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The Borough Boys #1
Grayson's Mate
At thirty-five, Grayson Nox is the business manager for his werewolf pack. He's good at his job. Too bad he's not as successful at finding his destined mate. He'll know her by a distinctive birth mark, but he's getting tired of searching.
But the night Grayson finally sees his mark, it's not on a woman. It's on a gorgeous guy who wrecked his car near pack headquarters. Grayson brings the beguiling stranger home to heal … and to try and make sense of this strange twist of fate.
Medical student Reagan Forster has studied for ten years at University in Melbourne. At last he's ready to sit his final exams and head out into the world to heal people. But when he foolishly tries to drive home after a thirty-six-hour hospital shift, Reagan passes out behind the wheel.
He wakes in an unknown world, tucked away in the mountains of Greensborough, with the hottest guy he's ever met at his bedside. Their mating starts a fire hotter than either werewolf or man has ever known.
But they must make their relationship work against the backdrop of conflict, as Regan struggles to find his place in this new world, and the pack battles the Rogue werewolves who are a constant threat.
When the spoils are counted in the end … can Grayson and Reagan both be victors?
But the night Grayson finally sees his mark, it's not on a woman. It's on a gorgeous guy who wrecked his car near pack headquarters. Grayson brings the beguiling stranger home to heal … and to try and make sense of this strange twist of fate.
Medical student Reagan Forster has studied for ten years at University in Melbourne. At last he's ready to sit his final exams and head out into the world to heal people. But when he foolishly tries to drive home after a thirty-six-hour hospital shift, Reagan passes out behind the wheel.
He wakes in an unknown world, tucked away in the mountains of Greensborough, with the hottest guy he's ever met at his bedside. Their mating starts a fire hotter than either werewolf or man has ever known.
But they must make their relationship work against the backdrop of conflict, as Regan struggles to find his place in this new world, and the pack battles the Rogue werewolves who are a constant threat.
When the spoils are counted in the end … can Grayson and Reagan both be victors?
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First published December 22, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 127 reviews
March 8, 2022
This review contains spoilers.
I should have DNF:d this one, but I kept waiting for it to get better. Instead it got worse.
The lore and setup didn't make sense to begin with. Only men are shifters, but when Grayson realizes that Reagan is his mate, we find out that it's "unheard of for an Alpha to have a human mate at all. Let alone a male." So if he's not expected to have a human as a mate, but the women are human, and he's not expected to have a man as a mate...I'll just leave that logic puzzle for someone else to solve.
The book then brought in some eye-rolling GFY with Grayson insisting that he isn't gay. But attraction to your mate overrides everything, which begs the question of why sexuality labels even matter to shifters. Some members of this insular pack don't even know the word gay ("Is that what humans call it?"), so they don't seem have the same view on sexuality as human society. But Grayson is adamant that he isn't gay. We also get some casual misogyny, as Grayson gets annoyed when Reagan is upset with him and thinks that "I thought I’d missed all the whiney wife bullshit." But don't worry guys, he's totally all for equality. At least among alphas, betas and gammas, who all happen to be men.
The fact that Grayson having a male mate meant the end of his bloodline was a conflict that seemed to be resolved at the end, when they both were content with Grayson saying that they didn't need to have kids. But then we get a mind-boggling epilogue where some random widow was moved into the house next to theirs and is now having their baby, which she offered to do, so they "shared" her. Despite Reagan being gay. Excuse me? Not to mention that there was never any on-page discussion about whether Reagan actually wanted kids or not (nor do we get his thoughts on it in the epilogue), and earlier in the book Grayson didn't even bring it up because he thought Reagan wouldn't be okay with a surrogate. But the author, for some reason, still decided to make this their HEA.
Honestly, Reagan should have stayed in Melbourne when he had the chance, and I should have DNF:d after the first chapter.
I should have DNF:d this one, but I kept waiting for it to get better. Instead it got worse.
The lore and setup didn't make sense to begin with. Only men are shifters, but when Grayson realizes that Reagan is his mate, we find out that it's "unheard of for an Alpha to have a human mate at all. Let alone a male." So if he's not expected to have a human as a mate, but the women are human, and he's not expected to have a man as a mate...I'll just leave that logic puzzle for someone else to solve.
The book then brought in some eye-rolling GFY with Grayson insisting that he isn't gay. But attraction to your mate overrides everything, which begs the question of why sexuality labels even matter to shifters. Some members of this insular pack don't even know the word gay ("Is that what humans call it?"), so they don't seem have the same view on sexuality as human society. But Grayson is adamant that he isn't gay. We also get some casual misogyny, as Grayson gets annoyed when Reagan is upset with him and thinks that "I thought I’d missed all the whiney wife bullshit." But don't worry guys, he's totally all for equality. At least among alphas, betas and gammas, who all happen to be men.
The fact that Grayson having a male mate meant the end of his bloodline was a conflict that seemed to be resolved at the end, when they both were content with Grayson saying that they didn't need to have kids. But then we get a mind-boggling epilogue where some random widow was moved into the house next to theirs and is now having their baby, which she offered to do, so they "shared" her. Despite Reagan being gay. Excuse me? Not to mention that there was never any on-page discussion about whether Reagan actually wanted kids or not (nor do we get his thoughts on it in the epilogue), and earlier in the book Grayson didn't even bring it up because he thought Reagan wouldn't be okay with a surrogate. But the author, for some reason, still decided to make this their HEA.
Honestly, Reagan should have stayed in Melbourne when he had the chance, and I should have DNF:d after the first chapter.
September 5, 2025
Desesperante, divertido, mucho drama
Reagan está en sus últimas semanas de estudio para graduarse de médico, cuando un accidente de auto lo lleva a conocer al hombre más increíble que hubiera visto. El problema es que está hombre no es lo que parece, y resulta que el es su pareja predestinada. Ahora, se adaptará Reagan a este nuevo mundo? Será suficiente para tener una relación? Y que será de su carrera de médico?
Tenía muchas expectativas con este libro, por qué me gustan mucho las historias de parejas predestinadas, y sin embargo, los protagonistas me resultaron insoportables! Demasiado drama para después aceptarlo todo? De verdad? Tantas discusiones para no llegar a nada?
Por eso, no creo que vaya a continuar la serie, al menos por un buen tiempo.
Reagan está en sus últimas semanas de estudio para graduarse de médico, cuando un accidente de auto lo lleva a conocer al hombre más increíble que hubiera visto. El problema es que está hombre no es lo que parece, y resulta que el es su pareja predestinada. Ahora, se adaptará Reagan a este nuevo mundo? Será suficiente para tener una relación? Y que será de su carrera de médico?
Tenía muchas expectativas con este libro, por qué me gustan mucho las historias de parejas predestinadas, y sin embargo, los protagonistas me resultaron insoportables! Demasiado drama para después aceptarlo todo? De verdad? Tantas discusiones para no llegar a nada?
Por eso, no creo que vaya a continuar la serie, al menos por un buen tiempo.
August 13, 2020
DNF 15%
What fresh hell is this? First, I'm completely creeped out by the kidnappy/culty vibe I'm getting and I have to agree with Reagan -- why the fuck would you take a severely injured man 2 hours up a mountain, where he almost died en route, instead of to a nearby hospital. Too much creepy caginess for my tastes. Just no. Putting a pin in it.
What fresh hell is this? First, I'm completely creeped out by the kidnappy/culty vibe I'm getting and I have to agree with Reagan -- why the fuck would you take a severely injured man 2 hours up a mountain, where he almost died en route, instead of to a nearby hospital. Too much creepy caginess for my tastes. Just no. Putting a pin in it.
July 22, 2020
Drama, drama, drama, arguing constantly. Not a fun read at all. I certainly won’t be reading anymore books in this series.
August 28, 2017
But messy at times but a decent introduction to this shifter series
There was a fair bit of dramady just for the sake of causing conflict which came out of the blue and didn't really work as tension points but, apart from that, this was a solid introduction to a new shifter series.
There was a fair bit of dramady just for the sake of causing conflict which came out of the blue and didn't really work as tension points but, apart from that, this was a solid introduction to a new shifter series.
January 20, 2017
Intrigued by the blurb and cover, I decided to try this book.
Right from the start i had a feeling that something was not 'right' with the story.
About the mate, the mating, the matching birthmarks (even there's no further explanation about what happen to 'the birthmark' change and 'the why'), the packs, the 'bad guys' (no explanation about this too!), and many more....but I keep reading because I hope that maybe there's will be 'something' worth to read. But then what i got was HUGE disappointment.
There are LOTS unsolved things until the end of the book and left hanging without any reasonable solutions.
As if, all the 'problems' become nothing than a cliche not-oh-so-important part of the book.
And THAT succeed put this book to another a meh reading for me.
This book actually has the chance to be something, but ended with poorly written, too many plot 'holes', too predictable and cheesy with no strong characters or plot, just to horny men and the drama.
That's all!
April 23, 2017
well this book was a dissapointment, I was ready to give it two stars but when I read the end I was like nope 1 star it is, wtf was that? anyways I probably won't be reading the rest of this series.
Want to Read
July 22, 2020🎁 FREE on Amazon today (7/22/2020)! 🎁
March 28, 2018
** This review contains spoilers **
Interesting premise but it needs work.
This book left me with a lot of questions:
After Reagan's car wreck were none of his friends, co-workers, or classmates trying to find what'd happened to him? The police &/or fire department would have been investigating what happened to the driver of a vehicle that not only crashed but burst into flames.
Reagan and Grayson "accidentally" mate and Reagan's body begins to change. He's eating substantially more and physically bulking up very quickly. Why?
The Greensborough pack supposedly doesn't care about the genders of mates, but all these guys are only looking for matching birthmarks on women, planning houses with females in mind, expecting mates to not work but be Susie Homemaker.
Lastly, and this one annoys me so much it will keep me from reading any other books in this series, in order to carry on his alpha line Grayson needs a biological child. Why was artificial insemination of a surrogate never suggested? Reagan is a doctor, after all, he'd know about alternate means of conception. Instead Grayson and Reagan "share" a woman to get her pregnant. Reagan is GAY, he'd have zero interest in "sharing" a woman! Additionally, if Reagan was able to manage intercourse with the woman, how could they be sure the child is Grayson's? (If your reply is "condom" I can give stats on condom failure rates.) He should never have agreed to Grayson's plan in the first place. Now, because of how Grayson went about getting his heir and setting its mother up in the house next door, Reagan is always going to wonder about Grayson banging her whenever the urge strikes or he decides he needs a spare heir. While Reagan and Grayson are mated, Grayson has been very clear about the fact he's not gay, so given the situation, Reagan would be an idiot to trust him.
Interesting premise but it needs work.
This book left me with a lot of questions:
After Reagan's car wreck were none of his friends, co-workers, or classmates trying to find what'd happened to him? The police &/or fire department would have been investigating what happened to the driver of a vehicle that not only crashed but burst into flames.
Reagan and Grayson "accidentally" mate and Reagan's body begins to change. He's eating substantially more and physically bulking up very quickly. Why?
The Greensborough pack supposedly doesn't care about the genders of mates, but all these guys are only looking for matching birthmarks on women, planning houses with females in mind, expecting mates to not work but be Susie Homemaker.
Lastly, and this one annoys me so much it will keep me from reading any other books in this series, in order to carry on his alpha line Grayson needs a biological child. Why was artificial insemination of a surrogate never suggested? Reagan is a doctor, after all, he'd know about alternate means of conception. Instead Grayson and Reagan "share" a woman to get her pregnant. Reagan is GAY, he'd have zero interest in "sharing" a woman! Additionally, if Reagan was able to manage intercourse with the woman, how could they be sure the child is Grayson's? (If your reply is "condom" I can give stats on condom failure rates.) He should never have agreed to Grayson's plan in the first place. Now, because of how Grayson went about getting his heir and setting its mother up in the house next door, Reagan is always going to wonder about Grayson banging her whenever the urge strikes or he decides he needs a spare heir. While Reagan and Grayson are mated, Grayson has been very clear about the fact he's not gay, so given the situation, Reagan would be an idiot to trust him.
November 10, 2022
DNF at 53%. Kept trying to push through the wack pacing, typos (spelling & grammar & punctuation), the weak organization, and the dumbasshole MC. He keeps saying “you don’t understand” and then refuses to answer other MC’s questions?? Or “this would be easier if I didn’t have to explain” and get pissy, like duh but that’s not the situation and you’re taking your frustration out on MC for literally no reason. Just not good. Kind of obnoxious somehow, too.
Also!! the line of consent is bad, like Reagan does not in any way understand what he’s consenting to, and then the next day Grayson still isn’t explaining or helping him understand or respecting that he’s had a whole life and doesn’t have to just drop it because of some werewolf dick. Especially when it’s attached to a man who’s emotionally a teenager who stomps around and glares because things aren’t what he expected.
Also!! the line of consent is bad, like Reagan does not in any way understand what he’s consenting to, and then the next day Grayson still isn’t explaining or helping him understand or respecting that he’s had a whole life and doesn’t have to just drop it because of some werewolf dick. Especially when it’s attached to a man who’s emotionally a teenager who stomps around and glares because things aren’t what he expected.
May 18, 2022
Some casual misogyny (random comments like noting that an upside to being with a guy is they could get ready quickly - no hair and makeup to bother with and make them late … or being annoyed that the human guy is upset and thinking that they expected to be able to avoid this wife-drama crap since his mate was a guy).
A hierarchy (alphas, betas, omegas) that didn’t make much sense. Only alphas lead and only betas go to college, only omegas are laborers (but they’re the smallest?). A weird justification for the hierarchy (isn’t it the case in human groups that families tend to do the same types of jobs and stay within the same social strata?).
A weird seesaw between ‘same gender couples are so natural that many in the pack don’t even know the word (gay) to differentiate that type of couple’, and anger/disgust from some pack members over their relationship plus someone actually calling one of the MCs a f*ggot.
I didn’t read the epilogue - based on other commenters, I’m glad I didn’t. To me, the story ends in a bit of a cliffhanger (1. are the MCs ok now? There were so many moments of being ok and then being upset throughout the book that I didn’t feel like they’d solidified their relationship by the end of the book. 2. What’s going on with the rogues? Who’s leading them and why? Whose the mole(s) in the pack? Where’d they get the guns?). I’d continue reading the series to get these answers but only the first book is free and this book had too many issues for me to consider buying the rest of the series.
A hierarchy (alphas, betas, omegas) that didn’t make much sense. Only alphas lead and only betas go to college, only omegas are laborers (but they’re the smallest?). A weird justification for the hierarchy (isn’t it the case in human groups that families tend to do the same types of jobs and stay within the same social strata?).
A weird seesaw between ‘same gender couples are so natural that many in the pack don’t even know the word (gay) to differentiate that type of couple’, and anger/disgust from some pack members over their relationship plus someone actually calling one of the MCs a f*ggot.
I didn’t read the epilogue - based on other commenters, I’m glad I didn’t. To me, the story ends in a bit of a cliffhanger (1. are the MCs ok now? There were so many moments of being ok and then being upset throughout the book that I didn’t feel like they’d solidified their relationship by the end of the book. 2. What’s going on with the rogues? Who’s leading them and why? Whose the mole(s) in the pack? Where’d they get the guns?). I’d continue reading the series to get these answers but only the first book is free and this book had too many issues for me to consider buying the rest of the series.
December 5, 2021
Grayson’s an a*shole. And did the author remove the widow part at the end? Not that I wanted to read that, but I read some of the reviews that mentioned that part and it was not in the version I read. That would have really ticked me off, so at least I didn’t have to read that. What about Grayson not ever wanting/desiring anyone else? 🙄 And how about surrogacy or adoption? Can a family line only be continued with biological children? The whole community was steeped in toxic viewpoints. Reagan should have run off to Europe and forgotten Grayson even existed. Idiots….I will not be reading any more of this series and probably not any more of this author.
September 9, 2017
Oh this was all over the place.
I feel like this book was just one big contradiction and trust me you don't want to read this to find out what iI'm talking about it's just not worth it. There is nothing remotely likable about this story. It was written like a rough first draft that the author then said 'good enough' to and sent out to the world.
Waste.of.my.time
I feel like this book was just one big contradiction and trust me you don't want to read this to find out what iI'm talking about it's just not worth it. There is nothing remotely likable about this story. It was written like a rough first draft that the author then said 'good enough' to and sent out to the world.
Waste.of.my.time
August 13, 2017
It started out great heading towards 4 stars and ended with a " WTF" epilogue.
July 24, 2017
I really wavered between three and four stars with this and in the end just had to go with three stars after getting a bit to angry with a few points, even as they were things that were looking to be fixed.
Grayson is an alpha werewolf who hasn't been able to find his mate. Reagan is a human doctor with a mysterious birthmark that appeared at twenty-one, unbeknownst to him the sign that he is mate to a werewolf, Grayson to be exact. The two meet when Reagan has an accident driving home from work and Grayson is compelled to bring his injured mate back to his pack to heal.
At the beginning this was an enjoyable pairing. Reagan was confused but willing to hear what was going on in this strange town. Reagan was curious, friendly, and appropriately skeptical to the whole 'werewolf' thing, but willing to accept what he saw. Grayson was overprotective, but liked that his mate could stand up to him and fight for himself. The two could clearly complement each other and fit together well both within the immediate family, and as a family themselves. The problems really started to crop up when we see them with the rest of the pack.
Succession is very important in this pack, as there are five alphas born to every generation that go on to become the Council and lead the pack. The pack stated that they were perfectly fine with homosexuality, but the second it turned out one of their precious alphas was mated to a man things changed. Suddenly everything was ruined because succession was done. Meanwhile, it had been mentioned that alphas weren't always born to alphas and could have been born to others in the pack. Further, Grayson had a younger sister which would work perfectly well for their whole genetic succession thing. And these days it isn't even out of the realm of possibility for two men to have a child together with science.
From there we move into what really irked me, the protection of the 'helpless' mates. I get it, as the men were wolves and the women were not, the women were weaker. That was true as they women were not as physically strong and healed at a more human rate. But that in no way made them helpless. Yet that is how it was set and I could not believe this society had not learned to move past that. It was so bad it almost got the entire pack killed. Now, I do get that this is something Grayson wanted to change as the book went on, but every time it came up it set my teeth on edge.
There was potential in this book and it is a world I am curious about. The book ends with a promise towards change for the society and better progression towards equality. With that in mind I would be curious to read on and see what else happens.
Grayson is an alpha werewolf who hasn't been able to find his mate. Reagan is a human doctor with a mysterious birthmark that appeared at twenty-one, unbeknownst to him the sign that he is mate to a werewolf, Grayson to be exact. The two meet when Reagan has an accident driving home from work and Grayson is compelled to bring his injured mate back to his pack to heal.
At the beginning this was an enjoyable pairing. Reagan was confused but willing to hear what was going on in this strange town. Reagan was curious, friendly, and appropriately skeptical to the whole 'werewolf' thing, but willing to accept what he saw. Grayson was overprotective, but liked that his mate could stand up to him and fight for himself. The two could clearly complement each other and fit together well both within the immediate family, and as a family themselves. The problems really started to crop up when we see them with the rest of the pack.
Succession is very important in this pack, as there are five alphas born to every generation that go on to become the Council and lead the pack. The pack stated that they were perfectly fine with homosexuality, but the second it turned out one of their precious alphas was mated to a man things changed. Suddenly everything was ruined because succession was done. Meanwhile, it had been mentioned that alphas weren't always born to alphas and could have been born to others in the pack. Further, Grayson had a younger sister which would work perfectly well for their whole genetic succession thing. And these days it isn't even out of the realm of possibility for two men to have a child together with science.
From there we move into what really irked me, the protection of the 'helpless' mates. I get it, as the men were wolves and the women were not, the women were weaker. That was true as they women were not as physically strong and healed at a more human rate. But that in no way made them helpless. Yet that is how it was set and I could not believe this society had not learned to move past that. It was so bad it almost got the entire pack killed. Now, I do get that this is something Grayson wanted to change as the book went on, but every time it came up it set my teeth on edge.
There was potential in this book and it is a world I am curious about. The book ends with a promise towards change for the society and better progression towards equality. With that in mind I would be curious to read on and see what else happens.
April 18, 2021
A solid read about a young man stranded / carried / abducted into the world of wolf shapeshifters after nearly fatal car accident. A little more suspense or passion (not erotically) would be okay to pull me stronger into the story.
August 13, 2024
2.5 rounded up.
Oh boy.
For listeners there are some warnings for this audio movie:
Abrupt loud noises that are exceedingly obnoxious
Honestly, anyone with audio sensory sensitivity might just cringe a little listening to this.
Or ..anyone at all??
I really
Really wanted to like this.
The story set up pretty well and I was invested in this short story because I liked the premise. I even liked the characters --well enough. But the voices didn't work. The audio movie really didn't work...for me.
Also, there seemed to be some ambient homophobia somehow...it was in the way Grayson spoke to Reagan... it was super ew. Though it was subtle, probably not even an intentional lit device but more likely a subconscious waymisunderstanding of mm dynamics from the author. Like there are certain roles. Grayson was an idiot and I sure AF hope that was intentional...he was both accepting of his mate but talking to him in this ibsen-esque way that gave me the ick. Jeezuz I spent too much time overthinking this poorly written short story
But I will say this is a fantastic resource for writers: this is an example of clumsy and awkward dialogue that feels contrived and unnatural. For anyone who does write, maybe it comes naturally, but I think putting to page an organic conversation that is propelled by wit and emotion is a really challenging thing...and that is clearly the case here. Which I hate to admit.
That said, will I listen to the other books as the come into existence? Probably. Maybe they'll take the audio down a notch, and not--for example--use noise effects of an automatic machine gun right in my ear just after listening to the soft voices of an alpha and his mate. But, I digress. I want to hear more about this world and I actually want the author to provide more context, more information. More intimate details, better conversation.
It also doesn't end. It just doesn't. There's an allusion to an ending. But it honestly does read more like a short story than a novel, even a short one it's just of grey at the ending...not really even a happy for now. Just kind like imagine whatever you want, peace out until later --kind of end.
Ugh. This is a really long way to say it's terrible but I still listened to it, which is rare. But.. it was short and the amount of WTFs I had kept me pretty invested. Again. With the audio. The dialogue...and the lack of details. I want more but better, respectfully. The bones are totally there.
Oh boy.
For listeners there are some warnings for this audio movie:
Abrupt loud noises that are exceedingly obnoxious
Honestly, anyone with audio sensory sensitivity might just cringe a little listening to this.
Or ..anyone at all??
I really
Really wanted to like this.
The story set up pretty well and I was invested in this short story because I liked the premise. I even liked the characters --well enough. But the voices didn't work. The audio movie really didn't work...for me.
Also, there seemed to be some ambient homophobia somehow...it was in the way Grayson spoke to Reagan... it was super ew. Though it was subtle, probably not even an intentional lit device but more likely a subconscious waymisunderstanding of mm dynamics from the author. Like there are certain roles. Grayson was an idiot and I sure AF hope that was intentional...he was both accepting of his mate but talking to him in this ibsen-esque way that gave me the ick. Jeezuz I spent too much time overthinking this poorly written short story
But I will say this is a fantastic resource for writers: this is an example of clumsy and awkward dialogue that feels contrived and unnatural. For anyone who does write, maybe it comes naturally, but I think putting to page an organic conversation that is propelled by wit and emotion is a really challenging thing...and that is clearly the case here. Which I hate to admit.
That said, will I listen to the other books as the come into existence? Probably. Maybe they'll take the audio down a notch, and not--for example--use noise effects of an automatic machine gun right in my ear just after listening to the soft voices of an alpha and his mate. But, I digress. I want to hear more about this world and I actually want the author to provide more context, more information. More intimate details, better conversation.
It also doesn't end. It just doesn't. There's an allusion to an ending. But it honestly does read more like a short story than a novel, even a short one it's just of grey at the ending...not really even a happy for now. Just kind like imagine whatever you want, peace out until later --kind of end.
Ugh. This is a really long way to say it's terrible but I still listened to it, which is rare. But.. it was short and the amount of WTFs I had kept me pretty invested. Again. With the audio. The dialogue...and the lack of details. I want more but better, respectfully. The bones are totally there.
September 7, 2020
Different and humorous
Some new twists on the usual urban fantasy werewolves, and a story with some humor, not all deadly serious. Good plot and characters that could have stood more development, but it hangs together and has a satisfying conclusion. Be prepared for a few distracting typos and misplaced or missing words, but not many and the meanings are clear.
Some new twists on the usual urban fantasy werewolves, and a story with some humor, not all deadly serious. Good plot and characters that could have stood more development, but it hangs together and has a satisfying conclusion. Be prepared for a few distracting typos and misplaced or missing words, but not many and the meanings are clear.
June 7, 2025
I thought it would be good since it's like a generic graphic audio. Not so much. I didn't like how the author stereotyped women. It was pretty cringy erotica, made worse by the cheesy audio.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 24, 2023
1.1 stars because I didn’t hate it as much as I hated Twilight which is my standard of rating bad books. It was even more poorly written but at least I liked the characters.
Tags: shifters, modern fantasy, M/M
The wording is so clunky, awkward and painful. She uses lots of trite expressions like “His head spun like top,” “the apple hadn’t fallen far from the tree,” and, “…the way a hungry man would stare at a juicy streak.” Those were just some from the first twenty pages of the book. (Who even remembers what a top is these days?)
The writing got marginally better at least—big mistake starting writing at the beginning of the story. Write some part that’s already deeply ingrained in your head then go back and write the beginning when you’ve got your footing. You need to grab your reader right away. Anyway, the writing got better but the trite expressions continued as well as tired tropes, too, like how life with the human would never be boring.
The characters are caricatures and they go through abrupt emotional changes, terrified too quiescent in a sentence. The emotions never really felt true.
It’s soooo sexist. Women can’t shapeshift. They can’t even rule; the council is all men. “The man was as light as a feather and as fragile as one of their females.” At one point, Grayson says, “…it was obvious he wasn’t missing out on all the whiney wife bullshit.” Another time when he was told the alpha’s mates did things other than work, Reagan says, “I’m not a fucking woman, Grayson!” Then when danger comes, Reagan acts like the pack believes women act when in jeopardy and hides behind his mate.
At least Grayson believes that the hierarchy is old fashioned. (It couldn’t possibly work—what if someone dies prematurely or a male child is lost in childbirth?) His belief in change seems limited to the hierarchy of men and the strange lack of concern for the omegas in their emergency plans.
(Oddly, the doctors are always female. Maybe because the job is nurturing in theory?)
Reagan for his part buys into a lot of the injustice pointing out how many humans follow in their parents footsteps (including personality types… Like there’s only one or two types per family if there are only two parents?) He completely disregards the sociology of why humans do the things they do. It sounds like he believes it’s okay that people don’t have any choices just because many humans with choices still do what their parents want. (My parents didn’t want me to do the things they did, thank goodness.) I just don’t even understand; why did the author build a world this way when the subjugation isn’t really going to even be explored more than on the very surface?
At least Grayson knew he couldn’t mate with Reagan without “full disclosure and consent.” But wait, did he? “You know what this means right? Things can never go back to the way they were,” is not full disclosure. Really boring sex too.
The climax would have been merely poor if they hadn’t gone on and on about what happened to them being so horrible. The events didn’t seem that serious at all. As a result, it felt just pathetic to me. So dumb.
In short, (finally sorry) this was unoriginal, poorly written, predictable, boring, and so sexist it made me exclaim out loud repeatedly. No, I’m not reading further in the series.
Tags: shifters, modern fantasy, M/M
The wording is so clunky, awkward and painful. She uses lots of trite expressions like “His head spun like top,” “the apple hadn’t fallen far from the tree,” and, “…the way a hungry man would stare at a juicy streak.” Those were just some from the first twenty pages of the book. (Who even remembers what a top is these days?)
The writing got marginally better at least—big mistake starting writing at the beginning of the story. Write some part that’s already deeply ingrained in your head then go back and write the beginning when you’ve got your footing. You need to grab your reader right away. Anyway, the writing got better but the trite expressions continued as well as tired tropes, too, like how life with the human would never be boring.
The characters are caricatures and they go through abrupt emotional changes, terrified too quiescent in a sentence. The emotions never really felt true.
It’s soooo sexist. Women can’t shapeshift. They can’t even rule; the council is all men. “The man was as light as a feather and as fragile as one of their females.” At one point, Grayson says, “…it was obvious he wasn’t missing out on all the whiney wife bullshit.” Another time when he was told the alpha’s mates did things other than work, Reagan says, “I’m not a fucking woman, Grayson!” Then when danger comes, Reagan acts like the pack believes women act when in jeopardy and hides behind his mate.
At least Grayson believes that the hierarchy is old fashioned. (It couldn’t possibly work—what if someone dies prematurely or a male child is lost in childbirth?) His belief in change seems limited to the hierarchy of men and the strange lack of concern for the omegas in their emergency plans.
(Oddly, the doctors are always female. Maybe because the job is nurturing in theory?)
Reagan for his part buys into a lot of the injustice pointing out how many humans follow in their parents footsteps (including personality types… Like there’s only one or two types per family if there are only two parents?) He completely disregards the sociology of why humans do the things they do. It sounds like he believes it’s okay that people don’t have any choices just because many humans with choices still do what their parents want. (My parents didn’t want me to do the things they did, thank goodness.) I just don’t even understand; why did the author build a world this way when the subjugation isn’t really going to even be explored more than on the very surface?
At least Grayson knew he couldn’t mate with Reagan without “full disclosure and consent.” But wait, did he? “You know what this means right? Things can never go back to the way they were,” is not full disclosure. Really boring sex too.
The climax would have been merely poor if they hadn’t gone on and on about what happened to them being so horrible. The events didn’t seem that serious at all. As a result, it felt just pathetic to me. So dumb.
In short, (finally sorry) this was unoriginal, poorly written, predictable, boring, and so sexist it made me exclaim out loud repeatedly. No, I’m not reading further in the series.
July 25, 2020
Another book I'm not going to finish. It lacks world building to the point where I'm not even sure how the werewolf portion of the book works (to be fair, I didn't get very far, but still) and there's pretty much no exposition and very few descriptions. It felt rushed and incomplete as a result, with scenes unfolding like on a conveyor belt without affecting me at all.
I didn't really have time to get to know the characters before I dumped this, but I can't say I'm all that impressed with what I saw. I mean, sure, I get if Grayson's werewolf is possessive and all, but NOT taking his new mate to a hospital after a serious car accident is just stupid. What if he has internal injuries? Or a concussion? Or something else more serious?
Also, what even is this sentence:
Did he just dislocate the guy's jaw and pushed it across his face? And, sure, that will knock most people off balance, but why does it short-circuit his nervous system, of all things? And only down to his knees? I have so many questions and am so confused.
So no, I'm not going to continue. It's poorly written and I have other things I would rather read.
I didn't really have time to get to know the characters before I dumped this, but I can't say I'm all that impressed with what I saw. I mean, sure, I get if Grayson's werewolf is possessive and all, but NOT taking his new mate to a hospital after a serious car accident is just stupid. What if he has internal injuries? Or a concussion? Or something else more serious?
Also, what even is this sentence:
"Grayson leapt forward and hit the Beta's jaw, pushing it sideways across his face, short-circuiting the Beta's nervous system all the way to his knees."
Did he just dislocate the guy's jaw and pushed it across his face? And, sure, that will knock most people off balance, but why does it short-circuit his nervous system, of all things? And only down to his knees? I have so many questions and am so confused.
So no, I'm not going to continue. It's poorly written and I have other things I would rather read.
June 24, 2017
Grayson's Mate - Tamsin Baker
Rating: 2.5 stars
I skimmed much of this book, especially at the beginning. Grayson was such an annoying character that I didn't really care to read about his efforts to get with Reagan. Reagan I did like, so I had a tendency to read his parts and skim Grayson's. I must say I didn't like the Epilogue to the story at all. It didn't set right with me. I did like that this book had a new take on the whole fated mate trope. The whole matching birthmark thing was interesting and new.
This book wasn't really bad, I enjoyed parts of it and I will more than likely read the next book in the series. It's just hard for me to really like a book when I dislike one of the MCs.
Rating: 2.5 stars
I skimmed much of this book, especially at the beginning. Grayson was such an annoying character that I didn't really care to read about his efforts to get with Reagan. Reagan I did like, so I had a tendency to read his parts and skim Grayson's. I must say I didn't like the Epilogue to the story at all. It didn't set right with me. I did like that this book had a new take on the whole fated mate trope. The whole matching birthmark thing was interesting and new.
This book wasn't really bad, I enjoyed parts of it and I will more than likely read the next book in the series. It's just hard for me to really like a book when I dislike one of the MCs.
December 19, 2017
This was an okay read for me about shape shifter's finding their mates through tattoo's, each having one that matches the other. I just didn't find the MC's relationship having any chemistry, but they loved each other instantly just didn't ring true.
But the one thing that knocked it down for me was, that both men are gay and instead of having another method of having children, they meet a widow woman and they both have sex with her so they can continue the line of Alpha's.
Not for me, didn't like it at all.
But the one thing that knocked it down for me was, that both men are gay and instead of having another method of having children, they meet a widow woman and they both have sex with her so they can continue the line of Alpha's.
Not for me, didn't like it at all.
July 23, 2020
No thanks
I read about a paragraph and then skipped further down to try and see if the writing style was the same and sadly it was. This reads as simple as my elementary school student's stories. The author really needs to take some writing classes or just keep practicing. This book wasn't worth a dime honesty. I gave it 2 stars because I didn't read more than the first page.
I read about a paragraph and then skipped further down to try and see if the writing style was the same and sadly it was. This reads as simple as my elementary school student's stories. The author really needs to take some writing classes or just keep practicing. This book wasn't worth a dime honesty. I gave it 2 stars because I didn't read more than the first page.
January 1, 2017
I enjoyed Grayson’s Mate it is a short M/M story that takes you on a journey from an accident to an amazing discovery, to the ultimate fear and finally forever. I really like both Reagan and Grayson’s characters and look forward to reading where she takes us with Aaron Mate
January 15, 2017
The story has potential. The writing & editing leave something to be desired.
August 10, 2020
LOL nope. Better shifter books are out there.
August 11, 2020
Ugh...
I could tell 5% into the book that I was going to hate it. I was constantly rolling my eyes. I mean honestly! I can’t with this book.
I could tell 5% into the book that I was going to hate it. I was constantly rolling my eyes. I mean honestly! I can’t with this book.
October 3, 2026
I don't know where I got this book from, I just know it was free. Maybe a queer ereader sale or something.
My main thought, only 7 pages into the ebook, is mostly "are you showing or telling me these things are happening?". Drive from wherever this book starts, to the 'computer store', attack a random group of men with unexplained history, and then get in the car and drive away... Could we not have started at the computer store? Or even get any setting description? Also, the protagonist controls the entirety of Melbourne? Are you sure? Within one page you've gone from Melbourne to the countryside, but its written like less than 30 minutes has passed.
You see a stranger get into a horrific car accident, and immediately pop a boner upon seeing their physically injured and bleeding state..... You wrap their wounds, and then immediately unwrap them to re-wrap them and immediately talk about your balls throbbing because you're so turned on from this seriously injured man. This book is doing my head in. You wake from a serious car accident, multiple broken ribs, head injury, and the first thing you focus on is your nipples getting hard at a man who "looks straight". And then attempting to dine and dash on the hospital taking care of you? And feeling mopey because you can't walk or dress yourself less then 24 hours after having an accident???? You literally have a scene where the character is like "a normal person wouldn't be feeling this good for months" mf, you just got tackled to the ground???
The secrecy of not telling this guy you kidnapped that youre a werewolf is mind numbing. You tell him you can shape shift, but refuse to say into what. I swear on my life, it feels like Reagan genuinely has Stockholm syndrome at the end of the book. They literally know nothing about eachother, and Reagan is basically being held prisoner, only to suddenly declare his love. Brother, you need a therapist. The only thing you know about this man is that he treats you like a "woman", is a werewolf and is buff. Thats literally it.
This book is giving me such an ick. I hate when authors write their characters exaggerated to the point where no normal person would act like them. Why are you moaning after putting your hand on his arm. Why are you getting naked and walking into the shower after him, less than 2 pages after you were worried he was homophobic and everyone was going to stone you to death.
Hair gel as lube???? Barely any spit as lube and no prep???? This book has to be written by a woman whose only experience with MM is books like the ones shes writing. "If you were a woman, I'd call you babe" can you please stop with the undercurrent of misogyny. The amount of times this book says that women are the weaker sex and aren't able to do what the men can is insane. Women cant be leaders or alphas, they have to be either doctors or homebodies. Reagan literally has a crash out because "I'm not a woman, I'm not going to sit at home and play house-hubby".
The climax of the book is his pack being held at gunpoint. The entire pack of shape shifting wolves vs 5 guns, and you're telling me the multiple wolves lose? And the only thing they use as leverage to not kill everyone is "who would you breed with?"? Jesus fucking christ. Even ignoring the fact that we are given literally no explanation for the group of rogues attacking the pack, except for the fact that they were kicked out? Maybe? Because at the beginning of the book, it says they left willingly, but at the climax they have bad blood because they were kicked out? And the rogues want to solve this by gassing the entire packs women and children? What the fuck is happening.
My main thought, only 7 pages into the ebook, is mostly "are you showing or telling me these things are happening?". Drive from wherever this book starts, to the 'computer store', attack a random group of men with unexplained history, and then get in the car and drive away... Could we not have started at the computer store? Or even get any setting description? Also, the protagonist controls the entirety of Melbourne? Are you sure? Within one page you've gone from Melbourne to the countryside, but its written like less than 30 minutes has passed.
You see a stranger get into a horrific car accident, and immediately pop a boner upon seeing their physically injured and bleeding state..... You wrap their wounds, and then immediately unwrap them to re-wrap them and immediately talk about your balls throbbing because you're so turned on from this seriously injured man. This book is doing my head in. You wake from a serious car accident, multiple broken ribs, head injury, and the first thing you focus on is your nipples getting hard at a man who "looks straight". And then attempting to dine and dash on the hospital taking care of you? And feeling mopey because you can't walk or dress yourself less then 24 hours after having an accident???? You literally have a scene where the character is like "a normal person wouldn't be feeling this good for months" mf, you just got tackled to the ground???
The secrecy of not telling this guy you kidnapped that youre a werewolf is mind numbing. You tell him you can shape shift, but refuse to say into what. I swear on my life, it feels like Reagan genuinely has Stockholm syndrome at the end of the book. They literally know nothing about eachother, and Reagan is basically being held prisoner, only to suddenly declare his love. Brother, you need a therapist. The only thing you know about this man is that he treats you like a "woman", is a werewolf and is buff. Thats literally it.
This book is giving me such an ick. I hate when authors write their characters exaggerated to the point where no normal person would act like them. Why are you moaning after putting your hand on his arm. Why are you getting naked and walking into the shower after him, less than 2 pages after you were worried he was homophobic and everyone was going to stone you to death.
Hair gel as lube???? Barely any spit as lube and no prep???? This book has to be written by a woman whose only experience with MM is books like the ones shes writing. "If you were a woman, I'd call you babe" can you please stop with the undercurrent of misogyny. The amount of times this book says that women are the weaker sex and aren't able to do what the men can is insane. Women cant be leaders or alphas, they have to be either doctors or homebodies. Reagan literally has a crash out because "I'm not a woman, I'm not going to sit at home and play house-hubby".
The climax of the book is his pack being held at gunpoint. The entire pack of shape shifting wolves vs 5 guns, and you're telling me the multiple wolves lose? And the only thing they use as leverage to not kill everyone is "who would you breed with?"? Jesus fucking christ. Even ignoring the fact that we are given literally no explanation for the group of rogues attacking the pack, except for the fact that they were kicked out? Maybe? Because at the beginning of the book, it says they left willingly, but at the climax they have bad blood because they were kicked out? And the rogues want to solve this by gassing the entire packs women and children? What the fuck is happening.
March 18, 2024
DNF @ 49%
I got this because it was free on Kindle Amazon. I've been going through a slump lately, as in I've been wanting to read books, but nothing sounds interesting enough to hold my attention more than a few chapters. Saw this, looked like a short quick read, wasn't expecting anything good from it -- but holy hell, this was bad.
× This book needed an editor. The number of punctuation mistakes is ridiculous. There was also a conversation, where the characters were talking about something and it was like the entire thing was dropped within a sentence.
× Reagan is stupid and doesn't question anything beyond "where am I and what happened?" He also acts very nonchalant when these people just reveal they're shapeshifters. Isn't worried and doesn't consider running away when no one is watching him.
× "Magic" genes. Wtf. We're dealing with one of our main characters who is trying to become a doctor and the shapeshifting aspect is literally described as "magical genes". I can not! This was so hilarious and dumb to me.
× The side eye I'm giving this book for the way it treats women and people not in straight relationships isn't even a side eye. It's a full on glare. The only accomplishment women have in the pack are being doctors (something only one women has accomplished). What do all the other women do?And let me get this straight, if someone in the pack can't find their mate (of the opposite sex) they "settle" and go out to be in relationships with those of same sex?? I'm sorry...what?! And Omegas have no real purpose beyond...what, breeding? They rarely have mates but are crucial to the pack (which I'm assuming is to be used for breeding). Gross.
× So this book likes to body type Alphas, Betas, and Omegas. Alphas are all tall and muscular while omegas are thin and fragile, and betas are somewhere in the middle. They proceed to say this is because they take after their parents. It's all their genetics. Not their diet, not how much/little they exercise, no health related things, nope. Just all genetics. That must suck not being able to have some control over your body.
× Sex was so lackluster and boring. Also cringey. I felt like I reading about two teenagers who can't keep their hormones in check.
Ugh. Sorry, but this just wasn't for me.
I got this because it was free on Kindle Amazon. I've been going through a slump lately, as in I've been wanting to read books, but nothing sounds interesting enough to hold my attention more than a few chapters. Saw this, looked like a short quick read, wasn't expecting anything good from it -- but holy hell, this was bad.
× This book needed an editor. The number of punctuation mistakes is ridiculous. There was also a conversation, where the characters were talking about something and it was like the entire thing was dropped within a sentence.
× Reagan is stupid and doesn't question anything beyond "where am I and what happened?" He also acts very nonchalant when these people just reveal they're shapeshifters. Isn't worried and doesn't consider running away when no one is watching him.
× "Magic" genes. Wtf. We're dealing with one of our main characters who is trying to become a doctor and the shapeshifting aspect is literally described as "magical genes". I can not! This was so hilarious and dumb to me.
× The side eye I'm giving this book for the way it treats women and people not in straight relationships isn't even a side eye. It's a full on glare. The only accomplishment women have in the pack are being doctors (something only one women has accomplished). What do all the other women do?And let me get this straight, if someone in the pack can't find their mate (of the opposite sex) they "settle" and go out to be in relationships with those of same sex?? I'm sorry...what?! And Omegas have no real purpose beyond...what, breeding? They rarely have mates but are crucial to the pack (which I'm assuming is to be used for breeding). Gross.
× So this book likes to body type Alphas, Betas, and Omegas. Alphas are all tall and muscular while omegas are thin and fragile, and betas are somewhere in the middle. They proceed to say this is because they take after their parents. It's all their genetics. Not their diet, not how much/little they exercise, no health related things, nope. Just all genetics. That must suck not being able to have some control over your body.
× Sex was so lackluster and boring. Also cringey. I felt like I reading about two teenagers who can't keep their hormones in check.
Ugh. Sorry, but this just wasn't for me.
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