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A review by wandering_seal
Mine To Claim by Jp Sina
dark
medium-paced
3.25
I feel like this is perfect if you are looking for a short, smutty shifter story with some chasing elements, a hint of forbidden romance and shifted action. It's a quick read and the setup, with the terrible abusive ex, means that you really feel like our FMC deserves what she gets at the end (what she gets at the end being a gigantic coke can up to her middle).
The story didn't quite work for me and I think that's because I wanted deeper exploration of what was going on. The FMC was frustratingly incurious about the world that she had found herself in, and was just along for the ride which meant that as readers, we didn't get much sense of that world, either. The setup was really delicious - there is this close, strange environment that she suddenly finds herself in, with this overwhelming, fascinating man that she knows she shouldn't be going anywhere near, yet it never really followed through on that delicious tension. There's an awful lot of dialogue between her and her best friend, which I wanted to like, but I felt like it was distracting from what was more important - the build up of the romance.
Another thing that gave pause was the idea of consent within the story. Now, to be clear, I don't take issue with non-consensual scenes in dark romances, but this didn't feel like a dark romance. The MMC explicitly ignores our FMC's nos - I understand that her body was clearly saying yes, but she was not, and (maybe this is just me?) I would have found the story much hotter if he had honoured her no and let the tension build until she had changed it to a fully informed, consenting yes.
I get that some of my criticism comes down to me wishing that this was a longer story, with more opportunity for depth, and that's not what this story was aiming for. It's a short, hot read with plenty of Os and if that is what you are looking for then it is absolutely the right story for you.
I read an advance copy of this book. My thoughts are very much my own.
The story didn't quite work for me and I think that's because I wanted deeper exploration of what was going on. The FMC was frustratingly incurious about the world that she had found herself in, and was just along for the ride which meant that as readers, we didn't get much sense of that world, either. The setup was really delicious - there is this close, strange environment that she suddenly finds herself in, with this overwhelming, fascinating man that she knows she shouldn't be going anywhere near, yet it never really followed through on that delicious tension. There's an awful lot of dialogue between her and her best friend, which I wanted to like, but I felt like it was distracting from what was more important - the build up of the romance.
Another thing that gave pause was the idea of consent within the story. Now, to be clear, I don't take issue with non-consensual scenes in dark romances, but this didn't feel like a dark romance. The MMC explicitly ignores our FMC's nos - I understand that her body was clearly saying yes, but she was not, and (maybe this is just me?) I would have found the story much hotter if he had honoured her no and let the tension build until she had changed it to a fully informed, consenting yes.
I get that some of my criticism comes down to me wishing that this was a longer story, with more opportunity for depth, and that's not what this story was aiming for. It's a short, hot read with plenty of Os and if that is what you are looking for then it is absolutely the right story for you.
I read an advance copy of this book. My thoughts are very much my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence
Moderate: Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Infidelity, Alcohol