Starlight Mates

Nexus #1

by G. Bailey

She’s the one they shouldn’t want—and the one they’ll never let go.
Five years ago, she rejected them. Five years ago, she ran. But they’ve found her, and this time, there’s no escape.

Born a Nexus shifter, her life has always been defined by three unshakable her parents despised Nexus shifters, everyone was taught to fear her, and they were right to. She’s a monster, bonded to five souls she rejected at the mating ceremony before vanishing with her parents.

Now, dragged back to the remote pack community, she’s a prisoner of the very men she betrayed. They enforce their rules with unrelenting dominance, keeping her under constant watch while the tension between them threatens to explode.

Onyx, the charmer with deadly alpha instincts hidden behind polished suits.
Aleksander, whose hazel eyes conceal dangerous secrets—and a thirst for ruin.
Hollis and Rhodes, twins who capture hearts with ease, but one is determined to shatter hers.
And Finnegan, the most lethal of them all, harboring a hatred that burns brightest.

They are powerful, dangerous, and unyielding, alphas blessed by the Wolf Gods. She is the reject who destroyed their bond, their hearts, and their trust. But what they don’t see is the monster within her, a darkness clawing to the surface, waiting for the moment to unleash its fury.

If they push her too far, it will awaken. And when it does, there may be nothing left to save.

STARLIGHT MATES is a dark romantasy full of irresistible tension and dangerous desire. Dive into a story teeming with growly alpha shifters, rejected mates, forced proximity, and electrifying “touch her and die” moments. This is a tale where love is fierce, bonds are unbreakable, and monsters lurk just beneath the skin.

Genres: Fantasy, Why Choose, Romance, Paranormal, Enemies To Lovers, Shapeshifters, Romantasy

378 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 23, 2024

About the author

G. Bailey is a USA Today bestselling author of books that are filled with everything from dragons to pirates. Plus, fantasy worlds and breath-taking adventures. Oh, and some swoon-worthy men that no girl could forget.
G. Bailey is from the very rainy U.K. where she lives with her husband, two children and three cheeky dogs.

Reviews

[Cassie]

Book was good. Too similar to the bonds that tie series, it felt almost copied.

[Caroline]

This was not very good, unfortunately. The characters' personalities kept changing every chapter and behaving completely inconsistently for the most part. The entire storyline and most of the characters are basically fan fic of The Bonds That Tie series but with worse writing. If you just replace "bond/bonded" with "nexus," that's this book. The villains of this book, the "vian" are never properly explained - are they human-looking? Also, all of the dialogue was so rushed, and the FMC seemed to flip-flop in her thoughts way too quickly about things. The action sequences were also rushed. This really felt like wattpad/fan fic.

There's a decent plot twist at the end with Silveri but that was about the only surprising thing in this book.

[cha]

one thing about me is that if there's a book with the rejected mate trope, best believe I will be parking my ass right there 🧘🏼‍♀️

I really didn't expect it to be this entertaining LMAOO I went in with near zero expectations but it was actually not bad??? very angsty and REALLY scratched the rejected mate itch.

if u read this and think that I'm stupid for being too easily entertained....LISTEN one of the mmcs literally straight up said fuck you to the fmc and the other one said he didn't care if she died and I LOVED it LMAOOO MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS

I know that was mean behavior from the MMCS but you don't see the ✨vision✨ like I do 😞 because imagine the GROVEL opportunities (✿◡‿◡)

also I REALLY loved the fmc, she was such a little shit

the only few complaints I have are that this book is too short and jesus christ it was SO fast paced lmaoooo I mean it worked for my short attention span but I would also like a little more details

anyway this was like bonds that tie on crack and I ate it up. I expect to see Hollis on his knees with tears in his eyes in the next book or else

[Laura]

honestly this felt like a knock off of The Bonds That Tie series.

Did I finish it super quick? Yea. I couldn’t stop reading.

But I read the word “Nexus” and “I cant let my monster out” so many times, I should have kept count. Also, the personalities of the MMCs kept changing, which confused me. Idk, it was kind of enjoyable, ish, but it wasn’t my favorite.

Plus like girl BFFR.

[delaney ₊˚ෆ]

this was ass…
but unfortunately, I am an ass man 🤷🏻‍♀️
this was so bad that I have to read the 2nd one. forgive me.

[TheVelvetHammer]

Jfc that was awful.

Calling this the Temu Bonds That Tie is being generous. Just rushed, lazy plagiarism.

[Steph]

3.5 ⭐️ / 1 🌶️ — Sort of reads like The Bonds That Tie.

[fromthestudyof]

i am so sorry but this book reads like a high schooler wrote it

[Mikky]

Ask me to describe this book in one word? Meh.

Everything felt surface deep. The men were introduced one on top of the other with specific characteristics that were then never mentioned again to help me differenciate between them throughout the story. Maybe I just have a bad memory but come on! You can't expect me to remember their names and specific details of each of these men based on one interaction when everyone was introduced AT THE SAME TIME. At least help me out in the first few interactions between them and the heroine (at least in the beginning, I beg!)

Plot wise, this was also meh. There were big bads after the heroine. The 'why' takes SO LONG to be presented that by the time the book finally reveals its hand, I simply couldn't care less. The chemistry between the heroine and her alphas was weird. Sure, she rejected them "for their own safety"? But won't give them the courtesy of at least telling them the reason. She's already caught at this point, what more does she have to lose? They were rightfully angry, but maybe if presented with an actual reason the hurt would lessen? Maybe they could find it in their hearts to understand where she and her family were coming from?

I'll never know what happens next because I don't intend to continue with this series. Feel free to drop a few spoilers in the comments if they're juicy ♡

[Em]

Whyyyyyyyy is the writing so bad?!!? Was more than ready to get back into the same type of world as Bonds that Tie and while the world building was similar, the writing was IMMEASURABLY worse. Only made it through without DNF-ing because I had DNF-ed a few before this and just guilted myself into finishing something. Otherwise would have set this down so fast.

[Spasticnontastic]

I don’t even know how to rate this…

[Lunarbookwyrm aka Phoebe]

UPDATE ‼️‼️‼️

Sept 29

I rescind this review and regret dnfing this book I’m now on book. 3 I’ll give complete review soon 🥺

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DNF 15%

If I hadn’t read the bonds that tie i think wouldve enjoyed this book, but throughout reading this book I kept comparing the scenes and the descriptions of the men and the fmc with the bonds that tie just different names and characters I guess and mash of their personalities.

So I decided to stop here. i bet this wouldve been a great book if I didnt read the bonds that tie first. I am just dnfing it not rating it cause I didnt want to spend the whole time reading the book comparing scenes and characters.

Rejected Mates
Why choose
Forced proximity
Shifters -wolves

Sept 29

I rescind this review and regret dnfing this book I’m now on book. 3 I’ll give complete review soon

[Rachel]

What did I just read? Gem's Nexus series is a dark rejected mate why-choose with shifters, magic, and some great mythology. I have a love/hate relationship with rejected mate stories. I'm all in for the fated mate troupe but sometimes you just need a little angst or the mates just don't fit (for various reasons.) When Gem released teasers for the first book, Starlight Mates, I was hooked.


Gwen is a mess, not that I blame her, she has a lot going on. She thinks she's a monster and she just might be, her parents were complicated, and she's been hiding most of her life. Now the fated mates, who she rejected, are back in her life and things are not coposetic. I can understand where the guys (except for Hollis, he's a trutledwarf) are coming from, ugh it's a bad situation and the guys are all ugly about it except for Rhodes. Rhodes is my favorite and I just want to wrap him in bubble wrap and protect him forever.


Gem didn't give us everything at once, she gave us little bits of information just to keep us on our toes, trying to figure out the full scope of everything. I was hooked. For a shorter book, this story had exceptional world building and some great mythology. I loved the origin story of the Nexus, it was unique and interesting. The Nexus are shifters with magic and are made of Starlight, it's


Wow! What an ending! All my wishes and nightmares came true, including one unbelievable plot twist. Like, what was that Gem? What was that!?! I am desperate for the next book and am willing to make a deal for it to be released sooner rather than later.

[chelle (serial downvoter)]

The writing doesn’t flow naturally at all. It reads very amateur

DNF

[fynn ƪ(˘⌣˘)ʃ]

i would give this 0 stars if i could

[Ana]

Temu Bonds that tie

[Jessica Gardner]

Loved! Definitely wish it was longer. I read in three hours. I’ve said it a dozen times and I never learn… Jessica you’ve got to stop reading unfinished series!!! Ugh next one isn’t out until December 😭
The book was very Bonds That Tie meets Psycho Shifters and I’m here for it. Even though there was no smut and only a few small kisses the build up is 🤌🏼🖤🤌🏼🖤
Powerful FMC, fated mates, feminine rage, reverse harem, a little bully romance, I’m here for it all. And I’m SO ready for some groveling in the next one!

—————————————————
Read it again and oof this is such a good one! I read it as a little refresher because I saw book 2&3 are released! I know what I’m doing the rest of the weekend.

[omega’s rights activist]

4.4

[Dariia]

3,5 ⭐️
цікава система з нексусом та внутрішніми звірами, сам гарем доволі звичний: є той хто хоче бути другом, той хто ненавидить, той хто закохався з першого погляду і тд, але такі відносини особливо не бісять 😅 книга легенька і невелика за обсягом, тому щоб відпочити - саме те 🌚

[Katarina]

I usually don't like slow-burns but this oddly was really good. I really love a dark FMC and this delivered. I wish it was longer than 200 pages, more scenes with Hollis and the others, but I thought it was a decent balance of the story. I'm hoping the next one is more gory and actually has some smut in it.

[Lexi]

I have to wait until DECEMBER for the next one!?

[bananabat]

It’s giving rip off of The Bonds That Tie series by J. Bree and elements of Fourth Wing. And not in a good way.

[ReadWithNikki•]

i think the author is a fan of the bonds that tie series.. This is almost a copy of that series. Not cool

[Clara]

La historia es un toque parecida a otra... bastante de hecho. Igual esta buena

[Veronica LaRoche]

Omg I love a good rejected mate, why choose story and this book was absolutely amazing. Gwen has rejected her mates and now is on the run. Gwen is never safe and has been put thru hell. Gwen’s whole world changes again when she comes face to face with her mates again. Onyx, Hollis, Finnegan, Alex and Rhodes hates Gwen with a passion well maybe not all hate her but some of her mates want her to feel the pain they did when she rejected them. But with Vian, when there enemy targets Gwen will that hate turn into something else? I really enjoyed this story and how it ended I need, no want the next book asap. Another amazing read with characters I definitely want more of.

[~Babette~]

Watered down version of the bonds that tie, but still enjoyable

[Manuela Ojeda]

1,0 (le bajé puntuación pq me dio bronca lo berreta que es y lo descarada que fue la autora para copiarse y encima terminar escribiendo para el orto)
Este libro es sospechamente muy parecido a otra saga muy conocida...

[Kimberly Tran]

I really like the plot, but the writing style and dialogue sometimes comes across as juvenile; maybe over-explaining? Still going to keep reading cuz I wanna know: now that her mates know why she rejected them, how will they react? I definitely want to see Hollis eat his words. Out of all the women he could have picked to spend his time with, it had to be SABRINA?

[Laura Fusco]

3.75⭐️

[Sam Stakenburg]

Wasn't sure I would get into the whole wolf alpha mates thing but really enjoyed it!