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Murder in Moonburrow #1
Fake It 'Til You Mate It
When I wake up in the morgue, I know it’s time to move on…When people think of shifters, they always bring up the wolves, bears, big cats. But prey shifters exist, too; the bunnies, the hedgehogs, and my old childhood nemesis, Roxy, who was an adorable raccoon and a huge headache.
Then there’s me. Honey Morgan, one in a long line of Virginia opossums—and who has a tendency to ‘play dead’ at the worst possible moments.
For nearly my whole life, I’ve managed to live among humans who have no clue that I’m a supe. But when I get startled and drop only to wake up in the morgue, I have to admit my mother was us opossums need to be around other shifters, even if the local predators have me hissing.
Or maybe that’s just one.
Max Lobo. To the outsiders who might pass through Moonburrow, he is the scowly sheriff. To the supe residents, he is the all-powerful Alpha of the Moonshadow Pack.
To me? He’s my mate.
He doesn’t seem to recognize me as his, though, and I’m okay with that. After all, I’m too busy taking over my witchy grandmother’s old bakery. With her recipes, my sense of humor and work ethic, and my sidekick, Gus, I focus on making Dough You Believe In Magic a success.
Which probably would’ve been a lot easier if I didn’t stumble upon a dead predator outside my back door—or if it didn’t bring the Alpha repeatedly to my front one.
Thrown together with Max, I have to figure out who targeted my bakery, why it seems like I might’ve been the one they were after, and how to survive being around the Alpha as he begins to realize that I’m not just some newcomer prey bumbling around on his territory that he needs to protect… but the other half of his wolf’s soul he has to claim.
Hey. Fake it ’til you mate it, right?
Then there’s me. Honey Morgan, one in a long line of Virginia opossums—and who has a tendency to ‘play dead’ at the worst possible moments.
For nearly my whole life, I’ve managed to live among humans who have no clue that I’m a supe. But when I get startled and drop only to wake up in the morgue, I have to admit my mother was us opossums need to be around other shifters, even if the local predators have me hissing.
Or maybe that’s just one.
Max Lobo. To the outsiders who might pass through Moonburrow, he is the scowly sheriff. To the supe residents, he is the all-powerful Alpha of the Moonshadow Pack.
To me? He’s my mate.
He doesn’t seem to recognize me as his, though, and I’m okay with that. After all, I’m too busy taking over my witchy grandmother’s old bakery. With her recipes, my sense of humor and work ethic, and my sidekick, Gus, I focus on making Dough You Believe In Magic a success.
Which probably would’ve been a lot easier if I didn’t stumble upon a dead predator outside my back door—or if it didn’t bring the Alpha repeatedly to my front one.
Thrown together with Max, I have to figure out who targeted my bakery, why it seems like I might’ve been the one they were after, and how to survive being around the Alpha as he begins to realize that I’m not just some newcomer prey bumbling around on his territory that he needs to protect… but the other half of his wolf’s soul he has to claim.
Hey. Fake it ’til you mate it, right?
302 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 11, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 569 reviews
November 14, 2025
Was it good? No, not really. Did it make me laugh and did I have fun reading it anyway? Yep.
November 11, 2025
Quick read… little disappointing
2.5/5 stars
I don’t typically leave reviews, but I’ve been waiting for this particular book for months. I don’t know if I hyped it up in my head and maybe was expecting too much but it left me a little disappointed. Not to say that it wasn’t good, but it feels like there was no real payoff.
I read this on kindle and there were some mistakes, usually that doesn’t bother me but this time it did take me out a bit as it was confusing and I had to reread to understand some things.
The characters aren’t really fleshed out, there’s a lot of monologuing. Honey and Max don’t really have chemistry and their interactions have no tension.
If there was maybe an insta-love descriptor I would’ve understood and expected it, but they kind of just get together and many of their feelings are not shown or implied well.
The side characters aren’t interesting, I don’t know why so many were introduced just to hold no real place in the story.
I understand what Roxy *I can’t remember her name* was supposed to be, but again she wasn’t fleshed out enough to feel anything for her or want to read her book.
The “twist/villain/murderer” plot felt thrown in. The two scenes that are supposed to be “foreshadowing,” aren’t. If this was a longer book I’d hope there’d have been more thought put into the murder plot rather than just a clumsy device to get the main characters to interact more.
Now, having said all this, I understand that this is first and foremost a romance book and taking it at face value it’s truthfully just alright. It’s a quick read, not much conflict, no angst, and no big emotions.
The plot sounded interesting; you don’t come across too many prey shifter books, especially opossums (which I love), but it just wasn’t executed well.
Honestly, give it a shot. Don’t take my review as a deterrent, you might like it a lot, it just wasn’t it for me, unfortunately.
2.5/5 stars
I don’t typically leave reviews, but I’ve been waiting for this particular book for months. I don’t know if I hyped it up in my head and maybe was expecting too much but it left me a little disappointed. Not to say that it wasn’t good, but it feels like there was no real payoff.
I read this on kindle and there were some mistakes, usually that doesn’t bother me but this time it did take me out a bit as it was confusing and I had to reread to understand some things.
The characters aren’t really fleshed out, there’s a lot of monologuing. Honey and Max don’t really have chemistry and their interactions have no tension.
If there was maybe an insta-love descriptor I would’ve understood and expected it, but they kind of just get together and many of their feelings are not shown or implied well.
The side characters aren’t interesting, I don’t know why so many were introduced just to hold no real place in the story.
I understand what Roxy *I can’t remember her name* was supposed to be, but again she wasn’t fleshed out enough to feel anything for her or want to read her book.
The “twist/villain/murderer” plot felt thrown in. The two scenes that are supposed to be “foreshadowing,” aren’t. If this was a longer book I’d hope there’d have been more thought put into the murder plot rather than just a clumsy device to get the main characters to interact more.
Now, having said all this, I understand that this is first and foremost a romance book and taking it at face value it’s truthfully just alright. It’s a quick read, not much conflict, no angst, and no big emotions.
The plot sounded interesting; you don’t come across too many prey shifter books, especially opossums (which I love), but it just wasn’t executed well.
Honestly, give it a shot. Don’t take my review as a deterrent, you might like it a lot, it just wasn’t it for me, unfortunately.
November 22, 2025
Cute idea, poor execution. Not enough time devoted to the relationship or the murder mystery. When the killer was finally revealed I was like “who?” Bummer.
February 1, 2026
This was really cute. I loved the opossum shifter who "played dead" when she was startled. It was so unique.
I will try more by this author but I wish they got a little help with editing the story. It's a really good one but she often pops into "telling not showing" realm and we learn an important event happened because a character thinks "oh, that happened" rather than us experiencing it with them.
Safe. Dual virgins. Which is something I always appreciate when fated mates are a thing. The spice did not do it for me tho. It was written a little on the cringey side.
I will try more by this author but I wish they got a little help with editing the story. It's a really good one but she often pops into "telling not showing" realm and we learn an important event happened because a character thinks "oh, that happened" rather than us experiencing it with them.
Safe. Dual virgins. Which is something I always appreciate when fated mates are a thing. The spice did not do it for me tho. It was written a little on the cringey side.
June 1, 2026
Can’t believe I read an entire book about an opossum shifter
November 14, 2025
Get it here:
Amazon US * Amazon UK
For a quick and easy read, this one was pretty good. The premise had me dying to read it and the heroine definitely delivered the awkwardness that I was expecting. Which was a good thing and kept the story feeling light and playful. I do wish the relationship had been fleshed out more and that we got to see more of it. The book focused more on Honey than anything else and while that wasn't horrible it left me wanting more of Max. Especially since it was made such a secret that they were mates and the scene where Max finally figured it out felt so rushed and pushed to the side.
Amazon US * Amazon UK
For a quick and easy read, this one was pretty good. The premise had me dying to read it and the heroine definitely delivered the awkwardness that I was expecting. Which was a good thing and kept the story feeling light and playful. I do wish the relationship had been fleshed out more and that we got to see more of it. The book focused more on Honey than anything else and while that wasn't horrible it left me wanting more of Max. Especially since it was made such a secret that they were mates and the scene where Max finally figured it out felt so rushed and pushed to the side.
November 13, 2025
4⭐️ 1🌶️
When I heard there was a book about a possum shifter that keeps waking up in the morgue after fainting I couldn’t download this book fast enough. I dropped everything and I mean everything to start reading immediately and I read it in one sitting.
This book was cute and funny and such a fun little escape from reality. I loved Max, Honey, and Gus. Max and Honey are fated mates but since Honey is a prey shifter she didn’t think Max, not just a wolf shifter but the alpha of the wolf pack, would be interested in her so she wore a charm to hide her scent from him. And yet Max couldn’t seem to stay away. He was protective and possessive and I was here for it!! The chapter headers where we get to see Gus’ (Honey’s opossum sidekick) were such a fun touch!
This book is heavy on the vibes and I do think the conflict resolution at the end had a more obvious resolution. But I’m not mad at it. I picked this book up hoping for a fun time with lots of laughs and this book delivered on that!
When I heard there was a book about a possum shifter that keeps waking up in the morgue after fainting I couldn’t download this book fast enough. I dropped everything and I mean everything to start reading immediately and I read it in one sitting.
This book was cute and funny and such a fun little escape from reality. I loved Max, Honey, and Gus. Max and Honey are fated mates but since Honey is a prey shifter she didn’t think Max, not just a wolf shifter but the alpha of the wolf pack, would be interested in her so she wore a charm to hide her scent from him. And yet Max couldn’t seem to stay away. He was protective and possessive and I was here for it!! The chapter headers where we get to see Gus’ (Honey’s opossum sidekick) were such a fun touch!
This book is heavy on the vibes and I do think the conflict resolution at the end had a more obvious resolution. But I’m not mad at it. I picked this book up hoping for a fun time with lots of laughs and this book delivered on that!
January 7, 2026
Content warnings: murder, dead bodies, poisoning, snake bite
This was ridiculous. Fun, but ridiculous. I kind of struggled with the concept of prey shifters but I think that's because I've read the Kate Daniels series too many times where Clan Rat holds a lot of power and yet this rat shifter is quaking in his boots about having to interact with the world in general?
Anyway. I wanted the pet opossum to be less present in the story, and I expected them to spend more time in, you know, their shifted form than they did. But it was an enjoyable if ridiculous read nonetheless.
This was ridiculous. Fun, but ridiculous. I kind of struggled with the concept of prey shifters but I think that's because I've read the Kate Daniels series too many times where Clan Rat holds a lot of power and yet this rat shifter is quaking in his boots about having to interact with the world in general?
Anyway. I wanted the pet opossum to be less present in the story, and I expected them to spend more time in, you know, their shifted form than they did. But it was an enjoyable if ridiculous read nonetheless.
March 27, 2026
2⭐️
Eh I don’t have much to say either than that it was a quick short read but the inner monologue of the FMC was honestly boring so I skipped some parts.
Eh I don’t have much to say either than that it was a quick short read but the inner monologue of the FMC was honestly boring so I skipped some parts.
November 16, 2025
2.5 stars
── ✿ ── ✿ ── ✿ ──
“Mother died. Again. But she got better, and I’m glad. Who else will take care of Gus?“
── ✿ ── ✿ ── ✿ ──
This book had such an adorable setup that I honestly thought it would end up being a new comfort read. An opossum shifter who literally keels over at the slightest inconvenience paired with the local alpha sheriff who has to solve a murder? That is romcom gold. Honey was funny, sweet, and just the right kind of chaotic. Her whole “I play dead at everything” thing had so much comedic potential and actually delivered in the early chapters.
But once I settled into the story, the cracks began to show. The typos were everywhere and not the cute kind you can shrug off. These were the kind that pulled me out of the story again and again. Then came the repetition, which was brutal. Honey must have told me she’s an opossum shifter at least thirty times. I understood it the first time. I understood it the fifth time. By the tenth time I was ready to personally escort her to a therapist and ask why she feels compelled to announce her species every ten minutes.
The pacing also suffered because of how often lines, thoughts, and explanations were reused. Scenes that should have flowed ended up feeling a bit dragged because the book kept circling back to the same points. It made the middle portion feel more like a loop than a progression, and I found myself skimming whenever the déjà vu kicked in.
What made this even more noticeable was the imbalance in the cast. The female characters? Fabulous. Honey, Roxy, even the deer shifter who popped in for all of two seconds had personality. Roxy was also a total highlight and easily stole every scene she was in. But the male characters struggled. Max, despite being the romantic lead, felt thinly sketched. His whole personality was “dominant wolf” and not much else. Every other male character blended together, which is a shame because the setup really could have given them more dimension.
The romance itself was cute at moments but lacked the spark I wanted. There were glimmers of genuine chemistry, but they kept getting buried under repetition, typos, and flat characterisation on the male side. It felt like a story that had all the right ingredients but needed another draft to actually mix them together properly.
All that said, the premise still makes me smile just thinking about it. I liked the bones of this book, I enjoyed Honey’s humour, and I absolutely see potential in the world. With some heavy editing and more depth for the male cast, this could have been a standout. As it is, it was an okay read with fun moments, but not one I’ll be revisiting.
── ✿ ── ✿ ── ✿ ──
“Mother died. Again. But she got better, and I’m glad. Who else will take care of Gus?“
── ✿ ── ✿ ── ✿ ──
This book had such an adorable setup that I honestly thought it would end up being a new comfort read. An opossum shifter who literally keels over at the slightest inconvenience paired with the local alpha sheriff who has to solve a murder? That is romcom gold. Honey was funny, sweet, and just the right kind of chaotic. Her whole “I play dead at everything” thing had so much comedic potential and actually delivered in the early chapters.
But once I settled into the story, the cracks began to show. The typos were everywhere and not the cute kind you can shrug off. These were the kind that pulled me out of the story again and again. Then came the repetition, which was brutal. Honey must have told me she’s an opossum shifter at least thirty times. I understood it the first time. I understood it the fifth time. By the tenth time I was ready to personally escort her to a therapist and ask why she feels compelled to announce her species every ten minutes.
The pacing also suffered because of how often lines, thoughts, and explanations were reused. Scenes that should have flowed ended up feeling a bit dragged because the book kept circling back to the same points. It made the middle portion feel more like a loop than a progression, and I found myself skimming whenever the déjà vu kicked in.
What made this even more noticeable was the imbalance in the cast. The female characters? Fabulous. Honey, Roxy, even the deer shifter who popped in for all of two seconds had personality. Roxy was also a total highlight and easily stole every scene she was in. But the male characters struggled. Max, despite being the romantic lead, felt thinly sketched. His whole personality was “dominant wolf” and not much else. Every other male character blended together, which is a shame because the setup really could have given them more dimension.
The romance itself was cute at moments but lacked the spark I wanted. There were glimmers of genuine chemistry, but they kept getting buried under repetition, typos, and flat characterisation on the male side. It felt like a story that had all the right ingredients but needed another draft to actually mix them together properly.
All that said, the premise still makes me smile just thinking about it. I liked the bones of this book, I enjoyed Honey’s humour, and I absolutely see potential in the world. With some heavy editing and more depth for the male cast, this could have been a standout. As it is, it was an okay read with fun moments, but not one I’ll be revisiting.
January 8, 2026
2.5 but I can't give it a three.
spoilers.
I think my problem with this book is it's full of "almost". We almost feel a connection to the main character but she falls a little flat, we don't really get to know her as much as we get listed facts. listed facts about opposums, listed facts about family, and eventually it seems a check box of what mates do. I wanted to like her but we didn't get much to go on.
We almost get a back and forth? But this falls super flat too. they don't really banter, there isn't really longing, and there isn't really a reason they aren't together that didn't then fall apart in two seconds.
We also almost get a male character but he has even less detail than the main character. his brother is cursed, he's the alpha of his clan and we get no more depth than that. We don't even get insight into his feelings on prey versus predators.
Then the bad guy. I mean. I guess? I see where she went with it but it's such an oddly flimsy connection especially since she didn't even notice the wolf almost in her shop. So I think that just fell super flat. I mean I'm hoping there is some connection to the bunny and the prey circle eventually because that would make more sense than the crazy wolf just lost it, and that is the story.
overall, I was not expecting a masterpiece. I didn't think it would be too much more than a romcom dressed up in supernatural clothing, but I suppose I was hoping? Idk.
spoilers.
I think my problem with this book is it's full of "almost". We almost feel a connection to the main character but she falls a little flat, we don't really get to know her as much as we get listed facts. listed facts about opposums, listed facts about family, and eventually it seems a check box of what mates do. I wanted to like her but we didn't get much to go on.
We almost get a back and forth? But this falls super flat too. they don't really banter, there isn't really longing, and there isn't really a reason they aren't together that didn't then fall apart in two seconds.
We also almost get a male character but he has even less detail than the main character. his brother is cursed, he's the alpha of his clan and we get no more depth than that. We don't even get insight into his feelings on prey versus predators.
Then the bad guy. I mean. I guess? I see where she went with it but it's such an oddly flimsy connection especially since she didn't even notice the wolf almost in her shop. So I think that just fell super flat. I mean I'm hoping there is some connection to the bunny and the prey circle eventually because that would make more sense than the crazy wolf just lost it, and that is the story.
overall, I was not expecting a masterpiece. I didn't think it would be too much more than a romcom dressed up in supernatural clothing, but I suppose I was hoping? Idk.
November 14, 2025
This was very disappointing and hard to read. I am not picky about my shifter books and I was really looking forward to one about a unique type of shifter but this one really fell flat. Max had no personality at all. The mystery fell very slapped together and so did their whole relationship. The spelling and grammar errors really got out of control as well, especially toward the end. It doesn’t seem to have been edited at all. At one point she described Gus the opossum as being orange?!?! I usually just skate past errors but I almost closed the book at that point because they had just been building up so much.
November 16, 2025
Opossums are one of my favourite animals and I'm always looking for more unusual shifter books. I have never seen an opossum shifter in a book before, especially not where it's one of the main characters. The writing style was good and I love the chapter headers with commentary from the actual opossum Gus. Definitely my favourite character :)
November 16, 2025
honestly not as bad as it sounds lol, definitely needed an editor and I thought it would have smut but it really didn't, still I liked the story. also I love gus and need a book in his perspective.
January 4, 2026
This earned stars because I loved Gus. Otherwise this wasn’t for me.
Read jailenix poratta’s review on here - I agree fully.
Read jailenix poratta’s review on here - I agree fully.
Read
September 6, 2026Posting this review so I can permanently wipe this experience from my memory (because reserving head space for this book would be an act of disrespect to my brain).
Me: They're a 10 but they are an opossum shifter? ZERO, I don't date rodents.
Welkom bij book club round 2, book 1. What a ride it was! Laten we beginnen met een fun fact over mezelf: iedereen heeft voor- en afkeuren omtrent genres, tropes en andere specifieke dingen. Mijn algemene no-go's zijn weerwolven romances en het crime/mystery genre. Twee keer raden waar dit boek over gaat: een buidelrat MC die een alfa weerwolf als LI heeft, en terwijl de liefde tussen hen opbloeit zijn ze druk bezig (maar natuurlijk niet zo druk als met elkaar te flirten) met een moord op te lossen. Yeah, we were doomed from the start, my friends. Dit boek speelde zich dan ook af in een wereld waarin iedereen een of andere shifter was en dus een vacht heeft. Horrible horrible horrible. Like, wdym 'wij' (=de MC) hadden een crush op een stekelvarken?? Get these furries away from me, dear goddd. But anyway, we persevered and so here we am, sharing my experience as if I'm in therapy.
Al meteen na het lezen van de proloog & het eerste hoofdstuk dacht ik in mezelf van 'wat is dit voor een boek? Waar ben ik mee bezig'. Ik had op dat moment enkele (in mijn onschuldige ogen) crazy zinnen opgeschreven om te illustreren:
- (...) If I go furry
- Grandpa Gary shifted to an opossum one last time before I was born and then fell asleep
- Ever since Gus imprinted on my opossum (...)
Ik was echt naïef met denken dat dit de uitzonderlijke, cringiest zinnen waren, maar nee, dit was letterlijk gewoon de vibe van het hele boek.
Buiten de (opnieuw) questionable name choice voor de MC, Honey, vond ik haar nog wel een likeable personage. Girlie die houdt van bakken en een emotional support rat heeft? You could confuse Honey with Jolien and I wouldn't blame you. De LI, Max Lobo (short for lobotomise me?), had in tegenstelling echt weer de persoonlijkheid van een droge schoenzool. Hij was natuurlijk powerful, possessive, 'hot' & had 'crazy' spieren. Maar alas, we hebben ondertussen al zoveel (cringe) boeken gelezen dat ik echt desensitised ben voor deze LI's. Wat was wel verfrissend aan deze dominant, super possessive, super powerful, ripped Alpha Alpha Alpha (just trying to transfer the vibe of his book description to you guys): He could rip his underwear straight off his body by simply flexing his muscles (I completely lost it at that point, and not in a hot & bothered kind of way). How bout that??? Dit is dan ook de banger waarmee ik deze review wil afsluiten.
Peace out & tot het volgende boek (praying so hard them blue aliens don't have fur)
Me: They're a 10 but they are an opossum shifter? ZERO, I don't date rodents.
Welkom bij book club round 2, book 1. What a ride it was! Laten we beginnen met een fun fact over mezelf: iedereen heeft voor- en afkeuren omtrent genres, tropes en andere specifieke dingen. Mijn algemene no-go's zijn weerwolven romances en het crime/mystery genre. Twee keer raden waar dit boek over gaat: een buidelrat MC die een alfa weerwolf als LI heeft, en terwijl de liefde tussen hen opbloeit zijn ze druk bezig (maar natuurlijk niet zo druk als met elkaar te flirten) met een moord op te lossen. Yeah, we were doomed from the start, my friends. Dit boek speelde zich dan ook af in een wereld waarin iedereen een of andere shifter was en dus een vacht heeft. Horrible horrible horrible. Like, wdym 'wij' (=de MC) hadden een crush op een stekelvarken?? Get these furries away from me, dear goddd. But anyway, we persevered and so here we am, sharing my experience as if I'm in therapy.
Al meteen na het lezen van de proloog & het eerste hoofdstuk dacht ik in mezelf van 'wat is dit voor een boek? Waar ben ik mee bezig'. Ik had op dat moment enkele (in mijn onschuldige ogen) crazy zinnen opgeschreven om te illustreren:
- (...) If I go furry
- Grandpa Gary shifted to an opossum one last time before I was born and then fell asleep
- Ever since Gus imprinted on my opossum (...)
Ik was echt naïef met denken dat dit de uitzonderlijke, cringiest zinnen waren, maar nee, dit was letterlijk gewoon de vibe van het hele boek.
Buiten de (opnieuw) questionable name choice voor de MC, Honey, vond ik haar nog wel een likeable personage. Girlie die houdt van bakken en een emotional support rat heeft? You could confuse Honey with Jolien and I wouldn't blame you. De LI, Max Lobo (short for lobotomise me?), had in tegenstelling echt weer de persoonlijkheid van een droge schoenzool. Hij was natuurlijk powerful, possessive, 'hot' & had 'crazy' spieren. Maar alas, we hebben ondertussen al zoveel (cringe) boeken gelezen dat ik echt desensitised ben voor deze LI's. Wat was wel verfrissend aan deze dominant, super possessive, super powerful, ripped Alpha Alpha Alpha (just trying to transfer the vibe of his book description to you guys): He could rip his underwear straight off his body by simply flexing his muscles (I completely lost it at that point, and not in a hot & bothered kind of way). How bout that??? Dit is dan ook de banger waarmee ik deze review wil afsluiten.
Peace out & tot het volgende boek (praying so hard them blue aliens don't have fur)
January 20, 2026
I would say that this is a very easy fluff read with a really cute idea that had potential. I loved Gus and his little epigraphs. The beginning of the book was good enough to keep you hooked for what it was, however the relationships between friends in the MMC were poorly built on. I felt no connection to anyone except for Gus. If I’m being honest Gus was the only reason I kept pushing through.
I wish the author had elaborated more on why Honey wanted to keep it a secret that they were mates. The ending was complete convenience and the Abigail plot line really pissed me off for a “maybe mate”? What do you mean she attempted murder and is dead because she thought this guy was her POSSIBLE mate. She didn’t even confirm her attempt was complete and then she’s dead. FOR WHAT A MAN!!!! No thank you. Honey should have been mad that she hadn’t came to her as a friend to help take down the murderer or Abigail could have left a skid-dish clue then went into hiding ANYTHING but attempted murder to make a man happy then have Honey understand and ALMOST AGREE!
“Oh, Abigail... I know I should hate her for trying to kill me, but I... I get it. If she believed that Leo was her mate, she would do anything to make him happy. I would do anything-but I'm pretty sure I'd draw the line at murder...”
PRETTY SURE!!!! that’s a possible hard line. Why am I questioning if Honey left some wiggle room?
I finished this paragraph and immediately questioning why I picked this book up. Oh yea Gus.
The “spice“ was like an air headed teenager wrote it. “Considering my body is well-pleas-ured and I'd had his d**** inside of me” what who thinks like this after post relations.
After they do the deed, honey, and Max‘s interactions are so cringe and clingy. It was a tough read to the end after chapter 16. I skipped the epilogue, especially after Gus’s epigraph about a sibling hard pass.
I wish the author had elaborated more on why Honey wanted to keep it a secret that they were mates. The ending was complete convenience and the Abigail plot line really pissed me off for a “maybe mate”? What do you mean she attempted murder and is dead because she thought this guy was her POSSIBLE mate. She didn’t even confirm her attempt was complete and then she’s dead. FOR WHAT A MAN!!!! No thank you. Honey should have been mad that she hadn’t came to her as a friend to help take down the murderer or Abigail could have left a skid-dish clue then went into hiding ANYTHING but attempted murder to make a man happy then have Honey understand and ALMOST AGREE!
“Oh, Abigail... I know I should hate her for trying to kill me, but I... I get it. If she believed that Leo was her mate, she would do anything to make him happy. I would do anything-but I'm pretty sure I'd draw the line at murder...”
PRETTY SURE!!!! that’s a possible hard line. Why am I questioning if Honey left some wiggle room?
I finished this paragraph and immediately questioning why I picked this book up. Oh yea Gus.
The “spice“ was like an air headed teenager wrote it. “Considering my body is well-pleas-ured and I'd had his d**** inside of me” what who thinks like this after post relations.
After they do the deed, honey, and Max‘s interactions are so cringe and clingy. It was a tough read to the end after chapter 16. I skipped the epilogue, especially after Gus’s epigraph about a sibling hard pass.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 12, 2025
Max & Honey
I preordered this book because I saw a Facebook post about it & I wanted to make sure I read it as soon as it was released. The premise sounded so interesting but the execution lacked.
I loved the memos from Gus - he was my favorite character.
I didn’t like that there was no emotional build up with the MCs. I get they are fated mates & it’s insta love but they weren’t even working together until halfway through the book. They were both working towards the same goal but separately. I also wasn’t a fan of the contradiction. In one part of the story, Max can’t scent her because of the soap she’s using but towards the end, she asks Max’s brother if he was the reason he couldn’t scent her. That made no sense to me & felt like it was just thrown in. Max had also stated at the beginning when they kissed to forget it ever happened but when he recognized Honey as his mate, he said don’t make me forget again.
There are also several areas that need to be edited.
Overall, the book is okay. I wouldn’t read it again. It’s a quick read but I struggled to actually want to finish it. The story is kind of confusing & I had to reread parts several times to make sure I wasn’t missing anything. It’s not dual POV, which I feel like would have actually helped with the emotional connection issue.
I know spice levels are subjective but I would consider this a 0.5/5
I preordered this book because I saw a Facebook post about it & I wanted to make sure I read it as soon as it was released. The premise sounded so interesting but the execution lacked.
I loved the memos from Gus - he was my favorite character.
I didn’t like that there was no emotional build up with the MCs. I get they are fated mates & it’s insta love but they weren’t even working together until halfway through the book. They were both working towards the same goal but separately. I also wasn’t a fan of the contradiction. In one part of the story, Max can’t scent her because of the soap she’s using but towards the end, she asks Max’s brother if he was the reason he couldn’t scent her. That made no sense to me & felt like it was just thrown in. Max had also stated at the beginning when they kissed to forget it ever happened but when he recognized Honey as his mate, he said don’t make me forget again.
There are also several areas that need to be edited.
Overall, the book is okay. I wouldn’t read it again. It’s a quick read but I struggled to actually want to finish it. The story is kind of confusing & I had to reread parts several times to make sure I wasn’t missing anything. It’s not dual POV, which I feel like would have actually helped with the emotional connection issue.
I know spice levels are subjective but I would consider this a 0.5/5
May 28, 2026
please don’t make me read this ever again. why did we have to talk abt the fur in all the food she’s baking and the no health department?? that was so unnecessary why couldn’t it have been like a magic thing and not a “my customer is picking fur out of her teeth after eating my cupcake” that is GROSS!! also did no one in town know anything about her grandma? her grandma never talked abt how she married an opossum shifter and had kids with him? they were in love and married for so many years and then she never talked abt him ever again when he died? how does no one on this town know she has shifter blood? it was very instalovey and there was no chemistry between any of the characters. the smut was cringey and rushed and just bad. why was there no foreplay?? why were they both 30 yr old virgins but somehow had amazing awesome sex with zero foreplay and no consequences for that? and please lord god WHY did his underwear burst off his body like that?? most of the conflict with the Big Bad could’ve been very easily solved, after talking so much about how wolves kill first and ask questions later and are so violent and don’t take kindly to being challenged, why was there so much conflict over how to deal with the big bad? kill him????
overall- was it an interested idea for a story? sure. was it fun and enjoyable to read? absolutely not save yourself do not read it
overall- was it an interested idea for a story? sure. was it fun and enjoyable to read? absolutely not save yourself do not read it
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 15, 2025
You felt like home. Even before I knew what you were or had any thoughts about who you could be. And I told myself that was dangerous.
3.75 stars
I've had this new series on my radar for a while now because one of my favorite sub-tropes is a predator/prey shifter pairing. This story has a mate-bond between an alpha wolf shifter who is the ultimate protector and an opossum shifter who 'plays dead' at the worst times. And while I loved the predator/prey dynamic between Max and Honey, this story never fully reached its full potential for me. The romance was more tell than show for me as Honey spent the majority of the book avoiding Max and hiding their bond from him. The murder mystery was interesting but was solved way to quickly at the end to be fully enjoyed. Lastly, there were also so many spelling/grammar mistakes that it actually brought me out of the story. Overall, it was an okay story, but I don't think I will continue this series as I didn't really care for Roxy's character.
Tropes: fated mates, cozy murder mystery, protective sheriff wolf alpha, opossum bakery owner who 'plays dead', rom-com vibes, slow burn, found family, slight steam🔥
November 14, 2025
This was cute cringe cosy fluff and everything I needed. This definitely could have done with an editor as there were quite a few errors but I had a fun time reading it.
I didn’t love Roxy as a character so I don’t think I’ll be reading her story.
I didn’t love Roxy as a character so I don’t think I’ll be reading her story.
November 30, 2025
I mean the main character is an opossum shifter who "dies" for a few hours when she gets scared LOL
It was cute.
It was cute.
January 20, 2026
Overall Rating - 3.75⭐️
This gave me Bride/Mate vibes but make it Laurie Gilmore coded lol it was a fun read. Super short and not full of just spice. Having opossum shifters, bunny shifters, raccoon shifters was so entertaining. Honey and Roxy have a hilarious dynamic. Gus is the best little sidekick you could ask for. It’s a little of a murder mystery too. If you like shifterverse stories with small town vibes, this might be worth your time.
This gave me Bride/Mate vibes but make it Laurie Gilmore coded lol it was a fun read. Super short and not full of just spice. Having opossum shifters, bunny shifters, raccoon shifters was so entertaining. Honey and Roxy have a hilarious dynamic. Gus is the best little sidekick you could ask for. It’s a little of a murder mystery too. If you like shifterverse stories with small town vibes, this might be worth your time.
January 18, 2026
This one was fun - shifters plus cozy mystery. Really could have benefited from multiple POVs, most of this was just in the FMC's head and not enough dialogue to break that up.
June 4, 2026
This book was amazing solely because of Gus. I could care less about the other characters, they were good but nothing compared to this opossum. The whole book could have been Gus's inner monologue and it would have been even better. We need more of Gus! Besides Gus, this book was a wonderful quick read. Cozy murder mystery with an overlay of romance and an adorable sidekick, what more could you want? I enjoyed the banter between Max and Honey, although I wish we would have seen more of honeys opossum side. I loved at the end where she shifts into an opossum to mark him and bites a heart into his chest. I loved every part that had gus, he was described so vividly I could clearly imagine what he was doing (his 'tude reminded me of my sisters dog in the best way). 10/10, 5 stars no notes.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 25, 2026
I really enjoyed this one overall. It was so silly, but still a pretty sweet love story. Shifter romances are already pretty silly usually, but tying in an opossum really brought it to a new level. 😂 I LOVED her “son”, Gus, and getting his little statements. I also enjoyed that a small-town murder mystery was tied in as a main story line, along with the romance, instead of it feeling like an afterthought. I think it was a pretty cute story overall.
December 18, 2025
I'll give this a 1.5 star just for the creativity of prey vs predator trope but that's about it. It's poorly written with typos. The whole book was the FMC internal dialogue with very, very little outside conversation with the MMC. No build up to anything but their mates? and the "mystery" stuff kinda seems half assed with no thought to it. Also using the phrase "say it...out loud" was enough for me to DNF this book but I skipped to the end just to say I finished it. Hate that this is my last book of the year 🙄
January 8, 2026
Just so cheesy and bad
I knew this was going to be bad and read it anyways. But there was a cute possum on the cover that made me click on it and then the amazon synopsis made me laugh at how many tropes they fit in one sentence:
"A possum shifter wakes up in a morgue and moves to a supernatural town, where she runs a magical bakery and discovers her mate is an Alpha wolf sheriff while investing a murder."
It was just as bad as I thought it was going to be. Honestly this felt like some high schoolers weird AU zootopia fanfic.
I knew this was going to be bad and read it anyways. But there was a cute possum on the cover that made me click on it and then the amazon synopsis made me laugh at how many tropes they fit in one sentence:
"A possum shifter wakes up in a morgue and moves to a supernatural town, where she runs a magical bakery and discovers her mate is an Alpha wolf sheriff while investing a murder."
It was just as bad as I thought it was going to be. Honestly this felt like some high schoolers weird AU zootopia fanfic.
July 3, 2026
Simultaneously, this book is the best and worst piece of literature I have encountered. First 50 pages are pure gold. It has everything you could ever want: waking up in a morgue, a opossum best friend, and baked goods. Overall, an easy and silly read that you shouldn't take too seriously. Honestly, this is the best book regarding opossum shape shifters I have read and I am not scared to admit it!
January 26, 2026
This book was super cute and had me quite literally laughing out loud! Nobody thinks about the prey shifters. I know I never do until I came across this book. I love Honey and Max and of course Roxy, but my absolute favorite character is Gus 😂
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