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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
Thank you to the authors and to Paper Myth's for this advanced copy.
I'll be honest with you. I did not read the description of this book when I signed up for it. I saw the authors, the cover, and knew it dealt with Mate's and Shifters and said SIGN ME UP.
I think even if I had read the blurb, I'd still have signed up. Persephone x Hades meets Beauty and the Beast? Yes please.
While this doesn't really give me Beast from the story, I can definitely see PxH in the idea line.
Raegan is a guardian. She's also a witch and a shifter, but she's never been able to shift or utilize her powers properly. She comes from a long line of descendants who've been guardians.
Caius was betrayed. By someone he loved and by his brethren (not all but some). He just wants to get his soul back and move forward, but the guardian is believed to be his fated mate.
I do love the premise of this story and I did enjoy reading it, but sadly.. I just couldn't get into it. It was like watching things happen on repeat chapter after chapter.
And I'm honestly moody as all hell right now. So I'm shelving the book for the time being in the hopes that picking it back up later will allow me to enjoy it more thoroughly. I'll still give it a four out of five stars because it's decent quality writing and it's totally possible this is a me problem and not a book problem.
What you'll find:
- Fated Mates
- Shifters (not just wolves)
- Comedic relief with the sidekick family members
- Struggling with grief and loss in many forms
- Kind of World building, but minimal (my head doesn't hurt)
- Betrayal
- Mystery and on page murder
I'll be honest with you. I did not read the description of this book when I signed up for it. I saw the authors, the cover, and knew it dealt with Mate's and Shifters and said SIGN ME UP.
I think even if I had read the blurb, I'd still have signed up. Persephone x Hades meets Beauty and the Beast? Yes please.
While this doesn't really give me Beast from the story, I can definitely see PxH in the idea line.
Raegan is a guardian. She's also a witch and a shifter, but she's never been able to shift or utilize her powers properly. She comes from a long line of descendants who've been guardians.
Caius was betrayed. By someone he loved and by his brethren (not all but some). He just wants to get his soul back and move forward, but the guardian is believed to be his fated mate.
I do love the premise of this story and I did enjoy reading it, but sadly.. I just couldn't get into it. It was like watching things happen on repeat chapter after chapter.
And I'm honestly moody as all hell right now. So I'm shelving the book for the time being in the hopes that picking it back up later will allow me to enjoy it more thoroughly. I'll still give it a four out of five stars because it's decent quality writing and it's totally possible this is a me problem and not a book problem.
What you'll find:
- Fated Mates
- Shifters (not just wolves)
- Comedic relief with the sidekick family members
- Struggling with grief and loss in many forms
- Kind of World building, but minimal (my head doesn't hurt)
- Betrayal
- Mystery and on page murder
this is a 4.5 for me. I enjoyed this so much. It had great chemistry between the characters, lots of funny moments that had me smiling and a couple scenes where I teared up. I really enjoyed reading the MMC Caius who was equal parts patient & understanding mixed with possessiveness & alphaness. Raegan the FMC was enjoyable as she was really sassy but also very vulnerable especially when you learn so much has been hidden from her by those who love her. Makes your heart break for her and how Caius is there to support her and work towards getting her to trust him. I loved reading the ups and even a few downs in their relationship as they got to know one another as it made their chemistry and relationship really believable.
Now this is described as a Hades x Persephone meets Beauty and the Beast inspired story and I would say while I can see some things that could have been inspired by B&B I saw way more H&P as inspiration.
Also, the side characters where really enjoyable Regan's family was a hoot and other characters as well really added to the humor of the story and the heartbreak as well. There were even hidden betrayers in the midst. As I understand some of the next installments in their series will involve side characters from this book from Tartarus and I am really excited to read their stories. I am also excited to have found new authors whose works I can now explore because as I understand it this is a spinoff series, so I definitely want to check out the related works.
In the end I really enjoyed this book and had a hard time putting it down to deal with real life and I can't wait to find out what happens in the next installment.
this book is about Reagan who from the moment she was born was made to be the guardian to half of the soul of a primordial god called the soulless one. She has always been on borrowed time until one day a series of events starts to destroy the wards on her that contain the soul calling the attention of the soulless one. As her family struggles to save her in bursts the soulless one who heals and saves her but calls her his mate. Which is impossible as she has been told her whole life she could never have a met because of her being the guardian. He however won't take no for an answer and in response steals her cousin forcing Reagan to come to Tartarus to save her. However, in order for her cousin to be release she agrees to stay for 6 months pretending to be his mate/queen so that they can get to know one another as he hopes to convince her of their mate status. As they get to know one another it is getting harder and harder for her to resist the man they call the king of monsters and the soulless one.
I received an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review
Now this is described as a Hades x Persephone meets Beauty and the Beast inspired story and I would say while I can see some things that could have been inspired by B&B I saw way more H&P as inspiration.
Also, the side characters where really enjoyable Regan's family was a hoot and other characters as well really added to the humor of the story and the heartbreak as well. There were even hidden betrayers in the midst. As I understand some of the next installments in their series will involve side characters from this book from Tartarus and I am really excited to read their stories. I am also excited to have found new authors whose works I can now explore because as I understand it this is a spinoff series, so I definitely want to check out the related works.
In the end I really enjoyed this book and had a hard time putting it down to deal with real life and I can't wait to find out what happens in the next installment.
this book is about Reagan who from the moment she was born was made to be the guardian to half of the soul of a primordial god called the soulless one. She has always been on borrowed time until one day a series of events starts to destroy the wards on her that contain the soul calling the attention of the soulless one. As her family struggles to save her in bursts the soulless one who heals and saves her but calls her his mate. Which is impossible as she has been told her whole life she could never have a met because of her being the guardian. He however won't take no for an answer and in response steals her cousin forcing Reagan to come to Tartarus to save her. However, in order for her cousin to be release she agrees to stay for 6 months pretending to be his mate/queen so that they can get to know one another as he hopes to convince her of their mate status. As they get to know one another it is getting harder and harder for her to resist the man they call the king of monsters and the soulless one.
I received an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review
So amazing! This story had my emotions all over. I definitely had tears both sad and happy. The characters are so well ridden and the story is so good. I love the mythical feel of the characters and locations. Reagan is definitely the best. That is one female that can not be broken. And she has a heart of gold. Her family will keep you laughing and truly feeling the love they have. The romance builds and brings so much depth to the characters. A great story with a touch of mystery and danger.
3.5 Stars - (written while reading) - The full concept of the story is fully explored in the first ten chapters so not sure what is left in the story as it seems like we know the basics already. There is a big information dump but not so much that it is overwhelming. Although, there is no spice for these first ten chapters it doesn’t suffer for it. Give me intense eye contact loaded with forbidden promise over straight smut any day. The world building is intense, with so many different creatures and supernatural aspects in just the few characters, but then it is a story stretched across two different worlds.
The character of Caius in the beginning is just broody enough to be intriguing but not highly annoying but I didn’t vibe with the puppy love, golden retriever persona development because for me, that didn’t vibe with who he was made out to be. Reagan is no shrinking wallflower but I feel that in the first quarter of the book, before she went to Tartarus, she was more independent and utilised her common sense in situations and was kind of a badass rather than the rest of the book where she relies on her internal unicorn to save her. I had more chemistry with the sun while I was reading than the main characters did together. Give me long lingering sizzling gaze that develops into something meaningful and not just no interest until the words ‘fated mates’ gets dropped then suddenly they are the only person for you.
So much information was dropped that could have been relevant, if it had been explored. The Primordials, the witch cult, grave robbing, there’s mention of the other supernatural creatures roaming the Earth but then this never gets mentioned again. I mean wouldn’t the other Primoridial gods get themselves involved in what is happening with Caius as there was so much underlaying conflict and tension when he was banished in the beginning. Since none of this was explored it just seemed like filler for filler’s sake and ultimately shows this books wattpad origins more completely as those stories too have just filler events around the sex. But you expect it there. And speaking of the sex, given what this book is, its origins and its look (I took the discreet cover to read in public) I expected more smut. There were only a few scenes and they weren’t as hot as I expected. There was only one scene which was the ‘mating ritual’ not as hot as you would expect from the name but it was heatedly romantic. The other scenes were like fucking with no finale.
The entire epilogue could have been scrapped, it had no bearing on the story and as this book is a stand alone it has no bearing on future events. There was just no need to have it included. This book leaned too much into its wattpad origins for it to be higher than a 3.5 star read. The whole fated mates issue could have been deeper and more of a catalyst than just ‘this is what we are so deal with it’. I found Reagan’s character too blinkered for a character who in the first couple of chapters was actually intuitive and intelligent. We never get an explanation as to why a god would have a fated mate when it is supposed to be impossible and the character behind the conflict was too obvious too early on.
That isn’t to say that I didn’t enjoy reading it. This book in parts was well written and the dialogue was humorous in parts so much so that I found myself smiling down at the page. The banter between Raegan and Caius was fun to read at times. This one is more of a guilty pleasure read and I will probably find myself picking it up again at some point.
Video Review = https://youtu.be/mx6TFmSa4TE
The character of Caius in the beginning is just broody enough to be intriguing but not highly annoying but I didn’t vibe with the puppy love, golden retriever persona development because for me, that didn’t vibe with who he was made out to be. Reagan is no shrinking wallflower but I feel that in the first quarter of the book, before she went to Tartarus, she was more independent and utilised her common sense in situations and was kind of a badass rather than the rest of the book where she relies on her internal unicorn to save her. I had more chemistry with the sun while I was reading than the main characters did together. Give me long lingering sizzling gaze that develops into something meaningful and not just no interest until the words ‘fated mates’ gets dropped then suddenly they are the only person for you.
So much information was dropped that could have been relevant, if it had been explored. The Primordials, the witch cult, grave robbing, there’s mention of the other supernatural creatures roaming the Earth but then this never gets mentioned again. I mean wouldn’t the other Primoridial gods get themselves involved in what is happening with Caius as there was so much underlaying conflict and tension when he was banished in the beginning. Since none of this was explored it just seemed like filler for filler’s sake and ultimately shows this books wattpad origins more completely as those stories too have just filler events around the sex. But you expect it there. And speaking of the sex, given what this book is, its origins and its look (I took the discreet cover to read in public) I expected more smut. There were only a few scenes and they weren’t as hot as I expected. There was only one scene which was the ‘mating ritual’ not as hot as you would expect from the name but it was heatedly romantic. The other scenes were like fucking with no finale.
The entire epilogue could have been scrapped, it had no bearing on the story and as this book is a stand alone it has no bearing on future events. There was just no need to have it included. This book leaned too much into its wattpad origins for it to be higher than a 3.5 star read. The whole fated mates issue could have been deeper and more of a catalyst than just ‘this is what we are so deal with it’. I found Reagan’s character too blinkered for a character who in the first couple of chapters was actually intuitive and intelligent. We never get an explanation as to why a god would have a fated mate when it is supposed to be impossible and the character behind the conflict was too obvious too early on.
That isn’t to say that I didn’t enjoy reading it. This book in parts was well written and the dialogue was humorous in parts so much so that I found myself smiling down at the page. The banter between Raegan and Caius was fun to read at times. This one is more of a guilty pleasure read and I will probably find myself picking it up again at some point.
Video Review = https://youtu.be/mx6TFmSa4TE
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
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
This shifter fantasy romance was a captivating ride. Reagan, the guardian of a cursed soul, must pretend to be the mate of Caius, a dark god, to save her cousin. Their chemistry is electric, and the slow-burn romance kept me hooked. The story is rich with magic, danger, and heartfelt moments, offering a satisfying standalone experience. The world-building is fantastic, and the characters are well-developed, making it a must-listen for fans of fantasy romance. I highly recommend it for its blend of passion, mystery, and a guaranteed happily ever after.
Another amazing story in the IV&V world!
This book was another home run in the IV&V world! I absolutely devoured it and am obsessed with this world and all the books set here. I cannot wait for the next book! I love the cameos of other characters from previous books and to see what is going on in their lives as well. And that ending
This book was another home run in the IV&V world! I absolutely devoured it and am obsessed with this world and all the books set here. I cannot wait for the next book! I love the cameos of other characters from previous books and to see what is going on in their lives as well. And that ending
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I have been in such a slump. I get out of it. Then go right back to it! I backed this authors kickstarter and got my books the other day! The cover is so stunning, but I wasn't sure what to expect out of the story. I can say the story was as wonderful and beautiful as the cover and the sprayed edges!!
I love the plot with Caius and his lost soul and the guardian, Reagan. She's now one of my favorite FMC. She's very smart, strong, and with a personality and temper to match. This was true enemies to lovers, at least on Raegan's end. I also love her because she's in her late 20s. She's not a teenager destined to save the world. She was relatable in so many ways. Clara, her cousin, and her family was really close and I love how they fought for her.
Caius is so dreamy and I love how kind and patient he was with Reagan. He was just as shocked and taken aback, yet, with him being so much older, he allowed Reagan time to get used to everything. He was patient and trusted her. He opened himself up to her even if she wasn't feeling the same. He appreciated her strength. There's nothing he wouldn't do for her.
There are a lot of similarities between this story and beauty and the beast, Hades and Persephone, and even Samson and Delilah with a certain character. I was so surprised with how much I loved this story. It was the perfect length and best of all, a HEA ending! Yes this is a part of a series but it's a standalone!! Ugh! That made me so happy. I can't wait to see what other stories these two authors will come up with.
I love the plot with Caius and his lost soul and the guardian, Reagan. She's now one of my favorite FMC. She's very smart, strong, and with a personality and temper to match. This was true enemies to lovers, at least on Raegan's end. I also love her because she's in her late 20s. She's not a teenager destined to save the world. She was relatable in so many ways. Clara, her cousin, and her family was really close and I love how they fought for her.
Caius is so dreamy and I love how kind and patient he was with Reagan. He was just as shocked and taken aback, yet, with him being so much older, he allowed Reagan time to get used to everything. He was patient and trusted her. He opened himself up to her even if she wasn't feeling the same. He appreciated her strength. There's nothing he wouldn't do for her.
There are a lot of similarities between this story and beauty and the beast, Hades and Persephone, and even Samson and Delilah with a certain character. I was so surprised with how much I loved this story. It was the perfect length and best of all, a HEA ending! Yes this is a part of a series but it's a standalone!! Ugh! That made me so happy. I can't wait to see what other stories these two authors will come up with.
medium-paced
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Complicated
It was fine.