Review: The Fake Mate

The Fake Mate by Lana Ferguson
RATING: 4 STARS
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"The Fake Mate" has been one of the most enjoyable omegaverse wolf shifter romances I have read in a long long time. It has reignited my love for the genre and all the great qualities that make an omegaverse/shifter subgenre a great alternative for those who are looking to dive more into the supernatural universe.

Lana Ferguson, a new to me author, had an uncanny ability to immerse me into the world she created by introducing our grumpy alpha, Noah, and sunshine omega, Mackenzie.

What really won me over were the superb leading characters. Mackenzie was a funny, witty, and strong likable female lead. Mack wasn't afraid to voice her wants, desires, and call out Noah's BS (you’ll understand more once you get a little more towards the end) . She was the perfect "fake" mate to the local hospital grouch and seeing their interactions and banter became the highlight of my read. The building chemistry was sizzling hot and the author didn't hold back with the knotty encounters—Yes! You have read that right! Encounters. Plural, my friend, plural—our dynamic duo had.

And we can't forget our grumpiest grump, Noah. His deadpan responses and brutal honesty was a favorite. It was refreshing to come across a mature character that was driven, smart, honest with his feelings and knew where his heart lay. He didn’t play around nor toy with Mack’s emotions and was so attentive and patient with her. Seriously, where can I find my own grump?! Noah fell hard and fast, and it was a pleasant surprise to see the man pursue the female lead wholeheartedly. Honestly, Noah is the ultimate book boyfriend. I don't care what anyone has to say.

Additionally, the side characters; Parker, the infamous Jessica, the "in-laws" were a great add-on and helped bring humor to the "fake mate" and am I falling for my "mate"? dilemma.

Besides the fantastic characters, the storyline was engaging enough to have me finish this in one sitting and though the pacing was damn near perfect for the first 70ish%, the pacing did derail for a brief moment and it just felt like I was at a standstill. I understand that the author slowed down the pacing to create a dramatic effect and to showcase the raw emotions of Noah/Mack’s turmoil—it just didn’t fit with the rest of the novel. Thankfully the book Gods were able to help the author redeem herself and the pacing picked up after 85-90%. To add-on, the build up to the whole Dennis/Noah animosity was anticlimactic. That’s all I’m going to say about that.

On a whole, the author was able to perfectly capture the complicated, chaotic relationship between an Alpha and Omega, and wasn’t afraid to touch on the stereotypes and flaws of each shifter species. With outdated stigmas surrounding unmated alphas and omegas, it was a refreshing take to the genre.

“The Fake Mate” had the perfect blend of humor, witty banter, shameless flirting, constant toe curling sizzling chemistry between the characters that was everything I could ever wish for, captivating plot with solid characters, and smutty goodness.

Fingers crossed we get another omegaverse shifter romance from this author in the near future. I would love to see Liam or Noah’s cousin, Hunter (I love me a good Alpha), get their own book.

 

Review: The Love Rematch

The Love Rematch by Kay Marie
RATING: 1.5 STARS
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“The Love Rematch” is a bachelorette reality show inspired second chance romance that left me wanting more. Literally.

Of course with reality shows running rampant in the last few years, I was immediately intrigued by the premise and of course off-set romance between the once upon a time lovers but it was difficult to connect with Emily or Jake. Maybe it was just me but I found them to be terribly boring. The side-characters, moreso—the producers, contestants and my girl Sam were far more entertaining.

What’s more—I wasn’t a fan of how the author would weave in details of the past/previous memories in the middle of present tense dialogue. There were a few instances that I had to reread the passage to verify what tense I was in and where the heck I was at. It didn’t flow naturally nor was it consistent. It threw off the pacing and I had difficulty immersing myself into the read because of that.

All in all—predictable storyline, dull characters, odd and confusing pacing, and lack of wow factor to really lock me in.

Review: The Plus One

The Plus One by Mazey Eddings
RATING: 1.5 STARS
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I hate to be the bearer of bad news but “The Plus One” was terribly boring. The only winning factor was the mental health themes that the author touched on but otherwise, the amount of cliches and lack of real chemistry between Jude and Indira didn’t do the book any favors. The history was there but the author failed to execute in making the relationship authentic or believable.

Additionally, the storyline fell flat and was drawn out (basically a whole lot of nothing happened), and the writing style was very repetitive. It didn’t feel like we were moving forward with their story. To be blunt, reading this was a waste of time and if I could go back, I would!

Review: Unfortunately Yours

Unfortunately Yours by Tessa Bailey
RATING: 4.5 STARS
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As Tessa Bailey has always been a hit-or-miss author for me and when it comes to “Unfortunately Yours”—it was an unexpected hit! 

“Unfortunately Yours” is one of the best enemies to lovers marriage of convenience I’ve read in a long time and thus far one of the best rom-coms I have had the pleasure of picking up in 2023.

It had the right amount of banter/cumbacks, extremely likeable and relatable leads, sizzling chemistry between August and Natalie that wasn’t forced/awkward, scenes that had me swooning and fanning myself, laugh out loud moments, and a storyline that was engaging and was able to draw me in.

It’s really hard to explain it but “Unfortunately Yours” was a really fun read and I have to give myself a pat on the back for not picking up “Secretly Yours”. Something tells me it would have been a dub and because of that alone, I wouldn’t have bothered picking up this gem.

All in all, I need a physical copy of “Unfortunately Yours”—STAT!

Review: Highland Wolf

Highland Wolf by Lynsay Sands
RATING: 2 STARS
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"Highland Wolf” just wasn’t my cup of tea. The heroine was some sort of animal whisperer and that was just too improbable for me. Like how is saving animals your only personality trait? There wasn’t anything memorable about her or her dashing lead, Wolf.

The storyline lacked engagement, the side characters were far more interesting, and everything else was dull and boring. I started to skim at least ⅓ through because there was only so much suffering I could subject myself to.