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katkinney's review
4.0
Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for allowing me to read and review Paige Cuccaro's newest book. What an interesting shifter romance. We start off with Kate, an independent young woman who runs a diner and has been battling with millionaire Jack, the mogul who's bought her building and is trying to evict the diner if they can't come up with a hefty new rent. They're both fairly independent characters, and we soon find out that Jack needs to find himself a bride if he wants to assume his position as Alpha wolf. You can imagine where things go from there.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the author.
Please excuse typos. Entered on screen reader.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the author.
Please excuse typos. Entered on screen reader.
ileana1's review
Things I liked:
- diverse side cast that felt like actual characters and not shoe-ins for extra diversity points. I would have wanted to see more of them, particularly in the middle part of the novel (surely someone would have asked her what is up with all the news coverage...), but I still bought into their presence and importance in Kate's life.
- I liked the character dynamic between the two MCs. It didn't feel like a lot of romance does, where the female MC (or less domineering man, really) stops having a personality once they get with the love interest. Kate still felt like her own person, who wasn't going to be pushed around, and I liked that a lot.
- I liked Jack, as well. He wasn't an asshole! I mean, he is kind of arrogant, but he didn't ever come across to me as someone who would purposefully ruin someone else's life, or try and break Kate so she'd be more submissive. You do still have the occasional 'being kind of harsh' moments, and he has a tendency of saying things that can be insulting without realizing it (I guess that bothered me less because I can read it as accidental), but he never crossed the line into creepy/rapey/wtf is wrong with you territory, for me.
Things I didn't like:
- some of Kate's decisions are... dubious. Shouting-at-my-kindle-because-it's-so-obviously-a-bad-idea dubious. I liked her enough that it wasn't a dealbreaker for me, but it still bugged me that she'd be all like 'hey how about I do things that are obviously dangerous with no actual reason'.
- similarly, some of the drama feels quite manufactured when it didn't need to be. Kate wasn't questioning people enough by far - why would you take everyone at face value when you know someone is going to try and manipulate you? Why wouldn't you question your feelings when you're away from people messing with your head, even if you fell for it the first time around? I guess what bugged me about this was that there were enough things to create a conflict between the two MCs without making Kate weirdly gullible. It would have also made a much more interesting story if she had fallen for a lie and then realized over time that she was being manipulated, but it still made her question her feelings because of the way other characters reacted to her being upset.
Tl;dr: I enjoyed the book! It has some flaws, but if you're looking for a werewolf romance that isn't rapey, this might just be your book!
- diverse side cast that felt like actual characters and not shoe-ins for extra diversity points. I would have wanted to see more of them, particularly in the middle part of the novel (surely someone would have asked her what is up with all the news coverage...), but I still bought into their presence and importance in Kate's life.
- I liked the character dynamic between the two MCs. It didn't feel like a lot of romance does, where the female MC (or less domineering man, really) stops having a personality once they get with the love interest. Kate still felt like her own person, who wasn't going to be pushed around, and I liked that a lot.
- I liked Jack, as well. He wasn't an asshole! I mean, he is kind of arrogant, but he didn't ever come across to me as someone who would purposefully ruin someone else's life, or try and break Kate so she'd be more submissive. You do still have the occasional 'being kind of harsh' moments, and he has a tendency of saying things that can be insulting without realizing it (I guess that bothered me less because I can read it as accidental), but he never crossed the line into creepy/rapey/wtf is wrong with you territory, for me.
Things I didn't like:
- some of Kate's decisions are... dubious. Shouting-at-my-kindle-because-it's-so-obviously-a-bad-idea dubious. I liked her enough that it wasn't a dealbreaker for me, but it still bugged me that she'd be all like 'hey how about I do things that are obviously dangerous with no actual reason'.
- similarly, some of the drama feels quite manufactured when it didn't need to be. Kate wasn't questioning people enough by far - why would you take everyone at face value when you know someone is going to try and manipulate you? Why wouldn't you question your feelings when you're away from people messing with your head, even if you fell for it the first time around? I guess what bugged me about this was that there were enough things to create a conflict between the two MCs without making Kate weirdly gullible. It would have also made a much more interesting story if she had fallen for a lie and then realized over time that she was being manipulated, but it still made her question her feelings because of the way other characters reacted to her being upset.
Tl;dr: I enjoyed the book! It has some flaws, but if you're looking for a werewolf romance that isn't rapey, this might just be your book!
izziede's review
I found the hero selfish and he stayed away too long when he made his choice. Didn't like him at all.
sionna's review
3.0
*I received this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
I decided to pick this book up because it seemed charming and light. Turns out, I got exactly what I planned on.
I almost want to call it cozy-- a cozy PNR, if you will. We have a loyal and caring heroine, a sexy rich alpha, quirky side characters, and a blossoming romance. Mostly the same as other werewolf stories, but I did find the way to turn a werewolf quite interesting. Disbelief factor? "Oh, usually werewolves are attracted to humans since we are different species..." Yet, we see two werewolves fall for humans....
Then, "Don't worry about protection, we can't spread anything between us because different species, etc." So, can she not get pregnant? I feel like that would be another cause for alarm....
Over-looking the over problems, it was a decent book to read. Nothing complicated or shocking-- this is a good in between book or something light and quick to read. Not something I'd highly recommend, but I wouldn't tell someone not to read it either. It was a fun little read and just what I needed at the moment.
I decided to pick this book up because it seemed charming and light. Turns out, I got exactly what I planned on.
I almost want to call it cozy-- a cozy PNR, if you will. We have a loyal and caring heroine, a sexy rich alpha, quirky side characters, and a blossoming romance. Mostly the same as other werewolf stories, but I did find the way to turn a werewolf quite interesting. Disbelief factor? "Oh, usually werewolves are attracted to humans since we are different species..." Yet, we see two werewolves fall for humans....
Then, "Don't worry about protection, we can't spread anything between us because different species, etc." So, can she not get pregnant? I feel like that would be another cause for alarm....
Over-looking the over problems, it was a decent book to read. Nothing complicated or shocking-- this is a good in between book or something light and quick to read. Not something I'd highly recommend, but I wouldn't tell someone not to read it either. It was a fun little read and just what I needed at the moment.
tmycann's review
4.0
This was the second of my NetGalley binge this weekend and was immensely satisfying. It confirms once more (if there was ever any doubt) that I'm firmly Team Furry--any good, romantic werewolf will push all my buttons in all the right ways.
The fact that Kate Affetto stands up to her very Alpha suitor, Jack Pensione, and has her own goals and dreams, sets this apart from your standard, run-of-the-mill damsel in distress story. I loved the fact that the author acknowledged the fairy tale elements of this tale and stood them on their head. Cuccaro unfolded layers of motivations and backstory for all the main players in a way that felt real and allowed me to enjoy Kate's ride toward true love.
The only element that was a little thin was Marcus' piece of the story. Alexia was an easy antagonist to hate, but there were small holes in that bit of the plot that made the resolution easier than it should have been.
On the whole, though, this was highly entertaining and well worth my time. I really hope there are follow-on stories in this world with these characters, because Cuccaro's world-building was enticing enough to make me want to return.
The fact that Kate Affetto stands up to her very Alpha suitor, Jack Pensione, and has her own goals and dreams, sets this apart from your standard, run-of-the-mill damsel in distress story. I loved the fact that the author acknowledged the fairy tale elements of this tale and stood them on their head. Cuccaro unfolded layers of motivations and backstory for all the main players in a way that felt real and allowed me to enjoy Kate's ride toward true love.
The only element that was a little thin was Marcus' piece of the story. Alexia was an easy antagonist to hate, but there were small holes in that bit of the plot that made the resolution easier than it should have been.
On the whole, though, this was highly entertaining and well worth my time. I really hope there are follow-on stories in this world with these characters, because Cuccaro's world-building was enticing enough to make me want to return.
ssirrah's review
3.0
I went back and forth with my enjoyment of the book. Sometimes I was reading and couldn't put it down; other times it took me hours before I went back to it. I think my problem was that sometimes the heroine would have traits that didn't fit her character (or maybe what I thought it should be). This is a woman whose dad walked out on her on her eighteenth birthday, leaving her to raise her brother. To me she should be less naive than she was at times. I enjoyed the final conflict, but the epilogue/final chapter fell short for me.
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