I might have given this 3 stars if the way secondary female characters were talked about weren’t such truly awful takes.
Overall, Laura’s insecurities shouldn’t make it open season for her or the MC men to attack the looks, intelligence, and personal choices of other women. You can have female characters that are unalike without tearing down secondary characters and labeling them as unintelligent, pillow princess “sluts” (the author’s word, not mine) who wear too much makeup and can’t hold a decent conversation. How the men view these women is problematic, but how Laura views them is equally as concerning. She can be a smart and attractive curvy woman, but why does her being these things mean other women can’t be viewed in the same light? Brandon and Tyler make constant comments or have internal monologues about the women around them, most of whom they have slept with, and they use disparaging comments about them to build up their view of Laura. She’s their mate, their one true love, because she ISN’T like other women. Frankly, it’s kind of an archaic take.
Women are magical, yes, but above that, they’re human (okay, a lot of them are shifters in this book but you get my point) and to talk about them (even fictional ones) in such one-dimensional, crass views based on their sexuality or perceived intelligence for the sole purpose of tearing them down to build the MC up is a disservice to women everywhere.
UPDATE: Turns out not one, but TWO women wrote this book making their portrayal of other women even more awful. How did they think this was okay? Genuinely, do better.