I grew up on a wildlife refuge with my stepbrother, Ben. Our parents were married and we lived in a paradise full of beautiful animals. Ben was always the older, beautiful and arrogant stepbrother. He was always one step ahead of me - always smarter - always stronger - always everything I could never be. But when my mother died, his father sent me away to boarding school and I thought I'd never see Ben or the refuge again.
Two years later and I was moving into my first college apartment. I was ready to learn, ready to date and ready to forget my past and march towards a new future.
But when Ben was unexpectedly thrust back into my life, I learned things about him that I'd never imagined possible.
Ben was a shifter. He was in love with me. And he never planned to let me go.
Strong gave a plentiful background showcasing the step-sibling angst growing up yet failed to show the depths of feelings that Ben or Holly had outside the family dynamic.
Like Holly I was blindsided with Ben's revaluation of always loving her. On the other hand I was blindsided by Holly's willingness to let her stepbrother take her, even when thinking it was a hallucination.
Moreover, why do the females always have to be virgins???
I was surprised by this. The quick get together worked here and I think it's because of the shifter element. There was enough history for me between the characters to set it up and there was some nice chemistry.
I can't wait to read the next two to find out what happens between Ben and Holly.
This one was good.. short but good.. only issue I do have is that she is very stuck on him being her brother, so it makes the book feel a bit.... weird for me. I understand he is in love with her and I do believe she is in love with him.. but she needs to get past the "brother" thing if she wants it to work. Overall I enjoyed it and will read the others to find out what happens