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The Mating Game
Two wolf shifters reluctant to love discover there’s no fighting the call of the wild in this steamy romance by USA Today bestselling author Lana Ferguson.
Contractor Tess Covington has spent her entire life as a regular non-shifter human, so after she lands in the Denver ER with flu-like symptoms, it comes as a complete shock to be told that, no, she’s not sick—she’s actually a late-presenting omega wolf shifter. With her family in dire financial straits and a contract for her own television show on the line, she can’t afford not to complete the renovation job she came for. And given that her newly emerged wolf is in danger of going into heat, she’ll just have to do her best to follow the doctor’s advice to keep away from alpha shifters.
Alpha wolf Hunter Barrett has spent most of his adult life living by a routine, and a big part of that involves staying clear of omegas after having one stomp on his heart. So when the tiny contractor shows up at his place smelling like the one thing he’s determined to avoid, he thinks it must be some sort of cosmic joke. But with his lodge on the verge of failing and this sweet-smelling omega his only hope to turn things around . . . he’s left with few other options than to grin and bear it.
Set on avoiding each other as much as possible, they find things unexpectedly starting to heat up between them enough to thaw even the frostiest of hearts. Though even with the pair going head over paws for each other, there’s no changing that their fling has an expiration date. The more time they spend together, the more they realize they’re playing a dangerous game—one where the only thing on the line is their hearts.
Contractor Tess Covington has spent her entire life as a regular non-shifter human, so after she lands in the Denver ER with flu-like symptoms, it comes as a complete shock to be told that, no, she’s not sick—she’s actually a late-presenting omega wolf shifter. With her family in dire financial straits and a contract for her own television show on the line, she can’t afford not to complete the renovation job she came for. And given that her newly emerged wolf is in danger of going into heat, she’ll just have to do her best to follow the doctor’s advice to keep away from alpha shifters.
Alpha wolf Hunter Barrett has spent most of his adult life living by a routine, and a big part of that involves staying clear of omegas after having one stomp on his heart. So when the tiny contractor shows up at his place smelling like the one thing he’s determined to avoid, he thinks it must be some sort of cosmic joke. But with his lodge on the verge of failing and this sweet-smelling omega his only hope to turn things around . . . he’s left with few other options than to grin and bear it.
Set on avoiding each other as much as possible, they find things unexpectedly starting to heat up between them enough to thaw even the frostiest of hearts. Though even with the pair going head over paws for each other, there’s no changing that their fling has an expiration date. The more time they spend together, the more they realize they’re playing a dangerous game—one where the only thing on the line is their hearts.
400 pages, Paperback
First published December 2, 2025
1262 people are currently reading
53230 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,133 reviews
August 25, 2025
Thank you so much to NetGalley for providing this ARC!
Lana Ferguson has DONE IT AGAIN. I was completely obsessed with The Fake Mate when it came out and I fear that this one was even better!!! I absolutely loved the romance in this one - the chemistry was CRAZY. The MMC in this was so grumpy at the same time as being incredibly down bad, and then add the cosy cabin vibes and the *kinda* 'we shouldn't' vibes?? Immaculate.
I always love Lana Ferguson's writing and this one was no different. I feel like she concocted these characters so gorgeously and they came across as so well suited to me. I loved the cameos from the previous book and also the addition of some new best friends!! The setting was absolutely wonderful and I could see this being a perfect winter read (which is when it comes out!!). As with The Fake Mate, I loved the paranormal romance vibes smushed with a really cute rom-com. This one is pretty heavy on the spice (as with a lot of Lana Fergusons's books) so beware if that isn't your thing.
Overall, I think this has solidified itself as one of my absolute favourite books of the year so far. I read this in one sitting over the course of my afternoon and I had THE best time. I would highly highly highly recommend for you to check it out once it's available!!
Lana Ferguson has DONE IT AGAIN. I was completely obsessed with The Fake Mate when it came out and I fear that this one was even better!!! I absolutely loved the romance in this one - the chemistry was CRAZY. The MMC in this was so grumpy at the same time as being incredibly down bad, and then add the cosy cabin vibes and the *kinda* 'we shouldn't' vibes?? Immaculate.
I always love Lana Ferguson's writing and this one was no different. I feel like she concocted these characters so gorgeously and they came across as so well suited to me. I loved the cameos from the previous book and also the addition of some new best friends!! The setting was absolutely wonderful and I could see this being a perfect winter read (which is when it comes out!!). As with The Fake Mate, I loved the paranormal romance vibes smushed with a really cute rom-com. This one is pretty heavy on the spice (as with a lot of Lana Fergusons's books) so beware if that isn't your thing.
Overall, I think this has solidified itself as one of my absolute favourite books of the year so far. I read this in one sitting over the course of my afternoon and I had THE best time. I would highly highly highly recommend for you to check it out once it's available!!
November 30, 2025
”She’s so warm, soft and sweet— it’s hard not to pull her closer, to let her warmth bleed into the coldest parts of me, thawing them, making them come back to life.”
reading omegaverse always bring forth such nostalgia for me, i started reading them along with a lot of other paranormal type romances when i was probably too young. i loved the lodge setting and the way it always manages to lead into a forced proximity situation between the characters. Hunter is old fashioned and a recluse, but that’s only because he’s been hurt before and that’s his way of protecting himself. Tess was a very likable fmc, someone who’s always compassionate and goes out of her way to help anyone around her. i’m glad that she finally let someone take over that role towards her this time and Hunter had no problem making sure she had someone to support her during her omega phases and just in general. i thought their chemistry was genuine and i also liked the whole “renovating” side of the story. the side characters were all fun too and i hope we get more books in this universe, it just had that charm and enough steamy moments in equal measure.
———
i loved the fake mate & i always read every Lana Ferguson book, so i’m excitedddd 🐾🤍
⇢ many thanks to NetGalley, the author and Berkley Publishing for the arc, all opinions are my own.
reading omegaverse always bring forth such nostalgia for me, i started reading them along with a lot of other paranormal type romances when i was probably too young. i loved the lodge setting and the way it always manages to lead into a forced proximity situation between the characters. Hunter is old fashioned and a recluse, but that’s only because he’s been hurt before and that’s his way of protecting himself. Tess was a very likable fmc, someone who’s always compassionate and goes out of her way to help anyone around her. i’m glad that she finally let someone take over that role towards her this time and Hunter had no problem making sure she had someone to support her during her omega phases and just in general. i thought their chemistry was genuine and i also liked the whole “renovating” side of the story. the side characters were all fun too and i hope we get more books in this universe, it just had that charm and enough steamy moments in equal measure.
———
i loved the fake mate & i always read every Lana Ferguson book, so i’m excitedddd 🐾🤍
⇢ many thanks to NetGalley, the author and Berkley Publishing for the arc, all opinions are my own.
November 24, 2025
“𝑰 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒌𝒊𝒔𝒔 𝒎𝒆,” 𝑰 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒓. 𝑯𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒔, 𝑰 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒕’𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒑, 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚. 𝑳𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒊𝒕’𝒔 𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒌𝒆𝒅. “𝑶𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒂 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚, 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒑𝒊𝒅 𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒌𝒊𝒔𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝑻𝒆𝒔𝒔.”
GUYS GUYS GUYS OKAY SERIOUSLY THE HELL!!!!! I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH! 💖 This was such a good time. I don’t know if I’m just a simple gal that loves wolf shifters, but I'm low-key obsessed.
The story is about Tess Covington, a contractor who, the day before starting a job discovers she's an omega and has to stay away from alphas until her body adapts to her new situation. She totally has it in the bag… except her new job aka her new boss is an alpha heheheheh 😏 HELLO FORCED PROXIMITY!!!
The author made the story hilarious like duh, of course Tess’s job is a lodge in the middle of a mountain where it's snowy and there’s a hot jacuzzi, and the tension between them with the banter is perfection.
NOT TO MENTION TESS HAS ALL HER wolf shifter senses all haywire, and who is the only one that can calm her? HEHEH THE ALPHA MANNNN our Hunter Barrett, who is the grumpy of the grump and dislikes omegas after the last one stomped his heart.
Oh Hunter… that man is an alpha indeed. Let me tell you, the way that man CARES FOR HER, especially in the mini heats, omfg. I was obsessed as well as with his mouth 🥵🥵
“𝑪𝒂𝒏 𝑰 . . . ?” “𝑺𝒕𝒐𝒑 𝒂𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒎𝒆,” 𝑰 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒍, 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒘𝒊𝒓𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆.
The romance between them made the story so much sweeter. The way each of them had their own insecurities but little by little their walls began to break, and then the last wall being the sensual tension broke through HEHE ALL THE FEELINGS CAME THROUGH. And I loved every single second.
“𝑶𝒉?” 𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒂 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒖𝒕𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒚 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒓𝒕, 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒍𝒚. “𝑺𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓, 𝒉𝒖𝒉?”
“𝑰 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓”
I recommend this book to those that love wolf shifters, spice, and just a good time!!!
FREAKING 5 stars!!!!
tropes
❄️ paranormal romance
❄️ forced proximity
❄️ mini heats
❄️ omega x alpha
⋆. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁⋆.⋆. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁⋆.
𝗽𝗿𝗲-𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 ꪆৎ ˚⋅ my werewolf era isn't over hehe and Lana has never disappointed me.
𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘉𝘦𝘳𝘬𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘦𝘈𝘙𝘊!!
GUYS GUYS GUYS OKAY SERIOUSLY THE HELL!!!!! I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH! 💖 This was such a good time. I don’t know if I’m just a simple gal that loves wolf shifters, but I'm low-key obsessed.
The story is about Tess Covington, a contractor who, the day before starting a job discovers she's an omega and has to stay away from alphas until her body adapts to her new situation. She totally has it in the bag… except her new job aka her new boss is an alpha heheheheh 😏 HELLO FORCED PROXIMITY!!!
The author made the story hilarious like duh, of course Tess’s job is a lodge in the middle of a mountain where it's snowy and there’s a hot jacuzzi, and the tension between them with the banter is perfection.
NOT TO MENTION TESS HAS ALL HER wolf shifter senses all haywire, and who is the only one that can calm her? HEHEH THE ALPHA MANNNN our Hunter Barrett, who is the grumpy of the grump and dislikes omegas after the last one stomped his heart.
Oh Hunter… that man is an alpha indeed. Let me tell you, the way that man CARES FOR HER, especially in the mini heats, omfg. I was obsessed as well as with his mouth 🥵🥵
“𝑪𝒂𝒏 𝑰 . . . ?” “𝑺𝒕𝒐𝒑 𝒂𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒎𝒆,” 𝑰 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒍, 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒘𝒊𝒓𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆.
The romance between them made the story so much sweeter. The way each of them had their own insecurities but little by little their walls began to break, and then the last wall being the sensual tension broke through HEHE ALL THE FEELINGS CAME THROUGH. And I loved every single second.
“𝑶𝒉?” 𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒂 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒖𝒕𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒚 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒓𝒕, 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒍𝒚. “𝑺𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓, 𝒉𝒖𝒉?”
“𝑰 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓”
I recommend this book to those that love wolf shifters, spice, and just a good time!!!
FREAKING 5 stars!!!!
tropes
❄️ paranormal romance
❄️ forced proximity
❄️ mini heats
❄️ omega x alpha
⋆. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁⋆.⋆. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁⋆.
𝗽𝗿𝗲-𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 ꪆৎ ˚⋅ my werewolf era isn't over hehe and Lana has never disappointed me.
𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘉𝘦𝘳𝘬𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘦𝘈𝘙𝘊!!
August 6, 2025
Grumpy meets sunshine... with growls, heat, and a heart-melting twist! This story had everything I adore in a paranormal romance—snappy banter, smoldering chemistry, and just the right dose of emotional depth to make my heart ache in the best way.
We kick things off with a classic enemies-to-lovers vibe, but add in an Alpha/Omega dynamic that raises the stakes and the temperature. Hunter Barrett is the ultimate grump: a grizzly lumberjack type with an old soul, no time for tech, and zero tolerance for chaos—or at least that’s what he tells himself. But beneath all that broody muscle is a man with a soft center and a broken heart. He’s still reeling from the wounds left behind by another omega, and he’s vowed never to open that door again.
Enter Tess Covington, the cinnamon roll with a toolkit. A TikTok-famous home renovation queen with big dreams and an even bigger heart, she lands in a small town with the mission of restoring a dilapidated hotel—Hunter’s family business, no less. She’s sunshine incarnate, determined to revive the property and maybe even land an HGTV contract in the process. But things get complicated when Tess starts to experience her first Omega heat—and wouldn’t you know it, the man who drives her crazy also makes her body crave him like he’s oxygen.
Their tension is off the charts. Hunter tries to resist. Tess tries to keep things professional. But their chemistry is undeniable, chaotic, and totally delicious. What I loved most is that their relationship never felt forced—it evolved naturally through long looks, awkward moments, shared pain, and an aching tenderness that creeps up behind all the sarcasm and sparks.
Beneath all the steam (and trust me, there’s plenty), this book has heart. Hunter is grappling with grief and guilt after losing his parents, clinging to the past while fearing change. Tess is fighting to keep her dreams alive while her family leans on her more than ever. They're both doing everything they can to survive—but maybe, just maybe, they deserve more than just survival. Maybe they deserve joy.
The backdrop of the small-town hotel renovation gives it that cozy holiday movie feel—but with added shapeshifter spice. Think Hallmark meets Alpha Heat and you’ll get the vibe. There’s humor, heartbreak, healing, and a swoony romance that had me dog-earing pages and rereading scenes just to relive the magic. The way Hunter is so protective yet gentle with Tess as she navigates her first heat? Swoon. And that cinnamon-apple scent trope? Iconic. I will never recover.
I also adored the surprise cameo from Fake Mate—Mackenzie and Noah! Yay!. It felt like the series just keeps getting better, giving each couple their moment while tying everything together in such a satisfying way. I can’t wait to see who gets the spotlight next.
Overall, this book is a fun, flirty, emotionally rich, and ultra-steamy paranormal romance that balances tender moments with spicy tension like a pro. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves found family, slow-burn love, stubborn heroes, and heroines who refuse to back down.
A huge heartfelt thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this hot-as-hell, delightfully addictive paranormal romance in exchange for my honest thoughts. I’m obsessed with this series—and I’m not even sorry about it.
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We kick things off with a classic enemies-to-lovers vibe, but add in an Alpha/Omega dynamic that raises the stakes and the temperature. Hunter Barrett is the ultimate grump: a grizzly lumberjack type with an old soul, no time for tech, and zero tolerance for chaos—or at least that’s what he tells himself. But beneath all that broody muscle is a man with a soft center and a broken heart. He’s still reeling from the wounds left behind by another omega, and he’s vowed never to open that door again.
Enter Tess Covington, the cinnamon roll with a toolkit. A TikTok-famous home renovation queen with big dreams and an even bigger heart, she lands in a small town with the mission of restoring a dilapidated hotel—Hunter’s family business, no less. She’s sunshine incarnate, determined to revive the property and maybe even land an HGTV contract in the process. But things get complicated when Tess starts to experience her first Omega heat—and wouldn’t you know it, the man who drives her crazy also makes her body crave him like he’s oxygen.
Their tension is off the charts. Hunter tries to resist. Tess tries to keep things professional. But their chemistry is undeniable, chaotic, and totally delicious. What I loved most is that their relationship never felt forced—it evolved naturally through long looks, awkward moments, shared pain, and an aching tenderness that creeps up behind all the sarcasm and sparks.
Beneath all the steam (and trust me, there’s plenty), this book has heart. Hunter is grappling with grief and guilt after losing his parents, clinging to the past while fearing change. Tess is fighting to keep her dreams alive while her family leans on her more than ever. They're both doing everything they can to survive—but maybe, just maybe, they deserve more than just survival. Maybe they deserve joy.
The backdrop of the small-town hotel renovation gives it that cozy holiday movie feel—but with added shapeshifter spice. Think Hallmark meets Alpha Heat and you’ll get the vibe. There’s humor, heartbreak, healing, and a swoony romance that had me dog-earing pages and rereading scenes just to relive the magic. The way Hunter is so protective yet gentle with Tess as she navigates her first heat? Swoon. And that cinnamon-apple scent trope? Iconic. I will never recover.
I also adored the surprise cameo from Fake Mate—Mackenzie and Noah! Yay!. It felt like the series just keeps getting better, giving each couple their moment while tying everything together in such a satisfying way. I can’t wait to see who gets the spotlight next.
Overall, this book is a fun, flirty, emotionally rich, and ultra-steamy paranormal romance that balances tender moments with spicy tension like a pro. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves found family, slow-burn love, stubborn heroes, and heroines who refuse to back down.
A huge heartfelt thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this hot-as-hell, delightfully addictive paranormal romance in exchange for my honest thoughts. I’m obsessed with this series—and I’m not even sorry about it.
medium blog
December 22, 2025
⋆˚࿔ review𝜗𝜚˚⋆
2⭐️
This was painfully boring 🥱 like I kept waiting for something to happen and Nothing. Crickets.
And also… is it even a third act breakup if they WERE NOT DATING?? What are we breaking up exactly?? The vibes??
And the fact that she even thought about giving up her literal DREAM for a man in flannel shirts??? I almost threw my kindle. Please stand up and get some common sense immediately.
I was fighting for my life trying to care and I simply could not.
ෆ ༚︶︶︶︶ෆ ༚꒰ ෆ ꒱༚ ෆ︶︶︶︶༚ ෆ
⋆. 𐙚 ˚ pre read ⋆. 𐙚 ˚
This counts as a holiday read… right?
This author is very hit or miss for me so let’s see how this goes 🤞
2⭐️
This was painfully boring 🥱 like I kept waiting for something to happen and Nothing. Crickets.
And also… is it even a third act breakup if they WERE NOT DATING?? What are we breaking up exactly?? The vibes??
And the fact that she even thought about giving up her literal DREAM for a man in flannel shirts??? I almost threw my kindle. Please stand up and get some common sense immediately.
I was fighting for my life trying to care and I simply could not.
ෆ ༚︶︶︶︶ෆ ༚꒰ ෆ ꒱༚ ෆ︶︶︶︶༚ ෆ
⋆. 𐙚 ˚ pre read ⋆. 𐙚 ˚
This counts as a holiday read… right?
This author is very hit or miss for me so let’s see how this goes 🤞
December 10, 2025
Did this book live up to the first book?
Yes and no. In a lot of ways I really enjoyed the story so this felt like a worthy sequel. But while The Fake Mate made me keep thinking about it and wanting to return to it, this one was mostly just enjoyable during the read and occupies 0% of my headspace after.
Will I be picking up Lana Ferguson again?
This is a tough question. On the one hand I really loved The Fake Mate and enjoyed this, so I think at least if she's writing in the omegaverse, I'd probably give it a shot.
But not only did her other books (Gamechanger and Under Loch & Key) not work for me, but I low-key kinda hated them? Like had UL&K been my first read from her I'd absolutely have never picked up another book she's written. So even if she's writing Paranormal Romance/etc, I'm still just gonna stay away from everything outside my one exception above.
A Mini Rant:
I noticed it hardcore in UL&K and noticed it again here-- she still heavily uses one of my least favourite writing quirks which is making frequent use of "somehow I just know." ugh.
It's fine for the author to explain a character knowing a thing, and it's fine for a character to know a thing without an author explanation. But I hate this whimsical dreamer energy in between where the author draws attention to the fact that a character knows things (unnecessary) but it feels more magical to attribute it to "somehow" (pointless AND annoying). Like in any other situation you could just say something like "I feel it in my gut" or "on instinct" or just not mention a reason because it's not a detail that matters at all and none of those explanations/non-explanations would bother me in the slightest. Why do we have to attribute intuition to a mysterious and unknown entity providing the knowing when that's not in any way related to the story or in-book universe? If anything, it undermines the character's agency in their own decisions and actions and makes them much more flighty.
Never in my life have I thought I somehow just know something; had a gut feeling or got lucky? Sure! "Just knew?" No.
Maybe some people really like this and find it endearing, but I just find it annoying.
---------------
Pre-Read
---------------
Alright. This is Lana Ferguson's final chance to win me over.
If this flops I'm officially chocking up The Fake Mate as a fluke.
Yes and no. In a lot of ways I really enjoyed the story so this felt like a worthy sequel. But while The Fake Mate made me keep thinking about it and wanting to return to it, this one was mostly just enjoyable during the read and occupies 0% of my headspace after.
Will I be picking up Lana Ferguson again?
This is a tough question. On the one hand I really loved The Fake Mate and enjoyed this, so I think at least if she's writing in the omegaverse, I'd probably give it a shot.
But not only did her other books (Gamechanger and Under Loch & Key) not work for me, but I low-key kinda hated them? Like had UL&K been my first read from her I'd absolutely have never picked up another book she's written. So even if she's writing Paranormal Romance/etc, I'm still just gonna stay away from everything outside my one exception above.
A Mini Rant:
I noticed it hardcore in UL&K and noticed it again here-- she still heavily uses one of my least favourite writing quirks which is making frequent use of "somehow I just know." ugh.
It's fine for the author to explain a character knowing a thing, and it's fine for a character to know a thing without an author explanation. But I hate this whimsical dreamer energy in between where the author draws attention to the fact that a character knows things (unnecessary) but it feels more magical to attribute it to "somehow" (pointless AND annoying). Like in any other situation you could just say something like "I feel it in my gut" or "on instinct" or just not mention a reason because it's not a detail that matters at all and none of those explanations/non-explanations would bother me in the slightest. Why do we have to attribute intuition to a mysterious and unknown entity providing the knowing when that's not in any way related to the story or in-book universe? If anything, it undermines the character's agency in their own decisions and actions and makes them much more flighty.
Never in my life have I thought I somehow just know something; had a gut feeling or got lucky? Sure! "Just knew?" No.
Maybe some people really like this and find it endearing, but I just find it annoying.
---------------
Pre-Read
---------------
Alright. This is Lana Ferguson's final chance to win me over.
If this flops I'm officially chocking up The Fake Mate as a fluke.
December 15, 2025
Awarded the SMUTTIEST omegaverse book of the season 🐺💚❄️ She’s in a suprise OMEGA HEAT salivating over a lumberjack!
🐺 🪓 ❄️💚❄️ 🪓🐺
Tess just got a “BAM you’re an Omega” surprise”!! WHAAAT! Doctor’s only instruction…AVOID Alphas 🐺 This shouldn’t really be a problem since the designation is rare & she’s heading to a renovation project in an isolated cabin. Just her luck that the surly hottie owner of the cabin hotel is a lumberjack Alpha with a lonely heart 🪓✨ their hormones collide as he teaches her all the wolfish ways & she opens his heart!
“You smell like you need me”
I will admit Hunter was the star of this book! He’s a giant teddy bear using his surly attitude as a way to protect his lonely heart 💚 But when Tess cries out in mini heats hisgood heart Alpha soul can’t leave resist the temptation to…assist.
🐺 obligatory shirtless log cutting scene
❄️ flaring hormones, scenting & overwhelming horniness
🐺 he introduces her to the KNOT
❄️ grumpy x sunshine trope
🐺 vulnerability with a stranger as he helps her through her heats
This was definitely u>more smut than plot but I didn’t mind it!! Maybe it’s the seasonality of this winter smuttines but I was throughly entertained.
4.5 ⭐️
workplace romance
protective mmc
feisty fmc
grumpy x sunshine
forced proximity
knotting
close-knit family
small town
HEA
🐺 🪓 ❄️💚❄️ 🪓🐺
Tess just got a “BAM you’re an Omega” surprise”!! WHAAAT! Doctor’s only instruction…AVOID Alphas 🐺 This shouldn’t really be a problem since the designation is rare & she’s heading to a renovation project in an isolated cabin. Just her luck that the surly hottie owner of the cabin hotel is a lumberjack Alpha with a lonely heart 🪓✨ their hormones collide as he teaches her all the wolfish ways & she opens his heart!
“You smell like you need me”
I will admit Hunter was the star of this book! He’s a giant teddy bear using his surly attitude as a way to protect his lonely heart 💚 But when Tess cries out in mini heats his
🐺 obligatory shirtless log cutting scene
❄️ flaring hormones, scenting & overwhelming horniness
🐺 he introduces her to the KNOT
❄️ grumpy x sunshine trope
🐺 vulnerability with a stranger as he helps her through her heats
This was definitely u>more smut than plot but I didn’t mind it!! Maybe it’s the seasonality of this winter smuttines but I was throughly entertained.
4.5 ⭐️
workplace romance
protective mmc
feisty fmc
grumpy x sunshine
forced proximity
knotting
close-knit family
small town
HEA
December 24, 2025
This grumpy meets sunshine paranormal omegaverse shifter romance is as spicy as it is cute. While the book was not entirely my cup of tea, it was definitely a mood-setter for the winter. 🌲🏔️ 🛠️🐺
[ Contains some spoilers ]
PLOT SUMMARY
28-year-old contractor Esther “Tess” Covington is in Denver for a renovation project, hoping to get her own television show to help pay for her dad’s operation. When she gets off the plane, she is hospitalised because of flu-like symptoms. Turns out, despite all her life being a beta –and her family being betas– she is a late-presenting omega wolf shifter. And omegas in heat must stay away from alphas.
Of course, this turns out to be impossible because the owner of the Bear Essentials Wilderness Lodge in Nowheresville is not the woman Jeannie – but her 32-year-old nephew, the grumpy aptly-named alpha Hunter Barrett, who doesn’t approve of the changes. A decade-old tragedy has left him guarded and cold. What’s more, his heart was broken by an omega before, and he will not be making the same mistake again. Yet Tess is Hunter’s only hope to restore the lodge to its thriving prosperity, and avoiding her is impossible.
When the inevitable happens, they strike a desperate pact: if her heat strikes, he will help her. It’s supposed to be just biology. But as her pheromones pull at his instincts and real feelings begin to surface, the lines between duty and desire blur. When Tess’ dream job opportunity presents itself, will she leave the reno and the man she has grown to love? And will Hunter push her away, or overcome his past and realise he deserves to be loved?
This is told from the first-person present-tense POV of Tess and Hunter.
OVERALL OPINIONS
ㅤ🐺 info about author and books in the series 🏡
Having never read Lana Ferguson’s work before (quick aside: love that she has LOTR Extended Edition marathons!), I was excited to have a go. Truth be told, I’ve not read a lot of omegaverse romances. I used to often go on the Chapters app that tells visual interactive decision-making stories, so I am aware of some of the terms. However, this is a great place to start for those who are unfamiliar with the omegaverse.The concepts are explained well and anything I didn’t understand was covered. In fact, the description in this story was so excellent when it came to the interior and exterior of the lodge, I could visualise it clear as crystal.
This is a standalone novel that exists in the same universe as The Fake Mate, which I’ve yet to read. Both the characters Mackenzie and Noah (Hunter’s cousin) have cameos here: Mackenzie is the doctor at the beginning of the story and Hunter gets advice from Noah. Lana Ferguson in the Acknowledgements mentions that this companion sequel was more difficult to write as there was “so much pressure to deliver” something as good as the first one. I have a feeling Ferguson delivered.
I was intrigued about the other two couples mentioned in here: Cat who runs the clothing store and Jarred who is a friend of Hunter (Cat had a crush on him in high school and it took years for her to notice); Ada who is Tess’ best friend and a single mother, and the mysterious takeout guy at the gallery (the Epilogue mentions she is mated now and that it was a whirlwind). I really hope Ferguson does take the chance to explore these thoroughly.
ㅤ🐺 charming characterisation 🏡
What I really loved about this story were the wholesome moments. My absolute favourite moment has to be the indoor makeshift tent that Hunter makes for Tess because she said she’d never been camping. And also the pretend picture-taking scene, it harkens back to the Before Sunrise film, which I adored.
The family and friendship in this book are also lovely. Tess and her brothers have a beautiful bond and they don’t resent that she is their dad’s favourite child. Tess and her father have a much-needed conversation at the end about that she doesn’t need to keep looking out for him and what is important in life, and that was very emotional. Hunter and his aunt also have a touching exchange where she is able to tell him he shouldn’t blame himself for the past and that he deserves the future. Tess and Ada’s friendship is great and I like that despite keeping things from her to begin with, she decides to come out with everything. Even the small arc with Reginald the cat – who practically disappears 2/3rds of the way through? – where Tess can pet him at the end was sweet.
ㅤ🐺 left to be desired 🏡
Lana Ferguson is the Tessa Bailey of paranormal romance, without a doubt. Both like to make the spice either a huge part of or *the* plot. So if you expect something completely cosy and cute, forget it. There was more spice in here than anything else, really.
Tess being in heat cropped up time after time, and they question again and again whether what they are doing is just biology or is it love. Unfortunately for me, this made the narrative rather repetitive. Apparently, this is something that is a common issue in omegaverse stories.
I also found it difficult to get into to begin with, as it did read a great deal like a Wattpad fic. While I appreciated being launched straight into the hospital visit, the suddenness and the rapid-fire back-and-forth conversation felt jarring. It was a lot of information and worldbuilding to process all at once. This did improve as it went on – but to the extent that the worldbuilding vanished and the smut took over.
To name some important aspects that should have been explored more:
• Tess and Hunter only shifted into wolves once which, for a werewolf shifter romance, is dire. This is a missed opportunity to expand on their relationship.
• We never find out why Tess has late presentation of omega, why she is the only person in her family to be one. While we briefly get some history that could explain it, this is never actually explored.
• Jeannie says quite early on that Tess actually smells so familiar to her. This plot point seems to get forgotten about because it never crops up again when it really should have. Even if it’s a “that’s why she smelled so familiar!” moment. I assume it is meant to be a foreshadowing of the fact that their scents will mix – but it makes no sense at this point because they haven’t done anything yet, not even touched.
ㅤ🐺 to conclude 🏡
Overall, this is a bit of a mixed bag, but one that I ultimately enjoyed. While Hunter’s alpha possessiveness occasionally grated on my nerves and the repetitive nature of the heat cycles slowed the plot, the emotional core kept me invested. It is not a perfect book, and definitely leans into some Wattpad tropes, but if you are looking for a spicy, grumpy-sunshine escape with some heart this Christmas, this is a great place to start. Looking forward to see if Ferguson continues this series with Ada and Cat’s stories.
<< Positives >>
🠚 Effective worldbuilding for newcomers to omegaverse.
🠚 Excellent vivid imagery.
🠚 Hilarious and light read ideal for the holidays.
🠚 Charming banter and quips (the “gramps”, “whittling knife” and “oil lamp” inside jokes had be grinning every time).
🠚 Meaningful growth of Hunter’s character.
🠚 FMC was personally relatable.
🠚 Wholesome side characters (especially Ada, Jeannie and Cat)
🠚 Fun and giggling-and-kicking-feet spice. The moment in Chapter 14 where he is “starving for her”. *chefs kiss*, I must say!
🠚 3rd act break up is brief so ideal!
<< Negatives >>
🠚 First chapter especially gave Wattpad story vibes.
🠚 Initial chapter felt too info-dump.
🠚 Unresolved/unexplained plot holes of Tess’ late presentation and Jeannie’s “familiar scent”.
🠚 Spice got in the way of opportunities and character depths and repetitive.
🠚 Missed shifting opportunities: for a werewolf romance, their shifting into wolves only happened once.
🠚 Characters often disappeared in the latter half of the book (Jeannie, Reginald the cat).
🠚 Stereotypical very tall, huge alpha with an average-height woman. Give me short women! We deserve some love too!
🠚 The selfie from the pub Hunter and Tess take is never revisited. Tess could have looked at it and provided a sentimental callback.
🠚 Lana Ferguson, I love you, I love that you love Lord of the Rings – but please never write “My poor vagina’s eyes are bigger than its stomach” ever again. This was absolutely horrifying! You had to ruin the one chapter that I adored (the tent).
🠚 The Taylor Swift pop culture reference. It’s become an ick for me when people use her name in everything for the sake of relevance.
CHARACTERS
-ˋˏ ꒰ Tess꒱ ˎˊ-
↳ She doesn’t like burdening people she cares about, and looks after everyone but nobody looks after her. That really resonated with me, so this really made me like her. I like that she comes in and changes Hunter’s life for the better. It is especially sweet that she calls her friend Nate to make sure that he is nice to Hunter and was being so thoughtful about him, even though they had called it quits by then. I like that she stands up for herself and calls Hunter out on his behaviour.
I did cringe at her rambling about the murderer thing and then backtracking because this happens too often in romcoms, it more irritated me than anything else. But it was funny when her narrative talks about Hunter winking at her and she is like “Is he trying to kill me?” (missed opportunity for that murderer joke, to be honest).
-ˋˏ ꒰ Hunter꒱ ˎˊ-
↳ The stony innkeeper who is warmer than he appears; the sexy, “good girl”, “you’re mine” 6ft 5 lumberjack. Y’know what, I did like him a lot. The way he looks after Tess, especially when she is going through her problems, as well as teaching her how to use four legs as a wolf. And takes accountability. And opens up about things, love to see that. He has a lot of depth to him.
Not going to lie though, when he said Tess was “kind of tiny for a contractor”, my 5ft 1 self (even shorter than Tess, might I add) was going to throw hands! There were moments like that where his attitude was uncalled for, crossing the line from charming grump to simply annoying. Then that scene where he was thinking of how inconvenient her heat is when it is causing herself troubles, sheesh. Don’t get me started on how possessive he is of her around her brothers, that was weird even for an alpha: they are her family, not competition, for Pete’s sake!
FAV QUOTES
• since my best friend is like a shark smelling blood in the water when it comes to sussing out my moods, I doubt I can keep any of this from her for long.
�� it’s like he stepped right out of Lumberjack Weekly
• I’m strangely curious about this woman who looks like she would have no qualms with, at the very least, *attempting* to kick my ass despite being half my size.
• There’s a ghost of a smile on my mouth as I remember the way she tore into me; she’s such a tiny thing, and yet, when she let me know what’s what, she reared up like a brown bear protecting her cubs on the mountainside. And I shouldn’t find that cute.
• I spent most of the night fuming over his snide Little Miss Fixit comments—having half a mind to spend the rest of the evening boarding that asshole up in his own bedroom just to show him I’m perfectly comfortable around a hammer.
• His mouth does something I’ve yet to see it do, turning up at the corners until I’m blasted with straight white teeth that make my stomach flutter a little. I decide then and there that should I ever find myself miraculously given a seat in Congress, my first order of business would be rendering Hunter Barrett’s smile *illegal*.
• The problem, I think, is that after that day in the snow… I can’t stop looking at her. My eyes gravitate toward her whenever she’s in the same room; they search for her when she isn’t. And even if it’s biology, if it’s just instinct, it feels impossible to stop.
• It seems like Tess always makes sure to take care of everyone else—but does anyone ever really take care of her? I find that lately… I like taking care of Tess a lot.
• I’ve had my fair share of heartache and disappointment and downright bullshit in the men department over the years, and adding not the hot lumberjack’s type to the list might actually be the thing that pushes me over the edge.
• “If I ever kissed you… I’d want you to damn well remember it tomorrow.”
• Her eyes are softening now, moving across my face slowly as if memorizing my features. I feel my pulse quicken when I reach one hand out to cup her jaw, my thumb stroking back and forth across her cheek as I study her. I remember thinking she was pretty when I first saw her, and knowing her hasn’t diminished that. Now that I understand she’s a little quirky and a lot wonderful, with her desire to help others and her love of silly songs, she’s fucking beautiful. It’s hard to even tear my eyes away from her.
• “I’ve got you,” I tell her. “I’m not going anywhere.” There’s not a place on this earth that could entice me away.
• I can hear my pulse in my ears, my instincts chanting for me to *take, take, take*—but I don’t have to. There’s nothing to take because she’s *giving* it to me.
• all I can think about is the man in the other room. The one I promised to be there for tomorrow. And in all the times I imagined this—getting everything I ever wanted—I never imagined that there might be something I would want just as much.
• The facade cracks, and I can see a sliver of pain—the same pain I’m feeling—bleed through in his eyes. “I can’t watch you go, Tess,” he says quietly. “Please don’t ask me to.”
• The lodge feels emptier without Tess here, which makes no sense, given that she was only here for a few weeks. But in that time… her presence was so *large* that it almost seemed to brighten the place, to make it feel like more than what it is.
• There’s still a lifetime of real moments to experience…and I want to live every single one.
══════════ ⋆★⋆ ══════════
I received an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review and I’d like to thank Lana Ferguson and Little, Brown Book Group for the opportunity. This has not affected my opinion in any way.
A huge thank you to the Little, Brown Book Group Influencer program for providing me with a paperback copy.
“I’m realizing that the place I thought was my home is just like I was, just a shell. I didn’t know what home looked like until I met you. And I want to *be* that for you. Whatever it looks like. Wherever that is. If you’ll let me.”
[ Contains some spoilers ]
PLOT SUMMARY
28-year-old contractor Esther “Tess” Covington is in Denver for a renovation project, hoping to get her own television show to help pay for her dad’s operation. When she gets off the plane, she is hospitalised because of flu-like symptoms. Turns out, despite all her life being a beta –and her family being betas– she is a late-presenting omega wolf shifter. And omegas in heat must stay away from alphas.
Of course, this turns out to be impossible because the owner of the Bear Essentials Wilderness Lodge in Nowheresville is not the woman Jeannie – but her 32-year-old nephew, the grumpy aptly-named alpha Hunter Barrett, who doesn’t approve of the changes. A decade-old tragedy has left him guarded and cold. What’s more, his heart was broken by an omega before, and he will not be making the same mistake again. Yet Tess is Hunter’s only hope to restore the lodge to its thriving prosperity, and avoiding her is impossible.
When the inevitable happens, they strike a desperate pact: if her heat strikes, he will help her. It’s supposed to be just biology. But as her pheromones pull at his instincts and real feelings begin to surface, the lines between duty and desire blur. When Tess’ dream job opportunity presents itself, will she leave the reno and the man she has grown to love? And will Hunter push her away, or overcome his past and realise he deserves to be loved?
I kiss her softly then, closing my eyes as she leans into me. She’s so warm, so soft and sweet—it’s hard not to pull her closer, to let her warmth bleed into the coldest parts of me, thawing them, making them come back to life.
I haven’t felt as alive as I do with Tess in a very long time.
This is told from the first-person present-tense POV of Tess and Hunter.
OVERALL OPINIONS
ㅤ🐺 info about author and books in the series 🏡
Having never read Lana Ferguson’s work before (quick aside: love that she has LOTR Extended Edition marathons!), I was excited to have a go. Truth be told, I’ve not read a lot of omegaverse romances. I used to often go on the Chapters app that tells visual interactive decision-making stories, so I am aware of some of the terms. However, this is a great place to start for those who are unfamiliar with the omegaverse.The concepts are explained well and anything I didn’t understand was covered. In fact, the description in this story was so excellent when it came to the interior and exterior of the lodge, I could visualise it clear as crystal.
This is a standalone novel that exists in the same universe as The Fake Mate, which I’ve yet to read. Both the characters Mackenzie and Noah (Hunter’s cousin) have cameos here: Mackenzie is the doctor at the beginning of the story and Hunter gets advice from Noah. Lana Ferguson in the Acknowledgements mentions that this companion sequel was more difficult to write as there was “so much pressure to deliver” something as good as the first one. I have a feeling Ferguson delivered.
I was intrigued about the other two couples mentioned in here: Cat who runs the clothing store and Jarred who is a friend of Hunter (Cat had a crush on him in high school and it took years for her to notice); Ada who is Tess’ best friend and a single mother, and the mysterious takeout guy at the gallery (the Epilogue mentions she is mated now and that it was a whirlwind). I really hope Ferguson does take the chance to explore these thoroughly.
ㅤ🐺 charming characterisation 🏡
What I really loved about this story were the wholesome moments. My absolute favourite moment has to be the indoor makeshift tent that Hunter makes for Tess because she said she’d never been camping. And also the pretend picture-taking scene, it harkens back to the Before Sunrise film, which I adored.
“Beautiful,” I whisper. I lean backward on a whim, bringing both of my hands in front of my face to make a square shape with my fingers. Then I make a clicking sound with my mouth as I pretend to take a picture, watching her blink in surprise as she cocks her head.I like the parallel between Hunter and Tess that they both want to do things out of the goodness of their hearts: Hunter wants to look after her; Tess wants to make sure his place is successful again. A few other moments I enjoy between Hunter and Tess include: when Hunter goes to the pub for her and grins and enjoys himself (that selfie too), the “Miss Fixit” nickname he gives her, the way Tess calls the place a “dingy lodge” which evolves from an exact insult his ex used into a term of endearment, their jokes about him being an “old man” who uses “oil lamps”, of course when he gives her the flannel to keep warm.
Her face breaks out into a smile. “What was that?”
“A mental picture,” I tell her. “So I can remember.”
“Oh?” She presses a finger to one of the buttons of my shirt, tracing it lightly. “So this is something you definitely want to remember, huh?”
I look at her then—*really* look at her, at the way her freckles spray across her nose like lightly dusted sugar, the way her bangs perpetually hang into her eyes, giving them a sort of sultry quality, the way her nose is so petite that it wrinkles with almost every emotion that plays across her face—and, well…
“I think everything about you is something I want to remember,” I answer quietly.
The family and friendship in this book are also lovely. Tess and her brothers have a beautiful bond and they don’t resent that she is their dad’s favourite child. Tess and her father have a much-needed conversation at the end about that she doesn’t need to keep looking out for him and what is important in life, and that was very emotional. Hunter and his aunt also have a touching exchange where she is able to tell him he shouldn’t blame himself for the past and that he deserves the future. Tess and Ada’s friendship is great and I like that despite keeping things from her to begin with, she decides to come out with everything. Even the small arc with Reginald the cat – who practically disappears 2/3rds of the way through? – where Tess can pet him at the end was sweet.
ㅤ🐺 left to be desired 🏡
Lana Ferguson is the Tessa Bailey of paranormal romance, without a doubt. Both like to make the spice either a huge part of or *the* plot. So if you expect something completely cosy and cute, forget it. There was more spice in here than anything else, really.
Tess being in heat cropped up time after time, and they question again and again whether what they are doing is just biology or is it love. Unfortunately for me, this made the narrative rather repetitive. Apparently, this is something that is a common issue in omegaverse stories.
I also found it difficult to get into to begin with, as it did read a great deal like a Wattpad fic. While I appreciated being launched straight into the hospital visit, the suddenness and the rapid-fire back-and-forth conversation felt jarring. It was a lot of information and worldbuilding to process all at once. This did improve as it went on – but to the extent that the worldbuilding vanished and the smut took over.
To name some important aspects that should have been explored more:
• Tess and Hunter only shifted into wolves once which, for a werewolf shifter romance, is dire. This is a missed opportunity to expand on their relationship.
• We never find out why Tess has late presentation of omega, why she is the only person in her family to be one. While we briefly get some history that could explain it, this is never actually explored.
• Jeannie says quite early on that Tess actually smells so familiar to her. This plot point seems to get forgotten about because it never crops up again when it really should have. Even if it’s a “that’s why she smelled so familiar!” moment. I assume it is meant to be a foreshadowing of the fact that their scents will mix – but it makes no sense at this point because they haven’t done anything yet, not even touched.
ㅤ🐺 to conclude 🏡
Overall, this is a bit of a mixed bag, but one that I ultimately enjoyed. While Hunter’s alpha possessiveness occasionally grated on my nerves and the repetitive nature of the heat cycles slowed the plot, the emotional core kept me invested. It is not a perfect book, and definitely leans into some Wattpad tropes, but if you are looking for a spicy, grumpy-sunshine escape with some heart this Christmas, this is a great place to start. Looking forward to see if Ferguson continues this series with Ada and Cat’s stories.
<< Positives >>
🠚 Effective worldbuilding for newcomers to omegaverse.
🠚 Excellent vivid imagery.
🠚 Hilarious and light read ideal for the holidays.
🠚 Charming banter and quips (the “gramps”, “whittling knife” and “oil lamp” inside jokes had be grinning every time).
🠚 Meaningful growth of Hunter’s character.
🠚 FMC was personally relatable.
🠚 Wholesome side characters (especially Ada, Jeannie and Cat)
🠚 Fun and giggling-and-kicking-feet spice. The moment in Chapter 14 where he is “starving for her”. *chefs kiss*, I must say!
🠚 3rd act break up is brief so ideal!
<< Negatives >>
🠚 First chapter especially gave Wattpad story vibes.
🠚 Initial chapter felt too info-dump.
🠚 Unresolved/unexplained plot holes of Tess’ late presentation and Jeannie’s “familiar scent”.
🠚 Spice got in the way of opportunities and character depths and repetitive.
🠚 Missed shifting opportunities: for a werewolf romance, their shifting into wolves only happened once.
🠚 Characters often disappeared in the latter half of the book (Jeannie, Reginald the cat).
🠚 Stereotypical very tall, huge alpha with an average-height woman. Give me short women! We deserve some love too!
🠚 The selfie from the pub Hunter and Tess take is never revisited. Tess could have looked at it and provided a sentimental callback.
🠚 Lana Ferguson, I love you, I love that you love Lord of the Rings – but please never write “My poor vagina’s eyes are bigger than its stomach” ever again. This was absolutely horrifying! You had to ruin the one chapter that I adored (the tent).
🠚 The Taylor Swift pop culture reference. It’s become an ick for me when people use her name in everything for the sake of relevance.
CHARACTERS
-ˋˏ ꒰ Tess꒱ ˎˊ-
↳ She doesn’t like burdening people she cares about, and looks after everyone but nobody looks after her. That really resonated with me, so this really made me like her. I like that she comes in and changes Hunter’s life for the better. It is especially sweet that she calls her friend Nate to make sure that he is nice to Hunter and was being so thoughtful about him, even though they had called it quits by then. I like that she stands up for herself and calls Hunter out on his behaviour.
I did cringe at her rambling about the murderer thing and then backtracking because this happens too often in romcoms, it more irritated me than anything else. But it was funny when her narrative talks about Hunter winking at her and she is like “Is he trying to kill me?” (missed opportunity for that murderer joke, to be honest).
-ˋˏ ꒰ Hunter꒱ ˎˊ-
↳ The stony innkeeper who is warmer than he appears; the sexy, “good girl”, “you’re mine” 6ft 5 lumberjack. Y’know what, I did like him a lot. The way he looks after Tess, especially when she is going through her problems, as well as teaching her how to use four legs as a wolf. And takes accountability. And opens up about things, love to see that. He has a lot of depth to him.
Not going to lie though, when he said Tess was “kind of tiny for a contractor”, my 5ft 1 self (even shorter than Tess, might I add) was going to throw hands! There were moments like that where his attitude was uncalled for, crossing the line from charming grump to simply annoying. Then that scene where he was thinking of how inconvenient her heat is when it is causing herself troubles, sheesh. Don’t get me started on how possessive he is of her around her brothers, that was weird even for an alpha: they are her family, not competition, for Pete’s sake!
FAV QUOTES
• since my best friend is like a shark smelling blood in the water when it comes to sussing out my moods, I doubt I can keep any of this from her for long.
�� it’s like he stepped right out of Lumberjack Weekly
• I’m strangely curious about this woman who looks like she would have no qualms with, at the very least, *attempting* to kick my ass despite being half my size.
• There’s a ghost of a smile on my mouth as I remember the way she tore into me; she’s such a tiny thing, and yet, when she let me know what’s what, she reared up like a brown bear protecting her cubs on the mountainside. And I shouldn’t find that cute.
• I spent most of the night fuming over his snide Little Miss Fixit comments—having half a mind to spend the rest of the evening boarding that asshole up in his own bedroom just to show him I’m perfectly comfortable around a hammer.
• His mouth does something I’ve yet to see it do, turning up at the corners until I’m blasted with straight white teeth that make my stomach flutter a little. I decide then and there that should I ever find myself miraculously given a seat in Congress, my first order of business would be rendering Hunter Barrett’s smile *illegal*.
• The problem, I think, is that after that day in the snow… I can’t stop looking at her. My eyes gravitate toward her whenever she’s in the same room; they search for her when she isn’t. And even if it’s biology, if it’s just instinct, it feels impossible to stop.
• It seems like Tess always makes sure to take care of everyone else—but does anyone ever really take care of her? I find that lately… I like taking care of Tess a lot.
• I’ve had my fair share of heartache and disappointment and downright bullshit in the men department over the years, and adding not the hot lumberjack’s type to the list might actually be the thing that pushes me over the edge.
• “If I ever kissed you… I’d want you to damn well remember it tomorrow.”
• Her eyes are softening now, moving across my face slowly as if memorizing my features. I feel my pulse quicken when I reach one hand out to cup her jaw, my thumb stroking back and forth across her cheek as I study her. I remember thinking she was pretty when I first saw her, and knowing her hasn’t diminished that. Now that I understand she’s a little quirky and a lot wonderful, with her desire to help others and her love of silly songs, she’s fucking beautiful. It’s hard to even tear my eyes away from her.
• “I’ve got you,” I tell her. “I’m not going anywhere.” There’s not a place on this earth that could entice me away.
• I can hear my pulse in my ears, my instincts chanting for me to *take, take, take*—but I don’t have to. There’s nothing to take because she’s *giving* it to me.
• all I can think about is the man in the other room. The one I promised to be there for tomorrow. And in all the times I imagined this—getting everything I ever wanted—I never imagined that there might be something I would want just as much.
• The facade cracks, and I can see a sliver of pain—the same pain I’m feeling—bleed through in his eyes. “I can’t watch you go, Tess,” he says quietly. “Please don’t ask me to.”
• The lodge feels emptier without Tess here, which makes no sense, given that she was only here for a few weeks. But in that time… her presence was so *large* that it almost seemed to brighten the place, to make it feel like more than what it is.
• There’s still a lifetime of real moments to experience…and I want to live every single one.
══════════ ⋆★⋆ ══════════
I received an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review and I’d like to thank Lana Ferguson and Little, Brown Book Group for the opportunity. This has not affected my opinion in any way.
A huge thank you to the Little, Brown Book Group Influencer program for providing me with a paperback copy.
December 2, 2025
happy pub dayyyy🩵❄️
firstly, thank you to the publisher for an arc!!
4.5 stars — because while the mating game was good, it was just not as good as the fake mate to me. in my opinion, the fake mate was the fanfic on ao3 you stumble upon at 3am, are blown away by the fantastic characters and well-written (smut) scenes, and then never find a fic that compares.
but please don’t get me wrong — i love lana ferguson and she’s my instant go-to, quirky smutty yet well-written author! and she definitely upped the smut (lol) in this book! i just felt the overall plot was very threadbare? and that tess and hunter were not necessarily my favorite couple. which is understandably a turn off for most readers, but tbh i was here for the MANY smutty scenes lol. also, i just love home renovation shows, so that sealed the deal too.
i’m excited to listen to the audio!!!
firstly, thank you to the publisher for an arc!!
4.5 stars — because while the mating game was good, it was just not as good as the fake mate to me. in my opinion, the fake mate was the fanfic on ao3 you stumble upon at 3am, are blown away by the fantastic characters and well-written (smut) scenes, and then never find a fic that compares.
but please don’t get me wrong — i love lana ferguson and she’s my instant go-to, quirky smutty yet well-written author! and she definitely upped the smut (lol) in this book! i just felt the overall plot was very threadbare? and that tess and hunter were not necessarily my favorite couple. which is understandably a turn off for most readers, but tbh i was here for the MANY smutty scenes lol. also, i just love home renovation shows, so that sealed the deal too.
i’m excited to listen to the audio!!!
December 7, 2025
Rating this solely based on vibes. I couldn't put this down. Loved it.
Currently reading
December 23, 2025Werewolves and Christmas 🎄 🐺
What could be better?
What could be better?
Currently reading
December 9, 2025I probably should have written my review for Mate before starting this, but YOLO... 😆 Sorry, I know that’s so 2011, but wouldn’t it be nice to go back there? 💩
December 23, 2025
Quite an experience honestly
I don't think the whole omega/Alpha thing is for me though I thought it's the same as werewolves (apologies for my ignorance) it's not ...
I liked the characters they were sooo cute and funny too I really enjoyed reading their banter and seeing them facing their problems and all of that 🎀
Honestly until 40% I was thinking of DNFing it because the writing??? Why just why , the only way I can explain it is if you downloaded 500 videos from TikTok and gave them to an AI and told him to write a book from it ( ⭕️ Not saying the author used ai nooo) it was just TikTok coded and I personally didn't need that specially when the mmc is practically a "cave man"( he uses flip phone)!
Overall, I pushed through that because Tess was funny and ended up liking it enough 🌸
----------------------------------
Pre read❄️
Yaaay I wanted to read this the moment it came out I'm sooo excited 🙌🏻 Lana impressed me with "The nanny" I'm hoping to love this
I don't think the whole omega/Alpha thing is for me though I thought it's the same as werewolves (apologies for my ignorance) it's not ...
I liked the characters they were sooo cute and funny too I really enjoyed reading their banter and seeing them facing their problems and all of that 🎀
Honestly until 40% I was thinking of DNFing it because the writing??? Why just why , the only way I can explain it is if you downloaded 500 videos from TikTok and gave them to an AI and told him to write a book from it ( ⭕️ Not saying the author used ai nooo) it was just TikTok coded and I personally didn't need that specially when the mmc is practically a "cave man"( he uses flip phone)!
Overall, I pushed through that because Tess was funny and ended up liking it enough 🌸
----------------------------------
Pre read❄️
Yaaay I wanted to read this the moment it came out I'm sooo excited 🙌🏻 Lana impressed me with "The nanny" I'm hoping to love this
December 2, 2025
Happy Release Day!!
Very entertaining read that was missing some development.
By now Lana is absolutely an auto buy for me. Even if there are some issues that I have with her books, her writing and the sheer entertainment value always outweigh them.
Shifter romances are one of my favorites right now, but I'm not sure that I'm sold 100% on the omegaverse. At least in this book, the characters were CONSTANTLY wondering if their attraction was just biology or something more, so that's a little irksome to me and leads me to believe they would have similar relationship with literally any other alpha/omega because biology said so.
And because of that, I feel like their actual relationship didn't get enough development. The whole time she's in and out of heat, so A LOT of their relationship is centered around that so where do you find the time to actually have some semblance of a relationship?
But like I said, Lana's writing is SO GOOD. These characters were really fun and entertaining and they stood on their own quite well too. Would absolutely recommend for shifter romance readers 🩵
Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing or this arc in exchange for an honest review!
Very entertaining read that was missing some development.
By now Lana is absolutely an auto buy for me. Even if there are some issues that I have with her books, her writing and the sheer entertainment value always outweigh them.
Shifter romances are one of my favorites right now, but I'm not sure that I'm sold 100% on the omegaverse. At least in this book, the characters were CONSTANTLY wondering if their attraction was just biology or something more, so that's a little irksome to me and leads me to believe they would have similar relationship with literally any other alpha/omega because biology said so.
And because of that, I feel like their actual relationship didn't get enough development. The whole time she's in and out of heat, so A LOT of their relationship is centered around that so where do you find the time to actually have some semblance of a relationship?
But like I said, Lana's writing is SO GOOD. These characters were really fun and entertaining and they stood on their own quite well too. Would absolutely recommend for shifter romance readers 🩵
Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing or this arc in exchange for an honest review!
September 15, 2025
🐺 Bookish Thoughts
Absolutely loved this one! I am such a sucker for shifter romances and omegaverse, and this book had both. Lana Ferguson really delivered. This was an easy 5 star read for me, and honestly I liked it even more than The Fake Mate. Oh and the spice? 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Tess was such a baddie FMC and Hunter, our grumpy alpha, was not ready for her pushback. Their chemistry was obvious from the start and only got stronger. And when Tess goes into her first heat, of course Hunter is there 😏
🐾 What to Expect
• Wolf shifters
• Alpha MMC
• Omega FMC
• Forced proximity
• Renovation
_ _ _
📅 Pub Date: December 2, 2025
Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for the advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.
Absolutely loved this one! I am such a sucker for shifter romances and omegaverse, and this book had both. Lana Ferguson really delivered. This was an easy 5 star read for me, and honestly I liked it even more than The Fake Mate. Oh and the spice? 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Tess was such a baddie FMC and Hunter, our grumpy alpha, was not ready for her pushback. Their chemistry was obvious from the start and only got stronger. And when Tess goes into her first heat, of course Hunter is there 😏
🐾 What to Expect
• Wolf shifters
• Alpha MMC
• Omega FMC
• Forced proximity
• Renovation
_ _ _
📅 Pub Date: December 2, 2025
Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for the advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.
December 11, 2025
If you like smut, knotting, shifter romances etc - you’ll mightily enjoy the last half of this book! Great read and 100% made me feel easy wintery vibes 💕
I’m 5 weeks postpartum and this is JUST what I needed!
I’m 5 weeks postpartum and this is JUST what I needed!
Read
November 14, 2025there are only 3 people in this world that can get me to brave a wolf shifter romance. remus john lupin, ali hazelwood and lana ferguson 🙂↕️
November 18, 2025
there is such a thing as too much spice, which I think was the case in this one. Their entire relationship seems built on spending a heat together, rather than genuine connection. Further, there were many repetitive words/phrases.
Overall, I liked it for what it was, but I just can’t seem to crack above three stars for this author !
Overall, I liked it for what it was, but I just can’t seem to crack above three stars for this author !
August 1, 2025
3.75 ★ — Sooo….
✓ Knotting
✓ Surprise Omega FMC
✓ Grumpy Alpha MMC
✓ Lots of Smutty Scenes
✓ Mutual Pining
✓ Surprise Heat
✓ Protective/Possessive MMC
Anyone going into this for the Omegaverse and the breezy, lighthearted romcom-y writing style of Lana Ferguson will likely be satisfied with what this book offers.
As someone who does enjoy all these elements, I can’t say that I didn’t have a good time with it — because I did! I liked the snowy small-town lodge setting, and I really enjoyed the premise of the FMC being contracted to renovate the grumpy MMC’s remote lodge, which is just such a fun setup!
What I noticed, though, is that I liked this markedly less than The Fake Mate, Ferguson’s prior shifter romance to this. It took me a bit to pinpoint exactly why, but I think it comes down to tension and build-up between the leads.
Tess Covington, the FMC, learns she’s an Omega at the very start of the book, right before heading off to her renovation job. And quite quickly after her first meeting with MMC, Hunter Barrett, their attraction escalates into something more.
This might just be personal preference, but I was a little disappointed at this. I wanted more yearning, more moments of them fighting their natural attraction to each other, more denial between them.
Yes, an Alpha/Omega dynamic naturally lends itself to biological pull and irresistible chemistry, but it’s also an organic way to create angst, tension, confusion — all aspects that could have added more intensity to their romantic dynamic, which felt missing here.
While The Fake Mate also featured characters who acknowledged their attraction fairly quickly, that book still managed a sharper, more interesting relationship between its protagonists and made better use of the Omega/Alpha tension.
Plainly, Tess and Hunter just weren’t very captivating together. I didn’t giggle at their interactions, I didn’t really feel this intense chemistry between them, and while there were tons of well-written sex scenes, I still felt like there was never any exciting tension, making their connection feel a little flat to me.
Another thing I couldn’t stop thinking about during my read: Tess’ total cluelessness about her new Omega designation.
Like I said, this is set up in the beginning, but as the book goes along, I sort of got a little annoyed with her. She doesn’t know what’s happening to her half the time, because she’s a new Omega. Okay, yes, understandable. But in the modern world this story is set in — a world with internet, books, even her own doctor that has made herself available for any medical questions — she never once thinks about trying to research more about this life-changing fact.
Not even once in the story did she think: ”hey, I should research some of this Omega stuff, because clearly my body is having some strange reactions.”
The lack of even basic curiosity about her own biology felt like an obvious plot device and started pulling me out of the story a few times.
It didn’t help that the supporting cast lacked depth as well. The side characters didn’t do much to flesh out the world or make it feel alive, most of them feeling quite static and barely playing into the story.
All this said, this book does deliver solid smut, cozy snowed-in vibes, and quirky, fun prose. I had a decent time reading it, even if it sometimes felt like it missed the mark, which is why I can’t rate it higher.
If you like shifter romance that’s devoid of pack politics, light on worldbuilding, and heavy on sex with an easy, playful vibe, this will probably hit for you! If you enjoy more of a slow burn, tension-filled romance, you might miss that aspect here.
______________________________________
Thank you to Edelweiss and Berkley for the opportunity to read this ARC.
✓ Knotting
✓ Surprise Omega FMC
✓ Grumpy Alpha MMC
✓ Lots of Smutty Scenes
✓ Mutual Pining
✓ Surprise Heat
✓ Protective/Possessive MMC
Anyone going into this for the Omegaverse and the breezy, lighthearted romcom-y writing style of Lana Ferguson will likely be satisfied with what this book offers.
As someone who does enjoy all these elements, I can’t say that I didn’t have a good time with it — because I did! I liked the snowy small-town lodge setting, and I really enjoyed the premise of the FMC being contracted to renovate the grumpy MMC’s remote lodge, which is just such a fun setup!
What I noticed, though, is that I liked this markedly less than The Fake Mate, Ferguson’s prior shifter romance to this. It took me a bit to pinpoint exactly why, but I think it comes down to tension and build-up between the leads.
Tess Covington, the FMC, learns she’s an Omega at the very start of the book, right before heading off to her renovation job. And quite quickly after her first meeting with MMC, Hunter Barrett, their attraction escalates into something more.
This might just be personal preference, but I was a little disappointed at this. I wanted more yearning, more moments of them fighting their natural attraction to each other, more denial between them.
Yes, an Alpha/Omega dynamic naturally lends itself to biological pull and irresistible chemistry, but it’s also an organic way to create angst, tension, confusion — all aspects that could have added more intensity to their romantic dynamic, which felt missing here.
While The Fake Mate also featured characters who acknowledged their attraction fairly quickly, that book still managed a sharper, more interesting relationship between its protagonists and made better use of the Omega/Alpha tension.
Plainly, Tess and Hunter just weren’t very captivating together. I didn’t giggle at their interactions, I didn’t really feel this intense chemistry between them, and while there were tons of well-written sex scenes, I still felt like there was never any exciting tension, making their connection feel a little flat to me.
Another thing I couldn’t stop thinking about during my read: Tess’ total cluelessness about her new Omega designation.
Like I said, this is set up in the beginning, but as the book goes along, I sort of got a little annoyed with her. She doesn’t know what’s happening to her half the time, because she’s a new Omega. Okay, yes, understandable. But in the modern world this story is set in — a world with internet, books, even her own doctor that has made herself available for any medical questions — she never once thinks about trying to research more about this life-changing fact.
Not even once in the story did she think: ”hey, I should research some of this Omega stuff, because clearly my body is having some strange reactions.”
The lack of even basic curiosity about her own biology felt like an obvious plot device and started pulling me out of the story a few times.
It didn’t help that the supporting cast lacked depth as well. The side characters didn’t do much to flesh out the world or make it feel alive, most of them feeling quite static and barely playing into the story.
All this said, this book does deliver solid smut, cozy snowed-in vibes, and quirky, fun prose. I had a decent time reading it, even if it sometimes felt like it missed the mark, which is why I can’t rate it higher.
If you like shifter romance that’s devoid of pack politics, light on worldbuilding, and heavy on sex with an easy, playful vibe, this will probably hit for you! If you enjoy more of a slow burn, tension-filled romance, you might miss that aspect here.
______________________________________
Thank you to Edelweiss and Berkley for the opportunity to read this ARC.
December 17, 2025
If I was giving stars for the most pointless third-act breakup, then this would absolutely be 5 stars.
Then (after the third-act breakup) they get back together That’s one of my absolute pet peeves in romance/romantasy books. The main plot is the relationship and how it develops, but we hardly see any of the happy, healthy relationship at the end! Even if there is a third-act breakup, or something similar, I need to experience everything working out in the end instead of just being told everything was fine afterwards.
I’m a wolf-shifter GIRLIE (this is my 37th wolf-shifter book), and there are elements I love in shifter romances. I want aaaalll the wolfy-ness. Give me shifting, give me scent marking, give me pack dynamics. Don’t just TELL me they’re wolf shifters and then we only see the FMC shift like once. She was pretty much a normal lady. Along those lines, we don’t get to experience the mating marks!?!?! They don’t even really talk about them, and then all of a sudden they both have mating marks on their necks?!?! Like, okay, good to know?!?!?!
I did think this was an interesting mix of Omegaverse and a shifter romance. Normally in Omegaverse you have the designations in “normal” people who don’t shift, etc. Here, there are “normal” betas and then also shifters who are alphas and omegas. I just wish we saw more of each of those elements. This felt like a contemporary romance with elements of OV and shifting thrown in.
HOWEVER, quick shout out to the narrators for the audiobook. Listening to the audiobook definitely improved my experience, because both narrators were incredible.
preread
I'm counting this as a holiday book because it's set in winter sooo.. holiday read #4 for 2025!
Then (after the third-act breakup) they get back together That’s one of my absolute pet peeves in romance/romantasy books. The main plot is the relationship and how it develops, but we hardly see any of the happy, healthy relationship at the end! Even if there is a third-act breakup, or something similar, I need to experience everything working out in the end instead of just being told everything was fine afterwards.
I’m a wolf-shifter GIRLIE (this is my 37th wolf-shifter book), and there are elements I love in shifter romances. I want aaaalll the wolfy-ness. Give me shifting, give me scent marking, give me pack dynamics. Don’t just TELL me they’re wolf shifters and then we only see the FMC shift like once. She was pretty much a normal lady. Along those lines, we don’t get to experience the mating marks!?!?! They don’t even really talk about them, and then all of a sudden they both have mating marks on their necks?!?! Like, okay, good to know?!?!?!
I did think this was an interesting mix of Omegaverse and a shifter romance. Normally in Omegaverse you have the designations in “normal” people who don’t shift, etc. Here, there are “normal” betas and then also shifters who are alphas and omegas. I just wish we saw more of each of those elements. This felt like a contemporary romance with elements of OV and shifting thrown in.
HOWEVER, quick shout out to the narrators for the audiobook. Listening to the audiobook definitely improved my experience, because both narrators were incredible.
preread
I'm counting this as a holiday book because it's set in winter sooo.. holiday read #4 for 2025!
December 3, 2025
This was a fun one! I love the way this author blends contemporary and paranormal/wolf shifter romances. While The Fake Mate is still my favorite by this author, this one was a fun time too. I read this after having a bit of a book slump and I enjoyed it, so that is something! This has forced proximity, she’s a new omega (well new to finding out that she’s actually an omega vs thinking she’s a beta) and he’s an alpha.
Tess is traveling and ends up at the doctor’s office after feeling a certain kind of way on her flight (flu-like symptoms). Here we get a little cameo of the heroine from The Fake Mate. While seeing the doctor Tess finds out she’s not a beta as she always thought, but instead is a late-presenting omega wolf shifter! To say she’s surprised and lost would be an understatement. She’s told to probably steer clear of alphas but ends up staying with one unbeknownst to both of them.
Hunter is gruff (in a good way lol) whose lodge is failing and Tess is a TikTok-famous contractor/renovator who desperately needs to get an HGTV gig (for family financial reasons) and is there to fix up his place. Their connection (biologically and otherwise) was very easy but I didn’t mind it. I think if anything the story was a bit long, but otherwise a fun easy time!
Tess is traveling and ends up at the doctor’s office after feeling a certain kind of way on her flight (flu-like symptoms). Here we get a little cameo of the heroine from The Fake Mate. While seeing the doctor Tess finds out she’s not a beta as she always thought, but instead is a late-presenting omega wolf shifter! To say she’s surprised and lost would be an understatement. She’s told to probably steer clear of alphas but ends up staying with one unbeknownst to both of them.
Hunter is gruff (in a good way lol) whose lodge is failing and Tess is a TikTok-famous contractor/renovator who desperately needs to get an HGTV gig (for family financial reasons) and is there to fix up his place. Their connection (biologically and otherwise) was very easy but I didn’t mind it. I think if anything the story was a bit long, but otherwise a fun easy time!
September 24, 2025
he’s hot. he’s huge. he’s a werewolf alpha.
no secret that I’ve been in a werewolf romance phase for the past year & Lana has delivered again with this one
A grumpy mountain man. The woman who’s renovating his mountain lodge. Forced proximity. Omegaverse. SNOWED IN!!!!!!
things to know:
- dual pov
- remote colorado lodge
- alpha x omega
- he’s down bad
- “we shouldn’t”
Honestly had everything I love about werewolf romances
4.5 ⭐️
no secret that I’ve been in a werewolf romance phase for the past year & Lana has delivered again with this one
A grumpy mountain man. The woman who’s renovating his mountain lodge. Forced proximity. Omegaverse. SNOWED IN!!!!!!
things to know:
- dual pov
- remote colorado lodge
- alpha x omega
- he’s down bad
- “we shouldn’t”
Honestly had everything I love about werewolf romances
4.5 ⭐️
December 17, 2025
4.5
Omigod. No words. Steamiest book yet Lana.
Hunter works at the Inn where Mackenzie and Noah went through some trying times (The Fake Mate). Hunter's Aunt wants the place remodeled so in walks Tess Covington who owns a family renovation company and is desperately trying to get herself on HGTV. Tess is also a late presenting Omega who has walked herself into an Inn with an Alpha off his meds. Sparks WILL fly.
Omigod. No words. Steamiest book yet Lana.
Hunter works at the Inn where Mackenzie and Noah went through some trying times (The Fake Mate). Hunter's Aunt wants the place remodeled so in walks Tess Covington who owns a family renovation company and is desperately trying to get herself on HGTV. Tess is also a late presenting Omega who has walked herself into an Inn with an Alpha off his meds. Sparks WILL fly.
December 9, 2025
𐙚⋆°｡⋆♡ ── 3.25 stars
this was a quick and fast paced read! i havent read the first book in this series but heard great things! i was able to binge most in a single setting, so id defo recommend if you're looking for a fast read and are into weres / mating!
this was defo more lust than actual emotion imo, there definitely were some emotional aspects - i did get teary eyed near the end. but it's just a fun ride and silly.
i do think i'd like book 1 a bit more?
thank you berkley for a e-galley through netgalley!
𐙚⋆°｡⋆♡ ── pre-read
trying to catch up on netgalley arcs! this looks bingeable + loving were romances lately !! i've listened to her latest audiobook, so this is my second read of hers!
↪ started dec 8
↪ finished dec 8
this was a quick and fast paced read! i havent read the first book in this series but heard great things! i was able to binge most in a single setting, so id defo recommend if you're looking for a fast read and are into weres / mating!
this was defo more lust than actual emotion imo, there definitely were some emotional aspects - i did get teary eyed near the end. but it's just a fun ride and silly.
i do think i'd like book 1 a bit more?
thank you berkley for a e-galley through netgalley!
𐙚⋆°｡⋆♡ ── pre-read
trying to catch up on netgalley arcs! this looks bingeable + loving were romances lately !! i've listened to her latest audiobook, so this is my second read of hers!
↪ started dec 8
↪ finished dec 8
Read
December 20, 2025DNF at 80 pages. This just isn't for me, but thank you to Berkley for the gifted copy.
December 13, 2025
the mating game by Lana Ferguson
-love the fact that their wolf shifters, love the lumberjacks hot vibes
-not the flip phone i love this man
-the forced proximity is so good
- tension pulling them together is delicious, eating this up just wolf out and kiss already loll
-Hunter is so charming and caring i love him
-damn i’m yours too Hunter the spice is top tier
-Tess is going through so much and has a lot of pressure but I love how Hunter supports her
-their connection was undeniable and beautiful Lana did it again with this one
rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
-love the fact that their wolf shifters, love the lumberjacks hot vibes
-not the flip phone i love this man
-the forced proximity is so good
- tension pulling them together is delicious, eating this up just wolf out and kiss already loll
-Hunter is so charming and caring i love him
-damn i’m yours too Hunter the spice is top tier
-Tess is going through so much and has a lot of pressure but I love how Hunter supports her
-their connection was undeniable and beautiful Lana did it again with this one
rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Currently reading
December 14, 2025ˋ°•*⁀➷ pre-read: teen wolf reels keep popping up on my instagram and since i don’t have time to rewatch the entire show rn, i’ve decided to satiate this urge my reading werewolf smut 😀 hope it delivers!
December 4, 2025
No plot, all HEAT, and KNOT that great 🥴
Read
November 17, 2025too many mentions of fluids.
rtc 🥲
rtc 🥲
December 23, 2025
omegaverse hallmark movie but the people in hallmarks are NOT getting laid like this.
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