I broke my curse. I found my home. It didn’t last…
My life with Mack was one I never believed I’d ever have. It was a dream come to life. Right up until his fated mate showed up, that is.
Mack says I’m his heart. She’s the other half of his soul. Now we find out what bond is strongest: heart or soul?
But that’s not the only choice that has to be made. I have a decision of my own to make when my cursed past threatens to drag me right back to the very place I ran from.
Turns out fate isn’t done with me after all.
Due to mature themes, and steamy scenes, this book is recommended for 18+
I had forgotten to watch for this story's release, so I was excited yesterday to see it had already been released for over a week. I DL'd this baby and read it in one sitting. This had a fair amount of angst in it from Aerin watching Mack and his newly discovered fated mate interact with each other, and while Aerin waited it out to see if Mack would choose his fated mate over her. I loved the story, loved the bit of angst this one had while Aerin's heart broke, and I love learning more about all the background characters and their part in this universe, especially discovering how Shane fared after the what happened to him in the last story. This sequel was definitely as good as the first (for me, anyhow). This story (like the last one) ends in a pretty big cliff hanger. The last story of this trilogy doesn't come out until January 20, 2022. I'm absolutely looking forward to reading the next addition to this series.
Phew..now this cliffhanger is so much more manageable compared to the previous one. Bree is a bitch. Yes, I said it. Shane..gosh..what a douche! Does love make you forgive everything bad your partner's ever done? Like killing a loved one and attempting to kill another person..are these crimes that you can easily forgive your partner for?! How do you move on from that shit?!
I need to switch off some of my brain cells before I read Rejected Mate BS.🤦🏾♀️
The first book in this series, Fractured: A Rejected Mates Romance, is all about Aerin running away and in the second book, the question is - when will Aerin stop running? Making excuses? Stand up for herself and simply speak up about what she wants even if she might not get it?
Oof the psychology in this one! In the last book, Aerin felt so worthless, unlovable, questioning why, why didn't her fated mate, Shane, simply tell her that he loved someone else before they got bonded? She would never have said yes to the alliance if she knew. Shane loved Bree before he even knew about Aerin - he tried to fight the fate bond, and you know what - it worked.
In Shattered, Aerin is now the "OW", technically speaking. Even if Aerin and Mack are married and in love, they are not fated mates. Which is ironic because in the previous book, she was the fated mate but completely iced out of her bond by her mate.
But no matter what side of the equation Aerin is in, she is making excuses. She doubts herself. She thinks, Mack won't be able to deny the fated mate connection. She's not lovable. She should just leave before she gets hurt. Not worth fighting for...
The angst here is good, and might even be more spicy at times because Aerin has more interactions with Mack and his fated mate. The pack run was just oof. But also all the times when Aerin's like, I'll just step back and let everyone enjoy their lives. Aerin, no! :'(
I will have to say. The first book was much more angst-driven. The second book had moments of angst peppered throughout. I was genuinely worried Mack's fated bond might cause him a case of betraying body syndrome but it's ok. I created the GR shelf just for Mack for a reason. The man stays strong.
However, despite the moments of angst, I really do think that Aerin and Mack called it in the beginning when they wondered if they were in some Christmas family movie where everything goes wrong (yes this was published Dec. 2021).
In retrospect, what I remember was the humour. The competitiveness and the arguments that Aerin and Mack's dads got into were so droll:
"Just because the man knows how to make breakfast, doesn't mean he doesn't know how to be a strong alpha," Connall bites out. "And just because Aerin is an omega doesn't mean she's weak. She's a Boone .she could never be weak. Or do you need her to hit you with enough emotion to send you on your ass to think differently?" my father responds curtly. "No one is sending me on my ass. Least of all an omega." "I see, so because your mate left you, now you have some vendetta against all omegas everywhere, is that it?"
I am screaming. Ooh and the little tea Aerin's father drops at the end! And yes, there is A LOT of scenes at the breakfast table. Lots of eggs and bacon.
I praise Eve Bale for her unique storytelling. I haven't come across a story that deals specifically with the mate bond by asking the question: What if you fell in love with someone that was not your fated mate? Could it happen? And if yes, what does that mean? And uh, what happens if after you fall in love with them THEN your mate showed up?
Bale's message is ultimately, a fated bond isn't necessarily love and that love reigns supreme. I love the possibility of love to endure and to prevail. I haven't read a lot of werewolf/shifter stories with this storyline. All that I have read take the fated bond as love. A very intense bond of love that is stronger than everything else. Here, a fated bond is a strong bond but it doesn't necessarily turn into love if a mate doesn't spend time with their mate. And that you can reject a fated bond too.
Ooh I also love the resolution with Shane and Bree.
Mack finds his fated mate, Faith, at the worst possible moment: his mating ceremony with Aerie. To make the timing even more challenging both of their fathers also make an appearance. They both trie to poision Aerie's strong belief that Mack is hers. Maybe due to stress and pregnancy, Aerie's power starts to malfunction a bit and she spends some time away from Mack, in order to protect him and the pack, as she seeks help from Adela. I was happy to see Aerie grow into herself. I especially liked how she stood up to her own father. I also liked how she had some final words with Shane and Bree and I hope that is the last of the obstacles from those two. Mack came off undecisive when it came to Aerie and Faith. With words he chose Aeire each and every time but his actions kind of showed otherwise. He knew he was hurting Aerie by having Faith around and I wish he broke up the connection with her sooner. It almost took him losing Aeire to realize how important she is to him. Cliffhanger ending but I al hooked and will definitely read book #3.
I couldn’t give this more stars even though I finished the book. Is this whole series going to be cliffhangers? I’ll grab the next book but may just skip to the end to see how it ends.
Aerin has become the other woman and I'm not sure how I feel about it. Macks mate turns up and aerin becomes a spiteful bitch. Sorry thats his fated mate just cos yours rejected you, you now have to ruin her life. She then becomes this catty passive aggressive bitch that I get more n more annoyed with.
Mack is torn, whilst he says he's committed to aerin he fails to realise how much time he's spending with faith, obviously he's drawn to her.
Its all a mess and whilst I dont mind rejected mates per se , this scenario im not enjoying.
This book started off not meeting my expectations. I was expecting that they wouldn't last and he would end up with his fated mate. And that she would end up back with her father. But boy was I wrong it goes to show that love can prevail. The cliffhanger wasn't a bad choice either. Can't wait to see where her journey goes. My only complaint is that we are going into the third book and she is still pregnant with the first baby. I get the need for it to be a normal pregnancy but time frame seems long. Otherwise book was spectacular.
I honestly didn't even want to read this after the epilogue in the first book, but alas here we are. Well, I should have listened to my first instincts. I cannot finish this because it honestly makes book one feel like a waste of time. There was a promise of HEA and then BAM this crap happens and I just feel cheated.
I really wish the author had handled Mack finding his fated mate differently. He doesn’t cheat on Aerin and he does choose her and constantly tells her he loves her and chooses her, but it was a long dragged out affair that took the whole book and honestly made me like him less. Some spoilers below so beware.
I understand that the author was portraying how strong the mate bond is and it was difficult for Mack to not be with Faith (his fated mate) due to the pull of the mate bond; but at the same time I did not like how he handled the situation. He should have rejected her right away (or at least earlier than he did) - because the author claims that the mate bond gets stronger with time together and so it stands to reason it would be harder to reject later - but it takes the whole book for Mack to do it. He also has Faith stay in the house with him and Aerin - that to me was not acceptable. She should have stayed with Adela right away - instead of Aerin eventually staying with Adela to give them space and get away from all the other drama with her father and Mack’s dad at the house. That to me just made no sense - the omega healer was the perfect place for her to stay out of the way but still be protected and “around” if Mack wanted her there. Mack and her spent a good amount of time together alone - doing things that him and Aerin used to do, like gardening. Mack claims he doesn’t want to hurt Faith but he has sex with Aerin while Faith is in the house and is very clear with Faith that he is with Aerin in the beginning - so wouldn’t it be less cruel to reject her right away instead of keeping her around to see them together? Honestly Aerin seems more concerned about not hurting Faith’s feeling at times than Mack. It was too much for me - and even with Aerin and Mack choosing each other by the end of the book I was just not that invested in them anymore. And the way the pack was treating Aerin and was all chummy with Faith just felt really crappy. Maybe because we never see a nice side of Faith - but doesn’t make sense that the pack would immediately take to her over Aerin.
Really disappointed because I have read a few other books by this author and really liked how she handled the fated mate bond but this was just a strike out for me - won’t finish book 3.
3.5 but I rounded it up because of the patience Aerin dealt out throughout the book.
You have the stories with the women who run head-first and scream and fight before giving up. They think before they act. Then you have the ones who freeze and don’t do anything for a long time before deciding what to “maybe” do. And then you have Aerin.
I enjoyed her patience with herself and everyone’s situation. I liked that her pack had different opinions and either ignored her or pushed her to fight for Mack. She had a lot to think about, and though my first instinct would’ve been to run away from the pain, she only moved away far enough to be able to breathe, to think. She never severed ties because at the end of the day, she didn’t want him suffering alone. So it was a lot of hurt, this book. Constantly standing there and taking it or walking away, left only with your thoughts and what-ifs. It sucks, man.
I adore Mack. He’s a weird alpha because he’s calm and collected. Chill. Honestly normal. He rarely loses his temper. I think the only thing I’m weirded about is Aerin accidentally doing something he’d ask that she not do, and him not getting mad. I had the impression it was important she never did it and when she did it, he wasn’t upset. So that’s all.
It’s fast-paced enough that I barely know the rest of the cast members. It really is just Aer and Mack and their problematic relations. We have brief details of people but nothing so rooted into the story. Except maybe for the couple, and Tina was pretty nice to meet.
Tiny errors were present, but aside from that and the vague meetings with characters I feel I should’ve been closer to, everything was entertaining. I certainly cried getting into my own head when Aerin was faced with heartache but I’m a masochist with that. Love it.
Faith arriving as Mack’s fated mate made be feel ambivalent about both romances. Is Faith the other woman? Is Aerin? I vacillated between feeling bad for Faith and feeling bad for Mack, and disliking Mack for both.
The family reunion from hell was actually kind of funny, but became a little bit one note with the two dads fighting. I would have liked more amusing arguments and competition between the two of them. We never really find out what Mack’s dad wants or why he chose this moment to return. We also never find out why Faith arrived or what her story was.
Aerin’s powers change from scene to scene. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t. Whatever the storyline needs to move it forward.
Likewise, the shifter powers change routinely. Sometimes Aerin is breakable (she shattered her leg when knocked over in the first book) and sometimes she’s not (she’s tased three times and falls off a cliff and climbs up the cliff but returns uninjured and ready for sex). Sometimes they’re hard to sneak up on, sometimes they’re easy to sneak up on. Sometimes everyone in the house can hear what you say, other times, shifters can’t hear anything.
All in all, the world building seems inconsistent and hard to track.
This book was written so sadly that I feel for the author if this is how she views love. That man had an emotional affair on his woman. I don't care it was his fated mate or what the pull was. He should have immediately or within 24 hours rejected the mate bond. The entire book was just him hurting and betraying his mate again and again. This was an absolutely awful book and honestly I just read it for the OW drama because sometimes I like a rage read. So for that I'll give it 3 stars. But I need readers to understand that he does cheat in this book. Just because it's not physical does not mean it's not cheating. He missed moments he had planned with his mate for the OW. He immediately abandoned his mate for the OW again and again. He spent hours upon hours locked in a bedroom with the OW day after day. He was in the garden GARDENING with the OW!!!! That was the moment for me... the moment I felt she should have left. But the author made the FMC out to be the bad guy because she didn't fight for her mate. F that... why should she fight for a mate who was clearly not fighting for her. He basically used her for her body and went right back to spending his emotional free time with the OW! #rageread #emotionalcheating #betrayal not a good man period
This book was my favorite in the series I read it 3 times . Mack and Aerin's story continues from the surprise at their mating ceremony from the previous book where Mack's true mate shows up. Looks like Aerin can't catch a break she's bound to have a life full of misery. Now she has to compete with her mate's one true mate and the bond pull they will have. On top of that she has to deal with the surprise visitors and a couple of attacks that threaten her life. I loved the progress of the story between her and Mack . What I didn't like tho was Faith ending up a collateral damage. what's so different between what happened to Aerin with her true mate and Faith a rejection still a rejection and Faith didn't deserve that except when I thought that she was gonna be the villain in this book I did not expect the twist in the last chapters nor the cliffhanger at the end of the book. This author definitely knows how to capture your attention and portray the emotions and make you feel them . This books took me on such an emotional ride where I felt the characters pain and hopes and happiness at times.
Wow so much going on, fates mates, alpha fathers, omega powers, and in between a love story to rival any other. Mack is now having to deal with the pull of a fated mate while being in love with Aerin, she’s his heart and he won’t let her go. But what happens when his heart is taken from him? This is such a full story, with a fab plot. So many characters to try to keep up with and other little stories going on at the same time. Some cute moments and banter, a sweet love story, along with so much angst it’s unreal. There are some hard, scary moments which lead to other scary moments but the cliffhanger is so difficult to take in, and I have gone straight into the third book, which has so much tension it’s beyond. Highly recommend
I'll be honest and say that I only read this for the angst, but it only delivered like 35% of what it could have been. The whole deal with Mack's fated mate coming in out of nowhere was EXTREMELY unsatisfying due to the lack of explanation of why she was suddenly there in the first place and there were no on-page interactions between her and Mack with dialogue. This book really would've benefited from having Mack's POV so that the reader could be included in whatever they talked about away from Aerin and so that the reader could witness his struggle and be convinced in the end of his love for her. We were showed only a fraction of what he was working through, so I ain't buying it.
Personally I think this series is suitable for under 18 so far It’s too tame for anything that wouldn’t be suitable for anybody under 18 but that’s just my thoughts anyway…. What can I say, this Omega aka Aerin wow did book 2 pull on my heart strings for her and again another huge cliffhanger. A few more shocks through book 2 and I have to say the author picked the perfect names for each book, spot on for how each book is told. It’s a page turner, I can’t believe how fast I read book 2 lol
My God this author is really putting this couple through hoops. Oh her mum ran from a pack shouldn't that clue her in? I wanted to stop reading when he was hanging out with faith.I get she was troubled but being she is his fated mate and she shows up after they just mated she had no hope, you don't hang out and move her in the room in your house, show some respect to all.it sends mix signals.I wanted to cry for airy.God she had it tuff.I thought her pack was not very loyal to her.
I could copy my review for Book 1 and paste it here and it would still fit perfectly. Only thing of note to add is that Faith, Mack’s true mate was surprisingly a non-actor in this entire book. She was always present, in the background, but she really didn’t do anything at all to either befriend anyone or antagonize anyone, she didn’t do anything, really. It was an interesting choice, either leaving the door completely open for her own book or just letting Aerin and Mack make their own choices in this short book.
I didn’t like the first one. I read this one because I’d already accidentally bought the third one in another set. Mack is still plastic. None of the “pain” he supposedly had comes through at all in the writing. He’s just a happy idiot. To make it worse, she is such a whiner. All the turmoil in this whole book could have been dealt with in a second if she had one inch of backbone.
If I hadn’t already bought the third one, I wouldn’t.
THAT SOB! This book was wild. All of the place, but in a good way. I really did have a hard time figuring out what was going on and who was at fault. Aerin is far too forgiving but perhaps all these characters will rally in the end? I just… how can one person have so much going on?!
Just when you think things are good- - - - 2-3 boxes of tissues
The story is so heart warming and sad that you feel that love will conquer all the problems that arise, you just find more complications. Will the mates stay together or will they lose it all? A must read. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This book really irritated me. “Nice guy” Mack acted like a terrible mate to everyone involved. Not to mention the pack imo was not compassionate enough. On top of that Aerin didn’t have her priorities right. AND the plot had way too many things “coincidentally” happening at once. It was too ridiculous.
The writer absolutely makes you feel the turmoil and pain. What a journey we have been through with through and the test of fates. How much more will they endure. I can't wait for part 3.
In the first book Mack is a shining beacon for both Aerin and the reader and this book it goes a similar way, although there’s a point that hurts and you just have to trust in the good. I can’t wait to read book three.
I thought it was a good story but she’s just so exhausting. All she does is rush into things and ramble on and on. It was way worse in the first book. I’m not going to continue and read the 3rd book because I’m sure it will be overly dramatic and so much rambling.
Excellent story with intriguing characters. Loved the first book and stayed up way to late to finish it. Loved the cliffhanger ending in this book and can’t wait to read Captured!