Deserted

Shadow Beast Shifters #4

by Jaymin Eve

A standalone story in the Shadow Beast Shifters world. Best read after Reborn for storyline continuity.

Melalekin "Angel" of the Honor Meadows has been a warrior her entire life. Battle. Death. Loss. They were her constant companions until the day she met Mera Callahan. A shifter who ended up being so much more. A shifter who changed her life, and now... she has been reborn. The scars of her past are gone. Her losses muted under the new life she plans on living.

There's just one being standing in her way. A grudge holding desert deity who has made an art form out of making her life hell.

Reece of the Desert Lands is a god unused to being defied, and he has a very long memory when it comes to those who wronged him. Angel is the one he blames for the worst loss in his life, and he'll never let her forget it. Their history is tragic and bloodied, and the pair are set to clash one more time, especially when they end up trapped in the very spot where they lost it all. A meeting of the dynasties in the Delfora, the ancient desert lands, will force them to the place it all began.

Here they will learn that sometimes the past defines your future. And that there is a fine line between love and hate.

* This is a standalone in the Shadow Beast world, and does NOT end on a cliffhanger. It is full length at 100k words, and it is advised to read the first three in the Shadow Beast Shifters series first (Rejected, Reclaimed, Reborn). This is an enemies to lovers story, with action, snark, anti-heroes, and steam. It is recommended for 18+ due to storyline and situations.

Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance, Paranormal Romance, Enemies To Lovers, Fantasy Romance, Shapeshifters

396 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 28, 2021

About the author

Jaymin Eve is the Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestselling author of paranormal romance, urban fantasy, and sci-fi novels filled with epic love stories, great adventures, and plenty of laughs. She lives in Australia with her husband, two beautiful daughters, and a couple of crazy pets. To date, she has sold over three million ebooks, and still can't believe that she gets to create fantasy worlds as a job. 

For action, adventure, romance, and a guaranteed HEA, start one of her series today.

Reading order:

Secret Keepers series (Paranormal Romance) House of Darken. House of Imperial. House of Leights. House of Royale.

Storm Princess Saga (PNR/Fantasy)
The Princess Must Die. The Princess Must Strike. The Princess Must Reign.

Curse of the Gods (Reverse Harem Fantasy Romance series) UpperYA/NA
Trickery. Persuasion. Seduction. Strength. Neutral. Pain.

Supernatural Prison (UF/PNR romance -shifter, vampire, fae, magic user) Upper YA/NA
Dragon Marked. Dragon Mystics. Dragon Mated. Broken Compass. Magical Compass.

NYC Mecca Series (UF/PNR Romance - shifters) Upper YA
Queen Heir. Queen Alpha. Queen Fae. Queen Mecca.

Hive Trilogy (UF/PNR Romance - vampires) Upper YA
Ash. Anarchy. Annihilate.

Walker Saga (Fantasy/adventure/romance - gods, mermaids, dragons) YA
First World. Spurn. Crais. Regali. Nephilius. Dronish. Earth.

Stay updated:

http://www.jaymineve.com

https://www.facebook.com/JayminEve.Au...

Reviews

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the first three Shadow Beast books so I was excited to read about Angel and Reece. When I began the book, I was confused if it was going to be Angel and Reece or another Mera book. The repetitive Mera interactions were annoying. It would have been fine it if was only a few times, but it was constantly repeated of how wonderful Mera is and Angel's fawning over her that it became boring. I ended up skimming any parts with Mera in it until halfway through the book and I honestly didn't miss anything. After Mera left , the book was better focused on the story with Angel. Overall I did enjoy it, but felt the book could have benefitted from having the extra Mera worshiping left out.

[Mikky]

DNF At 8% (audio book)

I tried pushing through this novel because I liked the world Jaymin Eve created with this series. The problem for me is that I'm just not interested in Angel's story. I just don't care enough about it. There's nothing wrong with the 8% that I listened to. This book just isn't for me. It would be great for the future world building for this series for me to read it but I just have to accept that it isn't going to happen and leave it at that. If I'm remembering correctly (it's been a few weeks since I've picked this up so I could be confusing this with another book) this is a dual narrated book. Where the guy cuts into the dialogue when a guy is speaking and vise versa. That. Was. Amazing. More authors should do that.

['i Mari 🍷 YAAAAAAS]

Hello, hello, hello ✨ Are those wings, silver blades, and desert sand I see? Well, TAKE ALL MY MONEY AND GIMME GIMME GIMME! 😩

September seems so far away. But never fear for I will be here! Can’t wait for the blurb!

[Jenny Koch · Rating 2 out of 5]

So I was super intrigued and excited at the start of the book which died down in the final half of the novel to a polite mehhh in a manner I'm starting to realize is my standard response to this author. The author has an addictive writing style and I was thrilled at the beginning with her choice in literary romance tropes - friends turned enemies turned lovers? Second chance romance? And a genuinely badass female lead who could actually kick the alpha male crew's asses? Unfortunately the aspect I was most excited by - the badass female concept - had to die an ignominious death by the end upon the altar of the alpha male trope. I mean I'm not surprised because I was reading a very obviously alpha male romance but I was still kind of disappointed.

This book fell into a common trap of spin off romance novels. A major problem with romance spin off books is that often so much of a book ends up focusing so much on a previous starring duo as pure fan service that it can be hard to invest in a new couple. An additional hurdle in alpha male romance spin offs is that an author has to stress how this new male lead is REALLY super alpha and so worthy of his male lead role (while not completely breaking the previous world building that stated that the previous male lead was in fact the most alpha male in existence). In this book the author tried to toe the line by insisting that when in his native world, this book's male lead was "nearly" invincible but the original male lead was still the G.O.A.T.? Honestly I can see the whole series going this way with each book trying to convince the reader that the latest male lead is the most alpha ever (except for maybe the previous male lead? but wait no? or yes? idk brace yourself for whiplash because it's gonna depend on the chapter?) in a never ending saga of pointless comparisons and one upmanship.

Despite my whining, this book wasn't terrible - I just really thought for a long second there that it was going to be so much better.

[The Romantic Rush Blog · Rating 4 out of 5]

No one creates supernatural worlds and captivating magical characters like Jaymin Eve- and after the spectacular Shadow Beast story and the epic love story between Shadow himself and Mera, I was so excited to give back into this world- especially since I knew Angel would be our heroine.

Angel was a side character that stole a bit of the show- she’s intriguing, strong, glowing with ephemeral grace and indomitable in her force. Yet she’s got a gentleness to her that belied her warrior persona- and it made me want to get inside her heart and mind. Her friendship with Mera was a highlight of the prior three books- both because of the safety and family she gave to the always-abandoned Mera, but also because of the complexity it hinted at when it came to the fantastical character. And that’s what I loved most about this story- we’ve learned so much about what makes Angel magical, what makes her supernatural- now we get to find out what makes her human. We find her emotional center- her character range. And Jaymin does it beautifully. Reece is a compelling foil in that journey- though he’s not quite as enticing as Shadow, he still has plenty of mystery and alpha swoon.

We get to spend time with our favorite characters, though if I’m being honest, while i love them, I found in this story that it took away a bit from Reece and Angel. It’s hard for us to let go of Mera and Shadow after three books and a pretty tenacious presence in this book. I love them, but they loom so brightly a bit less of them would have perhaps given Reece and Angel more space to blossom- though their friendships with Mera/Shadow are quite entertaining.

The second half of this book fizzled a bit, but like the finale of Mera’s story though, Angel continues to capture my heart, and I found her journey to be the emotional center of this story in a way that was satisfying. I’m certainly excited and looking forward to more in this world!

[Marcella · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars.

Sad I was looking forward to this book.

Reece and Angel have had this hate-love thing going on and had a past together I was dying to know about. How absolutely disappointing that their story in this book was second to Mera and Shadow.

Mera was the main character here. Everything was all about her and the baby. I love our ShadowShine...but they had their books. 3 whole damn novels about them. 70% of this book was about Mera and Shadow and their baby. It was about Mera sightseeing the desert lands while they are in an end of the world scenario and her sticking around putting her very pregnant self at risk to go travelling through the worlds. She was such a nuisance and an absolute pain. So damn annoying.

Im so disappointed!

Less Mera and more flashbacks of Reece and Lale in their youth. I need more on them as a couple and more of the hate-love then finally resolution of them coming together. All we got was one second Reece is stand offish as usual and the next is all "let's leave it in the past and move on together"....HUUUUUH!!?!? Centuries of bad blood and now it's all good!?! What a cheap way out author, that is fucking LAZY WRITING!!!

I read the sneak peek of the next book about Simone and Lucien....and do I really want to read another book about Mera overshadowing yet another couples book?? In the sneak peek 2 chapters Mera was already mentioned or referred to 20 damn times!!!! We get it she was the main character to start all this for everyone but she has had her time. Now MOVE THE FUCK ON!

Stop with the lazy fan service writing. It's just ripping us off and making the characters look tacky.

[PepperP0t · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hmmm…confusion abounds, the synopsis implies this hefty enough read covers Angel and Reece and carefully avoids the girl crush piece of the triangle. Angel’s obsession with everything Mera (i.e. her pregnancy, sex life, bond, her other friends, and general amazingness) doesn’t give depth to Angel who desperately needs a life and identity of her own.

Who the hell knows what Reece thinks, you’re 20% into this tiresome read before Reece speaks a word, then it’s about a battle his friends have to come help with not the one where his ally, Angel, left him on the battlefield as they each struggled with the same issue a few centuries ago that Angel and Mera don’t understand why Reece won’t just get over it.

To my taste, Reece, Angel and readers would’ve been better served by a novella of the couple’s story. The majority of pages designated to Mera obsession, threads covering Angel and Reece’s past and actual romance, the friends working together on Reece’s issue all feel like thin wisps of filler, they’re too little, too late to intrigue or arouse this reader.
Rating: 2.5stars

[Lorrie (Clockworkbookworm) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 - I loved being back in the Shadow Beast World and seeing the gang again. Angel and Reece's story is an emotional one of past love, family, loss and grief, but most of all hope and healing. A lot of sass, swearing and action is had, with a few tears thrown in.

I am looking forward to Simone and Lucien's story.

Quotes-

'I was important for more reasons than just keeping the balance and saving worlds.
I had a family again, and I liked to think that the reason death had passed me by, was to give me a chance to really live my life. Maybe they thought I deserved this second chance.'

'...I felt more at peace. And if I'd learned anything in my long life, it was that often, peace trumped power. Power could be stolen, earned and rewarded. It was everywhere for the taking.
But peace… was far harder to come by.'

'"Surprised he's let you out of arm's reach to sit here with me."
She wasn’t out of his sight, though; Shadow and .... The friends were chatting, but it was clear where both their focuses were: right on this bench.
"He could be here in a heartbeat and we both know it, so I'm never really out of his arm's reach."
I turned back to Mera. "Doesn't that bother you?"
She shrugged. "You know, I thought it would, but I actually want to be with him all the time. He gets me, and I feel complete when he's nearby. In the end, Shadow can roar and throw fire and act like a possessive Neanderthal, but we all know I have the true power. He loves me, and I’ve never known another who’d work so hard to give me everything I’ve ever dreamed of or desired. What woman wouldn't want to be worshipped by a dangerously gorgeous @#%# of a man?"'

[Alaina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ever since I finished Mera's story, I have been patiently waiting for this beautiful book to come out. I didn't even hesitate to jump into Deserted either. It was also really hard for me to put down because every page and sexually tension filled chapter made this fly by. Plus, I was really excited to see Angel and Reece get a second chance at love. Really really excited.

Long story short, I was wasn't disappointed at all. I loved everything about this book and this couple. Also, seeing Mera pregnant was just really adorable. Then there's the drama and action that kept me on the edge of my seat. I laughed when Mera was like "Oh, he's super protective because he thinks someone is trying to kill me all the time." Like, I didn't already read her books - girl please!

In the end, I'm so happy that Angel and Reece became a thing. It was bound to happen and sparks flew once these two idiots finally caved into their desires. Or maybe they were just mine.

[Rachel Ben · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book can be defined in three words : WASH. RINCE. REPEAT.
it was a pain in the ass to go through all of it .... The majority of it was worshipping Mera's ass and faning about how great she is on everything she does 🙄🙄! Ugh ... I thought angle was more badass than that
And the rest was plain old flatout plotless story .
All in all this book was pointless from the get go, it was supposed to serve a certain purpose but it didn't touch it , not even with a ten feet pole . I'm really disappointed 🙈😢, I thought it was going to be at least good , but it didn't happen.
Angle and Reese's story felt like it was a foregone conclusion and not a love story , there was no build up , no easing into it , they just up and decided that they were IT , and therefore their relationship lacked the spark and it went downhill from there.

[Amber J (Thereadingwitch) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok, so I really loved this book. Angel's story was great and Reese is just as Alpha sexy as Shadow. There was lots of great spice in this book and the enemies to lovers troupe were great. However, the MC's are annoy me. They spend WAY too much time being stubborn jerks and getting in their own way. So many of their issues could have been solved long ago if they had stopped being so flippin stubborn, drove me crazy.

Reese was definitely more possessive than Shadow was. Or maybe Mera was just less into putting up with Shadow's BS than Angel was with Reese's. I'm excited to see the next book. I am hoping that the Simone stays the strong, no BS, female she seems to be, instead of turning completely submissive like Angel did.

[Adeola · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.4 ⭐️⭐️🌩

this was a letdown.

i was excited for this story. but this seemed like an “adventures of Mera and friends as told by Angel” story rather than Angel’s story.

Also, Angel disappointed me. wasn’t she supposed to be pretty badass? wsup with that constant betraying body syndrome sigh 😔

Finally the story itself lacked depth unlike the first 3 books in the series. this one just fell flat for me. 😩

It was good distraction to be fair. i’ll try Simone and Lucien’s book still. 🦴🦴

Yeah.

[AℳY♔Queen of Fat cats♔Ain't no lie Baby Byebyebye]

I need this now!!

[Laura Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was Angel and Reese book but first half you wouldn’t know it. Mera has shoved her way into the entire thing. Just an OK story for a couple I thought would be fire together. Meh.

[~Shawna the crazy coffee reader~ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Angel and Reece story was amazing. This was not rushed and you could feel the chemistry a mile away. I ran the full gamut of emotions in this book from excitement, rage, and sorrow. My eyes are still puffy from the crying I did.

Angel has a second chance. A new life where she can redeem herself of her previous mistakes and not walk around like a machine on auto pilot. Unfortunately, in order to get to your future you have to face your past.

Reece has been a a**hole and carrying a grudge for so long that no one but him and Angel were even alive when it happened. Not that it isn’t for a good reason, but come on, at some point you have to move forward with your life and let the anger go. Well, he decides to grab fate by the dangly bits and go for it in this book!

Great addition to this world. I’m ready to read the next!

[Stormy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Was so looking forward to this

I was so looking forward to this SO looking forward to this.
SPOILER
SPOILER
SPOILER
SPOILER
SPOILER
SPOILER
SPOILER
SPOILER
but yet again the power of a women was sacrificed for her man all for this delightful words of "he had enough power for the both of us". Like come on all of western history is written in the same language. The fact that it was her family powerbase was another kicker. Don't worry though she got a god mate and miracle kid out of it. Oh but let's not forget her heart is still full and his stronger then ever tralala la yay now he'll look after her for eternity being the powerbase wallet of a man... Woops sorry god. Like come on argh

[Absolutelyred · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF@79%. Angel is just boring, Reece is a lame imitation of Shadow and the plot has more holes in it than a swiss cheese. I barely made it to 79% and then I just had no more will to subject myself to this nonsense.

[H-e-l-e-n-a · Rating 3 out of 5]

*Segundas oportunidades
*EnemiesToLovers

Al principio me estreso que Angel siguiera en todo a Mera, como si no hubiera tenido ya 3 libros para ella sola. Pero después entendí que era parte de la realidad de Angel, no tenía amigos o familia, así que solo le quedaba andar con Mera 24/7. Aun así, era cansado que participara tanto en el libro de Angel y Reece.
Pasando esa parte de no vida independiente de Angel, ya viene lo bueno. Se empiezan a destapar las verdades entre Reece y ella, el pasado y presente saliendo a la luz.
Tienen un acuerdo de paz momentánea para aliviar necesidades físicas (if u know what I mean) antes de negadas. Todo esto mientras investigan traiciones y emprenden un viaje para salvar los mundos.

Creo que hubieron unos capítulos que bien pudo habérselos ahorrado... 🤷🏻‍♀️ O en su lugar contar más cosas sobre Alistair.

_
"Mother always told me that you were the epitome of honor and strength. She told me I was the lucky one to have you, and I think that's why I took the betrayal so hard."
_
Mera had started my metamorphosis with the fires, but Reece... he was a damn rainbow, exploding color all over me. No matter what the next few days brought, one thing was for certain: I could never go back to my black-and-white existence.
_
Melalekin of the Honor Meadows was my destiny and always had been.
_
My entire mission in life, from this point forward, was to protect and love my mate. Fuck, she would be so sick of me by the end she’d probably pull her blades on me. Honestly, I couldn’t wait.

[Gül · Rating 2 out of 5]

İçses ,çok ,çok fazla içses .

[Momo · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m so sad that I didn’t enjoy this. I loved the first three books. But this suffered from the mistake a lot of sequels make, where the first couple is in the book just too much.

I love Mira and Shadow. I really do. But them being in this story in every chapter while it’s supposed to be about Angel just didn’t sit well with me. And the formula felt so repeated, of course the plot had to be an event that could end the world AGAIN. I also felt like Reece wasn’t his own person, I found that them suddenly doing the nasty was out of the blue. After years of ignoring Angel he just suddenly went, you know what, let’s get dirty. It didn’t make sense.

I DNF’d at 60% because i just could not bear the story. Angel also felt like a replica of Mira, she suddenly became more and more like her because she was reborn. And I was sick of her inner dialogue of how amazing Mira is. We know that already, we know Angel loves her like family. Was it necessary for Angel to say that nearly every chapter?

Honestly. This felt like a lazy squeal. And I won’t be reading further if there are more after this.

[Vallene Boddington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy smokes sand has never been this sexy

Long awaited continuation of shadow beast shifters series and absolute wonderful read. Filled with emotional turmoil, action, alpha male tendencies, and swoonworthy sexual content. The desert world building was excellently done and very intriguing. Angel and Reece story is strong with second chance at love and letting go of past hurts. Reunited with the whole pack/family made it a extremely emotional read. Do be prepared for heartstrings being pulled. I can't wait for the next book. Highly recommended series but to fully enjoy Deserted you should read the whole series started with Rejected.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Angel and Reece

I so loved reading about Angel and Reece,

This whole world Jaymin has created is so amazing and so intriguing.
The world's are each thought out and in so much detail you can actually picture it. The characters are amazing
The story keeps you on the edges of your seat, with anticipation of what would happen next. Why it was hard to put this read down. It’s a gripping story that is action packed, highly emotional, utterly entertaining and sexy as all hell. So emotional near the end I had a lil cry..

Do your self a solid and read this book..

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this world and characters!

I freaking this this world and characters so much. I love seeing everyone again. Mera is so funny and had me laughing so much. The way she has Shadow wrapped around the finger. Angel and Reece get their amazing happy ending with some heartbreak along the way. Always an adventure with these characters and lots of laughs. I can't wait to visit this world again.

[Cheryl Rollins · Rating 5 out of 5]

good book

I loved the premise for this book. I loved the whole romance story and the back story. I loved the characters from this series even though this book is a standalone. Good writer

[Ariel Ali · Rating 3 out of 5]

Based on the cover so far, I think this story about Angel and Reece. I could be wrong but we will just have to wait and see...

[rosa · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF at 15 per cent of boring side character observation

[Sunseeker☀️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars - think I liked this one the best so far!

[Julotlinde · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read the first three books a few years ago, and I liked those quite a lot. Yes, back then they were also very cringey and cheesy, but I liked them anyway. I think I should have read this one straight afterwards, maybe I would have liked it more that way. I was kinda annoyed how the first part was still so much about mere, like the first 100 pages or so. Then the main characters of this book finally got a bit more time, but the getting together was so freaking fast. They were also annoying and just not it. Not a big fan of the writing style either. The spice might be the only decent thing. The worldbuilding was also so random. Either wayy, maybe a bit harsh, but I just did not like it at all.

[Jennifer Lil'n Dunski · Rating 5 out of 5]

A uniquely written story to love!

Holy Ancient God's! This book was incredible! Angel and Reece's story was beyond what I was expecting. The angst, the love, the hate, the sexy, it all very compelling and thrilling that I couldn't stop reading! Freaking AMAZING from start to finish

[Krystal- Celestialbookdragon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Audiobook: 4/5
Story: 5/5
Overall: 4.5 Stars

I had been waiting for this audiobook to come out for months and I was not disappointed! Was it perfect? No, but overall I was very happy! Angel’s narrator couldn’t have been more perfect, she sounded exactly as I pictured she would and she also nailed Mera and her crazy personality! The male narrator was good but there were times where I couldn’t distinguish which characters were talking because for me Reece and Shadow and Lucien and Len sounded very similar to each other. But since Reece was the one talking most of the time it wasn’t a huge issue, just something I noticed whenever everyone was involved in the scene.

Now for the story, I had been anticipating this one since I finished Reborn a little bit under a year ago ever since we got confirmation that there was something we weren't privy to when it came to the animosity between Reece and Angel. This book made me realize that friends to enemies to lovers is becoming one of my favorite tropes because it’s like enemies to lovers plus an extra layer of angst and emotion due to the couple’s history of what could have been. These two were no exception to that rule and gah I was dying for all of it! I think Reece is one of my favorite guys in this world now because while he is most definitely Shadow 2.0 when it comes to his possessiveness, he was a bit freakier and I was SO INTO IT! 😈 I also liked that because there was less of a power level difference with these two compared to Shadow and Mera because as a result their fights had higher stakes for possible library/world destruction should they get pushed over the edge which, for me, only improved their banter and sexual tension. I also loved that the story arc kept me on my toes the whole time, having it take place in a completely new world really helped make it feel fresh even though it is technically a continuation of the previous trilogy. There were several plot twists towards the end that had my jaw dropping followed by screams of either despair or joy. Overall I think this book definitely gave their story justice and I’m excited to get little more peeks of them as the standalones continue to come out cause I am obsessed with our Desert Angel couple! 😍