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wonderedpages 's review for:
This Love of Ours
by Sydney Skye
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This Love of Ours had a premise that hooked me right away. A predator-prey romance, political tension in a supernatural town, and shifters of all kinds? Sign me up. But once I started reading, the excitement faded fast. What could have been a fun, immersive shifter romance turned into a frustrating, disjointed read.
First, the editing, or lack of it, made this tough to get through. Typos, wrong verb tenses, missing punctuation, random capitalization (Burrow vs. burrow), strange word choices, and sentences that went on forever. It felt like reading a first draft that skipped the editing stage completely.
Then there’s the world-building, or rather, the absence of it. We have witches, predator and prey shifters, vampires, and humans all living in Wolf Creek, but the book never tells us how this world works. What do these creatures have in common? What makes them different? How do they coexist? There’s a law stating that predators and prey cannot coexist, or they will be excommunicated. Yet, we never learn why this law exists, what it’s meant to protect, or what the punishment entails beyond “you lose the ward protections of the town.” The setting also feels like it was sketched in lightly and never colored in. There are predator mansions, prey neighborhoods, a mysterious “Burrow,” endless forests, and a hospital outside the wards, but nothing ever feels anchored or real.
The plot is just as scattered. We bounce from instant love between Clover and Killian, to a shifter trafficking network, to political power grabs, to multiple kidnappings. Entire threads are dropped mid-story, like the threatening note Clover receives that is never explained, or the underground circus that appears and disappears without much follow-up. The pacing is jerky, and significant moments are brushed past without the build-up or payoff they deserve.
And then there’s the romance, which is supposed to be the beating heart of the book. Clover and Killian are instantly obsessed with each other after one run through the forest and some very lackluster sex. Their bond is described as “fated” or “mated,” but it feels like nothing more than surface-level attraction. The pet names didn’t help. “Wildflower” and “Killer” landed more in the awkward category than swoony. Worst of all, Killian’s supposed protectiveness is undermined by his actions. After showing up to rescue Clover from a life-or-death situation, he just leaves her there to deal with herself so he can take the villain back to his basement torture chamber. Romantic.
Clover reads like a stubborn, impulsive teenager, even though she’s supposed to be an adult. Killian has the title of alpha leader in waiting, but his decision-making is reckless, and his personality reads more small-town brawler than strategic leader. By the time the final confrontation rolled around, I didn’t buy their connection or care whether they ended up together.
I picked this up as an ARC from Grey’s Promotions because the blurb sounded promising. Unfortunately, this one needed much more world-building, stronger plotting, and serious editing before being ready for readers. I won’t be continuing the Wolf Creek Shifters series.
First, the editing, or lack of it, made this tough to get through. Typos, wrong verb tenses, missing punctuation, random capitalization (Burrow vs. burrow), strange word choices, and sentences that went on forever. It felt like reading a first draft that skipped the editing stage completely.
Then there’s the world-building, or rather, the absence of it. We have witches, predator and prey shifters, vampires, and humans all living in Wolf Creek, but the book never tells us how this world works. What do these creatures have in common? What makes them different? How do they coexist? There’s a law stating that predators and prey cannot coexist, or they will be excommunicated. Yet, we never learn why this law exists, what it’s meant to protect, or what the punishment entails beyond “you lose the ward protections of the town.” The setting also feels like it was sketched in lightly and never colored in. There are predator mansions, prey neighborhoods, a mysterious “Burrow,” endless forests, and a hospital outside the wards, but nothing ever feels anchored or real.
The plot is just as scattered. We bounce from instant love between Clover and Killian, to a shifter trafficking network, to political power grabs, to multiple kidnappings. Entire threads are dropped mid-story, like the threatening note Clover receives that is never explained, or the underground circus that appears and disappears without much follow-up. The pacing is jerky, and significant moments are brushed past without the build-up or payoff they deserve.
And then there’s the romance, which is supposed to be the beating heart of the book. Clover and Killian are instantly obsessed with each other after one run through the forest and some very lackluster sex. Their bond is described as “fated” or “mated,” but it feels like nothing more than surface-level attraction. The pet names didn’t help. “Wildflower” and “Killer” landed more in the awkward category than swoony. Worst of all, Killian’s supposed protectiveness is undermined by his actions. After showing up to rescue Clover from a life-or-death situation, he just leaves her there to deal with herself so he can take the villain back to his basement torture chamber. Romantic.
Clover reads like a stubborn, impulsive teenager, even though she’s supposed to be an adult. Killian has the title of alpha leader in waiting, but his decision-making is reckless, and his personality reads more small-town brawler than strategic leader. By the time the final confrontation rolled around, I didn’t buy their connection or care whether they ended up together.
I picked this up as an ARC from Grey’s Promotions because the blurb sounded promising. Unfortunately, this one needed much more world-building, stronger plotting, and serious editing before being ready for readers. I won’t be continuing the Wolf Creek Shifters series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Stalking, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Blood, Abandonment, Classism
Minor: Addiction, Cursing, Drug abuse, Death of parent