The Alpha and His Ace

The Alpha and His Ace #1

by Ana J. Phoenix

Dear Author,

I am an Alpha werewolf who has been looking for his mate. Until I find him (yes, I am gay, my pack is pretty much open to sexuality), I am allowed to have fun with other guys. I’m known as a player but that’s okay because once I find my mate, my wolf and I will be truly monogamous.

Then I find him. My mate (You can decide how we meet— make it meet-cute type). But then my mate says that he is an asexual. What the hell? What does he mean, asexual? Does he mean that I cannot have sex with him ever? That he will never enjoy sex with me? How can I make him fall in love with me then?

But my wolf and I are determined to romance my mate; even if I have to join AVEN forum (which I thought at first as forum for AVIAN shifters) and talk around to couples with asexual lovers for tips. Because I will have my HEA with him, right, dear author?

Photo Description:
A young man and a wolf appear close together. The young man is dark-haired the wolf has pure white fur and amber eyes. The young man is holding the wolf close to himself in an almost possessive manner. They seem like they belong together.

This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love is an Open Road" event. Group members were asked to write a story prompt inspired by a photo of their choice. Authors of the group selected a photo and prompt that spoke to them and wrote a short story.

This story may contain sexually explicit content and is intended for adult readers. It may contain content that is disagreeable or distressing to some readers. The M/M Romance Group strongly recommends that each reader review the General Information section before each story for story tags as well as for content warnings.

Genres: M M Romance, Romance, Paranormal, Shapeshifters, LGBT, Asexual, Fantasy

60 pages, ebook

First published June 7, 2015

About the author

Ana writes m/m romance and erotica. Her interest in hot guy-on-guy action was first sparked by reading scandalous Japanese mangas. A dirty secret she couldn’t resist. In a long bout of insanity – also known as her life — she decided to learn the language and escape to the land of sushi, sumo, and yaoi.

She’s since moved back to Europe to be with the love of her life – delicious European chocolate.

Now she resides in the sunny part of Germany where she fills her days chasing her dreams and writing about men in complicated relationships. Her family believes she’s writing “erotic manga stories.” She’s pleased they got the erotic part right, at least.

Reviews

[Ami · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

This story is based on my prompt -- and I might be a little biased on that (ha!).

But really, I thought Ana did a wonderful job; she definitely put a HUGE smile on my face from both satisfaction (because she respected my prompt, and she brought an asexual character to this event, in addition to a love interest who did his job of trying to understand an ACE without trying to fix him) and enjoyment (Brandon's attempts to woo Aidan didn't always succeeded, but man how those were fun!).

The story was written solely from Brandon's point of view (he's the Alpha wolf) and I hope it gave a little glimpse about how to be with an asexual in a relationship. I know it is a challenge to bring an asexual character in a romance especially because, we, as ACEs, aren't all the same. Not all of us enjoy cuddling, or kissing, and some of us can enjoy sex.

Ana wrote that down perfectly when Aidan said ""...We aces aren’t all the same, you know. I should have let you know what I can and can’t do, instead of letting you search the Internet for it and coming to your own conclusion"". ACEs don't need magic penis (or magic vagina) but it doesn't mean that there aren't ACEs who are in a good and loving relationship out there.

I am not saying that it's perfect. If I have to be a little critical about it I thought Aidan could be fleshed out a little bit -- it was probably difficult because he was not the main narrator, but it would be great to know more about him, his likes and dislikes, his background ... things about him basically. And maybe it felt a little bit rushed too. Maybe it was because of the length limitation, I guess I just wanted to be with them a little more.

So thank you SO MUCH, Ana. I really liked it!!

And as an ACE myself, let me just say, here's a cake for you all to enjoy :)

[Kristan · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you've ever wanted a non-traditional shifter story, this is it!

Twenty-five year old Brandon knows his mate the moment he smells him, but he's not at all prepared for the shock of finding out that his all consuming attraction isn't going to be reciprocated. His newfound mate, Aidan, is asexual, and while a romantic relationship may grow between them, a hot and heavy romp in the woods to change his mate into a wolf just isn't going to happen. If he's ever going to have a shot with Aidan, he's going to have to to honest with himself in what he wants, and to learn how to navigate a relationship that's foreign to anything he's ever experienced before.

What's really amazing about this story is that there's no one solution or quick fix to their growing relationship. Aidan will never suddenly change who he is by encountering a magic dick, and that's what makes this story so refreshing. Aidan will always be asexual, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they can't make a relationship work.

Aidan and Brandon are such likeable characters; Brandon with his adorable fumbling through situations, and Aidan, with his planet pyjamas and steadfast personality. I think this was an informative and realistic glimpse at an asexual relationship, and I really loved how the story left off.

This was a lovely, unique shifter story, that was cute, humorous and smile worthy. This author is one I'll look out for in the future.

Thank you to the author for their time and participation in the Love is and Open Road event.

[annob [on hiatus] · Rating 3 out of 5]

The strength of this story is featuring an Ace main character who get a HEA. That part of the story was all good, seeing the couple find their way forward together.

The other elements, like the shifter world and details in Brandon's character, wasn't as convincingly written. Something about the writing style made it feel a bit simplistic. But perhaps that was in part due to the book's origin as a free read, dated several years ago.

Overall a nice, sweet and short tale of fated mates.

[fleurette · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a nice and pretty good short story a bit out of my usual reads. But I really needed this one for one of my challenges and as such it worked pretty well.

At some point I was really mad at Aidan for leaving Bran to just deal with everything on his own. I like that it was addressed in the end.

[kory. · Rating 1 out of 5]

rep; brandon (mc) is gay. aidan (li) is asexual.

this is a hot fucking mess. i have two main issues, and then some other ones.

the first main issue is brandon’s lack of consideration for what aidan actually wants. i’ve read lots of stories with wolves/mates and they 100% don’t have to have the wolf completely erase their mates’ autonomy. brandon doesn’t even consider that aidan might not want to be with him or might not want to be turned. he thinks things like: “i was planning on making him one of us eventually” and “i had to introduce him to the pack sooner or later” and “if you’re thinking about using scented soaps or anything, stop it” and “since you’re my mate, one day you’re going to be a wolf too” and “maybe he wasn’t the most romantic person either. then how was i supposed to get him?” all of this is about how brandon is going to “get” what he wants. it says that brandon is going to have aidan, whether aidan wants him or not. how is this romance? even aidan says, “i’m really not going to get rid of you, huh?” while grinning. sure, that implies he doesn’t really want to get rid of him, whatever, but this isn’t cute. this isn’t romantic. a guy following you around and always showing up at your place to the point where you feel like you wouldn’t be able to get rid of them if you wanted to, is fucking gross and toxic. that’s not a partner. that’s a stalker.

brandon then takes this shit to the next level (which is why this is sitting comfy in my “nope nope nope” tag). he contemplates raping aidan multiple times. this first one isn’t as blatant as the rest, but brandon thinks, “i felt like maybe i should pull back and tell him he didn’t have to do that, but there was only so much self-restraint i could exert over the course of one evening. no way was i stopping him now.” when aidan kisses him and brandon thinks he’s only doing it because he has to. so, even when brandon thinks aidan is only kissing him because he has no choice, brandon makes the decision to not stop him. charming, right? it gets worse. “what kind of mate would i be if i made him have sex with me when he didn’t really want it?” you’d be a rapist, brandon. that’s what you’d be. “on the other hand, i’d be a horrible partner to do that to him without his consent. a horrible mate, or a horrible alpha who couldn’t turn his mate.” ah, yes. either rape your mate, or have a human mate. two very equal things. (turning a human into a werewolf is apparently only possible by being penetrated with a penis and having its supernatural sperm alter your being. not kidding. i guess female wolves with female mates are shit out of luck. if queer women even exist in this universe. given the author, probably not. more on that later.) “it didn’t need to be full-on intercourse, but i did need some form of intimacy, some form of release, or someday i’d just screw him against a wall. that wouldn’t be fair to either of us.” yes it would not be fair to you to have to rape your partner. your partner who does not want to have sex with you has to give you something or else you have no choice but to rape them. you poor baby. seriously, what the fuck kind of person wrote this shit? and the kicker is that when aidan says that he’s had sex he wasn’t interested in because he trusted the person, only to have them be disappointed or mad that their penis didn’t “fix” him, brandon says he will never do that to him. like...you literally, seriously contemplated raping him. multiple times. get the entire fuck out of here.

second main issue is how the asexual rep is handled. while asexual is outright defined as not experiencing sexual attraction, “not wanting sex” is used interchangeably with “asexual” multiple times. two characters ask if aidan is a virgin when they find out he’s asexual. because obviously asexual people just haven’t had a good fucking, right? aidan says, “can you even imagine how hard it is to date someone, especially someone you think you might like, knowing from the outset you can’t make them happy the way a normal partner could?” because what’s ace rep without allosexual written internalized acemisia? like, do allosexual people think asexual people can’t feel secure or confident about themselves or their relationships? that they must think they aren’t normal? and can’t adequately please their partners? because if there isn’t sex in a relationship then it’s somehow lacking, somehow less than, right? when they eventually hook up, because of course the “i don’t want sex” adamant character ends up giving the allosexual character some sexual activity, brandon thinks, “he wasn’t touching me because he wanted me to reciprocate, or because he wanted to get off. he only wanted to make me happy.” and this is a big no to me. this frames the narrative as “asexual people who have no interest in/need for or aren’t comfortable with sex should have it anyways when they’re dating an allosexual person just to keep them happy,” and while everyone can make their own choices based on what they are comfortable with, it is extremely not okay to pretty much tell people they should be having sex they don’t want just to please the person they’re dating. sex is not something i see as a compromise. work within your boundaries. don’t force yourself out of them because of some fucked up idea that you have to in order to maintain your relationship.

now, other issues. brandon never even asks aidan what his boundaries are. that’s where all the conflict comes from. he makes assumptions and acts according to those and it blows up in his face, because he never thinks to just ask aidan what he is and isn’t comfortable doing. and when brandon eventually has this realization, he goes to talk things out with aidan, and within two seconds of being there, they’re hooking up. so much for communication. there’s the use of “both sexes” which isn’t accurate. it’s implied that people who aren’t interested in sex because of trauma are somehow less valid than people who aren’t interested because they don’t experience sexual attraction. it’s also implied that the former aren’t normal. (brandon explains to himself that aidan is one of the normal people who just genuinely doesn’t want sex, not that he’s “traumatized or whatever.”) there’s ableist language throughout.

lastly, what the fuck is with women who write m/m not acknowledging the existence of multi identities? pan/bi/omni/ply/queer/unlabeled/otherwise multi people exist!

[Catherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

*** 2.75 Stars ***

I have to give Ami kudos for creating a writing prompt that would bring a character from a truly underrepresented section of the sexual spectrum to the LOR event, and to Phoenix for taking it on and making Aiden come to life for her readers.

That said, I felt that parts of this story - especially at the beginning - felt a little frenetic. Perhaps it was because Phoenix was trying to create some unique and pretty elaborate shifter mythology at the same time that she was filling my brain with all sorts of new knowledge about asexual men and women. All of that, combined with the dead dad, the overbearing but well-meaning mom, and the conflict with two members of his pack? I just found it was a bit much to deal with in 60 pages.

And honestly? I'm all about the mate/insta-love thing, but I also would have appreciated a few pages of conversation showing the two men getting to know each other beyond their wolf forms and bedroom preferences.

My favourite part was Brandon's series of epic dating fails. The poor, clueless schmuck! How could your heart not go out to him? His crappy luck elicited more than one genuine snicker from this girl.

[Jilrene · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author stayed true to the prompt and did an awesome job. I'm going to go look for more books by her.

[Ije the Devourer of Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

i really liked this story. It was sweet, romantic and involved cake and a wolf shifter. Definitely going to read the next story.

[Tess · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not that into shifter stories but I was intrigued by this because one of the MCs is asexual. I think the author handled this part of the story very well and believably. I did think Aidan accepted the whole mate and shifter thing pretty quickly but that wasn't a big issue for me. Overall, this is a cute and fun short story that gets you thinking a little more about asexuality.

[Debbie McGowan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick review... I love this story. It's a humorous exploration of very real compromises people face in a relationship: well-researched, laugh-out-loud funny, beautifully written. A great short story with the perfect happy ending.

[Pimplop · Rating 3 out of 5]

hice esta cosa de que me recomendaran libros cringe para leer durante el año y me recomendaron este y no les voy a mentir, estaba muy curiosa.
Me esperaba lo peor y lo peor nunca pasó porque el libro es adorable 😭😭😭😭😭

El protagonista es un himbo que también es un hombre lobo que está muy desesperado por tener a su compañero de vida (cosas de hombres lobo) y cuando lo encuentra, es alguien ace y eso no va bien con su estilo de vida habitual de persona alo.

Esto pudo salirse de las manos y no pasó y estoy muy impresionada que de no lo hiciera xdddd
Para ser este tipo de libro que es muy cuestionable, es muy respetuoso con las personas asexuales. Todas las cosas sobre la asexualidad en este libro me encantó, es un poco educativo y la cosa de hombre lobo hasta puede ser un plus.

Eso, fallé con mi primer libro cringe del año, pero no importa porque es lendo y es nanai con las personas ace 💖

[b.andherbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really sweet and short PNR shifter romance about a wolf shifter who finds his fated mate, his asexual fated mate. Sex is needed to complete the mating bond so that his fated mate can also shift into a wolf, but after learning about what his new love's needs (and wants) are, they make it work for them, not how everyone in Brandon's pack expects him to act as the alpha/leader.

this is very short, but the writing was fun as was the premise.

[Didi · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75 stars

A few things that made this story worked for me:
- This is the second book I read in which one character was asexual, so I've kinda figured some question marks in my head;
- It's PNR story with wolf shifter, though the Alpha was not your typical Alpha (I even thought he was a bit on mama boy side);
- The tone was a tad humorous, making it easier to accept a few things; AND
- Not the least: this was my friend's prompt and pic!

Those said, I found the writing a bit stilted and not really riveting. Though I'm glad the author decided not to "force" the ultimate mating process and "allow" her characters to pick their own pace dating and stuff.

[Finnegan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story about a hot blooded alpha wolf and his asexual mate. I just don't know how that arrangement will work out in the end.

[erynde · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good asexual representation. Reminded me why I think we need (correct) representation in books. I actually read this because I wanted to read more books about asexuality and/or with asexual characters with proper understanding of it. It recommends a nice little website (AVEN) on which it bases most of its representation. I liked it. More than I thought I would.

Brandon is an asexual wolf-shifter alpha who finds his mate and he wants to turn him: the problem is, to turn him into a werewolf, they need to have sex. Aidan is asexual and has no interest in sex, but he does feel romantic attraction towards Brandon.

It's a really funny story. At the same time, it deals with the problems an Ace person might face when in a relationship with a sexual person (and vice versa because it is a relationship and it usually includes two people).

[Benji · Rating 3 out of 5]

Given that this one was free and a genre that I knew would take me a bit out of my comfort zone, I didn't really know what to expect from it. To begin, I really hate the instalove thing done so frequently in werewolf novels. I get the idea behind it - that wolves mate for life - but it still seems completely off the wall when translated to humanoid characters. Normally, the whirlwind romance gives me a headache. Ana, however, made it work. She made it seem just so natural to Brandon that it felt natural to me. He really believed that Aidan was his mate, and even without a clear background story of the werewolves I got a clear understanding that that was just how it worked in their world.

I really saw some potential in this. It was only 60 pages, so everything felt rushed. The romance, the development, and the plot all felt completely rushed. When I downloaded it, I hadn't realized it was more a short story than a novel. I read it in two sittings, forty minutes a piece (with some breaks during those forty minute intervals). Ana is a great writer, and I truly believe she has a lot of potential within this genre. I think if the book was stretched to a novel - maybe 300 to 400 pages - and the plot given more time to move at a slow pace it would have been abso-freaking-lutely fantastic. I felt that Aidan and Brandon were both well developed, and that her wolves were equally developed, and that she had a clear understanding of the world. Because of the short length, however, I felt slightly cheated. It just wasn't long enough. Which sounds crazy to say as I'm often one to complain about a book being too long! Really, though, I have read many werewolf and other shifter books (as well as vampires, warlocks, etc, etc) that just didn't "get" it. They tried too hard, or didn't explain things well, or explained things too much. Ana, in this one, managed to have the perfect balance. Things were explained, but never over explained, and she got "it".

As previously stated, this was a genre I've no prior experience reading. I admit to having tried writing it a few times, but I've never been comfortable writing it. In general, I skip over scenes that make me feel uncomfortable. Still, I really did enjoy this. I would read her work again, even if it took me slightly out of my comfort zone (this one did, but I dealt). Despite how I feel the plot moved too quickly, and that it was too short, I loved this. I'm glad I decided to give it a try.

Also, I have to give her mad props for how she handled asexuality. She was clearly either knowledgeable on the subject, or did the research before hand. In either case, I felt she nailed it perfectly. Aidan's fears perfectly mimic my own. While I am not sure I am asexual (I'm questioning), I do identify with aces a lot. Thus, it was refreshing to see an asexual romance in which the partner was so patient, willing to learn, and in which the asexual individual isn't "cured" as obviously we have nothing to be "cured" from. We're not broken, and this book definitely understood that.

[Sunny · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5, rounded up

Loved the characters and how Aidan's sexuality was handled. I would have rated it a solid 4 stars, but I wasn't ready to stop reading...I needed more!

[Fayrooz · Rating 3 out of 5]

other than the bizarre fact that a pack leader would choose to live with his mother and have more than one pack member be actively rude to him.. this story was as cute and adorable as I anticipated!

[Martina Weiß · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 / 5 Stars

I've heard a lot from & about this book over the course of the last couple years, but I've never quite got around to reading it. Until now, that is.

The book is very short, so if you're looking for lots of character development or slow-burn, you've come to the wrong place. What you ARE getting though, is:

Werwolves. Soulmates. & Asexuality.

Fun fact: I was under the assumption, that this book was going to be an Alpha/Beta/ Omega thing, but lucky for me, it wasn't.

The werwolve worldbuilding was intersting, and the POV character did get a few oppurtunitys to turn into a wolf, but, overall, it's - surprisingly - not really in the forfront of the story. Kinda a shame, because I felt like it wouldn't have needed many more pages to include the werwolve lore in a slightly better way. As in, the book itself has this one huge oppurtunity, where it could have told the reader more about the werwolve-ness , but decided to not go that route in the very last second. As in, the mother of our POV character was once human and was supposed to have a one-on-one talk with our ace about that whole "what it means to be a werwolves human soultmate" thing. But then we ended up inviting all the other werwolves to that talk too so there goes our chance to learn more about the ways of the wolf.

So now, with the wolf and mate thing out of the way, let's get to the part that was actually the heart of the story: the allo x ace relationship.
And honestly, I can see why some people didn't feel comfortable, but I've got to say, it's not as bad as some people claim (?)
OK, let me explain.

So, I won't lie, there are a few things that bothered me. But if I look at what bothered me vs. what I think the book did really well, then, I gotta say, there is way more good stuff than there is bad one.
But what exactly do I mean by bad stuff?

Well, let's talk.

1. For a long time, it looked like the book was going the "ace = no sex" route.

And see, that's just not true.
It's the Sex-repulsed/averse ace definition of it, that ignores all the other parts of our community. And I could see why people didn't like that. It's painting a wrong picture of aceness and of what aceness is.

BUT
Here's why I - after finishing the book - felt like that part of the story wasn't problematic after all.

The POV character has never heared of aceness before and this is his very first time he comes across asexuality.
Years ago, when I looked it up for the first time, reading the exact same definition, I too, thought, that that was what it had to mean. (Since I'm repulsed and not into sex at all, chances are, that my interpretation of things was what I wanted aceness to mean. I wanted aceness to be a bunch of sex-repulsed folks, because that meant, that I was normal)

Sex-repulsion is usually the thing that people , who learn about aceness for the first time, jump onto. Because sex-repulsion is the part of our community that gets the most media representation in general. The action & attraction aren't the same thing, that we've been trying to convey to the general public for some time, doesn't seem to be clear to most allos.

So the simple fact that this allo dude misunderstood is not bad at all. It would be bad, if we never corrected him on that and if the book was pushing the narrative that all aces just don't want to have sex till the very last page. But - Spoiler - we do correct him and he does learn better!

It takes a while for the book to get there, but eventually, we do learn, that aceness is a spectrum and that there is more to the ace experience than repulsion. We even use the word "sex-repulsed" which I'm very thankfull for.
Sure, it's not the most in-depth disscusion out there, but come on, it's not the books job to educate you on aceness.
So to summarize this first bullet point: It looked like a problem, but it wasn't.

2. It uses the word "normal" when it means to say "allo/not-ace"

There is no sugar-coating it. It's doing this more than once, and it's making both the ace and allo character say normal in different contexts. And honestly, it just rubs me the wrong way. I don't know how well known the word "allo" was during the time this got published - because you've got to remember, that this isn't the youngest of books.
And yet, I'm still certain, that the "normal partner/relationship" usage could have been handled better. EITHER by making the other person respond something along the lines of "you are normal" or by just using other terminology.

3. C-level Communication skills.

A lot of the "problems" in this one are caused by the fact that those two are just really awkward and bad in expressing their wants and needs. I do understand why, don't get me wrong. This isn't a story-breaking thing. If it were, the star rating would be much lower. It makes sense why the ace is hesitant to jump into this allo relationship - especially since he's been burned before. And it's understandable why our POV character is behaving the way he is. They are both afraid to fuck things up, they are both uncertain about wheater they can be open and vulnerable around the other or not. Tis is a new development. I wouldn't tell someone about all my sexual boundaries on our very first date either.
But! At some point during the story, we reach a point where they SHOULD have been more clear about what exactly it is they want and need. They do have a conversation about it, and yet, they are still mostly winging their way to victory. The conversation they have is nice, but barely scraching the "this is what I'm comfortable and this is what I'm not comfortable" teretory.


HOWEVER. It's also during their talks, that some of the best quotes and sentences the book has to offer get dropped.
And see, that's why I ended up liking this one. Yes, there is stuff in there that could have been done in a better way, but that isn't taking away from the fact that the ace in question was very nicely written, the relationship was good and their dynamic was nice. At times, I could have almost believed that the book was actually written by someone whose ace themselves, because it really is relatable and it really is doing a good job in recreating the ace-experience.


All things considered, this was - almost - exactly what I had thought (and hoped) it would be.
I think the author did a good job.

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short paranormal story with asexual MC
Brandon, the alpha of his werewolf pack, is, at over 25, still searching for his mate. When he escorts a drunk girl home from a club he meets Aidan, the girls roommate - and his mate. Things aren't plain sailing, not only is Aidan human, but he's asexual - something Brandon knows nothing about. It's a steep learning curve for Brandon who has had his share of back alley encounters but no actual relationships, deciding he wants to romance Aidan he sets out to take him on a date, which ends in disaster. There are hiccups in the road to their mate bond - not least because Aidan has no interest in sex, but if he is to turn into a wolf then this is necessary. Brandon has to figure out a way to keep not only his mate happy but his pack. This was an interesting story, and nice to have an asexual MC. The whole story takes place over a very short period of time, and I didn't feel that the attraction between the two MC's really worked that well, the ending I'd say is also more HFN than HEA. That said, it was an enjoyable read

[TT · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable shifter fic, short and cute, a 3.5 star rating for me. I liked Brandon’s character; he’s funny, determined and sweet. His attempts at romancing his mate are fun to read about, I guess werewolves are unaware that some restaurants require reservations ahead of time! Aiden was a little harder to get a bead on and was therefore harder to sympathize with. I don’t know much about asexuals (aces) so this was educational for me. I also appreciate how the author didn’t go for the quick fix. I honestly kept expecting Aiden to suddenly like sex just because he found the one he was meant to be with. This way their story is much more of a challenge. Quite liked this, it’s a fun read!

[Meep · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thanks to the author for participating and offering this freebie.

It'd didn't entirely work for me but full credit for including an asexual character without trying to fix him. It meant challenging the usual shifter insta-insta mating tropes. Unfortunately it felt too much the focus, time was taken to discuss asexuality but to the deference of other basic getting to know each other. The relationship lacked chemistry and to be honest I wasn't convinced it was for the long-term. Brandon didn't make a convincing alpha and other characters were annoyingly one dimensional.

I respect the idea and how it developed, but can't say the fic won me over.

[Gina Marie ~books are my drug of choice~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this sweet take on alpha wolf finds his mate. He was fairly young when he lost his father so had to take over as alpha long before he was really ready. They didn't fall in insta-love but there was definitely something there. I wondered how they were going to handle the asexuality and I was impressed. Some people complained about the amount of information about asexual but I feel this gave us a chance to follow the Alpha's thoughts, beliefs, way he decided how to win his mate. The fact he didn't just run away. I really enjoyed this book. It was sweet, light and enjoyable.

[Jaylee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a super sweet, adorable little book. If you're already very familiar with asexuality, it might feel a bit preach-y at times. But the characters were nice, the conflict was real, and the relationship between them was super sweet. There's a smut scene in there, too, and it was very well-handled!!

I completely devoured this book and giggled all the way through it. It's very short, and free (as of this review) and a great way to spend an hour or so. :D

[Adrian Fridge · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this more, but I almost DNF'd after the tropiest of tropey shapeshifter mythos and the copy/pasting from AVEN. I also understand the constraints of the event, and my friend told me the second half gets better.

It does to an extent. There were some very potent nuggets about dynamics in sexual/asexual relationships that I liked a lot. The romance was sweet too.

I'd like to thank the author for tackling the subject manner in a sensitive way. Kudos.

[Lila Hunter · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 out of 5

This is my first asexual story and I enjoyed. it was different than what I normally read, but the author made it interesting enough.

I wondered how this story would work if the mating bond was not present. Would Brandon take his time getting to know Aidan?

Definitely a new take on shifters.

[Ashley E · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cake...sex...cake...sex... Tough choice, that. :D

[Shelby · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book didn't work for me in large part because of the length. I think with more time to develop the relationship between Brandon and Aidan I would have believed Aidan's capitulation more. Aidan's being ace and his relationship with Brandon felt too rushed to really be believable. Not to mention that Brandon felt to young and immature to really come across as the alpha of a pack. He didn't see like any sort of dominant in my opinion.

[ThePausis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brandon es el alfa de su manada y necesita encontrar a su mate para poder liderarla adecuadamente.

Una noche, en una situación incómoda e inesperada conoce a Aidan, quien es su mate pero no todo resulta como Brandon siempre imaginó.

Me resultó muy tierna esta historia. Probablemente lea la siguiente parte.

[Tamara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute! Nice writing, though it seem a little like Asexuality 101. Still, I always appreciate aces in romance!