Hidden

The Swamp #1

by Rebecca Royce

Lost, groggy, and utterly devastated, MacKenzie Harper woke in the back of a truck with a kind man giving her a ride to safety. Her memory fuzzy, her senses on high alert, and her world teetering precariously on chaos, she has no idea who to trust but her nose says she can trust him.

When her savior delivers her to Ranier, Preston, Jarret, and Anton Lejeune, Kenzie recognizes them as the sons of the most famous werewolf family in Louisiana. They have to hide her, because Kenzie did the forbidden—she shifted. Werewolves are forbidden from shifting due to the Accords, and she’s always been good at playing human. So why did she shift?

That’s a question she’d like answered, but there’s more to Kenzie than even she knows and being around the Lejeune brothers rouses old instincts and desperate desires that will pull her four mates to her and together, they’ll face every challenge coming for them—even the ones they can’t see.

Genres: Shapeshifters, Paranormal Romance, Paranormal, Why Choose, Romance, Dystopia, Fantasy

264 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 5, 2019

About the author

Author of science fiction, fantasy, and the paranormal.

Reviews

[Leo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked that the angst iof the story was the world and plot outside of the relationship (reverse harem). Insta lovely yes but at the same time it didn't have much issues at love. It was an easy listen to, not very spicy but enjoyable. Not sure if I want to continue on with the series as although the "angsty" elements were interesting it didn't make me overly intrigued to continue.

[❀ Crystal ✿ - PEACE ☮ LOVE ♥ BOOKS · Rating 3 out of 5]

Initial thoughts: Cheesy, weird and set in a world with totally opposite views of shifters than normal.

I found this trilogy on Hoopla. I wanted a quick RH read and went into this blind. Not gonna lie, I found a lot of it kind of weird and at times rather rushed. The dialogue and behaviors of the characters occasionally got very cheesy and felt anything but real. While I think the completely altered world of shifters is interesting, the insta love + super quick paced story was a bit much for me.
While most shifters adore their animal side, something happened in society that made being a shifter wrong. There’s even treaties they sign to never shift, mate etc. Pretty wild world they live in especially as all the shifters in the state of Colorado have gone missing. A standard government group who experiments and manipulates shifters is the big enemy and given this scum killed one of the guys’ fathers I’m looking forward to their demise. Romance is super fast as is the heroines transition into a savior Omega out to fix the shifter world. Easily read in a few hours.

[Daisy Delfin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pages: 241
My rating: 3
Read other books by this author in the future: yes
MC: MacKenzie, Preston, Rainer, Anton, Jarret
SC: Gus, Cristian, Ross(bad guy), Augustin (brother), Issac (brother)

This is my review for all three books. Overall the series is a solid three start rating for me. I have read other books of Rebecca Royce and I really like her books. But this one was one of the weakest I have read so far. The idea of someone trying to reveal the werewolf’s to human kind, when all of them are dead is a new one for me. Most books want to reveal shifter to the human kind. Also that an Omega is born, when there are no Omegas and she lives hidden, because shifting is not allowed.

Overall I enjoyed the series, sometimes it seemed to stretch but the second and third book were much shorter than the first one.

Summery of the series: MacKenzie wakes up confused in the Swamp. She has a dim memory of Gus. Gus orders his sons Preston, Rainer, Anton and Jarret to keep MacKenzie hidden and protect her. MacKenzie had not shifted into a werewolf all her life because it is not allowed. But then she was kidnapped and could save herself only by shifting. Besides, Gus who was hired by her parents to look for her came to her rescue. After shifting into a werewolf, it becomes clear that MacKenzie is an Omega, a wolf with special abilities. No one knows exactly what these abilities are, since there are no more Omegas.

One evening a few days later, two Loup Garous come to the brothers' house. They are looking for MacKenzie and her hands are suddenly on fire. The brothers scare the Loup Garous away. But MacKenzie pursues them and she heals the Loup Garous so that they become normal werewolves again.

It turns out that the four brothers are MacKenzie's mates. And they mark each other. Now they have to justify themselves to the council, because werewolves are only allowed to be in their human form and have to suppress their use. But the five have shifted more often since MacKenzie arrived. The council happily greets them except for Brennan, who seems kind of weird. Gus returns with a Loup Garous, who is Augustin and MacKenzie's brother. She heals him and he stays with them. Brannan comes a few days later with a Teem to the brothers, who have a visit from their parents. He kills Kevin, Rainer's father. It turns out that Anton, kidnapped as a baby, is a psychically manipulated werewolf who has been manipulated to influence his family. By activating Anton, the entire family is psychically reversed except for MacKenzie and Augustin. Everyone wants to kill MacKenzie. However, she is able to escape with her brother at the last moment.


In the second book, Augustin and MacKenzie are in an RV and on the run. MacKenzie's mating marks have disappeared and she is very unwell. They move from one rest stop to the next looking for hidden werewolves and Loup Garous. Every night, MacKenzie rescues Loup Garous. Then Preston shows up and wants to capture MacKenzie. Augustin shoots a tranquilizer at Preston and MacKenzie heals him. He is no Loup Garous, but he is psychologically manipulated. When he regains consciousness after the healing, he is beside himself for going off on MacKenzie and saying very hurtful things. MacKenzie doesn't want him to mark her again at first, but he does convince her. This helps MacKenzie bad condition improve. They continue and come to a village where only werewolves live. The female alpha, takes care of them. And when they tell what happened, she helps MacKenzie further.It also turns out that the Alpha's daughter is Augustin's mate. By chance they find out that Anton, who is an author, has given clues in his books about places where the werewolves are held captive. The wolf pack attacks four of the locations to free werewolves and MacKenzie, Augustin and Preston the fifth.On the way to the location they want to attack, they find a group of five psychically manipulated werewolves and one of them is Rainer. MacKenzie heals all of them and they travel on with them.Rainer renews his mate mark with MacKenzie and the presence of two of her mates helps her finally sleep again.
Arriving at the location, they storm it and find several werewolves, including MacKenzie's mother and Gus. But most importantly, they find the two missing brothers, Anton and Jarret. All of them are healed by MacKenzie. They head back to the Swamp, where they meet up with the other teams and rescued werewolves. After MacKenzie heals everyone, they try to find the person behind it. Brannan is caught and interrogated for this. He reveals very little. But thanks to Anton's books and some things the brothers heard during their reprogramming, you know that a werewolf is behind it. MacKenzie is being manipulated by this werewolf. He tells her that he wants to destroy all the Omegas because the Omegas wouldn't help him. He is not a werewolf, but a Loup Garous. And now he wants to destroy all werewolves. The first thing he does is infect MacKenzie with madness.

In the third book, the brothers try to save MacKenzie. They don't know how to do that, since she is the only Omega. They are also trying to find Ross. MacKenzie is trapped on the dock by Ross and can't remember anything. Ross is talking to her. Suddenly Jarret appears, who has somehow managed to penetrate MacKenzie's brain. This gives the brothers the idea that he could get into her brain and sever the connection with Ross. Jarret doesn't think so. But fittingly, a Loup Garous shows up and the brothers complain to Jarret to try to find the connection between the Loup Garous and Ross. Jarret succeeds. Meanwhile, MacKenzie has figured out that Ross has cut her off from her memories. She forces Ross to give her back her memories.Jarret and Anton are then able to free MacKenzie from Ross because she now recognizes who she can still hear and she clings to them.
Also, it is now revealed that Ross is an Alpha, and that is the reason why he was able to manipulate the werewolves so much. They find out that Ross is in Oregon and through Anton's books they also find the lake where he is.
The brothers, MacKenzie, their families and werewolf packs make their way to Oregon. MacKenzie surprisingly gets help from the dead Omegas. She gets all the knowledge from the Omegas for her fight against Ross.
Finally it comes to the show down between Ross, MacKenzie and Rainer. MacKenzie heals Ross and Rainer challenges him to a fight for his Alpha title. After Ross is defeated, the packs retreat to the Swamp. Some join Rainer and MacKenzie, others leave the Swamp and go home. The brothers and MacKenzie experience a more peaceful time.

[TXBRITGAL · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly adored this new take on the werewolf mythos. Kenzie comes awake confused and fuzzy minded. She doesn't know who she is, where she is, or anything at all. What in the world is going on! All she knows is this kind man is taking her somewhere "safe". Little does she know her entire world is about to change in an instant! Rebecca Royce is a true wordsmith, and I've yet to not like a book or series by her. This is a RH book led yet again by a powerful female. Kenzie has a huge heart and wants to help anyone that's hurting. So when she discovers she's got the power to actually help those that need it, it makes her day. Weres are no longer allowed to shift by decree of The Council, and all Omegas are gone....or are they? Turns out our Kenzie is not only a newly formed Omega, but a pretty powerful one at that. Little things here and there have seemed off in the community, but once Kenzie arrives and finds both her power and her mates, things start coming together. Now she needs to find her missing family and figure out WHY she's suddenly all powerful and how it all works. Get ready though as in typical Rebecca Royce style we must walk through LOTS of fire and tragedy until the HEA. So enter phase one and meet our wonderful Kenzie!!! I can't wait for the follow up!🐺🐺🐺

[Liz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I made it about 70% of the way through and then stopped. I don't think I will continue as I have so many other interesting books to start on. The story line is interesting enough. The fmc is a bit non descript. She is special because she is the first Omega in a long time but other than her unique/special role there really isn't a whole lot that is interesting or makes you connect with her. She's not annoying, she's just non-descript. The H's are actually more interesting and better defined than the fmc. The main reason I stopped reading is the lack of transitions in the writing. For example, the author would have the characters sitting in a hotel room talking in one sentence and then in the car driving in the next sentence with no conversation or transition in the writing to explain why the characters were now in a car driving. You have to fill in those transitions yourself and just go with. That's just one example, it happens pretty frequently and just got to be annoying so I decided to move on but the story still has some interesting plot points with the mystery around why no Omegas have been born and the creepy setting of the Bayou so I can see where many would enjoy it.

[Jacquie Stewart · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mixed bag

The plot is interesting, the world building is okay but it didn't grab me. It was pretty clunky in places, the dialogue didn't flow and the guys were pretty interchangeable except for Anton.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh my heart!!

That was the sweetest story until my poor heart got ripped out at the end there. Holy crap!!!! I really liked Kenzie. She was sweet and kind and reasonable (I liked that she actually listened to the people who loved her instead of throwing herself into danger all of the time). I really liked how well she communicated with the guys too. Anton was definitely my favourite. I cannot wait to read the next book!!!!!

[Janet Welling · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good start to a new series

I thought this was a very interesting spin on the whole werewolf genre. It was a pleasant surprise to discover that the females are strong and independent. I loved all the characters and wish the author would have spent more time on back story and character development instead of rushing to the finish line. Still, this is only the first book in the series so hopefully more details will be revealed in the upcoming sequels.

[Heather Gilbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome

In a world where shifters are not allowed to shift she did the unthinkable - and now it’s a race to find out why. Fast paced, fast burn and deliciously RH, this PNR jumps headlong into a new world with intriguing rules. It’s quick, a bit brutal and ends on a cliffhanger that feels like the crux of the entire novel.

Pros:
- Fast paced.
- World building.
- The accords.

Cons:
- Fast burn, but it makes sense for the plot.
- Ugh... that cliff. 😂😂

[S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m giving this one 3* and adding it to my Open Books shelf. Honestly I’m a big fan of Rebecca Royce and this book had so much promise! I mean, the story itself is great. But I couldn’t get past the writing ☹️ it’s choppy and stunted and was just too distracting to keep me interested in the story. Maybe it’s just me, maybe it was just the day... so that’s why I added it to my open books. Maybe I’ll give it another go at a later time.

[Alexandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

New wolf shifter series!

Kenzie was kidnapped and taken to a laboratory where she later escapes. She is rescued and meets four brothers who turn out to be her mates. The accords that were signed 20 something years ago forces the shifters to live as humans but something is changing. It was engaging and entertaining. What a cliffhanger!

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh man!!! That was so good and so different from all of Ms. Royce’s other books. These characters stole my heart. There’s romance, heat, fighting, turmoil... it’s fantastic!! I do believe she will be kicking some major booty in book two and I cannot wait!!

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

Seemed to start out good, but I couldn't find myself to read on. The book seemed to jump a lot and move at a fast and also slow pace all at once. No balance what's so ever. I attempted 3 times to continue on, and at 27% I just deleted it and finally moved on

[Mercy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I felt unbelievably bored. I'm deeply disappointed and needed to stop at 40%.
Everything felt unreal, forced, and unrealistic even within the universe of shifter forbidden to change. And the omegas dying out, guess what she is an omega! Big reveal.

[Jordie Priebe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can I just say it is always the books with the goofiest covers that seem to be amazing? The version I read does not have this cover that's on Goodreads. It has a cartoony cover but either way both are still goofy as hell looking. It always be these types of books that I cannot put down that are juiciest as hell. Damn.

With Mackenzie because holy s*** she is a fantastic character. Just fantastic. She's strong. She's funny. She's independent but she still has that like need to please. That kind of makes her a little bit damsily distress but not annoyingly so I love that she stands out for herself. I love that she fights her what she wants and she has this arc to her character where she just gets stronger as the book goes on and then we get that end scene and it's so intense for her character that it's just unbelievable how strong she is and I just I don't even want to like review this almost because I just want to get into reading the next book because wow!

Now for her mates if you read any of my reviews on reverse harems before you for sure know Anton is going to be my favorite mate, I love a dark broodyish type of character Jarrett I like because he seems like fun and playful and I kind of get similar vibes from Preston though definitely Preston and Rainer are going to be the more serious too. They are older so they are going to end up being more protective, especially because of their ages compared to the younger two when Anton was connected to the baby. They definitely have like a super protective streak of her and a typical way that you would see and kind of this faded mates omega stuff but it's not overbearing and it's not cringy which is super fun.

I definitely am super interested to kind of find out what the f*** is going on with these characters and what is going to happen in the next book. I was not expecting this ending at all. Usually in these types of books you get like whatever the main character is is and her harem going to save the day and maybe one of them or her gets kidnapped but never have. I read anything like this in a while if ever. I'm definitely enjoying like a new aspect to this kind of trope.

I'm definitely thinking that is bigger than Brennan though on the council. I think there's definitely more going on than just him betraying people. I'm wondering maybe about her parents? I'm wondering maybe about her mate's parents. Some of the stuff is a little bit sketchy but again we're going to have to see and I don't want to review anymore because I want to go back to f****** reading the series .

[Raven9308 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely fell in love with this story and these characters! I am not sure why, but I almost had an instant connection. I think it was probably how Gus was in the beginning and how the guys were standoffish and MacKenzie had no idea what was going on. I loved seeing her start to remember and blossom into the fierce young woman (and werewolf) she is. I fell in love with her guys it felt like as she was falling in love with them. I could not pick my favorite and that is saying something! I loved Anton's inner strength, Jarret's passion and fortitude, Ranier and his quiet leader demeanor (while trying to keep everyone safe and being vulnerable with Mac), and Preston trying to hold his family together after they all left him. I enjoyed the storyline and am excited to see where things go. The ending was devastating but I know it will only make her stronger, especially when she gets her life back. I loved some of the side characters in this story as well. MacKenzie's family, Some of the Lejeune family as well (but definitely not all of them). I think MacKenzie's powers are really cool and an interesting concept that I have read/listened to before. I instantly went and downloaded book 2 to start listening to after I am done this one. I am super excited book 3 is going to release next week (audio coming probably weeks after, I hope). Highly recommend on the story alone ❤️❤️❤️

The narration I thought was amazeballs. I loved the accents, it sounded authentic enough to me and I could imagine them in my head super easily. I could feel their emotions, the inflections and perspectives Maya does are spectacular (and I am super picky when it comes to narrators). The way the brothers interacted was on point, her male voice was great and all the accents (and Anton's robotic voice help) were great!!

Highly recommend, gonna go listen to Book 2 ASAP. Favorite series of Rebecca's so far 😊

[Rebekah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great idea, poor execution

This was a great story idea, but the writing was so bad I DNFed at 40%. I might try again when I’m feeling more generous, but, ugh. Grammar was not too off putting, saw some irritating misuses of there/their. Writing... I hate it when thoughts and descriptions repeat 2 paragraphs later, multiple times. Proofread your books! Also, this author, in eye rolling fashion, has her heroine tearfully recall some traumatic memory apropos to nothing that has come before in action or dialogue. She’s sitting at the table, they’re discussing the weather, “I remember being so scared and then I had to shift, I couldn’t help it!” Cue sudden sympathy. This happens all the time. They’re doing or discussing one thing and suddenly, whapow! Some random non sequitur and now we’re on some other topic/action almost always painting the girl as weak. Nevermind, maybe I won’t try this again later.

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars. I liked this one. It’s in some ways the same but other very different from other shifter romances. I definitely liked that. The heroine, MacKenzie is very sweet. She is t my favourite kick ass heroine but definitely likeable enough. I’m still a little confused about the whole conspiracy and the hunters and the accords and the council and what not. It’s all very vague. There are a couple of things that I just don’t get (don’t want to give away any spoilers) and when I read them it just confused me a little. I’m just setting that aside for now since it’s a trilogie.

[Jacquelyn G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Addicting

This book had a unique twist of shifters than I've ever seen. The story drew me in instantly and I was excited to see more of this near extinct secret society.

There were a few random errors that were weird: Mackenzie's eyes were described as blue, but one of her mates tell her to close her brown eyes; and the council is described as the council of seven, then six then back to seven. Not a deal breaker, just weird.

The twist at the end was heartbreaking and unexpected. I am definitely reading book 2 right now!

[Retta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh wow,

This was a really unexpected book. The storyline was really well done, and well developed. The FMC is a really strong character who thinks for herself and doesn’t lean to much on her guys. The guys are all excellent support for her even, could use maybe a little more time for some personal development but it is a fast burn book, so usually there is less time for that. Overall I really enjoyed the book and I’m looking forward to the next one.

[Nicole Hale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let me tell you I loved the start of this new series its unlike any other I have read!! This book griped my interest from beginning to end.

No Spoilers!!!

This book is a new take on wolf shifters!!! They are supposed to be in hiding and NEVER shift!!! Mackenzie is the MC and well let’s just say she gets into some trouble!!! She gets rescued and sent to the swamps to be watched by 4 brothers!!!! I love the character development and how the relationships bloom throughout the story!!

I cannot wait to dive into book 2!!! I need to know what happens after that ending!

[Liz Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good i guess

The pacing felt weird. I like the characters and the story but it felt like everything was moving so quickly and not in just an insta-love way- I don't actually mind insta-love. I think the best way to describe it is that it moves at a similar speed to my ADHD thoughts. There's a lot happening and everything is sudden all the time but most of it isn't like super important it's just quickly onto the next thing...idk, if my ADHD wrote a book it would be the same pacing as this

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I liked about Kenzie was that she was honest with her feelings. She may not have known who or where she was in the beginning, but once she accepted what she couldn't remember, she began the process of healing. Finding out that she was the last of her kind, taking on the scariness of the unknown, and fighting against the evil just kept her struggle to survive at the forefront. I read all 3 stories in one sitting after the series was completed.

[Angel · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can't do it. I have.no connection to the characters. The plot is SO FREAKIN SLOW!
Chapter 10 and I want to stab my eyes out just to get a break!
Apparently, I'm reading a different book than the others because....how in the HELL could this book be 3 or more.stars?!
No, I can't do it.
I would rather reread all my past read list, than suffer through this any longer.

I'm sure someone out there can handle it but its not i.

[Kadeen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well written

I am not a huge fan of wolf stories but I this one was well written. Mac and her mates meeting and the mystery unfolding is so organic. I really love the fluidity of how the story unfolds and feel the uncertainty, joy and pain she is going through. My heart broke a bit at certain parts. Great read .

[Heather Mccloud · Rating 3 out of 5]

????

So I'm confused because I love Rebecca Royce. I think she is an amazing author and a wonderful story teller, but this book seems to be written by someone else. The dialog between the characters is stunted and robotic. The characters are flat and 2 dimensional. And even though I loved the premise of the story it was boring for me.

[Louise Harrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good Read

Wow, what an interesting book this turned out to be. I will say I stumbled across this book while browsing through the kindle store and I am so glad that I did. I found the story to be addictive, thrilling and a total shocker. I am chomping at the bit to start the next book because I need to know what happens next. I would highly recommend this book.

[Shannon Zell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love!!

Awesome second book 👏 Much more adventure, much more suspense and wholly mated to all the brothers! Loving the twists and turns! Can't wait to find out what happens in book 3!

[Chrissy · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW!!!

This was amazing! It all started out so perfectly and then, BOOM!!! Everything went to crap! It's like being on a roller-coaster from hell. At the top it all looks so great and then you plunge into the darkness. I need more.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heroine accidentally shifts. Found by gus who taken her to his home. Where his 4 sons are. After trying to resit urge to shift but left without a choice we find out ahes omega with the gift of healing and she's the answer to keep others from going rabid.