Everyone thinks I'm just a young, thrill seeking sass mouth who accidentally stumbled upon my status in the command by being the alpha-mate's best friend. The truth is, I'm a lot more mature than people give me credit for. Including my mate. From the time I was young, while all the other little boys were dreaming of being warriors and fighting for their leap, all I ever dreamed about is meeting my mate and living happily ever after. But my first meeting with my mate didn't go to plan, and he rejected me. Now, living the life everyone else wanted and didn't think I deserved, I couldn't enjoy it or anything else, because I was walking around as only half a person.
Thompsyn Lane
I'm old and grumpy and a bit of a bastard. I'm worried about bringing such a young mate into my life of near seclusion and I react badly to finding out he is only twenty. I regret my behavior immediately, but I'm still not sure I have anything to offer a gorgeous, funny, full of life person like my mate. When I start stalking him like a complete creep, I have to admit to myself that I made a huge mistake. But am I going to be too late to repair the damage I've caused? Maybe using an ability that nobody knows about to track down his missing best friend will be my chance to redeem myself as more than just a grumpy old bear.
I actually enjoyed this little nugget of shifter gooeyness <--is that a word?? I hadn't planned on reading it after reading in book 1 how they met. I'm not a fan of my true mate stories where one or both mates deny the other. So imagine my surprise when this one actually turned out to be better than I expected.
I love how Bennett made Thompsyn work for it. I'm glad he didn't just take him back immediately (though they do have some hot encounters in the interim).
These books are just sweet, low angst shifter fluff. The author says so. Sometimes they're just what you need in between heavier books.
This story picks up shortly after book one (Just Ridley) leaves off, with young leopard shifter Bennett James feeling frustrated and dejected by his newly identified mate—older bear shifter and all-around grumpy hermit, Thompsyn Lane.
At the end of book one, Bennett and Thompsyn meet (awkwardly) for the first time at a Leap pack gathering, but due to some unfortunate and possibly thoughtless comments on Thompsyn’s part, relating to the massive age-gap between the two, Bennett thinks himself rejected by his fated mate and is damn hurt by what transpires.
Thompsyn knows he messed up, because he couldn’t be more in-lust with his beautiful and strong mate, but he truly does panic that a young spark like Bennett, who is all of twenty years old, couldn’t possibly find love and happiness with a centuries old bear of a man (and quite literally a bear of an animal), who likes the peace and quiet of his isolated woodland home, where he works alone and prefers his own company.
But Thompsyn should (and does) know better, because fated mates among shifters are literally soulmates incarnate, and fate surely wouldn’t pair two together if they weren’t the ultimate fit. So, with a bit of sass on Bennett’s end and a bit of stalker-ish groveling on Thompsyn’s, this fated couple soon find their way, learning to accept one another for exactly who they are, age be damned.
I enjoyed this enough to read it in one sitting. It’s insta-love to the max, but I really have no problem with that when reading stories set in such fanciful alt-worlds like this one, where fated mates exist and “chosen” males can procreate.
Yes, this series features mpreg, but at this point it’s all in the discussion faze and none of the “chosen” have actually conceived with their mates, yet…
I definitely appreciated that here, in this case, the chosen was actually Thompsyn! I loved the unexpected role reversal, and, as someone who actually enjoys a good mpreg story from time to time—regardless of the silliness or the potential ickiness of it all—I’m really eager to see this gentle-giant of a man carry some babies in future stories.
This was ultimately a fun, stress-free read, with plenty of sexy mate moments and enough action at the end to keep things interesting. It’s not perfectly written and there are more than a few noticeable editing issues throughout, but I was able to brush that aside in order to enjoy this for the sweet, cheeky, and definitely sexy mates' story that it was.
I enjoyed this more than the previous one despite the rocky start these two had.
Thompsyn is a grumpy old bear and he’s not happy that his mate is only twenty years old. He’s instantly attracted to Bennett but the age difference is such a huge shock that he opens his mouth and ruins it.
Thompsyn quickly realises he’s made a huge mistake and sets about winning back his mate. Bennetts dream has been to find his mate. Now he thinks his mate doesn’t want him he’s not sure what to do.
Like the previous one this is light shifter fluff and it makes a nice filler between longer reads.
This book was definitely an improvement over the first. For one it had a little less sex and a bit more conversation. And it had less corny humor, so that was a slight relief. There was actually a presence of a decent background on both MCs especially Thompsyn *giggles* because obviously, Thompsyn? Really? The names that authors sometimes come up with really crack me up.
I liked Bennet better in this book since a lot of his behavior was explained and there was even a moment a tear or two were shed. Yes, I was kind of emotional there for a moment:
"But Bennett, what about your love at first sight, happily ever after? You've been dreaming about the whole mate shebang since you were like seven." My head snapped around to my mate. Dreamed? My mate's big dream for his life had been to find his mate. Me. And I completely fucked our first meeting by being a complete asshole! Bennett's eyes were wide as he stared at his mom and then they slammed shut and he let his head fall back on the seat. "That's not exactly how it happened, Mom." I was horrified to watch a single tear roll down his cheek from the corner of his eye.
Anyway, I enjoyed Ben and Syn's banter most of the time, the fact that they actually talked before they jumped each other's bones was a nice change. And there was some mild intrigue and plans of world domination! Yay! Evening well spent!
What ticked me off was an over dramatization of basically everything, especially Flynn's reaction and behavior in the end. That was a little ridiculous. No alpha ever acts like that, at least in my opinion, and he was acting like a scared rooster from the movie Gone with the Wind when he was about to be killed to become Christmas dinner! And this book seemed shorter than the first and the excerpt from the next book was shoved right in my face! I hate when that happens so I clipped 0.3 stars off! Take that! *angry huff*
I think I might have found a series to binge read *happy sigh*. Despite this one being less than perfect it was still very cute and entertaining.
Bennett (Ridley's BFF from Book 1) is a romantic with idealistic dreams of finding his mate and that perfect moment when they would see each other, fall madly in love and live happily ever after. Well, things don't work out that way. His mate is an older, grumpy bear shifter who is less than courteous with his thoughts and actions when they meet. Shattering poor Bennett's heart.
Thompsyn is a bit of a recluse and has his own insecurities about having such a young mate. Despite his bad behavior in the beginning Thompsyn grovels beautifully. I seriously love it when an mc truly attempts to make amends and Bennett doesn't just roll over and accept a 'sorry', he makes him work for it.
What didn't quite work for me was the 'action' and the plot outside of the romance. It was a bit left field and too fast paced to be anything other than a distraction. But honestly, I didn't care and it didn't ruin the story for me.
There is a m-pregnancy theme here but it's not on-page or active. Which I'm happy about cause insta-love + insta-family in 78 page novella would have ruined it.
Standalone I guess, but this story takes place one week after the end of book one and has the same characters, same world, and it's a continuation that simply shifts focus on a new couple so I would definitely recommend reading these in order.
This book took a major nose dive from the quality of book one. The story felt like the author was writing it with the importance of length being paramount and not based on whether the length could realistically work for the story. It couldn't. The story was threadbare and more an outline than a complete tale. Add to that a multitude of editing errors, including having a period in the middle of a sentence more than once. Numerous flagrant misspellings a 4th grader would have caught and plot holes I could drive a truck through. About the only thing that worked for me in this book was the people. I enjoyed getting to know Benny a bit more and wish I could read more about this pack and their lives. The author had a number of fresh and fascinating parts of shifter life I had not encountered previously, but I can't cuz slogging through all themud would be more painful than it was worth. I won't be continuing on with this series.
Besides the potential mpreg that isn't mentioned at all in the blurb (ugh), this is also standard fated mates without any new twist or imagination... so I found it boring and not original. Totally predictable.
I loved Bennett, how even though he was young, he was independent, mature, and knew what he wanted.
I enjoyed the connection and chemistry between these two men, and how Thompsyn is the one that's a child of a Chosen couple (and is chosen himself!) but I'm never a huge fan of the whole "I'm making this decision, you're too young to know what you want" type of attitude.
These books are short and sweet. I probably wouldn’t like them because of how short they are, but since there are 30 of them that should give plenty of time to get to know all the characters. Ridley and Ryan from the first book were very prominent characters in this book so it was pretty much just continuing the story.
I don't know what I was thinking. The cover and the blurb were screaming RUN, but the title kept calling my name. The writing is bad. Awful. All of it. Way, way beyond just needing a good beta. With words put together so atrociously, how can anybody have enough gas in the tank to be upset about mpreg? (But, you know, ymmv. Because it takes all kinds, etc.)
Book 2 in the series isn't quite as over the top as the first one, but yes, it's still just as sweet and silly. I actually laughed out loud at Bennett a few times. I liked that this one added a bit of mystery to the series- it gave it a little more purpose than them just finding their mate. The mystery continues through to at least the next book, I haven't really looked forward to even see how many books there are to go!
I will admit I'm a little leery about the whole mPreg aspect that was introduced in book one and in this one as well. I've not read a book dealing with that and I'm not sure what I think about it, but I'll guess I'll see???
***Yes, this book has the same issues as the first one, as far as needing an editor. I'm mentioning it because it does stand out and I know it bothers people. But honestly, for a book like this, a cheesy piece of fluff, I'm not sure that I even care. As much as I hate the saying, it is what it is!
Content Warnings for book: Rejection, reference to parental death
Kink: N/A
As mentioned by my review of the first book, it is super easy to just jump into the next one of the series!
Here we have a rejected fated mate, groveling, and some interesting show of how judging looks for personality won’t work out. I enjoyed the relationship between Thompsyn and Benny unfolded and that he didn’t give in super easily, even if they had a fated mate connection.
The sex scenes between them were quite steamy, though I do wish the talked about switching actually happened on-page versus a “in the future” type thing. The fact that the giant bear shifter was the one who could become pregnant did flip the trope on its head and I really liked that.
Benny and Syn had some really funny moments, too. And the outside plot that seems to be carrying on through these books is building up.
I wasn’t sure about this series after I’d read the first book. It was nice, but not mind-blowing. But this is turning out to be quite the entertaining series.
Bennet is only 20, but already a lieutenant in the leap. He’s quite good as his job, but not all people see that since he acts so bratty most of the time.
When he meets his mate for the first time, he doesn’t make a good impression on the grumpy grizzly bear. And when Thompsyn tells him he’s not a babysitter, he is heartbroken. His mate rejected him.
But Thomsyn didn’t mean to reject Bennet. He just thought that no vibrant 20 year old would ever want to be mated to a grumpy old and secluded grizzly.
But as soon as Thompsyn sees how much he’d hurt Bennet he does everything in his power to show Bennet just how serious he is about him..
I LOVE a book with lots of groveling when one MC has hurt the other. And groveling is what Thompsyn did. He really pursued Bennet and said over and over again how sorry he was for that first meeting. Now of course Bennet was ‘playing dead’ at that time so he didn’t make the best impression either. But I was glad Thompsyn groveled and Bennet eventually forgave him.
This is a really sweet and fluffy shifter series with lots of insta-love and the promise of future mpreg.
Young and fun leopard shifter Bennett has dreamed of the day he'd meet his fated mate since he was a kid..which wasn't that long ago. Bennett is only in his early 20's and consider a baby in shifter years. His fated mate, a bear shifter, is way older and treats Bennett with disdain during their initial meeting . The rest of the book is basically Thompsyn, the bear shifter, groveling to prove to Bennett he can be a good mate.
Bennett's musings are funny but could also be deep at the same time "Not only was my mate not happy with me. But he was also stealing the hope right out of me. What did I have to look forward to now in the love department? Maybe someday finding someone to share my life with even with the empty yawning hole in my soul.? "
Male on male sexual content included. These books are rather short and they are very easy to read. The characters are extremely likeable. There many times this book has made me laugh. It's a good little story with a HEA.
This was just so darn cute? Adorable? I can say that even the multiple grammatical errors couldn't keep the smile off of my face and yes, the last lines of these stories are going to keep me coming back for more! ;D
This book was short which doesn't bother me but it was actually boring and I can't seem to stay interested enough in it to bother reading it all. Sorry
Running from your much younger Mate isn't the smartest thing you've ever done. But stalking him?
This is a great second book in the Chosen series. It picks up where book one ends. I simply loved it! There is even a twist you never see coming. All our friends are back. Some questions are answered. New ones crop up. I couldn't wait to see what happened next. This is Thompsyn and Bennett's story. At 253 years old, Thompsyn, a grumpy, old bear, isn't looking for his forever mate, especially one who's only 20! As emotions overwhelm him, he runs. Bennett may be young, but he is an old soul. Having his mate leave devastates him. After stalking, a scrape with death, confessions, and lots of really close encounters, Thompsyn & Bennett will find not only each other, but HEA. This book can be read alone. However, since this is a continuation of the first book, I recommend reading this series in order. I can't wait to read book 3. You will love this book! This book contains adult themes and language, mm sex and is intended for mature readers only.
OMG this was so funny. Thompsyn thinks he is too old for his mate and leopard shifter Bennett. Bennett may only be twenty, but he is a lieutenant and very determined to get what he wants. I loved Ridley and Flynn but so far Thompsyn (Syn) and Bennett (Ben) are my favorite. I loved grumpy old Thompson and Ben may be young, but he is tough and funny. I loved how he liked poking his bear in more ways than one. This story is funny, but it has a serious touch of action that goes with the ongoing storyline of the series. If at all possible, get this in audio. Kenneth obi brings this character to life with such sweet and sexy voices that distinguish them and the inflictions to each sentence and action really sparks the story. I can’t wait to start the next bundle.
This was such an enjoyable read, thanks to Bennett, and his snarky humor, which he poured onto his mate, Thompsyn, the grumpy bear. They were simply adorable together, and what I really liked was the fact that they were both big, burly - type men, instead of the usual portrayal of one being large while the other one is small and thin. The plot was interesting, although, there was a lot of inner monologue from time to time, but I did like how Thompsyn communicated his feelings to Bennett without holding back. The story didn't drag for me, and I can see myself liking these little romances more and more.
I’ll be honest, it took me some time to get through this book. I couldn’t really engage with either Thompsyn or Bennet, and the setup for the action plot felt thin. I am glad to see that the authors expanding on the series plot, but she needs to work on the individual bad guys. Also, she needs to add a bit more women in recurring roles, at least, since at the moment Bennett’s mom is the only woman in a non-antagonistic role. I’m including Syn’s mom as an antagonist since she had more impact for the books couple than the supposed bad guy. All said, the love scenes were nice, tho Syn bottoming should have happened in the book.
Loved Bennet and his grumpy bear. I knew I was going to like this world and get hooked! J.D. Light has a way of writing quick and fun reads. I loved that Mr. Grumpy bear didn't accept his young mate right away. Being "an old, boring bear," Thompsyn was self consious since he was over two centuries older compared to his mate. I liked that Thompsyn tried to fight the attraction rather than just accept everything, and even though poor Benny was hurt by it he didn't act weak. I also loved that despite Benny's age he was mature and responsible. (With the exception of pretending to be dead when he first met Thompsyn.)
I found this book to be delightfully funny. I loved how Thompsyn seemed to put his foot in his mouth every time he talked to Bennett. I loved how Bennett wanted to stand up for himself every time he thought that he was being insulted, but more often than not, just couldn't stay mad.
The conflict in this book felt a little out of the blue since I really didn't pick up on any kind of foreshadowing that danger was around until, suddenly, it was there and everyone took it as a fait accompli.