Feral Queen

Rejected Fate #3

by Alexis Calder

Ivy's quest for freedom might cost her everything.

The war between the Shadows and the Umbras will tear the entire shifter community apart. All the packs have picked a side and if something isn’t done, it could mean the end of everything.

The feral shifters outnumber the packs and with Ivy’s encouragement, they are ready to bring down the system that has oppressed them for so long.

Ivy will fight with the feral shifters, even if it means fighting against her mate.

Feral Queen is the riveting conclusion in the Rejected Fate trilogy. 17+ for dark content, steamy scenes, and language.

Genres: Romance, Paranormal, Shapeshifters, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Witches, Fae

298 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 14, 2022

About the author

Alexis Calder writes sassy heroines and sexy heroes with a sprinkle of sarcasm. She lives in the Rockies and drinks far too much coffee and just the right amount of wine.

Reviews

[Sweet and Salty Reviews by DD · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was a good ending....just not the level I had expected in a sense. Just going to wrap it up with that.

The first two books I loved and many may love book 3. And who know maybe I am in a mood and pick it up with a clearer head in the future.

Happy reading,
DD 💕

[Annette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Last books in series are always a little scary. Not because I have to say goodbye to characters or worlds, I'm kinda good at that. More because last books can make or break entire series. You can write two amazing books, but if you ruin everything in the last book the first two will also lose a little of their glamour. Not that I doubt Alexis Calder. I've been reading her books for a while and when I grabbed this book from BookSprout I knew it was gonna be good.

The characters in this series are in quite a mess and a lot needs to be solved in this last book. However, the whether or not our characters would complete the mate bond question was already answered in the previous book and despite everything this book had to offer I kinda missed the whole will they/won't they vibe. I'm probably weird, but I love romances where the main characters involved are being kept apart for a very long time.

Since this is the last book in the series, and since by default these kind of books promise us happy endings, I could just relax for the biggest part of the book, trusting that the author would find a way to make it right. And even though the enemies of our heroes are quite strong and violent, I liked how Calder made everything feel natural and realistic. She was not forcing a way where there was none. She really made sure that everything that happened made sense.

Our characters had grown into amazing people in the previous two books and it's clear that they both grew a lot stronger for it. I liked how they were so sure of each other, trusted each other and trusted that the other would find a way or would come up with a plan that would work. I love the part where the characters come together, but I love it even more when we see that fate did good, that it picked two people who really are much better together than alone.

I can't wait to dive into Calder's next series!

[Lin · Rating 5 out of 5]

the last book that concludes the series. I have enjoyed all of these so much.
Ivy is a strong FMC and I loved seeing her grow throughout the books.
There is not much Madoc in this book but the ending is worth it.

[Christina Luberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

The war is getting worse. Dax is still out to make sure Ivy is his and his alone. Madoc is going to make sure he does not get her. Ivy has so many enemies. Who can she trust? She knows the only thing is Dax won't kill her, but he will make her life miserable. The emotions of everyone involved in this story is so much. That you can feel it yourself. What will happen if the wolf clans go to war? Will there never be peace with the wolves? Grab the book and see how the story ends.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Spasticnontastic · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

[C · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75⭐️

[Tiffany Bumgardner · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly unsure of this, none of the characters are strong, and they lack decent enough character growth for the traits the author was going for. It was a decent try but needs more work, better explanation of fae powers, learning to use them more than a glowy light that occasionally kills people but is unreliable, better wolf skills and traits, I could probably keep going. I kept reading hoping the character would grow and be better and was disappointed.

Main character Ivy was whiny character content to let others do her battles and we see that in the climax when she somehow lends power but we don’t know how. She is suppose to have this deadly insane power but uses it twice, never masters it and is low key unimportant. She is suppose to be a strong fighter but is constantly over powered. I could go on. The male lead was just absent this book not that it mattered.

Overall this series had a decent premise but character development is an absolute must, having clear ideas of powers you assign characters and how those serve the climax is important as well. This would have worked better if Ivy was a weak supporting character and Xander was a main character since he stepped up and took out the main villain. (Which the villains were all rather meh, let’s just be violent hot heads who are discriminatory, sexiest, and stalkers.) Ivy was only important as she served as a romance interest to Madoc who was set to become an alpha of a big pack and help “change” things though overall he ended up being a let down character this book as well from lack of development.

[Lily · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the book where it all sort of unravelled for me.

Iris and Madoc have no real foundation. Madoc kept disappearing on stupid patrols while his murderous brother and father preyed on Ivy. Ivy kept giving the bad guys like 5 verbal warnings before even attempting to defend herself from murder. I wanted to shake her and tell her to just kill all the evil people. All the villians were one dimensional and weirdly attracted to Ivy as well, including her mate's father. How come she never exposes this to Madoc? They don't even have each other's phone numbers, so they conveniently can never communicate or share ideas when needed, even in the midst of a war 🙄

Like I'm a feminist but I really hate MMCs in romance who leave ALL the violence up to the woman. It's still a romance, so you still need to protect your mate.

[Ms · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh sooooooo boring! I wasn't invested in any of these stupid characters. 😒

[Lynn's books · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ivy is an idiot

I can't help it, but it's true. Ivy is such a lame brain damsel in distress. She could have been strong and solid in her character. She could have used her extreme power and been brave. She could have fought, tried something to help herself but she chose the weak female route. So disappointing and quite frankly, I was over it. Madoc was awesome but mostly absent in the story. Shame because he was powerful. There is a conclusion but I didn't really care as this was so drawn out with ivy's constant damsel scenes. SMH.

[kelsey · Rating 1 out of 5]

Whyyy

Why do they always write women as so weakly compassionate? "I can't kill this completely deranged guy who murders innocent people and is trying to murder me, I just can't" "I feel such guilt over this insane person dying" "don't make me protect myself, suddenly turn into a normal person, i believe in you" grow the fuck up, no one in real life would feel that way.

[Simone · Rating 5 out of 5]

❤️🤩 🤗 Spoilerfreie Rezension für ein actionreiches Serienfinale 🤗🤩 ❤️

Gerade habe ich das Buch „Wild Queen – Verstoßenes Schicksal Teil 3“ beendet.

Ich gebe generell keine Zusammenfassung des Buches ab, weil ich der Meinung bin, dass diese auch durch den Klappentext beim Buch schon aussagefähig ist. Insofern schildere ich hier lediglich meine Eindrücke, da dadurch sichergestellt wird, dass definitiv nicht gespoilert wird 😊

Autor:
Von Alexis Calder kannte ich vor diesem Buch die anderen beiden Bände der Serie. Und zugegebenermaßen hatte sie mich bereits mit dem ersten in den Bann gezogen. Auch das letzte Buch steht dem in Nichts nach!

Cover:
Das Cover selbst hat mir echt gut gefallen. 🥰 Im Vergleich zum Originalcover jedoch würde ich mich immer für das Original entscheiden, weil es meiner Meinung nach noch einen Tick besser passt!

Titel:
Nun ja, ich muss gestehen, dass ich gut finde, dass man den englischen Titel ins Deutsche übersetzt hat. Insofern ist der Titel definitiv Programm und passt wunderbar zu der Geschichte! Und wer sich darunter nichts vorstellen kann: das ist nicht schlimm. Einfach zum nächsten Buchhändler des Vertrauens gehen und lesen!!!

Schreibstil:
Der Schreibstil von Alexis Calder ist wie bei den anderen Bänden auch absolut mitreißend. Sie schreibt temporeich, unvorhersehbar, dazu kommt die Action nicht zu kurz. Kurz und knapp: mir hat es wirklich super gut gefallen. Wieder ist man sofort im Geschehen und kann nicht aufhören, zu lesen, bis man auf der letzten Seite angelangt ist! Es gibt unerwartete Wendungen und ich wurde des Öfteren auf das sprichwörtliche Glatteis geführt! Man weiß nie, in welcher Richtung es weitergeht. ❤️❤️

Protagonisten:
Ich lese generell sehr viel. Dennoch finde ich, dass dieses Buch sich von anderen durchaus positiv unterscheidet. Die Geschichte ist definitiv rasant, spicy – und die Charaktere sind ebenfalls heiß!

Es ist für mich ein Zeichen für begabte Autoren, wenn sie mit ihrer Art zu schreiben die Charaktere beim Leser in Gedanken zum Leben erwecken. Wenn man das Bild sofort vor Augen hat, dann hat man Kopfkino in Bestform! Die Szenen des Buches sind unwahrscheinlich mitreißend. Und genau deshalb ist das Buch auch so schnell weggesuchtet!

Stimmung/Atmosphäre:
Absolut stimmig, spannend, düster, abgründig, temporeich - und einfach nur genial!

Setting:
Definitiv anders! Aber gerade deshalb so so sooooo gut! Und das auch beim letzten Band der Serie!

Kritikpunkte:
Wenn überhaupt, dann den, dass ich diese Geschichte gefühlt noch ewig hätte weiterlesen können. Da es aber ein rundes Ende gab, bin ich einfach restlos zufrieden!

Fazit:
Für mich war es ein großartiges Buch, ein wundervoller Abschluss der Serie. Und deshalb von meiner Sicht aus eine totale und voll überzeugte Leseempfehlung für alle, die mit dem Setting keine Probleme haben. Ihr habt dann wirklich einen Keeper, den ihr euer Eigen nennen könnt! Versprochen!

Bewertung:
Eine voll und ganz überzeugte 5-⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Sterne-Empfehlung für ein großartiges Buch!
Insofern eine klare, definitive Leseempfehlung! Holt euch dieses Buch! Ihr werdet es nicht bereuen! 😉🤗

Info:
Das Buch habe ich im Rahmen einer Leserunde bei LovelyBooks vorab gelesen und durfte mich mit anderen Lesern darüber austauschen. Selbstverständlich hat dies meine Meinung zum Buch in keinster Weise beeinflusst.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Rejected Fate series comes to a close with Road to Chaos, the final book in Ivy's story. This book was all kinds of craziness that includes a monstrous wolf shifter, a couple of crazy alphas, a bunch of feral shifters, and one fated couple determined to make their world better. What could go wrong? As it turns out a lot and it made for a very entertaining story.

Ivy has learned from her mistakes and is now thinking with her head more than her emotions as she's piecing information together and is beginning to figure out what the evil Erwin (Madoc's Dad/Alpha) and Dax are up to and is making plans of her own. Ivy is more confident with Madoc by her side, he gives her a sense of peace, a place to belong which is something she didn't have before. In turn, he is becoming a better version of himself and is willing now to fight for the future he wants instead of waiting out his father. I love Ivy and Madoc as a couple now and I was a little surprised that this book was less relationship forward and more about fixing all that was wrong in the packs.

There were some additional key players. Willow, Madoc's cousin, is nicer than I would have thought and becomes a valuable ally, new shifters are introduced that gives an outlook from other packs, and not to mention we finally get answers about where Ivy's best friend Kate's true allegiance lies. This story was brutal, there was a lot of violence and tough spots, and nothing went according to plan. There was a lot of action not to mention a couple of plot twists one of which took me by surprise but made me extremely happy. The story flowed well and everything came together nicely to give the series its HEA.

Feral Queen was a great conclusion to Ivy's story, while a few things are still a mystery I got some of the answers that I wanted. The plotting, murder, and magic were very entertaining and made for a good read.

[LWM · Rating 4 out of 5]

Glad this series was better than the demon-shifter/vampire bounty hunter one!

Okay, Ivy was a bit clueless at times - it took her a while to catch obvious tells, hints, and clues. She was misguided and sort of isolated from the rest of the pack in a weirdly insular way. In other words, her alpha kept her ignorant, deprived of shifter habits, instincts, and other teachings, as well as made it so it was impossible for her to learn or be familiar with the rest of the world, too.

Yet, in spite of suspecting more than niggling doubts Ivy had about how differently she was handled compared to other liners like her without family, she never sought to learn more. Not until she's set up to be caught by a rival pack, thrown into a dungeon, tortured, then encounters her fated mate in the alpha heir.

This series was intriguing. Ivy's journey following her painful years bullied as a child through adulthood, betrayal by so called friends, her alpha, his alpha heir, and most of the pack was tumultuous, but she finally finds a little piece of happiness with Madoc Umbra once he accepts he rather face life at her side than handle it without her. The mating bond, her mixed heritage (oops - I think that's a spoiler!), and a maniacal, certifiably deranged young murdering alpha made for quite a rollicking, adventurous and exciting tale. Recommend this series, especially if you like hugely imposing, deliciously sexy and devastating alpha shifters who also have a special sauce in their bloodline along with their beautiful mixed breed shifter female mates. The scenes are well written, as are the characters and settings. Really enjoyed this saga - read all three in one night! Four stars.

[Johanna Fraser · Rating 4 out of 5]

almost

I loved the first 2 books in this series and the first half of this book. At 70% into this book the writing changed almost as if it was a different author. It felt a bit rushed and corney. The potential and storyline that had been building throughout the series sort of fizzled. I thought the MFC and the feral wolves would have played a more significant part. This left it a bit anticlimactic and I finished this book feeling a bit flat and disappointed. The writing of the series up to 70% into this book was excellent. It was almost like the author at the end no longer liked the MFC and she sort of amounted to nothing, the same could be said about the MMC, big build up to nothing. I feel like this was a real flaw in the storyline. Maybe if the author explored the fae gate as hinted earlier, could her magic have opened it? or the feral wolves strength or maybe a combined powers of fae and wolf could have been expanded on and utilised more in the story.

I will read more by this author however I am frustrated with her. I waited a day to write this review after reading the book to organise my thoughts more on it. This series with a better ending could have been an unforgettable 5* but as it is now I think it will blend in with others I have read and be forgotten which is sad as the potential with this author is more. She could have stood out in this genre like a selected few as she has the quality of Amelia Hutchins and Jaymin Eve.

Still a good read but could have been spectacular.

[Daniela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ivy und Madoc haben ihr Gefährtenband vollendet. Sie müssen sich aber noch ihren verfeindeten Rudeln stellen und zudem die anderen Wandler davon überzeugen, das Fae-Mischlinge nicht gleich böse sind.

Dies ist das dritte und finale Buch der Reihe. Es war von Anfang an spannend. Ivy hat sich toll entwickelt. Sie ist zu einer starken Persönlichkeit geworden, die endlich ihren Platz gefunden hat und sich für ihre Freunde und auch für sich selbst stark macht.
Mir persönlich hätte die Gefährtenstory noch etwas mehr im Mittelpunkt stehen können. Die war hier eher so ein wichtiger Nebenstrang. Wenn man dachte: Ja endlich sind sie zusammen und können sich gegenseitig helfen, wurden sie auch schon wieder getrennt.😅

[Grace Hungwe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Last book in this trilogy. The stakes were higher and it was good seeing characters mentioned in the first book brought back.

The ending felt rushed for lack of a better way of knowing how to describe it. The overall conflict resolution felt anticlimactic as the solution to problem wasn’t the best plan????? For such a big buildup, there was no need for that ending.

A lot of new characters were also introduced towards the end and the author was throwing their names out left right and centre and it was hard to follow what was really happening. There was the mention that there were other species in this book but it wasn’t developed further.

It wasn’t the best book, wasn’t the worst book.

[Ashley Mize · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I do like the first two books, this one just didn’t answer some of the questions I had. Like why didn’t we learn more about Ivy’s parents, and why didn’t we get more on the gateway that was locked from their side??? Alexis definitely set it up to possibly have that opened.
The ending did end happy, it just felt a little too soon. Also felt like I didn’t get nearly enough Madoc and Ivy together. We didn’t really get to see their relationship blossom.
I’m happy with the book but it could have gone further. A fourth book would have been perfect. It’s a great trilogy though! I’m already starting another shifter series by Alexis!

[Maghon Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes!!!!!

Oh man!!!! Ivy and Madoc basically gave me a shorter life span lol! What an epic conclusion to a series!!! That epilogue was full of happy tears. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot of sad, tearful, anger inducing moments throughout this whole book. And it’s beautiful and heartfelt. It’s also cringe worthy because evil can be everywhere. I’m sad this series ended but it was done so well. I’d love to see a little spin off, maybe with willow and Kate! Or madoc’s brothers… overall, well done!! Thank you for an amazing adventure!!!

[T. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Feral Queen, the third book of the Rejected Fate series, is an ebook I borrowed through Kindle Unlimited (KU). The author gets credit for story and plot development--there are a few things I would have changed, but that's subjective. The author fell short for me in character development. Most of the cast seemed to have stunted mental capabilities which often made this read feel like a teen story--if you discount the sex. All together, I'd try the author again and hope for a better thought out FMC.

[Jess Fraccaroli · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've honestly never read a romance book with a lack of romance.
The book should have been "focused" on the main couple's case, but apart from a few lines here or there, everything focused on this war (longer than the 100 Year War) making the third book very unnecessary. Everything could have been resolved in the second book. A third would have made more sense if it had focused on the romances of both Ivy and Madoc, as they could have developed Xander's story more.
A slightly disappointing ending.

[Page · Rating 4 out of 5]

love it

4 ⭐️’s 3🌶️’s
A great book had me on the edge of my seat the whole time, this whole book was so tense there was so much going on but it made the book that much better, I fully couldn’t put it down I had to know what happened.

I wish we had more so they was more details on how they got the rest of the wolfs to listen and come into the better future for them all, I’d love to read more about the connection that Xander and Ivy has, and I’d love to have seen Ivy wedding, and loads more.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

[Maddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was hooked on this series from the very first chapter of the very first book. The author is great at expressing the emotions of the characters. The action scenes are done so well that I feel like I can picture everything to the last detail and picture it in my dreams. The character development throughout the series has been my favorite part and I am sad to see these them go. 5 out of 5 would re-read and reccommend.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the conclusion to the series. Dax has truly lost his mind. He's killing anyone who opposes him. He's still after Ivy. Erwin, the Umbra alpha, wants rid of her. Ivy and Madoc have a plan to peace to all the packs. As things heat up sides are chosen and life will never be the same. It's a great ending to the series. Loads of drama and great characters. Loved every minute of it. I volunteered to read this book via Booksprout.

[Kimberly Gordon-Bercich · Rating 3 out of 5]

Divided

XXX! Adult content, reader discretion advised. Ivy comes from a pack filled with members divided or cast out from the official packs. The Shadow Pack. The alpha of said pack wants world domination. Totally sane. Surprisingly enough, the recognized packs and feral packs have an objection to this plan. That's only the beginning of Ivy's problems. Her in-laws, well at least a couple, want her dead. Again, shocking I know, Ivy is not down with those plans.

[Violet Kattalakis · Rating 5 out of 5]

All nighter

This book had me on my toes and even though it had the potential to be cliche, it totally wasn’t. I loved how the author portrayed all the characters in this series. They were vibrant and so awesomely written, that I felt like they could be real people, with real lives and that they lived a couple of streets over from my house. Too far? Yeah I guess so, but despite the fantasy theme, it was realistic just the same. Can’t wait to read more from this author.

[Krysta · Rating 2 out of 5]

If I have to read "something was very, very wrong with ___ (me, usually)." one more time I might lose my mind. Overall the series was fine but I didn't feel the characters had enough development to actually have the relationship they ended up with. It was like the author just told us this was their relationship and we were to believe it, rather than building the relationship with dialogue and interactions. It was a super quick read, quite a few editing errors throughout the series.

[Black05Velvet · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars this whole series was meh but the last book was just so annoying I was waiting for the end from the start. The main character is just too stupid to be alive but is protected from sure death because she's the MC. Characters are bland AF, decision making is plain ridiculous and it's fascinating how at the end the "good guys" or rather a bunch of idiots actually won. Seriously, don't waste your time with this

[Shirley Monas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice finale

This book was the final book in the series. The ending was great, but there was a lot of tension between the packs before it got there. I like how being different is not necessarily bad and that not all purebred shifters are good. I really enjoyed this series. There quite a bit of plot with strong characters and the spice was mild compared to some other series that I’ve read. So, be mindful of that if you’re looking for something spicier.

[Liz Burke · Rating 5 out of 5]

So I happy I didn't skip due to cheezy covers

(Spoilers)I'm really happy with the characters. Ivy is great. I was swept up in her relationships along the way and surprised as things changed. The Fae portion of things didn't feel forced and was a interesting overall. It wasn't the same as Ive seen in other worlds. I loved the other packs and the overall politics and how they had to overcome it all. Alexis Calder becoming one of my fav authors.