Pack dynamics and interesting shifters made this an enjoyable romance with some great action sequences.

Vy is arrogant on the outside, but lonely on the inside. A hawk shifter, Vy is excited to finally find his mate in Robert, even though Robert is a bear. Unfortunately, Robert isn’t interested in shifting, and, therefore, doesn’t recognize Vy as his mate. Vy struggled with wanting to be with Robert while at the same time feeling very frustrated that Robert wouldn’t recognize him as his true mate. Instead, Robert is just interested in Vy as a person. This leads to the biggest conflict between these two mates, and gives the story an interesting twist on the instant love we usually see with mates. Fortunately, Robert was an amazing and patient person who was willing to try to work through this issue with Vy. Robert was always going out of his way to help improve the world around him and take care of Vy. Vy matured quite a bit during the story with the help of Robert and Vy’s father. This allowed him to truly step up to being the pack leader. By the end, it was obvious Robert and Vy were meant for each other.

I enjoyed the focus on the different issues with the pack members, and the trouble that they were having with another pack. This aspect of the story gave Robert, an outsider, a chance to prove he was trustworthy to the pack.

The one little thing that bothered me was the constant interruptions between the characters as they were talking to each other. It’s a pet peeve of mine when people interrupt each other in real life, so seeing it happen in the story distracted me.

As a huge fan of shifter stories, I was excited to see two of my favorite authors write this story together.

Originally reviewed for Swept Away By Romance. Complimentary copy provided by author/publisher for an honest review.

BLURB

Vy Aleknos is the leader of a hawk shifter flock. Openly gay since he was a teen, Vy is proud and self-assured on the outside, while secretly worrying he’ll be forced to spend his life alone because two males can’t be mates. When bear shifter Robert Cimino appears in Vy’s small town, Vy realizes his concerns were unfounded — he has a male mate, and a sexy, dominant one to boot.

Robert is a bear shifter who refuses to shift. Immediately attracted to Vy, he deviates from his normal pattern and seeks more than a one off with the powerful, bristly hawk. But Robert’s affections are rooted in his human form, and when Vy discovers Robert doesn’t recognize him as his mate, he pulls away. If Robert wants to stay with Vy, he must convince a man deeply ruled by his animal instincts to give their relationship as humans a chance.