Alpha, Preston is alone. His character has been assassinated by a vicious rumor and he’s been cast out of Austin, forced to work as a farmhand for the last eight years. He’ll never find a mate—he’s accepted it. But one night, on a routine delivery downtown, Preston encounters a scent that turns everything he knows upside down.
Kenneth is also alone. Orphaned. Both parents both dead, he’s packed up everything and is moving to Boston to start fresh. But before he does—he heads to the bar for a quick drink to get his mind off things. One quick drink couldn’t hurt…right?
Preston is floored when he catches the scent of his fated-mate. But the sweet omega is in trouble. He’s been drugged by the very same disgusting alpha who ruined Preston’s life eight years ago. Jasper Vanderton.
Fueled by rage, revenge and the scent of his fated-mate, Preston saves Kenneth from a terrible, life changing experience and rushes him back to the farm. It’s not long before the two realize they’re meant for each other. Preston is determined to put a cub in his belly and bind them together forever, but there’s just one problem—
Jasper has found them. His family is rich and powerful, and they’re going to buy the farm and force them off the land—or worse. Preston has no choice but to act, but how can he, one alpha, go up against the most powerful family in Austin?
…But Preston’s been blessed by a miracle. He’s found his fated-mate and he will do anything to make sure they’re never apart.
Alpha’s Destiny is the first book in Texas Heat, a brand new series from Aspen Grey featuring all the great stuff you’ve come to expect from her: fated love, no cheating, thrilling romance and enough heat you’ll need a fan to cool you down. Read at your own risk… ;)
DNF... just couldn’t do it anymore. I’d just powered through the author’s fox series earlier and ended up skimming. Feels like I’m reading a similar book over and over again.
When Preston is falsely accused of a crime, his life is destroyed, and he's forced to begin a new one. After Kenneth's parents die tragically, he decides to move to Boston and start a new life. Fate has different plans for them both.
I loved both Preston and Kenneth. I hated Jasper and his goons. I'm so glad Lady Karma gave him his just dues. The storyline was lacking compared to the other books I've read by this author which was a shame because I really thought it had potential.
So, in this world, is murder not a crime? If Jasper had so much influence that he had cops and judges in his pocket, then why wouldn't he have Preston arrested for killing his friend in the beginning of the book? Or why were there no legal complications after the big battle at the end? I can see it being covered up if shifters were a secret from humans, but there wasn't any indication that this was the case...this seems to just be a world, similar to ours, but where everyone is a shifter.
Then, on top of that, Jasper's family was very influential in the Austin area, but Texas is huge, couldn't Preston and pack not have moved somewhere else in the state and still been able to farm, and still been in the state that they all love so much? It just didn't make a lot of sense and every time something inconsistent happened, it just kept breaking me out of the story.
Preston is an alpha who is the victim of rumors spreading through a small town and the alpha that caused the problems, Jasper. When he sees that Jasper is getting ready to do the same thing to an omega that he tried to him, Preston steps in and winds up saving Kenneth. The two have instant connection and now they must work together to save the land that Preston lives on and deal with Jasper.
I thought that this was a promising start to a new series. I can tell that the author has grown since I read some of their very first stories that were published. I enjoyed the characters and the storytelling in this one more than I have with some of their earlier works. I'll be interested in reading the next book in this series!
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This was not great. A plot seemed to be lacking for most of the book. The characters made asinine decisions and plans. And honestly things worked out a bit too easily at the end. I'm all for a HEA, but this one was a bit too pat.
I received this book by the author for an honest opinion I enjoyed this book like I do with most of this author's work and this story was a great first book of a promising series. I liked reading about Preston and Kenneth and the trials they went through. Good characters with quite a bit of heat running throughout the book. A good story and always got to love a bear🐻 Great book cover as well
The writing was pretty good, but the plot suffered a severe lack of anything interesting going on. The beginning started out promising, but once Kenneth and Preston realized they were fated mates, it just went downhill. Suddenly they are in love, with a baby on the way, and act like a couple that has known each other for years. I've read one or two shifter stories, and I'm starting to realize the whole "fated mates" concept is just a way to get out of having to develop your characters. Just because a person is your "fated mate" doesn't mean that you are automatically IN love with them. I would have liked to see more of Kenneth and Preston getting to know each other before they are pregnant and talking about how they will be together forever.
Overall, this book doesn't bring anything new to the table. It follows the same plotline as just about every other shifter romance novel out there: Character 1 rescues character 2 from trouble, they share a night of passion and end up pregnant, they declare their eternal love for each other, the big bad shows up to cause more trouble but is swiftly dealt with and all the characters ride off into the sunset. The end. Yawn. This isn't a bad thing if there is something else to spice it up or make it different, but there isn't. The characters aren't anything interesting, the dialogue is standard, the conflict is one I've read about a thousand times, and the sex scenes are pretty tame (although I did like the scene where they switch it up). 2 stars.
Preston dated Jasper briefly, but when Jasper wanted to take it further, Preston refused, and then regretted it, well he didn’t regret turning Jasper down, he just regretted what came after, he was accused of attacking Jasper and forcing himself on him!!
So now Preston lives on a remote farm, scraping by (he had plans for the farm, his employer doesn’t want to listen) So after a delivery in town, Preston needs a drink ......
Kenneth is going to grab a drink before leaving Austin, he had recently lost his parents, and wants a new start. But he gets more than he bargained for when accepting a drink from a stranger. His drink is tampered with, and Kenneth is about to be attacked!!!
Preston rescues Kenneth and realises he is his mate, but trying to convince Kenneth that they are mates proves to be a little bit of a challenge.
Jasper won’t let the matter drop, he wants the farm that Preston works on to fire him, he thinks he’s entitled (his family is very well off) and acts accordingly!!!
This had so much potential, and to be honest, I almost didn’t finish it. The characters were great, there was a connection (could have been more, and fell a little short) but something was missing.
Dropped at 38% I just couldn’t force myself to read any further. This book is horribe the writting , the story just ugh! everything. I do not recomend this book to anyone, save yourselves from this trainwreck. No stars given.
So Preston is an alpha who briefly dated another alpha Jasper and it ended badly. Jasper tried to drug Preston so he could have sex with him and when it didn't work, he told everyone that it was actually Preston who was the instigator. Seeing how Jasper is the town's rich boy, everyone backed him and it left Preston living on a farm barely getting by.
Kenneth is an omega who recently lost both parents in a car accident. He's sold everything and going to move to Boston but wants to have a drink and maybe a little more at the local bar. He encounters Jasper and is immediately turned off. Leaving his drink at the bar, he goes to the restroom hoping Jasper will be gone when he gets back. Coming back to the bar he downs his drink and leaves. Barely having time to try to leave out the front entrance and then going to the back, Kenneth is already feeling the effects of the drugged drink. When Jasper and his 2 betas attack Kenneth, Preston comes to his rescue, killing a beta, before escaping. When Kenneth wakes up, he and Preston realize they're fated mates and the I love you's and baby making commence.
There is a good story that could have come out but this author didn't succeed. This is a poorly constructed story. The 2 MC's talk and act like 2 teenagers but are 22 & 28. There's a female supporting character that is constantly spouting vulgarity and is at the point of sexually harassing Preston (all in good humor/she's just joking kind of way). Jasper is supposed to be this powerful guy that everyone fears but he doesn't retaliate when Preston kills his beta and his family doesn't retaliate after the big fight at the end of the book either. This was a poorly added story line to explain why Preston has been suffering for 8 years and it fell flat. In chapter 1 Preston is thinking about the gay bar in town and it says R7 (say it out loud). Well I did and I asked several people and no one can make since of it. Poor inside joke maybe?!? This author has used the bad alpha drugs omega and good alpha saves poor omega before and in both books I've read it was poorly written. This is a terrible book IMO and I can't recommend it to anyone. Still can't figure out why this author gets so many 4 & 5 star ratings. Deleting from Kindle and Amazon library.
I voluntarily received an advanced copy of this book. I've read all of Aspen's book and I'm loving the bears. This was a sweet story. Preston forced out a city he had a life in by the towns jerk Jasper. Spreading the rumor that he tried to rape Jasper was a lie but the town was scared of that family so he left.
Kenneth is a virgin who lost his parents suddenly. Not wanting to leave Austin a virgin he heads to R7, the gay club in town. While having a drink an Alpha sits next to him trying to get his attention. Kenneth not interested decides to go to the bathroom to avoid him. Deciding to leave, he heads back to the bar, finishes his drink, pays then leaves. Once outside one guy is calling after him, heading back inside to use the back exit, Kenneth thinking he's safe starts to feel weird. One second he's standing and the next he's on the ground. Three shadows are around him, one if them Jasper.
Preston gets a smell that is so enticing that he can't just leave. Heading towards the smell he sees Jasper and the body of the smell on the ground. Seeing Jasper unfasten his pants he goes into protective mode.
Escaping the goons, Preston knows this is only the beginning. But he's not letting anyone touch his fated mate.
A must read. If you read the Scarlet Mountain series, you will enjoy this one too.
I've read every single book that Aspen has written and thus one is just as amazing as the rest. She has taking us on a journey with so many wonderful characters that we get lost in the read. It's like we're apart of it all and you can't help but love them. In this story she delivers us some new friends. We see Preston and bear shifter trying to make it through life after one bad moment. He is this loving and caring person just waiting for the fated mate. Kenneth is this omega who just lost the two people in his life that made him him. One thing leads to another and they meet under the worst of circumstances, falling in love, get pregnant and deal with a crazy dude. But in the end all is well and truly good. You have another hit with this new series. Congratulations Aspen. I gladly give it 5 stars. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy
Erotic Omegaverse Romance The Alpha Bear in this romance wants more out of a life nearly destroyed by the son of a powerful family. He's shocked when he finally starts to receive it. First, very unexpectedly an alluring sweet smell leads him to a brawl, as he fought to save a drugged Omega. An Omega that turned out to be his mate. The erotic charge when the two mates meet was off the charts. Something they express with regularity.
The Bear's small rental house was not a home until his mate moved in. His mate was a very loving and grateful young man, at being rescued by his big rugged Bear. They were blissfully happy with good friends until a nemesis from the past who threatened to snatch it all away. An enraged Bear was determined not to let go of the wonderful life he was building with his mate.
oh boy do i have something to say. - is murder not a crime anymore?? - i like smutty books but was just.. way too much - the only woman in this book sexually harassing the MC and trying to « turn him straight » and help him « develop a taste for pussy » ?? big yikes - i know this is insta love, but there is no way that it all happened so quickly. you don’t even know each other but you have a baby right away? - the rape attempt!!! there is so many wrong things about this. the MC wakes up at a stranger’s house after an someone tried to rape him. the stranger is naked and instead of panicking because he doesn’t know where he is and there’s literally a naked man with him, he just grabed the stranger’s dick because it’s massive??? and they have sex right away the next day?????? wtf
This started off so well, and checks a lot of my favorite trope boxes. Sadly, it goes down hill fast. I can’t even rec this as a quick palette cleanser, which is what I was hoping for myself.
There is no development, sparse detail, and stilted dialogue. All that on top of a bullet-point flow of writing style. Everything is just very matter-of-fact, and jumps from one thing to the next with zero transition. Even the sex scenes are dull. There’s no genuine emotion or connection coming across from either MC.
I don’t think I’ll be trying this author’s work again. I got this one free, so no harm done, really. I so wanted to find a new quick-read series, but sadly, this won’t be it.
Great start to a new series. Good storyline which introduced many characters to pave the way for future books in this series. This one focuses on Preston and Kenneth. Preston, an alpha, saves Kenneth, an omega, from Jasper who also happens to be the same alpha that destroyed Preston's reputation because Preston wouldn't go out with him. Preston and Kenneth have an instant connection and chemistry as they realize they are fated mates. It was great watching them together and seeing how not only their relationship develops but also a whole new community! I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book.
Preston is an alpha bear shifter who was given a roofie by Jasper, who then tried to rape him. Preston managed to get away and escaped to an out of the way farm. He finds Kenneth at the R7, a gay bar. Jasper bought him a drink. Kenneth had to go to the bathroom and Jasper doctored his drink. Unfortunately, he didn't realize that the drink had been doctored and drank it all. As he was leaving, Jasper got to him and had his goons take him out back so he could rape him. Preston came to his rescue and took Kenneth home with him. Preston discovers that Kenneth is his fated mate. After some problems with Jasper and his goons, they get their HEA.
Alpha’s Destiny was an enjoyable read with a solid story arc and compelling tension between the main characters. I especially appreciated the dynamics between Kenneth, Preston, and Jasper—it gave the plot some real weight and emotional pull.
That said, the relationship between Kenneth and Preston felt a bit rushed to me. I found myself wanting more buildup and development between them before things progressed romantically. A little more time spent deepening that connection would have really elevated the emotional payoff.
Overall, it’s a decent read with an engaging storyline, but I think it could’ve benefited from just a bit more breathing room in the relationship department.
A good book to start a new series. It's a bit similar to this author's other work but I enjoy what she writes. Preston is an alpha and hasn't been with anyone for 8 years, thanks to Jasper. Kenneth is still a virgin, just lost his parents and has decided he is going to leave Texas until others have a different idea for him. When Jasper tries to overpower Kenneth, Preston steps in. What will happen when things get hot and heavy? Can these two go up against Jasper before he does something to someone else? You'll have to read the book to find out.
This was a nicely written, beautiful bear shifter romance. The characters were very well defined with secondary characters that were very likeable (except for the villain, of course). I loved the way that Jasper was eventually dealt with, however, I was hoping that the first plan to handle Jasper would have worked since I felt that it should have been discovered by others what an evil creep he was. I enjoyed this story and I ended the book with a heart warming feeling inside. Curious to read the next book. =) This book was free and well worth it. Thanks to the author.
From the story concept to the actual meat of the romance, this was a terrible book for me.
There was no world building, no character development. The only two people who had a little description to them is the antagonist and one of the MCs, but it didn't go much further than making me picture the MC as a steroid popping body builder with a 24 inch cock... Not a great visual for my tastes.
Everyone spoke like 11 year olds and way too much talk about women's juice...bleh. I got through it, but it was a close game.
Lots of action, romance and a baby create a fun beginning for a new series. A big protective Alpha and wonderful Omegas create a bond and build a family. Great characters and interesting story-line kept me reading from cover to cover.
Kenneth and Preston are so perfect together and i loved the friends that create the pack.
I was gifted this book from the author and i freely give my review.
An enjoyable start to a new series that was jammed pack with action, heat and romance. Awesome characters with interesting storyline will have you entertained from start to finish. If you enjoy a paranormal romance filled with an over protective Alpha that will stop at nothing to protect his fated mate than this is a definite must one click for you. Can’t wait for the next story from this series!
Preston is a lonely alpha accused of rapping Jasper but Jasper attempted to drug Preston and drive him out of town with the lie. Kenneth lost his family in one night sold everything to move to Boston but went to a gay club was rofied by Jasper and almost raped. Preston saved him after scenting him as his fated mate. They both fight to be together and to keep their lives on the farm. Great story. Can’t wait for the next book.
Jasper has a rich daddy and therefore gets away with everything. Jasper is a sleazy, slimey, bad alpha. Preston has already had one bad experience with Jasper. Now Preston is shunned because wouldn't let Jasper have his way. Things can only get worse when Jasper gets his slimey hands on Preston's mate, Kenneth. This is a sweet story about finding love, home, and family when you've pretty much given up hope of finding any of it.
I liked both Preston and Kenneth and enjoyed their chemistry. I guess I just wish that there was a little more build up to their relationship. I hated Jasper (which I guess is kudos to the author for making me hate the villain) but at the same time I wish that jasper was taken out it a cooler way. Like maybe their R7 plan worked but via his money and family power the police brushed it aside. Oh well, it was still an enjoyable read
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Preston and Kenneth are sweet and sexy characters with a great story of finding your true mate and doing what you must to protect your family and home. Well written and entertaining... Can't wait to see how this series progresses. Definitely recommend.