Claiming Starlight

by Isoellen

When Sophie’s younger brother Alexi doesn’t return from looking for work with his friends, she fears the worst.

Unable to bear the idea that something has happened, she sets out on her own to find her him. Now, everything has gone wrong and she’s alone in the worst part of town–shifter territory.

But the Alpha who comes to her rescue isn’t a hero, and he has no intention of taking her home…

Or ever letting her go.

Post-apocalyptic, paranormal erotic romance with shifters, creatures, adventures and plot. Trigger warnings for demanding alpha-holes and a professional virgin.

Genres: Omegaverse, Paranormal, Shapeshifters, Paranormal Romance, Magic, Fantasy, Dark

192 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 20, 2022

About the author

Isoellen is just your average, Gen-X'er who drinks too much coffee. Her first romance story was written in 1977 at 8 years old after seeing the movie Star Wars. She knew even then that a rogue on the wrong side of the law was a better mate than the boy on the hero’s journey.
The worlds she creates are violent and sensual, but her characters always find beauty in the decay and romance with intimacy. True love and happily ever after’s are guaranteed.
She is currently working on the 4th book in the 12 Sectors Series, Redeeming Her Alpha.

Reviews

[Rain · Rating 2 out of 5]

I KNOW this author can write steamy alphas with heart. I inhaled Isoellen's 12 Sectors books, they were so well written! When I saw this was an apocalyptic pnr, I immediately downloaded it.

Reasons why this book was a huge fail for me:

The world building is convoluted, mixing so many different ideas, creatures, and fables. There are humans and unnaturals, shifters, magic, vampir, blue-bloods, red-bloods, dark dwarf, witches, sorcerers, glamor, trolls, and lots of confusing terms. It's an apocalyptic earth world, with magical shifts that happened? I honestly don't even know.

The main thing that bothered me was there is no kind of emotional connection between the two mc.

The h, Sophie, is very child-like with that constant big-eye virginal wonderment at everything around her. I understand she's been groomed by the vampir that owned her, but the power difference between her and the H felt way off base.

Micah is hard core, alpha. This guy had zero personality, other than being a controlling brute. He smells her innocence and decides she's his.

“Too good for this place, aren’t you? Too young and innocent for a dirty old monster like me.”

There was one scene when the H is pinching the shit out of her nipple while blathering on and on with a massive info dump about the world they live in. It was such a weird scene! I was annoyed by the nipple harassment AND the info dump.

They don't have sex until around 80% in. Our innocent, virginal, wide-eyed h is plowed from behind while the H is in his beast form. This could have been really hot had these two characters actually connected emotionally. It saddens me that this book didn't work, but I will keep reading Isoellen's books as she writes some of my favorite alpha heroes.

[JD (on semi-hiatus) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a standalone, post-apocalyptic OV/Shifter generic hybrid. (Note: Some secondary characters are vampires, which, I confess, are not my thing.) Here, we get Sophie, a human searching for her missing brother, and Micah, who rescues her when she's trapped in a dangerous part of town. She wasn't safe alone, but is she safe with him?

I found this difficult to rate since the second half is much better than the first: I agree with both the positive and negative reviews. I'll start with the positives. First, while good girl/bad boy is among my least favorite over-used tropes and Micah is initially so OTT that Sophie's attraction was impossible to believe (even for this genre), he's ultimately very protective and possessive. Second, those who like long, drawn-out, detailed sex scenes will find them here. Finally, as is usual with this author, the worldbuilding was complex and inventive. Usually, fairy-tale creatures (trolls, imps, witches, dwarves) appear in Medieval-inspired spaces; I found the modern-day dystopian setting (roving gangs, decaying buildings) and the inclusion of generic horror characters (wraiths, ghouls) a refreshing change. Note: I suspect that Hyde is the former Hyde Park, given the university references.

The worldbuilding, however, was a double-edged sword: so many unfamiliar words and terms meant that this wasn't an easy (as in immersive) read since I had to stop to look them up or wait until they were given context. While I don't mind doing this to some extent, I think the author should have included a glossary. Perhaps others recognize "unseelie," "naturals," or "archon?" If so, you'll have an easier time of it than I did. In addition, so many typos were distracting (I doubt Alexi "put on a sow"); Michah's referring to "Baby" in the third person was annoying (and de-humanizing); and the prose was too repetitive for a relatively short book (Sophie and Micah had the exact same conversations about her situation -- and his fetishization of her whiteness -- umpteen times; their inner monologues rarely revealed anything other than itemized lust).

3 1/2 stars. I'm glad I persevered since the action picked up in the second half, but, TBH, bestiality really isn't my kink, and I prefer heroines with more autonomy and depth (Sophie doesn't let her brother's death interfere with her smexy times). It's possible the author will continue with this world: I can see some of Micah's pack getting their own books. Side Note: I'm not sure what the subtitle refers to.

[Leigh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Claiming Starlight is the latest release from Isoellen and unfortunately it was a miss for me. I didn't like this book at all. I don't know what it is about this author, because I love her 12 Sectors series but everything else that I have read falls flat to me. There is absolutely no connection between Micha and Sofie. She barely speaks to him for the entire book, most of her dialogue occurs in her head. The two times they were intimate also did nothing for me. The first time he was in his shifter form and the second was as a man but each time the timing felt completely wrong and out of place especially the first time since she was a virgin. Overall, Claiming Starlight was not for me.

[Jac K · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love this author's The 12 Sectors series and will continue to one-click her… but this one didn’t work for me at all. I love paranormal smut, but I need a smidge of plot and worldbuilding.

In a nutshell, Sophie is looking for her missing brother Alexi when she encounters Micah. We jump over any relationship development straight into smut (which was weird and mostly making out & nipple abuse) with the occasional random character or mention of other things (missing bro, evil vamps, evil goddess, etc.). That’s pretty much it until the very end when we get sex (finally) followed by a quick info dump. (status of bro/goddess/vamp) The end. That’s it.

❌ We get very little worldbuilding. We know they’re in a post-apocalyptic NYC, and "the end" somehow ripped worlds open and threw a bunch of PNR species to Earth. Vampirs, shifters, imps, fae, sorcerers, witches, goddesses are all mentioned, but we aren’t given a solid foundation/info to make sense of any of it.

❌ No chemistry or relationship building. They never form any emotional attachment. They hardly talk, have nothing in common. He bosses and she goes along with it. I felt nothing coming from either of them. Like he mentions twice about having a past with Liz and she displays no concern, jealousy or even asks a question.

❌ No plot. There’s build up and potential there, but then they mate and everything is dropped.

❌ Weird interactions/flow. Several scenes/conversations were super strange… like the nipple abuse world info dump scene. Or where we finally find the guys that took the brother than go off on a “this is a strawberry; it reminds me of sex. My mouth on you…your mouth on me.. convo. Or the driving the car H-past info dump. Or the way they spoke…

“No risk of infection from a mating mark, Sophie. But yeah, girl. Some of the puncture wounds are deep. It’s messed up.” He flashed a proud grin at her that said he felt different than he sounded as he applied a topical anti- bacterial and numbing agent to the marks. It all felt very awkward.

Bottom Line- I needed this to be smuttier with an emotional connection and have a plot. Not my brother is missing, and this evil goddess is on the loose then poof… they’re dead. The end. What was that? She was killed by the Reaper… what who is the reaper? Why did it randomly kill her? What happened to the two guys that set up her bro? What was up with the vampir at the end? Why did he have a southern accent? What’s up with her power? I needed resolution… and it wouldn’t have hurt for some on-page goddess time since it was hinted and dropped that she killed the bro and had a hard on for the H. They didn’t even check to make sure Alexi was all used up. It felt rushed and not complete.

[Melluvsbooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well… I mean, its basically porn straight up. But I can’t say I hated it. 🤷🏼‍♀️😅

{we need to chat about that travesty of a cover tho 😳😱🙈}

This had similar dynamics to Isoellen’s Omegaverse books… naive virgin in sexual thrall to a dominant sex god. He doesn’t have to force much since her body compels her…. But he’s not taking “no” for an answer either way. 😏

It was a fun smutty read.


Bottom Line? This was a fun way to pass the time at work today, but I couldn’t tell you much about the plot or even recall the MCs names… so… ⭐️⭐️⭐️




⚠️SAFETY SQUAD SPOILERS⚠️

- no cheating or sharing
- dubcon
- no OW/OM drama
- no condoms
- h is a 19 yr old virgin human
- H is older than the H but I couldn’t find his exact age - he’s experienced - wolf shifter
- blood and gore

[Rellim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whew! Super sexy human/shifter erotic romance novella. I enjoyed the dystopian and time-bending world with vampir, seers, sorcerers, fae, and more.

Sophie is trying to find her brother, escaping her enslavement to the vampir, searching the shifter area. After a full day she’s drawn all sorts of unwanted attention and not sure whether Micah is salvation or significantly more trouble.

Micah recognizes his mate in the innocent and unworldly Sophie. Simultaneously, he finds himself embroiled in trying to plan for an undefined threat to South Bloc and keeping her safe.

I liked Isoellen’s balance of pack/world happenings with the growing relationship between Micah & Sophie. The claiming scene is 🔥🔥🔥. This is a complete story but I could also see it launching a series. I would love to read more about some of the secondary characters in the pack, especially Jumper and Dante.

CW:
dub con, graphic shifter battles & other deaths

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This werewolf fantasy romance was AMAZING. The world building of this city 15-20 years after the dimensional merge and collapse was lush, dystopian, and fascinating. The heroine grew so much throughout this novel, and the werewolf hero was deliciously alpha in the romance novel sense and super HAWT. I think this book made my kindle catch on fire! This novel swims in the shallows of the dark romance sphere, which is exactly what I want in a monster romance. The characterization was deft, the development of the romantic relationship was sizzling and swoony, and there was plenty of action, danger, and political intrigue to keep the stakes high and the pacing quick. In my opinion, this novel ranks just below Dragon’s Bride by Katee Robert as one of the best paranormal/fantasy/monster romances that I have read so far this year. I highly recommend this one.

I received a free copy of this book, and I am voluntarily writing this review.

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Just wow. This is my first ever ARC, and I couldn’t have requested a better one. Isoellen built her world around Micah and Sophie all throughout the book. It was creative yet not too far-fetched from a reader’s imagination. The chemistry between Micah and Sophie was smoking. This genre works well with readers who want and appreciate an alpha male. I did have to keep reminding myself Sophie was so young and inexperienced when I kept wanting her to have a lil bit more power to herself when she was with Micah. The fight in the final part of the book kicked ass, and the post fight celebrations were hot. All in all, this was an excellent read with tons of passion.

[KittyLuvr · Rating 5 out of 5]

One word: MAGICAL!!
This one flat out blew me away in the BEST way!!
I cannot properly express how immediately this one grabbed me & kept me enthralled, enraptured, intrigued, emotional, GAH!! I read this one WITHOUT stopping because I HAD to know what was going to happen next!
I found the writing: the words & the phrasing drew me DEEP into this post apoplectic world of creatures & entities pulled from other times, worlds & dimensions to a blighted & devastated planet Earth where humans (red bloods) are essentially servants or slaves & definitely weaker then the 'blue blood' shifters, vampirs, fae, trolls, witches & others.
But the pure MAGIC of this one for me was the beautifully done & nuanced main characters (& indeed the secondary characters too) of Micah: an Alpha Crime Lord shifter & Sophie: a red blood human slave to a vampir lord & his brood.
Micah was ALPHA, rough, crude, hyper sensitive to slights, perceived or real, had an explosive temper he had control of - barely, & raging lust for Sophie - his Starlight that he did not fight very hard to control. But he was strong, loyal, determined, did not take advantage of the innocent - yet pure innocent naive Sophie was the exception. He & his beast had one goal in mind when it came to Sophie: claim her, keep her, dirty her.
And Sophie, innocent, unaware of how she exuded light, innocence, beauty; how these traits sent forth a Siren call to every non-human creature that placed her in mortal danger.
But was Micah her savior, or her doom?

This one is deliciously dirty with a lot of intense & graphic carnal scenes, with Alpha delivered punishments & sensual scenes that ignite & scorch the Kindle screen. But there's also care, concern, protection & the epiphany that sometimes safety isn't what it seems & danger & darkness may be salvation.

I found this one to be wonderfully written, superb & it effortlessly swirled me into the book as PART of it vs merely reading about it.
I CARED about the characters, what would happen; my emotions were intensely engaged & when I read the last word all I could think was: WOW!!
Superb.
Awesome.
Stellar.
But most of all: MAGICAL.

[Jenny✦Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

So much unrealized potential

I enjoy Isoellen's writing, so I was looking forward to this new book. It began well, but was a huge let down in the end. Spoilers ahead.

The world is badass. There's sacrifices to primeval blood deities, an eighty year old Hispanic seer with a Mayan staff of power, a god-eater called the Reaper, scheming psychopath vampires, a wicked ancient naiad, gnomish engineers with little hats, a heroine with unique abilities, and so much more. Honestly, for a little while I thought this might be the best book Isoellen has written.

It is not. It's her worst.

The chemistry between Isoellen's main characters is always on point, and that strength is maintained in Claiming Starlight. The sex scenes are as steamy and edgy as usual. However, literally none of the amazing story elements the author introduced went anywhere. There's a big buildup of all these compelling interconnected parts, but after mmc gives the fmc his claiming bite, the plot falls apart and everything gets quickly wrapped up with a bunch of boring exposition.

We do not get to see the Reaper eat a god, and the naiad never tricks anyone into her lair. The head vampire had no Machiavellian plot; the fmc's escape from his clutches was just an oversight. The Mayan staff goes pretty much unused, and the seer doesn't foretell anything. The heroine uses her abilities to affect the outcome of the story exactly once -- just enough to make you understand how valuable they could be. After that her talent becomes irrelevant to the plot, and we learn nothing about the line powerful women she's descended from.

It felt rushed and half-finished, and there were a TON of typos. I honestly wouldn't be as bothered if it was just less interesting, but I now I'm craving the read the book this could have been but wasn't. So disappointing.

"One must never place a loaded rifle on the stage if it isn't going to go off. It's wrong to make promises you don't mean to keep."

[Karon Price · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not what I was expecting. One of my favorite omegaverse stories of all time is by this author so when I saw this book I jumped on it. Unfortunately it's not set in the same world as 12 Sectors and the level of writing isn't as good either. I felt no connection between the main characters and just wanted the story to be over. Not a great effort unfortunately.

[Johanna Bixby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, Isoellen has outdone herself with this story!
I have read every book this author has published, and I think this is my favorite. I was mesmerized, horrified, shocked, grossed out at the descriptive genius, extremely turned on and so sad to see it end. I really hope we see Sophie and Micah in a future book or Novella. Their story is just too good to end here.
One click a copy now!

[Meagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pleasantly surprised by this book!!

I can't remember the last time I read a couple of MF pairing books (I lean towards RH, harems, and MM/MM+), but this one grabbed my attention all the way to the end. I honestly couldn't believe it when I reached the end. I even flipped the pages back and forth just to make sure there weren't any extra chapters missing!

This is an MF pairing, sweet innocent FMC (Sophie) with a roguish-growly-loving-assholish shifter MC(Micah). The FMC is not traditionally strong, but her natural inclination towards submission is a good match for this mildly controlling alpha. There is some plot and intrigue, although that isn't as prevalent as the building interaction and relationships between the MCs. I was a little disappointed there wasn't a huge deal made out of the brother's situation; maybe that's just me. It didn't take away from the story.

The romance (heat is so spicy, can I even call it that?) was 10/10, I didn't even really know I had a kink for shifted-form sex, but it will now be something I look for!

Trigger warnings for over-the-top (at times) demanding and possessive alpha, mildly aggressive shifted form sex, and sexual relations are developing with the pure FMC (virgin, very uncertain about almost all sexual acts).

I received a free ARC and am providing my honest review.

[Sesshkyaah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!
Like Ruby Dixon, Isoellen‘a books are all 5 stars for me.

Heroine (Sophie) is a virgin and the hero(Micah) is not

Trigger warning: dubious consent

I love dub-con! But only when we, the readers, know that the guy would do anything for their lady! And in this case, that’s what’s up! 😙💯

Fated mates trope; insta-attraction/lust! ❤️
No cheating.
Communication is great! The Hero doesn’t allow misunderstandings and clarifies on the spot.
Mild other women drama: women who wanted to climb the hero’s bed making nasty comments
(But the Hero doesn’t allow anyone to disrespect his girl!)

Age gap. (Heroine is 19 and Hero is a lot older)
Human and shifter romance
Smexy steamy shifter smex 🌶🌶🌶 knotting and big 🍆

Both Micah and Sophie have been through some shit.


Recommend to those who like possessive, doting and loyal alpha-holes 💯❤️

[Charde Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Whole New Doggone World!!

Love how Isoellen creates these amazing worlds in her books. An apocalypse has happened and humans are at the bottom. A human sheltered by vampires but forced to volunteer to be a virgin blood slave, meets a rough and tough Alpha wolf shifter on the wrong side of town as she searches for her brother. FMC is super sheltered and innocent, MMC is all the dirty talking alpha you could think of… great story, smexy times 🔥🔥🔥, well developed characters.. I so hope there will be more written in this world.

[Nessa]

DNF.

This was purely smut and it's not what I'm looking for right now even if it's Omegaverse. I would appreciate a deeper plot.

[Mrsnuxoll]

DNF, love Isoellen’s other work, but this just wasn’t my jam.

[Erin (she_is_2_fond_of_books) · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was probably the first book by this author that I didn’t enjoy. Too chaotic and I didn’t connect well with the MCs. I appreciate the effort she puts into her world building, but their was so much layer detail and scene changes I got a little confused.

[Chalice · Rating 5 out of 5]

The couple: Micah and Sophie

Romance trope: post-apocalyptic; paranormal
Length: 192 pages

Plot: Sophie is a professional virgin, bound to the vampire in charge of her part of town. She has more value as a virgin, but she also has no control over her own life. She is also worried about her brother, who hadn't returned when he was supposed to. She goes to look for him despite the danger involved and is picked up by alpha shifter Micah. He intends to keep the little virgin, no matter the baggage she brings with her. The fight is coming no matter who stands in its way.

Commentary: In reading the reviews, I saw that this book got a lot less love than the books in Isoellen's 12 Sectors series; I'm not sure why. It was a different flavor, to be sure, but it was a 5-star read for me. There were moments when I was almost uncomfortable with the way that Micah kept Sophie on the edge of knowing where she stood with him, but I felt like that was how I was supposed to feel. He was a law unto himself, but at the same time, he didn't have to say that he loved Sophie - it was obvious in the way he put his life on the line (although I also think part of that was the bigger fight for survival in the paranormal world as well as an instinctual need for violence. But also love). I would definitely read other books set in this world!

[Ingasha · Rating 2 out of 5]

It pains me to give 2 stars. I love the twelve sector books and the second was definitely an improvement, guess I was expecting the writing would continue improving.


This book just isn't it. To me the writing is awkward, the world-building is quite literally all over the place.... and the plot???

Like maybe it would have been better as pure erotica without trying to have a plot but barely... I couldn't stand how they talk.

I'm still going to auto-buy Isoellen because I like some stuff and want to see her make more and what comes of it.

Will probably stick to more alien settings though.

Ps ... I know this might be hard to read, I'll be back to reword and format it better later(hopefully)

[Marykate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Claiming Starlight features one of the dirtiest talking Alphas I have ever come across in all my reading. Dark, dangerous, and primal to his core, Alpha Micah ruthlessly takes what is his and bends all to his will, including his starlight Sophie. Stripping down all her defenses one by one, Micah forces Sophie to question her life of "safety" with the Vampir all the while suffocating her with his scent, his want, and his unwavering loyalty.

[Luna Ferri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Because she never lets me down!

[Claire Cronin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first read by Isoellen, and I gotta say I really enjoyed it! Set in a post-apocalyptic setting filled with all manner of nasties, this is not a read for the faint hearted, full of dark mature themes, very explicit, you've been warned!

Sophie is a 18yr old professional virgin, kept by a Vampir in an emotionless and sterile type environment, they use her for her ability to boost magic due to her inherent nature and virginity. Always one to follow the rules, her whole life is mapped out for her, until her younger brother disappears, and she takes it upon herself to try and find him, travelling into the bad side of town and into shifter territory where the bits she knows about him leads her.

No one helps her, everyone sending her on her way, and everyone knows just how human she is. The whole town knows she is in their territory, and the predators are circling! The Alpha leader come to see what all the fuss is about, her innocence, her brightness.... she is a beacon in the darkness, and he was captivated and would make her his!

I really enjoyed this, the world is dark and dystopian, after an apocalyptic event drew creatures from other planes and dimensions to Earth and destroying the world as we knew it.... now it is filled with humans (red bloods) as servants and the magical creatures (blue bloods) like vampir and shifters rule, along with other like fae, trolls, witches, etc. I found the world building took a little time to get used to as there are lots of differences to learn and understand.

Micah is the Alpha of alphas, he is bad through and through, having lived many years and done many bad things, he is not the saviour Sophie was hoping for! He nicknames her his Starlight, and she is his in every way he wants, whether she wants it or not, as he teaches her to please him and she learns what pleasure and pain can do to a person! Micah is possessive, demanding, crude, and barely in control of either his raging temper or lust.... an anti-hero is an understatement for him! Yet he is caring and protective of Sophie as well, but he won't abide any lies, as she soon learns.

Deliciously dirty in so many ways, my kindle was practically melting..... raw, carnal, graphic, just whew! I loved the part where the shifter part of Micah, his beast, comes out to play, oh that part was very intense!!

I enjoyed the storyline as well, learning the world and its politics, the maneuvers going on between all the players, lots of action and plot twists. I thought Sophie's character grew a lot as we went along, from her doe eyed innocence to where she claims her rightful place with the beast, it read really well. Hope to read more from this world, there is certainly plenty to go at. Will definitely read more from this author, loving her style!

[Mary Lynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sophie has lived with vampires for years, but she’s still an innocent. She has no idea that entering shifter territory to search for her missing brother paints a major target on her back. And she has no idea that her greatest danger and greatest safety both come from Micah, a powerful wolf shifter.

I liked Sophie as someone who’s a neophyte but not clueless. Sophie also has abilities that make her special beyond those on the surface, while Micah has connections that make him turn out to be more than he seems at first as well. And Claiming Starlight circles back nicely to where Sophie started, wrapping up the changes in their lives that result from connecting with one another.

I do feel a need to mention that there is a sensual scene while Micah is in a semi-shifted form. That’s something that might be challenging for some readers. There are definite dubcon elements to this story; Sophie’s decision to seek her brother brings consequences that she definitely didn’t consider.

Claiming Starlight sets up a fascinating post-apocalyptic world combined with a paranormal romance. The apocalypse opens a rift between our world and worlds with magic. And while humans aren’t high on the chain of power—the shifters and vampires take that position—I loved the idea that all the races suffered in this catastrophe, losing homes and lives and families alike. There’s a lot for Isoellen to explore in this premise, and I hope she does in future!

[Rachel Smith Horn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the world building in this book. Aftermath of the apocalypse setting, but it doesn't just involve earth. It involves other worlds and species. There is a rip in space and time, causing all kinds of weird $hit everywhere, and I loved the concept. There's a lot of mythical creatures, but it makes sense since all these realities and worlds were mixed.

My complaint is I wish the book would have been longer and went into Sophie's power some more, and I would like to have seen more of Micah's and Sophie's developing relationship.

Sophie is a human (red-blood) who is used as a slave by the vampir (blue-bloods, along with other super natural creatures) When Sophie's brother disappears, Sophie goes in search for him only to find herself stranded in a scary part of town. All kinds of bad and even worse creatures know Sophie is wandering around the city, this includes Micah. Although, Micah is frightening at first, she realizes he saved her from a fate worse than death when he forced her into the car out of the dark, rain, and danger.

Micah is a wolf shifter, and Sophie although human has the the power to see magic which is a valuable skill. I liked that she used her power to assist Micah.

This is a short story, only 192 pages and I hope Isoellen plans to write more in this world. I love this twist on an apocalypse world.

(this is me humbly begging for the author to write more in this world.)

[Kyrhyana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sophie a vécu avec des vampires pendant des années, mais elle est toujours innocente. Elle n'a aucune idée qu'entrer sur le territoire des métamorphes pour rechercher son frère disparu peint une cible majeure sur son dos. Et elle n'a aucune idée que son plus grand danger et sa plus grande sécurité viennent de Micah, un puissant métamorphe-loup.

Sophie personne néophyte mais pas ignorante. Sophie a également des capacités qui la rendent spéciale au-delà de celles de la surface, tandis que Micah a des relations qui font de lui plus qu'il n'y paraît au premier abord.

La décision de Sophie de rechercher son frère entraîne des conséquences qu'elle n'a certainement pas envisagées.

Claiming Starligh met en place un monde post-apocalyptique fascinant combiné à une romance paranormale. L'apocalypse ouvre une faille entre notre monde et les mondes magiques. Bien que les humains ne soient pas haut dans la chaîne du pouvoir - les métamorphes et les vampires occupent cette position - j'ai adoré l'idée que toutes les races ont souffert dans cette catastrophe, perdant des maisons, des vies et des familles. Isoellen a beaucoup à explorer dans cette prémisse, et j'espère qu'elle le fera à l'avenir !

[Dominus~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 fair enough stars

Probably not a book one would accidentally see unless you're reading this kind of genre. First mention of Unseelie and I've heard of it but the general people might have not. No concepts were given what it is.

Sophie was looking for her brother in parts of the town she's never been. She's been destined to be a virgin sacrifice. Her blood is powerful as long as she's a virgin and it'll be used for sorcery by the vampirs. Let's just say, she's been in a glass case until Micah found her and now she's ruined.

That moment when I realized that the FMC doesn't own herself anymore. The transition from being herself to being owned by him was so smooth I didn't even realize-along with the FMC that it has happened.

It feels like a start of a story and we haven't really dabbled into anything deep.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Something a little different from this author. I wasn't expecting to enjoy this one but I really liked how she weave this universe. Not something new but that way she went about it, definitely refreshing and an eye opener. I really hope this isn't the only one and that she expands more on this universe. As for Micah and Sophie, opposites definitely attracts as both their worlds collides in more than one way. Definitely not what either one was looking for but definitely needed. Sophie smooths out the rough edges on Micah and Micah opens up her world to more than the duh existence she's been living. Some intimate scenes may not be everyone's cup of tea so fair warning. Looking and hoping forward for more.

[Mom2three · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have loved everything Isoellen, and while this one isn't my favorite I did enjoy it. I love dud/non-con so none of that bothered me and I enjoyed the darkness level. There are a lot of interesting characters that I'm hoping to see more of in the future, too. As for Sophie and Micah, their romance is different. Micah isn't a good guy, another thing I really enjoy, and I found myself loving to hate him. Sophie is fantastic. She's not a simpering female and even when she's scared and uncertain there is a level of strength to her. The story moves at a nice pace, although the ending was slightly rushed, and I am excited to see where this series goes.

[L S · Rating 4 out of 5]

missing something

It was incredible world building, but all resolved too quickly. The climax came when I thought the book was gearing up. This is Isoellen, so I’m not surprised about the lose end. Though this is a keys story, and other than a throwaway like about keys, no one mentions them.

Fair warning this has dubious concern and Micah plays his own head games with Sophie. He’s a questionable hero. The type you cheer for not because he’s great, but because he is the better bad choice. I was hoping for Sophie figuring things out alone, but otherwise it was a great read.