Reviews

Second Nature by Jae

yasmine24's review

adventurous emotional mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

eshalliday's review against another edition

3.0

As a recent convert to Jae, I can say this isn't her typical slow-burn lesbian romance.
This is a fantasy thriller, where the victim, and the special-unit-operative who has the hit out on her, are both women who love women (with added lions and tigers). Good, though!

riahwamby's review against another edition

adventurous tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

This was a good take on the shifter genre, with a lot of world building and lore. The romance is a slow burn, which I honestly prefer. Good overall, not sure if I loved it enough to continue the series. We’ll see!

cj_parsley's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense fast-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

5.0

piazelda's review against another edition

adventurous

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

lezreadalot's review against another edition

3.0

“I told you. Don’t run. Never show weakness to a predator. If you run, I can’t help but give chase.”

This was fun! I haven't read paranormal romance in a while, and shifters are appealing to me in very specific ways. I loved everything about Griffin; her strength, her protectiveness, how she was described as being massive and graceful...

banrions's review

3.0

I ended up enjoying this one. Largely, I really liked the character, Jorie, and I found the world building of the shifters and the lions and the pride dynamics to be interesting. I didn’t connect with Griffin quite as much, or this would probably be closer to a four, for me. I both love the trope (in fiction) where one character is very protective over another, but it also treads a fine line for me, and Griffin occasionally annoyed me with it, especially when Jorie is so clearly badass and capable. (It’s also possible I didn’t connect with her as much, because the voice the narrator used for her isn’t my favorite of the ones in her repertoire, and that is def just a personal bias thing). That said, it was nowhere near as bad as I’ve read in books like these with shapeshifters and overall I enjoyed it a lot!

misthios_pat's review

5.0

I'm very late to this party, but since Jae gave away this book so us [not into paranormal/supernatural] could get a taste of it, I tried and I'm gonna say, gurrrrl, this still isn't my cup of tea and I'm still reticent, but I was hooked! I'm definitely buying the sequel. I gotta say, however, if I stumble into something [well] written by someone like Jae I may give it a try without prejudice hehehe.

So, about the story, it was interesting, the plot was cool, actually the word that fit best here is thrilling and the way we get to slowly build a rapport with both MCs and them with each other for half of the book made it even better, IMHO. No instalust [which I love too], a very nice slow burn with the romance not being the centre of the story [that's my take if you disagree, suck it]. I'm no shapeshifter, although my wardrobe would slight disagree, but I found very easy to empathize with Griffin and cheer for her and her human mate.

The only downside for me is that I'm sort of a men hater in books that I'm reading mainly for the sapphic romance [even if it takes a back sit with such a plot development] and there is a health presence of male here, which makes sense and added positively to the story.

Also, I wish we had EVEN MORE time with the MCs as a couple, to have the opportunity to sneak peek in more detail the quirks of their relationship. I'm greedy. But seeing that there are a few short stories as sequels appeases my needy self.

yayathegreat38's review

adventurous lighthearted mysterious 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

3.75

pn_hinton's review

4.0

Overall a good read with a really slow burn. It's a bit long but looking back I can't say that any parts were unnecessary because there was more at stake than your average shifter novel. I enjoyed this read and it sucked me in and drew me away from other books because I just had to know how it was going to play out. There was also a lot of vindication that satisfied my desire for revenge, which is a bit scary but hey I'm under no illusions about that part of my personality. Would recommend and will read more for this author.