x] Black & White #1
- [ ] Grayscale #2 - Dec 31,2024

[Kelly (Maybedog) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

This wasn’t as bad as I expected. Yes, it’s very formulaic and yes, there’s too much sex, and yes, I’ve heard almost the exact same story before, but I liked those previous ones and I liked this. The characters were entertaining and the MCs went together well. Yes it’s a big older top and a small younger bottom and yes the latter needs rescuing…okay, this sounds awful doesn’t it? But it’s not. It’s enjoyable.

I found it very refreshing that both MCs accepted that they were fated mates immediately and were fine with it, that they didn’t fight it just because they weren’t the same species. There was an overarching plot that was bigger than the small one regarding who targeted Felix. (Warning: there’s a cliffhanger around that larger one.)

The action scene was short but fine and the peril with one MC and the panic on the part of the other (I’m sure you have no idea who is who) was satisfying.

I was so excited that this was set in Seattle. I had great expectations in the beginning because the depictions of the Pacific Northwest and its waters were great. There were very specific non-tourist locations described which was wonderful even though there were a couple of places where a drive, like to a restaurant, would really have been too long and it seemed odd. And then the character referred to Pike Place Market as Pike’s Place. No no no no no. No one who lives here ever refers to it that incorrect way. It’s a huge pet peeve of mine. It’s one of the major tourist destinations here. They also talked about Felix being chilly in the Sound’s water without his fur and disregarded the fact that in that very cold water, Nero would also have been freezing without his whale blubber.

Similarly with the computer. It was going okay, if a little generically, and then, referring to the computer file he stole, Felix said, “I thought of putting it back.” Unless he deleted it—which he wouldn’t have done because he was trying to go in and out undetected—it was still there. You don’t put a computer file back. It isn’t something physical you take.

Still, I was interested enough that when I had to decide on another audiobook that fit a challenge with little time to do it, I grabbed the sequel.

The narrator was very good in some ways—he did a great Australian accent and he portrayed emotion well. But he had the same voice with every character. It did change but only with circumstances not by person. I find it incredibly annoying when someone is capable of being a much better reader but they don’t use the skills.

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shifters doing business

This story is definitely slow to develop and as such it took some time to really get into it.

Nero is a bounty hunter, though strongly thinking of getting out of the job because he doesn't have much passion for it anymore. An opportunity comes up from a police contact when they ask him to take over a protection job for a police hacker who is suddenly being threatened. Felix needs a place to lie low and when he turns out to be Nero's mate the two know they will be in this together.

While the mate part is immediately sensed it does take the two some time to actually make a relationship, some of which is a little awkward. They sort of don't feel like a good fit at times, which is part of what makes the story a bit hard to get into as that is so central to it. They do eventually figure each other and their future out but in some ways the connection wasn't quite there.

The other part that felt awkward was the very business/group/ongoing story connection being built that seemed really clunky. With Nero wanting a new job and Felix being threatened they turn to Nero's brothers for some help, especially as the brothers all live together. It turns out they all have skills and could maybe use a job going forward as well, so why not work together? It is a fairly sound plot line, it's just that the roles they have don't really mesh together as an obvious job set. With two brothers are into protections, one is computers, and the last is an art forger. How does the last brother fit into a business outfit? It just makes this very clear "make a family business" storyline feel a bit forced. Even worse, it wasn't exactly clear what they would do as a business going forward other than still working on this very case that came up in this first book. Not exactly a great business if you are technically your own client. Overall it just felt a bit clunky and forced, so wanting to read the story going forward seems unlikely.

[Katriana · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5
This is the first book in the brand new ORCA series! Vinni had a short story about Nero and Felix in an anthology previously, and have since expanded from that short. Ever since I read the short I was very eager for this series, Vinni George does shifter books very well, and I was very intrigued by the concept of killer whale shifters. It's something that I haven't seen much in the books that I've read, and I find it to be quite unique.

Nero's character immediately drew me into the story, as he's describing chasing bad guys and how he hates running, that's the first moment where you really get to know his character. I liked that this book has dual POV'S, it helped with getting to know each MC better, along with it adding more depth to each moment that happened since we were able to read both of their perspectives.

I found the pacing to be alright overall, albeit a bit fast. This book has a really fast pace, the story that gets told takes place within a week. It's a little wild, but it was written so well it made sense. As much as I want to say it was rushed, I can't. It somehow worked in this setting.

The dynamic between the brothers was interesting to read about, each brother brought a certain talent or specialty to the table. I can definitely see why Felix thought it was such a good idea to have the brothers go into a business together. I'm really excited to get to know more about each brother! Why do Cal and Quin argue so much? Why can't Quinn be more himself instead of his persona? What is the issue with Cal and Jack? So many questions I hope get answered throughout the course of this series.
I wish we got to learn more about who's after Felix in this story, but alas we must wait for the next addition to this series.

Nero and Felix do get an HEA in this story, but the overarching plot is a HFN.

[Xanthe · Rating 5 out of 5]

**4.5**
I love a mixed shifter pairing, especially a size difference and whien it comes to an orca and a sea otter, I'd say they're a teensy bit different. The fated mates aspect comes in pretty much straight away but the emotional connection also feels natural between the two men which is so good as it can occasionally feel more forced to fit the story.
Nero and Felix may not come together under the best of circumstances, Felix is in need of protection after he is threatened, even when he's supposed to be hidden. For Nero, it becomes even more important to keep his mate safe. Along with his three brothers who he lives with in a mansion style house, they work to try and figure out who is behind the threat but things go in a different direction than they thought and danger is just around the corner.
I loved getting to know all of the characters and cannot wait for the three brothers to have their own books. Nero may look like the big bad bounty hunter but he's such a softie, with his favourite place being something that means family and comfort to him. The sweetest moment is when he and Felix are shifted together and float in their animal forms.
The mystery aspect takes some turns and I enjoy that it needs to happen both online and then there is the action part too. Everyone gets involved and it gets especially tense towards the end but it builds to a good ending that I'm looking forward to seeing how it plays out.
I received an ARC and am happily giving a review.