*sighs* I got into this universe because of the Crossbreed series. I am forced now to accept that the other characters set in this universe are distressingly misogynistic, male and female alike.
Everything about shifter culture sounds awful. People can shift into one animal form, and they don't have very much control over it. The animal form has its own spirit and personality. It's a big deal about the animal form meeting one's friends and family. Shifters live in "packs." The main characters of this miniseries, Melody and Hope, are constantly in danger of getting raped, because they are single shifter women living without the protection of a pack. Apparently, pack leaders are little authoritarian despots who micromanage shifters' lives.
Shifters are all about racial purity. They want to have shifters of the same type breed together to keep the bloodlines pure, resulting in an "alpha." An alpha tends to be a redheaded man with the ability to make women drop their panties with the sound of his voice, and he literally can make his penis magically grow in girth. This panty-dropping, penis-thickening power is so highly sought after, shifters are always trying to breed an alpha into existence.
... What. The. Fuck.
In this novel, we hear about Hope's business dealings (because she and Melody own a boutique that sells clothing and jewelry, because they're girls). We hear about Hope's romantic entanglements. And we hear about some threats/vandalism Hope is dealing with with her business, and the men she is dating may or may not be suspects in the vandalism.
At least with the last book, Melody got to deal with a serial killer. Although the serial killer subplot felt dwarfed by the rest of the story...
These romances don't have a lot of suspense. Neither Hope nor Melody are competing against any other female love interest. In this novel, Hope went out on a date with at least two men, so there was some possibility of there being a love triangle. But, there wasn't that much drama. It was pretty much insta-love. Again.
Even though every single character in this novel is a shifter, and Dannika Dark claims that nudity is normal among shifters? Characters still talk about how embarrassed they feel to be seen naked, or how aroused they are at seeing someone else naked. It feels very much like the author is trying for light erotica. But, it doesn't make any sense in-universe. No shifter character in these books ever just doesn't care about nudity, even though the author claims that's how they're supposed to feel. And I'm tired of it.
I wouldn't mind the premise of this universe so much if only it weren't so obvious that the author WANTS us to fantasize about this disturbing culture. I could understand starting out a novel with the idea that these two supernatural women are best friends, and living on the outskirts of their society, where they face the threat of being gang-raped by males of their species. That is an interesting, suspenseful premise I could work with. I could understand the author describing how their species is misogynistic, if the author then actually had the female characters trying to fight/change the system. ... That does not happen here.
These female characters are fans of the Patriarchy. While they can be admired for operating outside of a pack, they consistently talk as if their plan is to eventually join a pack in the future. They can be admired for owning their own business, except that their business is the kind that is meant to be non-threatening to men; they just make dresses and purses and jewelry. These characters could be admired for their supernatural powers; except these women have surprisingly little agency when they take their animal forms. The women aren't fighters or whatever. They are essentially women with pet dogs, who might fight on their behalf. Ultimately, both female leads are completely willing to mate themselves to a man, and the author expects us to be pleased that the male leads are handsome/powerful/"alphas."
You would think that in today's society, post-Holocaust, any fantasy world that talks about "racial purity" would be construed as a bad thing. But, here, Dannika Dark has all of Breed culture look down upon crossbreeding in general, and especially so within the shifter community. These female leads are completely willing to pair up with shifter men, especially if those men are "alphas" (because penis-thickening is so important). This demonstrates that the female leads are not rebels at all, but perfectly docile, compliant females in their misogynistic, racist culture; they will fulfill all cultural expectations to shackle themselves to a man, and crank out purebred babies for him.
I will acknowledge that the most recent Crossbreed novel (same universe from same author, but different characters) features a shifter transwoman. There, the author wrote a likable, understandable transwoman who talks about how she and her cishet male mate loved each other despite shifter society's pressure. The author characterized it as the shifter culture not understanding why the two bothered to mate with each other, if no children could result. ... This helps emphasize how shifter culture is also homophobic/transphobic, and believes that no romantic love is worthwhile unless it results in biological children. In that Crossbreed novel, at least you were given the impression that the author was showing likable characters bucking the terrible culture.
In this "Black Arrowhead" series, not so much.
The Crossbreed series is better. At least there we have missions and killing. And hybridization is always cool. But, this rot? It's just some very disturbing gender roles and insta-love, with a backdrop of "racial purity" talk. It's very off putting.
If you are looking for a paper-thin romance with shades of Mein Kampf, boy, have I got a book for you.