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A review by mx_virg
The Tyrant Alpha's Rejected Mate by Cate C. Wells
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A rejected mate story where the heroine actually has some back bone and the hero grovels? Yes, please and thank you.
🐝 Una Hayes is a great heroine. She's a fighter, a survivor, in a way her pack will never truly appreciate. She has a bad leg and that's all they see, but she doesn't let it stop from taking care of herself and her packmates. She also has that resilience, that quiet determination to keep on moving and living. Her wolf is also a riot.
🐺 I ended up actually really liking Killian and empathize with the path he's taken. It's easy to just focus on the bad and how at times he should have known better. But when you read about how the pack worked before he became alpha, the amount of work and energy he had to put into the pack to get them out of the caves, protect the weak, earn enough money so everybody's taken care of... That required a single-minded focus and determination that unfortunately made him oblivious to other things. Seriously, he can be really dense, especially in the first half of the book. But his hard work also paved the way for Una's ability to take care of her packmates.
💞 They make a really great pair. While he was busy with the big issues in the pack, she made sure the weaker and forgotten wolves were taken care off instead of just left alone. They both grew into strong, resourceful people who complement each other very well. I'll probably read other books in the series just to see how well the pack is now doing thanks to their partnership.
💗 I really like the rejected mate trope here. In many books, this trope is used to have a bully romance where the hero treats the heroine like trash but she's still coming back to him because "the bond makes me do it". It's gross. You have a bit of that here, there were some moments where I didn't understand the dynamics or the choices made (the biology/magic behind the fated mates bond is wonky, no one really knows much about it it seems, plus the wolves have a mind of their own), but overall Una doesn't just give in, and Killian doesn't just demand. It helps that Killian is never an absolute asshole, or is being mean just for the sake of being mean. He hasn't done anything that I see as unforgivable, and he tries to make amends for the harm he's done.
🗒️ I also quite liked the writing. Not overly descriptive, direct and to the point. There are some cringey moments (especially from Killian's POV in the first half), but I really enjoyed the writing overall.
↘️ My main complaint is how little is known/explained around fated mates and their bonds. Between the baffling relationship we see between already existing fated pairs, the ramblings of the crone and her magic... It feels like the author has been purposely vague so she could do with it what she wanted when she wanted it. It was confusing and not very satisfying.
🐝 Una Hayes is a great heroine. She's a fighter, a survivor, in a way her pack will never truly appreciate. She has a bad leg and that's all they see, but she doesn't let it stop from taking care of herself and her packmates. She also has that resilience, that quiet determination to keep on moving and living. Her wolf is also a riot.
🐺 I ended up actually really liking Killian and empathize with the path he's taken. It's easy to just focus on the bad and how at times he should have known better. But when you read about how the pack worked before he became alpha, the amount of work and energy he had to put into the pack to get them out of the caves, protect the weak, earn enough money so everybody's taken care of... That required a single-minded focus and determination that unfortunately made him oblivious to other things. Seriously, he can be really dense, especially in the first half of the book. But his hard work also paved the way for Una's ability to take care of her packmates.
💞 They make a really great pair. While he was busy with the big issues in the pack, she made sure the weaker and forgotten wolves were taken care off instead of just left alone. They both grew into strong, resourceful people who complement each other very well. I'll probably read other books in the series just to see how well the pack is now doing thanks to their partnership.
💗 I really like the rejected mate trope here. In many books, this trope is used to have a bully romance where the hero treats the heroine like trash but she's still coming back to him because "the bond makes me do it". It's gross. You have a bit of that here, there were some moments where I didn't understand the dynamics or the choices made (the biology/magic behind the fated mates bond is wonky, no one really knows much about it it seems, plus the wolves have a mind of their own), but overall Una doesn't just give in, and Killian doesn't just demand. It helps that Killian is never an absolute asshole, or is being mean just for the sake of being mean. He hasn't done anything that I see as unforgivable, and he tries to make amends for the harm he's done.
🗒️ I also quite liked the writing. Not overly descriptive, direct and to the point. There are some cringey moments (especially from Killian's POV in the first half), but I really enjoyed the writing overall.
↘️ My main complaint is how little is known/explained around fated mates and their bonds. Between the baffling relationship we see between already existing fated pairs, the ramblings of the crone and her magic... It feels like the author has been purposely vague so she could do with it what she wanted when she wanted it. It was confusing and not very satisfying.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Sexism, Sexual content, Ableism, and Misogyny
Moderate: Murder, Bullying, and Blood
Minor: Sexual violence, Transphobia, and Pregnancy