Alternative cover editions for this ASIN can be found here and here.
***Re-edited!!!*** As of August 16th this story has been re-edited by the lovely JENNI LEA at LESCOURT AUTHOR SERVICES!
Ridley Scott
I'm a genuinely happy person, regardless of the fact that both of my parents are dead, I'm a college dropout, I work at a diner as a cook in Purdy, Nebraska and I'm a tall, lanky virgin, gay man with more freckles than not, bright red hair, and a creepy obsession with a gorgeous god of a man who always catches me stealing glances of him and doing awkward things, such as nearly killing myself with a mop bucket or frying pan. When my car breaks down not far rom said gorgeous, god's house, I learn that Flynn is my best friend's alpha and there is more to my obsession than my ridiculous habit of accidental suicide attempts. We're connected.
Flynn Becker
I've been watching my mate for months and waiting for the perfect time to finally claim him. When he comes sputtering to a stop not far from the leap house where I'm the alpha of a large leap of leopards, I'm both excited to finally have him close and worried about how to explain our world. When I find out he already knows about shifters and his best friend is a member of my leap, I feel like this mating just got easier. But fighting both, members of my own kind, and my precious mate's insecurities, might be too much for even a chosen bond. I have to find a way to protect my mate from a crazed she-leopard and prove to him that he could never be, JUST Ridley.
Warning: Mpreg elements!
Also, my books have little to no angst, and lots and lots of fluff! They are better read in order, because I kind of write them like a continuation of a story, and I don't like to repeat explanations over and over if I can help it. No cheating, because that makes my heart hurt, and I try to avoid things that make me sad like I SHOULD be avoiding carbs. Sorry, I just don't want anyone being disappointed if they like the angst filled heart-rippers. These read more like a romantic comedy than a romantic drama.
This is just your typical, novella length, M/M shifter romp, featuring a lot in the way of mates, possessive claiming, insta-everything, and less in the way of detailed plot or character development.
Here we follow Ridley, a young, skinny, red-headed man, living a simple yet somewhat lonely life in small town Nebraska, as he realises that the sexy, seemingly unattainable man named Flynn, who keeps showing up at the diner where Ridley works day in and day out, is not only a shifter, but the alpha to the local leap of leopard shifters....and apparently also Ridley’s fated mate.
This was sappy and fun, but oftentimes a little ridiculous, especially with Ridley’s basement levels of low self-esteem and his failure to comprehend exactly how much Flynn wants him for keeps. Their relationship was super-fast moving, but who the hell cares when all the sweet and sexy mate-feelings are present and accounted for.
I particularly enjoyed the humour present in this story. In general, being in Ridley’s head was wildly amusing; the guy internally monologued some great stuff, however silly, and I found myself smiling more often than not. And I may have had a good, long chuckle over the events in the epilogue, when Ridley’s best friend Benny, also a leopard shifter, “played dead” when the local bear shifter began stalking towards him like he was prey. The visual of him on the ground acting dead and everyone’s reactions to this was absolutely hilarious, in the most ridiculously silly way possible. (I look forward to reading Benny’s story within the series).
Overall, I had fun reading this, because when a shifter book is written well, which I feel this particular story was, I’m more than happy to throw my need for story depth out the window and just bask in the simple joy of reading a fluffy and fun tale about a pair of fated mates and their heated claiming.
One of my friends brought this book to my attention when she reviewed it and mentioned that the series was fluffy, fun and sexy. Well she was definitely right... this book made me laugh and cry happy tears. I just loved Ridley to death and Flynn was sex on two legs (except when he is on four legs that is). The characters are well-crafted, the writing is easy to read and enjoyable and the humor well-placed. This was such a joy to read and I look forward to many hours of excellent reading as I continue this series!
This book has every insta possible - lust, like, love etc. Despite all that and some cheesy humor and sometimes idiotic behavior of Ridley I really liked this book. If I asked myself why I would probably say that not every book I like to read has to be so meaningful and tear inducing that I need a tub of ice cream afterwards. I like to read something that is just funny, cheesy and with so much s*e*x my eyes start rolling after the umpteenth time they have at each other like starving animals fighting for last remaining steak. So I think I will continue with the series when I need to decompress. So I recommend it with caution.
Nice shifter romance, even though the insta-love was through the roof. With shifters who find their mates I don’t mind.
Ridley has found his dream man. The man is a regular at the diner where Ridley is a cook, and even though they’ve never spoken, Ridley knows it’s his fantasy man come to life. Of course the man is probably straight, and even if he wasn’t no way would he ever be interested in Ridley.
When Ridley lets a stack of plates fall in the kitchen because he was distracted, again, his dream man comes to ask if he’s alright. But Ridley can’t even form a real sentence he’s that smitten with the man.
The man turns out is Flynn, Alpha of a pack of shifters. Flynn is glad he doesn’t have to explain shifters to Ridley, because apparently Ridley’s best friend is a shifter in his pack.
Flynn tries his best to convince Ridley how important Ridley is to him, even though they just met. But Ridley doesn’t seem to get what ‘alpha-mate’ really means. Ridley sure can’t be anyone’s mate…
This was cute. I do have to say that the story was missing some backbone, but I know that’s not all that important in these kind of books. They’re fun and entertaining. There's the promise of mpreg though, so that's nice.
A fun, fluffy, first book in a massive 24+ book series and I enjoyed it. I'm a huge fan of stories with shifters finding their fated mates where all of the characters overlap and make appearances (Stephani Hecht, Charlie Richards, some of the older authors from Siren), and the hints of future mpreg are enough to keep me even MORE interested lol
Ridley is a klutz and I loved it. I'll be interested in seeing how this author grows and develops through writing this series as I read, because I will say that it borders on becoming TOO ridiculous with TOO many tears and melodrama, and it just kinda skirts that line for me as a reader. But in between the serious and angsty books I read, this series is a great breather.
~4.5 Stars~ I really enjoyed this. So much more than I thought I would. 75 pages isn't usually enough to incite so much emotion and giggles out of me.
Ridley is such an endearing character. So completely oblivious to his own self-worth. Three month's he's been mooning over Flynn, the gorgeous man who frequents the diner he works at, daily and sometimes even twice a day. But does he even consider that Flynn might be interested in him? nope . Flynn literally spells it out to him (over and over again) and still completely clueless. Not to forget his near-death episodes, each eye contact making him lose all coordination and it is so cute and hilarious.
"Flynn Becker. So that was going to be the name of the human that would one day somehow cause me to flush my own head down the toilet. Or bleed out because I accidentally stabbed myself in the femoral artery with a butter knife."
Flynn is a 232 year old Leopard Shifter, and though I did feel like I got to know Flynn more, he is very sweet. Never hesitating to reassure his mate and show him how important he is. Their chemistry oozes out of this book despite how short it is. Truly scorching, frantic, mine sex on top of excellent sexual tension when they weren't in bed.
Just Ridley is a treat. well writing with fleshed out characters and decent world building. Just what I needed to sink into to get out of my book funk.
Highly recommend for those who enjoy insta-love/mate shifter stories with lovable characters, some humor, hot erotic scenes and a quick read.
J.D. Light's Just Ridley was an enjoyable experience. This is the first time reading this author and I found her first book in the series was well written.
Fated mates, chosen birthmarks and crazy female leopard shifters. Ridley and Flynn have been circling around each other for three months and neither has made a move. Until Ridley's car stops down the road from the Alpha's house.
The main character, Ridley, was whiny, annoying, and dumb. The “big bad” was utterly pointless and should have never existed. And honestly, I just didn’t like the relationship.
A 3.5 star read. This book is nothing but good fluffy MM romance.
There is no real serious plot, no angst, not real drama (there is some but it is so damn insignificant it doesn't really matter).
I usually read fluffy books during a time when I am stressed and right now getting the last minute things together for the holidays is very stressing so I need something that doesn't really require much thought and will make you laugh.
I generally read Susi Hawke or Claire Cullen when I want quick, easy fluff but I decided to give this a try and I found it to be cute and adorable.
These books are really short, so you can binge read a couple at a time.
All there is to this story, I am afraid, is a cute cover and an intriguing blurb. The worthless writing full of spelling mistakes and grammatical issues competes with the sheer amount of non sequiturs, plot-wise, and the frigidity of the characters to kill whatever interest this loony-mate-gets-claimed-by-older, not-so-wiser-mate trope might have entailed. Utter rubbish.
This was a fun little romp that had me laughing out loud several times. Ridley’s awkwardness and obtuseness were a constant source of amusement, and Flynn was so sweet and protective. I’ll definitely keep reading the series.
There are 30 books in this series and I've been looking forward to getting to read some of these in-between some longer, more intense reads. Just some light shorties, a little over the top and a lot of fun.
I think this is exactly what they are going to be which is the good news. The bad news? I think the word GAWD has now surpassed the word HAWT as my least favorite word in the WORLD! Oh my GOD what is this word? Why? And why was it used so many times? I hate it, hate it, hate it. Ugh.
Aside from that horrible bit of language, it is indeed over the top and silly fun. It reminds me a little of Macy Blake's The Chosen One series which is a bonus.
I'll continue but already know that GOD AWFUL G-A-W-D word is in the next one too...
I don't read many shifter books, I could probably count the ones I have read on one hand. But an author I'm a fan of recommended this series as light, easy, quick reads and I'm always down for a quickie! Her exact words when it came to this series were "shmoopy sit-on-lap, nickname-calling, hearts-in-eyes love fest", and she wasn't lying! Since I'm not well versed in all things shifter I'm just taking a guess here by saying these aren't your typical shifter books- although I do imagine when they meet their mate it is an instant connection.
Just Ridley was syrupy sweet, silly, and at times a little too over the top. But nonethelesss, it was an entertaining way to spend 90 minutes on a Sunday evening. It seems like the rest of the books are going to be following in this same vein, and I'm okay with that! Sometimes you just need a little mindless entertainment.
***This book could have definitely benefitted from a run-through by an editor. I read this story for what it is, so I wasn't too overly concerned about the grammatical errors, but there are quite a few so you can't help noticing them.
So, this is really just goofy fluff with a bunch of insta-lust/love. It's alright but it was a nice change of pace from the high angst books that I have been reading. I read the first bundle and the editing was not great and I was annoyed by the constant use of "gawd" but that's just my pet peeve. They are pretty short and to the point with very little plot and mostly it was 75% sex.
4.5 stars for the story and I rounded it up because I just can't stand when people are MEAN when writing a review! I agree, always be honest... but it really doesn't hurt to be nice while stating your thought! Just sayin'!
All I can say for those who couldn't appreciate the good points of this story for dwelling on the points that "you" felt made this a "bad" read... I am sorry that you miss out on the hidden wonders of this world! Nothing is perfect and while, yes, there were obvious mistakes made, I hope to see improvement with these issues in the next book in the series... because there is NO way I can walk away without knowing how Benny's mating works out! *grin*
This is a short but hilariously sweet story about finding a fated mate. It is light hearted and fast moving and just pulls you along on a fun ride from start to finish.
Exactly as the author describes. Light, fluffy, low angst, novella length MM shifter. About an hour to read. Each story runs into the next, so must be read in order. Shifter. Fated mates. The series says it’s mpreg - and there’s talk of that ability, but storyline is only over a few days so no pregnancy/birth occurs.
This establishes the pack & the Alpha, Flynn who falls for the adorably awkward, Ridley. For such a short book - a lot of time was spent on Ridley repeatedly not understanding that he was Flynn’s mate. Everyone calls Ridley Alpha-mate, multiple times, including Flynn, but he still thinks they’re taking about someone else.
It’s a quick & easy read. However, I don’t really feel invested in continuing the series.
Note: It says it was re-edited at some point. It’s surprising that there’s so many typos/spelling issues. I wouldn’t consider it egregious, but definitely frequent enough to disrupt the flow of reading.
I enjoyed this book (or rather novella?), although for me... it had a slight vibe of slapstick comedy at some moments, with various hilarious situations (Ridley falling and stumbling in the presence of Flynn), and later the pace was very dynamic, almost like some Louis de Funès movies. What I enjoyed was how Flynn was possessive over Ridley and he just made him his mate without hesitation, despite Ridley's continuous doubts and insecurities. I will give another point for the REDHEAD mc! I absolutely love red-haired males and freckles on top of that. A dream to me, it probably made me swoon about Ridley beyond his cuteness and shyness. But he was also really sweet :) The only criticism, which probably applies to all novellas, was that the plot arc seemed rushed, but I guess it's just like that in shorter forms. Overall, a nice start to the series. I hope for more :)
Content Warnings for book: Reference to bullying, reference to parental death
Kink: N/A
I think J.D. Light’s author biography on their website speaks volumes. It’s not your All Time Best Book Ever type read, but it is humorous, low-angst, and surprisingly high-heat despite the lack of pages.
One thing I enjoyed in this mpreg-lite fated mates shifter romp was the descriptions that made details vivid, and the way the world and other characters seamlessly fit in so I could understand everything going on. This book is also short enough (and so are the following ones) I have no problem jumping right into the next one.
Are the characters super complex? No. That’s fine though! I was looking for something fluffy and sweet, and I got it. I also liked how the sex scenes were pretty variant, with lots of frotting.
It was a decent storyline and a quick read. There is nothing better than a man needing a little bit of loving. So many insecurities just need a little bit of loving. Might continue the series. I enjoyed it. It was a quick paced but I just feel like some things were just not needed.
A typical shifter story - fluffy and light and so forgettable, a week later I honestly forgot I already read it, I had to look it up on Goodreads to remember the plot. I will not continue with the series