Throughout certain magical circles, a male omega wolf’s heart is considered a valuable commodity. Used for all manner of spells and potions, the heart of an omega is renowned for its fertility properties.
When Benjamin Noble woke up in an operating room, his wolf howled with despair. Lone survivor of an attack on his pack, Benjamin was taken alive for his omega heart. With one look to his right, that heart identified its true mate.
Holden McKenna had been held captive for three days. His alpha grizzly blood is considered priceless, after all.
Recognizing its mate, Holden’s bear breaks loose. Saving Benjamin is only the start, though.
Around them, a mystery unfolds. Between them, intimacy blooms. As the threat of recapture looms, Holden’s worldview collides with Benjamin’s leanings toward the mystical.
Can a wolf and a bear who come from similar but disparate worlds ever transcend their differences to become one?
G.G. Géricault grew up on ghost stories, iced tea, and her granny's peach cobbler. She called the historic city of Savannah home for most of her life, but she now lives abroad.
Her stories explore love, longing, and the tangled truths behind the things that go bump in the night.
I absolutely loved it!!! I read it in parts, and even though the total length is quite long, i felt i could read it more for the same length!!
I loved Benjamin and Holden absolutely! Such endearing characters. A great plot, and amazing secondary characters. Everything was well-developed, well-explained. The romance was there in heaps and I can definitely reread it multiple times!
But it was a bit short for my liking! The story did not lack anything! It's just me being greedy!! (Sighs) Wanna read Seth's story soon now!!!
Well tickle me pink, for I readily admit I wasn't expecting much more than your standard shifter love story.
Did this add anything new to the overall grand scheme of things about what we know and come to expect from a paranormal romance? No. It reassuringly still has the whole "destined mates" spiel down pat. It's got uncontrollable urges, strong bonds being formed, and the irresistible drive to claim, protect and possess.
However this veered off just enough to make it unexpectedly refreshing.
First, there was a plot. It was well developed, held my interest, and actually propelled the story forward instead of hindering it.
Second, Holden and Benjamin were real - or as real as you could get for MC's being a bear and a wolf shifter. Though they know they're mates the second they meet, there was no blind, all consuming insta-love (which I agree many times over, there's nothing wrong with that). Sure, there were innate desires and attraction, but they know that a HEA is not guaranteed. These poor guys have to work at it. Toes are stepped on, feelings are hurt, there's an actual learning process.
Third, despite the appreciated, realistic progression of their relationship, there was no slacking off in the delicious UST. It had what I adore in romances, which means plenty of want, doubt, jealousy, insecurity. As they get to know each other through tender, intimate, funny moments, it made their hard fought coming together that much more impressive and hot. Unf. (Of course a lot more of this would have been greatly appreciated.)
And for the cherry on top - this was freakin A/B/O peoples! You know how I feel about that. Plus it was sprinkled with a well thought out mpreg, adding to its score.
So, yes. I've got beer goggles on (not really), but if any of that appeals or piques your interest, I doubt you'll find this disappointing - because I found this anything but.
A shout out to Susan and Meags for letting me crash their party late. And Susan thank you so much! This obviously hit the spot and I'm still squeeing.
That was one of the best written shifter stories I’ve read in a long while. Plot driven and dialogue heavy, this story contained many of the usual tropes we love and desire in these types of books (shifters, mates, magic, a/b/o dynamics, mpreg, etc), but there was a major focus on character development and the creation of interesting and comprehensible shifter mythologies that kept the story engaging.
All the mate stuff and the subsequent Mine!Mine!Mine! feels that I usually eat up like M&M’s, was quite subdued here, which actually really worked for me. Nothing was rushed and the UST was deliciously pleasing. There was still that immediate spark between Holden (the alpha bear) and Benjamin (the omega wolf); that moment of clarity where both shifters recognised their “true mate”; that instant attraction and burst of feelings that unequivocally bonded the two for life. And the great news is it happened immediately (like two pages into the story, immediately).
So what made this different? Well, where many of these shifter stories dive right into the “claiming” portion of the mating process, this story took the time to allow Holden and Benjamin to actually get to know one another, if somewhat in undesirable, life threatening circumstances. They take the time to learn about each other’s families (packs/sleuths), and about each shifter’s traditions and beliefs. I loved the way this was handled. Discussions between the two were plentiful, with Holden and Benjamin innately learning about each other through demonstrations of humour and playfulness, as well as intense arguments over fundamental wants and needs and personal beliefs. This all made the story and its couple all the more real and appealing.
I will definitely be looking out for any possible sequels.
The mpreg was actually not a very big part of the story. This was a story about shifters, mates and witches.
I thought I would enjoy this more. I did like Holden and how protective he was of Benjamin. I loved their nicknames for each other, Bennie and Clyde. But I have to admit, this book had a little too much plot for me. I felt the romance took a back seat.
There was too much relationship angst going on for me to feel the love between Holden and Benjamin. And it started out so good!
”I’m trying to process everything, but all I can think about is keeping you safe.” “It’s the pull.” Benjamin shrugged his slim shoulders. “I’d just prefer to get to know you before you go all, Mine, mine, mine. You know, just a little.
I also felt the plot of the other bears was very sudden and could have been more fleshed out. But maybe I’m just nagging now.
I did like it, but I think in the end the relationship angst (which was not extreme, but I just really hate it) was what made me like this less. So 3 stars it is. ["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>
Well, I was enjoying this well enough until I realized the Author has disappeared and never finished the series. We’ll get back to that in a minute.
This wasn’t bad. It was interesting that it was a wolf and a bear. I loved, loved, loved that there were witches in the story. I just really needed more romance. More time at home with the two of them. Actually seeing the Alpha/Omega dynamics.
And the mpreg? Um, not really. I feel like that was set up to be huge and then it was just there and then the book ended! UGH!
So, that brings me back to the beginning of this review. So, there was a lot left at the end of this book and now it seems the Author isn’t writing anymore. I am bummed. It kind of ruined a bit of the story for me.
I got through the whole story, which was enjoyable by the way, only to be denied the at the end?
Rude.
Anyway. Like I said before, it's enjoyable. I can totally recommend, but be aware the romance is a major backseat to the mystery and the pregnancy is sort of backseat story plot too.
I regret dragging this book's rating down, but unfortunately, I just can't bring myself to give it four stars. Yes, it's well-written, yes, it's enjoyable, yes, it's one of the better shifter stories I've read. However, it was lacking a certain something. That zing that compels me to read again and again, to never be without the book because I know, in a few months or a year, I'll want to revisit it. This book was fun to read at the time, but I can say in all honesty that I'll be able to remove it from my Kindle and never miss it.
Loved big growly bear Holden and nimble, delicate wolf shifter Benjamin. Loved what the author has done with the usual ‘insta-love’ that comes with fated mates. Of course the magical pull and the intense attraction happen here as well, but the men consider lots of buts and ifs before they make a final decision about a future together. Loved the interesting universe and the magic.
This is an excellent start to the series and I will be back for more! For a more in-depth comment, please check out A Reader Obsessed's review
But I decided to give this book 4 stars for the ability to create an alternative world quite logical, well thought and with some importance to the story of the two protagonists (all too often taken for granted in books with shapeshifters, thus relegating them in categories of lower quality).
I greatly enjoyed the numerous scenes of transformation and also the union/differentiation that is so easy to understand between human character and animal instinct.
I really liked the explanation that Bennie gives of 'mate' and all the initial quarrels between them are understandable: as in RL, falling in love is easy and it is lived without any concern...turn it into love and people are forced to work on themselves to keep the relationship strong and to incorporate it into their everyday life.
Now, my only minus point, but it is still very important, is that there were not enough scenes of the two protagonists together, with no other characters, following the resolution of their conflicts, but prior to the mating.
It's okay to work together to overcome the differences, it's all right that fate makes you realize that this person is the right one for you....but, why? Just because Bennie can give Clyde children? Just because Clyde protects Bennie? This point was not developed enough (Soothe the bear? Treat Bennie as an equal?) and, maybe because of it, the story is easily forgettable (even though it is very elaborate and deserves high marks) because the protagonists are not sufficiently described and then difficult to love.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I really enjoyed this book. We have the story of Holden and Benjamin - otherwise known as Bennie and Clyde. Holden is an alpha bear shifter. He has been captured by hunters and held captive for three days. His blood is considered priceless. He meets his true mate when Benjamin is also captured after the slaughter of his pack. Benjamin is a wolf shifter. They want to take his omega heart which is considered a valuable commodity. When Holden recognizes his true mate, it gives him the strength (and the fury) to escape. Thus begins a wild adventure involving shifters, witches and hunters. This was a really enjoyable read that had a good plot(!) with lots of twist and turns. There was humour to balance the angst so it didn't get too heavy, and male pregnancy!! I will definitely read the next in the series (Seth please!). Recommend.
I debated for awhile whether to read this book or not and I'm glad I took the plunge. It was super awesome!! The paranormal aspect of it - the origin stories - was really cool.
What I love most was that even if there was a concept of true mate, it wasn't an insta-love thing. Sure, their wolf/bear had that insta-mate connection. But there was still free will in their human parts. That's what made this story so appealing to me. We watched them disagree, we watched them struggle to accept the other person's different belief system. And it was quite the opposite set of beliefs. One believed everything is possible while the other believed nothing is possible...
This was a good story. The plot was well developed, fast-paced with interesting twists and a lot of action. I liked that even though the main characters were fated mates, they still had to work at understanding and accepting each other. They didn't just fall into the perfect relationship. The struggle between Holden and Benjamin was realistic because not only are they a wolf and a bear, they also seemed to have different views about everything plus they had a whole lot of bad guys to deal with. An epilogue with the birth would have been a nice conclusion to this story.
I am a sucker for a good ABO story, and this one was goooooooood!! It contained a decent plot, proper villian, a strong protective alpha, and a very likeable omega who can stand up for himself. Recommended!
Seriously this book took me by complete surprise. It had 38 reviews almost all of which were 5 stars, the rest were 4, and I thought there was no way in hell those were legit reviews, but I was at a loss on what to read and it was a KU book... so I went for it and was damn glad I did.
It was a little different than my usual reads and tropey as fuck, this was a m/m, shifter, fated mates, mpreg romance... that’s a mouth full huh? Anyways it was completely awesome and my slutty ass loved every minute of its tropey ass.
This is so not my kind of book but it was picked for me for a challenge so I finished it anyway. I felt the plot was predictable and has been done many times already. The characters were two dimensional and I didn't buy them together at all. .
I really enjoyed this paranormal. I dislike serials so I was glad that the author offered the story as a complete book. There was plenty of action, the characters were nicely fleshed out. The bad guys were truly evil and the good guys were heroes. I'm looking forward to what else this author has for this series. Adult read
This was a great shifter book that I wasn’t ready to end. I could use more. When your mate isn’t who you ever thought your mate would be. Going on a journey to find happiness after so much loss. I liked this one. Even with the whole pull of being mates, they’d still had to learn to like each other. They still had a choice on rather they really wanted to be with each other. My only complaint was that while H learned and accepted B’s belief, B never payed the same respect to H. Great writing smexy was nice and I hope there is more to this series.
Wowee! Another story with an unexpected and different take on the omegaverse sub-genre. This book was not what I was expecting and turned into quite the little gem.
Despite the per usual Insta-love most mate stories display, this story is full of angst as our MCs escape their attackers and learn to come together despite coming from two different worlds with different beliefs. Not only must they learn to come together despite their different world views, but they must come together to stop a common enemy which has taken from both of them.
~POSSIBLE SPOILER~
I found the element of witches in this story to be particularly intriguing as IMO witches, especially dark ones, always (pardon my language) fuck shit up to the ninth degree and this book was no exception. I'll tell ya my anxiety spiked there for a bit towards the end when the stakes were raised.
Ultimately, I thought this was a very well-rounded and enjoyable book with a good blend of romance and action and would definitely recommend others to read. I am a little sad to see there has been no sequel or spin-off book released as I thought the ending seemed to be some sort of set-up for one, but despite that you'll still feel wholly satisfied once you've given it a read.
I don't know why I do this to myself....I find a great MM shifter book where the writing is fantastic, the characters chemistry is exciting and its a great story, AND it's first in the series.....only to find out later that there is no series and the Author is nowhere to be found since 2015...cool. Thanks. After reading Leta Black's I scoured looking for a similar series to come close (4 flops in the last week mind you) and then I came across this book and LOVED it. And it's the only one :-( I understand its a weird genre...believe me lol I had NO idea what I was reading the first m/m shifter mpreg book I found lol. But its so captivating if you can find an author who can really take you into the world, like Leta Blake and now G.G Géricault.
She has one other book out, also labeled 1st in series. whatever. le sigh. Off to read that one cause at least I know it'll be enjoyable :-)
I can understand why this is the only book this author had any success with.
☹️ 𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧'𝗦 𝗕𝗔𝗗:
🔻 The writing, plot, and characters.
It's a hot mess: The story lacks flow — sentences are choppy, some word choices are strange or don’t make sense, and there's a lot of info dumping. 😵💫
When I skimmed to the 50% mark, it was clear that the story focuses heavily on dark magic and witches, which I dislike.
I read primarily for the romance, which this had little of. I didn’t feel any love or connection between the MCs.
So I had so many emotions with this book I cried, laughed was mad on some part but overall this book is amazing action from the first page until the last I absolutely love it Holden was an Amazing alpha bear his brothers and mother were amazing also but I was a lil mad at him for not believing his mate like really and had the nerve to get mad at him when he was just telling him the truth ugh I wanted to slap Holden but Benjamin was everything I loved his the most he was so sweet and trusting I was so sad about his family it broke my heart I won't give any spoilers away but this book was Amazing and it is a must read... I'm hoping Seth gets a book and Lance they were awesome
The writing was excellent, I found a few mistakes in grammar but I've seen worse. How the story was put together and the pacing was awesome. I loved the suspense and seeing the action from both points of view. I also like the set up for the next story, can't wait for it to be out.
Delightful! I fell in love with the characters from page one. I loved their tension and chemistry. It was sweet and sexy! The story was full of action, drama and of course romance. I enjoyed the fast paced and twists and turns throughout the story! I can’t wait to read more from this author.
Very nice read. Engaging characters and despite it being a fast paced romance it didn't feel rushed. I wish it was a bit longer and more time was dedicated to the couple's relationship but it was still a good read. Well balanced mix of shifter romance and a touch of omegaverse.
Loved the story. The communication and also the lack thereof. They are fated mates, but they also are learning to navigate this new relationship. And they don't know what to do nor say. It was a good story. I recommend it.
I kinda wish we had a sequel with Seth's story though
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.