A mating of convenience even a lone wolf can't refuse.
I'm Wren, a shifter without a pack in a world where unclaimed females are considered property. Luckily, friendly ghosts keep me one step ahead of greedy alphas while also helping me free other women before they’re sold to the highest bidder.
Then a battle-scarred alpha who can banish ghosts with a single touch rips into my carefully controlled world. Locke offers me a become his mate in name only, and he’ll fight by my side to free lone females.
I try to refuse. I should refuse. But when one of my ghosts becomes trapped in Locke's territory and the next mate market looms, I realize I can't win this battle alone.
I need the help of someone living—even if it means binding myself to an alpha like the one who turned my friends into ghosts.
Mate Market is the first book in the slow-burn romantic urban fantasy Ghost Pack series, set in the unforgiving arctic wilderness where forced proximity, found family, and fierce werewolves collide.
Aimee Easterling is a USA Today Bestselling author writing on the boundary between urban fantasy and paranormal romance. She specializes in spunky shifters and invites you to dive into her werewolf world in the Wolf Rampant trilogy, the spinoff Bloodling serial, and her new Alpha Underground series.
Studying biology and working as a naturalist have both informed Aimee's writing, but she's quite willing to let reality slide in favor of a good story. When not writing, she loves to read and always keeps books by Robin McKinley, Patricia Briggs, and Elizabeth Peters on her shelf. You can learn more at www.aimeeeasterling.com.
Ever since the outpack fell, Wren and her ghost pack have been working to free women who have been captured and offered for sale as mates to unscrupulous alphas. It’s at one of these markets where she meets Locke, who turns everything she thought she knew about alphas upside down.
I really enjoyed this book, Wren had a very traumatic past, but she and her ghost pack have been doing an amazing job freeing women from the Mate Markets. However, I have to admit that Locke was probably my favorite character. He was perfect for Wren, he’s strong, but incredibly patient and accepting of her demands, regardless of whether they made sense to him or not. He’s really the perfect mate to help her heal from her past trauma. In fact, if you liked Locke, I highly recommend reading the prequel short story, Alpha’s Guide to Lost Wolves, to learn more about him—I love that the prequel title fits nicely with the book titles that Wren references throughout the story, it definitely made me smile. This new series is off to an awesome start and the book ends with a great hook for the second book, which I am eagerly awaiting! I am a big fan of Ms. Easterling and I cannot wait to read what happens next!
A new heroine! Wren has had a tough life. Her current pack consist of one person, Morgan, and five ghosts. Two of the ghosts, Braden and Chloe, are friends who are killed right in front of her by a former alpha. Wren shares a connection to her ghostly pack members through objects from their past lives and her blood. You'll see. Wren, Morgan, and the ghosts have been working to free the unwilling female shifters of so-called called mate markets. The females are captured and sold to alphas who need mates or, more likely, pups. The ghostly members of the pack provide much needed support to Wren who is usually locked in a cage as a decoy. When Locke shows up looking for a mate, his touch breaks Wren's connections to her ghost pack members. That's how it all starts.
I won't spoil the story for you. If you read 'Alpha's Guide to Lost Wolves,' you will recognize a few of the characters in this book since that was a bit of a prequel. Don't worry if you didn't have a chance to read it, this book stands alone. Wren will find something she never expected and lose some things she wouldn't have ever imagined. Locke will prove himself to be a worthy ally, even when Wren is hiding things from him. I was given an advanced copy of this book by the author. My review is voluntary.
Audiobook: I enjoyed this first book in this new series a lot. This story captured my attention from the opening until the end. I admired the use of the arctic wilderness as the backdrop for this story, and how several times descriptive words about feelings or some of the dialogue pointed towards that environment. I liked Wren and her fierceness as she worked to free captive females. I was astonished by the idea of a ghost pack, and I thought the idea was very creative. I enjoyed Grace Noble's narration as her performance enhanced the story's entertainment. I was given a copy of the audiobook. I volunteered, without financial gain, to post this review which reflected my honest opinions regarding this audiobook.
I’ve been reading this author for quite a while now, and I think her writing is getting better and better. This latest is a series starter, and what a starter it is. Poor Wren has so much trauma from when she was a teenager, and she saw something and did something that has scared her for a long time. I love how patient Locke is with her, and how that helps her with her trauma. Add to that, this is a pulse-pounding, action-filled, and interesting book sure to please fans and newcomers alike. I just loved this, and I can’t wait for the next one. Highly recommend. I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.
Mate Market (Ghost Pack book 1) by Aimee Easterling is a heart wretching trip into the world of kidnapping and selling unmated female werewolves reminiscent of human slave trafficking. Wren, AKA Robin Hood of the Cages, is determined, with the help of her ghost pack, to free these women and put an end to this inhumane practice. The problem is, Wren doesn't trust people, especially the living kind. And she really has hang ups about Alphas. But when she meets Locke, she begins to realize that maybe things could be different. Or not. Maybe she is better off alone with just her ghostly friends. After all, to trust again just may mean more heart break.
The storyline is fast-paced and very well written, filled with danger, kidnapping, intrigue, subterfuge, Alpha wars, trust issues and absolutely adorable ghosts 👻. True to form, the author once again creates an unusual twist on folklore with the addition of the ghost pack. The characters are well developed, unique and engaging. Wren is very hard core, while Locke is the perfect Alpha. But can they overcome their differences and learn to work together, or are mate markets going to continue despite their best efforts? Overall, I thoroughly appreciated reading Mate Market and highly recommend it!
The premise showed promise but everything was underdeveloped, the plot, the characters, the relationships and just the story as a whole. I feel like I could share the whole story with someone in 5 minutes. It’s like all the highlights of a good story were hit but in a very basic and quick way and everything was one note. It just needed a lot more development and it could have been good. This was one of those where the cover and the summary drew me in and I feel like neither were really what I got.
This story was not well written. There was jumble of things going on, but everything was just surface level.
Nothing was truly explained about -Wren's parents -the ghost ability (why it was so coveted-which we were told not shown) -no real explanation of werewolf culture, history, etc -no romance at all- didn't kiss or even hold hands -no world building, is there more creatures or magic
Wren seemed like a 16 year old, not 26 year old woman.
I did not enjoy and I will not continue this series
WOW! WHAT AN INTERESTING CAST OF CHARACTERS AND PLOT LINE! Another unique premise for a werewolf book by Aimee Easterling, who always delights with a new twist on werewolf life with every new series, and never disappoints! I enjoyed the narrator and the audiobook version and thank the publisher for my advanced listener copy. This is my honest and heartfelt review. I am eager to continue listening to this series and highly recommend Mate Market to you.
Fun concept. Yes, everyone (in the story) is a werewolf but Wren also has a pack bond to a group of ghost werewolves.
BUT... Young female werewolves are being trapped and sold to alphas. Wren and her friends (living and dead) are doing their best to rescue the females and disrupt the Mate Markets. Wren's life gets complicated.
when you read the description of this book it makes it sound like the MMC intentionally rips her ghosts away from her. Its much more of an accidental contact and he doesn't know he has that ability type deal. I really thought he was going to be a bit of an A hole to the FMC or that he would be trying to save her from the ghosts or something and that's not even close.
I was given this ebook by the author to read and since I enjoyed it so much decide to Review it. This is one of the most enjoyable Werewolf and ghost stories I read to date!! Highly recommend this book and I am looking forward to the next book when it comes out.
This is the first novel in Aimee Easterling’s Ghost Pack series of contemporary paranormal romantic fantasy. Although this story can be enjoyed on its own, I recommend reading the entire series in order, starting with the prequel short story, “Alpha's Guide to Lost Wolves.” This story takes place after the Rune Wolf series and has some references to that series, but you don’t have to read that series first to enjoy this.
Wren is a young werewolf with a traumatic past who is committed to rescuing other female werewolves who have been kidnapped and are being auctioned at mate markets. She’s assisted by one living friend and a small pack of ghost werewolves. When she meets Locke, a very attractive alpha in need of a mate, he offers her an unusual proposal: a mating of convenience where she will act as his mate to settle his pack, and he will fight at her side. What results is a very exciting, action-packed story with a slow burn romance.
I liked Wren and adored Locke, as well as many of the secondary characters. I couldn’t quite grasp the metaphysics of the ghost pack, but I was enjoying the story enough to just roll with it.
The audiobook production was good, and Grace Noble’s narration was fine. Her pacing felt a little off to me at times, but her pronunciation is clear, and she’s able to convey mood and emotion effectively. She mostly did well with character voices, although I occasionally found it hard to distinguish between some of the voices. I wish she had used more diverse accents and speech mannerisms.
If you enjoy paranormal romance, contemporary fantasy, and shifter stories, you should give this a try.
The author provided me with a free ARC and advanced listening copy. I am voluntarily posting this honest review.
Wren is a female wolf shifter without a pack which makes her vulnerable to capture and then being sold to the highest bidder. But with the help of some ghost, she has become a vigilante of sorts, by freeing other woman from the greedy alphas who would own them. When one of her missions to free a group of women who are being sold goes terribly wrong, she will be faced with a nearly impossible decision, become Locke’s mate or be sold to the highest bidder. Wow, this is an exciting and action-packed urban fantasy with an unexpected twist that kept me engrossed in this book from the very first page. I loved this book! The characters are absolutely fascinating, and their personalities are so realistically portrayed that they seemed to jump off the page and kept me engaged in their story to the point that I could not put this book down. A must-read book.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary ARC received from the author.
Partnermarkt ist das erste Buch der neuen Serie von Aimee Easterling die anknüpft an die Runenwolf Serie. Wren und ihre Verbündeten haben zum Ziel Märkte auf denen Frauen meißtbietend verkauft und gegen ihren Willen zur Paarung gezwungen werden abzuschaffen. Spannend und aufregend begleitet man Wren auf ihrer Mission und erlebt mit ihr Enttäuschung, Freude, Freundschaft und Zusammengehörigkeitsgefühl. Ich freue mich auf die Fortsetzung.
Partnermarkt ist das erste Buch der neuen Serie von Aimee Easterling die anknüpft an die Runenwolf Serie. Wren und ihre Verbündeten haben zum Ziel Märkte auf denen Frauen meißtbietend verkauft und gegen ihren Willen zur Paarung gezwungen werden abzuschaffen. Spannend und aufregend begleitet man Wren auf ihrer Mission und erlebt mit ihr Enttäuschung, Freude, Freundschaft und Zusammengehörigkeitsgefühl. Ich freue mich auf die Fortsetzung.