Scan barcode
angepants's review
5.0
I think it's going to take me a while to get over the end of this book. I mean i love a good cliff hanger, I really do, but the anxiety is killer! Great characters, fantastic story and an excellent bad guy, you love to hate. The connections in this harem are varied and that makes it that much more believable. I love the coming home type stories and this one delivers. The side characters are important in this story and they are great, the promise of finding out more about everyone in the next book will keep us all going! The politics of wolf shifter packs is so interesting, throwing in a female in a male dominated world is great, I love the care she takes to respect her pack, but at the same time she can do the brutal things she needs to. Can't wait for more steam, more explanations and a way forward for these troubled packs.
aliasaurora's review
3.0
The book starts out rough, with a sluggish funeral scene wherein FMC exerts her new alpha power against the priest unnecessarily and refers to her late father’s widow as “step-monster”; a cringeworthy term in itself, made worse by the fact that FMC specifically mentions that she started calling her that from the first moment her dad told her he was remarrying—meaning that FMC never gave the woman a chance—and the same appears to be true for her half-sister, an eight-year-old child whom FMC mentally dismisses as she’s lamenting the fact that her sister and her father’s widow are permitted by his will to live in his home and receive an allowance (in FMC’s control) from his estate.
It’s an ugly look for an MC, to be this controlling and resentful of her grieving family, so I started from a place of intense dislike that she had to overcome to get back in my good graces. FMC mentions how she blames herself for her mother’s death but instead of humanizing her, I’m also thinking the author decided to invent things for FMC to feel guilty about instead of being self-aware enough to realize she is already flawed.
The FMC’s first actions in her new role as Alpha of her pack are all about cowing people with her alpha powers and rejecting her father’s plans and legacy because she’s against the concept of arranged marriage—so stubbornly in fact that it doesn’t matter if it would strengthen her pack during a time of transition, and not even if he was her fated mate.
Her tendency to use her alpha power to push down all dissent in her ranks belies her stated goals of bringing her pack into the twenty-first century and having betas she can rely on to call her out when she’s wrong. She is actually surprised that manage to work together without constant power struggles, probably because she has so many power struggles within her own ranks and is terrified to show any emotions in public, at home, or in the shifter club she owns, lest any emotion other than cool, collected dominance and disinterest cause other shifters within her pack to challenge her. It’s actually kinda confusing because she is stated to be the *only* alpha wolf in her pack, not just the head honcho capital-A Alpha, and packs can’t be run by beta wolves, so who would challenge her? Is this paranoia even justified?
Throughout the book, FMC devastatingly strings along her hopelessly enamored childhood best friend with a while hating her stepmother for the horrible crimes of offering to organize an on her behalf, wanting to keep her husband’s ashes with her, and alluding to how hard it must be for her little sister, having lost a parent at the age of eight, which FMC strangely takes as a personal slight directed at her and her mother, who she lost when she was sixteen.
Adding to the FMC’s hypocrisy is the fact that after she tries to step into her new role with zero knowledge of the privilege she holds, which the bad guy pointed out in his villainous monologue. His people have been marginalized and still live in poverty, while she lives in a gorgeous manor when she’s not living it up in NYC She even has the nerve to think that her ridiculous guilt over her mom’s death is comparable to Zeke
The book ends on a cliffhanger, with FMC bonded and betrothed From the title alone, I had actually expected more of a resolution to either of those issues, or at least for her to get to know her mates better, but the plot is so incredibly dense and pressed for time, with the entire book happening over the course of just a couple days. It feels mostly like a setup to a larger story arc, and the characters’ personal journey was pretty shallow by comparison. Somehow I doubt any of the personality issues I brought up with the FMC will be fixed in the next book, which leaves me reticent to continue the series. Eh, maybe?
It’s an ugly look for an MC, to be this controlling and resentful of her grieving family, so I started from a place of intense dislike that she had to overcome to get back in my good graces. FMC mentions how she blames herself for her mother’s death
Spoiler
(hit by a drunk driver on the way to pick FMC up at the age of 16)The FMC’s first actions in her new role as Alpha of her pack are all about cowing people with her alpha powers and rejecting her father’s plans and legacy because she’s against the concept of arranged marriage—so stubbornly in fact that it doesn’t matter if it would strengthen her pack during a time of transition, and not even if he was her fated mate.
Spoiler
Which he is.Her tendency to use her alpha power to push down all dissent in her ranks belies her stated goals of bringing her pack into the twenty-first century and having betas she can rely on to call her out when she’s wrong. She is actually surprised that
Spoiler
three of her mates are alphas whoThroughout the book, FMC devastatingly strings along her hopelessly enamored childhood best friend with a
Spoiler
fake engagement,Spoiler
engagement partyAdding to the FMC’s hypocrisy is the fact that after
Spoiler
leaving her pack for ten years, only returning after her fathers murder,Spoiler
laundering daddy’s illegal gun money.Spoiler
being separated from his identical twin before he was old enough to remember, not being told he was a wolf his entire childhood, growing up with a druggie mom and her abusive boyfriends, being taken from his mother into foster care at the age of twelve, and eventually becoming a hit man (a profession he clearly despises and did not choose for himself) and living with all that guilt.The book ends on a cliffhanger, with FMC bonded
Spoiler
to one mateSpoiler
to another.onepageatatime's review
5.0
This book was so good. There was so much going on and so many secrets, lies, and betrayals that I just couldn't put it down. Oh and I can't forget about the romance because this book was STEAMY! There is no petty and childish drama which I loved and it was all down to earth and real. Once you pick up this book you wont be able to put it down.
readingmunchkin's review
5.0
This is the first book in the Fated Pack series. It follows Skylar Draven (I love that name) as she comes back home after her father is murdered. She is now the Alpha of her pack and must navigate being in charge, finding her fathers murderer, a turf war with bear shifters, and oh yeah...finding several mates! She tries to fight the mate bond as she doesn't want the distraction with everything else going on in her life.
So much is happening that it leaves you on the edge of your seat wanting more!
Skylar is a brave, smart, badass FMC that we all love. I adore her relationship with Zeke! He is all kinds of Alpha but also understands that Skylar is also an Alpha and can hold her own. The spice is nice and steamy
So much is happening that it leaves you on the edge of your seat wanting more!
Skylar is a brave, smart, badass FMC that we all love. I adore her relationship with Zeke! He is all kinds of Alpha but also understands that Skylar is also an Alpha and can hold her own. The spice is nice and steamy
niki_reads_romance's review
5.0
I LOVE a good shifter romance! A shifter romance AND the female lead has multiple mates? SIGN ME UP! Really though, I enjoyed this book quite a lot. Skylar, the FMC, returns home after many years away from her pack. Now filling the role of Alpha of the Draven pack following her father’s murder, she is also thrown into a conflict with a sleuth of bears who are looking for revenge. On top of that, a tentative alliance with another pack and throw some mates into the mix and you’ve got yourself an action-packed steamy romance!
There was very little downtime in the book and I was very much okay with that! Even the quieter moments between Skylar and her mates, they still felt like a lot was happening; sort of heavy with a lot of the questions still up in the air between them, the sexual tension (and there was A LOT of it!), or just the need between them. Skylar had a lot to balance: trying to do what was best for her pack, getting settled back into pack life, handling her anger about the deal made without her knowledge AND the grief regarding her father’s murder, her feelings about her mates and how they may affect her future, and also how to stop a potential war with the bear shifters (and they’re very creepy leader). She is pretty badass character as far as I’m concerned. From the get-go she stood her ground, even if on the inside she was struggling. She was not going to let anyone push her around or keep her from a fight despite being thrown into the deep end almost immediately upon her return to her pack.
The guys, all strong in their own right, immediately want nothing more than to be in her life and they work hard to show her she should let them in. While I’m normally a fan of the full-on alpha behavior in these situations, which they definitely did at certain points, it was a little refreshing to have them really work for here even while she was pushing them away at times.
I had a bit of anxiety at the end and I cannot wait to read the next book. Although I have a feeling, I’m in line to just have MORE anxiety.
Quick Notes:
There was very little downtime in the book and I was very much okay with that! Even the quieter moments between Skylar and her mates, they still felt like a lot was happening; sort of heavy with a lot of the questions still up in the air between them, the sexual tension (and there was A LOT of it!), or just the need between them. Skylar had a lot to balance: trying to do what was best for her pack, getting settled back into pack life, handling her anger about the deal made without her knowledge AND the grief regarding her father’s murder, her feelings about her mates and how they may affect her future, and also how to stop a potential war with the bear shifters (and they’re very creepy leader). She is pretty badass character as far as I’m concerned. From the get-go she stood her ground, even if on the inside she was struggling. She was not going to let anyone push her around or keep her from a fight despite being thrown into the deep end almost immediately upon her return to her pack.
The guys, all strong in their own right, immediately want nothing more than to be in her life and they work hard to show her she should let them in. While I’m normally a fan of the full-on alpha behavior in these situations, which they definitely did at certain points, it was a little refreshing to have them really work for here even while she was pushing them away at times.
I had a bit of anxiety at the end and I cannot wait to read the next book. Although I have a feeling, I’m in line to just have MORE anxiety.
Quick Notes:
gemmylou87's review
5.0
Rachel is So Talented!!
I have adored Rachel since her debut book Ascension was released and her new world keeps all of the promises I have come to expect from her writing.
This new world of wolves is recovering after a loss and I truly, truly enjoyed falling in love with Sky - she is an incredible FMC! Not to mention her hot as anything men too. However, full disclosure, Rachel throws us right off the cliff at the end and it's brutal!
Doesn't stop me loving it though.
I have adored Rachel since her debut book Ascension was released and her new world keeps all of the promises I have come to expect from her writing.
This new world of wolves is recovering after a loss and I truly, truly enjoyed falling in love with Sky - she is an incredible FMC! Not to mention her hot as anything men too. However, full disclosure, Rachel throws us right off the cliff at the end and it's brutal!
Doesn't stop me loving it though.
lady_h_reads's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½
<i>My heart knew immediately who she was to me before I noticed the bond linking us to one another. She was perfect—is perfect, and that stunned me, her beauty knocking me off guard.</i>
I was so excited to read Bonded and Betrothed – Fated mates is one of my favorite tropes; mix it with a bit of rejection, and I am a very happy reader. I was thrilled that the FMC was strong – an Alpha in her own right, the alpha of her pack.
The political intrigue, inter-pack betrayals, and threats from outside sources hooked me. I loved the world of wolf shifters mixed with mafia and crime.
The romance is medium-burn but still spicy – the sexual tension is insane. I foresee some very, very intense scenes to come once every bond has been secured.
Rachel got us with that cliffhanger. I am ready for book two!
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Tropes/Features: Wolf Shifters, Alpha FMC, Fated Mates, Alpha mates, Twins, Chosen Family, Arranged Marriage, Betrayal
Narrator: Multiple 1st Person POV
Relationship Type: Why Choose – MFMMM, Medium burn, spicy
Book Type/Ending: Book One in the Fated Pack series, significant cliffhanger
belindaclemons_123's review
5.0
Skylar is just awesome this Alpha can take care of her self but she does need her mates hehe. The chemistry between them was hot. The betrayal of her beta and the action in this book made for an exciting read. So did the mates Everett Zeke Arsenio and Zayn.