A review by irl_bookworms
Unfated Mates by Lexie Talionis

dark emotional medium-paced

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

5.0

If Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma and Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater crossed and resulted in an erotica? It would be Unfated Mates.

I absolutely love how Talionis is very explicit in the summary: you know what to expect from the Monster F*cking and you go in expecting a YA-ish story in the first half, followed by a very New Adult Second half.

This book just worked for me! Clearly it’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea, but oh heck was it mine!

Nat is a social outcast, just trying to stay under the radar of child services so she can continue to live with her mother in their trailer at the edge of town. She is fourteen when she first discovers a large wolf in the woods. But this wolf doesn’t hurt her, instead she learns that he is a boy, Caleb, who has been fending for himself without a family. Nat takes him in as her “long-lost brother” and Caleb begins to live his life in the human world, but their connection ignites when they both grow older, until it becomes something neither can resist.

There is something so nostalgic and charming about all of the characters in Unfated Mates. They’re all awkward teenagers that try to do their best, fail sometimes, but keep getting up to try again. The chemistry between Nat and Caleb is absolutely explosive and just delicious. You get your drama from them hiding from the people in their town who think they’re actually siblings and from them trying to keep Caleb’s wolf under wraps, all while Caleb fights a reaction in his body that makes it painful to give and recieve pleasure from Nat in his human form… but only in his human form - if you catch my drift.

If you love drama filled paranormal YA, but want more monster spice? I think you might just have a good time with Unfated Mates. Just be sure to read all of Talionis’s summary beforehand so you know exactly what you’re signing up for.

Originally I had this at 4 stars, but I just had to add on an extra star for how good it hit my own personal itch of older YA stories cranked up extra hot.

*I received an eARC from Ceteris Paribus Publishing & NetGalley in exchange for my honest review*