RHMMMM/Rejected Mate/Shifter-Vampire-Fae
SYNOPSIS (of Trilogy): The books are set in a world where shifters live alongside humans but humans are not aware of them. The FC, Lavinia, is the daughter of the Alpha of a large but isolated pack and has been raised to be the Luna of the wolf triad to whom she will be mated and who will take over as Alpha(s) of the pack. It transpires that the FC is not the Alpha‘s real daughter but a hybrid and so both her „father“ and her mates reject her and she is banished from the pack. Book 1 covers how the FC finds her place in the world, makes friends and meets 3 sexy MCs (a Coyote shifter, a Vampire and a human hybrid) and finds out what her other half is. It ends on a cliffhanger. Books 2 and 3 cover the development of the FCs relationships and her coming face to face with her history. There’s a climactic fight scene and a HEA.
Heat Level 🌶️🌶️/🌶️ 🌶️🌶️ The scenes are well written and sexy but not over the top and the kink level is low. Whilst they go through all the right steps I found them to be dry and not particularly hot, not sure why.
The story is good but there are so many typos its ridiculous and then in Book 3 it’s like there was a whole scene missing between the FC and Joram. So many books are ruined nowadays by authors failing to edit properly or beta check their books and this is a case in point. The FC is strong and it‘s great to see her grow into who she is after years under her father‘s subjugation. Her relationships with the MCs grows gradually but I felt that the speed with which she went from a virgin to sleeping with 3 men and then twosomes/threesomes was a bit jarring. Further, whilst there‘s a lot of description as to present events and what happens to the FC there seems to be little to no world building or background development which makes the story lack depth. You don’t get anything about who the MCs are, how they became who they are or anything. There’s no real explanation about the FC’s parents and why her mother married the Alpha. It’s very superficial. Each of the MCs is distinct in their personalities although they are all strong, possessive and alpha but again, you don’t really get to understand who they are or their personalities and there’s no real development of relationships.
There’s a bit of humour in the books and I did like the funny scene between the FC, Cole and Alexander whilst in a cabin in Fae. The length of time that the FC is in Fae the first time is confusing. Sometimes the characters talk about being away for months but in others there’s just a reference to about a month. The concept of “mates” in this story also seems a bit fluid and inconsistent. The term is used a lot but not always in a way of real bonded mates or fated mates. It’s confusing.
There was the bare bones of a good story and it started well but then over the 3 Books the story became less and less well written or thought out. Book 3, for me, was a bit of a car wreck with inconsistencies and sections that make you feel like you missed a chunk of story. For example, when Lavinia travels back to Fae and meets Joram she “recognises” his voice and he recognises her but they’ve never met so how is that possible? You realise that it’s because the author seems to have forgotten she named the person that Lavinia met in the Fae prison “Christian” because it is apparently Christian that Lavinia is meeting again but who is now called Joram. There’s no explanation as to why Lavinia is not surprised at meeting Joram or how they seemed to know each other. It’s as if there’s an entire scene missing. This is a material disjoint in the story and incredibly sloppy writing. When Lavinia & Joram meet she blames him for not doing anything “all these years”. Not sure how he was supposed to do so when he’s been imprisoned the whole time.
Finally, the big battle is all a bit odd. We’ve never really had any background on the original emperor/king fight or how Joram ended up imprisoned and unable to escape. At no point have we even met the mysterious emperor and yet there’s this sudden battle which Joram wins despite having cobbled together an army. Then all of a sudden the FC finds she’s got strong Fae magic and can channel it despite never having it before? She can make portals on a whim?? Why is the FC suddenly the only powerful Fae and how has she suddenly developed this magic and ability to use it?? As a last point, the brief reference to what happened with the Alpha was another let down. What was that about and why were Jax and Damon not held to account for their behaviour?😫
In summary, the trilogy started with promise but then fell apart and is littered with typos and editing issues. I skim read the last half of Book 3. Won’t be trying any more of this author’s work.