4 1/2 ⭐️s — The Chase is on!
This is the fourth book of the Mate Hunt series, and I personally DO NOT CONSIDER this to be a STAND-ALONE read. I HIGHLY recommend these be read in series order, as they contain multiple reoccurring characters, consecutive timelines (begins as soon as the previous one ended), and interwoven themes so a lot of details that occurred previously would be lost, as they cannot be adequately explained within another story.
— If you have not read any of the stories in this series, the following will contain spoilers, but hopefully only enough to adequately explain my opinions, questions, etc. about the story. —
Lola Glass has created an unique origin story for werewolves that resulted in two separate beings in a shared body. When the wolf is in charge the human can see what is happening, but cannot communicate, or control, the animal that will act on instinct. Because of how werewolves evolved, only males are born, so when the wolf finds its mate, the reaction is immediate and that starts a 3 phase ritual: Hunt, Chase and Climax. This is what necessitates the kidnapping of the human female for most of them, as the wolf will not shift back until he marks his chosen mate.
⛔️ There are a couple of potential triggers for sensitive readers, such as adult language, semi-steamy intimate scenes, mental health challenges of depression, anxiety, alcohol and substance dependency, etc., and violence such as domestic abuse against women and children, fighting, threats, assault, etc.
For a PNR especially, I consider these to be really clean. There isn’t any fighting or killing between packs — they don’t even have pack names, just references to ‘packs’ formed by age within the group at large — the intimate scenes still aren’t very detailed.
For me to rate this 5 ⭐️s, I need more physical details around the characters and some more information about Moon River. I think it would have been beneficial to include a couple of the scenes from the year Zed chased June.
Lola continues to change up the 3 phase ritual. Over the last two stories especially, she has provided more information about the roles (I.e. Alpha, Beta, Omega, Sigma, etc.), and how these are vastly different than previous series I have read. There is a little bit more violence in this story, but it is still not what I would define as dark. Maybe this is because of the sarcastic comments and sense of humor weaved into it from the beginning.
I mention the following for readers such as myself that visualize the story as it is read, because errors interrupt the flow. There are multiple punctuation issues, mainly with commas, incorrect word choices, incorrect word tenses, missing / extra inserted words, and an inconsistency with the timeline at the beginning (1+ year vs. <8 months). I didn’t document all of punctuation issues, just the ones that annoyed me the most tbh. I uploaded my notes to goodreads for anyone interested.
This story begins a few hours after the ending of the previous. Del and Rocco are married and June made it in time. She rushed to Moon River to save her BFF from making a mistake, but found the one that used to wallow in misery with her, grinning at a gorgeous man. Now they are at the reception and the only thing to drink is ROOT BEER! WTF?! That is not an appropriate 🍺 for a reception!
Then June hears a sexy voice say, “Why don’t I get you something more appropriate, then?” Men always have the worse timing, popping up where they are not wanted. Maybe she needed to get her pepper spray out to get rid of which ever drunk, 😈 jerk that has come to hit on her and the bride.
Del assured her she wouldn’t need it, that Zed was good people. June would never believe it, because no man, from her father forward, has been good. Then a large male body dropped into the chair next to her, dropped a bottle of red wine on the table, and told her she wouldn’t regret trying it. Surprisingly, he didn’t try to check her out like most other males have in the past, but it still didn’t mean he was a good guy.
Since Del didn’t need saving from her ‘wolfy soulmate’, June might as well enjoy some wine. So June asks Zed for some and he teases with her, and tells her that now it was all his. Zed’s 👀 meets June’s, then his turn red and he says “Mate”. June knows what that means; ‘OH H3LL NO!’ She is not going to be caught and tied down like Del! Men can’t be trusted and she is not convinced, no matter what Del tells her, that good ones exist.
So June listens to the little voice in her head, evades Zed’s hands and runs out of the venue. She hops in her truck and the Chase is on!